LGHTNOVELBOOK Chapter 125.1
For Breakfast, Leftover Rice With Dashi Chazuke
The side profile of Magg, preparing the dishes with a clattering sound, remained expressionless as usual. Though he was performing his duty as the breakfast preparer, Magg was unusually calm today. This was because today’s breakfast was a Western-style morning meal with bread, bacon and eggs, salad, and corn soup. Also, there was fruit for dessert.
Though it’s undoubtedly a delicious and well-balanced breakfast, for Magg, the lack of dashi was the one thing that made it not a particularly exciting meal. The dashi believer was once again in full force today. When dashi, especially kombu dashi, was involved, Magg tended to act in peculiar ways, but otherwise, he was a rather quiet boy. He likely didn’t lack emotional ups and downs, but he seemed bad at expressing them. …So why, when it came to dashi, did he go so far overboard? No one understood.
“Magg, would you be okay with a different menu for breakfast today?”
“…?”
“We have some leftover rice from last night. About two servings. So, would it be fine if we had rice instead of bread?”
“Roger.”
Magg, who had no particular desires for the breakfast menu today, easily nodded at Yuuri’s words. As a believer of dashi, Magg was generally content as long as he could eat his fill, as long as it didn’t involve dashi. Of course, he preferred food to be tasty, but he didn’t have strong likes or dislikes.
…So why did dashi always cause him to act like that? It was a mystery.
Yuuri, understanding this about Magg, smiled and began preparing. The first thing he took out was kombu dashi from the fridge. …In an instant, Magg’s eyes gleamed. Though his expression remained unchanged, his eyes and aura were completely different. The dashi believer was awakening!
“…Dashi?”
“Yeah, I thought I’d make dashi chazuke.”
“Dashi chazuke?”
“Since the rice is cold, we’ll pour warm dashi over it and eat it.”
“Dashi.”
Magg’s expression didn’t change, but his mood seemed to lift as if musical notes were floating above his head. He was probably thinking something like, “Yay!” Yuuri had chosen this dish because it was faster to make than fried rice. Also, after considering his own appetite, he thought a lighter meal would be better than something heavy for breakfast. It was a wonderful moment when their needs aligned.
Excited Magg was intently watching Yuuri’s hands. As Yuuri poured the kombu dashi into a pot to warm it up, he began adjusting the taste by adding salt, sake, and a small amount of soy sauce to the boiling dashi. The idea was to make a clear broth, but even more diluted.
After simmering for a while to let the alcohol evaporate, Yuuri decided to let it cool slightly since it would be hard to eat when too hot. Meanwhile, he prepared the rice in a deep bowl. …At this point, Magg was already staring intently at the dish. The dashi believer was being honest.
“…By the way, Magg,”
“…?”
“We only have this much rice, so there won’t be any refills.”
“…”
“Also, remember to eat the salad, bacon and eggs, and fruit too, okay?”
“…Roger.”
Yuuri, who had a hunch that Magg might try to fill up solely on dashi chazuke, gave him a straightforward reminder. Besides, there was no more rice, so even if Magg wanted more, it was physically impossible to provide.
Yuuri’s quick remark made Magg a little deflated, but he was reasonable enough to accept that there was nothing he could do about it. …Yuuri was relieved that the cooking duty wasn’t given to Urgus. If Urgus had been preparing the meal, Magg would have definitely targeted the food.
Once Yuuri confirmed that Magg was okay with it, he began adding umeboshi to the rice, one by one. When Magg looked puzzled, Yuuri explained that it was for seasoning, and Magg just nodded in understanding. …Basically, as long as there was dashi, Magg didn’t mind much about the rest.
“Alright, I’ll start cooking the bacon and eggs now, Magg, could you wipe the table or prepare the drinks in the meantime?”
“Roger.”
Excited by the thought of delicious dashi dishes, Magg moved quickly. It was like three times his usual speed. It wasn’t that his actual speed increased, but his movements became more efficient. …When dashi was involved, it was as if Magg’s abilities had been upgraded.
Yuuri, smiling wryly, began making the bacon and eggs with freshly arrived eggs and bacon cut into a moderate thickness. The soft yolk wobbled temptingly.
“Magg, do you want the egg soft or hard?”
“…?”
“Ah, yeah. You’re okay either way, right? Since I prefer it soft, can I cook it that way?”
“Roger.”