The Duke House’s Little Chef ~ The Cook Who Trained in the Mountain for 300 Years

Chapter 51: Scared of fire.

After the lesson, Richil-san calls me over to her dormitory near the mansion.

Apparently, she has something to discuss with me.

There is a lounge and a recreation facility on the first floor of the large dormitory. Knights who have finished their training are resting their minds here.

So the place is a bit noisy.

"Sorry, it's a noisy place."

Richil-san says as she makes me a cup of tea.

The refreshing scent tickles my nose.

When I drink it, a pleasant bitterness stimulates my tongue. An even stronger scent passes from my mouth to my nose.

It is a very relaxing taste. After just one sip, I like it.

"Is it delicious?"

"Yes. Very delicious."

"Good to hear that. Because you're a gourmet, Luciel-kun."

"I'm not a gourmet."

"That's why I stole it from the Commander's room. This is the first time I've brewed it, but it's delicious."

Richil-san sticks out her tongue.

I think she is serious. Richil-san sometimes does naughty things.

"So, What do you want to discuss?"

I put back the teacup on my plate, and I quickly got to the main topic.

"As you may have guessed, it's about Miss Lilith."

I knew it.

We've attended a few magic lessons together, but today Lilith seemed to act strange.

She was very depressed today.

"Maybe I shouldn't ask you to give a demonstration. I wanted to show her what a 5-year-old kid can do and give her a good example, but it was a bad idea. I regret it now."

Richil-san droops her head.

It seems that she is also quite depressed.

I was supposed to give a good example in front of Lilith, but I overdid it.

It is normal for children as young as Lilith to be scared of fire magic.

But even if I told Lilith that, she probably wouldn't feel better.

Because she's a bit stubborn.

I wonder who she resembles.　Maybe Clavis-san?

"However, she has less than a year and a half to enter the nobles school, so she doesn't have much time left."

"The noble school?　Is it an elementary education school?"

"Maybe that's what they used to call it 300 years ago. It's called the nobles school now. It is compulsory for all boys and girls of the noble family who have turned 7 years old to enroll there."

"Compulsory?"

Is it compulsory to enter the school?

300 years ago, it wasn't compulsory.

But it was like an obligation for nobles to enroll in school and get educated.

"By then, she needs to learn basic magic and knowledge so she can keep up with her schoolwork."

"As her teacher, aren't you under a lot of pressure?"

"Luciel-kun, you say that like it's someone else's business. You are going to attend the school too, you know?"

"Eh?　Me too?"

I almost spewed out the tea in my mouth.

Richil-san smiles gently. She takes out a white handkerchief, presses it against my mouth, and wipes the tea around my mouth.

"Excuse me....... Me too----."

"Fufufu.... It is natural for you to be confused, Luciel-kun. But Letivia's family made up the story that you are their 5 year old child. The head of the family is preparing the paperwork right now."

"Clavis-san?"

I'm going to attend a school.

I never went to school because I was kicked out of my house when I was 5 years old.

I have to admit, that makes me a bit happy.

"Let's put the school thing aside for now. We need to think about how to help our small lady to study fire attribute magic."

With a year and a half to go, maybe one day Lilith will master it.

But it could drag on if she doesn't raise the issue now.

Maybe Richil-san wants to settle this matter as soon as possible.

"Especially because the sons and daughters of the duke family usually get more attention when they go to school. Duke is the highest of the noble titles...... Those with the title are supposed to be role models. If she performs poorly, people may look down on The Letivia family."

I understand.

That's why I was raised so strictly as the son of the Tristan family.

My father abandoned me because he found me useless as a son of the Tristan family.

"She has a very sensitive personality, but she also has good concentration and imagination. She is also a hard worker.

I nodded repeatedly.

It is obvious from her herb room in the basement that she is a hardworking person.

"If she knows she has damaged her family name, can she recover ......?"

"I also think so."

"I'm going to approach her in different ways, but I also want Luciel-kun to think about it. You and Lilith-sama are very close in age, though I know you are much older than me. But Miss Lilith doesn't think so. Am I right?"

Richil-san is right.

Lilith recognizes me as her family.

From her point of view, I am her older brother.

"That's why I want you to keep an eye on her."

"I understand. I'll let you know if I get any ideas."

"Thank you!　You're a big help!"

Richil-san hugs me.

My face landed on her huge boobs as if it was destined to be there.

So soft.....

No, no!

"Hawawawawa!!!!"

"Ara? I'm sorry. I just got excited."

My face turned bright red, and Richil-san hurriedly let go of me.

"I'd be in trouble if Miss Lilith saw me like this."

"Why, why is Lilith's name coming up now?"

I complained to Richil-san while my face blushed. She sticks her tongue out.

　◆◇◆◇◆

It seems image is the key to chant-type magic.

Perhaps Lilith thinks that fire is scary.

Of course, everyone is scared of fire.

I have strong heat resistance, but I am still scared of fire sometimes.

Is it because I use different types of magic that I still can use fire-attribute magic?

While thinking about this, I am washing the used cookware in the kitchen as usual.

Then I notice Songho-san staring at the stove as he bakes his bread.

Songho-san had put firewood on the stove, and flames were burning fiercely.

This is how he raises the stove's temperature.

When baking bread, the stove's temperature is very important.

Thanks to the advancement of appraisal magic, measuring a stove's temperature is now possible. However, baking bread is still a difficult task.

The temperature must be changed according to temperature and humidity on that day to bake bread perfectly.

Stove temperature can be measured with appraisal magic, but Songho-san never uses magic. He said that his chef's skin is much more accurate. He always gets very close to the stove fire to measure the temperature with his face.

He said measuring the temperature with his face is better than with his hands.

I have tried it, but I still couldn't understand it.

Even though my senses are sharper because I have been eating monster dishes for 300 years......

"Songho-san......"

"What?"

"Songho-san, do you ever think fire is scary?"

"No."

That was an immediate answer.

"Why?"

"Because fire has no sin. When fire gets angry, it is when people do something. That is why I am much more afraid of human beings than fire."

What Songho-san says is always very deep.

But this time, I think I understand a little.

"It all depends on the user, doesn't it?"

"That's right. It is the same with the slime that you often use, isn't it?　The people in the mansion recognized the slime as a new ingredient because they knew you could eat it. It all depends on the human being."

Recognition.

I see. Image can be replaced by word recognition, right?

So, if I can make Lilith recognize that fire is not a scary thing...... No, it is scary. But there are parts of it that are not scary.

"I see."

"Why? What's the matter, kid?"

"Thank you, Songho-san."

"Huh?"

Thanks to Songho-san, I got an idea!