Second Strategy Meeting
“Alright, let’s split up and start searching.”
“Leave it to me!”
“Yes.”
“Understood, my lord.”
All the household staff headed to the Rapelion mansion by carriage, leaving only me, Randler, Rachel, and Ariel in the northern territory.
Randler suggested keeping some staff behind to attend to me, but I didn’t want to increase the number of people on a potentially dangerous journey, so I sent everyone off.
Ariel already had more than enough people following her.
“Come and try the Kraken leg roast, sourced straight from the Northwestern Sea!”
“Here’s the gallbladder juice of the Winter Bear King! Just one sip will boost your energy and vitality!”
As soon as the parade ended, the monster cuisine festival began in the northern territory, and we all dispersed with a common goal.
Enjoying the festival would be great, but to proceed with the gourmet tour as planned, we needed to find a competent monster chef within a week.
If it came down to it, I was prepared to forgo “competent” altogether.
After all, we needed a chef.
The journey would be long and without rest stops like in modern times, so we needed someone capable of making edible meals from natural ingredients.
Rachel, who had traveled the country for her training, could make simple dishes, but I didn’t want to add another responsibility to my master, who was already handling protection and training.
Finding a chef wouldn’t be easy, but since even Ariel, who was merely a fellow traveler, had rolled up her sleeves to help, I thought we could find one within a week.
The problem was…
“…Oh, isn’t that Lord Elden?”
“Shh, be quiet. He’s probably furious after being eliminated from the final candidates. If you get on his bad side, you might lose your head.”
“Let’s take a detour. Who knows what might happen if we run into him.”
“Avoiding him is the best plan for now.”
…Thanks to the reputation of the original Elden Rapelion, the already difficult search was made even harder.
People looked at me with pity, and it was nearly impossible to start a conversation because of the way they recoiled upon seeing me.
Like magnets repelling each other, people distanced themselves the closer I got.
The bustling market street cleared like the parting of the Red Sea the moment I appeared.
Why?
I’m not pitiable.
You don’t need to look at me like that.
I’m not a bad guy.
You don’t need to run away like that.
“Excuse me, can I talk to you?”
“Ah! I’m sorry if I offended you!”
“……”
At this rate, the original Elden must have been a superstar in the villain world.
His reputation was so widespread that even in the far northern territory, people knew of him. If he had transmigrated to the modern era, he would probably be a notorious celebrity like Charlie Sheen.
With such idle thoughts, I pulled my hood over my head and approached those cooking monster cuisine.
“The taste is excellent. Are you interested in going on a gourmet tour?”
“Me? …I’m from the northern territory, so I have no plans to leave.”
“Your skills are impressive. How about joining a gourmet tour?”
“I’m a woman… I would only be a hindrance.”
“Taste isn’t the main concern. Are you interested in a gourmet tour?”
“I need to care for my parents…”
“The food is decent. You seem strong, interested in seeking adventure?”
“Is there money involved?”
“Romance and money usually don’t mix.”
“I apologize.”
I expected difficulties, but not to this extent.
Even after lowering my expectations for taste, every proposal I made was rejected.
In fantasy stories, isn’t the ‘north’ often depicted as a place full of wildness and romance?
But why…
“Why is it so bleak here?”
Despite wearing out my shoes and searching tirelessly, today ended with a net gain of zero. As evening approached, I had to accept that I was empty-handed.
The faces of my allies arriving at the meeting point looked no different from defeated soldiers, but I asked with faint hope.
“Randler?”
“No luck.”
“Rachel?”
“No success.”
“Ariel?”
I asked Ariel, the last to arrive, with little expectation.
“There was one person…”
An unexpected answer brought a flicker of hope, but that hope was quickly extinguished before it even had a chance to ignite.
“There was one…”
“But?”
“As soon as they found out you were the employer, they refused. I tried to explain that you’re not the same Elden as before, but they didn’t even consider it. Sorry.”
“…You don’t need to apologize. I’m the one who’s sorry. You did your best.”
It seemed my notorious reputation was causing an already challenging job market to turn into an icy blizzard.
Perhaps this was the karma for possessing such a villainous character.
I understood their hesitation, but needing a monster chef made it all the more frustrating.
I couldn’t exactly go around proclaiming, “Reformed delinquent here!”
Despite the unhelpful reputation, we couldn’t just sit around and mope. We gathered at Ariel’s lodging to have dinner and hold our strategy meeting.
