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"Oh, is that so? Then I must hurry with preparations."
That evening, when I told Grandpa about leaving the Royal Capital, he seemed absolutely eager to come along and immediately set about preparing. Not that it was much in the way of preparing—Grandpa had fairly large Magic Bags and Dimension Bags of his own, so he was basically cramming anything that looked useful into them as he went.
"Then we'll start getting ready too! Jeanne, let's go!"
Aura perked up immediately and dashed off to her room. She was probably happy to be away from Aina. I figured Jeanne would follow after Aura, but instead she came over to me...
"Tenma, do you really think Aina will just let us go without a fuss?"
It felt like a rather disrespectful way to put it when it came to Aina, but
prey
was probably the perfect way to describe it when Aina had something in her sights.
"Hmm... there's an eighty or ninety percent chance that won't happen. If Aina lets Aura come with me without saying anything, then I think she'd let Jeanne come along too."
"Yeah, right~"
Aina considered both Aura and Jeanne insufficiently skilled as maids, and had gone out of her way to make time to teach them personally—there was no way she'd let something like this interrupt that. At the very least, she'd keep Aura within arm's reach and drill the essentials of maid service into her. If that happened, Jeanne couldn't very well come along alone, and there was a high probability both of them would end up staying in the Royal Capital. Someone was needed to manage the estate, after all.
"So, Jeanne, you don't need to start preparing yet. When the time comes, I'll lend you a bag, and you can just stuff your things in there."
"Got it. I'll let Aura know too."
Jeanne hurried off as if to catch up with Aura, but I stopped her.
"No need to tell Aura just yet. It'll be more fun to tell her at the last minute."
My words earned me a look of exasperation from Jeanne, but she didn't object. Lately, I'd often seen Aina giving Aura a hard time, and it just felt like that was the right approach. I asked Jeanne if she felt the same way, and she said, "Slaves cannot defy their Master."
Jeanne kept a composed expression, but the corner of her mouth was trembling, so I figured she was thinking the same thing. It was a good sign that Jeanne was becoming less reserved around me lately. She was certainly much easier to get along with than when we first met.
"Jeanne! We need to get ready, quickly!"
"Fine, fine~"
Jeanne held back a laugh at Aura's clueless words and ran over to where the girl was beckoning her over with a wave of her hand.
"Lift them up and drop them — that's the basic move, huh..."
"What kind of basic is that?!"
Namitarou, who had somehow crept up on us, jabbed his prosthetic arm forward with a retort. As expected of the fake Kansai fish — his comebacks had real style. And he was positively brimming with energy.
"What's with you today, Tenma? You're bein' real cruel! Is this like that thing where you wanna be mean to the girl you liiike? ...Sorry about that, forgive me, I'm beggin' ya!"
When he started spouting nonsense, I stood up from my chair to shut him up, but for some reason Namitarou flipped onto his back and bared his belly like a dog, apologizing in archaic language. He didn't look remotely sorry.
"Well anyway, enough jokes — I heard from old man Merlin that you're leavin' the Royal Capital, and I was wonderin' what I oughta do about it. Seigen doesn't have any rivers in or near the town, right?"
Thinking back on the geography of the area, I told him there was something like a lake inside the dungeon, but nothing in or near the town itself. Namitarou then said:
"Well then, I'm gonna go travelin' for a bit. I haven't seen Hii-chan and the others in forever."
I had no idea who that was, so I asked, but all he told me was "a friend." Chii-chan had been a small bird, so maybe these were friends from that circle. Or maybe some creature that would blow my mind...
I had a bad feeling about it, but he didn't seem like he'd tell me any more, so I decided not to push.
"Got it, stay safe out there. I'll make sure the Golems at the manor won't attack you, so feel free to use the place anytime."
"Much obliged, Tenma. Oh, and there's one more thing I gotta ask... Could you mass-produce those sweet potato yokan for me? I'll get the ingredients."
Namitarou must have really loved those sweet potato yokan, because he was humbler than I'd ever seen him when making the request.
I'd made sweet potato yokan once before, so mass-producing them would be easy enough with the ingredients on hand. The recipe wasn't particularly difficult either, and with the Magic Bag, I could take a few spare days to make a big batch without any trouble. When I agreed, Namitarou was overjoyed. "I'll pick up the stuff at tomorrow's morning market, so I'm gonna go sleep now!" With that, he headed off toward the pond outside.
Everyone began preparing in their own way. Since I basically had everything I needed in my Dimension Bag, I didn't have much in the way of travel preparations. So my tasks amounted to making Namitarou's sweet potato yokan, dealing with the royal family situation, and figuring out what to do with Juubei and the others. Come to think of it — speaking of Juubei, the White-furred wild ox still sitting in my bag hadn't been touched yet. Things had been so hectic that I'd completely forgotten about it. Maybe I'd offer one to the royal family, or give it to Tida — she'd seemed pretty excited about it.
