Third person perspective
"......" (x3, Bozes familiy)
The entire Bozes family seemed to have their mouths hanging open, but...
"How's the cooking going?" (Bozes)
Food was important at parties.
Also, Yamano cuisine was famous, so if it's a party for the Viscount Yamano family, everyone would have high expectations.
Therefore, it was natural for Marquis Bozes to be concerned about this.
Then, he walked over to a nearby table and checked the food on display...
"...It's brown..." (Bozes)
That's right.
Normally, when it came to cooking, emphasis was placed not only on taste, aroma, and texture, but also on appearance.
Therefore, not only the dishes but also the dishes themselves were made with consideration to color and presentation.
However...
...It was brown.
As Marquis Bozes had muttered, the food was generally brown and plain looking...
"...Oh? This is..." (Bozes)
"Hmm? Is there something to this dish?" (Iris)
The Marquis asked Lady Iris who seemed to have noticed something...
"Yes. I see, so that’s the reason…. For aristocrats, parties are a place of work. I did teach her that, but... It's too much, Mitsuha..." (Bozes)
"Huh? What do you mean? Is there some meaning behind this plain and not-so-appetizing dish? Isn't it a huge mistake on Mitsuha's part to keep the budget too low?" (Iris)
"...Each of them has an explanation. Let's see..." (Bozes)
Behind each plate was a small information board with the name of the ingredients, the main seasonings used, and a simple cooking method.
The Bozes then read it and sample each dish one by one.
The second son, Theodore, passed on the plain food and headed for the sweets corner at the table next to him.
There, there were various kinds of sweets such as starch syrup, galettes, crepes, cakes, and more, mainly made from things that could be harvested in this world, no, in the Viscount Yamano territory.
Even though the main ingredients were from this world, the cooking methods had been born, refined, and nurtured by the wisdom, technology, and history of modern Earth.
Various dishes were thought of and selected, and the selected sweets things survived.
In this world, expensive sugar, flavorings, sweeteners, and the others. were brought in from Earth, so they were used liberally and sparingly.
"Sweet... Delicious..."
The children and ladies who had gathered at the sweets table before Theodore were all different, some enjoying the sweets with enchanted faces, and others gobbling them up with an attitude that belied that of aristocrats.
There were sweets tables not only here, but also throughout the venue hall, each with different sweets lined up. Unlikely they would be able to eat it all even though they was just tasting it little by little.
It's not that there wasn't enough food. There was a wide variety of dishes, and plates that run low were quickly refilled or replaced with the next plate.
Therefore, this was due to the capacity of the stomach, the tightness of the corset, and the fear of bulging out or gaining weight.
Young children didn't seem to be concerned about anything other than their stomach capacity, but girls who were about 12 or 13 years old seemed to be concerned about a lot of things, just like older ladies.
Even if they took a cookie, which was not particularly unusual, the quality of the ingredients, the blending ratio, the sugar and flavoring added generously, and the crispy texture that could be enjoyed in the mouth by being baked at a certain temperature.
It wouldn't be surprising if they were branded as "Yamano Cookies."
Of course, this was not something Mitsuha baked...
It was created by a family of bakers in the Yamano territory who were given knowledge and ingredients by Mitsuha and devoted themselves to research, forgetting to eat and sleep.
Mitsuha just read cookbooks to them and gave them the ingredients, so it's not that she couldn't cook on her own, but she couldn't make anything like this.
...Theodore suddenly noticed that at another sweets table, Her Royal Highness the First Princess, Her Royal Highness the Second Princess, Her Royal Highness the Third Princess, and His Royal Highness the Second Prince were devouring the sweets.
Normally, people who wanted to get closer would have flocked to the table, but perhaps they were hesitant to see the siblings having so much fun, and no one seemed to approach the table except for the innocent young children.
It seemed that the aristocrats were also aware of the concept of consideration and consideration for children.
"… Somehow, I’ve been able to read Mitsuha’s spirit…" (Bozes)
Marquis Bozes muttered that, but Lady Iris seemed to have noticed it a long time ago and didn't seem surprised.
"She'll recover the expenses incurred. That's what Mitsuha would think. Promotion and tasting of local specialties. Introducing and selling the crops and processed products used to make them. And those suspicious playthings..."
"Hmm. It's probably an act of arranging to firmly capture the hearts of the children and instill a good feeling and admiration for the Viscount Yamano family in the future lords..."
"No, I think you're thinking that much. Because it's Mitsuha..."
"Ah, ah, I see. Because it's Mitsuha..."
Mitsuha's Perspective
Okay, most of the guests are here.
The Marquis Bozes family had also arrived, and the King's family had already been going around each table eating food and looking at the play equipment.
...Don't they usually appeared when all the guests have arrived?
Well, you know, it's rare to have a chance to eat hot food without a poisonous taste, right?
But... no, it's okay. Do whatever you like, already!
And about that dish...
The food I prepared this time was completely different from the food I had prepared for the parties I had been in charge of in the past.
Therefore, we might have failed the customers' expectations. In terms of appearance...
But once they tasted it, they would understand.
And then...
Today's dishes might seem plain in color, but they were surprised with its depth of flavor.
That's natural too. After all, we used miso and soy sauce in our cooking.
...of Yamano Territory.
That's right. It wasn't brought from Earth, it was made in my territory.
It would be difficult to make miso and soy sauce if they were transported to another world without much knowledge, but if we could do a lot of research on the internet, and if we could bring in the equipment and koji, it's not that difficult.
Well, you couldn't compete with traditional techniques or the knowledge and experience of the experts, right?
But I was not aiming for something amazing like winning a gold medal at a competition.
For the time being, it's enough if they could get 70-80% of the taste of that kind of thing.
After that, all we had to do was aim for the top through the efforts of the people here.
Therefore, most of the ingredients for this dish were from Yamano Territory.
Otherwise, there was no point in promoting it.
I didn't intend to sell things made on earth in a flashy way. What I wanted to promote was something that can be produced in Yamano Territory.
Today's party was to connect the future of Viscount Yamano territory.
Even if I were to die instantly in an accident or attack tomorrow.
Even if the Viscounty of Yamano were to fall into the hands of another noble.
So that the people of the territory could live happily without starving.
Even if you make a specialty product from the Yamano territory and it spreads to other territories or countries, you might think, "After all, *** must be from the Yamano territory!"[1] Make it a brand.
For that purpose, I would do anything, whether it's playing the role of a clown or a panda that attracts customers!
That's how I fulfill my noblesse-oblige!!
Translation Note
[1] The *** is not a sensor, just a wildcard. The original uses 〇〇. 『やはり、〇〇はヤマノ領産のものでなきゃな！』