Chapter 197: The Head Chef of the Palace, Zelef, is Enraged

Chapter 197:
The Head Chef of the Palace, Zelef, is Enraged

 

AS I MINDED my own business and worked in the capital’s kitchen, His Majesty and Master Yuna stopped by. It was quite the rare pairing indeed, and still more unusual for them to visit the kitchen. When I asked them what this was about, they informed me that the feudal lord of Sheelin would be hosting a party and that my services were required for the fare.

Under normal circumstances, I would not cook for other nobles. But it was good Master Yuna herself asking me this favor, so I requested His Majesty’s permission and went to Sheelin.

I initially thought we would be travelling by carriage. However, time being limited indeed, Master Yuna informed me we would travel by way of her bear summons. By summons, she meant her adorable bears. I had seen them in the past with Lady Flora just a few days ago, when she played with the tiny cubs. Yuna told me that they could become larger and carry people. I was both frightened and excited to ride a bear.

After we finished preparing the required ingredients, we left right away. Once we were out of the capital, Master Yuna summoned her bears from the mouths of the bears on her hands.

They were enormous. They did indeed look large enough to carry a human at that size. But when I observed the bears’ faces, I realized they were indeed the same as the ones I had seen with Lady Flora.

I asked which one I would ride, and she informed me I should use the white one. She introduced the black bear as Master Kumayuru and the white one as Master Kumakyu. After I greeted Master Kumakyu, the bear crooned gently to me and crouched to show its back.

What a clever bear.

Though I am a bit heavy, Master Kumakyu stood up with ease even while I was on its back. It slowly began to move upon Master Yuna’s command.

Oh, we went quite fast. Though we steadily sped up, I stayed firmly mounted on Master Kumakyu with no sign of falling.

When we took a break, Master Yuna informed me that we would be trading bears. I asked why that would be and learned that when she rode only one of the bears, the other would pout. I suppose that they really would rather carry their owner, Master Yuna, instead of an old man like myself. I agreed and rode on Master Kumayuru next.

We made camp partway there and arrived at Sheelin the next day in the afternoon. The trip had simply flown by. We left in the morning and arrived the next day a little past noon. What more could be expected from Master Yuna’s summoned beasts?

 

Once we arrived at Sheelin, we greeted Lord Gran, who was organizing the party. Since we had no time, I immediately borrowed their kitchen and began preparations. As I worked in the kitchen, the chef of the house arrived. It seemed that he was angry, naturally, that some stranger was to use his kitchen.

But when I opened the kitchen door to finally hear him, I found a familiar face—a nostalgic face. It was Botts, the chef I’d worked alongside at a restaurant before I moved on to the palace. I never would have expected Botts to be the head chef here. But with no time to reminisce, I explained the full particulars of what had brought me here.

I had an eventful time, and it seemed the same held true for Botts. The king had given me more than a few days away from the palace, so I considered taking my time talking with him once the party was over.

But we had no time to spare at the moment, so I returned to my prep work.

 

After some time, Master Yuna came asking if she could make pudding, so I gave her permission.

Botts seemed upset by that. But then, he knew nothing of Master Yuna. I remembered being upset when Lady Flora had eaten Master Yuna’s cooking, and I was told they would not require my services. Ah, what a time…

With the preparations finished, I got ready to leave and inform Lord Gran. Master Yuna planned to tell him about pudding, so the two of us went together. There we found Lord Gran and Lord Cliff discussing the next day’s party.

“Master Zelef, my deepest of thanks. Now we will be able to have the party without worry.”

“Not at all, Master Yuna asked me to do this. Please thank Master Yuna if you thank anyone.”

Master Yuna blinked. “Hm? I don’t need anybody thanking me. You could be thinking about countermeasures for tomorrow—that’s more important.” She didn’t seem to fully understand what it meant for the head chef of the castle to be here. Well, I suppose that was just like her.

“Yes, we’ve discussed who we will prioritize talking to...”

