Tasting the Crepes

When I left the dining hall, Roger was waiting for me, so I returned to my room with him, changed clothes, and came back to the dining hall. Making the mayonnaise took so long that I barely made it in time.

Richard-sama, Catherine-sama, Christoph-sama, Sophia-sama, and Lucien are in the dining hall today.

"Leon, I heard that you made crepes today."

"Yes. I made them earlier. I made two kinds: sweet crepes and savory crepes. I'd like you to try them and tell me what you think."

"Oh! I'm really looking forward to it."

I hope they find them delicious, but I'm nervous in case they don't suit their tastes. The cooks liked the mayonnaise quite a lot, so I think it should be fine...

"Richard-sama, Leon-sama has prepared some dishes, and the cooks have prepared dinner as well. Which would you like to have first?"

Richard-sama's attendant was asking him that.

"Hmm... Bring Leon's dishes first. I want to see what they look like when finished, so please serve them as they are."

"Of course. Please wait a moment."

Come to think of it, eating one whole crepe each would be quite a lot. Even if they managed it, they wouldn't be able to eat dinner afterward.

"Richard-sama, the crepes are fairly filling, so I think it would be best to cut one into pieces and share it."

"In that case, let's look at the finished form first, then cut them up and eat them together."

"I would like a larger portion of the sweet crepes."

Catherine-sama really does love sweet things...

Just as we finished discussing that, the servers brought out the crepes. There was one plate per person, with two crepes on each. I suppose we were meant to cut them up ourselves?

"These are the crepes prepared by Leon-sama."

"Oh, so this is a crepe? It's a dish in a form I've never seen before."

Richard-sama was intensely interested, examining the crepes from various angles.

"These are rolled up so they'll be easy to sell at a food stall, but if you're eating them with a knife and fork like today, you can simply fold them into squares without rolling them. You could also just fold a round crepe in half. You can arrange them in various ways."

"A dish that can be folded... How interesting. Well, let's try it."

Richard-sama cut off about a third of a crepe, moved it to a small plate, cut off a bite-sized piece, and put it in his mouth.

It looked like he had started with the savory crepe.

"Oh... This is delicious... Why is it so delicious? Isn't it more than just cabbage and pork?"

"That one has a sauce called mayonnaise in it."

"Is this white substance the sauce?"

"Yes."

This time, Richard-sama put only the mayonnaise on his fork and tasted it.

"Oh! This is it! This sauce is delicious. What is it made from? I've never tasted anything like it before."

"I'm glad you like it. It's an original sauce made from eggs."

"It's made from eggs!? This is truly an incredible flavor."

Richard-sama was quite surprised that it was made from eggs, but for now, he seemed more interested in the mayonnaise itself.

Everyone likes mayonnaise, after all. I love it too.

"Leon! This is truly delicious! It might be the best thing I've ever eaten!"

Lucien, isn't calling it the best thing ever a little excessive? I answered with a faintly wry smile.

"I'm glad you like it."

"Leon, this mayonnaise seems like it would go well with all sorts of dishes. Wouldn't it go well with meat, too?"

"Yes. I think it would go well with meat. It should also pair nicely with vegetables, potatoes, and things like that."

Christoph-sama had looked surprised at first, but now he had the expression of a researcher seriously considering dishes that would go well with mayonnaise. Mayonnaise basically went with anything, after all. As long as you put it on something, it couldn't possibly be a bad match.

When I was in Japan, I relied on mayonnaise quite a lot and put it on all sorts of things. It goes well with practically anything, from hamburger steak to grilled fish. Asparagus, green beans, broccoli... They all become incredibly delicious just by adding mayonnaise!

"However, mayonnaise does have one drawback: since it uses raw eggs, there is a risk of food poisoning. This mayonnaise is safe because I've sterilized it with my magic, but it would be difficult for me to stay at the food stall all the time, so I'd like to make a magic tool that will let us use mayonnaise at the stall. Would it be all right if I received some magic stones and magic iron?"

When I said that, Richard-sama gazed into the distance for a moment before agreeing.

"I suppose I should be surprised that magic can eliminate the risk of food poisoning, but you're Leon... I did say before that I would provide whatever you needed for your personal use, so supplying you with magic stones and magic iron is fine. However, is there no way to eat this mayonnaise without using magic?"

Hmm... Now that he mentions it, Japan doesn't have magic, so how did we kill the bacteria? Did we have some sort of technology for it?

Japan lets people eat rice topped with raw egg, after all...

"I'm sorry, but I don't know."

"I see. In that case, it can't be helped. It's a shame that we can't spread something this delicious, though..."

"Wouldn't it work if we distributed the magic tools I make and sterilized all the eggs? That said, I don't know whether something on that scale would be possible..."

"No, you're right. I can't register a method of eliminating the risk of food poisoning with healing magic under the current circumstances, but if you become a noble and register this magic tool, it should be possible to spread it... Giving it to the producers would be the most efficient approach..."

Richard-sama seemed to have thought of all sorts of things and fell into deep thought. Please do your best to spread mayonnaise, Richard-sama.

I looked away from Richard-sama and glanced around at the others. Then I met Catherine-sama's eyes.

"Leon! This sweet crepe is wonderful!"

"Catherine-sama, I agree completely. This is absolutely delicious."

Catherine-sama and Sophia-sama seemed to like the sweet crepes. They had requested them, so I was glad.

"This is honey, isn't it?"

