Chapter 272

*Munch munch*

And so, I put the roast pork into my mouth and savored its flavor.

But…

What is this?

Did I misjudge it?

As someone who has transcended to the level of a supreme being, it was practically impossible for me to misjudge the taste, yet I couldn’t help but think that way.

Let me take another bite…

*Swish swish*

I used the fork and knife again to cut the meat into another bite-sized piece and put it into my mouth.

The taste I felt in my mouth was the same as the first time.

The meat was cooked just right—no undercooked parts, nor was it overcooked to the point of being dry or burnt.

The level of roasting was textbook perfect.

The quality of the meat was also impeccable.

The fat wasn’t too much or too little, there was no unpleasant smell, and it seemed like the animal had been fed good feed, as every chew brought a pleasant elasticity and chewiness to the meat.

With such high-quality meat, the choice to season it simply with salt and pepper and make roast pork was a safe one, not a wrong one.

Yes.

Theoretically, this should have been a perfect dish.

But the roast pork I tasted in my mouth was far from satisfying.

The reason wasn’t hard to find.

The moment the roast pork entered my mouth, I was hit with a tongue-numbing saltiness and an overwhelmingly strong pepper flavor that erased the natural taste and aroma of the meat.

That was the culprit.

To put it metaphorically, it was like eating a lump of rock salt shaped like roast pork, rolled in pepper powder a few times before being put into my mouth.

“What is this…? Did they mess up the seasoning?”

“Haha. Why do you ask?”

“Ah, no. It’s nothing.”

I brushed it off as Count Astram, who was eating without noticing anything strange, asked me with a calm expression. I glanced back at the dishes on the table.

For a moment, I wondered if Count Astram’s friendly demeanor was just a mask and if he was secretly tormenting us, but his expression didn’t seem to carry any malice.

What’s going on?

Did he season it heavily on purpose because I’m a Lizardman?

Thinking that, I took a forkful of salad to cleanse my palate of the roast pork’s aftertaste.

…!

“Ugh…!”

And at the same time, the explosive flavor of pepper spread in my mouth.

I barely managed to suppress a cough and looked at the salad in disbelief.

It was a salad that, on the surface, looked flawless—tossed with olive oil and various fresh fruits and vegetables.

But upon closer inspection, the salad was densely packed with black powder.

No way…

Next, with trembling hands, I scooped up a spoonful of soup. Even in the thick, cream-based soup, I could see the same black particles.

Carefully tasting it, the same intense pepper flavor that made my nose itch as if I were about to get sinusitis filled my mouth.

That’s right.

Every dish from Count Astram’s mansion, except for water, was smothered in pepper.

Looking around, it wasn’t just my dishes—everyone else’s plates were the same.

Seeing this, I suddenly remembered a piece of knowledge from my past life.

When pepper was first introduced to Europe.

Pepper was worth its weight in gold.

Thus, pepper was a fantasy spice that only the wealthy or high-class could taste, something ordinary people couldn’t afford.

In those days, pepper was nothing less than a symbol of wealth.

As pepper began to symbolize wealth, the concept of sprinkling pepper on food among European nobles started to change.

It wasn’t about making food taste better, but about flaunting one’s wealth by sprinkling pepper on dishes.

At the peak of this trend, European nobles would cover their meat with so much pepper that all you could taste was the pepper.

No way…

Is the culinary culture of the nobles in this world…

Not French, but British…?

At that moment, I felt the sound of my expectations for noble cuisine, which had been rising since the dishes were served, crumbling down.

Kurt’s motivation dropped a level.

.

.

.

The moment Kurt felt deflated after eating Count Astram’s cooking.

Kurt’s companions were equally disappointed after tasting Count Astram’s dishes.

But unlike Kurt, they weren’t as overly disappointed because they only had the knowledge and common sense of this world from the start.

In fact, before meeting Kurt, they might have found this level of food quite delicious.

Of course, now that they knew Kurt’s cooking, going back to how things were before was impossible.

The atmosphere at the table, though not as much as Kurt’s, began to sink.

Normally, Kurt would have been the one to mediate when the atmosphere got like this, but now, unusually, Kurt was leading the way in dampening the mood.

Noticing this, Karina opened her mouth to salvage the situation before the atmosphere at the table became irreversibly gloomy.

“Well. The food is to your taste…”

“Th-that’s not it…!”

“Huh?”

“Rather than that, to prepare so many dishes! The Count’s wife must have exceptional cooking skills!”

“What do you mean?”

“An ordinary person would struggle to make even one dish, but to prepare so many for so many people. The Count’s wife must have extraordinary cooking skills!”

Karina tried to lift the mood by steering the conversation.

But Count Astram’s expression upon hearing this wasn’t very good.

“Hmm. Unfortunately, my wife passed away long ago. She overexerted herself giving birth to Rosemary.”

“Ah, ah. I-I’m sorry.”

Hearing this, Karina immediately apologized, feeling the blood drain from her body.

But Count Astram, seemingly unbothered by Karina’s rudeness, gave a friendly smile.

