Chapter 27
Chapter 27
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ebonarch
Chapter Title: Mayonnaise
-----------------------------------------------------------------
After that, just as the commotion had roughly died down and we were about to head back.
We were on our way out of the imperial palace with the two of them and Erika when an imperial servant hurriedly approached and blocked my path.
"Lord Jonathan, please wait a moment. This is a personal gift from His Majesty to the lord."
As soon as he finished speaking, a servant from the stables led out a horse so beautiful it was almost blinding.
Its black coat resembled the pitch-black night sky, with a silver mane fluttering in the wind as if woven from moonlight itself.
"This is...?"
In response to my question, the servant bowed with utmost politeness.
"This is a personal gift from His Majesty. He said it wouldn't do to ride a chicken to the palace, so he selected a steed befitting your new status."
I couldn't tear my eyes away from the magnificent horse before me.
Not a white that's gone gray, but a metallic sheen on its silver mane.
Its jet-black coat wasn't just plain black; it was deep and smooth, as if absorbing the light.
Sleek muscles without an ounce of excess, and straight, powerful legs.
Above all, its eyes gleamed with a sharpness unlike any horse in the empire.
"So, Lord Jonathan, what name shall we engrave on the saddle?"
"Hii~hihihihing!"
"...So, what's this one's name?"
"I was going to call it Baldomar, but it hated it so much that I went with Silvermane instead."
"Baldo... I don't know what that is, but it sounds bad."
Oh dear. My cute fiancée doesn't know.
It's the name of the academy's strongest swordsman, who proved that friction-based swordsmanship converting kinetic energy is the ultimate technique.
But I don't get why this one hates it too.
It rubs against me happily when I pet it, but freaks out and rolls its eyes at 'Baldomar'.
"Anyway, let's go, Jonathan. You're not going to groom the horse forever. This isn't a stable."
"Ah, should I?"
"Hihihihng!"
The journey home with Silvermane was utterly pleasant.
Riding its back as it smoothly and tirelessly pounded the ground, I arrived at my new territory in just two days.
"Ooh..."
My new territory, the former Merenes pasture, was indeed the finest land as the emperor had said.
Gently sloping hills facing south endlessly, abundant sunlight and cool breezes.
To others, it might look like the perfect ranch for breeding warhorses, but in my eyes, only one scene appeared.
'A ridiculously huge ranch! It'll produce tons of eggs too! Let 'em graze and grow!'
A ranch pouring out tens of thousands of eggs daily. Even roughly calculated, millions a year.
South Korea's annual egg production is around 48-49 million, right?
Far surpassing a small nation's supply, enough for my new business plans and more—a nation-level chicken empire!
"Uhihihihi..."
"You're thinking something weird again, Jonathan."
Erika prodded me with a look that said she couldn't help it, in response to my muttering.
"Of course. Want to hear?"
"No, it's fine. It's you, after all. So what's next?"
"First—"
"...Pardon?"
The imperial livestock managers and elite magic engineers from the tower, who had followed our group, stood there with mouths agape.
When they first heard my plan, they all doubted their own ears.
"L-Lord, so... you're saying we should make the chicken coops mobile?"
To the hesitant question from the imperial livestock manager, the magic engineer from the tower also tilted his head.
I pointed to the vast territory map spread before them and explained matter-of-factly.
"That's right. We're not bringing feed to the chickens; we're taking the chickens to the feed."
"The mobile coops will shift locations slightly each day, letting the chickens always peck at fresh grass and bugs. The ground will naturally fertilize with their droppings, and the chickens will grow stress-free in the best environment."
The manager nodded soon after, but asked with a puzzled look.
"That would certainly save on feed and keep the chickens healthy, but wouldn't it be hard to fatten them up? And collecting the eggs..."
I smiled satisfactorily at his practical question. That was exactly the point.
"Excellent observation. But our first goal isn't fattening meat."
At my assertion, the manager and magic engineer's eyes widened. I raised one finger and continued.
"What we want is eggs. Top-grade fertilized eggs from healthy, stress-free chickens, with firm, vivid orange yolks."
I took a breath, then added an explanation that would upend their common sense.
"If the existing tomato sauce was a side character, eggs will now be the star birthing dozens, hundreds of new dishes. Meat is just a byproduct. For the best eggs, the chickens should be leaner anyway."
The imperial manager nodded in admiration, but the magic engineer still seemed doubtful and asked again.
"Understood, Lord. I get that the goal is eggs, but collection becomes even more problematic. With chickens laying anywhere in this vast pasture, how do you gather them all?"
"That's why we need mobile coops."
I pointed to a spot on the map and revealed the core of my plan.
"Chickens instinctively lay in safe, dark places. The mobile coops' interiors will be designed as dark, cozy nesting boxes lined with straw, where they'll feel most comfortable."
I sketched a rough diagram with my fountain pen and pointed to the central nesting boxes with a smile.
"Right here is where we need the tower's technology. Each nesting box floor will have a slight incline, so eggs roll to the opposite side the moment they're laid."
"At the end, install a very slow conveyor belt to collect them."
"Of course, linking this to the mana veins of the ranch for power will take some work."
"But once set up, it'll be a top-grade egg factory needing no capital input beyond maintenance."
"Oho..."
As my explanation ended, the doubt on the two experts' faces instantly turned to awe.
"My god... This isn't just a chicken coop. It's a fully automated egg production plant!"
