Chapter 54 - Party Preparations
“Mom and Dad should start taking a break on day 6 of each week.”
Gail told Aina after she stopped crying.
In this world, every month has five weeks of six days, or a total of thirty days. The days have no specific names. They're simply referred as day 1, day 2, day 3, and so on. I thought that day 6 could be treated like Sunday.
"Okay, I'll talk to Arnold about it when he gets back."
"Then, please let Brick take days off on this week’s day 5 and 6. I will hold a party on day 5 and probably stay the night."
"You will stay the night?"
"I think Pops and the others will be too drunk to go home."
"Yeah, if it's Dwan, I can see that happening."
"Right? Bossman will be there too, and you can pretty much imagine what will happen when the dwarf brothers are drinking together."
"Oh, you invited Miguel too? Is Mom the only one who's being left out?"
Aina made a slightly displeased face.
"I can't just invite you without inviting Bent, right? Or is it okay if Bent learns about the revelation and other stuffs?"
"I think it's still too early."
“That’s why Mom and Bent should go somewhere too on that day. Even if it’s for the entrance test, Dad and John are traveling together to the royal capital, right?”
“That’s true, but where should we go?”
"How about taking Bent around the town and staying at an inn there? Just the two of you. It's not often you get the chance to stay at an inn in your own town, and seeing your own town from a guest’s perspective might be a good experience."
"I see. Bent has never stayed at an inn before, so it might be a good learning experience for him."
Thus, the party was set for the next day 5.
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The next day, Gail and the others went shopping together.
Since we need to buy a lot of alcohol and other ingredients for the party, one shopping trip probably won't be enough.
"Brick, do they sell cheese here?"
"There are merchants who sell cheese from the royal capital, but since it's expensive, they usually only have a small amount in stock."
Cheese seems to be a luxury product in this world, and since it doesn’t sell well in this territory, merchants are rarely stocked it.
"I think we'll be using more cheese at the mansion from now on, so stock it regularly. I'll tell Dad later."
“If you say so, Young Master.…”
While Gail was instructing Brick to stock cheese, the group arrived at the shopping district.
“Oh, Misha. You’ve got a big group today. Here to look around again?”
"No, we are going to buy a lot of things today."
Misha smiled brightly.
Isn't he the same man who called out to us last time?
"Do you have any cheese in stock?"
"Cheese? I just received a wheel of cheese the other day. How much do you need?"
Gail told Brick to buy the whole cheese.
"I will take all of it."
"All of it!? That's fine, but the price...."
"How much is it?"
"Ten silver plates."
A wheel of cheese about 20 cm in diameter and 5 cm high costs 100,000 yen!? That's pretty expensive indeed.
"Y-Young Master, I don't think we need that much cheese...."
"Dan, do you still have the money from Dad?"
"Yes, there's still plenty left."
"Then, let's buy the whole cheese."
Even this whole cheese will probably run out soon.
Ignoring the surprised Brick and shopkeeper, Gail kept ordering one thing after another. Especially large quantities of ale and wine.
"This looks quite a lot...."
Gail wondered if they could finish it all. Especially ale and wine.
"That's right, buy some pork ribs, too."
"Aren't we going to hunt for the meat?"
"I need them now to make something that will take time to prepare."
"Shopkeeper, give us 3 kilograms of pork ribs, too."
The shopkeeper looked delighted because the orders keep increasing.
"Umm, it's 27 silver plates in total.... I'll give you a discount since you bought a lot, so you only need to pay me 25 silver plates."
I don't quite understand the breakdown, but it seems he gave us a discount of about 20,000 yen.
The shopkeeper lent them a cart to carry the goods, so they didn't have to go back and forth.
“Thank you very much. I look forward to your next purchase.”
The group then left the store.
It's quite funny watching Dan pull the cart. He looks like a bear from the circus.
Gail thought so while riding on the cart that Dan pulled.
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On the way to the forest, the group stopped by Miguel's place to tell him the date of the party.
"Bossman, the party date has been set!"
"Hey, kiddo. Oh, there's a face I don't recognize."
"He is our chef, Brick. He'll be cooking for the party."
"Oh, really? I'm Miguel, a carpenter. I'm counting on you to make delicious food."
Brick staggered when Miguel hit him in the back.
"M-My name is Brick. I will do my best."
Gail told Miguel about the time and date of the party after that.
"Bossman, is there any hickory among the lumber you work with?"
"You mean that hard wood? I've already used it all. There are only scraps left."
"The scraps are fine. Give everything to me if you are not going to use them."
"What are you planning to do with them?"
"You'll have to wait and see."
"Tch, again?"
Miguel brought a mountain of hickory scraps for Gail while grumbling.
“Then, see you at the party.”
The group left Miguel’s place and headed to Dwan’s place next.
"Pops, the party date has been set!"
"Hey, kiddo.... and isn't he your chef?"
"Hello, it's been a while. I've been put in charge of cooking for the party."
Have they met before?
"Have your cooking skills improved?"
"That's...."
Did something happen between them in the past?
"Never mind. You should be able to make something decent as long as you follow the kid. But if you serve me bad food again, I’ll take your knives away.”
Brick could only smile awkwardly at Dwan’s words.
Looks like something did happen between them in the past.
"Pops, could you make six mugs and a barrel about this size out of light, sturdy metal?"
"Aren't wooden mugs and barrel good enough?"
"Well, if you say so, then never mind...."
“There you go making people curious again.”
“I really don’t mind either way.”
"Damn it. Fine!"
In the end, Dwan agreed to make them. He must have sensed that it was related to alcohol.
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The group finally arrived at the forest.
"I can't believe there's something like this in the middle of the forest...."
Brick was surprised to see the cabin, and even more surprised when he saw the kitchen inside.
