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Honestly, it was quite perplexing.

Still, it wasn’t incomprehensible.

Karem himself had simply eaten in his previous life until curiosity led him to start cooking.

There was no reason not to call him William.

Unless, of course, the act of cooking was taboo for him.

However, upon hearing the reasons, it turned out to be much more serious than expected.

“Is this the result of impatience?”

The eldest, Godwin, had his future determined.

The third, Robin, had found his own path.

It was no wonder that the second, William, felt a sense of crisis. He himself claimed he would throw everything away and just play, but even Karem could feel the anxiety behind those words.

In that sense, his effort to find his own way without divergence was something to be praised.

However, Karem’s concerns took precedence.

The problem was not Robin, but Karem himself.

“I’ve never taught anyone before.”

Even in his previous life, the foundation of his cooking skills had not come from systematic learning. He had self-taught through videos.

That was why he had to receive education from Zigmeser at the exchange meeting due to his lack of basics. Although it ended much sooner than he thought.

Nonetheless, just because he had received passing marks didn’t mean he could teach William.

Being skilled and teaching others were entirely different realms.

No matter how he thought about it, Karem felt he couldn’t teach.

He believed Zigmeser or other chefs would teach much better. He made this clear to William.

“But still, I feel like I need to do something.”

“Don’t just say something something. Be specific.”

“I know the cooks at the castle, but it feels a bit burdensome. Like, the distance is too close to concentrate.”

Ah, is that what it was? If that’s the reason, there was no helping it.

For William, who had lived in Winterhome all his life, the employees working at the castle for half of it were practically another family.

Just having someone he knew watching him would make it hard to work; if it was family, nothing would get done.

Thus, Karem prepared the next day’s lesson based on what he had heard from Robin. There was no need to seek Mary’s assistance.

He decided the kitchen of the Mage Tower would be the classroom, prepared the recipe to be used in the lesson along with the required ingredients, and immediately began the class.

“Um… hmm?”

The expression on William’s face after tasting the resulting beef stew was the epitome of ambiguity.

“What’s wrong?”

“Um… I don’t know what this tastes like.”

“Didn’t you follow the recipe?”

“I followed the recipe, and I did follow your tips too.”

“…Your skills are that of a cooking novice, so I can understand that.”

Then, what was the problem?

Just in case, he stirred the beef stew boiling on the cooking range. Large vegetables, appetizing meat, thick broth—it looked delicious no matter where he looked.

After tasting the well-cooked meat and vegetables again, William tapped the bowl with his spoon instead of evaluating it.

“I think it would be faster to just try eating it.”

“The smell is, at least, fine.”

“Just eat and speak. Eat and then say.”

“Then let’s see…”

Only after taking a spoonful of the stew filled in the bowl did Karem understand William’s reaction and assessment.

“You did follow the recipe, right?”

“Hey. It’s literally written on the paper. Who can’t follow this?”

“Then why does it taste like this?”

Karem tilted his head.

It wasn’t just a matter of lacking or lacking flavor.

The stew had no taste at all.

Literally, it was tasteless.

“I was wondering what you meant.”

“If this is the case, isn’t it a failure?”

“What? That can’t be. For someone cooking for the first time, this result is quite excellent.”

“What?”

William frowned, bewildered by that comment.

However, Karem was sincere.

In this world, there were surprisingly many people who couldn’t even manage to follow something that could be made just by strictly adhering to the recipe.

In that sense, William’s result was commendable. He had followed the recipe properly as seen from the side, and even if no taste was felt, it was still edible.

“At least for the first lesson, this isn’t bad, right?”

“But what good does that do? It has no flavor.”

Ugh, this was tough. He hadn’t even had lunch yet. William slammed down the bowl of beef stew on the table along with the spoon. Yet, the compliment seemed to brighten his face a little.

“If you start with greed from the beginning, nothing will come of it. Your esteemed self, who has never even held a chef’s knife, finding this good for your first dish is enough.”

“Did you make anything at all the first time you cooked?”

“What? No, I made something delicious without a hitch.”

Of course, that was in his previous life.

In this life, Karem only did anything that could be defined as “cooking” for the first time after meeting Catherine and Gordon.

Karem casually shrugged off William’s persistent gaze. He soon turned to the pot full of remaining stew.

“So what are you going to do with that? You can’t just leave it as it is, right?”

“If you leave it, Mary will clear it up.”

“What? Is that allowed?”

“Or would the second prince like to request another bowl—”

“What flavor would I eat from something that has no taste?”

Klang—grrlll—

William scooped up the stew from the bowl he had placed on the table and poured it back into the pot with a spoon. The spoon and bowl went straight into the wash basin.

“So what is that thing, which doesn’t belong in the kitchen at all?”

“Huh? Ah, that?”

At the end of William’s gaze was a strange six-sided device resembling modern design from his previous life, the aging device (failed product).

Ping-!

A clear, resonating sound reminiscent of his previous life filled the air.

It was the sound coming from the aging device that signaled the work was finished.

“It’s a material and potion aging device made by Prince Robin because he got bored and wanted to wait.”

“Aging device? Like wine or beer?”

“Yes. Although he did say it’s a failed product.”

