Third Arc: Nineteenth Chapter

"This is tasty!"

Munch munch munch munch.

Eating sandwiches we had bought from a stall, we watched the people passing through the square. Spring flowers were beginning to bloom in the fountain square, and the warm sunlight felt wonderful. There were several food stalls, and the hearty sandwich stuffed with juicy meat that the nearest one sold was a big hit.

With every bite, the fat burst and the meat juices came gushing out! The crunch of fresh lettuce felt good too, and left the mouth clean afterward.

Mm, tasty meat. What a shame, though, that the only seasoning was salt and pepper. It sounds fine to say it lets the natural flavor of the ingredients shine, but that just means there is nothing but the flavor of the ingredients.

"Yes, it's tasty, to be sure... but!"

"But...?!"

Georg gulped down his meat and, with a serious face, pulled the next meat sandwich out from inside his coat and began to eat.

"The seasoning is too simple! To make the most of these ingredients...!"

I drew a jar of mayonnaise from a fold of my dress.

It was a fine thing I had made that morning, borrowing the inn's kitchen. It is no exaggeration to say the mayonnaise I had recently started making had been a comfort to us on the journey. It started when Anje said she wanted to eat mayonnaise, but I was truly glad I had made it. I couldn't wait to see how our head chef would react when I gave him some.

"What I now produce here is... mayonnaise!"

"Mayonnaise...?"

Stuffing his cheeks with a third meat sandwich, Georg stared blankly at the mayonnaise. So did Lady Remie. Lady Julia and the others, on the other hand, already well acquainted with it, watched the glowing yellow jar with sparkling eyes. I opened the jar and, without further ado, slathered a generous amount of mayonnaise onto Georg's meat sandwich.

"You put it on like so..."

"D-delicious...!"

Without a moment's fear of the unknown condiment, Georg took a big bite and opened his eyes wide in astonishment.

I know, I know. Mayonnaise is something you stop eating as you grow up and start worrying about the calories, but its supreme taste never ceases to enchant us. And mayonnaise that isn't high in calories is no mayonnaise at all. Delicious things are usually bad for you. But that is exactly what is good about it!

Sure enough, Georg, devouring the new mayonnaise-dressed meat sandwich, was already a captive of mayonnaise.

"Incredible... to think there was something this delicious in the world..."

Solemnly, I held the mayonnaise up high and handed it to Georg.

"Its name is mayonnaise! Good on bread, good on rice, good on meat! The supreme condiment!"

"Splendid!"

"What an invention...! Are you a genius?!"

Hee. I had let myself get a little carried away.

A little embarrassed at how into it I had gotten, I turned toward the voices, and found that not just Georg but Elliot too was gazing at the mayonnaise with envious eyes.

Somehow, mayonnaise really suits these two.