Gumihou: Put in some extra details about what could really happen inside a professional kitchen. Deleted very repetitive ‘delish, delish’ and ‘xx sauce, yy sauce’ details
Sizzle—-
The indescribable smell of sizzling meat permeated within the luxurious kitchen.
Right now I’m in the middle of grilling some Red Dragon meat in my favourite frying pans. Since Fer and Grandpa Gon had loudly and openly shouted to the world about Dragon Steaks, I had no choice but to invite the Count’s family as well as Willem-san to the dinner.
There was no way I was going to just say ‘Bye, we’re going away to enjoy Dragon Steaks alone~~’ just like that. I’m Japanese you know?
Naturally, Fer and Grandpa Gon protested, saying things like ‘Why did you invite them?’ and ‘Our Dragon meat is limited!’
“”Who do you think is at fault here, huh?! Why do you think I have to invite them, huh?!””
From the outside, it must look like I was glaring my two familiars down, but in fact, we were arguing whose fault it was that our Dragon meat is now being further diminished by someone’s carelessness!!
This brings me to why I am now borrowing the Count’s kitchen to grill Dragon Steaks.
Gulp–
And suffering the stares of the kitchen staff. I’m sorry, I can’t allow you to eat the steaks, but if you volunteer to clean up afterwards, you can lick the pan as you like, or, I don’t know, wipe the meat juice with bread and eat that instead.
Even so, the staff were pretty professional, none of them asked to eat anything. They just… stared as I worked. However, thanks to Feodora-san and my familiars, I am already used to cooking under the scrutiny of others. As one cook to another, I’m sorry for barging in here and making use of your professional space, but I really had no choice.
As for why I use Red Dragon meat, well, while I do still have some Earth Dragon meat, I have a little more Red Dragon meat in stock. That said, since we don’t come across many Dragons, any amount of Dragon meat is precious.
To preserve the taste of the steaks, they all went into my [Item Box] the moment they were done grilling.
Let’s make a lot.
If, by some miracle, we cannot finish eating the steaks, we can still eat them some other time.
“Rather than too much, I wonder if this is enough,” I muttered to myself as I was grilling the nth batch of steaks.
Right now, I’m grilling the Count’s portion. Since it was their first time trying Dragon meat, I only used salt and pepper so that they could fully enjoy the flavours. As for the plating, I handed that job over to the head chef.
“Please plate these,” I said before going back and cooking one final batch of Dragon steaks. Eh, can’t have too much, right?
I’ll also pretend not to see the chef cutting off a thin slice of meat and throwing it into his mouth. Your melting expression betrayed you, sir.
The maid that set out the tableware and cutleries was much more professional. I salute you, miss.
Finally, the plating was done and it was time to serve the Count’s family and Willem-san.
I had already sliced and arranged the steaks for Fer, Sui, Dora-chan and Grandpa Gon on large bowls of rice. I can’t afford to feed them pure Dragon meat, so I’m glad to have introduced the concept of ‘don’ so early into our relationship. That way, I can pad their stomachs with rice and convince them that this is the best way to eat grilled meats.
Speaking of which, I have also prepared various sauces to go on top of the Steak Rice Bowl. Finally, I get to use the sauce pots that I have bought… somewhere. I can’t even remember now. After all, I can’t just whip out plastic squeezy bottles of sauce out of the blue in front of the locals, right?
“Right,” I said to the maid with the trolley of nicely arranged food. “Shall we go?”
The dining room was very spacious and resplendent with chandeliers. It looked like the dining hall of a luxury hotel, but just a touch cosier.
In front of everyone at the table was a plate of thick steak.
“So, this is Dragon meat…” Count-sama’s voice seemed to echo within the dining hall.
My service industry instincts kicked in and I said, “Yes, we’re having Red Dragon meat this time, grilled to perfection with only salt and pepper for maximum enjoyment. If you wish to, you may add a little sauce…”
I stopped speaking.
What’s with this heavy silence?
“…Mukouda, you said ‘this time’. Should I interpret this as you having other Dragon meat in your possession?”
“Ah, um, I, er, I believe that news of us having captured an Earth Dragon and Red Dragon is something that the Guild knows…?”
Guild Master Willem-san, why are you slapping your forehead like that?
Also, why are you looking at me like that Count-sama?
“Dear, isn’t this perfectly normal? After all, Mukouda’s has Fenrir-sama and Ancient Dragon-sama in his party, yes?”
Oh, I’m starting to believe that the wives in this world have much stronger mental fortitude. The Queen was the same, come to think of it, Marie-san too. Wait, is that why Rubanov fell into ruin? Because the priests were running the place without women to keep them in check? Wait, do those tacky nouveau riche people even practice celibacy? Do they even have nuns serving their religion?
While I was busy falling into this rabbit hole of thoughts, Fer and Grandpa Gon were already bragging from the side.
“Humph, I supposed you really don’t understand our strength, hmm? Hunting Dragons is nothing.”
“Umu, we will always hunt them whenever we can.”
“I-is that so?”
“Ahem, please eat before the steaks cool down,” I suggested before the talk could degenerate further. Also, poor Little Bastion is drooling onto his plate.
“U-umu, let us eat.”
The Count picked up his knife and fork and cut into the steak with a tense look on his face. Then, he elegantly transferred a piece of meat to his mouth, closed his eyes and chewed carefully. “So, this is Dragon meat? It is even more delicious than I had imagined…”
At this, the Countess, Young Lady Celeste and Young Master Bastion also picked up their knife and fork.
