Chapter 194: The Bear Heads to the Kitchen with Zelef

Chapter 194:
The Bear Heads to the Kitchen with Zelef

 

I FINISHED INTRODUCING Zelef, and he started asking questions about how many people were attending, what kinds of people would be there, all that stuff. There were going to be about fifty people, more or less. Most would be nearby nobles, some of them the town’s merchants, and the political bigwigs. Once he got a sense of the attendees, Zelef told Gran he wanted to get started right away.

The party would be tomorrow, so we really needed to get crackin’. Zelef headed to the kitchen, directed by Meishun. Since I was the one carrying the ingredients, I headed over with them.

“This is where the kitchen is,” said Meishun. “Please use it as you wish. I will call assistants for you, Mr. Zelef, so please wait a few moments.” She left right after bringing us to the kitchen.

Zelef asked for more hands to help with the cooking. He’d need more people to move the ingredients, wash them, and cook for such a big crowd. When Gran asked just how many people, he answered…three. I thought that was on the low side, but apparently, he was cooking the main dishes himself, so he’d be fine as long as he had some assistants.

“Master Yuna, if you could please...”

“Are you sure you want me to take them out right here? I could put them in the cold storage for you.” If I pulled things out right where I was, I was worried I’d double the work.

“We need to do some prep work in advance, so you can take out the ingredients here. We’ll separate out what we’ll use immediately and what we won’t.”

After Zelef asked me to bring out the ingredients, he started checking whether he had all his cooking utensils. I pulled out the boxes of ingredients I’d brought from the capital and set them in the kitchen corner. After getting everything out of bear storage, there was a commotion at the door.

“Mr. Botts, you still need rest!”

“Out of the way! Lord Gran asked me to do this! I promised him I would.”

“Yes, but your arms—”

“I can’t let just any cook make the meals!”

“The new chef should be able to do it. Lord Gran has approved of him.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Open the door.”

We could hear the voice outside the door even all the way here. The house chef seemed mad. I guess no one had filled him in on the details. While I was wondering what to do about it, Zelef walked over to the door.

I gave him a look. “Zelef?”

“It’s only natural a chef would be upset that someone else is taking their work. I’ll talk to him myself.” When Zelef opened the door, Meishun and a man with bandaged arms entered the kitchen.

“Is this the chef you called? This…this…” When the man looked Zelef in the face, he cut himself right off. “Zelef?”

“Is that you, Botts?”

“Zelef, what are you doing here?”

It looked like they knew each other. Zelef was the palace head chef, so it wasn’t weird for Botts to know about him, but it looked like Zelef knew Botts too.

“I’m the one cooking meals for Lord Gran’s party—you know, the chef you were just about to complain about.”

“What? You’re cooking, Zelef? But I thought you were the head chef at the palace?”

“I still am. Master Yuna asked me to cook in place of a chef who injured his arms.”

Botts looked at me. He only had one thing to say: “A bear?”

“This is Master Yuna. I am greatly indebted to her, so I accepted her request to cook for this party.”

“You’re indebted to a bear? And you’re the one cooking?”

I could practically see the question mark on his head. It looked like he was just totally stunned.

“Zelef, do you know Gran’s chef?” I asked.

“Yes, we used to work together at a restaurant before I started working at the palace.”

“Back then, Zelef used to be the associate head chef,” said Botts. “And I worked directly for him.”

Huh? Wait, hadn’t Botts been the associate head chef too? I vaguely remembered something like that, at least.

“But after a while,” said Zelef, “I caught the eye of the head chef of the palace at the time and ended up becoming a chef there.”

I see, so that was the rest of the story.

“But Botts, I thought you were supposed to be the associate head chef after I left,” said Zelef. “What are you doing here?”

Ahah! So Botts had been the associate head chef.

“I got in a fight with another chef and was fired.”

“You got in a fight?”

“He’d blame his mistakes on others, do spiteful things to people, and would punch other chefs. One day I couldn’t take it anymore. Got in a fight with him, and that led to my firing.”

“I didn’t think Chef Moloog was that kind of person.”

“Oh, Chef Moloog finally retired. The current chef is a man named Bolsack. He came in after you left, Zelef. He’s skilled, but he’s got one terrible personality.”

“Then…you got in a fight and quit?”

“Since I was the associate head chef, I tried to keep my mouth shut, but I suppose I just couldn’t take it anymore…”

“It just happened...?”

“And, y’know what that Bolsack guy did? He pressured the guild to formally blacklist me from work at the capital.” Whew, he was really unloading a lot. Botts was starting to seem agitated too. “Now the word is that I’m violent, so I can’t get work in the capital anymore.”

“You didn’t deny the allegations?”

“Of course I did. But there’s a difference between head chef and associate head chef. And lotsa people like him. I hate to say it, but the guy’s a good cook and he’s got a flair for flattery. I’m not much of a sweet talker, you know?”

“And how did you end up here?”

“Right—after I couldn’t work at the capital anymore, I was drowning my sorrows at a tavern when Lord Gran found me.”

