Chapter 695

Well, I am still technically a noble, you know? (… At least on paper.)
After handing over the shaved-ice machine to Okaasama, I explained to the head chef how to use it, the different syrup types, which toppings paired best, and handed him a written recipe.

It was a fairly rough recipe, but I hoped he’d adjust it with his own sense of taste to make it worthy of being served as a royal dessert.

Especially since with a bit of creative fruit carving and presentation, it could look quite elegant.

I also mentioned that tea-flavored syrup would probably be delicious too, so I’m expecting he’ll come up with something even more refined than my own.
Of course, what I’m really expecting is to get a little “taste test” sample as thanks. Fufufu.

Oh, right—
I also let slip, “Topping it with milk ice cream would be nice too, don’t you think?” but that was strictly off the record.
Yes, strictly confidential, okay?

The head chef muttered, “Ice cream, huh…” and jotted it down in his notes.
Heh… I’ll look forward to next time. Fuhahahaha.

… I could make it myself, but the problem is that most of my helpers are those ever-hungry Sacred Beasts.
The moment I make anything, it vanishes before my eyes.
Making extra to account for that is just exhausting!

You’d think, “Well, if they want to eat it that badly, why not have the Sacred Beasts make it themselves?” right?
But nope—if they make it themselves, they don’t eat it!

Apparently, for food to truly appeal to them, it needs to be imbued with the cook’s mana—the magic of the person who prepared it.
It’s not like any mana will do, though. If the Sacred Beasts—who all have strong mana themselves—make something together, they lose all desire to eat it. Weird, right?

But if I add the finishing touches, they’ll eat it happily, so there must be some reason behind it.
Maybe it’s one of those quirks unique to the Sacred Beasts who’ve chosen to live alongside humans.

That night, we stayed at the mansion, and the next day I decided to browse the merchant district in the capital before heading home.

Mariel-chan said, “I should probably stop by home—if I don’t, I’m afraid my father will literally work himself to death,” so we promised I’d pick her up at her house tomorrow and sent her home in our carriage.

Sei joined her, saying, “I’ve got some business at the Bastea Company’s capital branch.”

If the royal palace decided to serve matcha syrup, red beans, and shiratama dumplings, orders would flood Bastea Company, since they were the suppliers.
He said he needed to contact the main branch and arrange to increase inventory.

Recently, our Special Dorm had been going through shiratama flour at an alarming rate, and we’d just placed an order for more matcha too—but now it looked like we’d need another rush order, so even Sei was a bit flustered.

Well, if something gets served in the palace, of course the response would be massive.

Mango would be tricky to procure, but with the right suppliers and a time-stopping Magic Bag or Magic Box, we could transport it to the capital without issue.
The market price would be higher than in our territory, but that’s to be expected.

After seeing off the two (and their contracted Sacred Beasts), I returned to my room to rest.

Once I’d had my fill of brushing and cuddling the two in their beast forms—pure bliss—Oniisama dropped by.

“Hey, do you have a moment?”

“Oh, Oniisama. Of course.”

I offered him the seat across from me, and Milia promptly served tea.

Just earlier, the head chef had sent over a freshly baked apple pie, which I’d stored in my inventory. I took it out and had Milia serve it.

“Such a shame you had to give away the shaved-ice machine.”

Oniisama said, sounding sympathetic.

“It can’t be helped. Once Okaasama said she wanted to present it to Her Majesty the Queen, it stopped being just about me.
Besides, thinking about Okaasama’s friendship with Her Majesty, I can only be happy to let her have it.”

Apparently, after hearing about Okaasama’s new dessert plans, the Queen had gone, “That sounds lovely! I want to try it too!”—
Well, more like whining adorably than complaining—so this was the perfect opportunity.

And I understood what Okaasama said too: “Trends flow from the top down.”

From my commoner perspective in my past life, the idea that trends had to start with royals or high-ranking nobles always rubbed me the wrong way—“how snobbish!” I’d have said.
But now, as a noble myself (a duke’s daughter, no less), I’ve learned to accept that’s just how noble society works.

And, well, maybe this is a tiny bit of atonement for Okaasama—who had to raise a daughter once branded the “Repulsive-food Eating Young Lady”—
Or perhaps a small way to repay her kindness for never abandoning me and loving me as I am.

“Besides, Okaasama’s already arranged for Galvano Ojisama to make another one. I’m sure it’ll arrive soon.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

Oniisama said, smiling wryly.

Knowing how indulgent Galvano Ojisama is with me, he’d already been inspecting the prototype’s performance critically during testing.
He probably started refining it the moment we left.

He even noticed I’d used a little body-strengthening magic to turn the handle, since it was a bit heavy for someone my size.

I was fine with it that way, but he’d muttered something like, “Gotta make it lighter for the little one…” under his breath.

He’s got that craftsman’s pride—he’d never settle for “good enough.”
And making it easy enough for a small child to use isn’t a bad thing either, especially if some toddler pipes up with “Me too! I wanna try!”

Thinking back on my own childhood from my previous life, I nodded to myself.

“Tea? Something on your mind?”

“Oh—just thinking that Galvano Ojisama’s probably already working on improvements.”

“Ah, true. Mr. Owen’s magic-tool version might take a while, so Galvano Ojisama’s improved model will likely be finished first.”

Oh, right. I’d almost forgotten about Owen’s magic-tool version of the shaved-ice machine.

But considering how complex the enchantments and mechanisms are just to automate the process, I doubt it’ll be ready anytime soon.
Probably not within this season, at least.

What do you think about this chapter?