Chapter 53 - Mindset Reform
Dan and Brick were snacking on fried chicken while drinking ale in the servants' quarters.
"This fried chicken and ale really go well together. It's so delicious I can't stop eating it."
Dan kept alternating between fried chicken and ale. Meanwhile, Brick stopped eating and just staring at the fried chicken.
"Hey, Dan. What's the deal with Young Master? He isn't even three years old yet, but he talks like an adult."
"Young Master is is amazing, after all."
"Young Master is is amazing...?"
"That's right. Do you really want to learn more about Young Master? Once you learn it, there will be no turning back."
*gulp*
Brick swallowed his saliva.
"F-Fine, tell me more about Young Master. Whether it's the bread or this fried chicken, I don't think they're things of this world. Young Master must know even more recipes, right?"
"That's highly possible."
"I'm proud to cook for Dinoslayer Family. However, I've always wondered about whether it's okay to serve almost the same dishes every day. Then, Young Master, who's just such a small child, showed me a new world of cooking...."
"If you treat Young Master as a child, you'll just get confused. He may be small, but it's better to think of him as an adult. He can be childish at times, but sometimes, I even think he's older than me."
"So, what exactly is Young Master?"
"Let me ask you once more, do you really want to now? Big things are likely to happen frequently involving Young Master from now on. You'll definitely get dragged into it."
"Did you regret learning about Young Master?"
"There are difficult times, but for me, the fun times outweigh those times. I've become able to do things I couldn't do before, and more than anything, I feel like he's filled the void in my heart, so I'm really grateful to him."
"Speaking of which, you've become much brighter and more talkative compared to when you just started working here."
"Yeah, it's all thanks to Young Master."
Brick went silent for a moment.
"Let me join you guys. I'm ready. I want to experience a new world, too."
"I understand."
Dan explained to Brick that Gail had knowledge about various new things because he had received a divine revelation to be useful to this world.
"The only ones who know about this are Master Arnold, Madam Aina, Misha, Dwan the weaponsmith, and Miguel the carpenter. John, Bent, and the other servants don't know. Don't ever talk about it to anyone else."
"O-Okay. I'll definitely keep it a secret."
Thus, Brick the chef became a member of the group.
"Young Master is planning to hold a small party to celebrate the completion of his forest base. I'll bring you along, so ask Madam for a day off."
"If I take a day off, what about everyone's meals?"
"Master Arnold and Young Master John will be going to the royal capital soon, right? I think you can get a day off then. Everyone can make their own food or eat out once in a while."
"Got it. I'll talk to Madam Aina about it later."
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Three days after Bent's reconciliation dinner, Arnold and John headed to the royal capital for the entrance test. It took about a full day by carriage to the royal capital. Unless it was an emergency, you couldn't enter the royal capital after sunset, so it was common to stay overnight at a post town along the way. Arnold and John were eating dinner at one of those post town's inns.
"If all goes well, we'll leave tomorrow morning and arrive at the royal capital before evening. The entrance test is two days after that."
"Yes, I'll do my best."
John was full of energy, both physically and mentally. While munching on some bread sold by the inn, John muttered:
"Our dinner has become more delicious these days. But what was that soft bread, anyway?"
"I've told you that I asked Brick to make it, didn't I? I was also surprised."
"He'd never made anything like that before. Just because you asked him to, did he suddenly be able to make it?"
John was quite sharp.
"W-Well, he must have been working hard to improve his cooking skills until now, just like you."
Arnold was flustered.
"I want to eat soft bread."
"I'll have him make something if you pass."
Arnold felt relieved as he seemed to have managed to dodge the question well.
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Gail, Dan, and Misha went to the residential district to look for Miguel.
"There he is. Hey, Bossman!"
"Oh, kiddo. What's up?"
"I'm thinking of holding a small party to celebrate the completion of the cabin one of these days. When are you available?"
"Finally, huh. I'm good anytime. Just make sure you have some booze ready!"
"Got it. I will tell you when I've decided the date."
The group headed to Dwan's place next.
"Pops, are you there?"
"Oh, good timing. I want you to take a look at the toilet."
Gail was led into the workshop. Unlike white toilet bowl from his previous live, a brown, dull-glowing toilet bowl sat there.
"You finally made it, Pops!"
“It’s not quite ready for mass production yet, but it's finally starting to take shape."
This is the first step toward spreading Western-style toilets in this world. I hope by the time I’m an adult, it’ll be a standard facility.
“That’s still great, Pops.... Oh, I'm thinking of holding a small party to celebrate the completion of the cabin one of these days. When are you available?"
“Oh, you’re inviting me too? I’m free anytime.”
