SH_C30_Chapter 30: You Might Beat a Governor, But You'll Never Beat a Crying Chick.

**->if you see this it means I have a translator's note where I try to explain the meaning behind it.

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30. You Might Beat a Governor, But You’ll Never Beat a Crying Chick

It turns out that the young man without eyebrows is named Fiore.

After I showed him how to make dishes like ginger pork, chicken cutlets, and that addictive cucumber salad with salted kelp and sesame oil, he immediately started recreating them. He’s clearly a very earnest guy.

“I just thought tonkatsu would be good luck, you know? Like a charm.”

“A charm?”

“Yeah, like ‘Eat katsu to katsu the battle!’** —a play on words...’”

“Exactly!”

Once I returned the apron, my brief culinary adventure came to an end. I told Fiore he could share the recipes with the shopping district if anyone asked. I still wanted to eat those dishes back at the mansion, after all.

“By the way, ponzu sauce tastes even better if you simmer the mirin first, then mix in soy sauce and citrus juice, and let it sit with some kombu for two or three days.”

“Got it!”

“There’s also a sauce that goes perfectly with tonkatsu, but that’ll have to wait until we get some proper spices.”

Worcestershire sauce and ketchup could be made from scratch—if I could just get my hands on the right spices. I might find them in the capital.

Hoping these recipes would bring good things to the local economy, I headed to the Adventurers’ Guild to collect my reward for the handkerchiefs—two gold coins. But before Romanov-sensei accepted them, he said something unexpected:

“Could we get it as one gold coin, ninety-nine silver, ninety-nine copper, and a hundred iron coins?”

“We’re not a currency exchange, you know!”

“Well, we can’t exactly shop for souvenirs in the capital with a gold coin, right?”

“Huh? You’re going to the capital, Young Master?”

“Ah, yes. Today’s little outing was actually to earn some pocket money for souvenir shopping.”

After I explained the circumstances, Roland scratched his chin and pulled out a small leather pouch from his desk drawer.

“A little something for the road.”

“Huh? Wait, I couldn’t possibly—!”

“Call it thanks for the recipes. It’s not much, so take it. Heck, maybe you can even use it to buy those spices you mentioned.”

The pouch arced through the air and landed in my hands. He said it wasn’t much, but it felt pretty hefty.

When I got back to the mansion, Utsunomiya greeted me looking completely drained. Actually, Rottenmeier-san looked pretty wiped too.

“W-Welcome home…”

“What happened? You both look exhausted.”

“It’s… it’s a long story…”

Utsunomiya collapsed to her knees with a dramatic sigh. Rottenmeier-san looked ready to scold her, but—

EUN: Its funnier in the manga. Romanov-sensei had to pull Ageha towards him, that's why Regulus slammed the wall like that

 

WHAM! Something small and fast flew at us, and Romanov-sensei casually caught it from the side.

A heavy thud sounded behind us.

“Nii-niiiiii! It hurts…!”

“Whaaa!? The projectile was Regulus-kun!?”

Holding his forehead and sobbing, Regulus-kun stumbled over and buried his face in my stomach. Once I hugged him, he started crying even harder.

“Oh, you wouldn’t believe it. After you left, Young Master kept trying to escape through the front entrance!”

“Whenever we tried to stop him, he cried even louder. When that didn’t work, he ran laps around the mansion!”

“Wow… so much energy…”

“Energy” might be putting it lightly. His forehead was a little red—not super noticeable against his darker skin, but it was there.

I gently rubbed it, and his tears slowly began to subside.

“I’m back.”

“Welcome baaaaack…”

I wiped his runny nose with a tissue. It had only been from morning to early afternoon, but we usually spent almost every waking moment together. He must’ve really missed me.

I ran my fingers through his fluffy blond hair, smoothing it down. He finally seemed to calm down.

“He was a handful! Wouldn’t stop whining, ‘Nii-ni’s gone, Nii-ni’s goooone…!’ The only time he stopped was when Genzo-san gave him a swordsmanship lesson.”

“Oh? Already got his first training session?”

“It just sort of happened. Genzo told him, ‘If you’re a crybaby, your brother might leave you behind forever,’ and he really gave it his all.”

“Oh my…”

Regulus-kun puffed out his chest proudly—so cute I couldn’t help but smile. My cheeks were already soft, but now they felt like mochi.

When I patted his head, he leaned into it. Even Romanov-sensei chuckled at the sight.

Let me have my “big brother complex,” okay?

Speaking of which, there was someone working behind the scenes for Regulus-kun’s sake. I wasn’t exactly on their side, but if our goals aligned, I wouldn’t mind cooperating.

“Rottenmeier-san, could you ask the head chef to come to my room when he’s free?”

“Understood… Has something happened?”

“Well, actually…”

I filled her and Utsunomiya in on what I’d learned in town. Their expressions twisted into a blend of disbelief and exasperation.

“Just dumping the responsibility on others isn’t good.”

“If I may say so… if he could root out corruption in the capital, couldn’t he have recruited some industries while he was at it?”

Yup. I wholeheartedly concur.

As I nodded, Romanov-sensei sighed and shook his head.

“I hesitate to speak poorly of your father, but… it’s possible he was planning to say something like, ‘I’ve exposed the corruption, improved the local economy a bit—now raise Regulus quietly and without complaint.’ However, you managed to outwit him.

“Hmm… I’d like to believe he’s not that kind of person…”

But it’s hard to say when I barely know the man. He is Regulus’s father, so I don’t want to think ill of him.

“Regardless of his motives, if the territory prospers, that’s what matters. Let’s focus on that. Whether the cat is black or white, if it catches mice, it’s a good cat.”

“Very well. I’ll arrange for the chef to deliver the recipes to the guild master.”

“I’ll explain the reason myself. Recipes are a chef’s lifeblood. If we’re asking him to share them, we need to show proper respect.”

“Understood.”

Rottenmeier gave a respectful bow and headed toward the kitchen.

Meanwhile, perhaps bored by all the adult talk, Regulus-kun was rubbing his face into my stomach. …Is this kid a secret belly-chub fan?

“Still, if he made such a fuss over you being gone for just a short outing, what’s going to happen if you're away for a full day?”

“Huh? Young Master is going out again?”

“Nii-ni… leaving again…?”

At Romanov-sensei’s casual remark, Regulus-kun froze. The tears had only just dried—but now his eyes filled with moisture once more.

Oh no. This is bad.

And then—

“NOOOOOOOOOOOO!!! REMUS WANTS TO GOOOOOO TOOOOOOO!!!”

The high-pitched wail at close range nearly ruptured my eardrums. I swear I saw my life flash before my eyes.

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Eunie here~. 5/5 + 3rd extra chapter. 19 more chapters and I'll catch up to ep 9 of the anime!! >u<  Just a bit more!!!

** I think there are some people in Japan who believes that if you have an important match, competition or exams then you definitely have to eat a KATSUDON if you want to win. Since there's a play in the word "KATSU" that refers to the dish or to win/be victorious. 

This is another example:

KATSUDON = DON-TO-KATSU (like to have an overwhelming victory)

Like if anyone here has seen Yuri on Ice!! There was a scene where.  Victor told Yuri he can't eat a Katsudon since he didn't win anything.It has the same meaning~

Deku from BNHA was also eating one I think it was around Eri's arc.

Anyway, KATSUDON is a great dish just thinking about it is making my mouth water~

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