Published: December 22nd 2024, 6:15:47 am
Meal Improvement
Gulp, gulp, gulp. "Phew—"
I drained the iced tea in one go, resting one hand on my hip.
Ah, my throat hurts. Giving lectures is exhausting.
It’s been a while since I scolded someone older than me. "In my day" this, "in my day" that—how antiquated! How proud can they be of their era?
"Jo, have you calmed down?"
Brother Noel approached, patting my head.
"You were so cool, Jo. Just like when Mother gets angry.”
Brother Gene chimed in.
"Really? Did I seem like her?"
"Did you imitate Madam?"
Nathan joined in.
"Yup! Ehehehe.”
"Not just Madam—she even reminded me of my own mother.”
Added Zack.
"Oh, and I tried mimicking Nancy earlier too. But if I really wanted to channel her, I’d need not just words but physical strength as well, wouldn’t I?"
Though honestly, I also incorporated experiences from my previous life.
"No, Jo. You don’t need to be like Nancy. Just stay as the adorable Joan you are.”
Brother Noel pleaded.
Sorry, Brother Noel. A girl who’s only "cute" is useless. I need to hone my mind, my words, and my strength.
I’ll learn from Nancy, Mother, and anyone else who can teach me. And Brother Noel, if you keep saying things like that, you’ll end up falling for a foolish woman. Don’t worry—I’ll weed them out.
"J-Joan... earlier, I’m sorry. The three of us talked it over, and we’ve decided to have Abe provide some cooking lessons.”
Father said as he, Gray, and Al approached.
"Eh? 'Some time'?"
I repeated his words back.
"Y-Yeah, some time."
"And when exactly is 'some time'? Such vague promises are meaningless. Can you clarify, Father?"
"Uh, well, we need to confirm with Abe first, so for now, it’s only tentative—"
"Father, are you truly intent on improving things? You’ve neglected this issue until now, and now it’s 'some time'? Do you trust subordinates who promise, 'I’ll get to it eventually'?"
"Uh, ah, no. You’re right. Sorry."
"An apology alone doesn’t solve anything."
"””......””"
The three adults fell silent.
"”””......"”””
Watching nearby, Brother Noel and the others instinctively vowed never to anger me.
"Alright then, I’ll personally go to the private troop dormitory to teach them how to cook!"
"No, absolutely not! I can’t let my precious Joan go to a dorm full of men!"
"It’s fine. Your 'precious' is just a father’s bias talking."
Who would lust after a five-year-old? The youngest soldier is eleven, so they’d only see me as a little sister at best.
Sigh. Nathan and Zack shook their heads as they exhaled.
"Regardless, I’ll handle it!"
"Uh, pardon me, Young lady, but... can you even cook?"
Al asked hesitantly, never having tasted my food.
"I can. Just a moment... Here, this is a pound cake I made."
I pulled a rum-grape pound cake from storage and handed it to Al.
My brothers, who had never seen it before, exclaimed:
"”Jo, what’s that?”"
Ah, I made it while they were away at the academy.
"Here, brothers, have some too."
I gave slices to Brother Noel, Brother Gene, and Nathan. Zack got a fruit pound cake instead of the rum-grape one, as it felt more appropriate.
Al cautiously took a bite.
"It’s delicious."
"See? I can cook."
"Y-Yes, but still..."
Al glanced toward Father.
"How about this: for the first session, I’ll bring Nancy along.”
I suggested.
"Eek!?"
Al flinched. What’s with that reaction?
As a former monster-slaying squad member, he should know Nancy, right?
"Well, if Nancy’s there, I suppose it’s fine.”
Father conceded.
"Nooo!! Lord Stanley, please! Have mercy—anything but that!"
"Al, sorry, but give it up."
Father said, apologizing for some reason.
Later, I found out from Gray that Nancy had been Al’s mentor. During his rookie days, her intense training left him traumatized, and he’s still terrified of her.
"Oh, I know! How about we all have a barbecue tonight?"
"”””A barbecue!?”””"
"Yes! Everyone gathers around a fire to grill and eat meat and vegetables. It’d be a great way to strengthen the bond among our family, servants, and the private troops."
"And why do we need to bond?"
Brother Gene asked.
"Because we’re all part of the Lampail family, aren’t we?"
"””””!!!!””””"
"Joan, what a wonderful child you are. Yes, you’re right—we’re all family. Alright, let’s have this barbecue you speak of.”
Father declared.
Barbecue preparations were set to begin at 18:00.
Time to get everything ready!
----------
Sauce Complete
After lunch.
Bang!
“Whoa!!!”
“Ah… ehehe.”
“Hey, Young lady! Don’t ‘ehehe’ me! Open the door quietly!”
Mr. Abe scolded me.
“Sorry.”
“Haah… So, what’s up?”
“Oh, tonight, we’re having a barbecue with everyone!”
