Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 47
Never Mind the Heir, I’ll Focus on Healing — Chapter 47
“…!”
Lion’s eyes went wide at the new notification.
Could just watching something really earn experience?
That hadn’t been his intention at all.
“Now, once the vegetables are prepped, next you handle the meat… but before that.”
The head chef dropped the trimmed onion, carrot, celery, and the rest into a pot of furiously boiling water.
“It’s more efficient to handle the longer tasks first. Things like making stock like this, or boiling potatoes. Ahem… I do hope I’m explaining this well. It’s my first time explaining while cooking, you see.”
“You’re doing a great job. Just keeping me posted like this is more than enough—thank you.”
Whether the head chef felt a bit shy about it, he quietly clamped his mouth shut and stepped into the cold storage, returning with a huge something wrapped in paper.
Thud!
He pushed the paper aside and a slab of meat the size of a fair-sized child’s torso appeared.
Lion gaped at the scale of it—even in his past life, he’d never seen anything quite like this in person.
“Steak cut. It’s not trimmed yet, so it may be hard to tell, but it’s top of the line.”
Just as the head chef said, Lion couldn’t yet judge why this was considered top of the line.
But the stars floating before his eyes had him nodding before he even realized it.
[Beef Sirloin (★★★)]
- A sirloin cut from a healthy cow raised on fresh grass and apples in the wide plains.
- Flawlessly butchered and perfectly trimmed.
“That said, there is a little fat and silver skin, so I’ll clean it up as thoroughly as I can.”
The head chef took a sharp knife to the whole sirloin.
Every time the blade met tough membrane or a chunk of fat, it cut through as easily as butter, and soon the beautiful lean meat revealed itself.
“Whoa…”
The marbling on the cut face was practically art.
The meat looked almost pink.
He hadn’t even started cooking yet, and already his mouth was watering.
“Now we put this in the oven and roast it at a moderate, gentle temperature.”
“Whole?”
“Yes. That way it presents better, and the juices inside spread evenly through the meat—much better flavor.”
Now that he thought about it, who wouldn’t be impressed watching a hunk of meat like that roast whole?
Lion watched the beef heading into the oven, then glanced at the trimmings left on the cutting board.
A skilled chef like this would’ve cleaned them away already if he didn’t plan to use them.
Which meant…
“What are you using those trimmings for?”
“Ah! An excellent question! How did you know?”
[Cooking experience points increased by 20%.]
Already, a whopping 35 percent experience gain.
“I asked because it seemed like a waste. I figured the person who raised the cow would be heartbroken if it just got thrown away.”
And was this just ordinary beef? If it was good enough to be delivered to House Asteri, it was the kind of top-grade beef you’d compare to 1++ Hanwoo or better.
“Exactly! It’s a waste!”
The head chef clapped his hands in delight.
He’d never imagined the young master of House Asteri, raised without want, would see through to something like that.
The head chef laid the trimmings onto a heated pan and seared them until they were well browned.
“A cook is someone who creates beautiful, delicious food—but I also consider it a profession that shows the utmost respect for life.”
In other words: to draw the best possible result from any ingredient, and in doing so, ensure its full purpose was served, was his goal.
That was why the head chef had always poured his heart into avoiding waste, even while cooking for a renowned household.
Because at the slightest misstep, all that food would simply be thrown away.
‘To think that someone I’d seen grow up eating my food would notice even that…’
The head chef Alex gripped the frying pan tight.
A chef who cooks for the aristocracy finds himself caught in a truly difficult dilemma.
Whenever extravagance of flavor and flawless presentation must be pursued above all else.
Inevitably, a great deal is discarded.
The trimmings of vegetables, the ends of cuts of meat. The heads, tails, and bones of fish and shellfish.
All perfectly usable parts, but they had to be thrown away regardless.
Because they weren’t the noble cuts.
That necessarily clashed, at least a little, with Alex’s own philosophy as a cook.
Caught in that conflict, Alex had devised one approach:
He would use every possible method, so that not a scrap of food ended up thoughtlessly wasted.
Just as he was doing now.
“These meat trimmings, seared until well browned to render out the fat, become the base for another sauce.”
“That’s a great method.”
Lion rather liked Alex’s approach.
Of course, he’d already known food was precious when he lived on his own, but what had driven it bone-deep was his time inside the labyrinth.
Fortunately, he’d never gone hungry—thanks to the Shilling Shop—but he’d truly done everything in his power to use a limited set of ingredients to the fullest.
Eat the flesh, boil the bones at a rolling boil for stock.
Misshapen fruit didn’t matter one bit.
When you had nothing else to eat right that minute, how could you throw something away just because it “didn’t look pretty”?
“I’m the one eating well with less waste, thanks to you, Alex.”
“…That you would even recognize that—thank you!”
“I’m always grateful for it.”
Alex pressed his lips firmly shut, then went on with his explanation.
“Once you sear the meat, what’s stuck to the pan is called the fond, and it’s wonderfully rich in savory depth. Add the onions we prepped earlier right into that, and…”
Into the pan with all the stuck-on bits, Alex tossed some onion and a splash of vegetable stock to deglaze, scraping it up before pouring in red wine.
“For red meat, red wine generally pairs best. It’s also fantastic for making a sauce.”
“So on the flip side, white wine pairs better with fish and the like?”
“Oh! Generally speaking, yes. It’s also excellent for controlling any fishiness, on top of that.”
Alex shook the frying pan roughly as it came to a bubbling boil.
In that moment—whoosh!—the alcohol evaporated and flames leaped up over the sauce.
