Chapter 66

Chapter 66: A Feast of Celebration

The next morning,

I decided to return home. I had informed the Duke's family of my intention to leave during dinner last night, so I could return immediately. After finishing breakfast, I boarded the carriage promptly.

With about six weeks until the entrance ceremony, I wanted to cherish the time I could spend with my family.

After being escorted by Roger, the carriage stopped near my house.

"Leon-sama, we have arrived. We will come to pick you up on the day before the entrance ceremony."

"Thank you. Well then, see you later."

I got off the carriage and opened the door to my house.

"I'm home!"

As I said that, my mother and father rushed out of the kitchen. Marie and Ian-kun, who were originally in the dining room, came running over.

"Big brother! Welcome back!"

"Leon! Did the exams go well? Were you treated well?"

"Calm down, Mom. I just took the exams, so nothing happened."

"Well, that's true."

"Welcome home, Leon. How were the exams?"

My father asked with a calm and kind smile.

"I passed the exams! The entrance ceremony will be in about six weeks."

"Leon, well done."

Saying that, my father patted my head vigorously. It was quite intense for my father.

"Hey, Dad, you're messing up my hair."

As I said that and looked up at my father's face, he seemed very happy but also a bit sad.

"Dad? What's wrong?"

"Sorry... I was planning to celebrate wholeheartedly, but I realized that it's lonely to see you leave."

"Dad... It's okay. Even if I'm at the Royal Academy, I'll come home frequently! I won't be going far away."

When I said that, my father finally smiled from the bottom of his heart. In the future, let's work hard to live comfortably as a family. I reaffirmed that resolution.

"I see, that's true. Sorry for saying that. Well then, how about we celebrate your passing today! Let's close the shop for the day."

"That sounds good! After all, I passed the Royal Academy's exam. We have to celebrate it grandly."

"Congratulations, big brother!"

"Congratulations, Leon-kun."

It's heartwarming. I'm happy that there are people who are so delighted for me.

"Thank you, everyone!"

"Well then, Dad and I will take care of the cooking today. Leon, wait in the living room."

"That's right. We've learned a lot about cooking from Leon, and we've come up with some original dishes."

Is that so!? Mom and Dad are amazing to come up with original dishes. I just recreated the dishes I knew from my past life, so they're much more impressive than me.

"Both of you are amazing!"

"Look forward to it. Well then, Leon, go to the living room."

With that, I was pushed into the living room. Huh? Isn't Marie coming too?

"What about Marie and Ian-kun?"

"Both of them are going to help."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah! We'll make delicious food too! I can do it."

With a radiant smile, Marie said proudly. She's so adorable. My little sister is a true angel.

"Thank you, Marie. I'm looking forward to it."

"Yeah!"

After waiting in the living room for about an hour, everyone came into the living room carrying a lot of food.

The aroma was amazing!

"Sorry for keeping you waiting, Leon."

"We made lots of delicious dishes!"

Dishes kept piling up on the table. First, there was the usual bread, soup, and water.

"And here's today's main dish, steak fry!"

And with those words, my mother placed a plate in front of me. On it was a serving of fried beef cutlet. Amazing! Although she hadn't taught me how to cook meat this way, did she come up with it after seeing the fried horse mackerel?

"After seeing Leon's fried horse mackerel, I thought that frying beef would also be delicious," my mother said.

"Dad fried it. It turned out well, didn't it?"

"Yeah! It looks really delicious!"

"Also, I tried making sauce. Leon mentioned before that tomato sauce goes well with fried food, so I bought some sun-dried tomato oil from a nearby house."

Making sauce too...! It's definitely going to be delicious. I can't wait to eat it!!

"Big brother, Marie and Mr. Ian made this!"

Saying that, Marie brought a plate filled with cookies. I had taught Marie a recipe for other sweets when she asked me for it before. Since we don't have an oven, we can only bake them in a frying pan, but I remember them turning out quite tasty.

"Recently, a merchant came from Grandfather's house and left us some butter. And since you've been buying sugar, we made cookies!"

"That's impressive, Marie. I'm delighted."

These cookies are really well-made. They don't seem burnt, and they smell really good. I want to eat them quickly!

"Well then, let's eat before they get cold."

"Yeah, let's eat quickly. Congratulations, Leon!"

"Congratulations!!!"

Everyone smiled and said that while looking at me.

"...Thank you. I'm happy."

I almost started to cry, but I managed to put on a smile and said so with a laughing-through-tears expression.

After that, everyone started eating all at once. First, let's start with the fried beef cutlet. Since the beef cutlet was sliced into bite-sized pieces, I stabbed one with a fork, dipped it in the sauce, and took a bite.

Crunch... munch, munch... This is insanely delicious!! Seriously, this is incredibly tasty. The beef has a hint of saltiness, and it complements the taste of the tomato sauce. If I sandwich this between bread, it'll make a delicious cutlet sandwich.

I want to try a cutlet sandwich too!

"Dad, could you slice the bread thinly with a knife?"

"How thin should I slice it?"

"Well, about this thin, please."

I showed about an inch with my fingers, and Dad cut two thin slices of bread for me. Then I spread tomato sauce on one slice and placed the cutlet between them.

Chomp... Wow, this is really delicious too! Just like I thought, it's really tasty when eaten with bread.

"Big brother, is that way of eating tasty?"

"Yeah, it's really delicious! The meat and sauce go well with the bread. Eating them together is better than separately."

"Really!? Then I want to eat it like that too!"

"Got it, got it. I'll cut the bread for you, so wait a moment."

"Thanks, Dad!"

"Jean, could you do it for me too?"

"Jean, could you do it for me as well?"

It seems everyone wants to make cutlet sandwiches. It's amazing how just putting the cutlet between bread makes it so much more delicious.

"Mmm! It's delicious!"

"Absolutely, it's so much tastier even though it's just between bread."

"Since you can eat it while walking, if we sell it to-go, it might sell well."

When I casually said that, my parents' eyes changed. They seem to be shining...

"Leon! That might be a good idea!"

"Yeah, that's right. Trying to sell it for a few days could work. People in a hurry might buy it."

They're really enthusiastic about it...

"Leon, it might be worth a try!"

"Uh, yeah, of course. Do your best."

"Let's give it a shot starting tomorrow then. Maybe we should start selling a bit earlier than our usual lunchtime?"

"That's also a good idea!"

Both of them got so engrossed in the discussion that I slipped away from the conversation. Then, for dessert, I reached out for the cookies that Marie and Ian made.

Crunch... Crunch, crunch... These are insanely delicious!

Sweet and crunchy, it's pure bliss.

"Marie, these cookies are really delicious! Thanks, Ian."

"Really!? I'm glad!"

"I was a bit worried since it was my first time making them. I'm glad it worked out."

Seriously, these are delicious. In my opinion, they're just as good as Japanese cookies. Considering that Marie made them, they're even better than the ones in Japan!

"They're really delicious! Let's make them together again sometime."

"Yeah!!"

And so, we finished my celebratory lunch, full of happiness. It was truly enjoyable and delicious. I'm so happy...