Ai o Ataeru Kemono-tachi

Eventually, I was brought into the house and had to wait for Theo-sama to return.
I was sitting on Hector-sama’s lap while drinking tea.

 

All was done under the shooting glances from my two partners in front of me…

 

Hector-sama was drinking his tea contentedly while patting my head, though I couldn’t taste any of the tea.

 

After a while, Theo-sama returned, and I was too relieved that my body became relaxed.

 

It is still a little early for supper, but if I start preparing it now, it will be just in time when it is ready.

 

As I left the house and headed towards our house, Hector-sama was leading me by the hand, and the two men with evil looks on their faces were slowly following me from behind.

 

Not only Douglas-san but even Gail-san…

 

I could feel a terrible cold air on my back, but Hector-sama didn’t care at all.
He was smiling all the time and lightly skipping his steps.

 

This man is called “The Wise King” and has the charm of a dignified, reserved and mature man.

 

He is a perfect man with a physique as good as Gail-san’s, a king that is adored by everyone, and charismatic.

 

However, his current appearance is, in a word, very pathetic…

 

No, it’s rude to think like that.

 

I am sure it’s because he loves me so much.

 

Still, the aura of the two partners I felt behind me was too scary, but… let’s hope it won’t lead me to another course of punishment. 

 

It must have been my imagination that it felt very long even though it was only a short distance to our house.

 

By the way, Theo-sama kept apologizing to me, saying “I’m sorry… I’m sorry”.

 

After arriving home, Theo-sama, Hector-sama, and Douglas-san were having a noisy discussion in the living room over a cup of tea, which could have been mistaken for a fight.

 

I felt a little sorry for Theo-sama because I thought his face was gradually losing its vitality.

 

And I felt bad to have Gail-san run an errand for me.

 

I told him what was lacking and what I really wanted.
Then, he accepted my request heartily.

 

I immediately pulled out all necessary ingredients and proceeded to prepare as much as I could for the time being.

 

The main item on today’s menu is pork cutlets (tonkatsu).

 

I would prepare some simple pork cutlets.
Some of it simmered in a sweetened broth and beaten with eggs, and the other was made into pork cutlet sandwiches, which are my favorite.

 

When I was on a night shift at work, I used to eat pork cutlet sandwiches for dinner.

 

I’m a little worried about whether it’s okay to serve such a commoner’s meal to the two people who are royalties, and who usually eat food prepared by first-rate chefs…

 

I don’t know exactly how much food it would take for three lions, one bear, and me.

 

It might be quite hard work for one person to make this.

 

I couldn’t ask the three royal family members to help me, so I proceeded with the work, thinking that I would ask for a little help when Gail-san came back.

 

“Well, young mistress, is there something troubling you?”

 

“Hiic!”

 

Suddenly, a voice called out to me from behind, and I fell down.

 

I turned around and to my surprise, Sebastian-san was standing there.

 

I didn’t feel any human presence at all, but why was he there?

 

“I am sorry to have startled you.
I’ve been watching you from behind for a while, and you seemed to be in some kind of trouble.
So, if there is anything I can do to help, how would you like it?”

 

“Eh, umm..  why are you here, Sebastian-san?”

 

Sebastian-san answered as he helped me up with his elegant hands.

 

“I have received information that the two have moved in next door, and I assumed that the young mistress would invite them over for dinner and serve them a home-cooked meal.
In that case, I thought I would come and help in any way I could.”

 

“Oh, I see.
To be honest, I was troubled that it would take too much time if I were to do it alone because the amount of food is too large.
May I ask for your help?”

 

Sebastian-san gives me a soft smile in response to my question.

 

“Of course! That’s why I’m here.
Moreover, I’ve heard from the young master that his wife is an excellent cook.
I hope you will teach me too.
I would like to treat the master and the mistress to a taste of the young mistress’s hometown.”

 

“It’s not like that… I’m an amateur cook.
I have nothing to teach someone of your great skill.
In fact, it’s me who’d like to learn from you.
But if it is a recipe, I can teach you as much as you want.
So, let’s do our best!”

 

“Yes, thank you very much.”

 

He bowed in a very beautiful manner.

 

He is a man who is really sophisticated in all his movements.

 

“Right, I heard that Sebastian-san did all the preparations for this house, and you even prepared these ingredients for us, which was really helpful.
Thank you very much.”

 

” It is what I want to do, so there is no need for you to be so concerned about it, young mistress.
I’m sure you are still unfamiliar with life here, and I intend to come regularly to your house to help you.”

 

That would be very helpful.

 

After all, there might be some things about ingredients, seasonings, and knowledge of this world’s cuisine that my two partners didn’t know.

