Introducing Whipped Cream

The shop had kept me busy every day, but I’d made one serious mistake... I realized it during Recovery Magic class two days ago.

On the carriage ride to class, Stacy-sama casually said, "Leon, are you coming to our house again this week? If so, there’s a dish I’d like you to try." That one remark let Martine know I went to Baron Daligard’s estate every week.

Of course, I hadn’t meant to hide it. I’d just been so busy that I forgot to mention it—or didn’t think I needed to—or thought I’d already told her... Anyway, I’d forgotten to tell Martine.

When Martine heard Stacy-sama say that, she was truly terrifying. She glared at me accusingly for what felt like a full minute, then asked in a chilly voice, "Why does Leon go to Baron Daligard’s estate every week?"

...It was really scary.

I knew I was in trouble, so I desperately explained everything that had happened and went into great detail about what I did at Stacy-sama’s estate. But when I mentioned the whipped cream, Martine got even angrier.

It was entirely my fault for not telling Martine, who loved sweets, about the new dessert right away... Next time, I’d tell her immediately. Definitely.

After that, I somehow managed to apologize to Martine, and she forgave me on the condition that I unveil the whipped cream today.

This time, we were holding a whipped cream tasting at the ducal residence. I’d asked Yoan to come especially today and make pancakes topped with whipped cream. He had to make enough for everyone in the ducal family, so he must have his hands full... Sorry, Yoan.

Now, only Lucien, Stefan, Martine, and I were in the sitting room at the ducal residence, with freshly made pancakes in front of us. They’d just been brought in, and their sweet, appetizing aroma filled the room. My stomach was about to growl.

Yoan really was amazing. His presentation had improved a lot since last time. He’d arranged several fruits on top of the pancakes with the whipped cream, and served the caramel in a separate container so we could add as much as we liked.

"Wow, Leon! Is this a pancake? It smells wonderful!"

"Yeah. The pancake is the bottom layer, and the white stuff on top is whipped cream. The dark brown stuff in the separate container is caramel. You can pour the caramel over the whipped cream or pancake, however you like."

Martine was the most excited, but Stefan and Lucien’s eyes were shining too, and they looked like they couldn’t wait. At this rate, they wouldn’t take in a word I said. I smiled wryly and told them,

"Go ahead and try it, then tell me what you think."

The moment I said that, everyone picked up their cutlery at once and hurried to bring the pancakes to their mouths, keeping their manners while moving as quickly as possible.

Martine took a bite of pancake with whipped cream and fruit, Stefan tried a bite of pancake by itself, and Lucien started with a bite of whipped cream alone.

You could tell a lot about someone by how they chose to try it first. Martine went straight for everything together, as if to say she loved all sweets; Stefan avoided the unfamiliar whipped cream and tried the pancake alone; and Lucien went straight for the unusual whipped cream.

Of course, I started with the pancake by itself. I loved its simple sweetness. Next, I tried pancake with whipped cream, and the cream’s added sweetness took it to a whole new level. Then I drizzled caramel over the cream and ate it with the pancake. The slight bitterness amid all that sweetness gave it a completely different flavor. Finally, I tried the fruit with whipped cream. The slightly tart fruit went perfectly with the sweet cream, making it absolutely delicious.

Yeah, it was the best. So incredibly good. Sweets... sweet things... they make you happy.

While I savored my pancakes, everyone else had eaten about half and seemed to have calmed down a little. They started sharing their thoughts.

"Leon, it’s unfair to keep something this delicious from us!"

"Yeah, I completely agree with Lucien."

"Absolutely! You were keeping something this delicious all to yourself!"

Though I guess they weren’t so much sharing their thoughts as complaining about me. I suppose I could have told these three a little sooner.

"Sorry, sorry. I wasn’t trying to hide it. It isn’t completely finished yet, and I didn’t think it was worth going out of my way to show it off. The shop isn’t even open yet..."

"This isn’t the finished version!?"

"Yeah. Yoan’s been experimenting with different things to make it even tastier, so it’ll probably change a little more."

This pancake was already a lot better than the one I’d first taught him to make. Yoan had been experimenting with the proportions and such, and the texture and flavor had changed quite a bit.

Right, there was something that had surprised me. It turned out that this world had weighing scales, too.

Of course, they looked different from the ones in Japan, and they might not have been very accurate. But having scales made a world of difference. Now we could make sweets with consistent flavor. Apparently, they’d originally been used by apothecaries rather than for cooking.

So the sweets were sure to keep improving and getting tastier. Yoan was really enthusiastic about it.

"I see... I can’t imagine it getting any better than this."

"You’ll have to look forward to it. And the shop is going to sell lots of sweets besides pancakes, too."

When I said that, Martine exclaimed in surprise.

"You’ve developed that many kinds of sweets!?"

"I’m still working on them. I don’t know how many I’ll manage to finish, but I plan to make as many different kinds as I can."

"Wonderful! When you develop a new sweet, make sure you tell me right away next time. You absolutely must!"

"I will. But summer break is coming up soon, right? It might be difficult during that time."

When I said that, all three of them stared at me blankly and tilted their heads.

"Why? Without Royal School, wouldn’t you have more time for things like this?"

"Exactly. Do you have plans? I was planning to have tea with you often during summer break, Leon."

Huh!? Really!?

It was true that we hadn’t discussed summer break at all... I’d been planning to go home all along, and had assumed everyone else thought so too.

"I’m planning to go back to my parents’ house. I’m also planning to visit the orphanage where Ronnie grew up. I’ll be leaving as soon as summer break starts."

"Y-you are!? I was planning to have tea with you several times a week, Leon..."

Martine said that, looking downcast. Stefan and Lucien seemed a little less enthusiastic too.

Um... Was it bad that I planned to go home? But I wanted to go back and see Mom, Dad, and Marie.

"Sorry, everyone. Um... what are you all doing during summer break?"

"Well, we’ll mostly be reviewing our lessons at our estates and socializing with people we’ve gotten to know at Royal School."

"So you won’t be leaving the central district?"

"Generally, no. I’d just assumed Leon would be doing the same, but of course, you’re not a noble."

"I don’t have to stay in the central district, do I?"

"No, you’re free to go wherever you like."

That was good to hear. I felt bad for them, but I’d stick to my plans and visit the orphanage and go home. Maybe I’d come back a little early and have tea with everyone.

"Then I’ll go home as planned. But I’ll come back a little early, so will you have tea with me when I return?"

"You absolutely have to! Don’t end up coming back at the last minute, all right?"

"Got it. I’ll make sure I don’t."

And so, after making plans with everyone for summer break, we enjoyed our pancakes, and the whipped cream tasting came to an end.

The whipped cream pancakes tasted like pure happiness. I hope we can get the cakes into some kind of finished form by the end of summer break.