After doing a quick sweep of the house to make sure I hadn't forgotten anything, I turned in early tonight. Someone from the royal palace — an envoy or a member of the royal family — would likely come barging in first thing tomorrow morning, so I wanted to be in top form. That family was exhausting to deal with, most of them...
As I lay in bed thinking about what lay ahead, a pleasant drowsiness washed over me, and I drifted off to sleep without any resistance.
"Tenma, are you ready?! We're heading out now!"
A loud voice echoed through our house first thing in the morning. Fortunately, everyone in the residence was already awake, so no one had to suffer through an unpleasant rude awakening, but I really wished they'd kept it down at least during breakfast.
As expected, the owner of the loud voice was Lyle, and behind him stood Chris and Aina as well.
"Maria was worried, you know. Handing off something this important right as you were leaving — she's been fretting over whether she might have offended you somehow."
"I assured her that Tenma would never do such a thing, but she's still anxious about it, so Tenma, could you please explain to Maria yourself? Also, Merlin, you'll need to come along too. And Aura and Jeanne as well — you're included."
The request directed at Grandpa and me was phrased politely enough, but the instruction to Jeanne and Aura was a flat-out order. And there was no way the two of them could refuse it.
"Understood. I'll get ready right away, so please wait for me."
"Alright!"
As I listened to Lyle's spirited response, I headed back to my room, grabbed the bag where I kept my clothes, and pulled out the outfit I needed.
It was a set of clothes Maria had bought for me some time ago. I'd rarely had occasion to wear it, and since I'd be meeting Maria at the royal castle anyway, it seemed like the perfect choice.
I dressed quickly and returned to Lyle just as everyone had gathered together.
"Right then, let's get moving!"
Lyle seemed somewhat agitated as he grabbed my hand and hurried me into the carriage. Aina took the driver's seat, and beside her sat Aura with a displeased look on her face. Inside the carriage were Lyle, Grandpa, Jeanne, and me. Chris would be riding on horseback, and once the carriage set off, the knights standing by surged ahead as heralds. The heralds' role was to announce that Lyle's carriage was approaching, and anyone who deliberately ignored a herald and blocked the road would face a rather severe punishment. The only exceptions were carriages carrying doctors or transporting the critically ill. It was reminiscent of a feudal lord's procession from my previous life.
Thanks to the heralds, we arrived at the royal castle faster than usual. Kurif was waiting at the castle entrance, and the moment I stepped down from the carriage, I was escorted directly to the room where the King and the others awaited. Jeanne and Aura, however, were taken aside by Aina along the way and separated from the group.
"Oh, my apologies for summoning you like this, Tenma. Tida mentioned you'd be leaving the capital within a few days, and it caught me off guard."
As soon as I was led into the same room I'd been brought to on the first day, the King spoke up before I'd even fully entered.
The room was filled with every member of the royal family, all of them settled into sofas. There were two empty spots — presumably for Grandpa and me. Upon spotting them, Grandpa sat down on a sofa without bothering to ask anyone's permission and demanded tea from the King. And the King, without missing a beat, rose naturally from his seat, walked over to a cart bearing a teapot, and began preparing tea.
"My apologies... So, what exactly is this about — this summoning today?"
Grandpa accepted his tea and waited for the King to return to his seat before pressing him for the reason behind today's call. His expression carried an intensity as though he were staring down an enemy.
"I'll field that question, if I may."
As the King flinched under Grandpa's gaze, Maria — seated beside him — stepped in to answer in his place.
"Yesterday, Tida was in a panic after seeing Tenma off, so when I asked what was wrong, she said Tenma was leaving the Royal Capital. It was so sudden, and I was worried that we might have said or done something that bothered Tenma. We should have come to ask about it ourselves, but we couldn't exactly barge in all together, so we had him called in to talk... but it seems it was all for nothing."
Maria said this with conviction. The King looked at her in surprise, but in truth, I hadn't said I was leaving because I'd grown to dislike everyone — so I was actually more surprised by the King's reaction. I later learned the reason behind his behavior: it was because I'd suddenly announced I was leaving, and when Grandpa walked in with that stern look on his face, the King assumed we'd done something terrible behind his back without knowing. As it turned out, Grandpa had been pulling that face purely to mess with the King, and upon seeing the King deflate, he burst out laughing. The reason Maria had immediately figured it was a misunderstanding, I'm told, was the clothes I was wearing. She apparently figured I wasn't the kind of person who'd wear a gift from the royal family while simultaneously declaring a rift with them... I was a little hurt at being told outright that I have a bad personality, but there were so many things that hit close to home that I decided not to press the matter and risk opening a can of worms.
After that, we explained the Golem and transferred ownership, confirmed it started up without issues, and moved on to the banquet. The two incorrigible ones tried to decline the invitation, but a single glare from Maria brought them into line. The fact that even the King quieted down was simply a matter of the power dynamic between the two — nothing to be done about it.
The banquet menu consisted entirely of dishes made with White-furred wild ox. Thinly sliced meat blanched and rolled around vegetables, tartare steak and roast beef made from lean cuts, hamburger steak and regular steak — it was quite the spread. The tartare steak, roast beef, and hamburger steak were all recipes I had taught them. I'd only conveyed them verbally when handing over the meat, but as expected of chefs serving the royal family, the quality was remarkably high.
