The day of the Four Great Dukes banquet has finally arrived. This is the test of my true value. Ive just finished the last round of checks of the preparation in the kitchen hall. Tina and the others are with me too. The only tasks remaining are those which only she can do. Its past the afternoon now, the schedule is tight, so we must start the cooking process. Nearly every task has been progressing well. Currently, my only worry is The only ingredient that has to be procured today and hasnt arrived yet.

Head chef Kurt! The ingredient is here!

A subordinate who came into the kitchen hall called me. Those are the exact words that Ive been hoping for.

Finally!

My requested ingredient has finally arrived. Its the venison. I requested it from the hunters whom I met in the town back then. A fresh venison that has just been caught early in the morning today.

Carry it to the kitchen hall, now. I need to prepare it.

Yes!

A splendid deer enters the room. Even the bloodletting step is perfectly executed. Moreover, the condition is great. It seems to be fatally wounded in one shot, because theres no damaging wounds. The best deer.

Head chef Kurt. Freshly caught game isnt that tasty, are you sure you want to use this?

Fresh game isnt that tasty, indeed.

When the meat comes from a freshly hunted game, theres no

umami

component in it. It will only get intensified after being aged.

Then why deliberately use a deer that hunted just for this event?

Because I wont use the meat. What Im going to use is this. The organ meat is more delicious the fresher it is.

With a dismantling knife, I cut the deers belly open, then taking out the liver. Its a beautiful gleaming deep red color. A deer liver.

No way, are you planning to serve an intestine to the Four Great Dukes?

What are you talking about? Liver is the most delicious innards. A wild beast will devour the innards first and foremost from the prey. And the fresher it is, the more delectable it is. A deer livers deliciousness is ranked on the very top among all livers. Its the most delicious part in the world. Ill slice it raw to a

sas.h.i.+mi

for you.

My subordinates with their mouths agape glance at me, who already goes back to deal with the liver. Theres a trick to deer livers treatment. Deers have no gall bladder, so the bile is stored inside the liver. This bile fluid is yellowish green and tastes bitter; its also dangerous and bad for our body. It has to be removed first.

I slice the liver perfectly into two. In the center of the liver, theres a hollow part, much like the core of an apple. I threw away the bile stored in there, and then wash it with running water.

I barely touch the parts above the bile, only sifting through the top part of the liver as the bottom part where the bile continuously flowing to is separated into another plate.

Even if I wash it diligently, the bottom part where the bile is flowing to wont taste that food. Its tasty enough, but I will only serve the most delicious part for the Four Great Dukes.

Tina, freeze this liver for me.

Understood, Kurt-sama.

Tinas Fire magic arte Or in fact, the arte of controlling heat, is freezing the liver in great speed. This step is necessary to kill the germs and parasites. Deers have exceedingly warm body temperature, so the liver can be casually eaten raw, but I cant be too careful.

After properly frozen, its slowly thawed by Tinas power. This step prevents food poisoning.

Now, then, another step to do.

No matter how much I tell them that liver sas.h.i.+mi is delicious, I cant serve it just after slicing like this. I put a wire mesh on top of charcoal fire that Ive prepared before, then I put on those liver slices to grill the surface.

Doing this will stimulate the umami. After the rolled liver has turned into grilled color, I cool it down by dunking it into iced water. And then, I slice it thinly before putting the slices on a plate. The outer skin is in the color of appetizing dark brown, while the center is the color of vibrant ruby. The secret ingredient in this dish is the clear top liquid of miso, made from fermented soybean. It brings out a flavor similar to

shoyu

soy sauce. Its not something spread in this world.

Now its done. The best sas.h.i.+mi in the world. Try some.

I pa.s.s the cuts that cant be served to the guests to my subordinates. He gulps. The dark brown and ruby and the emerald decoration. That kind of vivid appearance should stimulate his appet.i.te, right? And so he put some in his mouth.

This is amazing. Its sweet and firm, its not smelly at all, this is the first time I tasted something like this. So venison can be this delicious?