“””Barbecue?”””
“Oh, you’ve never heard of it? Umm, it’s where you grill and eat meat and vegetables outdoors. Tonight, we’ll have a Lampail family gathering—my family, the servants, and the private soldiers all eating together.”
“Eh? All of us? Including the master?”
“Yep, everyone! Because everyone’s part of the Lampail family. It’ll taste even better when we eat together, don’t you think?”
“”“...…”””
Huh? Did I say something weird?
“Young lady, got it. Give me instructions.”
Saying that, Mr. Abe ruffled my hair, a bit roughly.
“Alright then, let’s get started on preparing for the barbecue!
For the vegetables, slice the Tamaons (onions) about 1 cm thick, halve the Peepars (bell peppers), divide the Cornmoro (corn) into thirds, and cut the Nassu (eggplant) in half with shallow knife cuts.”
“Young lady~ What’s a shallow knife cut?”
Annie, who was on veggie duty, asked.
“Hmm, it’s like this—making crosshatch cuts on the skin. That way, the juices or sauce can seep in, and the Nassu becomes tastier.”
“Wow~ I never liked Nassu because it didn’t absorb flavor well. Do you think it’ll taste good this way?”
“Yep, it’ll be delicious. Give it a try tonight!”
“Alright, I’m looking forward to it!”
Aww, Annie is so cute.
“For the meat, cut the beef and pork into 5 cm pieces, and the chicken into bite-sized pieces. Oh, put the chicken bones into this pot.”
“In the pot? Isn’t that trash?”
“It’s not trash! It makes good stock.”
“Well… okay then.”
“Make diagonal knife cuts on the sausages too. Slice the bacon thick.”
““Got it.””
Mr. Abe and Ben were in charge of the meat.
“Then I’ll work on the sauces!”
Since there’s no soy sauce here, it’s going to be a salt-based sauce.
Hmm, maybe a green onion salt sauce or a lemon salt sauce. Actually, let’s combine them into a green onion lemon salt sauce!
“Salt~ sesame oil~ finely chopped Negi (green onion)~ and finally~ lemon juice~ mix, mix~! Let’s make it tasty~ mix, mix~”
Even though I was just making barbecue sauce, I started humming. Since I had my back turned, I didn’t notice I was being watched.
“She’s even humming. Looks like she’s having fun.”
“She’s just mixing, though.”
“As long as the young lady is happy, that’s all that matters.”
Oh! Let’s make a garlic salt sauce too! The guys will probably like it.
“Gar, gar, gar, gar, garnikku~! Chop, chop, chop! Add salt, sesame oil, pepper, and mix, mix, mix!”
“”””Bwahahaha!!!””””
Oh no…
I was so focused I forgot people were around!
When I turned around slowly, Mr. Abe, Ben, Brother Noel, and Brother Gene were all clutching their stomachs, laughing. Sara hand Annie were shaking their shoulders, trying to hold back laughter.
“W-Why are you here, brothers?!”
“Haha… You went to the kitchen and didn’t come back… so we… hahahaha!”
Brother Noel, stop talking while laughing!
“Ahahaha… Jo… What… haha… are you making… ahahaha!”
Brother Gene wasn’t even coherent anymore.
“Ugh… Fine! You don’t get to taste it then! Hmph, and I worked so hard to make it delicious…”
“”!!!””
“W-Wait, sorry! Really, I’m sorry, Jo!”
“Jo, please don’t sulk! Show us that usual cute smile of yours!”
They’re desperate.
“Just don’t laugh anymore, okay?”
“”Of course! Thank you.””
Wow, they switch gears fast.
“Alright then, let’s all taste it~”
(Ohh!!!)
I grilled the sliced pork.
“This sauce is the Negi Lemon Salt Sauce, and this one is the Garnikku Salt Sauce.”
““Delicious~~~!!!””
“”So tasty~!!””
“Young lady, this is amazing! The garnikku flavor really packs a punch. It’s addictive.”
“The Negi Lemon Salt Sauce is light and refreshing. As expected, Jo’s cooking is always great.”
The taste test was a big hit.
“With these sauces, we can make the meat and veggies taste even better, right? I think they’d even go well on salads. What do you think?”
“Young lady, if it’s this easy to make and tastes this good, there’s nothing to complain about.”
“If we bring these sauces on expeditions, I think it’ll improve the meals a lot.”
“Why expeditions?”
I explained the private soldiers’ meal situation that I heard about in the morning to Mr. Abe, Ben, and Annie.
“So that’s how bad it was, huh?”
“Yeah, that’s why I thought I’d go teach them how to cook—”
“”No way!!””
Sarah and Annie objected simultaneously.
“Young lady, the private soldiers are all men!”
Ah, they sound just like Father.
“Don’t worry. I won’t go alone the first time.”
“Young lady, am I your bodyguard then?”
