Having returned to Einzheil, I was enjoying breakfast at our usual dining table as always, when…
「Shiro? Listen carefully, okay?」
「Hmm.」
「You are training under Kukuri-sama to become stronger for Master’s sake, correct?」
「Hmm.」
「You understand that physical growth is important for becoming stronger, right?」
「Hmm.」
「Then you understand that a balanced diet is crucial, and that you cannot grow big if you do not eat your vegetables, correct?」
「…」
「Correct?」
「…No.」
「It is not ‘No’! You are leaving your vegetables again! You can have more meat only after you eat your vegetables!」
「Nooo!」
「Do not be selfish! Today’s vegetables are very delicious ones we received from the Elf Village. No leftovers allowed!」
Ah, this was happening again, as usual.
Watching them, it looked like an interaction between a young mother and a small child. Did that mean I was in the father position?
If so, it seemed likely that they would soon ask for my opinion, putting me in a difficult spot.
「What do you think, Master!」
「Hmm. Lord. Shiro wants to eat meat!」
Here it comes.
I had to take sides… No, there was no need to worry.
「Ah… I think you should eat your vegetables.」
「Gah! Lord…」
「See, Shiro. Master says so too. I only gave you a small portion, so please eat it.」
「But it’s biiitter…」
A balanced diet was important.
Especially since the vegetables from the Elf Village were rich in nutrients, Wendy had prepared them so that a small amount would suffice compared to our usual vegetables.
Was it that she wanted to savor the meatiness by eating only meat?
There were days when I wanted to devour only meat at a yakiniku restaurant without eating rice, so I could understand the feeling…
「It cannot be helped. Shiro, if you eat that, I will make you special hamburg steaks for lunch. Extra large ones.」
I had made hamburg steaks several times since coming to this world. Although they lacked the chewiness of steak, Shiro loved the soft, juicy hamburg steaks.
「! Lord’s hamburg steak… Understood! I will do my best….But, give me some meat to get rid of the aftertaste.」
Shiro ate the vegetables in a burst of energy and immediately devoured the meat.
Perhaps because her mouth was full of both vegetables and meat, her cheeks were bulging strangely. Since she had eaten the vegetables first, she had an indescribable expression while stuffing her favorite meat into her mouth.
「Master is really spoiling Shiro.」
「Is that so? I am making Shiro eat her vegetables now… Well, Shiro is cute, so I tend to spoil her.」
I had no particular plans for the day, and since I usually left cooking to Wendy and Mizera, it was not a bad idea to make an elaborate dish for a change.
I had fresh vegetables from the Elf Village, and I also wanted to try out 『That』 given to me by Cyan-san’s mother.
So, for lunch, I made my special extra-large hamburg steaks…
「This is unacceptable… This is… too cruel.」
Shiro let out a mournful voice that seemed to come from the depths of her soul.
Well, what could I say?
I did not lie, though…
「It’s a scam…」
Shiro was glaring at me with intense suspicion.
「It is not a scam. It is properly a special hamburg steak.」
「…! It is not the color of a hamburg steak! It is green!」
After a pause, Shiro slammed the table and made a desperate appeal.
It was green because it was a 『Vegetable』 hamburg steak.
It was a special hamburg steak made without beef, pork, or chicken, using plenty of delicious vegetables from the Elf Village!
「Ufufu. Shiro. Master made this specially for you, so you must eat it all without leaving any, okay?」
「Gnununu… The food lord made…」
Shiro usually ate well, but when I cooked, she happily ate even more than usual, which made me happy as the cook.
However, this time she was looking at me with teary eyes, appealing to me.
Well, Wendy and the others were eating normal hamburg steaks, so naturally…
But still, this hamburg steak was special!
「Just try eating it, thinking you have been deceived. You will surely be surprised.」
「I would not be deceived if I knew I was being deceived…」
「No, no. You do not understand, Shiro.」
Certainly, the inside was green, and it obviously looked like vegetables.
But! I did not say the taste would be like vegetables.
And indeed, I was soft on Shiro!
「Uuuu… It is soft… But it is green… No meat juices are coming out…」
With her ears drooping sadly, Shiro cut the hamburg steak and slowly brought it to her mouth with a look of no expectation.
Her chewing seemed slower than usual, but after chewing a few times, her ears perked up, and she looked at me with a surprised expression. I answered with a smile.
「It is delicious… It tastes like meat…」
「Fufun. But I did not use any meat.」
Smug! Was I not successful in deceiving her?
She thought the original meat hamburg steak had become a vegetable one, but the taste was that of a meat hamburg steak!
「Amazing. Amazing, amazing! It really tastes like meat. I can feel the meat juices when I chew!」
Shiro devoured the vegetable hamburg steaks one after another, while Mizera and Wendy watched with surprised expressions.
「Master? What is going on?」
「You made hamburg steaks from vegetables, didn’t you?」
「Ah. As you saw, I only used vegetables. However, I used a magical ingredient given to me by Mazetta-san.」
Yes.
The reason Shiro could taste meat and even feel meat juices from vegetables was all thanks to Mazetta-san’s special 『Dried Meat Oil Tree Powder』.
Meat fat? No, no. It is actually from a tree.
Since Shiro’s dislike of vegetables had been exposed in the Elf Village, I was told about this precious but interesting item and received some.
「Lord! I can eat this! I will eat lots!」
Shiro continued to eat the vegetable hamburg steaks at the same pace she usually ate meat.
「It is amazing, Master! With this, Shiro will properly eat her vegetables!」
「Ah… Yes, indeed…」
「My lord?」
「No, well, there is no such thing as an all-purpose ingredient…」
「Ngh… Lord… It’s bitter…」
Shiro suddenly stopped eating, swallowed the vegetables, furrowed her brows, stuck out her clean tongue, and looked at me sadly.
「If you eat too much, the bitterness of the vegetables becomes prominent…」
It seemed fine for amounts that a general person could eat, but Shiro ate far beyond the norm.
「That is… But if it is a small amount, it is fine, right!」
「Yes. However, it is quite rare… Apparently, the amount used today equals one whole tree, so the supply is limited…」
I thought the Elves might accommodate us if we asked, but they also used it themselves.
It was reserved for children like Cyan-san who preferred meat or wanted to know the taste of meat, so I could not ask for too much.
「Lord… I am hungry…」
「…You ate plenty of vegetables, so let us stop with the vegetables for today and eat normal hamburg steaks.」
「Hmm! Yay!」
Wendy seemed happy that Shiro was eating so many vegetables, but it was a pity.
Well, since Shiro would eat vegetables when we had that ingredient, let us consider it a good thing.
Besides, look.
「Hmm! Lord’s hamburg steak! Delicious!」
She looked happiest when eating meat.
Seeing this… Well?
It would be impossible to tell me not to spoil her.
Now, shall I eat as well?
The remaining vegetable hamburg steak, that is.
Leave a Reply