Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 19 - Chapter 1.5

5

Just an hour later, our sweets were all ready to eat, loaded up on a cart, and handed off to a page boy. Though the portions for each person were small, there were eight ladies present and waiting, which made for a fair volume of food in the end.

Furthermore, this time around the chefs would have special permission to sample the dishes in the same place as the noblewomen. Apparently, it was part of the amusement to be had from the tasting competition.

We waited in front of a door guarded by soldiers and once the noon bell rang out, we headed into the garden. The same ladies as before were still seated there at the table under the roof.

“Aah, I’ve grown tired of waiting. Please hurry and bring some satisfaction for our palates.”

Eulifia looked to be enjoying herself even more than back during the welcome banquet. She was far more openhearted than I would have expected from a future duke’s wife, and though I didn’t really have trouble dealing with her, I got the feeling that it would be dangerous to draw too much of her attention, so I had somewhat complicated feelings about her overall.

“My, how wonderful.”

“They look delicious.”

“I’ve never seen a sweet shaped like this before.”

The noble ladies from the houses of viscounts in particular seemed to be especially excited. Lefreya, meanwhile, wore a composed expression, and the tiny Odifia looked at the plates lined up on the table with suspicion. Of the three guests with no noble blood, one had eyes sparkling with anticipation, another remained perfectly expressionless, and the last was looking competitive, but they all remained quiet.

“In the name of fairness, who made which dish will remain hidden until after the tasting competition is completed,” Eulifia declared. “Since there are four dishes, each of us shall have four points to award. Everyone is free to distribute as many points as they wish to each dish. The results will be determined by the number of points each dish earns in total.”

In that case, I honestly wished everyone could cross the finish line as equals with the same number of points. But even though I had given it my all, looking at things objectively, I felt strongly that Rimee Ruu and Toor Deen’s dishes had turned out better. I didn’t really feel much of a drive to win, and anyway, it seemed like it would be difficult to do so no matter how much effort I put in, so I was actually feeling pretty relaxed at the moment.

“Well then, we will see you all in a little while,” Eulifia said with a smile, at which point our group moved. Though it was said we would sample the dishes in the same place, we naturally wouldn’t be sitting around the same table.

In the shadow of the stone pillars, out of sight from the noblewomen, a table and chairs had been prepared for us. In total, there were seats for five of us: me, Rimee Ruu, Toor Deen, Yang, and his assistant, Nicola.

It had been a bit since I had last seen Nicola. Since she was a servant of the house of Daleim as well, she assisted Yang with his work just like Sheila did. Since Sheila had been assigned to guide us, Nicola seemed to be tasked with helping out with the cooking.

“This girl has quite a knack for cooking, so I am currently training her in a variety of techniques,” Yang had told me some time ago.

Nicola was wearing a sour expression again today as she silently sat down at the table. It was a shame, because if it weren’t for that, her looks would have been good enough to belong to a noble lady.

Now that I think about it, back when I first met her, Rimee Ruu said she looked very sad. I still have no clue why that would be, though, I thought to myself as Yang glanced around the table with great curiosity.

“There’s no need for us to hide which of us made what, is there? Who made this mysterious sweet here?”

“Ah, that one is mine!” Rimee Ruu energetically replied. The fact that she didn’t say “that one’s” was proof that she was at least trying to act more politely. At any rate, what she had prepared was the same karon milk chatchi mochi she had unveiled a few days ago. The one difference was that she had poured some honey on top today. And it wasn’t just any honey, but the maple syrup-like panam honey, which she had boiled with sugar to create a blend similar to brown sugar syrup.

I thought the mitarashi dango-style glaze I had prepared before went well with Rimee Ruu’s chatchi mochi. However, it was also really tasty with panam honey over it. That was what had led me to suggest making this blend, and Rimee Ruu ended up going ahead with it. Though I had made the proposal, the young Ruu chef had been the one to determine the proportions to use. And Mia Lea Ruu had said that since she would be receiving twenty white coins for the job, she could go ahead and use as much honey as she wanted. Even though panam honey was expensive, you could still buy half a liter of the stuff for six red coins. Rimee Ruu had carefully measured it out spoonful by spoonful to get exactly the right amount.

