By the Grace of the Gods (LN) - Volume 7 - Chapter 17

Chapter 5 Episode 17: Experiment Results and Noble Cooking

“It’s almost lunchtime,” Lulunese muttered, after we’d collected a good amount of data through experimentation.

“Already? Maybe we should call it a day, then. I figure they’ll have that to worry about.”

“Understood.” Lulunese turned to relay the message to the group.

As I watched them pack up the courtyard, I noticed that Elise looked rather despondent. “Are you all right, Ma’am?”

“Oh, Ryoma. Yes, of course,” she answered in her usual tone.

It didn’t seem like she was trying to hide any ailment. Was the expression I saw from her just my imagination? “Your spirits seemed a bit low. I was worried that you weren’t feeling well.”

“How considerate of you... But it’s no big deal. It’s just about lunch...” Lunch? My confusion must have been written all over my face, as she continued with a chuckle.

“You’ll recall that in winter, especially during New Year’s, high society is in season. I attend many parties of all sizes each year, and often dine with strangers. But to tell you the truth... Their dishes are simply abhorrent.”

“Now that you mention it...” It felt like it had been eons ago, but it was actually barely even a year since we’d held a party to celebrate the opening of my shop. “You told me something similar back then. About how noble cooking’s awful flavor is in direct proportion to how expensive it is.” When they gave my cooking such high praise, I had commented that the ducal family must have eaten better food than mine often enough, only to be met with a strong denial. Of course, everything I’d had since coming to the manor was both delicious and luxurious...

“Party food isn’t the same...” Elise explained. “Some families primarily dine on them, insisting that they’re true noble food... But I, or rather, we don’t subscribe to that line of thinking. So we eat normal dishes most of the time. Even when we have guests, we weigh both options depending on whom we’re hosting.”

I see. Evidently, it was safe to assume that the two types of cooking were of completely different culinary genres. “I assume you mentioned it now because you’re having ‘high society’ dishes for lunch today.”

“That’s right. We have to decide what meals to serve when we host parties, and we’re already invited to many gatherings as it is. We can’t very well not touch the dishes served to us, so we try to get accustomed to those dishes again when winter comes around... Are you interested in them?”

“I’d be lying if I said I weren’t...” The dishes which Elise seemed to adamantly despise were the ones which struck my curiosity. That being said, I was sure that high society dishes would cost more than their usual meals. I was tempted to ask for a plate, just for curiosity’s sake...

“I don’t recommend it, but if you want to try a dish... No, really. I do not recommend it, but I’m sure there’s at least an extra serving in the kitchen they’ve cooked for tasting. I would just need to give the head chef the word, although I cannot emphasize enough how much I don’t recommend doing so.”

“If you don’t mind...” My curiosity had gotten the better of me.

“I shall see you later, then. I’ll send someone for you once it’s ready.”

I looked around the courtyard to find that it had been neatly packed up behind my back.

■ ■ ■

Lunchtime came around.

“Hello, Ryoma,” Reinhart said. “How was your experiment?”

“Very insightful, all thanks to your help.” I went on to report the results to Reinhart as we talked, waiting for the dish to be served. “The results from this morning pointed me in a direction I want to take the products in.”

Considering how my “volunteers” had ended up there, I had been concerned that they would be hesitant to share their opinion, but they were surprisingly open to sharing their thoughts with me. There were two responses that were particularly prevalent among the volunteers: the desire for a strongly scented scrub, and for an unscented scrub. The number of people who expressed each opinion were nearly identical. I was a bit surprised, since I hadn’t doubted whether I had to scent the scrubs until I got the results.

I dug into the demographics of each response and found that the strongly scented sugar scrubs were mostly requested by the working-class female servants. On the other hand, the unscented scrubs were wanted by the men, a small portion of the female servants, Elise, Lulunese, Libiola, and Elise’s two handmaidens, who were generally of higher status.

I asked the volunteers to explain their request, and the women who wanted scented scrubs explained that scented oils were a luxury which many of them couldn’t easily afford. Some of the oils were downright unobtainable for the working-class women, giving the scrub a certain extravagance. Thirdly, they hoped that the scent would linger on them after using the product. Scented oils were quite a luxury for them; in fact, they opined that they felt rejuvenated after I’d mixed a single drop of it in the scrub. They then emphasized that any lingering scent on their body was a great bonus.