"Yes. It's honey and butter."

"The batter seems to be slightly sweet as well...?"

"I added a little sugar to the batter to make it sweet."

"This is truly wonderful. I could eat it every day!"

"I'm glad you like it."

Catherine-sama looked ready to finish an entire sweet crepe, but was it really all right for her to eat that much?

She was eating it so happily that there was no way I could stop her...

Well, I was glad they seemed to like them. I should eat one too. I'll start with the pork salad crepe.

I cut off a bite and popped it into my mouth... Munch, munch... Yes. It's unbelievably delicious. The mayonnaise is just too good. This is the best!

I had eaten nearly half the crepe before I realized it and hurriedly stopped. I wouldn't be able to eat dinner later at this rate.

Next was the honey butter. I took a bite... Yes! It was sweet and incredibly delicious! Sweet crepes really are the best. I'm so happy... The faint buttery aroma and the sweetness of the honey were a perfect match. This was a huge success.

These dishes should work for the food stall. Now I just need to teach Ronnie and solve any problems that come up.

I'm glad it looks like we can start next Recovery Day~!

"Then, with these two dishes, I plan to start the food stall next Recovery Day."

"Yes. These should become quite popular."

"Thank you. I'll do my best!"

Now that the crepes were finished, I could finally relax. Huh? I feel like there was something else I wanted to ask. Something I wanted to ask Richard-sama about... What was it??

Hmm... Ah! I wanted to ask whether I was allowed to register the magic tool! I almost forgot.

"Richard-sama, there is one thing I'd like to ask. You previously told me to stop registering new magic tools until I graduate from the Royal Academy. But is it all right to register improvements to magic tools? I'd also like to register a technology..."

"Magic tool registration? Technology registration? Why are we talking about that? If you're talking about the sterilization tool we just discussed, I'd prefer you not register it yet."

"No, I don't mean the sterilization tool. Actually, I improved a magic tool in the magic tool research club, and my teacher told me that I should register it..."

"Wait a moment. Let me organize this information. First of all, did you join the magic tool research club, Leon?"

"Yes. Didn't I tell you?"

"I haven't heard that."

Come to think of it, Richard-sama hadn't been at dinner yesterday or the day before because he was busy with work. So I had made it this far without reporting it to him.

I thought someone must have told him, but now that I thought about it, there was no way for him to learn about things happening inside the Royal Academy right away unless I reported them myself.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but Lucien-sama and I joined the magic tool research club. Stephan-sama and Martine-sama joined as well."

"What a lineup..."

Richard-sama's expression became a mixture of exasperation and exhaustion. I was sorry about that...

"May I continue?"

"Yes, go on."

"We were thinking of improving the light orb in the magic tool research club..."

From there, I explained how we had improved the light orb and how the switch function worked.

"I understand. So you plan to register the switch function as a technology and the improved light orb as a magic tool?"

"That's right. Would it be all right to register them under my name?"

"Hmm... As long as it doesn't reveal that you have every affinity, it should be fine. The light orb uses healing affinity, after all. Technology registration has nothing to do with affinities, so that should be fine as well."

"Thank you!"

Wonderful! Once I registered them, I'd receive a steady income, and things would become more convenient. This was the best!

"Leon, I don't want to place too many restrictions on your actions, but be careful never to reveal that you have every affinity. This is absolutely essential. If people learned that you possess every affinity, other countries would hunt you desperately. I intend to protect you with all the power at my disposal, but I can't promise that I'll always be able to do so. You're still a commoner. If you were a noble, it might be different, but if you were abducted as a commoner, I might not be able to rescue you."

Richard-sama told me this with an extremely serious expression. I had to make absolutely sure no one found out...

"Yes. I'll be careful."

When I replied with an equally serious expression, Richard-sama's face immediately relaxed.

"As long as you take care with that, enjoy your student life as you please."

"Yes! Thank you very much."

After that, we finished dinner in a pleasant atmosphere and returned to our rooms. Phew... Today was exhausting.

However, I still had one thing left to do: continue testing the Item Box. Once the servants had left my room, I got into bed and took out the ice I'd put inside earlier.

Oh! It hadn't melted at all. It looked exactly the same as when I put it in. This strongly suggested that no time had passed inside!

I was getting excited, but somehow managed to restrain myself as I took out the other thing I'd put inside. This one was boiling water.

If time passed inside the Item Box and it was merely kept at a low temperature, I wouldn't be able to tell from the ice experiment alone.

Amazing... I could tell just by looking. Steam was billowing up from the surface of the water. It was completely unchanged from when I put it in the Item Box.

That settles it!! My Item Box is an amazing item in which time doesn't pass. This is such a fantastic result.

For now, I'll make a habit of buying food regularly and storing it in my Item Box. This means I won't have to worry about running out of food, no matter what happens. I'd like to put blankets and a bed in there too if possible, but... I'll do that later.

Wait... I just thought of something. Can living creatures be put in the Item Box?

What about live fish or plants? Could a human being be put in there too...?

Yikes! That would be terrifying if it were possible. Time doesn't pass inside the Item Box, right? What would happen if I put a living thing in there...? Or maybe living things simply can't be stored.

I should try it sometime... I'll catch a fish in the river and put it in. It might also be worth trying with a plant and its soil.

Phew... But I'll worry about that later. I'm already incredibly sleepy, so I'm going to bed... I'll do my best tomorrow too.