However, since everything on the table was so substantial, I thought it would be tough for the women at least, but surprisingly that wasn't the case. Maria in particular showed quite the hearty appetite. It might be because she has a lot of pent-up stress, though...
"This White-furred wild ox really is delicious... Tenma, I feel like it tastes better than what we had before. Did you do something to it?"
The King asked this while eating his steak. Maria and Caesar-sama nodded in agreement. However, Lyle, Tida, and Luna didn't seem to notice any difference in taste and were tilting their heads in puzzlement.
"If it does taste better, that would be thanks to aging. It was my first time trying it, so I'm glad it turned out well."
"Aging, as in letting sake and the like mature... is there some connection?"
Hearing the King's words, I realized that aging meat was either nonexistent or extremely rare in this world.
"Yes, it's more or less the same concept. By keeping the meat from freezing and storing it in a cold, dark place, the flavors of the meat become more concentrated."
I had tried the aging method I vaguely remembered from long ago, and I'd been worried since my memory of it was hazy, but it seemed to have worked out, so I was relieved.
The place I used for aging this time was a Dimension Bag. I pre-cooled the interior with ice-type magic, set up shelves, and placed the meat — wrapped in clean cloth — inside to age. I stored it for roughly ten days, placing ice in the corners to keep the temperature stable the whole time, and it didn't seem to cause any problems. ...Periodically,
disinfection
magic could have helped with sterilization, so that may have played a part.
Even so, the fact that the King and the others said nothing about this meat having undergone experimental treatment — was that a sign of how much they trusted me?
Well, I had judged it safe after testing it on myself and Grandpa first, and I had gotten permission from Kurif and Aina as well. By now, Kurif and the others should be eating the same thing in a separate room together with Jeanne and her group.
Though come to think of it, the people of this world might have sturdier digestive systems than people from my previous life, so they might have figured that even if the meat was slightly off, it would be fine. And if the worst happened, magic healing was available, so it would probably be okay.
"Just aging it makes the meat taste that much better... I should give it a try right away."
When the King said this, Maria, and even Lyle and Luna — who hadn't noticed any difference in taste — nodded in agreement.
"Oh, but with aged meat, I think it's best to cut away the parts that were exposed to air before cooking. Since this was my first time aging meat, I was extra careful and cut more than usual. Factoring in the moisture loss too, it ended up being more than forty percent of the total weight reduced."
I said I was being extra careful, but the meat had been sterilized with magic before cooking, so it shouldn't have been inedible. Besides, our kids had cheerfully taken responsibility for eating the trimmed-off portions.
"If it's going to reduce by forty percent, then I'm against it. Even if the taste drops a little, I'd rather eat that much more."
"We can't waste it, so no way!"
The very first to object after hearing my caution were Lyle and Luna. For the two of them, who would always choose quantity over quality when the difference was slight, losing forty percent of the meat was apparently unforgivable.
"True. Speaking as someone who covers much of that with taxes from the citizens, it isn't good to throw away food that could still be eaten."
Maria seemed to be on the opposed side as well, presenting her reasoning with a slightly disappointed look.
"But I think there's still room for research. For instance, if we served it when hosting guests from other countries, it would have a certain effect."
"Indeed. If we could find a way to make effective use of the trimmed portions, or eliminate the waste entirely, then even if not every day, we could enjoy delicious meat at a reasonable frequency, and it would also boost the chefs' motivation."
"Furthermore, when entertaining guests who can't eat large quantities, this meat would be especially well-received."
The King, Caesar, and Zain were in favor, each listing their own merits. Though the word "guest" that came up in Zain's remarks apparently needed to be mentally replaced with "Mizaria." Mizaria apparently hadn't fully recovered yet and was convalescing at home this time.
After that, an incident occurred where the King and Caesar and the others started holding a discussion right in the middle of the meal, and before anyone realized it, all the food on the table had vanished, leaving everyone dejected (the culprits were Maria and Luna). As for the aging, though, they decided to conduct experiments little by little.
"So, when is Tenma departing? If it hasn't been decided yet, be sure to let us know before you leave. I mean it!"
I nodded as Maria pressed the point firmly. If I were to forget, something truly terrifying would probably happen, so I carefully added it to my mental notebook and drew multiple bold red lines over it for emphasis. Right alongside the words: "Don't forget unless you want to end up like the King!"
Incidentally, Grandpa had once again barely managed to win the fierce battle over prey with Ernest, who had sat beside him, and was rubbing his belly with a satisfied look despite his exhausted expression.
Regarding the aging of meat, the author only has knowledge from TV and the internet. So I'll apologize in advance assuming there may be errors. I'm very sorry!
And regarding future updates, with the end of the year approaching, plus cleaning up after a relative's funeral and preparations for moving (scheduled for March or April next year), things are likely to be unstable. Please understand.