One particularly open individual had suggested some surprising uses, such as tempting men after taking a bath. She was soon scolded by Libiola for going into risqué details that, according to her, no child should ever be made to hear, but I defended that maid as if my life depended on it. That was probably the most exhausting part of the whole experiment for me.

“Sounds like even more work than I’d expected...”

“I think their opinions were very helpful when it comes to product design.”

“That’s good to hear. So why did the others want unscented ones?”

“A few different reasons. While they were a minority among the larger volunteer pool, most of the men stated that they simply dislike scented oils.”

“Ah, I can see that. Make-up doesn’t really smell nice to me.”

That was something we could both agree on.

“Women, on the other hand, want to be beautiful for their men...” Elise muttered.

“I know you work hard on your make-up, of course,” Reinhart swiftly responded. I couldn’t read from Elise’s expression whether he had made the correct response.

I continued explaining. “Some of their reasons were work-related too. For example, those who work in the kitchen expressed that strongly scented scrubs would impede upon their work, or lead to them getting reprimanded by their boss. I imagine that the ladies of higher status already use scented oils day-to-day, since they told me that they usually wear an oil of their choosing, so they wanted a scentless sugar scrub to use while bathing which wouldn’t clash with their own scent. One of the kitchen maids mentioned that she wanted a scented scrub, but would prefer to use the unscented ones because of her work... It was very eye-opening to hear how opinions varied so much according to one’s occupation and status. Not to mention I just found it all quite interesting.”

I already had a general direction in mind for my products; I would market strongly scented scrubs to the working-class women, while I would stick with unscented or lightly scented ones to the others. Personally, I was hoping that I could use the excretions of deodorant slimes to develop the unscented scrub.

Deodorant slimes came from cleaner slimes after evolving them by feeding them charcoal. While there were variations to the deodorizing fluids, I knew that they were all black and included minuscule charcoal particles. I’d also verified that those properties lasted, even when the slimes were mixed into others. Extra-fine charcoal might have cleansing properties in addition to the deodorizing abilities.

Though I might have gotten carried away... “Uh, sorry for rambling.”

“No need to apologize. It’s certainly quite interesting. Plus, I find it impressive how you’ve thought all of this through from a single experiment.”

“Everyone’s been wonderfully cooperative. Plus, I hadn’t done something like this in a while, so I ended up having fun.” I still made an effort to research slimes here and there, but after leaving the forest and opening my shop...

“Since I left the forest, there’s been so much more that I’ve learned, and more responsibilities as well. I feel like I have fewer opportunities to concentrate on one thing... Oh, but I don’t regret leaving the forest, though... Meeting all of you, and everything that led up to me being here are all good memories now. I have no complaints about my current situation.” I had rushed the last bit, making sure to get it out before the moment was lost, and Elise and Reinhart seemed to pick up on my desperation as they wore gentle smiles... I felt a bit embarrassed, somehow.

“Excuse me.”

“Yes, finally!” I was relieved from the atmosphere of silent pity. The other two at my table, however, were clearly beginning to lose their spirits, despite their best attempts to conceal it...

“We have an albon salad today, then a beef soup...” Bahtz, the head chef, had brought out the plates himself, perhaps because they were high society dishes. Backed by the concise description of each item on today’s menu, the maids quietly served the room.

Then came the moment of truth—my first taste of genuine noble cooking. I kept my cool. Taking my cue from my tablemates, I started with the salad... It tasted alright, a bit like avocado. The flavor profile was a bit different, but it was a good salad. Nothing unusual as far as I’d noticed, other than the sprinkle of gold dust.

“This is a good salad. You can really taste the albon.”

“I heard we had a good year for albon. Nutritious and in season. This plate alone would cost ten small gold coins, at the very least.”

Ten?! Ten small gold coins, just for this little dish?! No one could have gotten more than four or five bites (or two mouthfuls if they were hungry) from that dish. So this meant my first bite was worth two small gold coins? How expensive can these foods get?!

