Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~

Chapter 4: Dream as Sweet as Desserts

“Sweets, sweets, delicious sweets~♪”

Tina twirled around as she brought a plate with cookies piling up on top of it, then placed it on the table. On the table, there are wooden cups filled with water, a pile of cookies on the plate, then wild plant and jerky salad with walnut sauce.

Since it’s a poor village, we can’t exactly eat cookies as dessert after meal. The cookies become today’s main staples instead of bread. I looked at Tina who was in a good mood. I feel happy just by looking at her.

“Now, Kurt-sama.”

“Shall we?”

Tina and I sit down side by side. We reached this point after many twists and turns.

When we lived in the mansion of the main village, we couldn’t eat together like this. The masters ate with the masters, the servants ate together with the servants.

I invited her to eat together with me as soon as we arrived in this village, but Tina grumbled about how unthinkable it was for her, a servant, to eat together with me, her master. It took me three months to persuade her into eating with me.

And then, we started eating face to face, but one day, with a deep red face, Tina asked if she could eat beside me. With sweet voice, she said that in that way, she would feel Kurt-sama closer to her. After that, we eat side by side. Indeed, I could feel her closer this way.

“Is anything wrong, Kurt-sama?”

Tina calls out to me who didn’t say my meal prayers even after some time has passed. Her petite frame sitting by my side and looking at me with naturally upturned eyes. How terribly cute.

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“No, it’s nothing... I just remember some old memories.”

I clasp my hands in front of my chest.

“For the good food today, we thank the forest and the god.”

Tina mirrors my hand and prayer. This comes from the state religion of Federal empire, Frangetty religion. As long as we live in this country, the good men will pray before meals like this. After a few seconds of prayers, we began eating.

“What kind of sweets did you make this time?”

“Its name is cookies. I’ll leave the explanation for you to taste on your own.”

Tina reaches out her hand towards the cookies, showing her hugely anticipating face. Firmly holding the cookie, she put one inside her mouth.

“Mmmmh! Mmmmmmm!!!”

With both hands on her cheeks, she groans while her legs flailing around, her tail swaying magnificently. She gives the reaction of eating the most delicious thing for her. When I look at her, I feel really glad from the bottom of my heart that I made these.

The important things for a pâtissier are the cooking environment, the best ingredients, and people who love eating sweets more than anything. To say that love is the best ingredient is half right and half wrong. It’s not that something will taste delicious just from love. I want to please people who eat it. If that feeling is sincere, I will put my best effort. That’s why it can become delicious.

“When I chew it, a wonderful sweetness burst inside my mouth! It’s not just sweet, I can also taste a strong flavor of butter, and yet the flavor is so refined. I’ve never felt this this happy from eating something before!”

Tina reaches out for the second time. With joy filling her narrowing eyes, she chews it. A delightful crunching sound resound on my side.

I also pick and eat a piece of cookie. Inside my mouth, there’s the sweet flavor from honey and richness from butter spreading. Chewing consistency and the aftertaste are also exceptional.

If I were to criticize, it would’ve been better if I used butter with better quality as well as wheat flour with less gluten. However, too bad that I don’t have those. I’ve made the best that I could do with existing ingredients. In the future, when the village becomes rich, I want to collect many things bit by bit. There are many important ingredients beyond honey.

“The cookies are an easy sweets made by mixing and baking wheat flour with butter and honey. The texture is distinctly sweet and crunchy. It’s a wonderful sweets where we can add walnuts and create many variations.”

“Cookie, what a cute name. And, this, I can’t stop taking them.”

“Go ahead and eat a lot.”

“Yes! Munch munch, itsh delishioush!”

Tina has forgotten me, captivated by the cookies. She always pushes her limit and behaves properly in front of me, but now she forgets those and even talks with her mouth stuffed. It’s been a while since the last time I saw her act like this.

Tina stuffs more and more cookies to her mouth. Then, the cookies are all gone.

“Ah.”

Just as the last cookie disappeared, Tina looked at my face with an unrealistic apologetic face.

“I’m really sorry.... Kurt-sama, since they’re so delicious, I was so engrossed that I even ate your portion....”

“It’s okay. It means you’re happy with my cookies. I’ve also eaten 2-3 pieces already.”

“Uuuh... I’m really really sorry. I’ll do anything I can in return.”

Tina apologizes fervently, as if she’s doing a dogeza. I won’t get angry from you eating too many cookies, though.

“Don’t mind it, because Tina has saved me.”

I’m someone who doesn’t have any hope to inherit the feudal lord’s position, without anyone ever caring about me. Tina, she was the only one who said that she loved me.

When I left the main village, everyone opposed me and said that it was impossible for me to build a village. However, Tina believed that I could, following me through this harsh circumstances. She never once complained about the beekeeping that never bore results before this year, strongly persevered in keeping me company.

No matter how much I thank her, it won’t be enough. If Tina wasn’t here, I probably would have abandoned my dream a long time ago.

“That’s... I’m terrified. Looking from that angle, I’m able to live right now because Kurt-sama saved me. If Kurt-sama wasn’t there, I would have died a dog’s death that time.”

“Then, Tina saved me and I saved Tina. It should be fine like that, right? The cookies, they’re just something I make when I want to eat in the first place. Oh, I know, the bread we feed to to everyone in the village, how about I bake cookies instead? I suppose it’s impossible to make them every single time, but it should be alright to allow this kind of luxury once a month for the reclamation workers.”

“That sounds wonderful. I’m sure everyone will be happy! It’s really that delicious! It’s the most delicious food I’ve ever eaten in my entire life!”

“I’m glad to hear that. It’s a blessing for a pâtissier to make people that happy.”

“Pâtissier?”

Tina showed a bewildered face. True, pâtissier should be a foreign word that she doesn’t know.

“A person who’s an expert in making sweets is called a pâtissier.”

“Oh, so that’s it. Then, Kurt-sama is the best pâtissier in the world!!”

Time slowed for me for a second. The words Tina said is the dream I could never let go.

“That’s not necessarily true. If you go to a big town, there’ll be numerous others who can bake even better sweets than the current me. However... I do want it. Someday, I’ll be the best pâtissier chef in the world.”

“Don’t worry, Kurt-sama will definitely achieve it! I’m sure of it, because the sweets that Kurt-sama makes could make me this happy.”

Tina smiles. Her smiling face never fails to give me confidence.

“I feel like I can do it if Tina says so. I should make the cookies immediately for the sake of everyone in the village. Even so, Tina, it’s okay to eat my portion, but I’ll get mad if you eat everyone else’s, you know?”

As I make that joke, Tina’s face blushes and her kitsune ears stand in a poof.

“Hmph, so that’s how you see me!”

Just like this, the debut of genuinely sweet pastries that I made in this world has made a grand finish. There are heaps of other sweets I want to make. My dream has only just begun.