“Not that,” Yuna interrupted. “I mean, don’t you think that the Salbards will try something?”

“We can’t do much about that. The Salbards already have several followers. We will likely have to give up on them.”

Master Yuna sighed. “Um, like I said, I don’t mean that either.”

“You think he will ‘try something?’ We have food to serve thanks to Master Zelef. What could they try?”

“He might put bugs or junk in the food and complain or something?”

“You think he would really do that?!”

“If he’s trying to upset you, that’d be a way to do it. Why wouldn’t he?”

I could not believe the absurdity of Master Yuna’s words. If he put bugs and rubbish into finished food and complained, that would be an act of stark culinary cruelty to any chef. I wanted to believe that he wouldn’t do that, no matter how their relationship had soured.

“Oh, and he could complain about the food tasting bad because he knows there’s a different chef, couldn’t he? Gran said you were already turned down by a really good chef, weren’t you?”

“That is true, but I doubt they would say that after tasting anything cooked by Master Zelef, the head chef of the palace himself.”

“But he has no idea that Zelef is cooking the food.”

“That is true.”

From there, Master Yuna told us many things. “If he were going to try upsetting you, isn’t that the way to do it?” Still, it seemed so strange to me. To even consider that someone might put rubbish or bugs in food on purpose…

But Lord Gran and Lord Cliff agreed that the horror was possible. As a chef, the very concept was abhorrent.

“If someone were to complain about the food,” Master Yuna said, “we’d just need Zelef to step up.”

Me? Face up against a noble? I had been given the position of head chef of the palace, but I was still no aristocrat. If anything, my position made me all the less willing to misuse the authority of the royal family. I had no interest in putting on airs.

Master Yuna saw it differently. “You need to be angry when someone insults your food. It’s insulting to the people who enjoyed your food, don’t you think? I mean, because it does taste good. You got here because everyone’s acknowledged your skills, Zelef, right? The king and queen, Lady Flora, and all the people who made you head chef of the palace all think your food is delicious. And the Salbards are going to insult every single one of those people by insulting your food,” she told me.

I suppose she was right. It was the same as insulting the king’s own palate. That held true for the previous head chef, who relinquished his position to me and acknowledged my skills, and to all who studied under me. If anyone denounced me, then he denounced everyone else.

In that moment, I felt my entire view of the world change. I made sure to carve Master Yuna’s words deep into my heart.

Then Master Yuna informed me how to deal with someone else trying to upset us.

 

On the day of the party, I cooked and cooked.

We still hadn’t heard anything from the venue right then; if there was any commotion concerning the food, I was to come running immediately. It seemed that things were likely to end without any of Master Yuna’s fears coming into being.

I gave instructions to the aides. Unlike the palace’s kitchen, I felt little sense of urgency, but we were all moving quickly enough.

When we were midway thought the party, a woman ran into the kitchen.

“Chef Zelef, Lord Gajurdo has spoken about your cooking...and criticized it,” she said. She seemed reluctant to tell me.

Things really had come to pass like Master Yuna predicted. Had I not been ready for it, I might’ve rushed over to apologize. “I see. I understand.”

With that, I put a halt to the cooking and headed to the party. When I peered in through a crack in the door, Lord Gran was arguing with a man. Lord Gajurdo of the Salbard family, perhaps.

I could hear the others around claiming the food was terrible and that the seasoning was second rate and third rate and such. Though I knew that they were just saying such things to be cruel, it still stung. I could understand right now what Master Yuna had meant. I needed to be upset for the sake of the royal family, those who knew and loved my food.

I took a deep breath and made my entrance.

“Pardon me. I am Zelef, and I have had the opportunity to cook the meals for this party. Was the food not to your liking?” Master Yuna told me to act angry when I said it, but no acting was required. The rage seeped into my voice.

“You were the one who made this meal?!”

“Yes, I was given the honor of cooking it.”

