I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace (WN)

Chapter 2481 - Movie Watching with Kaori ⑰

After it was decided that Kaori-san would be staying the night and I asked Illness-san to prepare a room, we spent the time watching another movie and chatting. When it was time for dinner, we had the meal brought to my room.

Since my room is about the size of three regular rooms put together, eating together with the two of us was no problem at all.

[Ohhh, it’s not a course meal, but there’s a lot of dishes and it’s really luxurious…… Is this soup potage? It looks delicious.]

[They sometimes serve it like a course, but since Aoi-chan, Hina-chan, and I aren’t really used to that style, they often arrange everything like this instead. It seems the head chef puts a lot of thought into it and makes various improvements.]

[Hehh. When you say head chef, you mean the one from Lilia-san’s mansion, right? She wasn’t directly involved in cooking for the ship party, but she was interested in otherworld cuisine, so we talked quite a bit and taught each other different cooking methods.]

[Ohh, now that you mention it, I do feel like since the ship party, they’ve started serving meals that incorporate a bit of the flavor style from the world we were in.]

During the ship party, I was technically the host, and it was mainly handled by the staff from my household and the hired maids, so the cooks from Lilia-san’s mansion, including the head chef, weren’t very involved.

However, the head chef is apparently quite eager to absorb new cooking techniques. Out of personal interest, she observed the menu planning and such, and it seems she became acquainted with Kaori-san as well.

[As expected of a Duchy’s head chef, her skills are incredible…… Unn! This potage has been strained so carefully, the texture is amazing.]

[From what I’ve heard, she originally worked at the royal castle. Apparently there’s a kind of competition where court chefs compete in cooking techniques, and she once made it into the top four.]

[Hehh, so there’s a tournament like that.]

[It seems it’s only held within the royal castle though.]

Since I talk with the head chef fairly often, I’ve heard stories about her time working at the royal castle a few times. As part of daily training, there are apparently competitions like that as well.

Even if you just say “royal castle chef”, there are many people working at the castle, and the number of cooks is quite large. Some prepare meals for the servants, while others are in charge of devising dishes for parties and the like, it seems to vary a lot.

……Well, apparently the winner of that competition was Beatrice-san, so it seems even maids, not just cooks, are eligible to participate……

[This is delicious…… Is it the preparation that’s different? No, maybe it’s this slightly sour sauce that makes the difference……]

While eating the food with obvious enjoyment, Kaori-san would occasionally put on an expression that looked like a professional’s, serious and thoughtful, as if she were analyzing the flavors. She might be thinking about trying to recreate seasoning combinations she liked.

It seems she’s been experimenting with new dishes quite a lot and putting a great deal of passion into cooking. Well, in any case, as long as she’s having fun, that’s what matters most.

After finishing dinner and taking a short break, I suddenly spoke up to Kaori-san.

[By the way, Kaori-san. Do you drink alcohol?]

[Alcohol?]

[Yeah. There’s a bar in the basement.]

[I see, a bar in the basement…… in the basement…… Unn? Why is there a bar in the basement of your house?]

[If you ask why, all I can say is that Alice built it on her own…… By the way, the shop manager is the Death King’s Head Subordinate.]

[Ah, just like always, this kid’s living outside the bounds of common sense…… W- Well, I am interested in bars, so I’d like to check it out. I haven’t really gone to bars before, so I’m looking forward to it.]

Thinking that Iris-san is also good at cooking and that they might have things to talk about, I made the suggestion, and although Kaori-san looked puzzled, she replied enthusiastically.

We left the room together and headed toward the bar in the basement. Going down the stairs and getting close to the bar, Kaori-san tilted her head and just like Amel-san did when I brought her here, she looked in the opposite direction from the bar.

[……Kaito-kun, if that way is the bar, then what’s this way? A food storage room or something?]

[Ah, no…… that’s a weapon shop.]

[A weapon shop? You mean…… that kind of shop that sells swords and spears?]

[That very kind of weapon shop.]

[……Why is there a weapon shop inside your house?]

[All I can say is that Alice built it on her own…… But well, lately Aoi-chan and Hina-chan have been using it, so it’s not completely pointless……]

[Ah~~ for adventurer activities, you definitely need weapons and armor. And if it’s Phantasmal King-sama’s shop, the quality should be guaranteed……]

[If you’re interested, want to take a quick look?]

[Honestly, I am a little interested. As long as it’s not a bother to Phantasmal King-sama……]

Kaori-san seemed interested when she heard it was the Phantasmal King’s shop, though she also looked slightly hesitant, but that shouldn’t be a problem. If anything, she might already be preparing to try to sell something.

Thinking that, I went with Kaori-san to the weapon shop and stepped inside, where, as usual, Alice wearing a lion mascot costume greeted us.

[Welcome…… Somehow it feels like this place gets more customers than the general goods shop……]

[That’s because your general store is in an alley and you close it on a whim, so your business days aren’t stable……]

[S- Sorry to intrude, Phantasmal King-sama! Your costume is really cute today too.]

[……Cute, you say?]

[Eh? It is cute! That brazen-looking face, and the cat costume was cute too, but I think the lion costume is cute as well……]

It had been that way since the Founding Festival, but Kaori-san was fairly positive about Alice’s mascot costume, either it matched her tastes or she genuinely thought it was cute.

Somehow, it even felt like Alice was nodding in satisfaction…… Maybe it’s because, including Kuro and others, there are many people who rate it poorly? Well, but if you look closely, it does seem like a design that could be popular with women……

[……But it’s still the person inside that’s the problem. When you include that, the evaluation ends up being “annoying”……]

[Isn’t that cruel!?]

[Kaito-kun, you really show no mercy to the Phantasmal King-sama. I- I guess that just means you two are really close?]

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [Alice, showing up here? W- What’s going to happen? Kaori isn’t the type to seriously take weird things at face value like Isis does, and Kaito is with her too, so it doesn’t really feel like a situation where things can be stirred up……]