“Then what are you trying to do with that failed product?”

William displayed curiosity while closing the lid of the stew pot.

“I was experimenting to create a more tender steak.”

“Oh. Can I try it?”

“Sure. Although, since it is an experiment, don’t expect too much.”

Then suddenly he had a thought about whether it was okay to eat without Catherine or Robin, but that was something to think about later.

Karem opened the translucent door of the aging device and took out the contents that had been left inside all day.

“Oh, what is this? A pot of water? Oh my, what’s this transparent plate wrapped around the meat? What is this kind of thing?”

“This? It’s slime skin.”

“Huh? Slime skin?”

William looked back and forth, his expression incredulous, between Karem and the vacuum-sealed sirloin.

“Please don’t look at me like that. The first time I started using this was from Sir Zigmeser, not me.”

“Zigmeser? With the slime skin? Why on earth?”

“I found it surprisingly convenient. It doesn’t get wet in water, and when you cook it over fire, it seals up tightly.”

It was a material akin to plastic wrap. He never imagined that the slimes he often saw while roaming the forests near Mostone would turn out to be such a thing.

“So what was the reason for using the slime skin?”

“To seal it so the juices don’t escape.”

“And what about the water in the pot?”

“I added it so it would cook evenly on all sides. Well, would you like to try it?”

As Karem cut open the packaging with a knife, air entered, instantly creating space within the slime skin.

“Well, that’s great for me. But it still seems like there’s no difference from raw meat.”

“You just pointed out a concern I had.”

The meat sealed within the slime skin, unlike the allegedly sous-vide steak from his previous life, was still tinged red and looked fresh.

Considering that meat subjected to sous-vide generally takes on a pink hue, Karem began to think that perhaps it had failed.

“Well, I guess we won’t know until we try.”

“Oh, please do it rare.”

“If the experiment succeeds, that’s impossible, but if it fails, it will turn out however you want.”

“Then I hope it fails!”

“Isn’t that a bit too much?”

Adding more firewood to the oven and cranking up the heat on the cooking range to max, Karem added oil to the pan, and as the fumes began to rise, he tossed in the sirloin with tongs.

Sizzleeeeee!

The sound of meat cooking was always sweet to hear, but he couldn’t lose focus. If the sous-vide was done right, overcooking was just a moment away.

“If it’s a failure, it’ll cook rare.”

For Karem, who usually enjoyed his steak medium, he desperately hoped the sous-vide had worked, but the vivid red remained stuck in his head.

Meanwhile, the heat from the pan began to creep up the sides of the steak. Karem quickly flipped the meat.

Sizzleeeeee! Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle—

“Oh, it’s cooking beautifully!”

“Then why not try grilling a steak instead?”

“A steak?”

“Yes. Even if it fails, there’s a way to salvage it deliciously, and a steak isn’t really all that difficult to grill as one might think.”

“Well, at least it won’t turn out to be like that stew.”

People are commonly mistaken in thinking grilling a steak is particularly difficult. The only challenge lies in setting the bar endlessly high.

Texture, thickness, time, seasoning intensity, spices, fire control, resting, internal temperature, and so on.

“All you have to do is take an appropriately thick steak, season it properly, grill it for a set time, and let it rest.”

“What? If you say it that way, I’ll give it a shot.”

“If it’s bad, I’ll just dump it on Sir Zigmeser.”

“Hey, that’s not fair. Why did I come to you then?”

Pouring the butter that started melting immediately onto the steak for searing, he lightly coated it and then covered it with a lid.

Then, after a little while, the sensation drilled into Karem signaled to him. Now!

Clang—

Beneath the pristine white smoke, a golden pool of juices shimmered beneath the sirloin steak. This was proof that the juices had been sealed within the meat.

William swallowed as he sensed the enticing aroma of rich butter mingling with the savory scent of beef.

“And can I eat it now?”

“Of course. But honestly, I can’t tell just from the smell.”

Whether Karem was mumbling or not, William ignored him and reached for the fork and knife.

Having skipped lunch voluntarily for teaching, his stomach was filled with nothing but regret after eating the flavorless beef stew.

Gulp.

He couldn’t resist the mouthwatering aroma that filled the air.

William cut a large piece of the steak.

Drip—

Juices burst from the tenderly sliced pink steak crust.

Those juices flowed into the puddle of butter creating droplets or invaded the butter’s territory from within.

“It seems like you learned really well from Zigmeser.”

“That man really knows how to grill a steak.”

William thoroughly drenched the steak pieces in the juices and melted butter pooled on the plate before popping them into his mouth.

Even though it was a steak he had eaten many times before, there was no doubt that a steak could always be deliciously satisfying.

Perfectly seasoned meat was tender at the moment of chewing but offered a chewy sensation that delighted the juices-soaked teeth.

It was not tough at all.

Instead, the meat that was just chewy enough to bite into would release its juices, and with the added pressure, it would tear apart as though it had never been tough at all.

Objectively, it was a delicious steak.

However…

“It’s just a moderately tasty rare steak.”

“…Wait a minute.”

He thought this probability was high, but hearing it directly left him somewhat disappointed. Did he actually fail for real?

Karem immediately picked up the utensils to carve the steak.

 

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