Appraiser 9

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For Breakfast, Half-boiled Eggs

Scarlet Lynx's mornings were relatively early. Most people would show up for meals around 7 o'clock. Those on kitchen duty had to wake up earlier, but for Yak, who grew up in the countryside, waking up at 6 was comfortably early. After all, being awakened at 4 was quite normal when helping out at a friend's dairy farm.

So, Yak woke up at 6 as usual today and headed to the dining hall. Or at least, that was the plan. Before that, he decided to visit Yuuri's room. He worried whether the newcomer who joined yesterday would be awake at this hour. Especially since he often saw the senior members, who were usually a bit off, oversleeping.

"Yuuri, are you awake?"

"Oh, Yak, good morning."

"Good morning. Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah. I slept soundly. I was a little worried about waking up in the morning, but it seems like my internal clock did its job, so I'm glad~"

Yuuri smiled happily, and Yak chuckled in response. He had no idea what "Tainaidokei" that Yuuri mentioned meant, but he decided to let it slide. He had heard about the foreigner who seemed to have been blown in by traps from a distant land yesterday.

Yuuri was genuinely relieved to have woken up. Living in modern Japan, Yuuri was terribly anxious if he could wake up properly without an alarm clock. Fortunately, his internal clock worked fine, and he woke up safely. Having commuted by train to high school, Yuuri was used to waking up around 6 every morning, so his body seemed to remember that.

The two headed to the kitchen together. Since some people were still asleep, they refrained from talking and walked quietly. Finally reaching the kitchen, Yuuri opened the refrigerator first. Then, he took out a large bowl from inside.

"Yuuri, is that the one you made yesterday?"

"Yeah. I thought it might be a nice change."

Yak confirmed the delivery of today's bread, milk, and eggs and arranged them in their respective places. Today's bread seemed to be rolls. The type of bread varied each day. Sometimes it was sliced bread. Other times it was rolls. Yak preferred rolls as they were more convenient, and he liked them better. Sliced bread needed to be cut.

Yuuri filled the bowl he took out to the brim with dark liquid. It's nothing special. Boiled eggs soaked in a mixture of soy sauce and sake. It's an easy and convenient way to make boiled eggs. You should season them properly, and they might be called simmered eggs because they're simmered. However, at Yuuri's family home, the Kugimiya household, they would make boiled eggs by preparing a bowl or Tupperware with a soy sauce-based liquid and leaving boiled eggs overnight. They turned out fairly flavorful.

What worried them was the lack of various seasonings. When Yuuri made them at home, he would often use an instant soup base. But instant soup base contains various seasonings. They had tried using soy sauce-based ponzu as well. It was refreshing and delicious. However, neither of those options was available here. They used soy sauce and sake, though it wasn't cooking sake, but something in the pantry smelled similar to sake, so they used that. Of course, they didn't want to put wine in boiled eggs.

"Wow, the eggs turned brown."

"I hope the flavor seeped in nicely."

The boiled eggs were rolling around on the large plate. Yak, who had only ever seen pure white boiled eggs, furrowed his brow. But to Yuuri, they seemed to have soaked up the flavor nicely. He took one of the smaller eggs and then cut it in half on a small plate. It seemed to have soaked up the flavor nicely.

"Here you go, Yak. Have a taste."

"Huh? Oh, sure."

Yuuri nibbled on the boiled egg. Although it didn't quite look like food, Yak tried it. Boiled eggs tend to be a bit dry and unappetizing. Still, they often made them for breakfast because they were easy to prepare. Yuuri suggested adding a little extra touch when they talked about it.

The boiled eggs had absorbed the flavor of the soy sauce, giving them a delightful taste. Yak was surprised. He had thought they were just boiled eggs that turned brown. But it was more than that. They had a distinct flavor. He couldn't help but eat them up.

But that wasn't all.

"This yolk is soft!"

"Yeah. I tried making them half-boiled."

"Why?! How did you make them so gooey!?"

"If you boil them for a shorter time, they turn out like this."

"Is that so!?"

It was a soft and delicious boiled egg that Yak had never tasted. Not only did it have the flavor of soy sauce. But the yolk was half-boiled and gooey. He had never eaten such a delicious boiled egg before.

Yuuri also took out regular boiled eggs from another bowl. Thinking that some people might not like boiled eggs, he prepared plain boiled eggs that hadn't been tampered with. Of course, they were also half-boiled. He had heard that they always turned out hard-boiled, so he thought it would be a nice change. Also, Yuuri personally preferred half-boiled eggs.

