Ramjwi's Quiet Struggle
The academy kitchen suited Ramjwi perfectly. A low-ranking staff member in the security department, he was nonetheless in charge of the entire kitchen. This had nothing to do with his cooking skills. He had simply been saddled with the most grueling tasks. Even Ramjwi himself had never wanted the position. Though the security department handled all the academy's miscellaneous chores, even they avoided kitchen duty like the plague.
As a low-ranking herbivore beastkin, Ramjwi had no say in the matter. Still, he had endured the work with his limited abilities. He never ran away despite the young ladies' complaints and murderous harassment. He couldn't afford to. The beastkin had a family to feed, and it wasn't a small one.
Ramjwi had countless siblings. He wasn't even the head of the household—he was the eldest son. With retired parents and sixteen younger siblings to support, the number of mouths to feed was overwhelming. Since the younger ones were still too little to work, Ramjwi alone carried the burden of their livelihood.
Why choose this grueling academy job? Because finding employment was nearly impossible for beastkin in their society. It was a world of survival of the fittest. Simply being an herbivore beastkin made decent work hard to come by. At best, one could scrape by as a day laborer or run a street stall. Even then, carnivorous beastkin often withheld wages or robbed them outright. And even if wages were paid fairly, they were never enough to support such a large family.
Being born an herbivore in beastkin society was life on hard mode. That was why he had ended up at the academy. The workload was absurdly heavy, but the job offered stability and a guaranteed salary. He had no other options.
“…If things go well, maybe my siblings can join the academy next year.”
“Why? Isn't the money you send enough for them to live on?”
“It's not that. But the academy… even if it's tough, you get paid properly for the work…! And there aren't many places where an herbivore beastkin like me can work. My siblings don't have any other choices either……”
Ramjwi rambled on, repeating himself like a mantra. Without this self-hypnosis, he probably couldn't endure the despair. Yet a faint hope lingered in his voice—the hope that if he just held on until next year, he might finally see his siblings again.
“I see……”
Inside the kitchen, I listened to the bald Ramjwi's story and found no words of comfort. Whether in this world or the last, the powerless always suffered. If you lacked power, you needed money. If not money, then skill. Or at the very least, powerful connections.
—Swish, swish, swish…!
I recalled the survival methods I had learned at the academy and poured biscuits onto a large strainer. What I was doing now was also a desperate attempt to secure those connections. I needed to win the dragons over with delicious desserts. Some might call it madness, but just watch. I would make it happen. In fact, I was already close. Tomorrow I would finally approach the SSR-ranked Sofia. That alone would greatly reduce the threats from the young ladies. And after that……
“Breeder? What are you doing right now? Weren't you going to teach me how to cook?”
Ramjwi asked, his large front teeth twitching. The more I looked at him, the more uncomfortable I felt. Yesterday he had still been fluffy and somewhat cute. Now his pink flesh was completely exposed, and it was downright repulsive. Being a rat was bad enough, but his appearance was completely out of place in a kitchen.
“Ah, I'll teach you later. First, let me borrow the fryer. The oil's already hot, right?”
“Right. It's been burning since earlier.”
As Ramjwi said, beneath the massive fryer a large mana stone—functioning here like solid fuel—burned with a steady blue flame. Mana stones were remarkably versatile. They served as fossil fuel substitutes, powered magical devices, and could even store mana for spellcasting. Of course, for an ordinary human like me, they were just for lighting fires.
“Good. The pot looks hot enough now. Shall we start?”
“That square thing? In the oil? You're serious?”
“Yeah. More serious than ever. Don't be surprised.”
—Splash…!
—Sizzle sizzle sizzle sizzle……!!
I lifted the strainer as large as my torso and lowered the biscuits into the oil. Slowly, to avoid splattering. If I had dumped the whole bag in at once, the erupting oil would have fried me along with them. What I was making was none other than fried biscuits. Once I had shown them the taste of biscuits, it was only natural to show them the ultimate version. The star-candy-covered biscuits had been a success, but they were nothing compared to fried ones. Back in the military, I had befriended the mess hall cook and often received fried biscuits with milk. It was an unforgettable delicacy.
“By the way, what exactly is that? Biscuits? Dried bread?”
“Ah, I figured you'd be curious. Here, try one plain first.”
“Squeak…?”
—Rustle rustle……!
After dumping the rest of the biscuits into the fryer, I handed Ramjwi one of the plain ones left in the bag. I wanted to show him the difference in taste before and after frying. At the same time, I could test his palate.
—Crunch, crunch…!
Ramjwi didn't use his large front teeth at all. He simply tossed the biscuit into his mouth and chewed noisily.
‘When does he even use those teeth?’
Just as I was pondering this pointless question—
“I-It’s delicious……?!”
Ramjwi’s already large eyes sparkled even brighter.
“Huh? You think it’s good? Isn’t it dry?”
“What are you talking about? This is tasty! Crispy and savory—exactly my kind of flavor!”
“Tsk……”
A new target wishes to commune with you……
Ah, no thanks. Decline! This was the opposite of what I had expected. A communion success window just for this? His sense of taste was clearly broken. I usually didn't look down on others, but Ramjwi's palate was hopeless. No wonder he kept serving such disastrous meals—his own taste buds were the problem.
“Ugh, just wait a bit. I'll make something so delicious that this won't even compare.”
“Squeak…?! That's possible?!”
“Yeah. And Ramjwi? If you want to survive long at the academy, change that exclamation. This is a kitchen that needs to stay clean, and you've been squeaking nonstop. What if the young ladies hear you?”