“Hmm. Finding a chef isn’t going to be easy,” I muttered.
Randler responded with a bitter tone, “Judging by the situation, it doesn’t seem like raising the wages will solve the problem either.”
“How about you take up the chef role, old man?”
Randler scratched his head, looking awkward. “Haha. Cooking is the one thing I’m not good at. I apologize.”
Despite my joke, Randler’s navigational skills were also lacking. But I decided to leave it at that since I didn’t want to burden him with cooking on top of his other duties.
“If it’s difficult to find someone, I can try,” Rachel offered.
“I appreciate your willingness, master, but I can’t put more on your shoulders when you’re already responsible for protection, training, and hunting.”
Rachel seemed to have some knowledge of monster cuisine, but I couldn’t let her take on another responsibility.
Since the festival had just started, we decided to leave Rachel’s cooking as a last resort. We didn’t find a solution by the end of our meal.
As we were finishing up, Ariel, who had been silent, spoke up with a determined expression.
“If not, I can cook!”
Everyone’s eyes turned to her with curiosity and doubt.
The bookworm count’s daughter seemed to have no connection to cooking.
She didn’t seem to have a hobby of cooking for herself.
Besides, Ariel had a personal chef for her journey to the Langren duchy.
The chef who served me monster cuisine at her lodging before was a special invite, different from her personal chef.
If we asked her personal chef to prepare meals for three extra people, we wouldn’t starve on our way to the Langren duchy.
That would solve the immediate problem, but it wouldn’t address the need for a monster chef.
What I needed was someone who could join me on a potentially years-long journey, preparing excellent monster cuisine.
“Ariel? You? Why?”
“Well, everyone else has a role, but I feel like I don’t have one.”
Role…
I had already received enough help from Ariel, so I never expected her to take on another role.
Besides, Ariel was just a companion for the journey to the Langren duchy.
“You don’t need to worry about having a role. You’ve already helped us a lot.”
“I want to do something too. It sounds fun.”
“Really?”
“Of course, if we find a professional chef, I won’t do it. I just thought it would be fun to try.”
Well, if she’s excited about trying something new, there was no need to stop her.
Encouraging a bookworm to explore new interests seemed like a good thing.
Although finding a romantic monster chef could take some time, we could look forward to seeing Ariel’s cooking skills in the meantime.
“Okay, let’s do that then.”
Ariel clenched her fists in determination, her reddish-brown eyes full of resolve.
“Great! I’ll start practicing cooking tomorrow!”
“I’m looking forward to it, Ariel.”
“Thanks! I’m already excited!”
And so, the first strategy meeting came to a close.
Although we hadn’t found a definitive solution for the lack of a professional monster chef, Ariel’s enthusiasm for cooking was intriguing.
However, it would be problematic if she turned out to be exceptionally talented at monster cuisine.
Even if she had a hidden talent for it, Count Elond’s delicate daughter was too fragile to endure a grueling gourmet tour involving monster hunting and survival.
Count Elond would never approve of his daughter embarking on such a dangerous journey with a delinquent.
With hope of finding a professional monster chef, we wandered the festival for three days, entering the fourth day empty-handed.
…Time seemed to pass slowly during the engagement duel, but now four days had flown by in no time.
“This is bad. We’ve run out of people to ask, my lord,” Randler said.
“It’s surprising we haven’t found anyone yet.”
The festival was gradually coming to an end, and chefs who had come to the northern territory for the festival were starting to leave.
While there was no rush since my budding skills in magic and swordsmanship still had a long way to go, finding a romantic monster chef seemed like a near-miracle.
In the midst of this situation,
“Ta-da! Basilisk belly roast!”
Ariel’s monster dish was served on the table for the first time.
“Oh.”
The roasted belly of the basilisk was nicely browned.
Being a large snake-like monster, the neatly sliced pieces resembled smoked salmon.
The tender and chewy-looking belly was golden brown, appearing delicious.
“It was a bit tricky to handle, but I made this dish from start to finish. Hehe.”
Ariel was quite confident.
“And it was pretty fun to cook.”
We each took a big bite.
“….”
“…?”
“…!”
And thus, the second strategy meeting began.
At least it was good to know she found it fun.
f4ck this is very addictive, when do the next caps come out?
So when will he finally try to cook it himself and realize he is not bad at all or something like that?
Thanks for the chapter 😁