 

“I can honestly say that it helps a lot.
There are many things about housekeeping and cooking that Gail-san and Douglas-san don’t understand.
At Catalton, I had Mintz-san who taught me many things, but if Sebastian-san is here to teach me, I feel very reassured.”

 

“I’m really glad to hear you say that.
Well then, shall we proceed with the cooking?”

 

“You’re right.
I look forward to working with you!”

 

I gave Sebastian-san an overview of today’s dish.

 

I explained that I couldn’t remember the names of the magical beast’s meat, vegetables, and seasonings, so I called them by the names of similar things in my world.
And when I taught him the names of each, he learned them in one shot.

 

When I explained that the main ingredient is pork, which is battered and deep-fried, stewed in broth and dipped in the egg, and deep-fried pork mixed with cabbage and sauce and sandwiched between bread, he seemed very interested and asked a lot of questions.

 

I was impressed by his enthusiasm, especially because he seemed to find the method of dipping pork cutlets in sauce and putting them between loaves of bread to be very interesting.

 

He asked me many questions and I answered them as I worked.
In the meanwhile, Sebastian-san’s hand movements were still amazing…

 

A huge chunk of pork was cut to the right size in a matter of seconds, and a whole cabbage was shredded the moment I took my eyes off.

 

Shortly after, Gail-san came back.
He bought some additional ingredients and something similar to the Worcestershire sauce that I wanted.

 

Gail-san seemed surprised by Sebastian-san’s appearance, but I quickly convinced him that Sebastian-san wouldn’t be acting strange.

 

I tasted the Worcestershire sauce, but it tasted too strong.
I needed to make this sauce taste lighter to make it closer to the one in my hometown.
But as I was thinking about it, Sebastian-san came up to me.

 

“Is there anything troubling you?”

 

“Ah, no, I asked Gail-san to buy me something as close as possible to the seasoning from my hometown, but it’s still different.
I don’t know what I should do.”

 

“Hmmm…how does that seasoning differ from this sauce?”

 

“Right… It’s drier, a little more acidic, a little richer.
It also doesn’t have such a strong flavor.
It should enhance the flavor of the ingredients, but…”

 

“I see.
May I make a few alterations?”

 

“Yes, of course.”

 

Then, Sebastian-san put the Worcestershire sauce on the fire and added some grated vegetables, seasonings, and spices to adjust the taste.

 

After a while, I tasted the result and found that it was indeed the Worcestershire sauce that I had been looking for.

 

I remember it was quite difficult to make homemade Worcestershire sauce even if I knew the recipe.

 

As I thought, Sebastian-san was no ordinary man.

 

“Amazing! This is exactly the sauce I was looking for!”

 

“Thank you very much.
It is true that the sauce is not too strong or too light, so it seems to bring out the flavors of the ingredients.”

 

“Um, would you mind telling me later how you made this?”

 

“Yes, of course.
I also would like to improve this sauce in many ways.”

 

Now that I know that Sebastian-san is a perfect superhuman, I will indulge him.

 

“Well then, I’ll make some modifications to this sauce and make a sauce that goes well with today’s main course.”

 

“Mmm-hmm.
May I ask you to teach me how to make it?”

 

“Of course!”

 

To be honest, I thought Worcestershire sauce would be enough, but I wanted chuno or tonkatsu sauce if possible.1Actually, Tonkatsu sauce and the Worcestershire sauce commonly used in Japan are similar things and can be used interchangeably.
Additionally, “Chuno sauce (中濃ソース)”, a type of Japanese brown sauce, is also something like Tonkatsu sauce and (Japanese-style) Worcester sauce, and in fact, these brown sauces are made with almost the same ingredients.
Further reading and image: Tonkatsu Sauce vs Worcester Sauce vs Chuno Sauce – Recommendation of Unique Japanese Products and Culture (japanese-products.blog)

 

I tried to make a tonkatsu sauce from my memory and added ingredients similar to the one I had in my head to the Worcestershire sauce.
Fortunately, this world already had something similar to ketchup, so I added ketchup, lemon juice, sugar, and a little soy sauce and simmered it down.

 

When the sauce had thickened to the right consistency, I took it off the heat and it was ready to be used as a tonkatsu sauce.

 

Now it is time to fry the pork cutlets.

 

Flour, egg, and breadcrumbs are quickly coated to the cutlets and deep-fried one after another.

 

The fried pork cutlets were piled up one after another, forming a pork cutlet tower.

 

It would have been impossible for one person to fry this amount of pork cutlets, and I am very grateful to Sebastian-san.

 

I left the frying to Sebastian-san and started preparing for pork cutlet sandwiches.

 

I felt sorry to leave the hardest part of the work to Sebastian-san, but he kindly took care of it.

 

While frying the pork cutlets, he added soy sauce, sugar, mirin, and sake to the broth he was preparing, dropped a few pieces of pork cutlets into it, simmered them, and at just the right moment, dipped them in egg.

