kscans

Chapter 261 - Episode 5: Part Two, In Search of the Perfect Black

"…" "…"

Plural was at his wit’s end, faced with two juniors wearing sullen expressions. He knew why. The previous evening, Dalgan and his group had run into Sherry on their way out.

"You knew, didn’t you, Plural-senpai."

"The story is he won her over with ice cream…"

Rilka’s and Sherry’s gazes pierced Plural.

"N, no, well… I only saw her for the first time the other day."

As much as women love sweets, they could not compete with talk of love. He understood that, but he was still on edge, worried the precious ice cream would melt.

"She’s nineteen."

"That’s early to get married, isn’t it…"

Rilka and Sherry said.

"No, nineteen isn’t really… Never mind."

Among the sort of people who attended the Royal Academy, it was not uncommon for even commoners to marry at nineteen after graduation. But for others, it could be as early as fifteen or sixteen. Of course, he could not say such a thing out loud.

"…It’s because of that disaster. For your generation, I’m sure many people had no time for such things."

He found himself offering this defense, wondering why it had to be him.

"Speaking of winning someone over with sweets, Vinder had an interesting idea."

Plural tried to redirect the women’s interest back to chocolate, mentioning his junior’s idea of creating a day where women give chocolate to men. It had come up while they were discussing how to sell chocolate.

"Is that like saying, ‘I have the financial means to give you chocolate, so what do you think?’"

"…Unbelievable. That would be counterproductive, wouldn’t it."

The two shot the idea down in an instant. Their expressions were frightening.

"I know, right. I said the same thing."

Since it was Vinder’s idea, he had decided to ask the women just in case, but Plural himself had judged the marketing tactic a failure. That junior of his sometimes came up with these offbeat ideas. Well, he was offbeat in other situations too.

"…Well. Sheila-chan. She seemed nice."

"…Yeah. I hope we can get along with her…"

The two returned to the topic of Dalgan’s fiancée. The ice cream was on the verge of collapsing, even though he had been chilling the plates in the REIZOUKO.

""Thank you for the treat.""

The two of them put down their spoons at almost the same time. Their earlier bad mood had vanished.

"So, what do you think."

Relieved he had made it just in time, Plural asked for their opinions.

"It has to be this one. As expected of you."

"…I was absolutely sure it would be this one, too."

The two gave it high praise.

"…I can’t imagine it being anything but this one either."

He said with a sigh. It was a testament to the fact that he himself was not yet satisfied.

"I do think it’s too sweet for a man’s palate, but…"

"This level of sweetness is the optimal solution for ice cream. I’ve made countless prototypes. It would have been impossible without a REIZOUKO."

"So that’s why you’ve been running out of chocolate so quickly lately. How much did you use."

"Just as you suspect. Well, it doesn’t matter how much I use, there’s no such thing as too much. That’s the whole point, so it’s fine."

Plural did not mention that his subordinates had actually complained. The head of accounting was particularly fussy.

"You’d think anyone would be satisfied after eating this," Rilka said, exasperated.

But Plural shook his head.

"A cooking utensil that can maintain a constant low temperature is something that might as well have been made for us. That’s precisely why something ordinary won’t do."

At Plural’s words, the two of them gave a wry smile, as if to say this was anything but ordinary.

"Oh, right, this is a little something for you. A return gift for the samples."

Rilka produced a wooden box. When Plural opened it, he saw a smooth surface as white as cream. A faint, sour aroma pricked his nose.

"This is cheese."

"Yes. It’s enriched with cream instead of being made with regular milk. Unlike the normal kind, it spoils quickly, so it’s only made where it’s produced, and only in the winter. I thought it might be easy to use in sweets. It’s also low in salt."

"I see, so this is another thing made possible by the REIZOUKO. Hmm, I might be able to combine this with chocolate to create a new flavor."

Plural hummed as he tasted the soft cheese he had scooped from the surface. It was true. Its texture and flavor were perfect for making confections. Plus, it had a richness that could stand up to chocolate.

As for the color, a two-layered cake of black and white might be beautiful…

"Then, here’s something from me. I tried a different way of grinding the tea. I know how unusually particular you are about texture, Plural-senpai."

Sherry took out a small jar. When she opened the lid, he saw a green powder inside.

"I appreciate it. That’s right, please take some chocolate home with you. Your brother is visiting, isn’t he. Would he prefer something less sweet."

Plural said.

"…Chocolate is wasted on a guy like him. He said something like, ‘I won’t be getting married anytime soon.’"

The mood, which had just relaxed, tensed up again. It seemed he had stepped on a landmine at the very last second.

◇◇

"Combining two rich ingredients like this should be reckless, yet this flavor… Truly impressive, Plural-san."

Natalie said from the kitchen, having just eaten a two-layered black and white cake. Plural found it amusing that her praise was mixed with a hint of frustration.

He had served the recipe he had just tried today to her when she came to deliver sugar. It was a two-layered creation of cheese mousse and chocolate mousse. To ensure the cheese was not overpowered by the chocolate, he used it to its absolute limit. The base was made of crushed, salty baked sweets for a textural accent.

"Including the base, the white layer is a traditional recipe, but the combination with chocolate is interesting, don’t you think."

"It is. But the smoothness of this cheese is…"

"I tweaked it a little to match the new cheese I got from Tritt."

Plural said casually. Natalie’s eyes lit up as she was about to take a second bite.

"I see… This incongruity between the top and bottom layers means the recipe isn’t finalized yet, does it."

Natalie analyzed as she slowly savored her second bite, as if scrutinizing it.

"You noticed. That’s right. It’s not even at the prototype stage yet, to be honest."

Plural grinned at her frank opinion. This was exactly why he felt compelled to show her something he would never normally let anyone else see.