There were various differences in opinions, but we are able to continue with the cooking without delay.
ăEleonora, cut the carrots a bit more so they have the same sizeă
Elna-kaasan advise Eleonora-neesan as she forced her to participate in cooking.
When I look in their direction, I saw Eleonora-neesan over there, cutting the carrots in an awkward manner. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
ăItâs Pot-au-feu, isnât it? So, itâs fine if the sizes are slightly different. Rather, it will make the taste betteră
ăBut that does not mean you can do that, and it will make a big difference in size if you can not cut it in the same size you know? Here, try cutting them in the same sizeă
ăAll right, all rightă
Eleonora-neesan said - with a slightly unhappy expression on her face - when Elna-kaasan told her that.
Then she quietly cut the carrots. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Chop...chop......an irregular noise Iâm clearly not familiar with.
When I look at the carrots on top of the cutting board, there are - by any standard - irregularly-shaped things laying around over there. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
ăâŠâŠthis, did you cut them with the intention to make them uniform?ă
ăOf course!ă
Looking at Eleonora-neesan - who is replying so confidently-, Elna-kaasan looked terribly worried as she says,
ăEleonora, are your eyes all right? Did you hit your head when we were practicing before?ă
ăThereâs nothing wrong with me!ă
Perhaps she is embarrassed due to losing so pathetically that she gnashed her teeth as she answer Elna-kaasan.
Itâs fun seeing Eleonora-neesan being played around like this. This is a kind of a fresh experience since I was often the one in that situation usually. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
ăâŠâŠwhat?ă
She probably noticed me staring at her absent-mindedly. She glared at me looking slightly irritable.
ăâŠâŠnothingă
Sparks might fly at me if I were to say anything here, so I answer like that and turn my eyes to the front.
After that, I purposely slice the onion rhythmically. Of course, they are properly cut in the same sizes, unlike my unskilled sister.
ăâŠâŠlook, Al can cut them neatly, see?ă
ăAl is like, a half-cook after all, so he doesnât countă
What do you mean âhalf-cookâ? I only do what I like to do, alright? Iâm not someone like Bartolo, who loves cooking you know. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Just as I was thinking about that tsukkomi in my mind, I saw Sylvio-niisan, Nord-tousan, and Mina - the three of them -, sitting on a chair peeling potatoes peacefully.
And they peel it like peeling apples using a kitchen knife. There is no handy tool like a peeler in this world, but it will be dangerous for them, not to mention that it would take a lot of time.
Thereâs an easier way to peel the skin without doing that, should I teach it to them, then?
ăAl, whatâs wrong?ă
As I stare at them with a complicated expression on my face, Nord-tousan asks me, seems like he noticed me staring at them.
ăI know an easier method to peel the skin......ă
ăThere is such a method?ă
ăThat method, how do you do it?ă
Nord-tousan and Mina only experience the troublesome peeling work, but it looks like they jump at the method as they looked interested. While Sylvio-niisan is silent as he looks to be concentrating on the potatoes in front of him.
They donât look to be particularly angry about it, so I bring the cutting board and a knife to the table.
After that, I take one potato and put it on the cutting board.
ăYou make a shallow, round cut with a knife like thisă
As I make a shallow, round cut on the potato, - Nord-tousan and Mina - who is watching me - nod *funfun*.1
I followed the process in a flowing-like manner while watching the two of them.
After making the cut, I put it into the hot water inside the pot I had prepared earlier.
It will take around ten minutes. I continue to boil the potato while turning them over midway. 2 www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
If it were a skilled cook, then some of the skin is just going to peel by itself during the boiling time, but weâre all just an amateur after all. It will be enough to peel and boil the potatoes as much as it fits inside the pot for fifteen minutes.
Boil them until the stick can soft go through the skin, then take them out from the pot.
ăAll thatâs left is to cool it down in a bowl of ice wateră
ăAn advanced magic technique casually came out at the end.......ă
ăTo begin with we can not use Ice magic, and itâs going to be difficult to have ice without Ice magic toolă
Looking at my action, Nord-tousan and Mina have glum expressions on their faces.
ăI, is that so? So people canât normally get Ice, huh........ă
It should be a simple peeling technique that everyone could do, but now it became something that can only be used by some people and those with money can do. It made me realize once more about the high-level civilization of my previous life.
ăYou can also say that, but I think that few among the general public will consider using Ice magic in cookingă
ăIâve been thinking for a while now, but the manner in which Alfried-sama uses magic is a bit different from others, doesn't it?ă
Now Iâm being treated like an abnormal person for some reason. Strange.
Even though magic exists in this world to enrich our lives, thereâs no reason not to make effective use of it, right? I think this is the most obvious thing to do.
Hmm, I canât help but explained it to them like that, so Iâll just let it flow.