“How could you serve something so disgusting?” Lord Gajurdo said and pointed at my food.

It was the soup I had spent a great deal of time working on since yesterday. Disgusting? After all that time, he called it disgusting? Yes, there was no need to act angry.

As Lord Gajurdo shouted at me, I asked him directly, “Would you be so kind as to tell me what aspect of the flavor you did not care for? I shall use it as reference for the employer I serve.”

Master Yuna had told me yesterday not to apologize for the taste of my food. If Master Yuna hadn’t, I likely would have let Lord Gajurdo get away with it.

“All of it was terrible. Seems your employer doesn’t know much. I can’t believe he’d be happy with this cooking. It seems the Fahrengram family has fallen quite far to leave things to a chef like you.”

“I see. Then I shall inform my employer—that is, I shall inform His Majesty.”

“His…Majesty?” Lord Gajurdo froze.

The people around us stirred. “Yes, right. I thought I’d seen him somewhere before.”

“That’s the head chef of the palace, Master Zelef...”

It seemed that there were people around who knew who I was. When I cooked, I greeted everyone at the end, so they might’ve seen me then.

“You’re the head chef of the palace...”

“Yes. I am Zelef, and I am employed as the head chef of the palace. Would you be kind enough to inform me what about my meal was not to your liking? I cannot serve meals that are not up to snuff for His Majesty, who always enjoys my cooking so very much.”

Using the royal family’s influence like this made me uncomfortable indeed, but I could not back down. I could not insult the royal family so.

“That...” Lord Gajurdo stammered.

“I wouldn’t mind an explanation from you either,” I said to the man beside him. “In what way is the flavor third-rate? It would be such a help if you were to let me know.”

“No, I...”

“No, please! Weren’t you just making a fuss about how terrible the food tasted? Just tell me what you meant, won’t you? I simply cannot serve His Majesty food that is not up to snuff.”

The anger from these insults to my food was bad enough. But even if His Majesty didn’t know it, the wrath boiling inside of me at these guests that dared to snub him refused to evaporate.

It was pure deception on their part. When I thought about how this could have happened to another chef, I felt even angrier. If the food was truly terrible, then so be it. But if a chef were misled, were told that a truly delicious meal was terrible, their life’s work might be led astray. These people—these enemies to the chefs of the world—could not conceive of the gravity of their crime.

I glared at the person who claimed my cooking was terrible.

“No, um...”

“I will use it as reference next time, so please, do tell me,” I asked, staring daggers at the man.

“Ahem, ahem!” One of the attendees broke into a cough and bowed his head. “Master Zelef, I am so sorry. I actually have a cold. It seems that my palate has been off.”

“Oh, has it?”

“Yes, Lord Gran informed me that there was something terribly important he wanted to consult with me about, so I attended despite having a cold. Isn’t that right, Lord Gran?” The attendee looked at Lord Gran, seeming to seek help.

“Yes,” said Lord Gran. “I had something terribly important to talk about with him, so I asked him to attend.”

“Lord Gran, I am not feeling well, so if we could please hasten the meeting?”

“Why, of course.”

After bowing his head to me, the attendee headed to Lord Gran. “Please, do take care of yourself.”

Exactly as Master Yuna had predicted.

She had told me that if I questioned them like this, there would be three options for them: they would keep quiet and have nothing to say, would run to Lord Gran, or would blame Lord Gajurdo.

If they ran to Lord Gran, she said, there was no need to pursue them.

Despite knowing that the man had lied, I managed to follow Master Yuna’s directions. I really would have liked to question him further, but Lord Gajurdo was the one to compel him to tell such lies about my food.

Eventually, the other guests also started to move about.

“Master Zelef, I also was not feeling well and could not taste the food properly. I came to speak to Lord Gran about something important as well. May I go to speak to Lord Gran before I begin feeling worse?”

“Please take care of yourself.”

“Thank you.”

Another person left, and another.

