Chapter 399: The Excited Knights

I told the head chef about the burger-like meal I had for lunch. He seemed to be aware of it and regretted that the idea had never occurred to him.

With that in mind, I suggested that it might be a good idea to serve it with fried potatoes.

“Hmm, cutting potatoes into thin strips and frying them? That sounds interesting. Let’s give it a try.”

The head chef promptly began preparing. Since hot oil is dangerous, I wasn’t allowed to enter the kitchen. Instead, I waited in the break room. As expected, Fabienne was feeding Mira dried fruit.

“Mira, dinner is soon, so don’t eat too much.”

“Kyuu.”

Mira narrowed her eyes slightly, as if to say, I wouldn’t do that. Come to think of it, Mira seems to have quite a large stomach. She looks like she could eat endlessly. Actually, do holy dragons even have stomachs? Maybe everything she eats is immediately consumed to grow her fur.

As I pondered this while observing Mira, the head chef arrived with the fried potatoes. He had already tasted them, judging by his beaming expression. Was it because they were delicious, or was he just excited about creating a new dish? Maybe both?

“They’re ready! As expected of Julius-sama. A brilliant idea. The kitchen staff is already in love with them.”

A plate of steaming hot potatoes was placed before me. Just as I had requested, they were seasoned only with salt—high-quality rock salt, at that. As I admired their golden color, Mira leaned forward eagerly. What a little glutton.

“Kyuu! Kyuu!”

“Alright, alright, let’s all try them together. Mmm, delicious. Even better than expected. As expected from the head chef.”

“Thank you very much.”

“In that case, allow me to join in as well.”

Fabienne reached for a plate. Though he had been trying to be reserved, Nero had been staring at the potatoes intensely, so of course, he was given some as well. He seemed to like them, savoring them with his eyes closed. If they wanted more, I’d just order extra. Even though it was right before dinner.

“I’d love to serve them at tonight’s dinner.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Um, if possible, could you teach me how to make them? I’d love to prepare them for my parents as well.”

“Of course! I’ll bring the recipe right away.”

With a cheerful expression, the head chef left the tasting room. Now the Amber Baron family would also get to enjoy these potatoes. It seemed Fabienne had taken quite a liking to them. And once again, I had created something trivial yet popular. For the record, these potatoes became a massive hit throughout the territory.

After satisfying my small hunger, I headed to the knights’ barracks to work off the snack. Not for training, but to test the effectiveness of the water-repellent solution.

“The water-repellent coating on the covered wagon and tents should be dry by now. I need to check how well it works.”

“I hope it functions properly… but I’m a little worried.”

“Don’t worry, don’t worry. Since Fabienne made the potion, it’ll be fine.”

I was speechless upon arriving at the knights’ barracks. The strong knights were using watering cans—borrowed from the gardeners, no doubt—to artificially create rain from the second-floor windows. Beneath this artificial downpour, knights inside covered wagons and tents were laughing and playing around. It was a sight that couldn’t be shown just anywhere.

“Um, what is this?”

“Oh, Julius-sama! We are testing the effectiveness of the water-repellent agent applied to the wagons and tents.”

“This is an incredible magical potion! We no longer have to go through the tedious process of applying wax. Plus, it doesn’t make the material heavier, and the breathability remains intact. Thanks to this, we won’t have to suffer from heat rashes in the humid season!”

Wow, things have really escalated. I should have made this for them sooner. As expected, the breathability seems to be well-maintained. Even fabric tents proved to be sufficiently effective.

“It seems to be repelling water quite well.”

“Yeah, it looks like it. This should lighten everyone’s burden a bit, right? The only issue left is its durability. We should prepare for immediate reapplication when the fabric starts absorbing water.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

The three of us watched the knights happily creating rainbows for a while.

The water-repellent agent was soon officially adopted by the knights. Every wagon and tent owned by the order was coated with it. That wasn’t all. The knights’ cloaks, which were previously made of leather, were replaced with lighter and more durable fabric materials, which were also treated with the agent.

This made traveling much easier, and the knights repeatedly expressed their gratitude.

One day, just as summer vacation was about to begin, news arrived at the Heine Count household.

At that moment, I was working with Fabienne to prepare a stockpile of the water-repellent agent.

Suddenly, a servant entered the mixing room and instructed me to come to the salon immediately. Wondering if I had forgotten something important, I glanced at Nero, but he shook his head. It seemed there was nothing scheduled.

“Looks like something happened.”

“Um, may I come with you as well?”

“I wasn’t the only one summoned, so it should be fine… but did I mess up again somehow?”

“I don’t think so. You’ve been quite well-behaved lately.”

Fabienne tilted her head cutely, but it kind of stung. In other words, she also thought of me as someone who regularly caused trouble.

Nero was tilting his head in the same way, suggesting he shared Fabienne’s opinion. Do I not inspire any trust? Or rather, am I trusted in a completely different way? If so, no thanks.

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