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“Sir Zigmeser! A guest is visiting at dawn!”

“With so little time left, how can I—”

Winter may be the season of rest, but in Winterhome, outsiders frequently visit, regardless of the guest’s significance.

Even if someone expected to arrive has indeed shown up, it wouldn’t change a thing about preparing a banquet worthy of the first event in Felwinter’s history.

Of course, that guest is the very reason for tonight’s feast, and having prepared for this all night long, Zigmeser felt his heart racing wildly.

“Your… your lordship decided to personally greet the guest…?”

Correction.

His heart was truly racing.

*

*

*

And so, not long before dawn the next day, the Duke actually stepped outside the castle with some company.

In this season, no less.

Certainly, it’s common for a lord to roll up his sleeves and prepare for guests, regardless of whether it’s to welcome them or because of a shortage of hands.

But if the lord is the Duke of Iceland, that’s a whole different story…!

Being a duke is akin to being the core of swift power from above.

The very news of a heavenly being descending to earth to welcome guests would spread throughout the castle even before the sun fully rises—perhaps even outside its walls.

Naturally.

Even a company president, known for a good reputation and character, becomes an object of fear by merely passing by a regular employee.

So when such an object of dread decides to welcome guests, putting aside everything else, it’s nothing short of miraculous that it hasn’t spread like wildfire.

Of course, this was all Alfred’s blunder.

He was overly excited because a close friend’s little sister was coming after a long time.

And come morning, those remaining in Winterhome felt a bit relieved.

The reason was simple. The size of the caravan accompanying the guest was smaller than expected.

It was less than a tenth of the guests who visited on the day of Wintersend.

Counting all the people, horses, wagons, and carts involved, that was about it.

At that moment, Karem was furrowing his brows and grumbling.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap—

“We’re running out of time, and I mean really out of time.”

“I agree.”

Mary nodded in agreement, swiftly preparing vegetables at double her usual speed.

This was due to wasting unnecessary time since early morning.

To have meals for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, preparations needed to start even earlier.

Normally, Karem should have been quicker to prepare than Mary, but there was no need for that now.

“Thank goodness we’ve been preparing things since two days ago.”

“Hmm. Is that the Mammoth Nose Skewer you mentioned?”

“Yep.”

Mary leaned in for a peek at the contents of the pot.

The thickly sliced, not quite thin mammoth nose was submerged in a black liquid.

“Soy sauce with onions, leeks, and garlic, and this is pepper.”

“And I added some sugar instead of fruit. The fragrance of the fruit is already strong enough.”

What they were making now was skewers.

Having told Catherine about this two days ago, they could simply take it out and grill it.

However, to be honest, they didn’t know what it would taste like.

The main ingredient for skewers is usually beef behind the leg.

It’s trimmed and marinated in a soy sauce-based seasoning for several days before grilling…

“Mammoth’s nose is my first time, you know.”

After all, he’d only grilled mammoth noses as steaks until now.

But all of a sudden, why were they preparing skewers? It was because of Catherine.

‘Tastes aside, tastes are something I can’t help but consider.’

However, hearing that it was “not good” was inevitable.

Of course, Catherine merely said the aroma was too strong and varied, so it wasn’t to her taste, but to a cook, that was pretty much the same thing.

Receiving a comment about it being “not good,” he couldn’t just sit still.

‘The various aromas create an indistinct impression…’

Then he must intensify the flavors and aromas to overpower it.

That was the purpose of the soy sauce, and that was why they were making skewers.

Since it was already tender, he didn’t need to tenderize it.

The seasoning would be achieved with soy sauce, so salt wasn’t needed either.

With garlic, onion, leek, pepper, and sugar blended and incorporated into a concentrated kelp broth, the prepared mammoth nose was soaked well in the soy sauce seasoning.

“It looks like marinated beef in wine.”

Though it was a deep brownish-black in color. Mary was already tossing chopped onions into the pot and sautéing them as she assessed it.

“Especially this grayish part…”

“Oh ho ho ho. I bet it’ll taste much better than that.”

“Are you that confident?”

Mary tilted her head while sautéing the onions in a large pot.

Karem didn’t respond.

Instead…

He placed the skewers on the heated pan.

Sizzleeeeeeeeek-!!!

“…!”

“With that response, it’s obvious.”

The moment the skewers hit the sizzling hot pan, the condensed umami exploded, filling the kitchen entirely.

The air, once fragrant with onions, butter, and freshly baked bread, quickly became infused with the sweet and salty aroma of soy sauce.

“…Huh.”

“So, what’s your frank impression?”

“Honestly, that soy sauce seasoning is—”

Mary, having idly paused her ladle, couldn’t bring herself to finish the thought. The smell that spread instantly was that captivating.

“The appearance changes so dramatically each time; it’s bewildering.”

Though she had cooked for many various contractors, such an intense seasoning, she had neither heard of nor tasted before.

“It’s like a collection of fruits with a refreshing and sweet scent that makes it hard to identify the best parts of Garum—an aroma that feels addicting the more you breathe it in.”

“If I had nothing in my previous life, this would be… wait.”

“Hmm? Did you forget something?”

“No, it’s just that… fruity aroma?”

There was indeed a faint fruity fragrance behind the rich soy sauce scent.

