Chapter 29: Housewarming (2)

I was chatting with Emily and Yona about this and that.

It was something I never imagined, so it still didn’t feel real. I’m still dumbfounded.

Then someone’s stomach clock rang.

Grrr.

It’s not me, anyway.

I ate bread for breakfast, so I wasn’t hungry enough for it to make a sound.

I glanced at Yona, but Yona also shook her head. She says it’s not her.

The only one left is Emily….

Grrr.

It rang once more, exactly from Emily’s stomach.

Emily squeezed her eyes shut. Her face turned red with embarrassment.

“Th, this is… well. Ugh.”

The mouth that was trying to make an excuse closed. The evidence was so clear that she couldn’t even make an excuse, so the excuse disappeared.

I got up so she wouldn’t be embarrassed.

“It’s almost lunchtime, so shall we eat?”

“I’d love to!”

“Thank you.”

“Not at all. You two came for a housewarming, so I should at least make lunch.”

Now that I’m a noble, I can have a butler get lunch. But that would seem insincere.

I wanted to serve a dish I made myself, at least for these two.

I roughly tidied up my messy clothes and went down to the kitchen.

The dish I’m going to make this time is Jjajang, which you must order when you move.

Of course, Jjajang is not a high-class food that the two princesses can eat. You can buy it right away on Earth if you have about 10,000 won.

But think about it the other way around.

What exactly is high-class food?

If you simply consider the value and rarity, any dish can be a high-class dish. As long as the supply falls short of demand.

The standard for high-class food is so ambiguous. That’s why I chose Jjajangmyeon.

From ancient times, there were few people who disliked the sweet and salty taste of Jjajang.

Cooking was not very difficult either.

‘Is it still a bit off?’

I thought about it for a moment, but there are high-class Chinese restaurants on Earth, too. It’ll be fine.

I erased my thoughts and opened the refrigerator. The basic ingredients were all bought yesterday when I decided on the menu.

I finely chopped pumpkins, carrots, onions, potatoes, pork, and so on.

Then Emily and Yona came down from above.

“Is there anything we can help with?”

“Sister! We’ll help you!”

They come closer, rolling up their sleeves.

I shook my head and refused.

“I appreciate the thought, but I’m the one serving. Please relax.”

The two reluctantly sat on the sofa.

The expressions of Emily, who looks disappointed, and Yona, who looks sullen, were funnier than I thought.

I felt the warm consideration of the two and focused on cooking again.

The first thing to do is to season the pork cut into appropriate sizes.

After that, make a starch slurry to adjust the concentration of the Jjajang.

At first, I thought.

Should I make noodles or rice with this Jjajang sauce? Both dishes use the same sauce, Jjajang, so they are similar dishes.

But there is no machine called a noodle maker here.

Of course, you can make noodles without a noodle maker, but I can’t guarantee the taste. Even when I enjoyed cooking, I bought noodles and ate them, but I didn’t make them myself.

‘Yeah. Let’s make Jjajang rice.’

It felt funny to call it Jjajang rice to the daughter of a Great Duchy.

I cooked my best.

Stir-fry oil and Labven, and stir-fry pork and various vegetables in the remaining oil. Here, Labven is an ingredient that tastes similar to chunjang on Earth.

After that, I added Labven and stir-fried it again.

Then the color of Jjajang that we can commonly know came out. The scent was also good.

I added starch to this and adjusted the concentration, and finally, I added sugar to finish.

“Done.”

The visual that we can see when we go to a Chinese restaurant came out as it is.

When I scooped it with a spoon and ate it, it was exactly the taste I imagined.

‘Good. Now all I have to do is pour it on the rice.’

I poured an appropriate amount on the pre-portioned rice. The white rice began to wear black clothes.

“Hmm. Something is missing… Ah. There was cucumber, right?”

It would be nice to have cucumber here too….

I asked the two people who were sitting on the sofa and looking at this place.

“Are there any of you who don’t like cucumbers?”

“No. I’m fine.”

“Me too!”

They both say they’re fine.

I thinly sliced the cucumber and put it on top as a garnish.

“It’s done. Come to the table.”

I picked up three bowls and placed them at each seat. Yona and Emily sat side by side.

The two looked at the food I made and tilted their heads.

“What’s the name of the dish? I’ve never seen a dish like this before.”

“Sniff sniff. I don’t know what it is, but it smells delicious!”

I added a brief explanation of the dish.

“It’s rice topped with a sauce made by stir-frying Labven with vegetables and meat. It’s a popular taste, so it’ll probably be delicious. Try it.”

