Rebirth in a Ruined Nation! The Life of a New Strategist Starting From Now - Chapter 42

Drifting Ship Disturbance (8) – Easy Way to Make a Pogee! feat Chef Roa

You had to do a lot of preparations before you could start cooking.

I made a list of things I needed to cook pogee and gave it to Luzel. Luzel explained the situation to a member of the 3rd Division, who then contacted the division’s headquarters to obtain approval. Following that, a different person was assigned to shop for our needs.

After the lengthy procedure was finished, the ingredients for pogee were finally lined up in front of me.

We headed downstairs because the kitchen was on the first floor.

When we got to the first floor, there was only Luzel standing a little further away from us. The 3rd Division soldiers who had been guarding the area had all disappeared.

They must have left in consideration of Luluria. Before we arrived, the guards must have been extremely strict. They truly regard Luluria as an unwanted intruder.

So, first and foremost, I checked the ingredients. They were all of high grade and in good condition. Good.

“What should we do first?” asked Luluria.

.

“Cut the sasar into strips, grind the torit, and as for the fish… It has been cleaned, so we can use it as is.”

“Sasar? Do you mean this? Can you even eat this tough thing?” Rufa, who was behind me, asked.

“You can eat it, of course. Fresh sasar can be eaten raw, but we usually cook them. Because sasar is high in fiber, the crispy texture stays even after you cook it. It’s delicious.”

Sasar was a common vegetable in Rudek, but I think it didn’t exist in the southern continent…Sasar’s crunchy texture remained regardless of how it was cooked, thus it was the first vegetable I used to make a canned food…

Perhaps there would be a market for sasar on the southern continent.

“I’ll cut it! Let me cut the vegetables!”

Luluria made an unreasonable demand while I was thinking about something like that.

“Milady!” Luluria didn’t seem to care even when her attendant, Zora-san, raised her voice.

“Luluria, do you know how to use a knife?”

“No, I don’t. I’ve never used a knife before.” She responded simply. Well, she was a princess, so that made sense.

“How about grinding the torit, Luluria? Torit had the largest influence on the pogee’s taste. You can enjoy a crunchy texture if you grind torit coarsely, and a smooth texture if you grind it finely, so you can get your preferred food texture by controlling how fine the torit is ground.”

“That sounds interesting! Let me handle it! I’ll grind you the best torit in the world!”

Zora-san and I both breathed quietly in relief. We exchanged smiles. I had a feeling that I would get along well with Zora-san. She, like me, knew the difficulties of someone who worked behind the scenes.

I gave another instruction while watching Luluria, who seemed to be having a great time grinding the torit.

“Rufa, could you please cut the sasar? I’ll lightly grill the fish.”

Wickharlt gave me an expectant look after I instructed Rufa.

“Roa-dono…What about me? What should I do?”

Wickharlt, did you also want to help with the cooking??

“Can you help Luluria? Grinding torit will require a lot of physical strength, so she’ll definitely exhausted halfway through.”

“Understood.”

Wickharlt then walked cheerfully toward Luluria.

Wasn’t I sent here for an important mission? How the hell did I end up being a chef….sigh.

I sighed quietly so no one would notice, then began preparing the other ingredients.

***

“I’m finished! Take a look at this ground torit! I used the ultimate grinding technique to produce the most delicious ground torit in the world!”

An average-looking ground torit was inside the bowl that Luluria showed me. Well, I guess you could say she used the ‘ultimate torit grinding technique’ because she produced ground torit that looked really average. I mean, because it was an ultimate grinding technique that could create the most delicious torit would definitely be used by everyone, resulting in a similar-looking ground torit, thus making Luluria’s claim of her average-looking ground torit being the most delicious…somehow made sense.

“Thanks, Luluria. Can you pour it into this pot?”

“Ok! Wickharlt, can you help me?”

“Ah, yes.”

Wickharlt raced over to help her. Ah, right, I forgot Luluria was a princess. That was why she seemed really used to ordering people.

“Use a low heat and let it to slowly simmer. Pour the sasar right now. We’ll put the fish in later.”

I let Luluria do the cooking. Zora-san didn’t seem to mind as long as Luluria didn’t use anything sharp, like a knife.

“Now put the fish in. Make the fish sink into the torit soup with the spoon. Yes, slowly, like that. We can now just leave it like this until the fish is thoroughly cooked. Finally, add some salt and spices and carefully mix them together so the fish doesn’t fall apart. Yes, just like that, and…we’re done!”

Luluria exhaled an enthusiastic breath and added the remaining spices with a sloppy movement.

“Are we done…? I did it!”

I took a spoonful of pogee and tasted it next to the happy Luluria.

“This is quite delicious. Wickharlt, can you prepare the plat—”

“I’ve already prepared them.”

Wickharlt, this man, was really excellent.

“All right, then, let’s serve the pogee.”

Luluria happily raised her hand in response to my words.

“I’ll do it! You all can just sit and wait.”

I looked at Zora-san and she nodded.

“I will leave it to you then, Luluria.”

It was hard to tell who was the guest, and who was the host now.

***

Pogee that we made together was delicious.

Luluria was overjoyed as we ate the pogee. As I expected, this was probably her first time eating something she made herself.

Luluria grew fond of us…or rather, me, as a result of this particular event.

The next day, we received news from Rays-sama that the arrangement for Luluria would take a little longer than expected, so he would leave Luluria in our care for a little longer. As a result, we spent a carefree few days with Luluria.

Luluria has developed an interest in cooking since we cooked pogee, so I’ve been teaching her how to prepare a variety of other dishes over the last several days.

I’d been traveling across the continent for years, so I was an experienced cook.

A few more days went by…

Rays-sama finally arrived today.

?

T/N: Hello, Nisarah is here! This is the last bonus chapters. The schedule starting this week will revert to the 2-3 chapters/week. The current schedule will be on the Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. But this schedule is subject to change, since sometimes college has some classes schedule being moved and stuff. Enjoy!

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