The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Shizukuku
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 064 – Change [A]
—Ten minutes later.
“…”
Leonhart stiffened when he saw the food that was about to be placed in front of him.
Standing before him, Kesselring was nervously gripping a serving dish. Her face was flushed, but it was unclear if it was out of shame that she had made such a dish, or if it was due to another reason.
However, it was safe to assume it was the former. Even now, her expression as she looked at Leonhart revealed how sorry she was.
“…Tha, that’s… I’m sorry that the food looks so terrible.”
“…Ah-…”
Although Leonhart definitely agreed with her assessment, he found it hard to voice that opinion.
Just as Kesselring said, the appearance of the meal she had served them was a little, nah, it was really quite terrible.
Inside the serving dish was a thick and cloudy liquid which was a bizarre mixture of red and white in color. The red part, which reminded one of a bright red island in the middle of a sickly pale sea, was the venison she brought back with her. There were colorful objects, which might have been wild herbs, and some other solid matter, floating there like balls of unknown fluff, further highlighting the eeriness of the dish.
…Bluntly said, it looks like vo— yep… I can only see it as that. 1
It was just a watery mess with a lump of meat floating in it. If he had to name it, it would be venison stew, but that was being generous.
However he felt reluctant to say such things out loud. He had no idea how he should respond to her remark.
Pale opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to be sharing Leonhart’s struggles. Pale was no longer seated beside Leonhart, but instead sat on a chair, just like Kesselring would soon do. As Pale looked at the dish,
“We, well the appearance might remind one of… something, but the most important thing is the taste! The taste! We-we’ll never know if we don’t at least try it!”
She tried her best to defend the unappetizing mess in front of them. Although Leonhart had a bad feeling about it, he decided to follow along with Pale by nodding and,
“…You’re right. Here, give it to me.”
“Ah…”
He took the serving dish out of Kesselring’s hands.
As the distance closed, a certain familiar scent tickled his nostrils. He forced himself to show no signs of discomfort as he endured the smell, causing Kesselring’s face to show signs of confusion as she finally sat down at the table with them.
He was pretty sure he understood the meaning behind that expression. That was,
…I want him to eat it, but I don’t want him to feel forced to eat it — it’s something like that I guess?
Leonhart suppressed a sigh. What a thing to say after hunting and cooking it yourself, he thought.
However, women were sly creatures. She did it for his sake. And since she prepared the food with that in mind, he had no choice but to accept it.
Therefore, Leonhart grabbed onto a half-soaked spoon, scooped up some of the meat and liquid, brought it towards his mouth,
“—hmn.”
He bravely took a bite.
Kesselring was so ashamed.
This was her first time cooking in her whole life. Although it was good for her to take on new challenges, the result was just terrible.
Of course, Kesselring had followed Pale’s instructions in regards to cooking — at least Kesselring thought she had. She had grilled the meat properly, seasoned it all properly, and didn’t add anything weird to the dish. She didn’t think making the meat into a stew was a bad choice either.
However, the result wasn’t what she expected it to be. And the thought that nagged her the most was,
…Why did I even bother serving it…?
She knew it was a massive failure, but she still chose to bring the dish out to Leonhart.
What she made wasn’t going to be good but, although she understood that, she was still trying to get him to eat it. Why was that?
Was it to protect her own vanity because she previously claimed that she could cook? Or was it,
…Perhaps I simply wished to see him eat the food I made for him?
She hoped he would be happy with it.
However, there was no way that he would be satisfied with such a disaster. It was nothing more than a shameful act on her part.
“—I see.”
“!”
Leonhart raised his voice.
He put the meat into his mouth and chewed it carefully. The things he might say after tasting it brought fear to Kesselring’s heart.
Kesselring wondered what he might say. Would he denounce her? Would he feel disappointed in her who pretended to be a capable cook? Such thoughts filled her mind.
In the midst of those thoughts, he spoke. He turned to her,
“You did the basics properly.”
As the result of testing the food, Leonhart made such a clear statement.
“It is seasoned properly. As for how the meat is cooked… well, you did grill it a little rare, but there’s nothing wrong with that.” 2
The taste of the meat was a little too strong and it gave off a bloody smell. It was probably because she didn’t drain the blood out properly when she was butchering it.
So that red color mixed in with the meat juice was probably blood, and it left a sharp bitterness in one’s mouth.