"With this structure... it's possible! No, it's an exciting challenge we must succeed in, Lord!"
A passion bordering on fanaticism bloomed in the experts' eyes, beyond mere admiration.
Soon, work began.
Nearly a week had passed already.
On the vast new ranch assigned to me, mobile chicken coops crafted jointly by the tower and the imperials had been installed.
A system where magic tools move the land, chickens peck fresh grass, seeds, and bugs, and eggs are collected automatically.
The spectacle of vast grasslands sustaining tens of thousands of chickens as the ranch moves was truly magnificent.
And on the day the newly acquired chickens first laid their healthy, fresh eggs, which were harvested.
Cracking a freshly laid egg revealed a vivid orange yolk.
"Ooh..."
It had incredible bounce—even a poke didn't burst it. This was the perfect start I'd dreamed of.
It didn't actually say that, but for some reason, it felt like it would.
"Why are you making fanfare sounds with your mouth, Jonathan?"
"Uh... It just felt right?"
"Good grief. What's so special about those eggs... Aren't they just eggs? Is it really worth this much admiration?"
I grinned at her puzzled expression.
"These aren't just eggs. They're liquid gold, the key to opening a new era I'll create."
I carefully separated just the yolk into a glass bowl.
Added a spoonful of freshly squeezed lemon juice and clear, refined olive oil.
"Alright, magic time."
I whisked the yolk furiously with a whisk in one hand.
- Tap, tap, tatatatap!
The crisp sound filled the workshop.
With the other hand, I tilted the oil bottle, dripping it in almost drop by drop.
"Uh...?"
Erika's eyes widened.
At first, the yolk and oil just floated separately, refusing to mix.
But with my relentless whisking, the liquids began embracing each other.
The thin yolk thickened gradually, its vivid orange softening to creamy ivory as it blended with the oil.
As I made the oil stream slightly thicker, the magic accelerated.
The liquid lost its form, becoming thick, glossy, cream-like solidity.
Finally, seasoned with salt and white pepper, and lifting the whisk revealed perfect, stiff peaks. Sauce complete.
"Here, the honor of first taste goes to my best taster."
I slathered the fresh ivory sauce on a piece of newly baked bread and offered it to her.
Erika took it with a dazed expression, no hint of doubt, and brought it to her mouth.
And her time stopped.
"......!"
"Heh, how is it?"
Her sapphire-blue eyes shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake.
She didn't need to say; I knew that familiar, terrifyingly perfect taste she was experiencing.
Smoothness.
An overwhelming silkiness wrapping the tongue like fine silk.
Like eating a cloud.
And rising from that smoothness, a deep, rich nuttiness she'd never tasted before.
No greasiness from the oil; instead, it shed its form to elevate the yolk's flavor to new heights.
The lemon's tang acted like a fresh breeze, keeping it from weighing heavy.
A texture and taste she'd never known, yet utterly perfect.
"......"
Erika was speechless.
She just raised her delicate hand as if to touch her lips, then froze in mid-air.
Her blue eyes darted incredulously between her empty hand where the bread had been, the bowl of ivory sauce, and my face.
"Jo... nathan...?"
Her voice, barely a whisper when it finally emerged.
Gone was her usual clear tone; it trembled with deep bewilderment.
"This... this isn't cooking. It's alchemy. Magic turning eggs into gold."
She shook her head, muttering.
"How... how can just egg yolks and oil turn into this taste? They shouldn't mix like that!"
At her pure awe, I smiled satisfied and set down the whisk.
"Want to know?"
- Nod nod!
I leaned to her ear and whispered softly.
'Seeecret.'
"Muuuh!"
At my teasing reply, Erika glared at me with puffed cheeks.
"That's mean! How can you say secret now? I want to know your secret too, Jonathan!"
Her cuteness overwhelmed me, and I burst out laughing.
Her light taps on my chest, pretending to be hurt, held no strength.
"Later, much later. When it's just us two, I'll tell you."
I slathered more golden sauce on bread and brought it to her still-pouting lips.
"For now, one more bite."
"Fine... Ahhn."
She says that, but eats it like a baby bird.
The secret to making mayonnaise is emulsification.
Lecithin in the yolk is amphiphilic, with hydrophilic and hydrophobic properties.
It acts as a surfactant, allowing oil and yolk to mix.
But the new flavor worlds this one principle unlocks are endless.
Ice cream textures, chocolate blending—plenty of uses beyond sauces.
Now, package the rest for the caravan and His Majesty—
"Hm? Hey, where'd all the mayonnaise go?"
At my mutter, Erika whistled innocently, pretending ignorance.
But the tiny, vivid ivory smear on her cheek was more honest than any eloquence.
I chuckled and pointed to her cheek.
"Erika, you've got something there."
"Huh? Oh, it's nothing."
She startled and hurriedly wiped her cheek with the back of her hand, but it was too late.
I teasingly alternated glances between the empty bowl and her face.
"Really? You ate it all by yourself? I didn't make much, but not greasy?"
"I-It... it was so good... I came to and it was gone! It's not my fault! It's yours for making it too delicious!"
What audacity.
But her flushed face and indignant cry were so cute, I burst out laughing again.
"Okay, okay. My bad. I'll make another bowl, and this time we share."
"Really?! Heehee, Jonathan's the best!"
Her grievance forgotten, she beamed and clung to my arm.
Thus, another peaceful day passed.
"Wh-What is this?!"
Until the next uproar began.