MTLNOVEL Chapter 316
“Oh, Your Grace.”
As Shen naturally got up to avoid a face collision, Flora rushed in and hid behind Karem. With a sigh, Karem found himself in a situation similar to yesterday’s.
“Let’s stop this. Flora clearly hates it.”
The subject was omitted, but anyone could tell what Flora disliked just from the current situation. This was straight-up stalking.
“If you keep this up, any feelings I had will vanish.”
“Ugh. I followed Baron Your Grace’s advice to get permission directly—”
“The method was wrong, though. Wrong.”
Flora nodded enthusiastically as if that statement was absolutely right, causing petals from the flower in her hair to flutter to the ground.
“Isn’t it normal to give a gift that she’ll actually like to change her mind?”
At those perfectly valid words, Shen’s gaze wavered, like a sea under a cloudy sky. His previously composed demeanor seemed like a lie now.
“Well, you didn’t really not know, right?”
“…Yes. Of course not.”
It was not that he truly hadn’t known.
Buying favor with gifts was common sense applicable everywhere, not just among nobles.
However, Shen simply had forgotten this basic fact. Of course, he had things to say as well.
One of the elements ensuring the prosperity and abundance of the Palatino Empire.
Before him stood a forest spirit, a Dryad, said to be nothing less than the embodiment of nature, which had become extinct along with the Empire after its collapse due to the Demon Lord.
Who wouldn’t get excited in this situation?
To exaggerate, it was like discovering a living dinosaur in a remote valley untouched by civilization, rather than finding mere fossils.
“Wait, did you really forget?”
Oops, slipped into informal speech. Karem shot a disappointed glance at Shen, who awkwardly averted his gaze. How could a supposed sage-level Grand Wizard be so absent-minded?
Wait. Just then, Karem’s mind recalled the antics of the wizards he had witnessed so far.
Narque, who made golems from cheese to smash doors.
Olivier, who had become healthier and did backflips around Winterhome Keep because of some new hobby.
Robin, who snuck into the warehouse to steal cookies instead of just asking for them.
Remembering the little explosions and chaos that happened at the Mage Tower, it seemed like Catherine was the only sane one.
Of course, Catherine had her moments too, but Karem loved that aspect about her. The gap in her usually composed demeanor was just so cute.
“Ugh. Baroness, I sincerely apologize for my earlier antics.”
“…Porong—”
With eyes filled with distrust, Flora narrowed her gaze. Realizing he had made an awkward blunder, Shen fell flat on his stomach in front of her, utterly defeated.
“May I apologize for my previous misdeeds and gain permission to shower you with gifts until your heart returns to me?!”
“Hmph, Porong.”
That was a watchful stance, filled with the nuance of ‘I’ll be watching you. Don’t screw this up.’
Flora’s sulking expression eased ever so slightly as she turned away from the image of Shen lying prostrate, the cooking sounds now filling the air.
“Porong. Porong?”
“Oh, this? It’s an Earth Apple. There’s a ton stacked up in the warehouse, so I thought I could make something delicious with it. Can I use some?”
Flora nodded, her clear eyes filled with curiosity as she tilted her head. Unaware of her subtle intrigue, Karem began prepping the Earth Apple, boiling it, and peeling its skins for an extended period.
“Huh? Is there something you’re curious about?”
“Porong.”
Flora pointed at the potato, clearly questioning why it was being cooked like that.
“…Wait, you’re putting Earth Apples into the dish?”
Only then did Shen snap upright in confusion, realizing the situation.
“Your Grace, how can you use the precious Earth Apples as mere cooking ingredients?!”
“What do you mean—”
In that moment, Karem bit his tongue to swallow a retort about the absurdity of it all. Carefully choosing his words, he struggled to find an appropriate explanation.
So instead, he reflected on past experiences.
“Because I’m a genius, of course.”
“Your Grace?”
“If you eat my Earth Apple dishes, you’ll regret using them as ingredients for magical experiments or potion making!”
As Shen thought about that incredibly confident statement, he couldn’t help but think of the stereotypically practical Bersengzeto elf mentality that this was all meaningless.
Yet, he recalled news he had heard over these past few years.
A once-in-a-lifetime genius chef appearing in Iceland.
A tale of humble serf origins.
The relationship growing from employer to employee to lovers.
In a sea of exaggerated rumors, Shen had gotten relatively accurate information thanks to Gordon.
‘The age difference is a bit unusual, but for a human, quite the passionate affair—’
No, wait. This couldn’t be. As a Bersengzeto elf accustomed to long lifespans, he couldn’t be uninterested.
But he decided to look into that later.
“Your Grace, are you referring to the Earth Apple given as a sign of affection or gratitude by Tree Spirits?”
“Are there breed differences in Earth Apples?”
“There’s variation in elemental and life force depending on the region, but fundamentally, not really.”
“Then it shouldn’t matter.”
Karem looked over the unprepared Earth Apples just in case.
“Hmm. It seems it won’t matter.”
“Your Grace, and those fruits will only be used—”
“It seems the owner grants permission, though.”
“Ugh, but—”
However, Shen regained his senses somewhat forcibly as he was confronted by Flora’s unflinching gaze, a hunger blazing within it.
Thinking about the Seophone dish he had completely flipped, he realized he needed to pay more mind to Flora than the outcomes.
But there was still a sticking point.
“Your Grace, as a Bersengzeto elf—”
“Oh, a staunch traditionalist only eating water, vegetables, fruits, and grains?”
“I don’t eat meat from land, sky, or sea!”
“So, dairy is fine?”
Shen’s eyebrows twitched for the first time at Karem’s rather confident words.
A Seophone person refusing to eat meat?