ăOh well, I think you can even use cold water to some extent. So in short, you only have to cool down the hot potatoă
ăThen what are we going to do with that cooled potato?ă
ăYou only have to peel the skin with your fingers after thată
I take one potato and answer. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Then I pull the skin in an easy-to-understand manner for the confused duo.
Immediately after, they peeled off easily.
Just like that, the skin is peeled and one clean potato is completed.
ăEehhh!? The potato skin was peeled this easily!?ă
ăIt doesnât have any skin leftă
The two of them are surprised by the peeled potato.
Minaâs reaction is particularly big, so even I - who is demonstrating this - feel a little happy about it.
Feeling a bit happy, I peel off another potato in front of them.
ăHereăŒ, this one also peeled easily with my handsă
ăThat looks a little fun! Please let me do it too!ă
Mina looks to be itching to do it when I show them the cleanly peeled potatoes, so I let her do it as she likes. And perhaps Nord-tousan was also curious about the peeling that he started to quietly peel a potato under the cover of Minaâs excitement.
ăWaa! Amazing! The skin of the potatoes really come off easily!ă
ăThis is really easy. To think that there is this kind of method.......ă
Mina cries out, impressed with the result while Nord-tousan is astonished by it.
Uh-huh, the feeling of wanting to make everything easier is important.
âCan this be made simple, can this become even more efficientâ, it was all ideas to make things easier. People can make progress with that as a driving force.
It might be a little tiring until it becomes easier, but as long as you get there it will become easier later down the road.
As I was thinking about such things, Elna-kaasan and Eleonora-neesanâs voices can be heard coming from behind me. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
ăâŠâŠjust as you said, he really is like a half-cook. It was unsuitable to use him to compare againstă
ăRight?ă
Err, but Iâm not a cook, all right?
â
In spite of the demonstration of the small trick in peeling the potatoes, our cooking went smoothly and advances as it was about to complete.
The pot-au-feu that was flavored with a lot of vegetables, potatoes, bacon, and spices is now letting out a fragrant smell as it makes boiling sounds *gutsugutsu*3.
Mina and I - who are adjusting the fire - receive the direct aroma from the pot-au-feu, and our stomachs rumble as if in response to that. Iâm so hungry already.
While everyone who has nothing to do now is already waiting in their seat and staring fixedly at us.
Theyâre waiting for the pot-au-feu.
ăăâŠâŠâŠâŠăă
The pressuring gazes from Eleonora-neesan and Elna-kaasan are piercing us.
I also want to quickly eat them so Iâd like you guys to not put pressure on me.
ăAlfried-sama, this should be enough right? The pot-au-feu is done now, right!?ă
ăWe still have the pasta leftă
Admonishing Mina as she tries to press me for an answer, I take out the pasta from the container.
Pot-au-feu can be eaten together with something else like bread, but that wonât be enjoyable.
In addition, the biggest reason I put the pasta inside the pot-au-feu is that I personally like it.
Though, as expected there is no convenient stuff like dried pasta here, so it will just be boiled in advance. I actually want to mix some olive oil, and sauce, and froze them with Ice magic. I wanted to eat them whenever I like if I just heat them, but the other members of the familyâs responses - as they are not used to frozen food - are subtle, so itâs not added. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Well, from the perspective of people who are not used to them, they will just think of frozen pasta as some suspicious food.
But when it has become like this, even though the pasta has been boiled this morning, it has been a few hours since then so the noodles will be soggy and the texture will be ruined.
In the first place, that kind of pasta will be thrown into the mix, but Iâm using the pasta from my subspace of the Space magic, so itâs clear.
I secretly snuck the pasta out from my Space magic into the carriage. There is no concept of time in Space magic. Thatâs why the pasta I took out from the container is still steaming and fresh.
I put the usual pasta into the pot-au-feu inside the pot. Since it has somewhat been boiled in advance, we donât have to cook them for long.
ăOkay, now itâs doneă
ăIt is completed!ă
Hearing Minaâs cheerful voice, Eleonora-neesan - who was starving - immediately sat up straight. I feel like Elna-kaasan is also adjusting her posture somewhat.
ăI will set the table with Minaă
ăOkay. I will leave it to youă
All right, Row-san offered to change our roles to set the table from hereon.
Although I can cook, I think he felt sorry to even make me - as the master - set the table for him. Guessing his intention, I obediently let him take the role and take a seat.
The order of the seats is the same as usual. To the left of me is Sylvio-niisan, while Eleonora-neesan is sitting in front of me.
But Mina and Row-san are here today, so there is another seat to my right side.
At first, the two of them refused to sit to have lunch together with us, but then Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan said to them ăDonât mind it, just eată, and so they are now eating together with us.
Weâre now away from home, weâre not too picky about rules and etiquette.
As I sit while thinking about that kind of thing, the pot-au-feu is distributed to us in succession.
Nord-tousan got served first, followed by Elna-kaasan after him.