“Oh my, this is…”
“It’s so delicious! I never had such delicious meat in my life!”
“Dragon meat is really delicious!!”
Indeed, indeed, it’s really delicious, right?
“Well, I never thought I’d ever have the opportunity, but I’ll take it anyway. Thank you for the food,” said Willem-san as he started on his steak too.
While the people at the table kept eating and exclaiming how delicious Dragon meat was, a sudden voice interrupted.
“Oi, what about us?!”
“Master, I am hungry…”
“”Yeah, yeah! Those steaks are supposed to be for us!!!””
“”Sui is hungry…””
“Oh, sorry, sorry,” I said as I quickly rushed to them. I quickly took out bowls of Dragon Steak Don and place them in front of Fer, Grandpa Gon, Dora-chan and Sui.
Soon, sounds of eating and ‘delicious~ delicious~’ filled the air. All too soon, it was punctuated by ‘Seconds!!’, but as a veteran, I had already prepared the piles of steak and pots of rice to refill my familiars’ bowls.
[1]
“Excuse me, Mukouda. What is that grain?”
“Hm?” I asked around a mouthful of rice and meat. I swallowed and said, “Oh, this? It’s rice, it’s ah… a type of grain from my hometown.”
“I see, is that a unique side dish? I recognise the bread and potatoes from our own chef, but I wonder, is it better to eat the Dragon steak with ‘rice’.”
That’s a super broad hint if I ever see one.
“Would your family like to try it?”
“Oh, if you would be so kind.”
Well, if they want rice, I can give them one claypot of piping hot, freshly cooked rice that had been suspended in time at its peak from my time stop [Item Box].
“The best way to eat it is this way,” I said as I ladle out some rice on a spare plate a sharp-minded maid had handed to me, before placing some Dragon Steak slices on top and tipping some Garlic-Soy Steak Sauce over it.
Is it still a ‘don’ when not served in a bowl?
The maid took over making these mini plated dons (from an extra plate of sliced steaks, this Count-sama certainly knows how to maximise his advantage) while I personally served Count Langridge.
Soon, the room was filled with noises of ‘Goodness, this grain goes surprisingly well with the Dragon Steak’, ‘I like this sauce’ and more ‘delicious, delicious’ remarks.
Haha, I know it’s delicious.
You know it now too.
Apologies, I’m being called to replenish my familiar’s food.
After the Dragon Steak feast, we all wind down with some excellent wine from Count Langridge’s cellars.
“I do wonder, Mukouda, you feed Dragon Steaks to your baby Dragon and Slime?”
My familiars were still eating, although at a much slower pace now.
“Of course,” I said. “They are my familiars too. Also, Dora-chan is not a baby Dragon, he’s from a species called Pixie Dragon. That’s their adult size.”
“I-is that so,”
Looks like Dora-chan is doomed to be mistaken for a baby Dragon no matter where we go…
“Honourable Father, may I ask Mukouda-san a question?”
“Hmm, looks like our Bastion has a question. Is it alright, Mukouda?”
“Yes, of course.” What else was I supposed to say?
“Um,” Bastion looked at Grandpa Gon and Dora-chan for a moment before continuing. “Is it alright for the little Dragon and the Ancient Dragon to eat… Dragon meat?”
“Ahh, an excellent question indeed. In fact, I-”
“Master, if I may?”
“Uh, sure, go ahead, Grandpa Gon.” I was about to answer and show off my knowledge of Dragons, but I think it would be more exciting for Bastion if an Ancient Dragon answer his question.
“Umu, are you familiar with the term ‘Strong eats the weak’? It is true for many things, even humans practice this, although they only figuratively eat their opponents. For us powerful beings, it is more literal. As the apex hunter, we will hunt down even dragons if they are weaker than us.”
Dora-chan nodded proudly from the side.
“Ahem, it’s a little more complicated than that,” I said. “Even among Dragons, it’s not considered cannibalism unless they ate a dragon from the same species.” This was what Dora-chan had told me before.
“I see…”
Both the Count and the Young Master were listening intently.
The Young Master ate another piece of meat from his plate. Since he was a child, it took him longer to eat his single plate of steak. Meanwhile, the Count had already polished off his own portion of steak and most of the second plate of sliced steaks that I had taken out to make the plated ‘don’.
“I never thought that Dragon meat could be so delicious. What other delicious meat have you eaten?” asked Bastion.
“Hmm, Wyvern is pretty good…”
“We have recently gotten our hands on something as delicious as Dragon meat,”
“… …”
Fer, what are you trying to do?
“…well, that is, while hunting in the dungeons, we received a meat Dro-”
“We caught a Leviathan,”
This time, it was Grandpa Gon’s smug voice that interrupted me.
“… …”
“Pfftt–!! Cough!!”
The Count, who had been sipping elegantly at his wine spat out a whole mouthful. The only saving grace was that he had been sitting at the head of the table and therefore no one was directly splashed by the wine spray.
The ladies looked like they had whited out from shock, while Willem-san had his head in his hands.
Seriously, it’s really not my fault.
“Leviathan?! That’s incredible! I wonder what it tasted like…?”
This Bastion child, I wonder if he is somehow related to Feodora-san.
[Gumihou: Made Mukouda less neurotic]
[1] Instead of saying ‘why is it different’ just directly ask about the grain and talk about rice in general instead of explaining the structure of ‘don’. Also, talk about bread and potatoes vs rice instead of the tired old ‘it looks delish’ narrative
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