“Are you all right, Ryoma?”

“Oh, yes. It was delicious. I was just a bit surprised by the price.”

“That’s good to hear. But the price is in line with food served at noble parties. And all the guests are served, of course.”

“How many guests are typically invited to a party?”

“I don’t know... It all depends, but we’re talking hundreds.”

Ten gold coins for a salad...times a hundred. I couldn’t imagine being responsible for all of that.

“It’s not every day I get to see you flustered.”

“Don’t tease him so, Elise.”

Was she teasing me?

“Were you kidding?”

“Not at all.”

“I see your point, Ryoma,” Reinhart interjected. “In a way, though, it’s a noble’s duty to spend money on parties. That’s how the economy turns.”

That was fine and all, but the price tag was just too high for me to comprehend...

Before I knew it, my salad was gone, especially since I had kept up with my tablemates. As I couldn’t help but think that I should have savored it a little more, the soup was served. A beef stew with hot peppers, I was told. It had a dangerous-looking color, but I felt a twinge of nostalgia looking at it...

The instant I put a spoonful in my mouth, a stabbing sensation spread through my mouth. Then, I remembered... It was as hot as those ‘Whatever Challenge’ meals where it’s free if you finish it all within an hour!

Reinhart choked on his sip. “Pardon me...” Meanwhile, Elise seemed too overwhelmed to speak.

“Are you two all right?” I asked.

“Yes, I’d simply forgotten how much of a punch it packs... And you, Ryoma?” Reinhart seemed surprised at how nonchalant I was.

I took another spoonful. “I could totally finish this.” My boss had forced me to do those spicy challenges in my previous life, after all... Besides, the soup had more than extreme spice.

“The spice is the first thing that comes at you, but I can taste the savory beef broth after a while. It’s delicious.”

That made it quite distinct from dishes that were just spicy for the sake of it, to prevent people from eating it all. While the soup was spicy, it still tasted like the chef wanted me to enjoy it. I guess it would have been tough on somebody not as good with spicy foods, but I could totally handle it!

It was a small serving to begin with, so my bowl was emptied rather quickly. I had finished the soup without touching my glass of water, which seemed to perplex the maid who was standing by with a full pitcher.

“Now that’s what it’s all about...” Bahtz said. “Didn’t think you’d notice the flavor under the spice. At noble parties it’s all about the dishes that use the more expensive foods or spices. There’s the traditional spice scale of one to ten peppers, but I sometimes wonder who would ever eat something so spicy that it’s uncomfortable to eat.”

One to ten peppers... just like they had in modern restaurants. Coincidence or not, nobody in their right mind could call that ‘traditional.’ Talking to you, past-traveler!

“Even so, I wanted those with enough daring to savor the dish. And now I feel like my efforts were worth it. Thank you.” Bahtz’s gratitude made me wonder... Was a dish like this not palatable to the majority of the population? “Probably not, unless you’re a noble who eats this sort of dish on a daily basis. If you’re working-class, you can hardly use any spices to begin with, so the flavor might be too strong. It’s kind of funny for me to say this, but I’m impressed you could finish it.”

“I’ve had something like this before,” I vaguely explained.

“That’s right,” Reinhart chimed in. “Spices grow in your homeland, don’t they?”

“Yes, yes. We had plenty of black and red peppers.”

“In your homeland, you say...” Bahtz dug in. “I’d like to hear more about them sometime, if you’re not too busy. Might help out for the next time I want to make something that uses a lot of spices but still has flavor.”

“I’m certainly not an expert, but I’d be happy to share what I know.”

That concluded my conversation with the head chef. Having saved face by playing along with that misunderstanding, I moved onto the next dish, still surprised that the Japanese culture (if one could call it that) of super-spicy dishes had been carried on in this world as a noble tradition.

“Roast beef, with caccao reduction.”

The sauce was terribly bitter. It vaguely resembled a chocolate sauce with no sweetness or smoothness whatsoever; the flavor was similar to straight cacao.

After finishing all of the other dishes, I learned that a traditional noble dinner included not only dishes that were super spicy and super bitter, but super sour and super sweet, too. If I could have sent one phrase back in time...I would have gone with “less is more.”