by Yu Sakurai
“Just what is that smell? It’s so strange!”
The way the wolf cocked his head at me, I could practically hear him muttering those words.
In fact, it was such a human gesture coming from what was essentially a giant dog, I couldn’t help but find it amusing.
“Ahaha! What’s the matter? Is my scent that interesting to you? You’re just like King Glenreed!”
“King Glenreed.”
I was pretty sure that just for a moment, I saw the wolf stiffen at the sound of that name. On the one hand, he was an animal, but on the other, he’d been raised by humans. Perhaps he recognized the king’s name.
“Edgar, His Majesty sure is impressive, no? Even the wolves seem to fear his name. Sure, he may be the king, but don’t you think that’s a bit much?” I said to Edgar in jest.
“Stay away from him!!”
“?!”
Edgar grabbed my shoulders and whisked me off the ground.
For a moment, I was shocked by his strength. When I looked up at him, his face was icy cold.
“That wolf’s not one of mine!!”
“What?”
A wild wolf? Within the castle walls?
I froze in bewilderment.
Edgar was facing the wolf, trying to contain his fear.
Lucian stood at the ready.
The silver wolf glared back at us.
At that moment, the tension-filled silence was once again broken by the sound of rustling trees.
“Hehehe! There’s no need to be so nervous. I guarantee that silver wolf won’t be any trouble to you.”
“Lord Melvin?!”
I could feel some of the distress leave Edgar’s body.
A handsome young man with golden hair and light-blue eyes had emerged from the forest. This was none other than Melvin.
His work as an aide to the king should have been keeping him more than occupied. So why was he here?
“Good afternoon, Lord Melvin. What brings you all the way out here?” I asked.
“I was just waiting on this here wolf. I apologize if he frightened you.”
“…Whose wolf is he, exactly? Edgar didn’t recognize him either…”
“He’s a bit of a special case. Did you see the color of his eyes?”
“They are a beautiful bluish green. I haven’t seen any other wolves with eyes like his…”
The wolf I had just been brushing was still sitting at my side, looking up at me with amber eyes that lightened in the rays of the sun.
The other wolves’ eyes were varying shades of brown too.
“Indeed! This silver wolf just so happened to be born with blue-green eyes. On top of that, in this kingdom, we view wolves as symbols of our monarchy, and many members of the royal family possess those same blue-green eyes. That has caused the silver wolf to be seen as an object of worship…and he was nearly kidnapped by some wretched soul.”
“…That’s terrible. This poor boy must have been through a lot.”
They’d tried to take the wolf for themselves just because of his unusual appearance. It was a cruel tale.
“Fortunately, the kidnapping was unsuccessful… But the whole ordeal took its toll on him, and now it’s not so easy for him to warm up to people anymore. For everyone’s safety, I’ve been keeping him separate from the other wolves and taking care of him on my own.”
Edgar seemed to accept this explanation. He and I were both seventeen years old. He’d told me it was only a year ago that he first became a wolfkeeper.
“Thank you for the information, Melvin. I’m glad to know this silver wolf’s history…but will he be okay interacting with us?”
“Actually, it’s perfect. Wolves are pack animals, so I brought him here today in the hope of seeing him interact with other wolves and humans. He might show up here again in the future, so please give him lots of love and tr— Ow, ow, ow!!”
“I don’t want anyone’s love!!” the wolf seemed to say as it butted its head against Melvin.
With an annoyed snort, the silver wolf kept his eyes fixed on me.
“Oh… Would you…like a closer look?” I asked.
I was still holding the slicker brush in my right hand.
I was surprised by how intelligent this wolf appeared to be. The sight of the unfamiliar tool might have piqued his interest.
“Melvin, is it okay to touch him?”
“He doesn’t like to be pet, but I think he’ll let you brush him. He’s used to being groomed by other people.”
“…Is that so?”
He doesn’t like to be directly touched, but it’s okay as long as I use a tool?
The distinction didn’t really make sense to me, but Melvin knew this silver wolf best, and I had no reason to doubt him.
I was a bit disappointed that I couldn’t pet that beautiful silver fur with my hands, but I decided to offer a nice brushing as a way of introducing myself instead.
Slowly, I glided the brush through his coat, careful not to hurt his skin. Little by little, his silver fur grew even shinier than before.
I stared at the lovely sight and thought about what a strange creature he was.
◆ ◆ ◆
LATER that day.
Within the palace, inside the king’s office…
“Damn it… What’s gotten into me? The other wolves made the brush look so good, I just couldn’t resist giving it a try…”
There stood the Wolfvartian king, his silver locks a bit shinier than usual, grumbling these complaints to himself.
Chapter 4: Chiffon Cake and the Troubled Chef
ONCE the silver wolf appeared satisfied with his brushing, he and Melvin returned to the forest, out of our sight. After watching them leave, Edgar left with his wolves as well, so I decided to return home with Lucian.
When I entered through the front door, one of the beastfolk maids stood in waiting.
“I’ve come to bring you a message from the kitchen, Your Majesty,” said Krona, the black-haired maid, as she bowed.