Gran was at a tavern? Well…it kind of seemed like something he’d do, even if it wasn’t really a place for a noble to hang out.

“So,” said Botts, “I needed to make sure this party was a success to pay back Lord Gran.” He looked at his arms. His arms were so heavily bandaged that they almost looked like ridiculous foam batons.

“Are your arms all right?” Zelef looked at them worriedly.

“Yeah, I can’t cook for a while, but I’m fine.”

“I’m glad to hear you say that.” Zelef smiled, which made Botts smile back.

“It’s nothing to be glad about. I’m disappointed that I cannot repay my debt to him yet.”

“But you were the one who was attacked, weren’t you, Botts?” I interjected. It wasn’t Botts’s fault.

“I did get attacked, but…thinking about the situation between the Fahrengram and Salbard families, I should’ve been more careful. I was just walking around in a deserted place without a care in the world. Lord Gran told me to be careful outside, and I didn’t listen.”

“Botts, I didn’t hear all the details. Was it someone from Salbard’s household that attacked you?”

“We have no evidence of that, but…given the relationship between the families, the fact that I was the one who got attacked and that they focused on my arms makes it likely. Of course, there’s a chance somebody else completely unrelated to the situation hates me too,” he answered with a smile. Guy knew how to keep the vibes pleasant, even if he was injured.

“All right,” said Zelef. “Please don’t you worry, Botts. I’ll make sure that your feelings come through in the food I make for the party.”

“Zelef...”

“Am I not good enough to get the job done?”

Botts shook his head. “No, I can count on you.”

“Yes, please do leave it to me,” said Zelef, smiling at him.

“Still, you’ve packed it on a little since the last time I saw you,” said Botts with a chuckle. Zelef laughed it off. “Zelef, could I watch you cook? It’s been a while.”

“Ah, like the good old days. Back when we’d compete and watch each other cook…”

“Really takes me back...”

“Well then, I’ll cook something that won’t disappoint.”

Zelef started his prep work. Even though he was injured, I could tell Botts was having fun watching. Soon enough, the three helpers came by. I quietly left the kitchen so I wouldn’t be in the way.

 

When I headed back to the other room, Fina was with the other two.

“I’m back. Anything interesting happen?”

“Something did!” Noa raised her hand. She kind of looked a little mad.

“Huh? That dummy aristocrat didn’t do something to you, did he?!” I exclaimed.

“No. When I woke up, you weren’t here. When I came to see you and Fina, Fina was here all by herself and she looked oh-so-lonely. And when I asked her what was wrong, she said my father asked for you to bring a chef over.”

Oops. She was mad that I left without saying anything. “Sorry for leaving without a goodbye. I was in a hurry.”

“I know it wasn’t your fault, Yuna. It just made me sad.” Noa looked embarrassed. I gave Noa a pat on the head.

“So, Yuna, did you bring a chef with you?” Fina asked.

“Yep, a first-class chef. It looks like he knows Botts.”

“He knew Botts?” Misa perked up when I mentioned Botts’s name.

“Apparently they worked at the same restaurant at the capital.” Small world.

“I think my grandfather did say that Botts used to work at the restaurant with the large stone falcon.”

“The restaurant with the falcon? I know that one too. It’s famous at the capital. I’ve been there once.”

They told me all the details. The famous place was supposed to have things on the menu you couldn’t eat without a reservation—that’s how prestigious the restaurant was. That explained Zelef’s skills and why Gran approved of Botts’s cooking. Maybe I’d go eat there sometime—apparently, the head chef was really good even though he was a jerk. Although I did wonder if I could go to a first-class restaurant dressed in a onesie. I couldn’t imagine a world where they didn’t turn me away.

On second thought, maybe I wouldn’t go. I didn’t have to go out of my way to get my feelings hurt.

“Anyway, what were you guys doing?”

“Nothing at all,” Noa said, which prompted the other two to nod. “I mean, Botts got attacked and injured and it didn’t seem likely we’d have the party. You went to find a chef and my father forbade the three of us from going outside, so we were good and kept put in the room.”

“Sorry.” And I also told Fina not to go outside since it seemed dangerous, hadn’t I? We still didn’t know if someone from the Salbard family had attacked Botts, but that didn’t make it any safer out there. Staying cooped up in a room for another day seemed miserable, no matter the reason.

I tried to think of a way for them to kill time. One idea did come to mind.

“In that case, how about we make something for the party too?”

“You mean something to eat?”

“Yeah. We can’t make a normal entree, but I think pudding would work great. It’s simple to make, and it got everyone talking at the king’s banquet.”

The pudding would look even more extravagant if we topped it with whipped cream and fruit. I made over two hundred puddings for the banquet, so the four of us could whip ’em up real quick.

“So, guys, how about we all make pudding together instead of just being bored and cooped up here?” It wouldn’t do anyone any good to stay put while spirits were low. This was the perfect time to keep ourselves occupied and lighten the mood.

“I’ll make some!”

“Yes, I’d like to help.”

“I’ll make some too.”

The three of them raised their hands, full of energy.

I took the three excited girls and went back down the hall I just came from, toward the kitchen.