Ch.165The Military Nation (5)

“Um… Your Majesty? Are you trying to cook?”

The head chef, who prepares meals for everyone working in the palace, asked Claude with a puzzled expression after his request for cooperation. Claude was dumbfounded by the chef’s reaction.

“No, I just wanted to hear the opinion and advice of a professional chef. How on earth did you come up with the idea that I would be cooking?”

“Ah… Actually, didn’t you used to borrow the kitchen to make delicious food for Chloe—I mean, Lady Chloe—quite often in the past? So I thought…”

“…Right, I understand. It’s not what you’re thinking, so let’s get to the point now.”

Since entering Dijon Castle, Claude and Chloe had always eaten food prepared by the head chef. Unlike other servants and attendants, the chef never looked down on Claude and Chloe, treating them well and becoming quite close through various conversations. Perhaps because of this, the chef managed to survive unscathed during the later purge of servants when Claude and Chloe came to power.

In any case, the chef, who still remembered conversations from long ago, based his interpretation of Claude’s statement on those memories.

A monarch showing interest in cooking? Generally speaking, that would only happen when wanting to serve food to precious family members.

“I want to make these hardtack biscuits taste good.”

“…That’s quite a difficult request you’re making.”

“You don’t see a solution either?”

“Hardtack is something that contains the love and hate of all soldiers and chefs. Attempts to make hardtack taste good have continued for hundreds of years, and I’ve participated in such attempts myself.”

The chef’s expression turned nostalgic at Claude’s words.

“It seems quite difficult.”

“Making hardtack porridge taste good is easy. Hardtack is made of wheat and barley—grains with endless potential—so it’s easy to make hardtack porridge taste good by adding other ingredients. However, doing so would eliminate its value as military supplies.”

“Shelf life, or cost.”

“Yes.”

…Well, the chef is right.

There must have been many attempts to improve the taste of hardtack, but the results are easy to guess. No, more than just guess.

If those attempts had succeeded, today’s tasteless hardtack wouldn’t exist.

“For example, there’s salt-cured jerky. If you put that jerky into boiling hardtack porridge, the salt, broth, and umami flavor seep out from the jerky, making the hardtack porridge palatable.”

“But that’s expensive.”

“Yes, that’s the problem. Jerky is a very important combat ration distributed to the army along with hardtack, but due to its high cost, not everyone can eat jerky satisfactorily. It’s simply meant to give soldiers the feeling of eating meat, while the energy needed for activity still mainly comes from hardtack. I believe Your Majesty knows this well, considering you developed a new type of jerky to replace the traditional one.”

That’s why I created pemmican—finely ground jerky mixed with fat and grain. Since the quantity of existing jerky was too small, I used fat and grain to increase the volume as much as possible, maximizing the satisfaction of eating meat.

“…What about herbs or spices?”

“Herbs… spices… That’s good. When I was young and drafted into the army, the hardtack porridge tasted so awful that I desperately tried to make it taste better by adding dandelions from the roadside or pine needles.”

…So even the chef was conscripted into the army. There are quite a lot of middle-aged and elderly people in the Duchy of Burgundy who experienced being drafted as soldiers.

Well, my grandfather faced the Holy Empire and the Carolingian Kingdom with only the Duchy of Burgundy. No matter how excellent his military insight was, he would have needed to scrape together troops to face countries several times stronger.

“Come to think of it, that’s probably what made me become a chef. My, how nostalgic.”

“…From your reaction, it seems quite difficult.”

“It’s not difficult. Compared to meat, the raw materials are easier to procure, and storage is also very convenient. However, the various officials and monarchs who handled military supplies on a large scale chose to make a bit more hardtack rather than buying herbs and spices separately. While jerky is unavoidable because people must eat meat to avoid illness, herbs and spices don’t have that issue.”

“Are herbs and spices that expensive?”

“Some are expensive, some are not.”

Hmm… I don’t quite understand.

If some are expensive and some are not, that means some are cheap, which implies that herbs or spices qualify to become military supplies. But why has hardtack remained unchanged until now?

The chef said there have been many attempts to make hardtack porridge taste better, but those attempts were all blocked by officials or monarchs.

Why on earth didn’t various officials and monarchs think about feeding soldiers tasty food? Because it’s expensive? Because there was no particular reason to do so?

What’s wrong with being able to feed soldiers delicious meals?

“I’d like you to research herbs and spices that can be added to hardtack porridge to make it taste good, then create a table showing their taste, aroma, price, and so on.”

Even expensive herbs and spices could be distributed very cheaply if we started cultivating them properly on a large scale.

