LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 3
Karem searched the small box thoroughly once more, hoping there might be something else hidden inside. However, aside from a pouch of salt tucked away in the back, there was nothing more to be found.
With no choice but to settle for what he had, Karem emptied one box and filled it with ingredients, cooking tools, and tableware.
If he had more time, he could whip up something more elaborate, but his body was constantly demanding nutrition from the hard labor he had endured.
Then, he could just make something quick right now. The menu was already organized, having reviewed the ingredients.
“Hey, kid. Can you carry all of that?”
“Of course.”
Karem’s years of serf life after reincarnation had given him the few benefits of forced stamina and strength.
With a flourish, he lifted the box and headed out with the cart, followed by Catherine, who was watching him with a dubious expression.
Gordon, who had already discarded the trash and was inspecting the belongings of the deceased, shot Karem the same look upon hearing Catherine’s words.
After all, the ingredients available to a serf who had to ration their food would be limited. What on earth was he planning to make?
Yet Karem didn’t feel offended.
In the end, to these two, he was just a ten-year-old serf kid, and it was only natural to be suspicious of a child trying to cook something.
Not wanting to use the large campfire where a crowd was burning, Karem built a small fire of his own.
“Thankfully, there’s a big ember next to me. Still, it feels a bit uneasy.”
“Hey, are you really going to be able to make something worth eating?”
“Gordon, I can cook better than you.”
“Hah, that little serf kid?”
“Anyway, just watch like Sir Atanitas would.”
With lunchtime passing and both of them exhausted from hard labor, he needed to make something quick, greasy, and calorically dense.
Since it wasn’t a difficult man’s dish, Karem immediately chopped the long sausages into bite-sized pieces and sautéed them in a buttered pan.
As the sausage’s surface turned golden brown, he quickly added diced carrots, sliced cabbage, celery, and onions in that order, tossing in a pinch of salt as he stirred.
Once the vegetables hit the pan, it was a race against time.
Karem quickly threw in some more butter before the vegetables wilted, stirring wildly in the pan until the carrots were perfectly cooked, and then he scooped up the sausage and vegetable stir-fry.
The aroma of the melted fat escaping from the sliced sausage combined with the rich scent of butter and the fresh fragrance of the sautéed cabbage.
When Karem instantly tossed more butter into the pan, Catherine, who thought they were done, tilted her head in confusion.
“Kid. Are you planning to make something else?”
“I thought that wouldn’t be enough.”
Next up was an even simpler cheese toast. As Karem began desperately slicing the hard barley bread, Gordon, who had nibbled at the sausage and vegetable stir-fry, approached munching.
“Ah, Gordon. It’s not done yet!”
“I just tasted it, okay? Can you slice that bread to that thickness?”
“Oh, are you going to help me?”
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m just saying it’s going to take you until sunset to finish slicing that.”
Indeed, despite being a serf, Karem was cutting through the sturdy barley bread much more easily than he had while battling earlier.
Well, if they’re offering to help, there’s no reason to refuse.
Handing the barley bread to Gordon, Karem quickly began chopping three types of cheese, and as he sneakily tasted a bit, he was surprised by how familiar the flavors were.
“Something about this taste feels familiar…”
“Well, Somerset cheese, that’s one thing, but this one is Palha cheese. And this one is Dane cheese.”
“Imported?”
“Yeah. Palha cheese is famous in the Southern Kingdom, and Dane cheese hails from the Dane region of Iceland.”
“Well, it seems I can make something with these.”
Though Karem had never heard of the Southern Kingdom, he remembered Iceland— the northern part of the Kingdom of Seophone.
In any case, what mattered right now was that he could distinguish cheddar, provolone, and havarti cheese flavors from Somerset, Palha, and Dane cheeses.
As Karem began finely dicing garlic to spread on the bread, Catherine looked horrified.
“W-What!? So much garlic!?”
“What’s wrong with that much garlic?”
“I swear it’ll taste much better if you use this way! I could keep piling it on!”
Unlike Catherine and Gordon’s reactions to his excessive garlic usage, Karem remained unfazed. The garlic in this place had a much milder aroma compared to the ones he knew from before.
To achieve real flavor, he needed to pile it on just as they were horrified.
With the garlic side facing down, Karem placed the barley bread generously in the buttered pan, and piled on the three kinds of cheese on top.
Just as the garlic’s aroma exploded, it quickly faded away with the heat, the scent of butter and cheese masked it, and a sweet fragrance began to mix in.
Gordon and Catherine shivered at the scene.
“My god, Sir Mage. The smell of this is incredible.”
“With my stomach empty, and having butter and cheese in the mix, how could it not taste great?”
“It’s almost done, so just wait a bit longer.”
