TSBSFVW 35

Chapter 35

Seven Breads. Things Escalate Quickly (4)

The Next Day

Malina officially signed a labor contract with me.

Until now, she had been working from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., but starting tomorrow, she would be coming in early in the morning.

Ellie realized how unnecessary her previous worries about a former mercenary coming in at dawn had been and readily accepted Malina’s enthusiastic proposal.

“The menu only has three items, so it shouldn’t be hard to memorize, right? Do you want me to write it down if it’s difficult?”

“That’s too risky. You never know when it might leak, so I’ll memorize it carefully. I’ll double-check if I get confused.”

Even though the recipes weren’t military secrets… Ellie, who had resigned herself to whatever might happen if they leaked, found Malina’s seriousness a little cute.

Hearing her story, Ellie learned that the reason Malina decided to change her career path was because Ellie had shown her how to manage the levain. Malina became convinced that Ellie trusted her, and therefore felt she could also trust Ellie and open a second chapter in her life.

“…To that extent?!”

It was a surprising decision in many ways, but it worked out well for Ellie.

Ellie wanted the breads made using levain to become widely known. She hoped that the three types—loaf, baguette, and campagne—would become breads anyone could make at home.

“Bread is this delicious… I want everyone to know.”

If anyone wanted to learn, Ellie was willing to teach for free. By that time, her bakery would be selling plenty of other things anyway.

“It’s not even my method.”

Ellie had adapted the recipes to fit the world, the ingredients, and the tools available, but she was the one who figured out the right recipes.

“By the way, you’re really beautiful, Ellie.”

Malina exclaimed in awe. Ellie raised her chin and flared her nostrils.

“Ahem. You can praise me even more!”

“You’re amazing! A genius! So… can I try just one?”

“No.”

What was best about Malina was that even if Ellie encouraged her out of vanity, Malina’s admiration was always sincere.

The dessert set Maurice had ordered was Ellie’s masterpiece, completed after a day of sweating and effort.

Thanks to the three “eat-it-all” creatures—no, the guests, or rather the hungry little birds—who had stayed up all night peeling chestnuts, the work had been easier, but Ellie still had to stay up almost the whole night.

“The candied chestnuts take a long time, so I’ll make them by myself later…”

Ellie cooled the candied chestnuts while devising the menu.

Half of it had to look beautiful, she reasoned. “Appearance is more important than life itself,” said with slightly cold eyes.

So, it had to look high-class, and the flavor needed to have a hidden twist rather than being simple, because that always worked.

“Good thing I found baking soda—sodium bicarbonate—in the cleaning section of the general store. The name was different, but it worked the same, and it was safe to eat… I’ll mix in some lemon juice for now.”

Later, she would ask Edmund to introduce her to a wizard who studied chemistry. “Please make baking powder. Even better, make yeast.”

Since she couldn’t figure out a way to hide surprises in flavor immediately, Ellie decided to go with a “volume attack.” She thought that if she prepared plenty, at least one item would catch the customer’s heart.

She prepared financiers with two flavors—salted caramel and plain—crispy on the outside, moist on the inside, lightly frozen to improve the texture. She planned to try various ingredients like nuts, coconut, chocolate, matcha, or yellow cheese as she got them.

She baked chestnut bread with candied chestnuts inside the dough and topped with sweet, nutty crumbles.

She also prepared mini muffins with assorted dried fruits and a blueberry fresh cream cake. She mashed the blueberries into a pretty purple cream and decorated it subtly.

Because they tended to get tired of just meat, many fruits were refreshing and easy to source.

“Until I practice more, I absolutely cannot open the shop.”

As a bread enthusiast, Ellie practiced desperately and only sold pieces that reached a high level of perfection. The dessert line was not an easy challenge.

“It feels a bit rushed, but on the other hand, without this opportunity, I would have procrastinated.”

Still, there was nothing practice couldn’t solve. For a single slice of dessert, she expected to fail about five times before getting the measurements right.

“I’ll use all the part-time wages I got from Ban for practice ingredients…”

Instead of overdecorating awkwardly, she prepared various toppings separately to provide an “entertainment” factor for the cakes.

Desserts were, after all, a pleasure for both eyes and tongue.

Using the chestnuts peeled by the three helpers, she made spreads and mixed them with fresh cream for small Mont Blanc cupcakes. She generously filled the dough with candied chestnuts.

In reality, the Mont Blanc was only a superficial imitation. She piped the cream finely and sprinkled edible gold dust for sparkle, but felt guilty calling it a true Mont Blanc.

The quantity seemed enough, but to be safe, Ellie also made plenty of butter and meringue cookies.

The bakery smelled sweet with sugar all night. She added a few colorings to the meringues for a bright, colorful display.

“You can have the meringue cookies.”

“Thank you! Eh?!”

Malina’s eyes widened.

“They disappeared! How is this possible? They were sweet, weren’t they?!”

“Malina…”

Ellie was touched.

“Malina’s reaction is the best. I love it…”

“Eh? No, Ellie! I said they disappeared! I definitely ate them, but apparently didn’t! Can I have one more?”

“No.”

That’s one thing, and this is another.

Because she barely slept, Ellie’s vision was blurry.

Edmund looked at her with an unimpressed expression.

“Want me to stay with you?”

“…No, I’ll just gratefully take the thought.”

She politely declined, as his presence didn’t seem necessary.

Ellie couldn’t gauge exactly how much power or status the master of the magic tower had, but Edmund’s attitude clearly showed he was formidable. He was arrogant and conceited.

A temperamental authority figure like him probably couldn’t distinguish when to intervene and when not to. Nothing would stop him.

Still, she appreciated that he thought of her.

“You should’ve gone to sleep when I told you to.”

“I was busy. Maurice only gave me one night.”

“I’ll take care of him soon.”

“I’ll gratefully accept the thought of that too.”

Maurice wanted Ellie to prepare the food in the head office kitchen. She believed he didn’t intend to keep her up all night. Maurice was just as strict with nagging as Edmund.

“Was that also a customer request?”

Ellie wondered who could warrant such care from Maurice. She smoothed her stiff skirt with her palm and asked Edmund.

“Do I look neat?”

“Yes. You look stifled.”

“You look ordinary, like anyone else, nothing special.”

“Cute though?”

“…I’ll graciously accept that, but at least I don’t look awkward, right?”

Since Maurice, who knew Ellie’s situation well, introduced her, it should be fine, but she wanted to be careful.

Edmund observed her carefully with his typically indifferent face.

Her white collar covering her neck, plain apron, and black skirt down to her ankles made her look like an ordinary maid.

With her brown hair tied back and a headscarf, no one would pay attention to her face. Edmund hadn’t even tried to look at her face when they first met.

But now, Ellie didn’t look ordinary.

“Yes, most people would think you’re ordinary.”

“That’s fine. I’ll go then.”

“I’ll see you off. Why walk? You’ve got a lot of luggage.”

“Oh, you don’t want me to get some exercise, huh?”

She grumbled but smiled.

Edmund stared at her in disbelief as she grabbed his hand but quickly laughed.

“Ordinary, huh.”

She was so cute, he worried someone might just gobble her up.

A little later

The fingers on her cheek felt firm and slightly warm.

Ellie froze as the man rubbed his cream-covered fingers on her cheek.

At that moment, she fully understood what it meant to be enchanted by someone. She couldn’t take her eyes off his face, even though his fingers on her cheek distracted her.

The man smiled sweetly and leaned down, licking the cream off her cheek.

“Well, now this is worth eating.”