Of course, this is an agricultural society, and using farmland for spices instead of grain is considered quite taboo, which could be grounds for criticism.

But now that I’ve not only established the Lotharing Kingdom but also devoured the Carolingian Kingdom, my authority is no joke, so I can simply brush off such criticism.

“…I understand, Your Majesty. You’re still as caring as ever.”

“Caring? I’ve always been that way.”

“Hahaha, indeed. I can still clearly see Your Majesty indulging Lady Chloe’s childish whims.”

“…?”

Childish whims? As far as I remember, Chloe of the past never acted spoiled with me.

She always pretended to be mature, keeping her distance from me and trying her hardest to break away from her position as a younger sister.

Well… never mind. If that’s how the chef saw it, then that’s how he saw it. There’s no need to point it out.

……….

After asking the chef to compile information on herbs and spices, I went to the university to receive and review Ellen’s completed plan.

It’s perfect. Absolutely perfect.

“Wow, despite my sudden request, you’ve created such an amazing educational system for students within the barracks?”

“…Yes, thank you.”

Ellen took my unreasonable request and twisted it in a way that wasn’t detrimental but rather beneficial to the students.

As expected of the person who stood out the most when teaching medical professors.

“Was there any resistance from the students?”

“Of course there was, but such students don’t deserve to see patients, so I assigned demerits that could cause them to fail even if they scored perfectly on everything else.”

“Whoa…”

Ellen is unexpectedly cruel.

But it’s an understandable action.

Refusing to treat patients because they’re dirty? That’s absolutely forbidden behavior for a doctor, a taboo!

Come to think of it, didn’t I hear that among doctors practicing without university training, many still refuse patients? Hmm… once this matter is settled, I should completely ban unauthorized medical practices.

“Well, that’s within Ellen’s authority. Thank you for fulfilling my request.”

“It’s nothing.”

…Now that I think about it, Ellen’s condition seems a bit strange.

In the past, she would have been more… what should I say? Lively in her speech? Anyway, that’s how she was, but now there’s no emotion in Ellen’s words. Yes, she speaks in a businesslike manner.

“What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“…No.”

Contrary to the words coming out of her mouth, her face wears an expression that seems to desperately want to say something.

She doesn’t want to talk about it.

Well, maybe something unpleasant or embarrassing happened.

Could she be dissatisfied with me… dissatisfied?

‘Is that it?’

Reasons for Ellen to be dissatisfied with me… thinking about it, there are plenty.

Although I compensated her, I suddenly appeared and added work, making things troublesome, and created a crisis that could have completely destroyed the educational curriculum.

Simply saying thank you is far from sufficient for the situation we’ve reached.

Should I add more money as compensation for causing trouble and creating a crisis?

But Ellen doesn’t spend money much.

I’ve heard that she saves more than 90% of her salary as a professor, so giving money as compensation might not resonate much with Ellen.

And I should avoid the mindset of trying to solve everything with money.

Ah, I don’t know. I’ll just ask her directly.

“Ellen, is there anything you want?”

“…Pardon?”

“Since you fulfilled my unreasonable request, shouldn’t I fulfill one of yours to maintain balance?”

When choosing a gift, the best approach is to ask the recipient directly.

Of course, doing so removes the mystery and anticipation felt when receiving a gift, which has significant drawbacks, but it’s better than giving money as a gift, right?

Certainly, many people enjoy receiving money as a gift, but from what I’ve observed, Ellen isn’t that type of person.

“Something… I want…”

“Yes, something you want.”

She’s deep in thought.

Her pupils are clearly facing forward, but she’s not actually looking ahead. Her eyes are completely unfocused.

This must be because her entire brain, including the visual cortex, is being used to think about something.

“…Alright, Your Majesty.”

“Seems like you’ve decided.”

After about a minute, Ellen’s eyes regained their focus as if she had made up her mind, and she nodded before addressing me.

“I’ve heard Your Majesty is quite the womanizer.”

“…What?”

“Despite having a wife, you mix bodies with various women, don’t you?”

Now what is she talking about?

Ellen is clearly under a big misunderstanding, but objectively looking at what I’ve done, it’s exactly as she says, making it difficult for me to correct her.

“No, that’s a misunderstanding. If you listen carefully—oof…”

“So one more person shouldn’t be a big problem, right…?”

Ellen ignores my explanation and burrows into my arms.

With her head bowed low, burying her face against my body, I can’t properly see what expression she’s making.

Her dark hair with reddish undertones turns red in the sunlight, and all I can hear is her calm yet cold voice.