And after Eleonora-neesan received her portion, Row-san and Mina return to the kitchen to get more plates. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
ăHere, Ală
I guess she thought that Sylvio-niisan and I havenât got our portion yet since Eleonora-neesan - who is looking forward to the meal - handed her plate to me.
Was Eleonora-neesan worried about me? Is such a thing be possible? No, even back in the mansion, she almost never care about me when I was in the back and continue to pass the food around, yâknow?
Nonetheless, it will also be inexcusable to keep her waiting with the plate like that and turn down her kindness.
ăâŠâŠuh? Th, thank youă
I received the plate of pot-au-feu while wondering about the reason.
The pot-au-feu I received is full of ingredients and looks so deliciââ
ăââhey, the ingredients of my pot-au-feu, they all have irregular shapes....ă
ăAhh! Mina, that one goes here!ă
Even when I fixedly stare at her, Eleonora-neesan indirectly turns her eyes away.
After that, she stopped Mina who came to set the table at the perfect time, and took a plate of pot-au-feu with regular-sized ingredients.
Iâm a bit dissatisfied with this but itâs kinda annoying to have a fight over food before eating. Iâd rather eat sooner than do that.
Just as I was waiting and thinking to myself âStill not yetâ?, Mina and Row-san finally sit down.
ăNow then, letâs eată
With Nord-tousanâs words, everyone grip our knife and fork and started eating.
I, too, also start eating the pot-au-feu.
I guess Iâll have a thick slice of bacon first.
I pour plenty of soup on top of the served bacon. Itâs very thick and has a somewhat different smell and presence from the other ingredients www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
It was seasoned by Bartolo, and this is added to the mix in exchange for the Vienna sausage.
First, I cut up the bacon as though it was the usual meat, then I bring it to my mouth.
At first, I can feel an overwhelming chewy texture and the rich original taste of meat from the bacon and spices used. Each time I sunk my teeth into the bacon, those rich flavors spread inside my mouth.
After enjoying the taste of the bacon, I take the onion next.
The onions are stewed until they are mushy, I stab them with my fork and eat them.
While it was soft, there is also the crispy texture of the onion. Then the onion that was soaked in soup releases its sweetness.
HmmăŒ, the bacon that was strongly seasoned does a good job in mixing with the other ingredients.
Thanks to this bacon, there is no problem even if there are no such things as consomme to go with the meal since soup turns out to be richly flavored. As long as we have this, we donât need to add too many spices. It also has the natural sweetness of the vegetables.
ăThis is deliciousăŒ. Especially this large bacon is overwhelmingăŒă
ăYouâre right. That Bartolo, he does a good jobă
ăYeah, and thanks to the bacon, the taste becomes thicker overallă
ăThe vegetables are really deliciousă
Everyone gave high praises to the bacon, guess they also noticed the baconâs greatness.
That Bartolo, he can still play an active role even though heâs not here with us, amazing.
ăNext is pasta! But, they have been boiled before, so will they become soggier than the usual pasta?ă
ăThe soggy noodles will taste a little less appetizing than usual but weâre on a trip right now so there is nothing we can do about thată
Itâs fine. They are specially stored using Space magic this time, so they are still fresh and hot.
But, Iâm the only one who knows about it.
If they still say something like ăAs expected, the taste is worse than usuală, then I can only laugh if they gave it such reactions.
It feels like Iâm trying to find out others' preferences right now.
I watch over Eleonora-neesan and Elna-kaasan as they carried the pasta into their mouth while feeling excited inside.
ăThey only become slightly soggy, arenât theyă
ăâŠâŠI wonder? It does not seem that different from what I always ate, though?ă
Elna-kaasan gave her keen impression about it, but it was completely denied by Eleonora-neesan.
It will just make me smile when you said such a mistaken line with a mysterious expression on your face. If I tell them something like 'This is high-class food', then itâs going to be easier to make them happy later. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
ăHey Al. Why are you smiling?ă
ăâŠâŠitâs nothingă
Oops, it looks like my smile escaped me.
Since she glared at me, I changes my expression into a neutral one to deceive her.
I coil around the pasta into my fork and put it into my mouth while Eleonora-neesan is looking at me with eyes full of suspicion.
Un, the soup soaked in the pasta itâs tasty. I think itâs thanks to the Space magic that the pasta hardly becomes soggy.
I continue moving my fork while feeling satisfied with the pastaâs texture and taste.
And then, I feel a tough texture in my mouth.
Unintentionally looking at the tip of my fork, I saw an irregularly shaped carrot being that was only stabbed shallowly there. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
ăâŠâŠthe carrot is hardă
When I muttered like that, the gaze that feels like they are piercing me vanished. TL Note :
ă”ăă”ă, uh-huh, hmm.Chopstick I assumeăă€ăă€, *blubblub*, *bubbling*