Ch.336Chapter 336 – The Dawn of the Great Pork Belly Era

As the sun set and the veil of darkness cast by the night goddess completely covered the sky, Karen and I began preparing for bed to get ready for the next day.

Well, by “preparing,” I simply meant changing into pajamas.

When we lay down on the bed—spacious enough to fit three people—Karen naturally nestled into my arms.

“Did anything special happen today?”

“Lately, there’s been an increase in students coming in with broken equipment. I’m not sure if their skills have improved or if they’re just being careless with the gear.”

Of course, these students were limited to those who entered the academy around the same time as me.

I’m now in my fourth year, and the students coming in with broken equipment are also fourth-years.

Among them were Elena and Mina, who apparently were receiving special training from Sister Regina.

People questioned why only those two received special treatment, but when rumors spread that Elena and Mina would become my wives, the complaints vanished completely.

It seemed that Sister Regina’s strict handling of the two was viewed as a sort of “hierarchy establishment” among the official wives.

“Both of them just want to be helpful to you, so let it slide.”

“I wasn’t planning to say anything anyway, since it only takes three taps with a hammer to fix everything. What concerns me more is whether this year’s academy graduates are setting the bar too high.”

My worry was that because of this year’s exceptional graduates, the standard for being recognized as an academy graduate might become too demanding.

Even though I’m on a special track that allows graduation without major incidents, I’m still an academy student.

And once I graduate, I’ll naturally be treated as an academy alumnus. But what if the skills of academy students who graduate after me fall short of the current class?

I worry that people’s expectations might become too high, causing future academy graduates to overwork themselves trying to meet these elevated standards.

“I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

“You don’t?”

“Even if this year’s graduates are exceptional, next year’s graduates won’t be worse than those from other educational institutions. This year’s class is being evaluated as particularly outstanding, but that doesn’t mean the next class will be considered inadequate.”

Hearing Karen’s explanation, I realized my concerns were probably just needless worry.

“Throughout history, there have always been periods when extraordinary graduates surpassed the average ones. In the Empire, such eras were called golden ages. Perhaps this year’s graduates will usher in the golden age of this era.”

“A golden age…”

The Gelebrio Empire’s influence has already grown stronger than ever due to its significant contributions in the battles against the Demon Cult and the Demon God.

If graduates with record-breaking achievements from Glesius Academy spread throughout society…

This could truly mark the beginning of Gelebrio Empire’s golden age and prime.

If the Empire leads a stable era with its strong power, I would be extremely satisfied.

A comfortable and peaceful life requires the peace that comes from stable governance.

In that sense, the longer the Gelebrio Empire’s era of peace lasts, the better it is for me.

Being in the position of Grand Duke allows me to avoid most troublesome matters with the purpose of “not lending power to either side.”

“Oh, right. Father asked if you could come to the Imperial Palace soon.”

“…What?”

Wait, why so suddenly?

“When I mentioned the dishes you made, he said he wanted to try them.”

Well, if it were someone else, I might try to decline somehow, but an invitation from His Imperial Majesty cannot be refused.

Moreover, he’s not just anyone—he’s my father-in-law.

When my father-in-law summons me, how could I, as his son-in-law, possibly refuse?

“When did he ask me to come?”

“He didn’t specify a time. I just told him we’d visit the Imperial Palace together.”

Phew, that’s a relief. At least I don’t have to leave the academy immediately.

Since we can travel to the capital through the teleport station, time isn’t really an issue.

It’s just that going back and forth to the Imperial Palace is a bit cumbersome.

And honestly, by this world’s standards, I visit my in-laws quite frequently.

Most people marry someone who lives nearby, so even if their in-laws are close, they don’t visit often.

But what about me? Despite the great distance between Glesius Academy and Aurelios, I frequently visit the Imperial Palace.

Even nobles don’t visit their in-laws this often, and it’s not considered proper etiquette for in-laws to frequently summon their married children.

Except for one situation.

The relationship between emperor and subject overrides all other considerations.