Since she was using honey, she put less sugar in the mochi themselves. Furthermore, she had to use the appropriate amount of honey so as to not drown out the flavors of the karon milk and the cinnamon-like herb. Rimee Ruu spent three days perfecting this recipe in order to make sure the brown sugar syrup brought out the sweetness in the panam honey fully.

“Wow, delicious!” Nicola exclaimed before anyone else. But soon after, her sour expression returned and she said, “My apologies,” with a bow of her head.

“It certainly is good. Despite your young age, you managed to concoct a splendid taste here,” Yang commented in admiration, to which Rimee Ruu gave a bashful giggle. “Still, this other sweet is every bit its match. You must have made it, yes, Asuta?”

“No, Toor Deen made that one.”

The young Deen chef had presented her hotcake-style baked poitan. And she had also come up with a way to improve it: the addition of fresh cream made from karon milk on top.

When I made fuwano hotcakes in the past, I had adorned them with panam honey and fruit jam, but that didn’t seem necessary for Toor Deen’s sweet, which already had an exquisite harmony to it. Even without using those toppings, the sugar, milk fat, and egg blended into her batter already gave it a rich sweetness. It was a delicate flavor that seemed to reflect Toor Deen’s nature, so adding honey or jam would just be too overpowering.

“This is the sweet that I prepared.”

I had made donuts filled with arow jam.

Though I had been thinking of trying to improve the taste of the steamed pudding, I had tasted Rimee Ruu’s version of the dish prepared with karon milk and it was every bit as good as her chatchi mochi, so I figured I couldn’t possibly win that way and felt the need to retreat from that front.

I had already taken on the challenge of making donuts to meet Lefreya’s demands once before. Back then I hadn’t hit upon a way to fill them inside and had just added panam honey and jam on top, so I went ahead and tried to figure that out this time around.

One thing I tried at the same time was wrapping the dough around custard cream, but there was too much heat from the frying oil, which returned the cream to a liquid state, so I didn’t get the result I was seeking.

Instead, I boiled arow jam with sugar and honey. I took this mixture and set it in a round shape on some dough, then wrapped the dough around it. Once the doughnuts were done frying, I coated them in melted sugar.

The women who liked sweets at the forest’s edge had all enjoyed the end result. However, a number of them said that it left their throats feeling overly dry. But I decided that would be fine, since the women here today had tea to drink thanks to the nature of the event, but who could say how that would turn out.

“They’re all delicious. I am once again reminded how truly skilled all of you from the forest’s edge truly are,” Yang stated.

What he had prepared was something similar to a pie, using numerous thin layers of fuwano on top of one another.

Atop that crispy baked pie crust sat what was likely a sauce made from the peach-like minmi fruit. And just like Rimee Ruu’s chatchi mochi, it seemed to use that cinnamon-y herb. It looked just plain tasty, with both a good appearance and aroma to it.

“Ah, um, do I have to eat this one too?” Rimee Ruu whispered to me, her eyebrows drooping. Perhaps the shape of it was reminding her of the sweet that Timalo had prepared before in the castle town. It had plenty of liquor mixed into the dough, and when Rimee Ruu tasted it, she had said that it was awful, with tears in her eyes.

“Yeah. I can’t say how it turned out, but at least give it a bite. If you don’t like it, it’s not considered an issue to leave a plate uncleared in town,” I whispered back so that Yang wouldn’t hear.

Rimee Ruu nodded back with a grim look, “Okay... But if I can’t eat it, then can I give it to Ai Fa or something?”

“Okay. I’ll try to come up with an excuse if that happens.”

Though it was incredibly rude to be coming up with such a plan before even trying the pie, complex flavors were popular in the castle town, so it was no surprise that an eight-year-old like Rimee Ruu would be hesitant.

