About a month had passed since I started serving under Belze.
Every day, I accompanied her on her journeys and spent my time simply cooking for her.
I never got tired of it. It was actually fun.
Right now, I had come to a port town along the coast, far away from our original base.
“I have a promise to keep with a friend soon.”
Regarding this expedition, Belze had said that.
“A friend?”
“Yeah. I only have a handful of people I can call friends, but she is the one I have known the longest. That day will call for a dinner, so I leave the cooking to you.”
“Understood.”
If she was a friend of Her Royal Highness the Princess, she was likely a person of appropriately noble standing.
Anyway, in order to meet this friend, Belze had brought me along and headed out to a seaside town.
…This would be the first time I served proper food to someone other than Belze.
Thinking it would be best to have an assistant for a case like this, I had brought along a single cook from my original base for the expedition.
It was Munier.
“Switching carriages over and over again… what an insanely tough journey it was!”
Unlike me, who got to ride along on Belze’s flight through the sky, moving even a single town normally is a huge struggle.
“Sorry about that. Thank you for coming all this way.”
“No, no, ‘thank you’ is my line! Ever since we reserve cooks completely lost to you, we’ve had to relearn everything from scratch. Having the chance to learn nearby is precious.”
And besides, I love fish dishes! he said with a puffed-out chest, looking elated.
Cooking is a task with an overwhelming number of steps. Even more so for a dinner with many courses.
An assistant was an absolute necessity, and on top of that, it demanded not just cooking skills, but trust and teamwork. He was a good-natured cook who met all the conditions.
“Well then, I am going to look around the market with Belze today.”
“Have a safe trip!”
Seen off by Munier and several other staff members, I went out with Belze starting in the morning.
Recently, Belze had taken a liking to gazing at the fish market.
She always frowned at the fishy smell of the market, but separate from that, she seemed to find it endlessly fascinating that fish, which she ought to hate, transformed into delicious meals.
“Your cooking is like magic. I do not get it.”
Those were Belze’s very first words when I served her fish for the first time.
By the way, the menu back then was “Oyster Cheese Mousse”──
A dish made by steaming oysters with white butter and wine, salted small fish, sautéed aromatic vegetables, herbs, fresh cheese, and heavy cream, blending them all together into a smooth mousse.
Much like the white liver pate I made some time ago, it eliminated the fishy smell and extracted only the umami, making it a supreme accompaniment if enjoyed with bread or white wine, but…
“……If we are serving it to guests, we have to think about the presentation of the dish, don’t we?”
“Why?”
“Because in the court culinary culture of this country, dishes where ingredients are mashed together indiscriminately seem to feel vulgar to some people.”
“I like it, though.”
Well, that may be so, but…
Methods like pate or mousse, where “blending creates a complex aroma so intricate that the ingredients cannot be guessed,” are ultimately tactics specialized specifically for Belze.
“Well, we just have to try various things.”
“There is still time. Shall we go look for an unfamiliar fish today as well?”
Yeah. Somehow, Princess Belze had changed in a good way.
Seeing the young lady charging eagerly toward the fish market while holding her nose and mouth with the palm of her hand, I almost wanted to cry inwardly.
I thought as I looked around.
What Belze struggles with above all else is aroma and texture.
It was an endless battle against the unavoidable fishy smell of seafood and the dry, crumbly texture of cooked fish.
As I walked, checking out the fish lined up in the market, Belze let out a surprised voice.
“What is the matter?”
“Look at this, Pino. It is wiggling. Is that edible?”
That fish was indeed wiggling.
It was writhing, slimy, and slender. It was still alive, flapping about in the shallow water.
Unlike Belze, who narrowed her eyes thinking, it looks like a snake, is it really a fish? I felt like applauding and saying, That’s the one!
“An eel, no, since it lacks scales, it is probably a conger eel. I think it will suit your palate.”
“R-Really?”
Belze remained half-doubting.
It was an unfamiliar species, but looking at its characteristics, I thought it would go well with Belze.
When steamed, this kind of fish becomes fluffy and tender in texture, lacking the dry texture characteristic of fish that Belze dislikes.
“Shall we make a dish with it right away?”
“Yeah, I am counting on you.”
We bought it right away and headed back to the mansion.
◆
By the way, there was another change for me.
“Oh, Pino-kun! Welcome back, another package arrived.”
“Thank you, Munier. The sender is the gnomes?”
“Seems so. Seriously, you managed to get liked by some incredible guys.”
The packages that arrived regularly were round vegetables and cheese sent by the gnomes from their farm.
No matter where we were, even at our travel destinations, they kept sending ingredients to me.
According to Belze, the earth spirit gnomes are a collective without individual boundaries, capable of being omnipresent anywhere as long as the earth exists.
“Being taken a liking to by a single gnome means every single gnome on this continent has taken a liking to you.”
“T-The continent, you say?”
“Ah. That is how spirits are. The reason many adventurers avoid getting involved with gnomes is because if you ever lose their favor, the entire earth of this world becomes your enemy.”
That was our conversation when the first package arrived. I remember it vividly.
That is why no one takes the request, Belze had continued.
“Have you finally realized how powerful an existence has grown fond of you, Pino?”
“Well, I suppose.”
It was a terrifying thought, but on the other hand, being sent fresh vegetables like this was deeply appreciated.
Let’s eat them every day, I said, and Belze made a bitter expression, saying, “I suppose we cannot just leave them poorly and risk angering the spirits.”
Well anyway, organizing the received packages, I locked myself in the kitchen with my assistant cooks.
“By the way, Pino-kun, what did you buy today?”
“Conger eel.”
“C-Conger eel? What is a conger eel?”
“You don’t know? The way to fillet it is a bit unique, so I will teach you.”
Now then, let’s cook today as well.