“Even without doing this, the alcohol will cook off sufficiently if you leave it long enough. You’re unpracticed, young master, so please don’t attempt this yourself. I just—thought I’d show you.”
“Ha-ha, can’t complain about a nice little show now and then.”
When in a lifetime do you get to show off your cooking to an aristocrat?
To make matters even better, this was a high-ranking member of House Asteri, standing right there watching.
Not that he was entirely without the urge to show off everything he had.
“Now, while the sauce reduces, we’ll prepare the sides.”
Alex took the meat out, wrapped it snugly in paper to rest, then whipped up mashed potatoes and a creamed spinach sauce loaded with plenty of cream and cheese in no time flat.
‘Ah, that stuff’s good.’
The mildly sweet spinach mixed with the savory cheese gave a surprisingly great boost when eaten together with the meat.
Before he knew it, the kitchen was filling with the aroma of truly magnificent food.
“Now, all that’s left is to plate it beautifully.”
The dish was complete.
On a large platter sat the tender beef, brimming with juices and wafting fragrant steam, and around it, creamed spinach, mashed potatoes, and an array of grilled vegetables.
Once the white bread, toasted alongside, and fresh butter were placed on the tray…
[Artisan-Made Premium Sirloin Dinner (★★★)]
- The answer an artisan arrived at after long deliberation on how to bring forth the best possible flavor while wasting nothing.
- Upon consumption, a large amount of hunger is restored.
“Now, you must be hungry—please, go right ahead.”
“Yeah.”
Lion didn’t refuse and made his way over.
By the time Lion reached the dining hall, the other servants had already laid out a tablecloth to match today’s meal, together with finely crafted, high-quality tableware.
But…
“Is Rickshel skipping dinner today?”
There was only one place setting.
“The young master Rickshel said he had pressing business today and asked that his meal be sent up to his room.”
“Huh, is that so?”
No matter how packed his schedule might be, he really ought to eat a proper dinner.
“Hang on. Then what happens to all the rest of those servings?”
“…Ha-ha. If you would do us the honor of eating it, young master, that would be more than enough.”
The head chef had already more or less known; he gave a sheepish laugh and waved his hand.
Most likely, he’d seen Lion taking such an interest all throughout the cooking demonstration and had decided not to bring it up.
“First, before it gets cold—please, you start, young master.”
“No.”
Lion shook his head, unequivocal.
It wasn’t a quantity he could reasonably eat alone in the first place, and more than that…
‘It’d be a waste.’
The ingredients, yes, but also the head chef’s hard work.
“Alex. How much did you make this time?”
“Pardon? Ah! About ten servings, give or take.”
Alex answered, seeming a little taken aback by Lion’s words.
It was different from his gentle tone a moment ago.
Something businesslike and resolute—he sounded just like the family head.
‘I didn’t know he even had a voice like that…’
It was a new side of him he’d never seen before, and it felt slightly unfamiliar.
The other servants in the kitchen felt the same.
Unfamiliarity and curiosity.
‘What on earth is he trying to say like this?’
Was he about to give the youngest master, who’d skipped the meal, a word or two?
As that peculiar tension hung in the air…
“That works out perfectly, actually.”
Lion’s voice returned to normal.
“All of you here can eat together then.”
“Pardon?”
“Us as well?”
“Why? Did you already have dinner?”
“That’s not it, but…”
However casually Lion Asteri tended to treat the servants, there was still a division of rank, first and foremost.
He was an aristocrat, and they were commoners.
Several among them had been slaves who only became freed people through the grace of the family head.
So dared they sit and eat with the young master?
And such luxurious food at that?
“You’ll join us too, won’t you, Alex?”
“I—well, that is…”
Alex was just as taken aback.
He held the title of head chef, so he was always tasting and testing food for seasoning, but he’d never actually eaten a plated, formal dinner like this himself.
No—he’d considered the making of it enough.
His life was far more prosperous than his past, when he’d worked as a mercenary just to scrape by.
In that past, how many children had he watched starve to death?
They’d survived on worm-eaten fruit and pale, watery flour soup.
A day they managed to catch some wild animal—wasn’t that a day for celebration?
Then, when he’d come to the brink of truly starving to death,
Alex had been rescued by House Asteri, and given a new profession as a cook—because he was skilled with precise knife work.
As luck would have it, he had a knack for it, and now he was counted among the finest chefs in the empire.
So he’d always taken pride in thinking, well, wasn’t this a successful life?
But then…
Alex looked at the dinner spread before him.
Food properly prepared to be perfectly enjoyable.
Tender cheese, butter. Bread.
There was nothing there that hadn’t been touched by his own hands.
And yet…
‘Not once have I ever thought to eat it myself.’
Alex sheepishly scratched the back of his head.
“Would it… really be all right for me to eat?”
Lion grinned at the sight.
“Yeah. And you in particular, Alex—I’d really like you to eat with us.”
Lion took a seat and gestured to Alex.
In the end, after a few more hesitations, Alex asked them to wait a moment, brought over the hunk of sirloin still dripping juices, carved the meat and portioned it onto plates, and sat down—and the servants who assisted with the meal shuffled hesitantly into their own seats as well.
Their faces still asked, Is this really all right?—but the temptation of that extravagant food was formidable.
“It’ll get cold. Let’s eat.”
Besides, the eldest grandson of House Asteri had given the order.
‘Refusing now would be discourteous.’
W-well, nothing for it!
“Thank you for the meal.”
The servants hurriedly began to eat.
They awkwardly cut themselves a bite of meat, and once they had…
“…!”
Their expressions shifted.