Looks like Dwan is also flexible with his time.
“That's right, what was that thing you shoved into my mouth the other day? It was awfully tasty.”
"Do you mean fried chicken? I’ll prepare some for the party too, so look forward to it.”
“I see. Make sure you have some alcohol ready, too. This fried chicken would go well with ale.”
Of course, it's alcohol. Dan seems to be drinking too, so I guess I should prepare to stay the night.
"Got it."
The group then headed to the forest.
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Dan talked to Gail after lunch.
"Young Master, Brick has joined us."
"Did you tell him everything? How was his reaction."
"He was quite surprised, but it seems his desire to learn more recipes from you outweighed his surprise."
"That's good to hear. I hope he learns more and more new recipes so he can make delicious food for us every day."
"I'm looking forward to it!"
Misha is unwavering when it comes to food, huh.
"On that note, I'm thinking of inviting Brick to the party and having him cook as well."
“That sounds great. We’ll hunt for the meat, but we'll need to buy other ingredients and alcohol too."
"Yeah, we need to prepare a lot of fried chicken. Pops is really looking forward to it."
“Then, should I make a different soup from last time? Something Misha would like.”
“Eh? What kind?”
“That’s a surprise for the day.”
Misha looked a bit disappointed.
"Young Master's new hobby is to make people curious, so just look forward to it."
Misha seemed to have given up after Dan said that.
"Then, let’s hold the completion party on Brick’s next day off. Do you know when is it, Dan?”
"Brick doesn't have any days off. He will need to ask Master or Madam’s permission if he wants to take one."
"He doesn't have any days off...?"
"Young Master, have you ever needed to eat out because there was no meals prepared?"
Now that he mentions it. Even though there are other servants, there's only one person who can cook at the mansion. Why didn’t I notice it until now? The Dinoslayer Family is such a black company. I'll talk to Aina about it when I get back.
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After dinner.
"Mom, I need to talk to you."
"Oh, what is it?"
“It’s about the servants’ days off. I'm planning to hold a small party to celebrate the completion of the cabin, and I want to bring Brick along, not just Dan and Misha.”
“Oh, so that’s what it was. Brick came to me asking for a day off this morning.”
“Has Brick ever taken a day off before?”
“I don't think so....”
"Don't you think that's a problem?"
"Oh, really? But I always give everyone a day off when they ask for one."
This worse than I thought. Arnold and Aina basically work every day, so it's become normal for them not to have any regular days off. This is a typical example of a small, exploitative company run by an individual, where the boss works without taking any days off, so the employees don't have any either.
"Mom, I think it would be better to have a set days off for the servants. Maybe Brick had never made any new dishes because he didn't have time to research it."
In this world with limited flavor variations, it might not have been a big deal before, but now that he has tasted a new flavor, he should be more interested in researching new dishes.
“Is that so? Why don't you just teach him? The dish from the other day was really delicious.”
No good. Her mindset is completely off. It's even worse because she doesn't mean any harm. It seems like I will have to be a bit harsh to get things to improve here.
“Dad and Mom hardly ever take breaks, right? Do you think that’s okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“Bent ended up like that because of Mom and Dad.”
To change Aina's mindset, first I'll stab her in the heart with a sword of words.
Aina's face suddenly contorted in fear.
“If Dad and Mom had taken regular breaks, spent more time with John and Bent, gone out to eat or played together, I don’t think things would have turned out that way.”
Aina’s face remained contorted.
I don't feel good about it, but let's twist the sword in Aina’s heart.
“If things keep going like this, Bent might close his heart again. If that happens, we won’t be able to do anything about it next time.”
Aina looked like she was about to cry.
This is probably as far as I can go.
"Dad and Mom suddenly became the lords and had to learn how to manage a territory from the scratch. That's why you didn't have time to rest, right?"
Tears welled up and spilled down Aina's cheeks.
“But, you know, I think it’s about time you start taking a regular break at least once a week. That way, the servants can rest too. If we go out or play together as a family, I think our family bonds will grow stronger.”
Aina couldn't hold back her tears anymore.
“If John passes the entrance test, he’ll move to the royal capital, right? The time we can spend together as a family will be less and less."
Now, let's pull the sword out and slowly heal her.
"I want to go somewhere with my family too...."
"You're right, we haven't spent nearly enough time together as a family."
Aina tried to hold back her tears, but they wouldn't stop. Gail hugged Aina tightly.
"Mom, I'm sorry. I just want you and Dad to enjoy yourselves a little more. I'm sure John and Bent want that too."
"Gail...."
Aina continued to rub her face against Gail's until it drenched in tears, too.