NOVEL NEXT Chapter 94: Uh-oh, jealous Rian alert!
In the glass room on top of the Angio castle, King Augustus sneered after listening to the reports from his agents.
The dark-clothed agents handed over the written reports and quietly exited.
King Augustus glanced over the reports and then idly formed a ball of crackling lightning. He crushed it a moment later, sending the electricity across his skin.
Marquis Terra had decided to stay in his fief defensively instead of accompanying the Sedaverian convoy. Wasn’t he afraid of offending him? How could sending his two eldest children compare? Did he think fifty thousand gold coins and fifty tonnes of wheat were enough? Especially since he was making more trade arrangements with those Sedaverians?
Marquis Terra was lucky, he was still useful for now.
The Sedaverian healers kept meeting with Angio healers. Did the Sedaverians want to steal information or talent? King Augustus instructed his agents to keep a closer eye on that.
Meanwhile, the Sedaverians’ overt interest in farming confirmed King Augustus’ belief that Sedavarians were lesser and rustic.
In about a week, the Sedaverian convoy would arrive at the Capital. King Augustus couldn’t wait to show the might of the kingdom of Angio and let these Sedaverians know just how small they were compared to the rest of the world.
The Sedaverian convoy stopped at the Natrium fief next. The head of the fief was the young Baron Vitus Natrium, only 25 years of age. He was a metal mage, with a sub-specialty in fire magic. He and his two younger siblings awaited the convoy outside their castle.
“Julia, Hadrian, good to see you again!” Baron Natrium said warmly. “And you must be Crown Prince Rian of Sedaveria, I have heard much about you and Earl Rosewood. Welcome to Angio and to the Natrium fief.” His eyes brightened at seeing the floating carriages. “If I may, may I ask about your fascinating carriages?”
Rian smiled. “Of course, you may ask. These carriages were developed by myself and Earl Rosewood.”
“You have developed a lot of other technologies too. If you have time, I would love to talk to you about them,” Baron Natrium said.
Rian felt quite comfortable with all the praise. “We have time to talk,” he said graciously. “We can talk right now if you prefer.”
“Many thanks!”
Scratch that, Rian wasn’t happy with Baron Natrium at all.
After talking about the carriages, and after Baron Natrium agreed to buy a carriage from Marquis Terra (the defacto official supplier in Angio), Baron Natrium took Rian and Ren Xiyang to a drawing room to sit down and converse before dinner.
They started talking about the other products under the Azure & Rosewood collaboration. They ended up on the topic of improving kitchens and stoves and then…
Rian looked between Ren Xiyang and the handsome Baron Vitus Natrium. Baron Natrium’s coppery hair and eyes shone as he talked. Ren Xiyang’s eyes were also bright and interested, and he spoke almost as much as he would to Florence.
The two of them were talking about using fire magic as an advanced precision cooking technique.
And cooking was one of the few topics Rian couldn’t say anything about. Yes, he watched Ren Xiyang cook many times, but he never thought to ask about the names of all the different techniques and methods! Milliard reaction? Sous vide? What were these?
Baron Natrium was charismatic, his conversation with Ren Xiyang flowed back and forth smoothly and Rian couldn’t interrupt.
“How about this, tomorrow, I’ll personally cook breakfast for you, and you can personally cook lunch and we can compare!”
“Or we could have a cooking battle,” Ren Xiyang said. “Each of us can prepare a three course meal for a set number of people. We could have helpers too.”
Baron Natrium’s eyes brightened. “A duel, but for food?”
“That’s right.”
“You are a man of great ideas, Earl Rosewood!” Baron Natrium said. “How about this—we each have five servants, making dishes to serve ten people. No, make that eleven—ten judges, and for each other.”
“Two hours or three hours of cooking time?”
“To measure our skills, make it two hours,” Baron Natrium said.
“Very well.”
Rian looked at Ren Xiyang, feeling betrayed. Ren Xiyang had just agreed to a (cooking) duel right in front of him!
“Tell me anything you want me to prepare and I’ll make sure you have it. I want a fair comparison of skill and output product.”
“We have pots, pans and utensils which our staff use to cook while we’re on the road. We also have some Sedaverian ingredients, so I won’t need to make any ad-hoc substitutions. Fresh water and a spacious place to cook are the primary requirements. I’ll provide a list later.”
“This will be sorted!” Baron Natrium stood up with great momentum and waved over one of the silent servants in the room. “Prepare for tomorrow’s event. After breakfast, re-arrange the main hall suitably.”
