abcnovels
Book 5
Book 5: Chapter SS4
Fried on the Grill Every Day
Late one night in the 2nd month, 1,547th year, Continental Calendar
On this day, the Kingdom of Friedonia’s Minister of Agriculture and Forestry, Poncho, and the head maid, Serina, had come to Ishizuka’s Place in Parnam Castle together.
This was where the recipes from Earth that Souma and Poncho had recreated were served on an experimental basis, and everyone who worked at the castle was welcome.
However, because the hours of operation were from evening until late at night, in the end, only those who had night shifts were able to go here. Business hours were already finished for the day, and Poncho and Serina were alone inside the shop.
There was a reason these two were here: to fulfill the promise made earlier that day.
“Okay, I’ll make you a toasted sandwich, yes.”
“Thank you,” Serina said.
It was the promise to make Serina a toasted sandwich.
Poncho picked up a cooking tool that looked like two frying pans stuck together. “Though, they’re easy to make, yes. You put a piece of bread on one side of this toasted sandwich maker, place the filling on top, then put another piece of bread on top of that, and then you just close the sandwich maker and cook it on both sides. For the filling, I’ll use the usual ham and cheese, yes.”
Poncho explained as he skillfully prepared the sandwich. Poncho normally came across as a bit dull-witted, but his spirit of adventure when it came to food and his skill in preparing it was nothing short of brilliant. He turned over the sandwich maker, crisping the bread on both sides, removed it from heat when it was just right, then opened the device, took out the sandwich, and cut it into two. Melted cheese leaked out from the sides as he cut it.
Poncho then put it onto a plate and served it to Serina. “Here you go, yes.”
“Oh, this wonderful scent really does stimulate the appetite, Poncho.” Serina looked at the sandwich in an enraptured state that you would never imagine from her usual impudent attitude. Then, picking up one piece, she slowly bit into it. “Hot...!”
“A-Are you all right?! Perhaps you should wait for it to cool a little more...”
“...No, I’m fine. It’s hot, crispy, and delicious.”
Serina munched away at the toasted sandwich. Poncho, who was relieved to see she was all right, explained to Serina as she ravenously devoured the sandwich, “The toasted sandwich is fried in a press, so even bread that’s gone a little stale is delicious served this way, yes. If you cut off the crusts and cook it well, you can seal the filling inside, so they’re convenient for carrying around, yes.”
“It’s a wonderful dish. I enjoyed every last bite.” Serina, who had finished eating, wiped her mouth with a napkin.
Poncho liked seeing others enjoy his food as much as he did eating it himself, so her satisfied expression was a delight for him to see.
Then Serina noticed a sweet smell of some sort. The smell seemed to be coming from a pot that was over the fire.
“...Is something boiling?”
“Oh, that’s right, yes.” Poncho hurriedly rushed over to the pot, opened the lid, and stirred the contents with a spatula. This caused even more of the sweet smell to fill the air. Serina looked into the pot from beside him. Inside there was a green lumpy substance that was thick and boiling.
“Are those... peas?”
“Yes, they are, yes. Peas boiled with sugar, yes.”
“In sugar? It’s not a soup?”
“No. According to His Majesty, it’s called anko, yes.”
“Anko?”
“It seems, in His Majesty’s world, they used this anko to make sweets. I’m currently attempting to recreate it through a process of trial and error under orders from His Majesty, yes.”
For anko, it was standard to use azuki beans, but those weren’t available in this country (though they might have been in other countries), so Poncho was substituting green peas in his attempt to create anko.
While stirring the pot, Poncho added as if he had just remembered, “Come to think of it, one of the most famous dishes to use anko in His Majesty’s world was one called taiyaki, yes.”
When she heard the name, Serina seemed dubious. “Taiyaki... They put anko on fried fish? It doesn’t sound very delicious.”
“Oh, no, it’s not fish, it’s a sweet that’s shaped like a fish, yes. It’s like a toasted sandwich with anko as the filling, or something like that. Would you like to try maki—”
“Unquestionably!” Serina responded eagerly.
Poncho smiled wryly as he laid bread in the toasted sandwich maker like before, put the green pea anko from the pot on it, then placed another piece of bread on top and cooked it on both sides. He split the finished toasted anko sandwich in two, and this time (because they were taste-testing it), they each took half.
“Oh... This is delicious, too,” she said.
“Yes. I think it’s very delicious, yes.”
Serina had an enraptured look on her face, while Poncho smacked his gums in satisfaction and smiled. Once this one piece of equipment was created, it was easy to make them. If the supply of sweeteners like sugar became more plentiful, they could probably be sold in street stalls. That was what Poncho was thinking, but then he noticed a pensive look on Serina’s face.
“What’s the matter, Madam Serina?” josei
“Oh, it’s nothing... This just tasted so much more delicious than the toasted sandwich I had before, so I was a little mystified.”
“You have a sweet tooth, I see, Madam Serina.”
“No, not particularly, it’s just... it tasted delicious because it put me at ease... or something like that. It’s strange. Even though I felt that both were delicious.”
“Hm...” An idea occurred to Poncho. “Do you think it could be because we shared it? With any food, it tastes better shared with another person than when you eat it alone, yes.”
“...I see.”
It all fell into place for Serina. Eating with another person was delicious. Eating with Poncho was delicious. That was the answer.
“I’m convinced. Well then, so that I can continue to enjoy delicious food at its most delicious, Sir Poncho, let’s continue eating together in future. No, please feed me.”
With that said, Serina gave him a soft smile.
Watching the beautiful head maid who was known as a total sadist smile, Poncho couldn’t help but stare at her for a while in fascination.