“Oh, it’s not you, Mr. Abe. It’s someone I admire—someone with beautiful combat skills, strong, and super cool!”
“Eh? Is that… me?”
“It’s not you, Ben. Young lady, who is it?”
“Nancy!”
“Oh, then I can’t compete.”
“… (Poor Al.)”
----------
BBQ (1)
---At the Training Grounds.
The preparations were helped along by the private army.
Kira, with her Earth attribute, and the young Ellie [♂] built the stoves, while Martin, the blacksmith’s second son, brought back iron plates and grids made at his family’s forge.
Of course, being outdoors, there were no tables or chairs. Instead, we placed a few logs that hadn’t yet been chopped for firewood.
We began grilling the ingredients with everyone from the kitchen and served drinks as well. Tonight’s beverages included ale, cocktails like Gimlet and Salty Dog, and non-alcoholic options such as Cinderella and Milange Iced Tea, which we had made before.
“Thank you, as always, for your dedication to our household. Tonight, eat and drink to your heart's content. Now then, to the prosperity of the Lampail territory and everyone’s health… Cheers!”
[Cheers!!]
“Yum~~~!!”
“I’ve never eaten anything this tasty!!”
“This garlic sauce is amazing!”
“Who knew grilling tamaon would make it this sweet?”
“Even the nassu is so flavorful—who would have thought it could be this delicious?”
The barbecue was a big hit with the private army.
It seemed they really liked the sauces too.
“Mm~ this cocktail is delicious~”
“Lamb brapes and cream cheese pair so well together~”
“The leek salt lemon sauce makes the meat so light and easy to eat~”
“The garnikku salt sauce is great on the meat too. It pairs perfectly with ale!!”
“Hey, pass me some of those canapés, will you?”
“Don’t be so noisy! You guys just stick to eating your vegetables over there!”
“Corn tastes better grilled than boiled, doesn’t it?”
“Yeah, but it’s kind of salty for some reason.”
The servants seemed to be enjoying themselves too.
The canapés were mainly popular among the maids.
Come on now, everyone, eat peacefully~
“Father, Mother, how are you liking the barbecue?”
“Oh~ my sweet Joan. This garnikku-salt sauce is incredible. I might end up eating more than usual.”
That prefix doesn’t sound quite right, though.
“Father, ale goes wonderfully with the garnikku-salt sauce.”
Saying that, I pulled out some ice-cold ale from my storage and handed it over.
“Ahhh, this is just perfect!”
“Joan, it’s not fair that only Stan gets one~”
Mother, don’t sulk.
“Mother, here’s something for you.”
I took out a Beer Spritzer from storage and handed it to her.
“Mmm, this is tasty. A new cocktail, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it’s called a Beer Spritzer. It’s made with equal parts ale and white wine.”
“”Gulp.””
I heard the sound of someone swallowing their saliva... Ah, it was Mr. Gray and Nancy.
Turning to face them, I asked:
“Which would you prefer?”
“U-um, ale for me…”
“I’ll have the cocktail, please.”
I handed ale to Mr. Gray and the Beer Spritzer to Nancy.
“Mmm!!”
Both of them seemed pleased, which was a relief.
“Father, doesn’t food taste better when you’re eating with family?”
Father looked around and replied:
“Ah, you’re right. I haven’t spent this much time with the private army or the servants before.”
“Indeed. Everyone seems so happy. It brings back memories. Thank you, Joan.”
Mother seemed to be enjoying herself too.
“Mother, what do you mean by ‘brings back memories’?”
“Oh? Have I not mentioned it before? Back when I was with the Mage Corps, we often had meals like this during expeditions.”
“That does bring back memories. The feasts after defeating monsters were just like this.”
Nancy chimed in.
“Although, we didn’t have food or drinks this delicious back then.”
Father was reminiscing too.
“Father, don’t you think this sauce would make meals during expeditions more enjoyable?”
“Expeditions? Why do you ask?”
I explained to Mother and Nancy, who hadn’t been there, about improving the private army’s meals and how I’d be going to teach them to cook. Father and Gray were sitting quietly, looking down.
Oh, I still needed to ask Nancy to accompany me as a chaperone.
“So, Nancy, could you come with me? Just for the first time.”
“Huh? Me?”
“Yes, because out of everyone I’ve seen so far, you’re the strongest and most reliable.”
“Hehe, that’s true.”
Mother agreed.
“So, Nancy, please. Just two hours tomorrow.”
I bowed my head to Nancy.
“If I’m good enough for the task, I’d be delighted to act as your bodyguard.”
“Thank you.”
With that, the cooking lessons were set.
Now, should I go check in with everyone else?
I want to hear their thoughts on the sauces and whether they’d be suitable for expeditions.
Also, since Father has given permission for others to switch from calling me “Young lady” to using my name, I’ll have to let everyone know~