It was a peculiar, if not unusual, aroma.

With soy sauce used to flavor skewer sauce, it was common to add fruit.

Typically done to flavor the soy sauce and tenderize the meat…

“But there were no fruits added here?”

The only things added to the soy sauce were garlic, onion, leek, pepper, and sugar.

Those five ingredients were all; nothing else was added.

It must have been the wide-ranging aroma of the mammoth’s nose.

Then this fragrance was derived from the mammoth’s nose…

“…Well, I suppose that’s fine.”

“You seemed quite serious there.”

“It’s not bothering in the least, is it?”

“Not really…”

Then that was settled. Meanwhile, Karem poured a bit of water into the pan.

Vroooooooooom-! The boiling sound jolted Mary again for a different reason. Water for grilling meat?

‘Ah, that’s why.’

The soy sauce seasoning, which seemed about to burn from sticking to the hot pan, dissolved into the boiling water.

As the moisture evaporated, the remaining seasoning clung sticky to the mammoth’s nose rather than the pan.

“Did you add sugar?”

“I wanted to add a bit of sweetness, which is also to help the seasoning stick.”

“I was wondering what you were doing suddenly pouring water.”

“Couldn’t it be considered similar to braising?”

“Braising is a technique of simmering with a small amount of moisture, but you wouldn’t just pour in water like that.”

The moisture in the hot pan evaporated immediately.

Having perfectly browned the skewer to a delicious deep brown color, Karem repeated the previous process.

Sizzleeeeeee—

“But—”

Afterward, it would simply be a matter of grilling.

Karem briefly shifted his gaze sideways.

A large pot full of onions was emitting smoke fiercely.

“What are you trying to make with so many onions?”

“Want to take a guess?”

Mary approached, maintaining her usual expressionless demeanor, with a large pot in hand. Upon opening the pot, there was a rich broth inside.

…Looking at that, only one thought crossed Karem’s mind.

“Don’t tell me you’re trying to make onion soup?”

“Hmm? Why are you so surprised?”

What kind of question is that?

Karem instinctively felt aghast.

Onion soup needed a copious amount of onions to be sautéed in butter until caramelized to a deep brown before adding broth and simmering.

The method itself wasn’t complicated.

The problem was with the caramelized onions.

They must be stirred constantly to prevent sticking and burning; the more onions there are, the longer it takes to caramelize.

“When I made it with ten onions it took over two hours to sauté…”

Judging by how many onions were in there, perhaps there were dozens, if not over a hundred. The volume of onions reduces dramatically.

With breakfast time right around the corner, there was physically not enough time to caramelize all those onions to make soup.

“What’s with that surprised look… ah.”

Switching her gaze between the pot and Karem, Mary lightly smacked her palm and then snapped her fingers toward the pot.

Snap-!

All the onions inside the pot became transparent and began to caramelize to a golden yellow brown. The pot screeched as if it were alive.

“…Is that the mysterious magic of the house fairy?”

“Yes. Would you like to see?”

Mary immediately tilted the pot. From a distance, the pot, once filled with white onions, was now releasing thick, brown syrup-like caramelized onions.

“It’s magic that quickly sautés onions without burning them.”

“Oh, what? That’s seriously envy-inducing—cough.”

“I want to learn this—””Of course.”

Is there a magic that can sauté onions in an instant just by snapping fingers? If he told Sir Zigmeser, he would definitely be blown away.

“Unfortunately for you, Karem, only house fairies can use it.”

That thought indeed left him feeling disappointed. Karem barely kept his mouth shut and didn’t let out a sigh.

Instead, he took a deep breath, but… wait.

“A magic for quickly sautéing onions?”

“Yes.”

“Then, what about other cooking-related magic?”

“Of course, there are. There’s magic that stirs a ladle by itself or cooks meat without burning.”

But why hadn’t she used that all this time…? Karem’s thoughts halted there. The reason was painfully clear.

Mary loved her work to the point she’d unleash murderous intent if someone took it from her, holding it dear as her own life.

She was so pressed for time she sometimes teleported just to save on travel time.

So that meant—

“Could it be you didn’t use them because it would lessen the value of labor…?”

“One mere magic cannot diminish the value of labor.”

“No, but you said it was the magic of the house fairy.”

“Exceptions are not allowed.”

Mary shook her head firmly, closing her eyes.

Just watching her made Karem’s head throb.

One, two, three…

Karem concentrated silently on grilling the skewers soaked in marinade.

“I’ll be heading off then.”

“What about the onion soup? At least leave a little.”

“Uh… yeah. Please take care of the cleanup.”

Setting aside his dizziness, Mary seemed genuinely hurried, rapidly casting countless spells she hadn’t shown in a long time.

Flour, water, and butter swept through the air, forming themselves like slime into dough, while cheese flew out from a shelf, grating itself in mid-air. The soup bowls on the lower shelf stacked up on the table…

In this dizzying situation, Karem grabbed various tableware and the mammoth nose skewers, bolting out of the kitchen.

After all, the priority was Catherine’s meal, so he headed to the restaurant, determined to ignore everything else.

“I thought we were running late due to lack of preparation time, but why the face?”

“…What exactly is magic?”

“Hmm? Why do you want to uncover the truth of magic?”

Indeed, he wondered.

 

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