With our agreement now in place, Rimee Ruu broke off a small bit of Yang’s sweet and resolutely shoved it into her mouth. With her eyes shut tight and her brow furrowed, she chewed away at the crust. With each bite, the tension in her forehead loosened up, and by the time she swallowed, she was wearing a brilliant smile.

“So tasty! This is really, really good!”

“Thank you,” Yang replied with a smile of his own.

When I gave it a try myself, I found it was plenty delicious. The fuwano crust had been baked until it was nice and crispy, but it also hid a moist texture on the inside. Though I could sense the sweetness of sugar or honey from it, it seemed like the source of that moisture might have actually been oil. Had he soaked it in reten oil or something?

The more I bit into it, the more interesting I found the texture. There was the crispy surface and moist interior, a somewhat sticky bit, and also a mild fiber-like texture hidden inside that rubbed up against my teeth.

Those four different textures were quite interesting to experience, and the minmi sauce and sugar provided the perfect amount of sweetness. The herb flavors that tended to be overly strong had been kept at an appropriate level, and he seemed to have paid as much attention to the fine details as Toor Deen had for her dish.

By the time I swallowed my first bite, I had started to come around to the opinion that it was incredibly good. It didn’t have an especially flashy taste, but I was moved in a whole different way than I had been when I tried the sweets prepared by Timalo and Varkas.

Fittingly for a snack, it felt incredibly light and went down smoothly. And with all those different textures, your mouth never got bored of it. The sweet had a subtle yet definite presence, such that I felt I’d have to take care not to just keep on eating it without thinking.

“This is delicious. Sorry if this sounds a bit rude, but I think this is better than any of your dishes I’ve had before.”

“Thank you,” Yang said, smiling yet again.

“It has a really unusual texture to it. I’m assuming this smoothness is from reten oil, but I can also sense a bit of a stickiness beside that.”

“That must be from the gigo.”

“Gigo?! So you can use that in sweets too?”

Gigo was a type of vegetable akin to a yam. I never would have thought to use it when making sweets. Perhaps because it had been heated through so thoroughly, I couldn’t sense its characteristic earthy flavor. And I figured he must have carefully considered how much to use.

“It isn’t rare at all in Genos for a chef to use gigo when making sweets. It should hardly be a surprise, compared to the way that you use boiled-down chatchi starch, Sir Asuta.”

“Is that so? And I also noticed some sort of fine yet fairly chewy fibers, so was that some other kind of vegetable?”

“I did not use any vegetables beside gigo. That must be from the kimyuus meat.”

“Kimyuus meat? You used meat in a sweet?”

“Yes. That is not so common in Genos. I cut it up thinly and steeped it in panam honey, to end up with kimyuus breast meat with the meaty taste entirely removed.”

Now that he mentioned it, that could very well have been the texture of meat. Still, it was one thing when we were talking about a meat pie, but using meat in such a sweet dish certainly never would have occurred to me.

“It’s really good. I’d love to eat lots more of it,” Rimee Ruu chimed in while reluctantly staring at her empty plate. Toor Deen also looked quite impressed.

As that was going on, Sheila walked back over from the noble ladies she had been serving.

“The results of the tasting competition have been decided. Please, join the others over there.”

And so, we ended up once again forming a line in front of the noblewomen.

While waiting for the results to be announced, I thought I could at least figure out where I would be ranked. My only real concern was whether or not Ai Fa would give me a lecture when we got back.

“Well then, please read aloud the number of points. Naturally, starting with the one that earned the most.”

“Very well... First place earned eleven points. Four of those came from Lady Odifia, and the others awarded one point each.”

So that difficult-looking little lady had gone and given all her points to a single sweet? Currently, Odifia was glaring at Sheila to hurry up and announce who made it.

“The dish selected was Lady Toor Deen’s dish using poitan.”