The servant bowed. “Yes, my Lord.”
Baron Natrium held out his hand in invitation. “Thank you, Earl Rosewood, Prince Rian, for taking your time to converse. Dinner will be served in the main hall if you’d like to follow me.”
Rian felt internal relief when Ren Xiyang stood up without taking Baron Natrium’s hand. Rian stood up and shook Baron Natrium’s hand.
“It was good talking with you. We’ve talked a lot about what we’ve made, but I understand you’re in the development business too,” Rian said. “So you must give us an opportunity to hear about your work.”
“It’ll be my pleasure.”
Baron Natrium let go of the handshake first and led them out.
Rian and Ren Xiyang followed a step behind him. Rian gave Ren Xiyang a pointed look.
Ren Xiyang raised an eyebrow in response.
Rian pressed his lips together.
Ren Xiyang gave him a token shoulder-to-shoulder nudge.
Rian was mildly appeased, for now.
After dinner, Rian didn’t get to have time alone with Ren Xiyang. Both Count Aegean and Duke Mauveine cornered him for lessons in politics and foreign affairs. Perhaps they were suddenly afraid he would commit some diplomatic crime.
Ren Xiyang went to talk to Kel about tomorrow’s cook-off. The point was to compare the use of magic in cooking, especially via magical heat control. This meant making dishes that required fine heat control. So he wrote up a menu and listed out the required ingredients and utensils. He also wrote out the names of the staff to help him and gave the details to Kel.
“A cooking duel…” Kel said faintly. She tried to imagine nobles like Count Aegean engaging in a cooking duel, but then she realised that most nobles couldn’t cook and Earl Rosewood—and Baron Natrium—were outliers. “I’ll have everything ready tomorrow morning.”
“Thanks, Kel.”
Chatting with Kel didn’t take long. Without Rian around, Ren Xiyang had some rare free time to himself.
He decided to make the most of it and go to bed early.
He wrote a magical note on the communication device and sent it to Rian. He then told the guards outside his room to not let anyone disturb him, and what to say if Prince Rian came. He then locked his door and went to sleep.
After Rian finished his lesson, he rushed to Ren Xiyang’s room, but the guards at the door said that Earl Rosewood didn’t want anyone disturbing him! But Rian wasn’t just anyone—
“Your Highness, Earl Rosewood instructed us to tell you to check your messages.”
Rian sucked in a breath. A message! He headed back to his rooms and took out his private hand-sized communication mirror. There was a message from almost two hours ago.
It said: yes, cooking duels were a common occurrence in my old world. Good night.
Rian: “…” How did Ren Xiyang know he wanted to ask that?
The next morning.
Ren Xiyang yawned as he exited his bedroom, fully dressed. Rian was seated on the sofa.
“You might have guessed one of the things I wanted to ask you, but not everything,” Rian said as he got to his feet.
Ren Xiyang blinked. “And?”
“And what?”
“What else did you want to ask? You can’t help me during the cooking battle today because you don’t know how to cook.”
The words were like an arrow to Rian’s chest. He gritted his teeth. “When we return to Sedaveria, you can teach me!”
“But why? Do you want to have cooking duels with me instead of magical duels?”
Rian felt choked. Did he need to ask? He would rather have magical duels!
The corners of Ren Xiyang’s lips went up. “You get to watch and eat my food afterwards,” he said, reaching out to pat Rian on the back.
Rian pouted. “I know.”
And I know you just like complaining, Ren Xiyang thought to himself. His hand on Rian’s back became firm as he pushed Rian towards the door.
After breakfast, Ren Xiyang headed out with Kel to finalise preparations.
Two and half hours before lunch, Ren Xiyang headed into the main hall, with Kel and others carrying ingredients and utensils.
The hall was divided into three sections: one area for Baron Natrium to cook, one area for Earl Rosewood, and one area for the audience. There were multiple tables set up on either side as kitchen bench tops. Barrels of fresh water and various plates and cutlery were also provided.
Rian had taken a seat right at the front, nearest to where Ren Xiyang would be cooking. Florence was next to him. Duke Mauveine and Count Aegean sat nearby (much to Count Aegean’s reluctance). Other audience members included members of the Sedaverian convoy, Julia Terra, Hadrian Terra, and Baron Natrium’s two siblings.
Baron Natrium, overseeing his servants, turned and nodded. “Earl Rosewood, please tell me if anything is missing.”