“B-But I can't help it—”
“If I tell you to stop, then stop. Unless you want to end up as dried rat for the young ladies. I'm saying this for your own good.”
“Ah, got it……”
Ramjwi deflated completely at my scolding. Had I been too harsh? I thought I had softened it. Seeing him like this made me feel guilty. He had been forced into kitchen duty in the first place. Pressuring him over something like this felt wrong. The academy's work distribution itself was flawed. I had no idea what criteria they used, but one thing was certain—it was as arbitrary as the military's.
‘Speaking of which, why are the dexterous dwarves in management instead of the workshop? Making top-class blacksmiths sit at desks doing paperwork……’
—Swish, swish……
I stirred the strainer slowly while mulling over the academy's unfairness. Soon, properly fried biscuits floated to the surface. Once the outside turned a deep golden brown, it was time to take them out. Leave them longer and they would burn like charcoal. Temperature was everything when frying.
—Swish swish swish…!
When I lifted the biscuits from the oil, fat dripped off in thick drops.
—Tap! Tap! Tap!
After shaking the strainer against the rim of the pot a few times to remove excess oil, I dumped them into a large metal bowl.
—Clatter clatter……!
“You can fry without batter…? The color looks pretty convincing!”
“Right? Let them cool and try one.”
I wiped sweat from my brow while frying the remaining biscuits. Even though the evening breeze was cool, sweat poured down my face. This was basically an oil sauna.
—Clang!
“Phew…! Now we're done……!”
After pulling out the last batch, I wiped my forehead with my sleeve. The pile was surprisingly large—roughly a hundred bags' worth. Seeing the mountain of biscuits brought a sense of calm. I had already made plenty earlier today, but they had vanished in an instant, so I had prepared extra just in case. Without Derke's Wraith Legion, I never could have produced this much.
—Crunch, crunch…!
“Hmm? This really is good! Something… something! I can taste a deep flavor!”
Ramjwi, oblivious to my exhaustion, immediately sampled the freshly fried biscuits. At least his sense of taste wasn't completely destroyed. If he could tell what tasted better, there was still hope.
“Haa, Ramjwi? While you're at it, could you bring some water and salt?”
“Squeak…? Ah, no! W-Water?! Got it. I'll bring it right away. Wait here, squeak.”
Ramjwi scurried off without another word. Simply frying them felt incomplete. If today was star-candy-covered biscuits, tomorrow would be the savory version. We couldn't have another sugar-induced riot like today. At least salt wouldn't cause any trouble.
“Breeder, here you go.”
“Ah, thanks.”
—Gulp, gulp!
I downed the water first. I finally felt alive again. Sweating after such hard work…… When would I ever get a break?
—Sprinkle sprinkle sprinkle……!
After quenching my thirst, I scattered salt like snowflakes over the freshly fried biscuits—just enough for a light salty taste. Then……
—Swish, swish……!
—Clink! Clink!
I gently tossed the biscuits with a large ladle, careful not to break them. Using my hands would have been easier, but I would have burned myself. ‘This actually looks pretty decent now.’ The oil on the surface helped the salt stick perfectly. A few bites would probably replenish the salt I had sweated out. Ah, now I was craving beer.
“Want me to help?”
“No, you set up the ingredients for tomorrow's dinner. Once I'm done, I'll teach you how to cook like I promised.”
“Oh, got it! I'll prepare everything right away…!!”
Ramjwi dashed off toward the ingredient storage again. His thin, almost bald back looked lonely. I pushed the unnecessary sentiment aside and focused on finishing up.
—Swish swish swish……!!
I transferred the salt-mixed biscuits back into the bag. No need to portion them out separately. Serving them in bowls like today would be fine.
Fried Salt Biscuits — ★★☆
Nothing fried is ever bad. The crispy texture combined with a savory saltiness makes it perfect as a drinking snack. Be careful not to let communion targets reach for alcohol.
The ‘Dragon’s Palate’ bonus from a previously courted target increases the grade by one star.
‘Oh, it popped up again this time.’ Two stars must be the limit for biscuits. Still, two stars for biscuits was pretty generous. Thanks to Derke's help, the quality had stayed decent.
“Breeder! I'm all set!”
Just as I was staring at the system message while rubbing my chin, Ramjwi called out. I needed to teach him the recipe quickly and wrap this up. Hopefully the ingredients were simple to work with. I wondered what tomorrow's dinner menu would be.
—Step, step!
I headed straight for the ingredient storage. The moment I stepped inside, I saw the supplies. There seemed to be a lot, yet also very little. What did I mean by that?
“Huh? Is this all?”
My question wasn't about quantity. I was pointing out the variety.
“Breakfast is obviously bread! Tomorrow's lunch is oven-roasted whole chicken! The problem is dinner! I have no idea what to make!”
Ramjwi, his pride apparently still intact, asked only for dinner instructions. Before him sat a mountain of various sausages and hams. Besides those, there were only jars of beans, some lettuce, onions, and garlic.
“Why are there so many sausages?”
“Manager Johnson…! He said they were his favorite and brought in a ton!”
“Ah, really?”
So that dwarf was using his position to satisfy personal cravings even here. I hadn't expected him to wield his authority as supply manager in such a petty way. It felt just like a military supply sergeant.
“Look at this requisition form! It's packed with nothing but sausages!”
Ramjwi brought me the order sheet with a helpless expression.
‘Let's see. Johnson's favorite sausages are listed in bulk……’
Ah, I had decided. The perfect dish to make with Johnson's sausages was obvious.