If its not a freshly caught deer, the taste wont be this flavorful. Thats how important a fresh game is.

The livers sweet flavors true ident.i.ty is glycogen, and deer liver stores more than four times as much glycogen as cow liver. Theres no other liver that hides this kind of overwhelmingly delicious flavor besides the deer kind.

Deer liver is delicious, it has a very low content of fat, and not a drop of oil is used in cooking the dish, so its very easy on the stomach.

I dont wish to use b.u.t.ter or oil in my ideas of the full course. A full course with an harmony of umami. Ill serve the best while still holding that principle.

The hors doeuvres duty is to introduce what kind of full course dishes that will be served from now on, as well as building antic.i.p.ation towards it. After eating deer liver pate, they definitely will be astounded and their antic.i.p.ation will go straight through the roof.

Head chef Kurt, I understand that youre going to cook something amazing, but isnt the amount of the liver too small? Only with this.

Deer liver pate is a special dish that will only be served to the Four Great Dukes. We still havent prepared enough to manage freshly caught deers liver after all.

The other n.o.bles will have to settle with Tuna Steak Tartare.

In that case, itll be enough for sure!

Maybe youre truly lucky. You can boast that youve eaten a dish that no one but the Four Great Dukes has eaten.

Yes, its a great honor! I wont forget this grat.i.tude for life!

He looks like he greatly appreciates that dish, because hes been staring at me with deeply yearning eyes.

Now then, its the end of the allocated time for making the hors doeuvres. Now lets start cooking the rest of the dishes too. Theres not much time left.

Yes!

With that, the kitchen hall exudes a warzone-like bustles. I also start my cooking, because the dishes presented to the Four Great Dukes will all be made by myself.

Finally, the banquet has begun. In Renalier ducal estate, the hall designated for parties has been prepared for a long time. Inside the hall, only the best decorations were used for this party.

Everything in that room is of the highest grade: every painting, every chandelier, every plate. Theres no way Arnold house can buy even a single one of them.

The Four Great Dukes are sitting on the highest elevated spot in the halls, around the desk that exclusively prepared for them, while the other n.o.bles are gathered around a gigantic dining table.

Simply from the special seats, the Four Great Dukes look like heavenly existences above the clouds for the rest of the people surrounding the gigantic table: the margraves, marquess, viscounts, and me.

A banquest that could gather this much honor doesnt exist anywhere else, right? Im blending with the servants who are carrying over to serve the dishes instead of being idle. Its d.u.c.h.ess Renaliers order. I must appear as a waiter and explain the dishes as necessary.

When I go to the elevated floor designated for the Four Great Dukes, all eyes are focused on me. I can feel special, bizarre power from one of Four Great Dukes, the one who was involved in that incident yesterday, Duke Hrtling.

Those eyes are testing me. After all of them received the apritif and the hors doeuvres, d.u.c.h.ess Renalier stands up. Theres a microphone in her hand.

Today, I express my greatest grat.i.tude to all of you who has gathered in my place for this banquet.

Thats really straightforward. I can say that we are peers of the same age, but she has the style of an empress.

The full course of this occasion is something that I, and the ducal house of Renalier, the governor of the Eastern province of the empire, have prepared with all of our might. I promise you that this is truly the newest invention, and the most delicious meal that youre going to experience.

People in the vicinity are making noises. They naturally would, in a sense. Its because the host of the Four Great Dukes banquet is on a rotation. If someone says that its the newest and best in that kind of occasion, its equal to saying that she will surpa.s.s the other members of the Four Great Dukes.

Every time, in order to demonstrate their might, the Four Great Dukes will prepare the best full course. No one will ever say those words thoughtlessly.

I wryly smile. I didnt think that the hurdles will be staked up high in the open. However, I have no intention to falter here. Ive definitely made the dishes that will live up to those words.

Well, then, everyone. Lets have a toast. In the honor of the greater growth of our empire.

In this place, every single person raises their gla.s.s.

To the empire!

With that, the banquet officially began.

The n.o.bles drink their apritif to quench their throats, and then they reach out to taste my hors doeuvres.