As for those regular boiled eggs, they had been soaked in salt water overnight. If the salt water wasn't too strong, soaking them overnight would give them a good balance of saltiness. It was a trick from Yuuri's mother to avoid having to sprinkle salt when packing them for lunch.

"It's a bit sorry to only have bread, milk, and boiled eggs for breakfast..."

"...It can't be helped, Yuuri. We're short on ingredients."

"Yeah. So I tried making the boiled eggs half-boiled and simmering them."

Yak sighed at Yuuri's distant gaze. There was nothing they could do if they were short on ingredients. After all, all the dishes they made last night were completely eaten up. The croquettes, and the cream soup, all sold out. The scramble that occurred the moment Ali finished eating was intense. While Yuuri was laughing and making fried food, the commotion was like a festival.

Thanks to that, the only ingredients left this morning were the freshly delivered bread, milk, and eggs. Oh, and the ever-present potatoes. So, Yuuri peeled the potatoes to boil them in salted water. Yak, as instructed by Yuuri, was boiling water and adding a little extra salt.

"Yuuri, what are you doing with these?"

"Yeah, it's a bit lonely, so I thought I'd add some boiled potatoes to the meal."

"Why not steamed sweet potatoes?"

"Yeah. Boiling them. After seasoning them with salt, you can eat them as is, right?"

Yuuri smiled cheerfully, but Yak looked surprised. He hadn't thought of eating potatoes like that. He usually just steamed them or baked them casually. He didn't really understand what boiling them with salt meant, but when he tasted the boiled potatoes, they were surprisingly tasty. He was surprised by the rich flavor that seeped in with just a little salt.

Boiled potatoes were a bit boring. Yuuri often sprinkled them with soy sauce when he ate them at home. At school, he would make soup, or they would become the base for nimono, simmered dishes. However, today they only had bread and milk for breakfast. So it couldn't be helped.

Boiled eggs in white and brown. A large number of salt-boiled potatoes. Freshly baked bread just delivered. As for the milk, they were chilling it in the refrigerator, so they could pour it and prepare it when someone came. With this, breakfast preparations were complete.

The two of them quickly finished breakfast while no one else was around. Yak, with a puzzled look at the salted boiled eggs, laughed, while Yuuri enjoyed a simple breakfast of potatoes, boiled eggs, bread, and milk.

And then.

"Hey, can I have another egg!?"

"One egg per person, please."

"Come on, Yuuri, just this once! Especially this brown one is super delicious!"

"I'm sorry, but please give up. You can have seconds of potatoes, bread, and milk."

Defeated by Yuuri's cheerful smile, the loser slumped his shoulders and returned to the table. Yak thought that would happen. Yuuri seemed oblivious, but the eggs were unbelievably delicious. Even those who usually made faces and said, "...boiled eggs again?" were swarming around them. Also, despite initially disliking the appearance of the simmered eggs, they were placed on their plates with both options, and they ended up eating them and becoming repeat customers. ...However, no one was able to have seconds.

That was because raw eggs were there. But Yuuri couldn't make simmered eggs. It takes time for the flavor to seep in, so it's impossible to make them again from scratch. Therefore, Yuuri's recommended seconds were limited to potatoes, bread, and milk only. He was probably sticking to that to ensure everyone got a proper meal.

Yak and everyone else were dumbfounded by Yuuri's firm attitude. Despite their desperate attempts, they were completely ignored. It was so contrary to Yuuri's usual gentle demeanor that everyone was stunned.

...However, Yuuri's ability to thoroughly drive away those wanting seconds stemmed from a similar experience during school lunches.

When Yuuri was in elementary school, his school had a system where students took turns serving lunch, a system called 'kyushoku'. Lunch became a battle over side dishes. In that environment, Yuuri, who confronted the class bully who brazenly demanded a large portion for himself, firmly stood his ground, saying, "You can't have more because everyone else won't have any.", everyone in the class thought of Yuuri as a hero.

That's why, defeated by Yuuri's smiling "One egg per person, please.", and returning to the table with a dejected look, one more person, Brook, calmly enjoyed the two types of half-boiled eggs while everyone else clamored for seconds.

Brook, considering that last night's delicious meal was also Yuuri's doing, judged that there would be something today as well. So, he asked about the number of eggs in advance. When told one per person, he nodded obediently, tasted each half, and enjoyed them while savoring their deliciousness. Such foresight was necessary for adventurers. In other words, those clamoring for seconds were the apprentices being taught.

Yuuri never thought just boiled eggs and salted boiled eggs (both half-boiled) would become so popular.