CH 52

Warning: Mentions of suicide attempts again.

Since the mini steak was grilled, I put it on the counter with the potatoes as garnish.

Shirley-san, our ready-to-commit-suicide maid, put it on a tray and carried it to the table where Hilda-san was waiting.

Hilda-san gracefully cuts the meat at the front tables in the lower noble’s area.

She takes a bite and smiles as she enjoys it.

Somehow, she’s a beautiful person while she does it.

“It’s delicious, I see that our supplier, Kain, has brought in the beef discarded from Pottinger-kyou’s home,” Hilda said.

Was that the case, or was it leftover beef from the duke’s kitchen that went bad?

It’s delicious if you bring back the freshness.

Or rather, if she didn’t know the source of the meat, was Hilda-san involved in the corruption?

Shirley-san was trying to attack Ilda-san in her holding cell.

“Haa, it was delicious,” Hilda said.

And now, she beckoned to us.

“I guess your part-time job is over, let’s talk for a while, Makoto-sama, Corinna-sama,” Hilda said.

Face to face with her, with Corinna-chan.

What should I do?

Well, it’s okay because it’s quiet now.

I entered the cafeteria through the staff entrance and sat down in front of Hilda-san alongside Corinna-chan.

Shirley-san serves us tea.

My optical analysis magic goes “Pii.” for my and Corinna’s cups.

It’s not particularly poisonous.

“Light magic is convenient, isn’t it? You can refresh ingredients and detect poison,” Hilda said.

“It isn’t that convenient,” I said.

However, I wonder why Hilda even called Corinna-chan.

“A pleasure to meet you, I’m Hilda Mahler,” Hilda said.

“I’m Makoto Kimball.”

“I’m Corinna Cevereus.”

Greetings are important, it is also written in the Kojiki. 1

Hilda-san smiled at both our faces.

“So, you’re Corinna-san, I’ve always wanted to see you,” Hilda said.

“Huh? Why so?” Corinna asked.

“I read the report and laughed,” Hilda said. “How amusing that the daughter of a lower-class noble in Class B is currently saying that she will study hard, take the top position by the time she graduates, and become a bureaucrat at the Finance Division.”

“Kuh,” Corinna grunted, turning red and gritting her teeth.

What is this girl…?

“I thought it was impossible,” Hilda said. “I’ve never seen a woman enter the Finance Division before. How stupid, how ignorant, I thought, but before I knew it, I went from mocking you to taking your prospects seriously. It’s been a long time since I’ve laughed so casually. It’s reckless and I don’t think it’s possible to enter the Finance Division unless a miracle happens, but if it’s you, Corinna-sama, it might be possible, rather, I think so.”

“Huh?” Corinna asked.

“I thought it was amazing, I’ve never heard of a woman drawing such grand ambitions,” Hilda said. “By the time I thought that, it was already too late, I sort of grew an admiration for you, Corinna-sama, and I wanted to see what would happen in the future. I’m rooting for you, so study hard.”

“Ah, okay,” Corinna said.

What is this, Hilda-san, when she read the intelligence report, she suddenly became a fan of Corinna, or something like that?

“If you fail the Finance Division Exam, please come to House Mahler, an excellent civil servant like you is very welcome at the shadow warfare house,” Hilda said.

“Ah, yes,” Corinna said.

Hilda-san smiled.

Corinna-chan can get a job with every person she meets.

Just as I’ve come to expect of you, Corinna-chan.

That’s my girl.

“With Makoto-san, that’s right, we’ll see what we can do by Sunday night. Just wait a moment, see?”

No, what are you going to do? Are you waiting for the go sign to start the operation?

But, well, I’m glad that Hilda-san is a calmer person than I thought.

Even if she is hostile, we will be able to fight comfortably.

She respects the lives of her subordinates.

She praises even the leaders of the enemy camp if she admires them.

I thought it was some kind of proof of being the better person.

“Well then, another time, good night,” Hilda said, leaving her seat with a soft smile.

Only the sweet scent of flowers remained in her wake.

“Fuuuu, she is a complicated person. For the time being, it doesn’t look like she’ll have your head off your shoulders and in a box of salt,” I said.

“Right, she looks like a big shot, but I can admire that kind of person even if she is our enemy,” Corinna said.

“Umu, umu,” I said. “It looks like they’re going to launch a severe attack, but it feels like I can’t hate her for it.”

First of all, go to the kitchen and wash the dishes.

Jyubu-jyubu.

Corinna-chan has an abacus in one hand and a ledger in the other.

""

There was a knock, and when Marissa-san left, Anne-san came in.

“Makoto-sama, Ojou-sama has come for you,” Anne said.

“Oh?” I asked.

“Did you forget? It’s part of the agreement to make bread,” Anne said.

“Ah, ah, I remember, I remember, I was just about to call you, thank you Anne,” I said.

“You forgot,” Anne said.

I was so shocked about Hilda-san that I completely forgot.

Carol came in and took Corinna-chan’s hand.

What is it?

“Corinna, you mustn’t go to House Mahler,” Carol said.

“I won’t,” Corinna said.

“If you can’t get into the Finance Division, House Albright will take care of you, so don’t go.”

“Yes, yes,” Corinna said.

Carol seems to have felt a sense of danger at Hilda-san’s invitation.