“Labven. It’s the first time I’ve heard of that ingredient. Well then. Yum.”

The eyes of the two who took a bite went round. It was quite cute to see two people who looked exactly alike making the same expression.

It’s like watching cartoon characters.

“It’s, it’s delicious. The savory taste is amazing.”

“It’s sweet and salty!”

While Emily slowly savors and eats, Yona diligently moves her hands and eats.

They look similar, but their tendencies are completely different.

I was also getting hungry, so I picked up a spoon.

“Bon appétit.”

I muttered out of habit. It’s a habit I’ve developed from eating alone all the time.

Then the two people who were eating diligently paused.

“Ah, I forgot to greet. Bon appétit to me too.”

“Bon appétit!”

They greet and eat again.

I laughed again at the sitcom-like appearance.

I feel healed somehow when I’m quietly watching the two.

“Let’s see.”

Yum.

I think I know why the two were surprised.

It was definitely delicious.

The sweetness and saltiness are in perfect harmony, and the flavor of Labven remains intact.

Especially since it’s not ordinary pork, the savory taste was doubled.

I’ve never been to a high-class Chinese restaurant, but I don’t think it’s absolutely worse than the Jjajang sold there.

So lunchtime proceeded in a warm atmosphere.

Yum. Yum.

‘I guess I ate a little fast.’

When I finished my bowl, the two were still eating.

It’s natural that Emily is slow because she eats gracefully and slowly, and Yona, who was eating diligently, had a small mouth.

It’s like a child running hard trying to catch up with an adult’s running, but failing.

‘I do eat fast.’

In my previous life, I worked all day, so eating fast became a habit. Even after possessing, I ate alone, so that habit was not corrected.

I looked at the two people who were eating diligently and went to the kitchen.

“Rachel?”

“Sister?”

“I’m preparing a simple dessert. Take your time.”

The dessert is crème brûlée.

Crème brûlée takes time, so I made it all yesterday.

What is crème brûlée? It is a dessert made by topping custard cream with sugar, heating it with fire, and then hardening it.

Why, there’s a dessert that you break with a spoon when you go to a cafe. That’s crème brûlée.

‘It was really revolutionary when I first ate this.’

If you don’t like pudding, you might not like it, but when I asked before, they both said they liked it.

While I was preparing, the two finished their meal. It seems that they sped up at the mention of me preparing dessert… um. I should have moved a little more leisurely.

“Yona. Wait a minute.”

“Huh? Emily, sister?”

Emily wiped the Jjajang sauce on Yona’s mouth with a tissue. They are truly a harmonious sisterhood.

“Hehe. Thank you. Sister.”

“You’re welcome.”

I looked at the two for a moment and brought the crème brûlée.

“Dessert is here.”

“What’s this? This is the first time I’ve seen this too.”

I handed the two teaspoons.

“Now, it’s not difficult, so watch carefully and follow.”

The charm of crème brûlée is twofold.

The taste of the bittersweet cream and the pleasure of breaking it yourself.

I picked up a teaspoon and broke the sugar coating on the outside.

Crack. Crack. Crackle.

“Break the sugar on the outside like this, and then scoop it with the cold cream inside.”

I took a bite. As expected it was delicious.

The taste I often made at home was reproduced as it was.

The two carefully picked up spoons and broke the sugar coating.

Poke.

Crack.

“Oh.”

“It’s, it’s fun!”

While Emily politely breaks the film with a surprised expression, Yona enthusiastically breaks it, saying it’s fun.

Like a 10-year-old.

“I’ll enjoy this, too”

“Bon appétit~!”

Yum.

Chomp

“”Oh!””

Both of them had sparkling eyes.

“This bittersweet taste. I’ve never tasted it before. Where do you get these recipes?”

“De, delicious. Uuu. So yummy!”

They each gave different impressions and started eating diligently. Emily, who was eating elegantly, also ate diligently.

‘Fortunately, it seems that my aim worked.’

I was relieved to see the reaction of the two.

It was effective to change the recipe considering the tastes of the two.

Emily, who likes bitter things, had her sugar coating burned a little more, and Yona, who likes sweet things, had hers not burned.

So dessert time was also coming to an end.

“I enjoyed the meal.”

“I enjoyed the meal! Sister Rachel.”

Lunchtime is over.

“What shall we do now? Is there anything you want to do?”

Emily answered my question.

“Then, to help with digestion, how about we check out our gifts?”

“Sounds good. I was curious about it anyway.”

I checked the gift with a heart full of excitement.