Kochugunshikan Boukensha ni Naru

After taking my usual morning bath and lounging around for a bit, I suddenly remembered Verse mentioning he wanted to talk about something last night.

I went down to the first floor and found Verse wiping the dining tables.

Morning, Verse. You mentioned you want to talk about something last night? What is it?

Ou! Well, take a seat first. I wanna talk to you about cooking. Alan said you were a decent cook yesterday, so I take it that youre a qualified chef right?

Well, no, not really. Im only cooking because its my hobby.

Even so, youve got some real skills. Its impressive for someone so young.

Its my sole hobby after all. Im always practicing.

Lets talk about cooking then. I was really surprised when I tasted your cooking yesterday, Alan. I couldnt believe there were such tasty ways to cook food.

Really? I think the dishes you cooked for us were also quite delicious though.

Nah, any chef from a high-class inn worth his or her salt can cook up something similar. Alans cooking was different though. Yours was truly delicious.

I think youre just feeling that mainly because you ate something new to your palate.

Oi, I still consider myself a full-fledged chef. Im quite confident in my palate, Ill have you know.

I see. Well, thats true huh. Sorry. That was rude of me.

Objectively speaking, between the dishes Verse served us before and my cooking yesterday, its true that mine had a bit of an edge.

Well, lets leave that aside for now. I want to make that sort of cooking my own. Please, do teach me your cooking skills.

But didnt you get to observe from close up yesterday?

Nah, I didnt manage to catch the finer details.

I can certainly whip up something similar now, but I still dont have enough of a grasp to make something truly tasty.

Alans also a cook so I think you get what Im saying. Oftentimes, its the little details done by a chef that makes all the difference in cooking tasty food.

I want to fully master the cooking techniques I witnessed yesterday.

I see. I do get what hes after. Judging from the way his kitchen space is arranged, Im sure Verse is the type of chef whos meticulous and aims for perfection.

Im not saying youre gonna have to teach me for free. Im gonna ask my wife to exempt you guys from paying the rental fee from now on. Im thinking of refunding the initial deposit as well. Please stay for one or even two months with us.

Hey, hey, isnt that kinda bad!? Wont your wife scold you for it?

If we stay for two months, the total rental fees would amount to 26,250 Guineas.

Cooking recipes are a chefs lifeline. Alans recipes are worth that much, I think.

Come to think of it, even Tarus-san paid five thousand Guineas just for the recipe for pudding.

And I also want to learn other recipes from you as well. You still have a lot, right?

Well, I do have theEarth Cuisine Compendiumplus other major recipes popular in the Empire in my database. Ive saved about more than ten thousand different recipes in Nanoms memory banks.

Yeah, I do. I certainly have a lot of recipes, but a number of seasonings and ingredients from my country arent available in this one. So what I can whip up is actually limited.

I see. Just like that Soy thing you showed me yesterday, right? But you can still make some, correct? Please teach me those then.

Would it be fine for me to accept this request? Our rental fees being waived is honestly a great deal.

Alright, I understand. I dont mind teaching you. But Ill only be teaching you when Im free. Itll end up mostly in the evening or at night, I think.

No problem. I couldnt ask for anything more.

And you dont have to return the deposit we paid in advance. Ive taken quite a liking to this inn. Ill feel bad if everything ended up being for free.

Okay. Im glad youve taken a liking to us. What do you guys do for a living any way?

Um, were adventurers.

Hou. And whats your rank?

Im C rank.

Ooh! Thats amazing. Youre already C rank at that young an age! I also did a bit of adventuring when I was younger, ysee. I saved up money from my adventurer work and opened up this inn.

Is that so? What rank were you back then?

I was A rank. Amazing, right? I was quite popular back in the day, yknow.

Amazing! Ive just become an adventurer so Im unfamiliar with a lot of things. Please give me some pointers sometime.

Sure. Just ask me anything. How long have you been an adventurer?

Uh, three days ago.

Three days ago!? Youre an honest-to-goodness rookie! Its my first time meeting someone who qualified for C rank right after the qualification exams. I take it youre quite skilled.

Well, I guess. Alright then. Lets begin the cooking lessons this evening. Ill write the ingredients and the knacks for each recipe on paper for you.

Ill feel bad if I dont at least put in that much effort.

Oh, really!? Im truly grateful for this. Ill be in your care. But were probably not going to find any Black Bird in the market for now.

Well, the Black Bird is quite rare after all. And its difficult to hunt as well. We can just use other types of meat as long as it resembles chicken meat, but are we gonna have karaage and fried food again tonight?

What time are you going to the market?

Two in the afternoon, I guess. Its not like Ill find fresh ingredients if I go any earlier.

A market huh. Im quite interested. Im used to the image of going to market early to procure fresh ingredients, but judging from the development of this planets logistics system, I guess theres no point in that yet huh.

I think I can make it if its two in the afternoon. I should be able to finish with my business at the Magic Guild in the morning.

Hey, can I tag along when you go to the market to buy supplies?

Yeah, thats fine. Oh yeah! You can decide tonights menu again, Alan. Youre still our only customers after all.

Well, itll depend on the ingredients we can get. Is the marketplace far from here?

No, its just a twenty-minute walk away.

Cleria and Elna came down from the second floor at this time.

Okay, Alan. See you at two in the afternoon.

Verse went toward the kitchen in order to prepare our breakfast.

What are you going to do at two in the afternoon, Alan?

I told Cleria and Elna about the things Verse and I talked about earlier.

Amazing! Ill get to taste Alans cooking every day again!

I dont think itll be every day actually. And Im not the one whos going to cook. Im just gonna teach Verse some cooking methods and recipes.

But it should be mostly the same as when Alan cooks the dishes, right?

Uh, well, Ill try my best so itll turn out that way, I guess.

After eating breakfast, we took a small breather and headed back to the Magic Guild afterward. We reached the Guild right before nine in the morning.

The only soul present inside the Guild building apart from us was the female receptionist we met yesterday.

We have been waiting for you all. Chief! The folks I told you about yesterday have arrived!

The female staff suddenly called out for the branch chief in a loud voice. I think the regular staff would normally get their superior personally though.

A door opened from within the building and a person who should be the branch chief went out. It seems she was just in the other room.

It was a beautiful woman who looked to be in the first half of her thirties. She was quite tall for a woman. She might be as tall as Elna. She had lustrous blonde hair.

Lily! You should get me personally at times like this! Honestly Ah, Im sorry about this. You are this times clients, correct? I have heard about your request details.

We havent decided if we want to go through with the request though.

Of course, I understand. My name is Cara, the person in charge of the Magic Guilds Gotania Sub-Branch.

Im Alan.

My name is Ria.

Please call me Elna.

And Im Lily!

Lily quipped excitedly from the reception desk.

It seems itll be quite a long talk, so please take a seat first.

We sat around the only table and chairs set available inside the Guild office. For some odd reason, Lily got up from the reception counter and sat with us.

To begin with, this is the estimated price for this times request. Please have a look.

Cara handed me a sheet of paper.

The magic spells I specified were listed out along with the corresponding prices for each of them. The cheapest was 500 Guineas and the most expensive was 2000 Guineas.

Its not something I wont be able to pay, but 2000 Guineas just for a live magic demonstration did seem a bit steep.