Tensei Shite Inaka de Slowlife wo Okuritai - Chapter 568

Dinner with Gideon

When they made their way to the small dining room, the Misfeed family was seated in the same order as on the first day. The only difference was that Gideon was sitting next to Schugel with his arms folded.

　Once we were seated, Schugel spoke.

"Let me introduce you to my son, Gideon."

"Gideon Misfeed."

　Usually, one would apologize for the late greeting or some other standard phrase, but no such words came out of Gideon's mouth.

　Schugel nudged him, as if asking if Gideon had a better speech, but he just frowned.

"Nice to meet you, my name is Nord Slowlett."

"This is my wife, Elna."

"I'm Alfried, the second son."

　Without caring about Gideon's unfriendly attitude, Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan introduced themselves lightly, and then I joined in at the end.

　Even though it was a first meeting, the main people interacting were Nord-tousan, Elna-kaa-san, Schugel, and Gideon.

　As small children, Ra-chan, Shelka and I all just have to respond appropriately and answer the occasional question. It's really easy. I'll leave the active interaction to the other four.

　After a brief self-introduction, the maids came in pushing carts and placed the food on the tables.

　Although it started out as spinach potage and a salad of wild vegetables and thin fish, it also had an overall French feel, with dishes such as sirloin steak and white fish meunière.

　This kind of course meal is not often eaten at mansions, so it was a bit refreshing.

　Just like on the first day, we raised our glasses in a toast, and then I immediately reached for the spoon.

　The first thing we taste is spinach potage.

　When you scoop it up with a spoon, you can see that it is a beautiful green color.

　When I put it in my mouth, the flavor of spinach tickled my nostrils.

　It has a rich flavor and you can really taste the sweetness and umami of the spinach.

　The reason it has no unpleasant odor and is easy to eat is probably because the other ingredients such as onion and potato are well blended into the dish. The strong sweetness of the vegetables spreads throughout the dish.

　When I eat something that is good for my body, my heart feels happy too.

"Elna-dono, you are a magician, right?"

　As I was leisurely enjoying the potage, Gideon spoke to Elna's mother.

　I thought he was the type of person who wasn't interested in others, but it's unusual for him to go up to me and ask questions.

"Yes, I used to be an adventurer. I'm practically retired now though."

　Perhaps because of her interactions with high-ranking nobles, Mother Elna responded modestly.

　Despite saying that, a while ago, he defeated Eleonora without using any magic, just with his wand skills. Although he is humble, there is no doubt that he is still capable of performing at the top level.

What attributes can I use?

"Fire and water. What about you, Gideon?"

"The three elements are fire, water, and wind."

"It's impressive that you can use three attributes."

"As someone born into the Miss Feed family, this is only to be expected."

　Although Elna-kaasan deals with them with a gentle smile, I'm sure deep down she finds it annoying. Dealing with high-ranking nobles is probably the worst thing for her.

"Sherka-sama and Rana-sama also have the three attributes?"

　Perhaps realising his wife's true feelings, Nord-tousan stepped in to help.

　Nord-tousan must be popular because he can do things like this so easily.

"I am fire, wind, and water."

"Well, I'm wind, earth and nothingness!"

　When Nord-tousan started a conversation, Shelka and Ra-chan stopped eating and answered.

　The way the conversation went, it looks like he's going to reject me too. This is bad.

　Gideon and his friends were proud of their ability to use the three elements and spoke of them with pride.

　If it becomes known that I can use even more attributes than that, I might be perceived as trying to gain the upper hand.

　If they get mixed up it could become a mess, so concentrate on your food and don't shake it, just spread that aura around.

　Enjoy a salad of wild vegetables and thin fish.

　When I took a bite of the mountain vegetables, which were arranged in a three-dimensional manner, I was greeted with a crunchy texture.

　You can see that there are dozens of different kinds of wild plants and vegetables mixed together. Each has a slightly different texture, which is interesting.

　It also pairs perfectly with sour and sweet citrus sauces.

　When I put a small piece of fish into my mouth, a fragrant aroma spread throughout the air.

　...It's smoked. I was surprised because I never thought that small fish would be smoked.

　It's been a while since I last had smoked food, but it was delicious, with a very fragrant and deep flavor.

　I'd like to try making this with Bartolo when I get home.

　I need to gather some information to do that. I call over the maid from the Misfeed household who is standing behind me.

"What kind of chips do you use to smoke this fish?"

"Apples. They have a soft fragrance, so they go well with light, mild ingredients like chicken and white fish."

　When I asked him, he answered with a bright smile.

　Not only do they know the general outline of the dish, but do they also know the ingredients that are being used?

　As expected from a duke's maid, her level is high.

"Alfleet - what are you talking about with my maid?"

"I'm kind of interested in smoking."

"Still weird as always."

　After hearing that reply, Shelka sighed in exasperation.

　Seeing my nonchalant attitude, it seemed foolish to even bring up the topic.

　Not only did I gain knowledge about smoking, but I also managed to avoid the troublesome conversation about attributes. It killed two birds with one stone.

　As I was feeling pleased with my splendid evasion technique, I noticed Ra-chan's glass in a dangerous position.

　If I keep going like this I'm afraid I'll catch my arm and drop the glass.

"Ra-chan, the glass is about to fall, it's dangerous."

"Eh? Ah――"

　I thought it was a good idea to warn him, but it ended up being worse than I expected.

　Because she instinctively tried to look to the right, Ra-chan's right arm hit the glass.

"'Psychic.'"

　I prepared myself to hear the sound of the glass shattering, but Ra-chan immediately activated her magic.

　He managed to stop a falling glass mid-way and return it to the table without spilling any of its contents.

"Wow, that's amazing!"

"I've been practicing a lot up until now. Hehehe."

　When I praised her for the speed at which she could cast magic, Ra-chan laughed happily.

　I instructed him to improve his psychic abilities to the level of everyday activity.

　Despite the fact that we had just practiced, Ra-chan was able to put it into practice right away, and I was impressed by how much she had grown.

"Wait a minute!"

　Gideon stood up and raised his voice, breaking our peaceful mood.

"What's wrong, Brother Gideon?"

　The strange atmosphere freaked me out, but Ra-chan seems to be used to it and is fine.

"Didn't you just cancel the chant?"

"Yeah. I did."

"When did you acquire such advanced techniques?!"

"Al told me about it."

"What?!"

　Hearing Ra-chan's reply, Gideon shot me a sharp look.

　What? Is canceling chanting really that amazing?

　Not to mention chanting-free spells, if it's just cancelling chanting, I think I'd be able to use one or two spells.

"Gideon, it's poor manners to stand up and raise your voice during a meal."

"Now is not the time to be worrying about such things--"

"Gideon? Can't you hear me?"

"……very sorry"

　When Floria asked again, Gideon apologized for his rudeness and sat down obediently.

　She didn't even seem to react much to Schugel's nudge. It seems she can't stand up to Floria. I guess mothers are strong in every household.

　I suddenly looked over at Gideon and he was staring right at me. It was really scary.

　I have a feeling this is going to be more troublesome than revealing the number of attributes I can use.