In the first place, venison almost had no fat, and the light taste of the lean meat was the selling point of the ingredient.
Leonhart didn’t mind the way it was cooked since he liked his meat rare anyways. It wasn’t like he couldn’t eat the barely-cooked meat.
…The problem is—
Leonhart proceeded to critique the food — just like his comrade, the gourmet Majin Galtia. As he stirred the bowl of stew with his spoon,
“The other ingredients are some wild herbs and finely chopped vegetables, right?”
“…Aah. I thought it would be bad if I only cooked meat…”
As Leonhart saw Kesselring nodding in daze, he continued.
“The stew contains practically raw venison that hasn’t been drained of its blood, and several types of herbs and vegetables.”
However, those alone wouldn’t be enough to make the food taste this bad, thought Leonhart. The culprit would be the cloudy white liquid in the stew.
Leonhart could tell what it was once he’d tasted it.
And it was,
“—Milk, isn’t it?”
The person who was surprised by his remark was Pale.
“Eh, you put milk in it?! …Ah, so that’s why there’s white stuff in there…”
“…I’m more surprised that milk is actually available here, though… well, let’s put that aside.”
He took another spoonful of the broth for confirmation.
Then the indescribable sweetness, bitterness, and toughness spread on his tongue. 3
—Bluntly said, it tasted bad.
However, he knew there were dishes in which milk was supposed to be mixed into the stew. It would produce a broth with creamy sweet taste.
So why didn’t this dish turn out like that? The reason was,
…She just poured some milk in… the taste I have here… is really just plain milk.
Originally, a dish which had milk mixed into it would also have things like white wine, butter, salt, and pepper to flavor it.
However, it wasn’t like those seasonings were going to be readily available here, so it couldn’t be helped. Although he was certain that the salt and pepper must be available after having tasted Pale’s dish,
…So that bitter taste is just venison with blood not properly drained in soup stock made using wild herbs and vegetables. I could feel the texture of the blood directly on my tongue though…
The true nature of the fishy odor and sweetness was probably the result of mixing milk with blood. To have such a flavor then mix with the bitterness of the meat is likely what made it produce such an indescribable taste.
I guess a normal person would probably throw up if they ate this, thought Leonhart, as he continued to eat.
Rather, he didn’t think the taste was that big of a deal. After all,
…If I compare it to Ssulal’s cooking… this isn’t even that bad…
He was still forced to endure Ssulal’s deadly cooking practices multiple times every month. Therefore, he no longer considered poor flavor to be a problem. It might not taste good, but it was still better than Ssulal’s since he could at least taste the dish properly.
And there was one other thing that came to mind for him. That was,
…She only chose nutritious ingredients for this dish.
It was the feelings she put into the food.
Perhaps Kesselring herself wasn’t aware of it.
Therefore, Leonhart came to a conclusion. He looked at Kesselring while he continued eating,
“It’s nutritious and it is cooked to some extent. It’s still edible… Although there are some problems like the fact that you didn’t drain the blood properly and the combination of ingredients doesn’t consider the taste—“
But that was,
“—You can just be more careful of those things from now on. I’ll look forward to the next meal you make.”
“—“
Enough to make Kesselring’s eyes widen.
Her face was filled with astonishment and relief. Then, after a short pause, it changed again to show an expression of regret,
“…I’m sorry. I lied to you.”
And that was,
“…I can’t cook. Today is the first time I’ve ever attempted it.”
As he saw Kesselring lower her head, he exhaled and said,
“…Well, I figured that out after the first mouthful. I don’t mind. Regardless of the taste, you put in everything you think my body needs. I’m grateful to you for cooking it.”
“…I see.”
As he said that with a wry laugh, Kesselring stared at him.
Her eyes were strangely hot and moist, and her cheeks had become even more flushed than before.
“…”
When he saw this, he shifted his gaze to the side, where he saw Pale also staring at him, wearing a strange smile. Even though her expression was full of joy, he could also see expectation in her face as well. As he considered the meaning of their expressions,,
…I guess I should show some resolve…
He needed to prepare himself. As he considered both their attitudes and Pale’s words from earlier, it was clear to him.
As Leonhart prepared for the worst, he stopped eating and looked to them with a serious expression,
“…Both of you—“
As he got their attention,
“—Let’s talk later… even tonight will do.”
The topic they would discuss was,
“It’s about what we should do from now on — and about your feelings.”
The topic of receiving their feelings.
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