As Karem stacked the cheese-laden breads, the crispy brown surface of the garlic cheese toast seemed to reveal a sticky, melted cheese that bubbled and sizzled as it baked in the pan.
After spreading butter on both sides one last time, Karem dished up all the garlic cheese toast on a large plate.
“Alright, it’s done. Enjoy!”
Gordon, who had been stealthily snacking on the sausage and vegetable stir-fry, immediately grabbed the golden toast.
Crisp!
Honestly, Gordon hadn’t expected much from Karem’s cooking skills. Yet, without care for Karem’s young age, he was gradually becoming more optimistic due to the appetizing aromas coming from the food.
Of course, toast was something very familiar to Gordon, as it was the best way to eat bread that was tougher than a stone.
Roasted skewers with cheese on toast were a method very familiar to all mercenaries across the continent of Europa, not just in the Kingdom of Seophone.
With such a familiar dish, slathered abundantly in butter and piled high with cheese, and crisply toasted?
Even with the garlic part, he was almost swayed, but it was a baseless worry.
Unlike Gordon’s expectations, the aroma was superb, the taste was excellent, and the crunching sound felt delightful with every bite.
Along with the new sensation. Had garlic ever tasted like this?
The minced garlic, toasted to a crisp, was a flavor that Gordon had never experienced before.
Each bite of the seasoned sausage accompanied by fresh, crisp stir-fried vegetables washed away any sense of fatigue.
Gordon had never eaten anything with such texture, aroma, and flavor while being a mercenary out on a request.
And through it all, Karem looked on proudly.
“What do you think, Gordon? It ain’t bad, right?”
“Karem.”
“Yes?”
“I swear. Out of all the field meals I’ve eaten, yours is the best.”
“I must be quite talented at cooking.”
“Looking at you, with those serf roots and all.”
Throughout lunch, Karem watched in admiration as Gordon savored his meal, eventually turning his attention to the oddly quiet other side.
“Sir Atanitas, it’s late but you should eat too, right?”
“Huh, I had a feeling this would happen after the griffon raid.”
“Eh?”
“Here, take this.”
“Wha? Ah.”
Catherine handed a wooden plate and utensils to Karem. She didn’t need to specify much; her intentions were clear.
Polite, yet inherently arrogant.
The role of a mage was akin to nobility or essentially equated to it.
In an exceedingly light tone, but Gordon still addressed Catherine with respect and honorifics.
Karem quickly and politely filled a wooden bowl with sausage and vegetable stir-fry and garlic cheese toast, heading toward Catherine with it.
Though she wore a plain expression, Karem quickly caught on.
Something was clearly bothering her as her eyebrows twitched slightly.
My god, did I make some mistake?
Reading Karem’s anxious face, Catherine sighed and waved her hand.
“Don’t be so nervous. The issue is with me.”
“Eh?”
“Well, huuh—”
Karem felt something was off as Catherine flinched like a startled cat.
It seemed she didn’t want to say this, as she took a deep breath and covered her face with her hands.
The resolve was made.
Catherine, seated with her cloak arranged properly, beckoned Karem to come closer, and he hurriedly moved to her side.
“Okay, I’ll allow you to serve me that food.”
“….Eh?”
“Ugh, if it weren’t for this damned curse…”
Catherine grumbled as she threw off her hood, long, flowing blonde hair spilling out like a curtain.
Karem soon understood why she always wore that cloak.
Her waist-length hair, stunning features that promised a brilliant future, and skin as white as porcelain, untouched by sunlight.
It was a beauty that could easily spark a conflict.
With a slight sigh, she said with a small mouth,
“Make me eat that food.”
“Eh?”
He blurted out something absurd.
Karem asked for confirmation just in case.
“Sir Atanitas?”
“Yep.”
“Do I have to feed you?”
“Yep.”
“Like how a parent bird feeds a baby bird?”
Me? Doesn’t that sound ridiculous? Karem’s emotions were written all over his face, and the mage chewed her lips, appearing somewhat anxious.
Her face twisted in a fierce blush, but Karem understood. It wasn’t anger; it was embarrassment.
“Damn it! I won’t say this three times!”
A golden bird flapping its wings threateningly in response to adversaries came to mind.
The tone was so explicit that it clearly indicated that another mention would lead to a real outburst.
Unable to suppress his laughter, Gordon couldn’t help it any longer.
“Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!!! W-What? Is that why you’ve been starving all this time, because you didn’t have a little kid to feed you—”
“Shut up!”
Crash!
“Wha!?”
The furious mage wouldn’t let any rudeness go unpunished.
As a fist-sized chunk of ice flew at him, Gordon barely dodged and fell to the ground, escaping without spilling his dish.