The maid’s bushy triangular ears were standing at attention on either side of her bonnet. Her eyes were slim and golden, with slender feline pupils. She was the ultimate black-cat maid.
“The kitchen? Does that mean…”
“They’ve said that starting today, you’re welcome to use the kitchen at any point before dinner preparations.”
Yes!
I struck a victory pose in my heart. Needing to change out of my fur-ridden clothes, I headed upstairs to my bedroom, only to find that a clean apron and dress had already been laid out for me.
My maids were as quick on their toes as ever. Once I changed clothes, Krona approached me.
“Your Majesty, might I style your hair for you?”
“Certainly. I’ll leave it in your hands for today.”
Krona reached her slim fingers toward the back of my head. It was a bit ticklish, but the more I watched her work, the more braids I saw form in my hair, until it was all pulled together in the back.
“Once again, you’ve impressed me with your hairdressing skills.”
“…Your hair is perfect for styling, Your Majesty.”
Her face was as stony as ever, even as she praised me, but I did catch the tip of her tail start to twitch just slightly. She seemed to be pleased as well.
Krona had braided the hair on both sides of my head, then tied the back up with red and white ribbons. The arrangement felt light and easy to move with, while also giving my hair an eye-catching appearance.
I stood up, ready to give her my thanks, when I noticed the girl was staring right at me.
“What is it, Krona?”
“Your Majesty, you’re going to start making sweets in the kitchen, aren’t you?”
“That’s my plan, yes. Would you like to join me and be my taste tester?”
“Absolutely!!”
Her response was instantaneous.
Krona must have had a weak spot for sweets, I determined.
Boy, can I relate to that.
“Hehe! I did it…! Now I get all the treats I want!” she quietly cheered to herself.
Krona seemed to have an unpredictable personality, much like an actual cat.
You might question if maids should be unpredictable, but Krona was fantastic at her job.
She understood the proper boundaries between a master and servant, and she always treated me with the utmost respect too. The other maids were somewhat withdrawn around me, since I was a foreigner in their kingdom, and as a result, it was easier for me to rely on Krona’s help all the more.
I also had my own trusted maids from back home, but it didn’t seem right to only work with people from Elltoria. But through Krona, I planned on slowly getting to know the other maids better as well.
◇ ◇ ◇
I finished up in the bedroom and made my way to the kitchen.
It was smaller than my home kitchen, but by no means was it lacking—there was enough space for more than ten chefs to work simultaneously.
A line of ingredients I’d requested sat atop the counter in a row.
I spotted eggs, sugar, and more. Lucian was also setting out utensils for my use.
Each one was something I’d transmuted from metal in advance. They were tools to assist in today’s baking session.
With everything I needed at hand, I was just about ready to start cooking, when the head maid appeared in the kitchen.
“Krona! Come with me! We need more hands to polish the silver. It’s taking much longer than I anticipated. Your Majesty, I apologize, but I need to borrow her for a while.”
“Just my luck…,” whimpered Krona, her voice full of disappointment as the head maid dragged her away.
I felt bad for her, but she had to do her job, after all. I would gift her some sweets later. For now, it was time to start cooking.
First, I separated the egg yolks from the whites.
I followed up by forming ice with a spell, then set it inside a box along with the bowl of egg whites.
I would still be able to proceed without this step, but by chilling the egg whites in advance, the meringue would be easier to whisk into the correct consistency when the time came.
This was the first dish of my own making since arriving in Wolfvarte. To celebrate (was that the right word?), I’d decided to make a chiffon cake.
This selection resulted from hearing that the kitchen staff had obtained a large number of fresh, high-quality eggs. Other potential dishes also came to mind, but a nice chiffon cake was one of the best ways to really savor the taste of the eggs.
While the egg whites sat in the icebox, I began to stir the yolks and sugar together to get the cake batter started.
Little by little, I added in vegetable oil and mixed it all together with my whisk.
The “vegetable” in question was the seeds of a plant called “gina,” apparently. In both flavor and appearance, the liquid strongly resembled normal cooking oil, so I used it as a substitute.
Some foods in this world were identical to what I ate on Earth, while others were brand-new to me, or were deceptively similar.
We had common foods like cabbages and onions, but there were also vegetables that didn’t appear to exist anywhere in this world, like eggplants. The closest we had was something that could only be called “imitation eggplant,” which had a round, curved body with reddish skin. They were even yellow on the inside, edible, and with a flavor not too different from that of regular eggplant. I imagined it would be a convenient substitute.
I would make use of what I had access to, and once I was used to those new ingredients, I would begin experimenting with others as well.
But first, I was working with the few ingredients I already knew well.
I was worried about a few steps in the chiffon cake recipe, but I wanted to push through it using magic, or whatever else I had to do.
I continued to add the ingredients, whisking them together loudly in the bowl.
On Earth, I used a hand mixer for this step, but now, it was all up to my own strength.
Muscles, activate! You mix those ingredients together! Show them how hard you’ve been working out!
