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The day of the housewarming party had arrived. Cain had thoroughly prepared for this moment. Garm had sent over thirty servants in total, ten chefs and twenty waiters. Since he knew the king would be in attendance, Garm didn’t dare hold back.
As the time of the party drew near, carriages carrying guests began to pass through the gate of Cain’s estate with increasing frequency.
Cain waited outside the door of the mansion and exchanged greetings with the arriving guests. He would have the servants show the guests the way to the grand hall. The first baron that arrived fell down in fright upon entering the mansion and seeing the taxidermy dragon, so Cain made sure to warn guests about it in advance before they entered. The king wasn’t supposed to arrive till later, so Cain was able to relax as he dealt with the other guests.
Not everyone Cain invited showed up. Those absent sent congratulatory gifts from their territories in lieu of their presence, or a representative that would attend in their place.
At first, the king had asserted he would be the first guest to arrive, but Prime Minister Magna talked him out of it. If a king was the first guest to show up at a party hosted by a baron, how would the other guests react? What might they assume? Although reluctant, the king relented in the end.
Prime Minister Magna told Cain later that if he hadn’t said anything, the king really would have shown up first. Cain was beyond relieved that Magna had interfered.
The servants guided the guests to the grand hall in order. After the barons and viscounts had mostly all arrived, a carriage with a familiar crest arrived and passed through the gate.
It was Duke Eric’s carriage. Duke Eric had arrived alongside his wife and Silk. As Eric was a duke, it was proper etiquette for Cain to personally escort him to the great hall. Although they were all warned in advance, the group still yelped in surprise at the ferocious taxidermy dragon in the entrance hall.
“I didn’t expect a surprise like that to be waiting for us right at the entrance!” the duke exclaimed, mere minutes after being told to expect such a surprise. “Also, has this place always looked this new? I could have sworn it was much more run down than this…” Eric wondered aloud. Cain averted his eyes.
“I’ll be living in this house in the future…” Silk murmured as she restlessly looked around the beautifully decorated hall. Her parents, overhearing her, smiled as they glanced over at Cain.
“It’s still too early, got it?”
Cain could only nod in response.
To be fair to the duke, all the other aristocrats shown inside were also overwhelmed by the presence of a red dragon in the entrance hall, taxidermied or not. The advanced warning seemed to make no difference. Hearing about it was one thing—actually seeing the SS-rank red dragon in person was another. To make matters worse, because the taxidermy was so pristine, it was almost indistinguishable from a living, breathing dragon. It made sense everyone was shocked.
The guests were in for another surprise once they entered the party hall: the glassware. The wine glasses laid out on the tables before them were a complete novelty. Everyone who saw the beautifully colored glass, adorned with stunning red and blue hues not elsewhere seen in this world, reacted with the same awe. Glinting in the light, the glasses had an almost ethereal glow. The Venetian glasses in particular dazzled the guests with their intricate designs.
The saucers holding the hors d’oeuvres were made of crystal glass so as not to detract from the color of the food. At first, Cain had considered preparing Japanese artisanal glassware in the style of Edo kiriko, but since this world more closely resembled medieval Europe, he decided to go with a Western style. He had made full use of World Dictionary as he created the utensils.
He had used so much mana while conjuring everything that he actually ran out of mana and passed out. He had a truly enormous mana capacity, but the amount consumed by Creative Make was not to be sneezed at.
It was almost time for the party to officially start. Enough of the guests were present, so Cain signaled to the staff to begin bringing out the hot, freshly made food.
The dishes were mostly recipes from Cain’s previous life. It was difficult to acquire ingredients of such a high quality that they’d impress high-ranking nobles—and really, all it took was enough money. Instead Cain chose to go with an entirely different approach and impress them with completely unfamiliar flavors. While roast beef, hamburgers, French fries, and karaage chicken were common in Cain’s past life, these dishes had previously not existed in this world.
As for drinks, wine was the main beverage of choice, so Cain chose to make sparkling wine. Carbonated drinks in general didn’t exist in this world, but Cain was able to use Creative Make to infuse some of the wine he had ordered with bubbles.
Since Cain was underage, he couldn’t drink alcohol. He had his servants taste test for him, and they were of course blown away. The wine was so good that Sylvia participated every single time and always requested a second glass. She would always insist that she wouldn’t be able to give a proper review unless she was given a little more.
Cain also served ordinary wine, just in case anyone didn’t take well to carbonated beverages. For the children he had prepared various non-alcoholic drinks and juices.
Thanks to World Dictionary and Creative Make, Cain’s housewarming party was fully stocked with food and beverages none of his guests had ever experienced before.
The time had arrived. It was time for the housewarming party to officially begin. About one hundred people, aristocrats and their family members, filled the hall. Cain slowly stepped onto the central platform.
“I sincerely thank you all for gathering here today despite your busy schedules for someone as inexperienced as myself. By the grace of His Majesty, I was granted the title of Baron and an estate. I am Cain von Silford. Thank you for attending my housewarming party. It’s not much, but I have prepared drinks and food for you all to enjoy. We will now begin distributing glasses for the toast, so please wait a moment.”
Cain’s announcement was the signal for the maids to bring out platters carrying glasses of sparkling wine that they then distributed to the guests. The aristocrats who received the specially-prepared, engraved crystal glasses were captivated by their beauty. After confirming that everyone had a glass, Cain raised his high into the air.
“I believe everyone has received one. Cheers!”
The room responded as one. “Cheers!”
Raising their gorgeous wine glasses, the aristocrats took their first sip of carbonation. As the fizzy sensation popped inside their mouths, they exclaimed in surprise.
“What is this…? The popping sensation within my mouth is irresistible! The refreshing aftertaste is also incredible! It’s chilled to perfection. And the beauty of these wine glasses cannot be overstated…”
Cain smiled as he saw his initial hook had worked. The aristocrats, upon tasting the beautifully presented, exotic dishes, were constantly astonished. As they savored the tenderness and the burst of savory meat juices from what they would soon learn was called a hamburger, their eyes widened in shock. Everyone seated had a bright smile on their face.
“Cain! Provide me with the details on how this dish was created later!”
Even Garm, who had assisted Cain with the preparations, was astonished. Reine waited by the doors to the kitchen to pounce on each new food tray that arrived.
“Father, I’ve already passed along the recipe to the head chef. He’ll make it in the future for you as well.”
“This is my first time seeing food and drinks like these. I insist you tell me how you found out about them.”