Kays Translations

Chapter 264: The Head Chef Is Overjoyed

　Nero returned with several kinds of fruit. That was all well and good, but the head chef and Brother Alex followed behind him, with Brother Alex carrying Mira.

“Nero told me. Is it finished already? In that case, you should show the head chef how to use it.”

“To think I will be able to eat dried fruit made by Lord Julius again… I’m overwhelmed!”

　For some reason, the head chef had become a fervent believer in dried fruit and was almost in tears. I never expected it to move him so deeply. If this enthusiasm spread among the public, things could become troublesome. Well, Brother Alex would surely deal with that.

“The machine is complete, but we won’t know whether it has any problems until we test it.”

“I see. May I observe the test as well?”

“Of course.”

　As the person in charge of Operation: Regional Dried-Fruit Speciality, Brother Alex apparently wanted to understand what sort of magic tool I had created. He was taking his role seriously. I still intended to leave the actual work to the head chef.

“It cannot dry different kinds of fruit together, but it can process one variety at a time automatically.”

“Automatically? You don’t have to turn the pieces over or keep checking how dry they are?”

“That’s right. When you hear the signal, they’re finished, and the magic tool will stop by itself.”

“How…”

　The head chef stared at me in astonishment. Yes, all those careful notes he had taken earlier had become useless. I was truly sorry.

“That assumes it works as designed, of course.”

　With that, I patted the brand-new automatic dried-fruit-making magic tool.

　The head chef sliced the fruit on the spot. Every piece had passed his discerning inspection and already looked delicious. It almost seemed a shame to dry it.

　Mira gazed at me pleadingly, clearly hoping for a taste, but I steeled my heart and endured. I could manage because I was me; the kind-hearted head chef would never have resisted.

　I arranged the fruit inside the magic tool and pressed the start button. All we had to do now was wait for the signal.

　Ding! A bell-like sound rang out. I should make it repeat several times, since a single chime could easily be missed. A short melody might be even better.

“Lord Julius, is it finished already? It seems much faster than before.”

“I’m impressed, Head Chef. You noticed immediately. I made several changes to shorten the processing time, though I didn’t expect it to be this quick.”

　I explained that the fruit rested on wire racks while dehumidifying magic tools drew moisture from above and below. He murmured in admiration. He might not have understood every detail, but he clearly grasped how remarkable the result was.

　The process had fallen from roughly thirty minutes to about ten, making it easy to produce large quantities. When I removed the finished fruit, the same concentrated sweetness filled the workshop. The test appeared to have succeeded without any problems.

“Kyu!”

“Brother!”

　Mira and Rosalia immediately held out their hands in identical begging poses. There was no helping it. I gave them each some dried fruit, then invited Brother Alex and the head chef to try it as well. Naturally, Nero and Lelie also received a share. Nothing remained for me, but everyone’s reactions made the result obvious.

“Delicious. It passes the test.”

“I can’t believe something made entirely by a magic tool tastes this good. What am I supposed to do now…?”

“Head Chef, you don’t need to do anything differently! Please continue making delicious meals exactly as you always have!”

　For some reason, the head chef had become dejected. Surely he did not believe that he had lost to a magic tool. That was not true at all. Dried fruit prepared with his skill and care would undoubtedly taste even better.

“It’s delicious, Brother. I really didn’t think dried fruit could be made simply by putting fruit inside.”

“Kyu.”

“That is precisely what the magic tool is for. With a few adjustments, it could even make dried fish…”

“Dried fish? Lord Julius, please tell me more.”

　The head chef closed in with startling enthusiasm.

　And so a culture of dried food was born in the Heine Margraviate. Fish also became even more flavourful when dried.

　Dried fruit and dried fish quickly spread throughout the territory. Demand soon exceeded what House Heine could supply casually, so the family decided to enter the business in earnest.

　A new trading company was established under House Heine with Brother Alex at its head, and Sister-in-law Daniela naturally joined him. One automatic dried-fruit-making magic tool was insufficient, so I ended up producing three in total.

　We would make more in spring, when sales beyond the territorial capital were due to begin. I had hoped to entrust their construction to other magic-tool makers, but Brother Alex wanted to keep the technology exclusive. For the time being, Rosalia and I would have to build them ourselves. Sob.

　Rosalia’s dishwasher-dryer magic tool was also nearly complete. Its mechanism was more complicated than that of my automatic dried-fruit-making magic tool, and balancing the water flow, heated air and dehumidification had been difficult. Nevertheless, Rosalia overcame every problem. She had unquestionably grown as a magic-tool maker.

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