◆ Bonus: A Housewarming Party
I sliced through a huge chunk of meat and cut it into larger-than-bite-size pieces. After seasoning it with some salt and pepper, I fried the meat in a deep skillet with olive oil. Once the beef had started to brown, I removed it from the pan and added my diced celery and sliced onions. My vegetables had started to caramelize, so I added plenty of red wine, roughly chopped celery, herbs and spices, and mushrooms. I allowed the meat to stew. On another stove beside it, I boiled some potatoes.
While the food was cooking, I stored away the rest of the ingredients I’d received. To make our new home comfortable to live in, Mr. Julius and I cleaned the space in the morning and headed out to the marketplace to buy some food afterwards. The grocers wanted to thank us for protecting them from the monsters, so they gave us plenty of food.
We brought our gifts back home, and I decided to start preparing dinner. Mr. Julius took a seat at the counter and started drinking some alcohol that we’d received. We had plenty of ingredients on the counter. I divided the food into perishables and non-perishables while making a mental note of items that we should eat today.
“This fish we received today…is cod. It’s a filet of Astrian King Cod. We should probably eat this soon,” I said.
Leafy vegetables needed to be eaten quickly, while edible roots and beans had a longer shelf life. There was no rush to eat dried meat either.
“Since we have some potatoes and you’re drinking, why don’t we go a little classy and make some fish and chips?” I suggested. “Ms. Roxy’s diner occasionally serves it as a snack. It’s delicious.”
Luckily, our new cooking area had four stoves to use. I’d already been using one for the meat and another for the potatoes. I placed an iron pot over the third stove and poured in plenty of oil. While that was warming up, I made some batter by combining flour, beer, and eggs. I dipped my fish filets into the mix and placed them into the hot oil. Bubbles rose to the surface as the fish started to fry, and a lovely aroma filled the room. I placed the golden-brown fried fish onto towels to drain the oil. Then, I sliced some potatoes into sticks and started to fry them as well.
I didn’t deep-fry food when I was living alone. The food I ate was more on the frugal side, like pea soup. Ever since Mr. Julius joined me, I wanted to make meals a bit more lavish, and since we hadn’t celebrated the move to our new home yet, I thought that this was the perfect opportunity.
“And food is served. Fish and chips, Mr. Julius. Some people like to add a dash of vinegar, but it’s just as good if you sprinkle some salt and eat as-is. Which would you prefer?” I asked.
“…Just the salt,” Mr. Julius replied.
“I thought so. I’m still making stewed meat, our main course for today. You can snack on this while you wait. It’s hot, so be careful not to burn yourself.”
“…Okay.”
I placed a plate of fish and chips in front of him. He was drinking red wine in a large wine glass. Red wine, fish and chips, and Mr. Julius. Just the sight of him eating made any food in his vicinity look elegant. I suppose this is a power that handsome men possess.
“What’s wrong, Chloe? Do you want to drink, too?” he asked.
“Oh, nothing… Was just thinking about all the frugal food I had you eat.”
“Your pea soup isn’t bad.”
“We received plenty of ingredients today, so we can indulge ourselves for a while. I say that, but we’ll probably just get an extra dish for our meals or something.”
“That’s fine. I don’t care much about my meals,” he said.
“That so?”
“Anything you make is fine by me.”
“That so…”
This is a little embarrassing. But I’m genuinely happy to receive such praise.
Mr. Julius continued to gracefully down his wine as he pinched the fish fritters and guided it to his mouth. His manners were beautiful as the alcohol, fish, and potatoes disappeared in a flash. He must’ve been hungry. We only had a light breakfast and he diligently helped me clean. We were so into it that we almost forgot to eat lunch. But my automatic cleaning tools—items that I’d made using alchemy—had done most of the work.
Thanks to those, the dusty cooking area became sparkling clean, and we were able to take a bath in comfort. We only had the bare minimum in terms of furniture, so it looked a little drab, but we were slowly adding a personal touch to our home.
“Is it good?” I asked.
“Hm…yeah. I never had this before, but it’s not bad,” he replied.
“You never had fried fish and potatoes before? What kind of life did you lead?! Wait, sorry, I sort of know.”
Mr. Julius was the former general of Dystiana. I always envisioned generals and other high-ranking officials eating luxurious meals while chugging alcohol, but it seemed that wasn’t the case for him. I felt an odd sense of duty as I wanted him to eat more delicious food.
After I checked that the fire under the oil was out, I checked on my other two dishes. The potatoes were soft enough that I could easily poke through them with a fork, and the meat had grown tender from being stewed with the wine.
I took the potatoes off the stove and transferred them to a plate. I sprinkled some salt and added a few pats of butter. The butter melted nicely from the heat of the tubers. I poured the beef stewed in red wine onto a large plate as well, before I plated a portion of the meat and added the potatoes on the side.
“And here you are. Beef stewed in red wine with a side of potatoes. You can even pour the sauce from the meat onto the potatoes—it’s delicious. Since you worked so hard today, I’ll sprinkle plenty of cheese on top just for you.”
I’d also received an enormous chunk of cheese from a grocer. I used a cheese grater and added some cheese. The grated cheese looked like powdery snow as it melted from the heat of the potatoes.
“Looks good, doesn’t it?” I asked. “There’s seconds, so eat as much as you like.”
“…Yeah. You should sit down too. You’re being restless,” Mr. Julius replied.
“You’re right. Then, let’s eat together.”
I had a kettle of boiling water on the fourth stove. I poured myself a cup of tea and placed it on the counter. The counter was large and had several seats. The cook of the former orphanage must’ve worked here, and likely during breaks, they might’ve taken a seat for a quick meal.
“I thought about carrying the food to the dining area, but this area seems large enough,” I remarked.
“Here’s fine. It would be a hassle to move around. And the liquor’s here too,” Mr. Julius replied.
“Don’t drink it all,” I warned. “Be careful and pace yourself.”
“…You tell me to eat up, you tell me to not drink much. You’re busy as always.”
“Alcohol’s expensive! This stewed beef contains an entire bottle of red wine, you know. This is a luxurious meal! Isn’t this what true happiness is about?”
“Your definition of happiness seems rather cheap,” he said dryly before ladling the beef into his mouth with a spoon.
I poked my meat with the spoon—it was so tender that it easily fell apart. I thought that I hadn’t stewed the beef enough, but this must be some really high-quality meat.
“This is good meat…really good meat,” I murmured. “It’s so tender. Amazing!”
“Good for you. But I agree; this is good.”
“You praised the food… The power of excellent meat knows no bounds!”
I spooned the meat into my mouth. The aromatic spices, the wonderful taste of the potherbs, and the lovely tender meat filled my mouth. I put a hand on my cheek as I indulged myself.
“Delicious! Quality meat is just so good… I know that’s generally a given, but this is just so, so good. After this bite of heaven, I can’t go back to the cheap stuff!” I exclaimed.
“I liked that dish you made… You stewed scraps of meat and placed it on bread,” Mr. Julius replied.
“Have you acquired an unsophisticated palate due to living with me?” I asked.
“No, you’re simply just a good cook.”
“Are you drunk? You’ve been praising me to bits… What’s going on? I can hardly believe it.”
I chewed on some of my boiled potatoes and swallowed as I stared at him. Good meat is delicious. But I don’t think the quality meat’s the only factor that makes me think this meal is so tasty.
“Mr. Julius…I know we’ve just moved here, but I hope we can continue to be together,” I said, raising my cup of tea.
He gently clinked his wine glass with my cup. “Yeah… Likewise, Chloe.”
We locked eyes and broke into smiles.