That's why, the Yamano Viscounty (us) was conducting research and development of new ingredients one after another. Of course, it's not just the ingredients and seasonings, but also the cooking method. We also aimed to recreate cuisines from around the world. This was where choosing a territory facing the sea came into play...
I was thinking about alcohol, but beer required a lot of equipment. One of these days, when I had some free time, I'd like to go see a company that made small tanks for local beer.
Rum could only be made if the sugar cane went well, and of course the sugar, which is the most important part... This time, the sugar used in sweets and the spices used in cooking were brought in from Earth. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to get that far yet.
Will we be able to get some Japanese sake sometime soon?
We might fail a few times and make it rot, but early failures were fertile ground for gaining experience and were an up-front investment. If we did it a few times, we would eventually succeed.
Even if we failed, I could go on a tour of a brewery in Japan, asked questions, and got advice on how to deal with it. As a last resort, I could hire a brewer or a retired one. For sake brewing rice, we obtained rice seed from Yamada Nishiki in Shiso City, Hyogo Prefecture.
I asked that edible rice be produced in Bozes territory.
The condition was that we would buy everything, whether it was a good harvest or a bad harvest.
As a minimum guarantee, I was told that I would definitely pay at least the same price as the yield of wheat for a certain plot in the neighboring villages, and they happily accepted my offer.
Well, maybe it's because of my name value, but it's definitely not a bad deal.
Of course, I had obtained Marquis Bozes' approval in advance.
There was also the issue of what to do with the tax revenue from growing rice instead of wheat, but in the first place, if the lord of another territory were to change the crops they cultivated without permission, or if they did something wrong... no, they wouldn't do anything wrong. However, it's a big problem.
...Well, of course, the Marquis was kind to me!
The reason why we didn't make rice paddies in our own territory was because... there was no place suitable for paddy fields in our territory!
We had a small territory.
The world of radish planting between the sea and the earth[1] ...shut up!
That's why rice production was outsourced.
I had told the Marquis that if he felt like it, he could grow rice for his own territory.
Of course, sales outside the territory were also OK. I would be happy if rice spread throughout the country and Japanese food spread in the royal capital.
I hoped we could open a rice ball shop or a rice bowl shop.
A sushi restaurant... that's a bit out of the question. The fish would spoil during transportation, and there would probably be food poisoning...
Anyway, this time's dishes include dishes made with shiitake mushrooms, bamboo shoots, soba noodles, potatoes, corn, tomatoes, and more, made in Yamano territory, as well as starch syrup and popcorn, but they had also started being sold in the royal capital for the common people. I wanted it to become popular among the nobles...and used rice a lot.
In particular, I would like each territory to cultivate a certain amount of crops such as buckwheat, potatoes, and corn, as there were bad harvest.
Even if there was no bad harvest, if it could be used not only as feed for livestock but also as a snack for children and for various other purposes, people might make some of it, which was why we were advertising it here. Including delicious cooking methods.
This time, I was allowed to use the royal palace's kitchen for cooking.
No, of course there were things I brought from Earth and things I made in advance at the mansion, but there were also things I made here.
When I told the chefs and maids at the royal palace that I would help them, they did their best.
I said, "You can watch how Yamano cuisine is made and taste it while it's being cooked. This is your chance to steal it...," As soon as I said that, everyone's eyes changed color.
Of course, I could be a chef, but if they became a royal maid who could cook Yamano cuisine, it's not just a dream to become a maid.
It was easy to get permission from the king. I was told that I could use ingredients and seasonings from the kitchen.
Yes, they would be able to eat imitation Yamano cuisine at any time in the royal palace. Sure the royal family would be very happy to receive it.
I could also use the cooks, maids, ingredients, and seasonings for free, so it's cheap.
It's a win-win relationship!
Ah, of course, the main ingredients were from Yamano territory.
That's an essential part of the strategy.
So, were the invited guests almost ready?
The Bozes family was there, as well as the king, Sabine-chan's older sisters, and her younger brother Luchen-kun... the second prince...
First prince? Now that I thought about it, there was person like that...
Oh, there's Alexis-sama too. Did he act differently from the Bozes family?
Well, since he was already an independent viscount, it would be a shame to stay with his parents.
Also, he couldn't flirt with women in front of his parents.
No, you're popular, Alexis-sama...
One of the heroes in the battle for the absolute defense of the royal capital. Founder of a new aristocratic family. The young viscount head of the family. He also looked pretty good. And the eldest son of a marquis.
...It seemed that he intended to inherit the family home to his younger brother Theodore-sama, but since it was normal for the eldest son to inherit the family home, most people seemed to think that he was the heir.
At the award ceremony, Alexis-sama said, "I'll pass it on to my younger brother," but people thought it was just for the occasion, and people who weren't there wouldn't know about what he said.
There's no way someone like that would be in a place like that who would make careless remarks regarding the issue of successors in other noble houses, so it seemed that the matter hadn't spread.
...And even more, the lifesaver of the Lightning Archpriestess.
Great Saint, Beatrice-chan's older brother.
He's already full of counting roles, and there's a back door!
Luchen-kun was still young, so middle-class and lower-class aristocrats (hunters) were targeting Alexis-sama, thinking that he was no match for the high-ranking aristocratic ladies (skilled hunters) who were aiming for his older brother, His Highness the Crown Prince, right...?
That's why he's already incredibly popular...
No, it didn't matter! It's about time for me to say my greetings as the host and officially declare the party open, right?
"Welcome everyone. Today, as a thank you for your continued support, I would like to introduce you to new dishes, seasonings, play equipment, table games, etc. that are being researched and developed in my Viscounty of Yamano territory, ahead of everyone else. We have prepared a variety of things for you to experience!" (Mitsuha)
All the invited guests were in a state of shock. The invited guests were not only nobles but also owners of large trading companies.
Those people would be able to learn about the new products of Yamano Viscounty earlier than others.
And since I said "New product," no matter how rural Viscount Yamano was, there's no way it's something that's commonly sold around here.
Yeah, the special products of the Yamano Viscounty that I'd brought to the capital so far were a special type of corn needed to make popcorn, and shiitake mushrooms. Also, things like reversi and shogi...
So, they understood what's expected.
But, I'm sorry. There's nothing completely new this time. This time's selling point is the cooking method and the necessary seasonings from Yamano territory, such as miso and soy sauce.
And vegetables that had been improved in breed, grown using seeds brought in from Japan. Yes, they were cheat vegetables that couldn't be compared to the vegetables of this world. Even vegetables with the same name were completely different. Matsuya in Kanda was also soba, but standing soba at the station and soba at school cafeterias were also soba, just that they had the same name.
Is it okay to bring something like that? No, well, no problems had occurred on Earth, and there are probably original species in this world as well... No problem!
Who decided that?
...It's me!!
Author's Note
...
Thank you very much for your support! (^^)/
Translation Note
[1] 海と大地の間にある、ダイコン植えるの世界 It should be a pun, but I still don't get it yet.
*As usual, I trimmed unrelated author's note.