I picked up the pace more and more, cheering myself on internally. I whisked and whisked as fast as I could while still keeping an eye on the contents of the bowl.
Finally, I switched to mixing with the wooden spatula to be sure everything was dissolved, then poured the batter into my specially made chiffon cake mold.
To make the cake rise nicely, I would have to take it out while it was still hot and flip the mold upside down to let it cool. For that purpose, I transmuted the mold to have a wine bottle–sized hole in the middle to keep the cake in place. I placed the mold into the warm oven and retrieved it later, once the surface of the cake was nice and brown.
Then I flipped the cake upside down and left it there for a while.
After checking to be sure it had cooled, I used metal skewers and a frosting knife to carefully coax the cake out.
“So fluffy…”
The texture looked perfect.
The cake had a soft bounce to it when I pushed on the surface, and it didn’t collapse at all. One section at the bottom didn’t come out of the mold very well, but I decided that gave it some charm.
For its very first creation in this world, the chiffon cake looked quite nice. I took it out to the dining room, cut it into slices, and covered it in whipped cream I’d made while working on the cake.
The cream was airy and light—the perfect texture. It looked just like a cloud as it sat atop the soft yellow cake.
The delicious-looking color combination filled me with joy just to see. The whipped cream also made for a nice change of taste and texture. I could hide the rough patches on the cake as well.
That night, I would definitely be dealing with sore muscles, but I didn’t have any regrets about making the cake itself.
“Your Majestyyy! I’ve finished up my work! Is there still some dessert left?”
“Welcome back, Krona. You have impeccable timing. The cake is ready to be tasted.”
“Hooray!”
With a joyous cheer, Krona came to sit across from me.
I handed her a slice of cake with the whipped cream piled high. Krona was finally able to dig her fork in for her first taste.
“So light…! And fluffy?!” Krona’s eyes went wide after her first bite. Her pupils also expanded with excitement, just like a real cat. “It’s soft and sweet, and it practically melts in my mouth!!”
Krona’s eyes were sparkling with delight. I took a bite of the cake for myself.
It was both moist and airy, and I could taste the delicate flavor of sugar and egg with my whole mouth.
The cake’s perfect texture resulted from adding the vegetable oil to the batter in small amounts at a time.
Krona was mesmerized and finished her slice in the blink of an eye. Wordlessly, she held her plate out toward me, seeking another slice. I was glad to see how much she enjoyed the cake, but I couldn’t comply, so I shook my head at her in response.
“Unfortunately, this is all you can have for today. I want to give the rest to the staff as thanks for lending me their kitchen.
“That’s too bad… But you’re right, we can’t hog the whole cake to ourselves…”
I could feel Krona’s silent disappointment. Somehow, her tail looked limper than usual.
“…I’m planning to make this again, so when the time comes, could you share it with the other maids?”
“Yes! Thank you, Your Majesty!”
The tip of her tail perked up happily.
If she loved the chiffon cake this much, I must have assumed rightly.
I’d chosen to make a cake based on the idea that most women love sweets, and in this case, I appeared to have been correct.
Whenever I could, I planned on treating the maids and other servants to various meals to improve my relationship with them.
After finishing the chiffon cake, I dran
k the cup of black tea that Lucian had prepared for me. It was then that I heard a knock at the dining room door. The man who entered was Gilbert, the head chef of this villa.
…He’s as tall and lanky as ever, but was his face always this pale?
Gilbert always looked gloomy, but today, something about him seemed much worse.
His face, though handsome, was long and plagued by a melancholic look. On top of that, his tall body was slumped into an unflattering posture.
“Your Majesty, I heard that your dessert is ready to eat. Would you allow me to try it for myself?”
“Be my guest, please. I’d love to hear your thoughts.”
I handed him another slice of cake.
After observing its appearance and smelling it, Gilbert went in for his first bite.
How will a real chef react to my finished chiffon cake?
I was a bit excited to find out, but then I watched as Gilbert’s face grew even darker and more serious.
“Perhaps it’s not to your liking…?” I asked him nervously.
But Gilbert immediately swung his head up to look at me. “No, it’s quite delicious! This is just all the more reason…”
All the more reason to what?
I was glad to hear it tasted good enough, and yet, the look on his face was worryingly somber.
With wavering eyes, Gilbert reached into his breast pocket.
He then presented me with an envelope, which read…
“…Resignation?”
The writing was neat and thin, much like Gilbert himself, but the words were simple on their own.
“Has something happened in your personal life? Is your family all right?”
“No, it’s nothing like that. I’ve been prepared for this for some time now, and this chiffon cake only confirms my fears.”
“…What do you mean by that?”
I gave him cake. He ate it, calling it delicious. Then he went pale in the face, only to hand me a letter of resignation.
I couldn’t wrap my head around any of it.
“Your cake is incredible. Knowing that you’re this skilled of a chef yourself, Your Majesty, means my cooking won’t ever be able to live up to your expectations… I’m used to being fired, so if you’d please, go ahead and let me have it.”
“I wouldn’t do such a thing… I enjoy every meal you and the staff make for me, Gilbert.”