For a moment the space fell silent, and then Toor Deen let out an uneasy, “Huh?”

Eulifia gave an elegant smile, staring at the young chef.

“My! So you are Toor Deen? There were three unusual sweets presented, so it seemed impossible to tell which of you from the forest’s edge made what... However, your dish was the only one to receive points from everyone. Congratulations.”

Toor Deen clung to me, looking as if she was about to cry. I patted her on the shoulder with a smile and a “Congratulations” of my own.

“Second place earned eight points. Three came from Lady Selanju, two from Lady Besta, and one each from Ladies Eulifia, Diel, and Shilly Rou,” Sheila politely stated as she continued announcing the results. “The dish selected was Sir Yang’s minmi dish.”

With a gasp, Yang bowed his head.

In response, Shilly Rou shot him a piercing glare.

“So that was your work, was it? You are the head chef of the house of Daleim, correct?”

“Yes, that is right.”

“Though it was a very commonplace fuwano sweet, the way you baked and flavored it was flawless. And though it was very ordinary, it was a truly wonderful idea to use kimyuus meat in it.”

“I am honored by your excessive praise.”

“It wasn’t excessive. I’m certain my own master would have said much the same.”

In addition, the two noble ladies who looked as if they could be sisters were both praising Yang’s dish. Meanwhile, Diel had a troubled look on her face and seemed displeased as she scratched the tip of her nose. She must have expected I would come in either first or second.

However, I wasn’t disappointed in the least, personally. Yang’s sweet was simply wonderful, and without any reservations, I felt completely happy for Toor Deen that her dish had received even higher praise.

“Third place received seven points. Two each from Ladies Eulifia, Diel, and Shilly Rou, and one from Lady Besta.”

This time, Diel leaned forward a bit.

However, reality doesn’t always match up with our expectations.

“The sweet chosen was the chatchi dish prepared by Lady Rimee Ruu.”

“Huh?” The young Ruu chef tilted her head.

I went ahead and patted her reddish-brown hair. “Congratulations. That’s only one point behind Yang.”

“Eh? You came in last, Asuta? I feel sort of bad, somehow.”

“It’s nothing to be sad about. I could tell just how delicious the sweets you all prepared were, so I’m satisfied with the results.”

The ones who didn’t seem satisfied were the guests attending the tea party. Diel’s eyebrows drooped with displeasure, and there was a fire burning bright in Shilly Rou’s eyes.

And with that, my name was read.

“Fourth place earned six points. Three each from Ladies Lefreya and Arishuna. The sweet selected was Sir Asuta’s arow dish.”

That meant Lefreya and Arishuna had given one point each to Toor Deen’s dish and the rest to mine. Secretly, I found that a somewhat amusing result.

“There is no need for you to be discouraged, Asuta. These results came after much discussion, and the impression from all eight of us was that none of these sweets were inferior. However, dishes fried in oil have fallen out of fashion in Genos, which surely lost you a number of points,” Eulifia stated with a calm smile.

“Much obliged,” I said with a bow.

“And furthermore, you are the one who taught these adorable little chefs, correct? You should take pride in that fact. I wonder just how many chefs here in Genos could make such delicious sweets.”

“Mother,” a lisping young voice interjected. Naturally, that had come from Eulifia’s daughter Odifia. “That sweet was really good. I want to hire this girl.”

“My, we can’t do that, Odifia. The duke forbade hiring chefs from the forest’s edge...at least for now.”

“So we can’t?”

“That’s right.”

The expressionless little noble looked very displeased as she turned toward Toor Deen. “Then you should make sweets for me again sometime, okay? Promise?”

“Huh? I-I cannot enter the castle town without permission from the leading clan heads.”

“Do not worry yourself,” Eulifia said. “If we act too selfishly, it will cause trouble for my precious husband, after all. However, hopefully we may summon you again in a way that will not lead to an issue.”