My official status is Grand Duke Aurelion of the Gelebrio Empire.

So, the Emperor frequently summoning me could be seen by other nobles as “the Emperor showing favoritism to the Grand Duke.”

But perhaps they might show a bit of sympathy if they knew I wasn’t being summoned as a Grand Duke but was visiting my in-laws as a son-in-law?

“Someone might think His Imperial Majesty summons me to the palace so often because he likes me too much.”

“Then how do you see yourself as the Grand Duke of Aurelion?”

“Perhaps as the rascal who snatched away a daughter so precious she wouldn’t hurt even if placed in her father’s eye?”

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“Hahaha! Do you really think that?”

My father-in-law burst into laughter as soon as he heard Karen’s question.

“Huh?”

“If you have time for such nonsense, come and grill some pork belly. Strangely, whenever I grill it, it keeps turning out like boiled meat.”

He then handed me the tongs, telling me to try grilling the meat.

Of course, I knew exactly why His Imperial Majesty’s grilled meat kept turning out like it was boiled.

‘It’s because the moisture doesn’t evaporate.’

Sprinkling salt on pork belly before grilling serves to remove some of the internal moisture through osmosis while also seasoning the meat to enhance its flavor.

This allows the moisture to evaporate and the fat to render when grilling, creating a frying effect that enhances the Maillard reaction.

So if you sprinkle salt on pork belly, pat it dry with a kitchen towel, and then grill it, you get crispy grilled meat instead of something that tastes boiled!

“I never imagined I’d live to see the day when I’d be eating food prepared by my son-in-law.”

“Indeed. I never imagined I’d be served a meal by my son-in-law either.”

I was currently preparing food for His Imperial Majesty and the two Empresses in the garden behind the Imperial Palace.

I heard that the Crown Prince and the others weren’t invited to this meal. Something about not having enough to share with them.

“It’s remarkable. Creating such an appetizing salad with ingredients from the Eastern Continent.”

What was surprising was how much His Imperial Majesty enjoyed the geotjeori (fresh kimchi salad).

Watching him pick up a piece of crispy grilled pork belly and eat it with the geotjeori, I realized that despite his appearance, his behavior was exactly like that of a middle-aged Korean man.

“Father-in-law, have you had this kind of food before?”

“When I was young, I had a wanderlust phase and traveled the world. I saw and experienced many things then, including pork and ingredients from the Eastern Continent.”

No wonder he was enjoying it so much. The Empresses were also eating well—perhaps they too had tried such food before?

“Mothers-in-law, how do you find the food to your taste?”

“Before marrying His Imperial Majesty, we also traveled the world. There were adventurers even back then.”

“That’s right. And that’s when we met His Imperial Majesty.”

“That’s fascinating.”

I never imagined such a story existed between His Imperial Majesty and the Empresses.

Perhaps that’s why they seemed to get along so well?

“Well, you’re not the only one with stories. Now, grill more pork belly. The way you grill it tastes the best.”

“Yes, of course. I’ll grill plenty for you.”

For reference, His Imperial Majesty alone consumed 4kg of pork belly that day. Including what the two Empresses ate, it totaled about 7kg.

However, His Imperial Majesty must have been quite satisfied, as he announced the existence of pork belly at the state council meeting.

“My son-in-law served me dishes called ‘samgyeopsal’ and ‘geotjeori.’ They were truly delicious.”

[Shocking! His Imperial Majesty’s favorite foods revealed to be ‘samgyeopsal’ and ‘geotjeori’!]

[Samgyeopsal and geotjeori: What exactly are these dishes?]

[According to rumors, Grand Duke Aurelion personally prepared these dishes for His Imperial Majesty…]

“Are all these invitation cards?”

And thus began the great era of “samgyeopsal.”

While geotjeori might be an acquired taste, samgyeopsal (pork belly) was widely accepted since it was pork and didn’t polarize opinions much.

As a result, it was only natural that pork belly became scarce throughout the Gelebrio Empire for quite some time.