「Alright, when you start your own restaurant, it will be your responsibility to take care of the ingredients. Make sure you remember that.」
「Responsibility……yeah.」
Digo answered with a somewhat meek look on his face and turned his attention to the onions on his hands.
「Master, I think the one on the right looks better.」
「They’re both bad.」
I took the onion from him and gently put it back in the crate where they had been.
I picked one of the onions that looked good and when I was about to put it on Digo’s hand, I noticed his hand.
His right index finger had a small bump on it.
When I pressed it with my finger, it was soft and looked like a blister.
「Digo, you almost have a callus. That means you’re working hard.」
「T-thank you very much……」
He looked somewhat embarrassed and scratched the bridge of his nose with his little finger.
I’m not the best at getting to the point but……as long as he is willing, I’ll just need to repeat it.
Now that the seed has been planted, I just need to figure out how to nurture……
「Ano, master…..」
「What is it?」
「That’s, hand……」
I said “ara” and let his hand, which I’m holding, go.
I felt that my face was suddenly on fire even though it wasn’t.
Digo’s face also looked a little red.
「Hey, Seele-chan, you can’t just do thing in a corner……」
The grocer owner, who was looking at me, said that with a nasty grin on his face.
Wrong! I’m just educating him as a chef!
I ended our shopping immediately and left the place to get away from that grinning man.
-0-
After several lessons like that, Digo began to do the stockings without being told what to do.
Or to be more precise, not only stocking, but also being in the kitchen early in the morning.
At the end of the day, it’s night and he’ll stay with me to practice. In the morning, he’ll be the first to arrive to start cleaning.
I guess I teach him the right way. However, I wondered if it was right to let someone who had been entrusted to me by someone else to do so much.
「I don’t mind. I’m having fun.」
Digo, who was peeling potatoes with bruised hands next to Chao early in the morning when the kitchen was still sparsely populated, said so.
After peeling potatoes day in and day out, even the clumsiest chef can get used to it.
These past few days, I no longer saw a bandage on his left hand.
「It’s fine then.」
「It’s good to be motivated.」
Chao and I told him so and he smiled wide.
「Recently, the salads I served at home are getting complimented. I’m finally getting good at cooking.」
「Salad’s been complimented……Digo, what have been cooking?」
「Ah……that’s, you know, peperoncino with hot water……」
And I’m sure he’s not talking about the instant noodles we sell in our house.
I see. I knew he didn’t know much but he’s really an amateur.
「You, that can’t be called cooking.」
「Well, I did put some grilled sausages on top of them.」
「Even adventurers camping on the wild eat something a little better than that.」
「Hey hey, do you know that I’m the one who invented instant noodles?」
「Eh! Really!? Amazing! Master really is someone amazing!」
Digo’s praise and gaze full of admiration with twinkling eyes somewhat tickled me.
Technically speaking, I made it with Hunt but, oh well.
I think I might have understood just a little bit how the uncles who’s trying to pick up girls at a bar were saying how great they were.
「By the way, Digo, your hand are getting cool, aren’t they?」
「You think so?」
When Chao said that, Digo looked at his hands, which were covered with scars and blisters, sullenly.
「Speaking of which, master and senpais all have beautiful hands. Were you not injured when you trained?」
「We got hurt at first too. I once cut my finger roughly and it was covered with blood.」
「Eh? Which finger is it? There’s no mark at all……」
Digo looks at Chao’s hand curiously and seems unconvinced.
「Oi oi, you. Have you forgotten who the owner of this place is?」
「No matter what kind of injury we get, we will be healed immediately.」
「Ah, Sawadi-san’s healing magic. I see.」
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