“Thank you, Baron Natrium,” Ren Xiyang replied.
Ren Xiyang and his helpers put down their items and arranged anything they needed to arrange. Then most of Ren Xiyang’s helpers, including Kel, headed into the seating area, leaving behind the five assistant cooks.
Baron Natrium said, “We’re gathered together to showcase the use of magical control in cooking. Ten impartial judges will rank our use of magic and the subsequent product. For those not judging, do not fear, our main kitchen will be preparing the same dishes for everyone to enjoy for lunch. Earl Rosewood, are you ready?”
Ren Xiyang nodded. “Yes.”
“Then our two hours start now!”
The servants and staff on both sides immediately started preparing the ingredients.
Rian watched both sides carefully. This wasn’t the time to gaze admiringly at Ren Xiyang. This was an opportunity to grasp Baron Natrium’s magical abilities.
But he definitely wasn’t biased in thinking that Ren Xiyang’s magical control was better.
On Baron Natrium’s side, the servants started working on the starter first. The servants prepared three chickens, removing their skin and fat. While Baron Natrium speed-cooked the chickens, the servants prepared various vegetables and herbs. The cooked chickens and ingredients went into three different stock pots, which were filled with cold water. Baron Natrium’s hands extended across the three pots, bringing the water to a gentle rolling boil. He would need to keep this going for 1.5 hours.
On Ren Xiyang’s side, Ren Xiyang joined in with the prep work. His helpers stayed towards one end of the ‘cooking area’ making seasonings, puff pastry, dough and batters. On the other end, he chopped up all the ingredients, starting first with mushrooms. Utensils (including knives) and ingredients floated in the air under his control. He chopped by hand, his knife work fast and dazzling. Once the mushrooms and other ingredients were prepared, they went into a large frying pan to cook while he continued working on another component of the dishes.
Delicious scents started to fill the hall.
Baron Natrium showed his ability to heat multiple pots, while Ren Xiyang showed more than just the use of fire magic in cooking. He also used levitation magic to move ingredients and utensils around.
Cough, it looked a little dangerous on Ren Xiyang’s side, but that was why Ren Xiyang was on one end and his helpers were on the other end of the tables.
The Natrium servants moved on to preparing the main course. They prepared a stuffing made of apricots and mint and layered it over multiples pieces of cut lamb. They rolled the lamb up and tied them off with string.
In addition to heating the stock pots, Baron Natrium now had to cook the lamb. Using variable heat, he made sure the outside browned and well-roasted while the inside was perfectly cooked and not overdone.
On the other side of the hall, Ren Xiyang’s mushroom duxelles was done. Using a constant gentle heat, he sped up the dough’s rise. At the same time, he used a strong heat to cook the pork belly until its skin was super crispy yet the flesh still moist and tender.
Ren Xiyang’s helpers had made crepe batter. Ren Xiyang cooked them directly in the air, making the batter form floating rectangles. This way, he didn’t need to worry about the crepes sticking to the pan and he could form them into the ideal shape.
He browned a dozen cuts of beef fillet and then wrapped the mushroom duxelles, crepes and puff pastry around the beef. Quick knife work made a lattice pattern. There was no need to chill the pastry or beef: Ren Xiyang controlled the heat to penetrate exactly where he wanted on all twelve different beef wellingtons. Using water magic control, he extracted any excess juices so that the pastry wouldn’t get soggy.
With the starter and main under progress, the Natrium side moved on to dessert. The servants sifted the flour and formed the dough with beaten soft cheese and beaten egg. Baron Natrium separated the dough into eleven even pieces using magic. He shaped the buns by hand and placed them on a metal tray with a fresh bay leaf under each and halved figs on top. Then he heated the air around the buns.
The cheese-cake buns would take 35 minutes.Now, Baron Natrium had to maintain different temperatures—with different humidities—across all three different dishes.
Ren Xiyang formed the risen dough into bao and poured the cake batter into a shallow tray. He cooked both at the same time.
A dutiful servant announced, “Thirty minutes left!”
Thirty minutes sounded like a lot, but it wasn’t. Both sides still hadn’t finished a single dish yet, let alone plating!
Baron Vitus Natrium: *young, handsome, smart, smiley*
Rian: *not happy!*
Ren Xiyang: What are you moping about? You’re richer than him.
Rian: …!
Did anyone expect this kind of duel? I didn’t!
But it’s been a while since I talked about food in this novel, so here we are!