 

This is a very easy process as long as the frying is done.

 

Because we made a lot of broth, all we had to do was repeat the process.

 

“It’s a very interesting idea, isn’t it, to take something that has already been fried, simmer it in broth, and then coat it with egg?”

 

“Yes, the batter is moist, unlike a deep-fried pork cutlet, but it has just the right amount of sweet and spicy flavor.
Plus, the mildness of the egg gives it a very appetizing taste.”

 

“I see.
The cuisine from the young mistress’s world is simple but highly innovative.
It’s wonderful.”

 

I am embarrassed when people praise my hometown like that.

 

Let’s use the time to simmer the katsu toji2Pork Katsu Toji is a Japanese rice dish consists of a deep fried pork cutlet topped with scrambled eggs and usually accompanied with a light soya sauce to give it more taste.
Some chefs like to add other condiments such as onions.
Further reading but using chicken: Jumbo Jaxsen Japanese Food Blog (GROUP): Chicken Katsu Toji to prepare the pork cutlet sandwiches.

 

I asked Gail-san to buy a large quantity of soft bread that was as moist and medium-textured as possible.

 

After cutting the bread into appropriate sizes, I spread butter and mustard on one side.

 

I really prefer hot pepper, but as expected, I couldn’t get it.

 

Then, the pork cutlet dipped in tonkatsu sauce was placed on top of the shredded cabbage, and another bread was placed on the other side of the cutlet to complete the dish.

 

For half of the pork cutlet sandwich, I dipped the pork cutlet in tonkatsu sauce with pre-mixed mustard to give it a slightly tangy flavor.

 

“Hmmm, now you make sandwiches with fried meat dipped in a generous amount of sauce.
I often make sandwiches myself, but it seems to be a sufficient staple food when the volume of the ingredients is so solid.
Especially for carnivorous beastmen, I think it will be very much welcomed.”

 

“I have to admit that I would be full just by eating two or three of these.
The sauce is so rich that by the time you eat it, it has soaked into the bread, making it very tasty.”

 

“I see what you mean.
This is something that even my busy master and mistress would be happy to enjoy as an easy meal.
I will definitely let them try it.”

 

“I would be very happy if it was to the liking of Virgil-sama and Rickham-sama!”

 

The pork cutlets are all fried just in time, and the three main courses are complete.

 

I also quickly prepared a seaweed salad and miso soup with mushrooms, which I wanted to drink, and served it with rice.
Now everything was ready.

 

Looking around at the finished amount, I wondered what kind of party was going to be held.
It is easy to imagine that all of them will be gone soon.

 

“Sebastian-san, if you don’t mind, would you like to try some of this?”

 

“I appreciate the offer, but I have to go back to the house now and take care of my masters.”

 

“I see.
I am so sorry for troubling you.
Oh, if you don’t mind, I’ll have this dish packed and ready in no time.
It would be a shame for Sebastian-san not to be able to eat it after all the hard work we put into making it together.”

 

“Thank you very much.
I am also very interested in this dish, so I will take you up on your offer.”

 

I hastily prepared a container and filled it with food one after another.
I made it into a bento-style lunch box.

 

It was quite a lot, but Sebastian-san easily held it up with one hand.

 

“Well then, young mistress, please take care of Gail-sama from now on.
If there is anything I can do to help you, I will come to your aid immediately.”

 

“Thank you so much for today.
It would have been very impossible without Sebastian-san.
I may cause you trouble in the future, but I look forward to working with you.”

 

With a bow, elegant as ever, Sebastian-san disappeared from the place.

 

No, not metaphorically.
He has really vanished.

 

Yes, I think I’m getting used to it by now and I’m getting influenced in thinking that Sebastian-san would have done it.

 

And now, here we go.

Translator Note:

No excuse, but if you like it, please consider buying me boba tea.
Thank you!

1Actually, Tonkatsu sauce and the Worcestershire sauce commonly used in Japan are similar things and can be used interchangeably.
Additionally, “Chuno sauce (中濃ソース)”, a type of Japanese brown sauce, is also something like Tonkatsu sauce and (Japanese-style) Worcester sauce, and in fact, these brown sauces are made with almost the same ingredients.
Further reading and image: Tonkatsu Sauce vs Worcester Sauce vs Chuno Sauce – Recommendation of Unique Japanese Products and Culture (japanese-products.blog)2Pork Katsu Toji is a Japanese rice dish consists of a deep fried pork cutlet topped with scrambled eggs and usually accompanied with a light soya sauce to give it more taste.
Some chefs like to add other condiments such as onions.
Further reading but using chicken: Jumbo Jaxsen Japanese Food Blog (GROUP): Chicken Katsu Toji