“Hahaha. Don’t worry about it. It’s been over ten years, and you meant no harm.”

“St-still…”

“Rather, that’s an interesting thing to say. The Count’s wife cooking. Hehe… Is that an adventurer’s joke?”

“Huh?”

“Well, isn’t it? Nobles don’t cook. Nobles don’t cook.”

“…What do you mean?”

“Of course, cooking is done by servants, not nobles. These dishes were prepared by the mansion’s chef.”

“Y-you don’t cook…?”

Karina looked stunned, as if she had just heard an unbelievable truth.

But Count Astram, seemingly unaware of Karina’s state, smiled and delivered the final blow.

“Yes. Well, some nobles might cook as a hobby… But fundamentally, cooking is the servants’ job.”

“Then what about laundry or cleaning…?”

“Those are also naturally the servants’ duties, aren’t they?”

Karina was struck by the shock of having her childhood picture book memories completely negated.

Those were the precious memories that had given her the dream of becoming a noble lady.

Hadn’t she left her village and come to Astram with the dream of becoming a noble lady after reading that picture book?

‘But was everything in that picture book a lie?’

“B-but the noble lady in the picture book clearly…”

“Hahaha. A picture book is just a picture book. Of course, it’s far from reality. Now I see you’re making such interesting stories with a serious face!”

“That’s…”

At that moment, Karina felt the sound of her noble fantasies crumbling down.

Karina’s motivation dropped a level.

.

.

.

“Hmm… It’s just that Kurt’s cooking was too exceptional. This level is unavoidable.”

Serena, feeling disappointed that noble cuisine didn’t meet her expectations, compromised and continued her meal.

Thinking about it, it was just that Kurt’s cooking was ridiculously amazing.

Serena wasn’t a child to be disappointed by such things.

As Serena calmly ate her meal, a maid from the mansion politely offered her a napkin.

“Here… Please use this.”

“Huh? What is it?”

“It’s a napkin. If the food spills, it might stain your clothes, so please use it.”

“But why are you giving it only to me…?”

“Well…”

Seeing the maid carefully choosing her words with a kind smile, Serena soon realized why the maid had given her the napkin.

Of course, she sometimes acted like a child, but physically and mentally, she was a full-fledged adult.

The problem was that her being an adult was by dwarf standards.

Even after fully growing, her appearance was only that of a human teenager.

Normally, her adventurer outfit and constant alcohol supply somewhat erased her childlike image, but coming to Count Astram’s mansion, she had dressed up, which backfired, making her look even younger than usual.

“Hey! I’m not a kid! I’m a dwarf!”

“I-I’m sorry!”

The maid apologized, startled by Serena’s outburst, but Serena’s pride was already bruised.

‘Of all places, in a noble’s mansion, and in front of Kurt, to be humiliated like this.’

Serena felt the sound of her dignity crumbling.

Serena’s motivation dropped a level.

.

.

.

Count Astram was, by nature, a noble with a very good reputation.

He valued the duties of a noble, cared for the citizens he ruled, and diligently performed his administrative duties for Astram.

But even Count Astram had a secret hobby he couldn’t share with others.

It was inviting adventurers to his mansion, serving them food, and enjoying their reactions.

Serving dishes loaded with expensive spices imported from various cities and countries to adventurers who had never tasted proper spices and lived common lives, then enjoying their reactions.

‘Woah! What is this!? This spicy, tangy flavor exploding in my mouth…!’

‘Ah. That is called pepper.’

‘Th-this is pepper! Such a flavor exists in the world! I can’t believe it!’

‘Ah. Didn’t you know? This is just an ordinary meal at Count Astram’s mansion.’

‘Woah! To enjoy such food every day! What kind of noble is Count Astram! Damn it!’

Enjoying such reactions was Count Astram’s little secret hobby.

But since it was a secret hobby, he couldn’t just invite adventurers to his mansion for meals, and his schedule wasn’t that flexible.

Thus, inviting adventurers to Count Astram’s mansion wasn’t a common occurrence.

Moreover, recently, he had been busy with ancient ruins and gold-rank monsters.

In the midst of this, the appearance of adventurers who had defeated a gold-rank monster was quite a happy event for him.

After all, he had things to say to the adventurers as Count Astram, so he could also satisfy his hobby—killing two birds with one stone.

At first, he was a bit disappointed to hear that the adventurer was a Lizardman, but fortunately, he brought three companions, and seeing them, Count Astram felt a small satisfaction at having three more reaction machines to enjoy.

As the food was served and the adventurers began eating, Count Astram waited for the right moment and cautiously asked.

“So. How is it? Does the food suit your taste?”

“Uh… Well… It’s not bad.”

“N-not bad?”

But what he got in return was an ambiguous reaction with an ambiguous expression.

It wasn’t a face trying to hide being moved, but a genuinely ambiguous feeling from the depths of their hearts.

“But it would be better with less pepper!”

“R-really?”

Even pointing out the problem as if they had complaints.

Seeing this, Count Astram felt the sound of his hobby completely crumbling.

Count Astram’s motivation dropped a level.

---