“Isn’t it amazing? Young Master built almost the whole thing by himself.”
“How is that possible?”
In this world where wooden buildings were the norm, a structure made of earth seemed unbelievable.
"Young Master built this cabin with magic. It took quite a while, though."
"With magic? Young Master can use magic too?"
"Young Master can do anything. He even taught me how to use magic, though I’m still not very good at it.”
"You can use magic too, Dan?"
"Do you also want to learn it?"
“No, I’d rather learn more about cooking than magic. Young Master, please teach me!”
"That's the plan. I'll teach you everything I know, so you can make delicious food for us every day."
"Yes, sir!"
Brick answered enthusiastically.
"Today we will be just moving the ingredients and alcohol into the cabin and will not get anything done. We also need to return the cart, so let's head back to town after we're done unloading."
Gail and the other left the forest after finished unloading the goods.
"Before returning the cart, we will stop by the mansion first."
"Do you need something from there?"
"Brick, you have to make lunch today, right?"
"Oh, that's right. This is bad!"
"You baked bread this morning, didn't you?"
"Yes, I baked enough bread for breakfast and lunch."
"Let's make sandwich for today’s lunch. You just need to prepare some meat and leafy vegetables."
"Sandwich?"
"Don't worry, it's easy to make."
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“Cut the bread right in the middle like this, but don’t cut all the way through.”
Brick cut the bread one after another.
"Misha, make some hard-boiled eggs. We will use them like last time, so it's okay if they fall apart."
"Dan, make the mayonnaise...."
Dan made a very unhappy face as soon as Gail mentioned mayonnaise.
I forgot to ask Dwan to make a hand mixer.
"Young master, I've made plenty of mayonnaise before."
Good job, Brick.
When Gail looked to the side, there was a bear with a relieved expression.
“Then, Dan, spread the bread open and lightly toast the inside on the pan. Don’t burn it, okay?”
It's fine as is, but it tastes better if you lightly toast it.
"Young Master, the eggs are ready."
"Crush and mix them with the mayonnaise to make tartar sauce, but make it a little bit saltier than last time."
"Yes!"
Misha replied happily.
She must be excited to see what kind of food we make this time.
"Young Master, what kind of meat should we use?"
"Anything is fine."
Brick then brought a big chunk of beef.
“Slice it thinly and stir-fry it.”
"I understand."
Obviously, he knows how to stir-fry.
"It's done!"
“Do we have any leafy vegetables, like lettuce?”
“Yes, we do have some.”
“Tear it into suitable pieces by hands.”
“Tear by hands? Not cut it with a knife?”
“Lettuce tastes better when you tear it by hands rather than cutting it with a knife.”
Brick looked surprised again.
I feel like I’ve only seen that face from him lately.
"Next, spread mayonnaise on the inside of the bread, add lettuce and meat, then lettuce and tartar sauce, and it's done."
Two sandwiches should be enough for each person. It's almost twice the size of the sandwiches I used to eat in my previous life, after all.
A serving maid hurriedly carried the finished sandwiches to the dining room. It seemed they made it just in time for lunch. The servants’ portions were left in the kitchen.
Now, let's eat....
Dan had already finished his sandwiches, while Misha was repeatedly saying how delicious it was with her mouth full.
"Young master, this dish is...."
"I don't know if I can call this a dish, but it's called bread roll sandwich."
"Sandwich?"
"It's a dish where you put fillings between bread and eat it. We used bread roll today, but it's more common to make them with sliced bread."
"Sliced bread?"
Oh, right, we don’t have sliced bread here. Maybe I should ask Dwan to make the mold later.
"We can’t make that bread yet since we don’t have the mold. The taste isn’t much different from bread roll, so once we get the mold, I’ll try to make it."
"Yes!"
Brick looked really happy.
"Not enough.... They're all gone in an instant...."
Gail gave his other sandwich to Dan who looked sad.
It's kind of fun like feeding a bear, so I’ll call it a win.
"Brick, could you take the pork ribs we bought earlier, salt them generously, and wrap them in cloth? I want you to change the cloth every day until the day of the party."
"Are you making dried meat?"
"No, I’m thinking of making bacon ribs. There's no enough time, so I’ll make it with just simple salting."
"What's bacon?"
"You'll find out later."
Gail told Brick to cut the ribs into blocks about 10cm wide and poking holes in them with a fork before salting them. He also told him to check them regularly since a lot of liquid would come out and the cloth would get soggy. Brick stayed at the mansion while Gail, Misha, and Dan went to return the cart.
"Zach, we've come to return the cart."
Misha called out to the shopkeeper.
His name is Zach, huh.
"Oh, Misha. You could just return it tomorrow."
"We’ve finished our errands, so we’re returning it now. Thank you very much."
"No, I’m glad I could help you, Misha."
Zach was grinning from ear to ear.
This guy, could he be interested in Misha? I won't give her to you.
"Hey, Zach."
Zach flinched when Gail call out to him.
"Y-Yes?"
"Can you stock cheese regularly ?"
"If there’s a customer who buys it regularly, I can stock it regularly too, but...."
"I’ll buy a wheel of cheese every month, so stock it regularly."
"O-Okay."
Zach was surprised to hear a toddler talked like an adult and said that he would buy such a luxury product as cheese regularly. Gail negotiated to get him to lower the price to eight silver plates since it would be a regular purchase.
"Young Master, are you going to buy such an expensive product every month?"
"Yeah, I think Misha will enjoy it the most."
"Wait, not just at the party, but will we be able to eat cheese at the mansion too?"
"That's right. It's better to share delicious food with everyone, after all."
Even if Arnold refuses to pay for it, I'm getting a decent amount of money every month, so I can just pay for it myself.
"Yay!"
Just seeing Misha this happy makes buying the expensive cheese worth the money.