If that was just once a month or so, the leading clan heads would probably permit it. And since Toor Deen looked like she was on the verge of tears again, caught between feeling anxious and joyful, I once again patted her on the shoulder as Eulifia continued.

“Still, all of those sweets were simply wonderful. Though I personally gave many points to that Yang gentleman’s dish, they were all so delicious that I felt like I was in a dream.”

“That is certainly true. We will have to ask our own head chefs to strive even harder,” the noblewomen from the viscounts’ houses earnestly chimed in.

And then, unable to hold it back any longer, Shilly Rou finally spoke up.

“Asuta, Varkas went so far as to call you a worthy rival, did he not? So does a result such as this not leave you feeling embarrassed?”

“Not at all. The sweets prepared by the other three chefs all turned out wonderfully.”

“Your handling of the heat was still half-hearted, and you did not manage the arow perfectly. You did a fair enough job with a fried dish back at the welcome banquet, so how do you explain this performance?”

“Frying meat is more my specialty than sweets. I won’t deny my own inexperience.”

Shilly Rou bit her lip while looking somehow frustrated, then turned away in a huff.

“It seems I was correct to refuse the request to work the kitchen today. Even if I defeated you, it would be nothing to brag about.”

“My, despite your lovely appearance, it seems you are quite passionate. I suppose you would need such strong emotions in order to cut ties with the Rou house and become a chef’s disciple, though...” Eulifia said with an amused smile.

Now that she mentioned it, Diel and Arishuna were one thing as they were guests of the castle, but Shilly Rou’s position was ultimately that of a chef’s apprentice. If she was able to attend a tea party for noblewomen even so, then had she come from some sort of distinguished lineage?

“At any rate, this has proven to be a most enjoyable time. You will all be awarded the promised payment upon your departure from The White Bird.”

It seemed that was the signal to leave. Sheila gave a bow and then led us along the stone path, taking us back inside. On our way to the changing room, Ai Fa came in close to me and said, “Hey. You’re thinking you don’t care about winning or losing, aren’t you, Asuta?”

“Yeah, that’s pretty much how I see it.”

“But how would you feel if I were to lose to everyone else in a contest of strength between hunters?”

I glanced over to see the expression on her face. As expected, she was wearing an even deeper frown than ever before. “Hmm, I can’t really picture it, but it’d probably be frustrating.”

“I see. So can you understand how I feel now?”

“Yeah...but on the other hand, I’d like you to understand properly too. If we were to compare the chefs from today to hunters, then they all would have been skilled enough to be selected for the final eight.”

Turned away from everyone else, Ai Fa wore an unchanged expression as she rustled her hair. Even though it was Dan Rutim that she had lost to, she had still looked very frustrated, and so she must not have liked how nonchalant I was acting.

Of course, if it had been anything other than sweet making, I probably wouldn’t have been able to remain so calm either. Back when I went up against Varkas with a six-course meal, I had been incredibly worked up. But now, the desire to congratulate Toor Deen, Rimee Ruu, and Yang on their results took priority.

I just didn’t see sweet-making as something that fell inside my sphere of expertise. Though Shilly Rou had pointed out that my dish was half-hearted, I had no plans to try to improve it further. I would rather spend that time training my giba-cooking skills instead.

And so, I got excited for a different reason entirely. I felt once more the desire to bring others joy with my giba cooking, just like Toor Deen, Rimee Ruu, and Yang had done with their dishes today.

First up would be re-examining our menu on offer in the post town for the fast-approaching sun god’s revival festival. Right from the very start, my job had been solely to show the delicious taste of giba to as many people as possible and bring more prosperity to the forest’s edge through the sale of giba meat.

And on top of that, I wanted to get my feelings across to my deeply sulking clan head.

“Sorry, Ai Fa. I just can’t find much passion when it comes to making sweets.”

“Why is that?”

“I mean, you don’t seem to have any interest in them at all.”

After staying silent for a moment, Ai Fa gave me a moderate-strength kick in the leg.

And so yet another job in the castle town came to a close.