Though he was a high elf among the noble Bersengzeto, Shen did not hold strong biases against races.
(The derogatory remarks about dwarves are merely facts as seen by Bersengzeto elves and not discrimination.)
“Oh, right. Flora. If you find some mozzarella in the Keep’s kitchen, can you grab it? There’s none in the warehouse.”
“Porong? Porong.”
As Flora dashed off to Armsport Keep, Karem’s hands skillfully sliced the Earth Apple paper-thin.
“Your Grace, that’s—”
Shen couldn’t finish his thought at the scene unfolding before him.
After soaking the paper-thin Earth Apples in water, as the liquid turned cloudy, he pulled them out and rinsed them under flowing water.
After meticulously drying them with a towel, he lightly used his divine power, then plopped them into hot oil.
Sizzleeeeeee—!
Simultaneously, Karem was prepping another dish as well.
He collected all the boiled, peeled Earth Apples into a bowl and mashed them as he gently poured in cream.
Not only was it mashed, but it was also sieved to make it even smoother.
A natural question arose.
‘Have there been chefs who put this much effort into their dishes?’
Bersengzeto was the only nation in Europa with the credentials to discuss gastronomy with Servianus.
There might certainly be chefs with intricate, varied, and complex preparations.
But to treat Earth Apples with such care?
Shen could decidedly say there had been none.
Sure, there had been chefs attempting this in the past and some still living, but due to the Earth Apple’s versatility, there were simply none left.
The frying and churning of Earth Apples blended with the nutty aroma of mushrooms.
“This delicate yet rich mushroom scent is—”
“It’s Akusare Mushroom oil. A specialty of the Felwinter Mage Tower.”
“Are you saying this is from the Akusare Mushroom—”
Shen inhaled sharply, completely absent-minded.
“…Huh?”
Among the nutty fragrances that could rival freshly baked bread, there was also a hint of heat packed with sourness.
“Oh, the Ratatouille is done.”
“…Ratatouille?”
“Yes.”
He never imagined he would see a home-cooked meal from his origins here in Seophone.
The rich, complex scent seemed far from what he envisioned Ratatouille would smell like.
And then, stimulating his appetite was the appearance of vibrant red tomatoes mingling with the fresh air of Bolton Forest, amplifying their freshness.
Gulp.
Stimulated by the scent of the pure Earth Apple and cheese, Shen felt a jolt through his nose.
Yet as a Bersengzeto elf, he lamented that the texture of the vegetables had completely vanished, but hey, Ratatouille was diverse enough—right?
Hearing the term Ratatouille after such a long time made the young high elf’s heart race.
“Porong! Pororong!”
“Are you hungry? I know that feeling. Give me a moment.”
Karem placed the Ratatouille pot on the table, quickly returning the mashed potatoes to a vigorous mix before lifting the ladle into the air.
“Hmm!”
“Pororong!?”
As the sunlight broke through the overcast sky, it lengthened out like a long stretch of white fabric.
‘It’s been a while since I made this; it turned out well.’
Karem looked at the audience and smirked. It was a little amusing to see Shen act like that, even if Flora had her own reactions.
Mashed cheese potatoes.
Aligot, which is essentially French cuisine comparable to Earth’s Bersengzeto.
Nevertheless, Karem couldn’t afford to relax.
Though the dishes were coming together, he had to move even faster than before.
He quickly retrieved the thinly sliced fried Earth Apple chips, now dubbed Seophone chips.
As the slotted spoon met the Seophone chips, a delightful crunch echoed, reminiscent of frost breaking gently on the grass.
And that sound was—
Crisp! Crunch! Snap! Snap! Crunch!
Transferring them to the bowl, sprinkling salt, and then tossing them up in mid-air made the flavor evenly distributed, intensifying the dish further.
‘…If I had my way!’
Shen would have already snuck a taste long ago.
But that was not an option in this moment.
“Pororong…Pororong…”
“Now, we just need to transfer them to the serving plates.”
“Porong!”
Flora, who loved eating second only to Gordon, looked at Karem with pleading eyes as she remained still despite her hunger.
Having already lost so many points with Flora, Shen knew that reaching out at this moment could lead to unthinkable consequences.
Finally, the time had come.
On the central table of Bolton Forest lay two types of Earth Apple dishes and one vegetable dish.
Karem twirled a generous serving of Aligot that veiled a continuous tail and delicately placed it on Flora’s plate.
Next to it was a plump Ratatouille, resting before it could turn into sauce with the tomato sauce.
The three dishes were each a third of the divided plate, with crispy Seophone chips filling the remaining space.
“Porong! Pororong!”
“Go ahead, you can eat first.”
Flora’s face lit up with the joy of the universe.
After all, she hadn’t eaten anything since the previous late night and had been dutifully busy with Gordon up until lunchtime.
Suddenly, Flora sharply turned her head.
“Gulp. Ahem.”
As Shen tried to maintain his composure while stealing glances, Flora’s upset Porong came flying towards him.
“Porong. Pororong! Porororong!”
An exceedingly simple expression from her.
In other words, it meant: Don’t eat. Just look.
As the sky above Shen threatened to collapse, Karem lightly smacked Flora’s forehead with the spoon he was holding.
“Porong!?”
“You can’t act stingy with food.”
“Porong! Pororong! Porororong!”
Flora protested vigorously, full of grievance about just how much she had been pushed around until now, which Karem silenced with a stern demeanor and a stern glare.
As the dim light peeked through the overcast sky behind Karem’s head, Shen could only see a halo surrounding him.
“Porong! Pororong!”
Of course, unrelated to that moment, Flora shook her head helplessly and declared to Shen.
“I, Baroness!?”
“Porong!”
“Uh… Yes, understood.”