Chapter 11: 11. sweet cheese steamed buns
"So... that stone stores magical energy, and it can be sold for a high price?" Kai asked after listening to Keith’s explanation about monsters, especially the one Kai had just defeated.
Now, some of the monster’s meat was safely stored in a storage cabinet.
That storage cabinet was different from the refrigerators found on Earth. Kai had bought it from the Ardhez supermarket, and of course, it came from the magic tower again.
It was a cabinet designed to preserve items by stopping time inside it. So, when taken out, whatever was stored inside would remain exactly as it was when placed inside.
It’s perfect for storing anything so it doesn’t rot or change shape.
And Kaileon has already cooked some of that meat with Keith. With his A-rank cooking skill, Kaileon is getting better at cooking without relying on Keith. This leaves Keith completely baffled by Kai’s sudden ability. But instead of being suspicious, Keith actually thinks it’s great, because he believes Kai’s skill is the result of learning to cook with him.
In reality, Kai had only cooked with Keith once.
The stone bird meat was cut into small pieces, then marinated with spices Kai bought from an Earth supermarket.
After marinating and coating them in flour, they fried them twice in hot oil over low heat.
Keith was very pleased with the result, as the outside was crispy when bitten into, but tender on the inside.
They ate it for dinner, while talking about monsters and other common things that Kaileon should already know.
But what could be done? Kaileon was locked up in the pavilion, ignored and taught only the basics.
"That’s right, young master, the magic stone inside the monster’s body can be sold. They were originally hunted for those magic stones, but over time, people learned how to make use of their prey. Like the meat, which is edible, so monster meat is commonly sold in the market; besides that, their feathers can also be utilized. Every part of the monster can be put to good use, even their internal organs. That’s why the Duke asked for parts of the monster besides the meat. He said he’d pay you for it. Usually, the magic stones from those stone birds are quite expensive—they can go for a thousand gold coins or more," said Keith.
Hearing that, Kai became very enthusiastic and immediately replied.
"Let’s hunt more monsters, Keith! We need a lot of money to start our business! But we don’t need to sell the meat, since we can eat it ourselves—I like it because it tastes like chicken."
Keith furrowed his brow, "Chicken? It seems you like chicken meat, huh? Chicken meat is indeed edible, but usually only nobles eat it. Because even though chickens aren’t monsters—just ordinary animals—they’re wild and hard to catch. Only a few people can catch them, and they’re raised for their eggs. But eggs are also very expensive and rare. Maybe that’s why pastries that require eggs are also expensive."
Kai was confused by this, as it was very different from what he knew on Earth. It had never occurred to Kai that chickens were wild animals.
Because chickens are usually domesticated, especially by people in the countryside. In the city, they’re usually raised in special facilities. There are broiler chicken farmers, and there are also egg-laying chicken farmers.
"I can easily buy chicken eggs, Keith... but I think we also need to raise chickens here. Oh, right, the people you called will be coming tomorrow, right? I’ll design a coop for the laying hens; I’ll buy the materials myself, so they’ll just have to assemble it for us. Let’s build a coop next to the house, near the vegetable garden we’re going to plant too... Keith, can we hire someone who knows how to garden and raise chickens? They’ll have to be willing to clean the coop. Besides, Duke said he’d send a maid for me."
Keith remained silent at that moment, because every word Kai spoke required him to think even harder.
Did Kai just say laying hens? Raising chickens? Building a chicken coop... and planting a vegetable garden too.
"Alright, young master, I’ll go see Duke right away to present those two conditions for the maid."
Keith felt it was good that Kai agreed to let his father provide a maid, so Duke wouldn’t protest even though there were a few conditions to be met.
The first one had already been mentioned to the Duke by Kai himself: the new maid must never have lived in the Duke’s castle before.
The next one was that she must be able to garden and be willing to tend to and clean the chicken coop. Keith conveyed that during the evening when he visited the Duke’s workplace.
Keith thought that would be quite difficult.
But surprisingly, the Duke agreed quickly.
"Of course, Keith, you can go with Nathan to look for those people. I’m sure only you and Nathan can find them. You can go tonight, too—for Kaileon’s sake, I’ll stay with him at the pavilion and keep an eye out to see if the monster is still around."
Keith was initially very happy to hear this, but then he paused to think. Was he asking Keith to leave that very night so the Duke could go to the pavilion?
Well, that wasn’t a problem, considering Keith was happier if the father-son relationship improved.
So Keith went with Nathan, a butler at the Duke’s castle, who knew a lot about the ins and outs of the Arslan region. Since Nathan was originally from Arslan, while Keith himself had only come to Arslan when he started working for Duke Arslan.
"I know a great place to find a maid like the young master wants, Keith. It’s the orphanage where I grew up. I visit that orphanage at least once a month. Besides, the kids there know more about the local area than we do, and the young master needs someone like that, right? The kids there also do gardening and occasionally work cleaning the chicken coops of the rich—you know, the rich people who work for the nobility, right? The kids do get paid, but the pay there is very little. And those chicken coops stink to high heaven," said Nathan, a young man who certainly talks a lot. But Keith liked him, because Nathan was honest and sincere with others.
"Alright, let’s head to that orphanage, Nathan. As it happens, I have plenty of pastries to share with them," said Keith, showing off his storage pouch.
The storage pouch works with magic; it can hold anything in any quantity. The only thing is, time doesn’t stop inside the pouch, so perishable food can’t be stored there for too long.
However, what Keith had stored inside were his favorite cakes, which he’d bought from Kaileon. They were sweet cheese-flavored steamed cakes wrapped in plastic. The kind of practical yet delicious supermarket food.
"Cakes? What kind of cakes? Can I have one?" Nathan asked.
Keith chuckled, then handed a package to Nathan.
The young man looked puzzled at the unusual packaging, but his expression turned to delight after opening it and discovering the soft, fragrant cake.
"Wow, this is so good, Keith! Where did you get all this?"
Keith smiled proudly, "From my master, of course!"
Nathan looked confused again, "But the Duke never has anything like this..."
"Not the Duke, but young Master Kaileon!"
"Wow... what if I just work there instead, Keith?"
Keith then put on a serious face, which sent a chill down Nathan’s spine.
"No, you’ll stay working at the castle so I have a spy to keep an eye on the Duchess..."
"Ugh, I was just joking, don’t look at me like that!"
