Chapter 193

　　Author Eguchi Ren: Today’s chapter is a little short .

　　We entered the house and I led the kids up to our living room .

　　“Wh-what an incredible house…” Phillip said, gazing about the place .

　　“Ah, it’s just a rental, though . I only need it while I’m in the city . ”

　　The talk degenerated to how awesome and amazing it must be to be an A Rank Adventurer yet again .

　　Well, I can’t speak for other A Rankers, but the reason why I earn so much money was because of Fer and the rest .

　　“Well then, I’m going to make something to eat now . Please have something to drink while you wait here, na . ”

　　Leaving the kids to hang out at the living room with [1] some sweet orange juice served in mugs bought from Dovan’s workshop, I left for the kitchen and took out my new treasures . By the way, Fer and the others were also upstairs with deep dishes of fruit milk to occupy them . Ah, but I just used their regular cheap dishes though, sorry, sorry, [2] but I want to put their lunch in their new dishes . I’m sure I’ll be forgiven, right?

　　Alright, let’s get cooking!

　　After some thought, I settled on making Honey Mustard Sandwich . Specifically, c.o.c.katrice Honey Mustard Sandwiches .

　　The kids can’t have been around much, so there’s no need to shock them with strange food like rice suddenly, so I decided to go with bread as the staple dish . I decided to use c.o.c.katrice partly because it’s one of the less expensive meats I have in hand . I’m starting to get a sense of how shockingly expensive most of the cuts of meat I have and it’s better to be a little low-key [2] .

　　Also, c.o.c.katrice was basically a giant, high-quality chicken, and everyone loves chicken anyway, right?

　　Anyway, instead of serving it as a cutlet on its own, I want to make something a little bit fancier . Like something you’ll get from a nice café . It’s not like it’s hard to do anyway .

　　First, though, let’s do a little shopping .

　　I’m counting on you, [Net Super~]

　　Let’s see, soy sauce, bottled lemon juice, fancy mustard with the grains inside, some honey and of course, bread .

　　Alright, let’s get started .

　　Before cooking, poke holes through the skin side of the c.o.c.katrice cutlets . If the c.o.c.katrice meat is too thick, just pound it down with the back of the knife so that it’s more or less half an inch thick through . Sprinkle with salt and pepper and set aside to marinate . While that’s happening, let’s make the honey mustard sauce . [1]

　　For a foolproof sauce, [2] I like to mix the mustard, soy sauce, honey and lemon juice in a bowl until I reach the balance of sweetness, acidity and heat that I like . Next, it was time to brown the cutlet . I lightly oil a heavy skillet and wait until it was hot before placing the cutlets onto the pan, skin side down and letting fat sizzle out steadily before flipping it over . I used a paper towel to dab out excess oil from the bird as I tipped the pan around .

　　Once the meat has been browned, I poured in the honey mustard sauce I’d mixed just now, making sure not to let the mustard grains explode from the sudden temperature change . Luckily there was enough liquid to prevent the popping . After quickly coating the cutlets in the sauce I set the pan aside to let the flavours seep into the meat as I prepare the other elements . [2]

　　The bread was duly sliced and lightly toasted in the oven; lettuce was washed and torn apart by hand . [2] The trick to preventing a soggy sandwich was to properly dry the washed lettuce .

　　Time to a.s.semble .

　　First, the bread, followed by a layer of lettuce, then a Honey Mustard c.o.c.katrice Cutlet, then another piece of bread . Flatten down a little, cut in half and it’s done . [2] I like to cut my sandwiches into short little rectangles instead of triangles or a long rectangle . I think this shape offers the best bread to filling ratio that also minimizes the chances of the filling falling out .

　　I made lots of sandwiches and loaded them up onto the new dishes for Fer and the rest of my companions . For the kids, I used the beige plates I had gotten from Severi’s Workshop . Hoho, I look like a proper host now . Ah, but the number of sandwiches on my companions’ plates were several times more numerous, of course, especially the ones for Fer and Sui…

　　Anyway, I prepared more orange juice in a gla.s.s jug, speaking of which, I’ll have to buy a jug too . This one is borrowed from my rented kitchen . It was just sitting there, so I figured I might as well use it . This, and the food trolley too, how convenient . [2] [2] After placing the plates of food, jug of juice et cetera onto the cart, I happily wheeled everything to the living room .

　　“Sorry for the wait~” I called out .

　　I let the kids serve themselves from the cart while I handed out plates of food for my familiars . Can’t neglect my big earners, right? It was thanks to them that I have all these nice plates and dishes now~

　　Fer did not stand on ceremony either . In a couple of chomps, half the contents in his new dish were gone . Ahaha, I can imagine the refrain already .

　　“Drinks, anyone?”

　　“Yes, please!” came the chorus . Oh, looks like the orange juice is quite popular among the kids . I tipped the jug into the 5 mugs thrust in my direction .

　　For the moment, they seemed more absorbed in the orange juice and were ignoring the sandwiches . Huh .

　　Finally, Phillip took a bite of the c.o.c.katrice Honey Mustard Sandwich and suddenly s.h.i.+vered, “D-d-delicious! What you made yesterday was really good, but this one is extra delicious! It’s super delicious!”

　　Ah, he’s really honest .

　　The other kids, spurred by his enthusiasm, reached for their sandwiches as well .

　　“This is really amazing! The slightly sweet sauce is incredible!” Anton said around his mouthful .

　　“Yes,” agreed Bridgette . “It’s sweet, but it’s somehow savoury too . This is the first time I have something like this . ”

　　“It’s sweet, spicy and salty at the same time, yet everything’s very balanced . It is indeed a very pleasurable experience . ” Paul nodded wisely . He was the calmest of the kids, savouring each bite like a connoisseur of sandwiches .

　　“This is awesome!” gulped, “seconds!” Livia held out her plate, a bit of sauce still around her lips .

　　Ah, you’re unexpectedly fast?

　　“Seconds, please!” came the thunderous call . Fer, Dora-chan and Sui were done with their plates .

　　“Yes, yes, please wait for a moment, na . ”

　　I collected the plates and pushed the trolley back to the kitchen to make more food .

　　[Gumihou: Ahahaha, looks like this is another win!]

　　[1] Structural Changes: Rearranged some awkward sentences

　　[2] Add Details to Vary Sentence Texture: To avoid the story from becoming repet.i.tive .