Shop 48.2

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Chapter 48.2. Three Hours Of Cooking In The Wilderness

"Yes. Up until now, we've only focused on high firepower allowing for cooking even in small amounts, and on rarity."

"My apologies, milady. The kitchen here at Veliero is well-equipped with smoke exhaust systems, so I can't relate, but in ordinary households and small eateries in the outskirts, the smoke can be intense."

Cherina rested her hand on her hip and pondered for a moment.

"Come to think of it, when dining at small shops, smoke often flows from the kitchen."

It seems she has grasped one of the selling points of charcoal.

Leaving her to her thoughts, I proceeded with kindling the charcoal fire. Until the fire spreads, I put in extra charcoal and moved the excess to another brazier. Since I use multiple fires simultaneously.

Finally, the oil reached the right temperature, so I immediately started frying horse mackerel.

Simultaneously, I was briskly chopping onions, carrots, and green peppers.

"If that's the case, I'll help."

Watching me chop vegetables, Hugo offered to assist.

"Then, I'll leave this to you. Just chop them similarly."

Handing over the ingredients, I decided to prepare the seasonings. While Hugo chopped the vegetables, his gaze remained firmly on me. He's a professional chef. If it were me, my fingers would be flying.

Now, soy sauce, mirin, cooking sake, rice vinegar, sugar, water, and chili pepper. Mix them quickly and heat. Put the vegetables and horse mackerel in pottery and pour the seasoning over them.

"Sorry, but could you store this in as cool a place as possible?"

After saying that, I became anxious if such a place existed in this scorching land.

"Shall I put it in the cellar?"

Hugo left the room with the pottery.

"Cherina, is it cool down there?"

"Yes, there are mechanisms to take in the cool breeze at dawn. The cellar itself is also located deep underground. Since it's built with rocks, it doesn't let in much heat during the day."

"Such a convenient thing..."

"It's not widespread. Only certain trading companies, nobles, and royals possess them. I suppose?"

"Quite a rarity."

"Yes."

With the head chef Hugo returning, I resumed my work.

"It's a splendid sea bream. To be honest, I always thought farmed ones looked more delicious with their fat content, but this one seems quite plump and fatty."

"The ocean currents around here seem to be rich in nutrients, so all fish grow large."

"Is that so?"

"For humans, it may be a rough sea, but for fish, it seems to be a comfortable habitat."

He informed me.

"Well, it's good for humans if the fish taste good."

"That's true, but..."

"Is something wrong?"

"Well, there are few who get to eat freshly caught fish. Most have only ever tasted salted ones."

"...How harsh."

"Yes."

As the head chef at Veliero, he must be accustomed to handling fresh seafood, but it seems that ordinary citizens don't get their hands on it much even in a place so close to the harbor. It's a rather sad story.

"Because otherwise, they would spoil quickly."

"That's true."

The distribution system for fish in Japan has reached the realm of madness. Foreigners seem to be not just surprised but also bewildered when they see Japan's fish distribution system.

In terms of freezing systems, developed countries have typically advanced, so there's no mistake there. I'm referring specifically to the distribution of fresh fish based on rawness.

"Hey, Hugo, how would you cook this seabream?"

"Well... perhaps salt-grilled. Mix it with herbs to refresh the taste and bring out the flavor of the fish."

"That sounds delicious too... Would you mind making that, Hugo?"

"Not at all, but..."

"I'll make a different dish."

"Do you have a reason?"

"Some might not want to eat what I'm going to make."

Saying that, I glanced at Cherina.

She suddenly averted her gaze.

"Alright, leave it to me."

I quickly sliced the black sea bream into three pieces for sashimi.

But I don't intend to serve it as sashimi.

I cut Chinese cabbage, leeks, crown daisies, mizuna, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, and tofu into appropriate sizes. In the most pot-like container, I made dashi broth with kombu from water. Once it boiled, I threw in the vegetables.

Preparation complete.

It's sea bream shabu-shabu.

It can be eaten right away, but it's better when everyone is present.

I entrusted the sashimi to Okoze.

I skillfully filleted it and arranged the sashimi on plates. I wanted to arrange it neatly in a circle. But I couldn't quite manage it. Seeing that, the head chef skillfully arranged it, saying, "Let me do it," and made a beautiful arrangement as if flowers were blooming. Truly a head chef.

I left the plating to him and decided to make karaage. I changed the oil and adjusted the temperature.

