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Foodie Aristocrat
My father and I had finished preparing breakfast and I had finished my own breakfast.
I heard someone coming down from upstairs.
Well, it was time for the guests to come downstairs.
「Tori, I don’t need you to do anything else, just take care of the guests.」
「Okay.」
Dad said as he slowly ladled in a pot of cabbage rolls in tomato sauce, the main dish.
The rest of the menu was just a matter of frying and heating. There’s not much I can do here.
I followed him quietly and walked through the kitchen towards the dining room.
As I entered the cafeteria, I saw a man coming down the stairs.
He had golden hair and jade eyes. His face was chiseled and well-defined, and he looked like a prince.
His slim physique was wrapped in a crisp white shirt and long black pants. His clothes are made of a different material than what I was wearing.
The man walks in with a clear expression on his face and flashes his white teeth as he noticed me.
「Hello, Tori-kun! It’s another beautiful morning!」
「Yes, it is, Michael. It would have been even better if I didn’t have to work in the morning and could just nap through the day.」 (Michael= Mihaeru)
「Haha, as usual, Tori-kun loves to sleep.」
Yes, this princely looking man, Michael, is an aristocrat, as you can see from his different attire from mine.
The reason why a nobleman is staying at this common inn is because he likes the food I sometimes serve from my previous life.
I think he first came to this inn on a whim, but since then he has liked not only my cooking but also my father’s, and has stayed here for a long time.
「Good morning, Michael-san.」
「Good morning」
After cleaning and checking the dining room, Letty and Mom greeted Michael.
Then Michael suddenly disappeared from my front and was in front of my sister.
「Oh! This is Letty-jō and Sierra-jō You look stunningly beautiful today! You just woke me up from my sleep!」 (He uses Boku here instead of Ore!)
「Thank you so much!」
Willing to get dust on his pants, Michael got down on her knees and shook Letty’s hand, pretending to kiss the back of it.
It’s an overly exaggerated and annoying line, but when a man like Michael does it, it’s surprisingly elegant.
Both Letty and her mother were happy to hear the compliment, and seemed to be in good spirits.
By the way, Michael never pretends to kiss the back of Mom’s hand, because that would make Dad jealous.
Mom is somewhat disappointed that she is not treated like a princess, but she is happy that Dad is jealous of her, so the situation is offset. I’m glad to hear that the couple is getting along well.
「Hmm? Is that sour smell, of a tomato?」
「Yes, it is. That’s because we have fresh tomatoes and cabbage. This morning’s main dish is cabbage rolls with tomatoes.」
「That’s wonderful! I’ll have that for breakfast. I’ll have that for breakfast, along with bread and the usual red wine.」
Michael said coolly and sat down in the back of the dining room.
He then put on a napkin from his breast pocket and unfolded a white cloth from his pants to cover the table.
Then he started to equip himself with his own shiny silver knife and fork, which he had been keeping in his pocket.
What was just a table became like a table at a fancy restaurant.
This guy is really free.
Even though this is a commoner’s inn, he is a customer who has a lot of selfishness.
Well, he’s willing to share a table with someone even when it’s crowded, and he doesn’t cause any problems, so I leave him to his own to a certain extent.
He is a distressed Onii-san who is a bit obsessed with food. Even if he is a nobleman, that is the image he has in our house.
I approached the kitchen, disgusted with Michael, who waited patiently for his food with his eyes closed.
「Dad, one cabbage roll with tomatoes for Michael. Bread and the usual red wine.」
「Okay.」
I told him his order at the receiving end, and he moves quickly to prepare it in the kitchen.
The main course, cabbage rolls stewed in tomato sauce, was placed on a large plate, along with bread and salad.
A bottle of red wine and a wine glass were placed on top.
This was a high quality red wine that Michael had purchased from somewhere.
I took a sip of the wine and found it to be a very mellow red wine with very sharp edges. It was so good that it made me wonder what the red wine I had drunk in my previous life was like.
I was too afraid to ask the price, but it must have cost dozens of gold coins.
Carefully not to drop the bottle of red wine rather than the main course, I made my way over to Michael.
The fine wine makes me feel nervous and makes the not-so-large dining room seem very spacious.
I struggled to hold back my trembling hands and managed to get to Michael.
「Here you go.」
「Mmm, the tomatoes smell so good!」
I placed the dishes one at a time and then placed the wine glass.
I took the bottle and poured a glass of fine red wine with one hand.
I fill the glass about a quarter of the way up, letting it float a little so as not to touch the mouth of the wine glass.
When I had finished pouring, I turned the wine upward, twisted it with my wrist, and wiped it with a cloth to keep it from dripping.
「Tori-kun, you’ve gotten much better at pouring wine. You’ve got the label right where I can see it, and there’s no dripping.」
「Someone always says to pour beautifully.」
I was just doing what Michael was telling me to do.
I think I’ve learned to pour my own wine in a reasonably neat way thanks to him.
I think it’s a skill that the innkeeper’s son doesn’t need at all.
The only time it’s actually useful is when I’m pouring for Michael, or when I’m joking around with a woman to give her a certain look. Well, there’s no harm in having good manners, and it’s fun.
「You can be a waiter in a fancy restaurant!」
「I don’t need it because I’m going to take over an inn, and a job that requires such manners and elegance would be tiring and exhausting. I’d rather be able to relax and talk with customers like this.」
「I see. But if you need anything else, just let me know. I can introduce you to a waiter if you want.」
「Thanks.」
He was half-joking, half-serious. Anyway, I was sure that Michael was doing me a favor, so I thanked him.
「Now, let’s eat it!」
Michael held up his fork and knife as if the conversation was over.
The first thing he did was to cut up the cabbage rolls, the main course.
The silvery white knife was buried in the cabbage. The cabbage, softened by the stewing, easily slipped through the knife, revealing the meat inside.
Michael’s eyes lit up at the sight and he skillfully used his knife and fork to cut the cabbage into bite-sized pieces.
Then he stabbed a bite-sized piece with his fork and popped it into his mouth.
「Mm! The soft cabbage, the sourness of the tomatoes, and the overflowing flavor of the meat is unbelievable!」
With a look of ecstasy on his face, Michael took a bite of the cabbage roll and put it in his stomach. (Yep! It’s stomach in the raws.)
It seems that he liked it.
My father smiled at me from the kitchen door, as if he had been listening to Michael’s satisfaction.
As a chef, he’s always happy when people eat well.