You’re a very accommodating girl, Corinna-chan.

Now then, let’s go make some bread.

First, I told Carol to put on a three-point headscarf and an apron.

“Ah, thank you Makoto,” Carol said.

“Are you going to participate too, Anne-san?” I asked.

“Yes, if you don’t mind,” Anne said.

Anne-san already has an apron, so the only thing missing is the three-point headscarf.

Her cap seems like a three-point headscarf, but the coverage is small.

“Makoto, are you going to make bread? Can I participate too?” said Mare, our pastry chef, as she stopped by.

“I feel bad, but please do help us,” I said.

“If you can make bread, you can apply it to the desserts,” Mare said.

If we get the help of the pastry chef, we can bake sweet bread.

Well, that’s for later.

The baker Clara will be coming soon.

“Then, we will prepare white bread for the upper-class dishes,” I said.

We’re going to bake quite a lot, so let’s share and make it.

“First, put flour, sugar, milk, yeast, and salt in a bowl and mix.”

Corinna-chan is copying the recipe on parchment.

“Please measure the amount accurately on the scale,” I said.

“It’s like alchemy,” Carol said.

“Ah, so you were doing something similar, Carol,” Corinna said.

Are alchemy and cooking similar?

“After mixing, add hot water and mix further.”

“You didn’t tell us the amount and procedure,” Mare mutters.

The amount and procedure are the secrets of the store.

There are many things you don’t understand unless you work at a bakery.

“Once it’s all put together, knead it on the table.”

Don, kone-kone, kurun, don, kone-kone, kurun. 2

The process here is quite powerful.

“Is it like this?” Carol asked.

“Carol, please put in a little more effort. Mare-san and Anne-san are good,” I said. “Corinna-chan, you’ve got to be bolder.”

“Understood.”

Everyone kneaded, don, kone-kone, kurun,

“Add butter and knead some more,” I said.

“Tch, this takes so much energy,” Carol said.

“My hands hurt,” Corinna said.

“Keep at it, Corinna-sama,” Anne said.

All right, the dough is finally ready.

“Let it ferment for a while near the stove.”

I put a dishcloth over the bowl and place it near the stove in the kitchen for a while.

“All that’s left is to let it rise,” I said.

“You have to put in quite a bit of power, huh?” Carol said.

“It’s white bread, so the black bread is a little easier,” I said.

“It’s tough baking bread,” Corinna said.

We all sit in chairs and chat.

You can hear the soft sounds of the dough beginning to rise.

30 minutes later, we check the swell of the dough and take it out.

“Woah, it’s gotten so huge.”

“Amazing.”

Take it out on a table, divide it into 8 equal parts, roll it up, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it rest.

Both Carol and Corinna-chan are good at it for the first time.

The dough is divided into 8 equal parts, flattened, and rolled again.

Place the ball on the top of the baking oven, cover it with a damp cloth, and let it ferment again near the stove.

The top pot is new. I wonder if this bread pot has ever been heated up.

When the dough has doubled in size, remove the wet cloth and bake it in the bread oven.

After baking for 15 minutes, you can smell the good smell of baking bread.

“It smells good.”

“So this is how bread is made.”

OK, baked.

It’s a bread pot that bakes nicely, and there’s no uneven baking.

Everyone eats the first baked bread.

Oven-hot bread can’t be eaten unless you’re a baker.

It tastes better than the Hangetsu-Do bread that Hans brought.

Because Hangetsu-Do’s bread feels like a benchmark.

“Afu, it’s delicious.”

“This is good, the one we made seems to be fine.”

“Come on, let’s bake some more white bread for breakfast and dinner.”

“”Ooh!””

After that, we all baked bread, and by the time we finished, it was past 9:30.

Yeah, I had fun making bread.

“Good work, see you tomorrow.”

“It was fun, see you again.”

“Good night.”

Great work everyone.

Mare-san left through the back door, and after Marissa-san checked the lock, she exited through the back door.

The dining room is dimly lit and empty.

“Well then, do you want to take a bath?” I asked.

“Let’s go,” Corinna said.

“Come with us, Carol,” I said.

“No, I’ll take a bath in my room,” Carol said.

“What is it? That’s so boring,” I said.

“I prefer boring,” Carol said.

""

Even if we whine, Carol doesn’t move.

Kusou, Iron Woman.

“Baking was fun, see you tomorrow, Makoto, Corinna,” Carol said.

“Please excuse us,” Anne said.

Then, they left for the elevator.

Oops, my bath set is in room 205.

From now on, we should leave our bath set in the locker room before we work for dinner.

Go to room 205 with Corinna, take the bath set, and go to the basement.

Some people take a bath before going to bed, so there were still people in the bathroom.

Take off your clothes, enter the bathroom, and wash your body.

“Oh, it’s Bejeweled-san.”

“Thank you for the delicious dinner, amen.”

“Amen.”

I-do-not-care.

We enter the bathtub.

Kuaaaa, it stings.

“Ah~~~” I sigh.

“Makoto, you’re as much of an Ossan as ever,” Corinna said.

“Leave me alone”

When we were warmed up, I returned to Room 205 with Corinna-chan.

I change into my pajamas and get on the bed.

A lot happened today too.

I hope we have a good day tomorrow.

I patted my pillow and went to sleep.