I hadn’t paid much attention to it until now, but it seemed that the title of head chef of the palace held some influence. I acquired my current position because I’d made food for my fellows since I was a youth. I hadn’t spared a moment’s thought for my position or for my influence. I simply made delicious meals. I absolutely did not think of myself as better than the aristocrats.

However, I couldn’t forgive anyone who insulted all those people who had recognized and admired my own skills. The entire royal family…all the people who had eaten my food…they had all said that it was delicious. There was Master Yuna, too, who believed I was a first-rate chef. I couldn’t let anyone lie about or disparage my meals.

I took a step toward Lord Gajurdo. The others coughed as they quietly stepped away from him, leaving him behind so he was the only one left.

“Lord Gajurdo, would you please inform me what about my food was not to your liking? I will use it for reference for the future.”

“Wh-what would you, the head chef of the palace, be doing in a place like this, Master Zelef? Does His Majesty know you are here?”

“Why, of course His Majesty knows that I’m here. But you see, I came for personal reasons. The lord’s chef here is a dear old friend.”

I couldn’t claim that this was His Majesty’s order.

“An old friend?”

“Yes, Lord Gran’s chef, Botts, worked with me at a restaurant in the capital. The Falcon’s Claw. Are you familiar?”

“I...”

“Furthermore, I was asked by Lord Cliff’s wife, Lady Ellelaura, to come here to cook for this party. I received permission from the king to take time away.”

“You came running here just because the chef got himself injured? That’s impossible...you… couldn’t have had the time to...!”

“Pardon my asking, but were you already aware that Chef Botts was injured, Lord Gajurdo?”

“No, I was not. I only found out because Master Gran brought it up earlier.”

“I see. If you did know he was injured, and knew of any witnesses, I would’ve hoped you’d inform us.”

“I’m terribly sorry that I could be of no help.”

“No need to apologize. It seems that he was assaulted in a place with few people around.”

When I mentioned that the chef was attacked, a commotion ran through the place. According to Master Yuna and the others, Lord Gajurdo was undoubtably the one to injure Botts. He knew about Botts’s injuries, so he must’ve been.

He had injured a chef’s arms—their most important tools. Botts had told me he would heal and be just fine, but he wouldn’t be able to hold a kitchen knife for a while yet.

“Master Zelef, please don’t misunderstand. It wasn’t that the food wasn’t actually good. It was very good.”

“But I heard you say that it was terrible, Lord Gajurdo. And several in attendance said the same. I am not complaining about you in particular. However, as a chef, if someone complains about my cooking, then I must apologize to them, for I am the person primarily responsible for the food. In order to do that, I would need to know what about the food was so terrible.”

I looked straight at Lord Gajurdo. He kept trying to open his mouth and say something, but nothing came out. Then finally…

“Master Zelef, I apologize. It seems that I was also not feeling well,” he said, and looked over at Lord Gran, who was speaking with someone some distance away. “Master Gran, I am feeling unwell, so I believe I shall take my leave, if I may?”

“Why of course. I apologize for asking you to come here while you were unwell. As a fellow lord, I hope that you take care of yourself.”

“Well, Master Zelef, if you’ll excuse me…” To Lord Gajurdo’s irritation, Lord Gran hadn’t batted an eye. Lord Gajurdo bit his lip firmly.

I treated him in the same manner. “I hope that you can enjoy my food when you are well. I would love to get your opinion.”

Lord Gajurdo called for a young boy—his son, perhaps. He didn’t hide his chagrin as he glared at the others around him before leaving.

“Everyone, I am sorry for the commotion,” I said. “Though it is far earlier than planned, I would like to offer you all some pudding, which was offered at His Majesty’s birthday party as a palate cleanser. I shall continue to make full use of my skills to serve you, so please enjoy.”

Master Yuna left the timing of the pudding to me. Though I really wanted to serve it a little later, I thought this would work better.

I took off my hat, bowed, then left the place.

A great deal of applause followed me.