I decided to make a whole Okoze karaage. Yes, it smells good. I won't play the cliché of getting poisoned by the dorsal fin. I won't!

Let's make tako karaage as well... Oops. I need to marinate it for a while for the flavor to seep in.

I marinated the octopus in sauce and had it stored in the cellar as well.

I set aside some of the octopus for sashimi and cut the rest into pieces for takoyaki. These were also stored in the cellar together.

I processed the kasago thoroughly and made miso soup. Its flesh is more for making dashi than for eating.

Now, it's the conger eel's turn.

"Um... Akira-sama... Do you really eat octopus and conger eel?"

"Of course. What else would I eat if not eel?"

"..."

Suddenly, Cherina seemed concerned if I ate fish with legs that she saw at the fishing port. Well, I can eat it. I shouldn't underestimate someone who almost starved to death in elementary school.

Hugo gently interjected to Cherina, who had furrowed her eyebrows.

"Milady, judging by how Akira-sama handled the octopus earlier, I believe it's true that he eats them. He's too skilled."

It's not like I became skilled because I liked it.

"Because I was forced to accompany a fishing enthusiast boss, I was practically treated as a personal chef."

Yet he made me split the boat fare, so he was a damn awful boss. In retaliation, I often stole fish.

"Well then, let's go with conger eel."

"..."

Cherina's face turned pale. It seems conger eel is the most grotesque thing to her. Though it's delicious.

I was about to rinse it quickly in salt water and then plunge it into boiling water when I realized.

"Oh no, I needed ice..."

What should I do? It's one thing to lack the tools, but getting ice is a bit much.

While pondering, Yaralai returned with Hagg and Narnia. The young lady also came along, as expected.

"Hey, what happened to helping with the inn?"

"Break time! It's break time, so Big Brother is making something delicious!"

Completely unrelated.

"Alright, alright. Since today is Cherina's treat, thank her."

"Whoa! Lady Cherina, nice to meet you! I'm Narnia from Kujira-tei. Thank you for inviting us today."

Narnia bowed her head, and Cherina's eyes drooped. No one invited her, but Cherina didn't seem to mind.

"Yes, please make yourself at home."

After finishing the greeting, Narnia returned to my feet.

"Wow, it's my first time talking to Lady Cherina. I can brag to my friends!"

She seemed to be in high spirits, so I let her be.

"This geezer here is Hagg."

"Geezer is unnecessary! Nice to meet you, milady."

He's as usual. Truly.

"Yes, I am Cherina Veliero. Nice to meet you."

"Hmm."

The introduction went smoothly without any issues. Then I had an idea.

I hurriedly took Yaralai's hand and pulled her into the corridor.

"What's wrong? Enemies?"

What kind of thinking is that?

"It's dangerous, no, that's not it. Yaralai, can you make ice with elemental magic or something?"

"It's difficult with natural philosophy... Lowering the temperature is... the limit."

It wasn't magic but natural philosophy. I need to get used to this quickly.

"Alright, that's fine. Can you make the water as cold as possible?"

"Understood."

I returned to the kitchen and filled a bucket with water.

"I'll leave this to you."

"Understood."

Yaralai hummed a strange song, and the water's temperature rapidly dropped.

"Oh, this will do."

"Success, good."

"Do you fail too?"

"Yes. Spirits are capricious."

She said something like that. Well, as long as I get cold water, it's fine. I plunged the eel, which had been briefly boiled, into the almost freezing cold water. I carefully removed the slime and put it in a pot with seasoned broth. Once the broth reduced, I lifted the eel. I further reduced the remaining broth to make it into a sauce.

"Wow, that smells incredibly good."

"Hagg doesn't mind the conger eel."

"Isn't it similar to eel?"

"Are there eels too?!"

What...?

"What's wrong all of a sudden?"

"N-no, I just love eel."

"Is it possible to catch it in the Liberi River over there?"

"No, you have to go further upstream to catch eels. Besides, there's no tradition of eating them around here..."

"What a waste..."

Next time, should I set up eel traps in the Liberi River? Well, I don't have time for that now.

While simmering the eel, I made the batter for takoyaki. Of course, the takoyaki griddle is approved.

Takoyaki can wait until the end.

Alright, the preparation is complete.

Let's have everyone taste it and see their reactions! Especially Cherina! It's payback for her usual unreasonable demands.

Hahaha!