Although I am now a prince, but in order to survive...BL

Chapter 11

- Dear Count, I am not interested in the problems of your country, much less the struggle with your king. I hate politics and everything connected with it. It so happened that at that time I could help you and I did it. There is nothing to thank, as well as a personal meeting. If you have any suggestion for me, say it directly to my messenger. Don't worry, he's pretty smart and will tell me exactly everything. In the meantime, since you insist so much on a common cause, I suggest that you consider a proposal for cooperation first. Let's just say... among other things, I'm in your country for the purpose of starting a business. Now I am looking for a partner who would be interested in this. For this purpose, I am sending you two sauces. You can read the details about what it is in my second letter. – Jay read aloud the answer to the count and, finding nothing superfluous there, signed the initials Gry Dalverdan at the bottom. – Well, now you can send it. When he finished writing, he put down his pen and began to blow on the paper so that the ink would dry quickly.- I don't understand why you're doing this. You don't have any master, and you're certainly not this Dalverdan. – The wind spirit looked at the boy and, shaking his head, sat down on the windowsill.He really has stopped understanding this man at all lately. Although earlier it should be said that he, too, did not really understand him. Since in his concept, children, even a nobleman, were always fooling around at that age, and they usually did all sorts of tricks. And they didn't spend days in the garden and didn't consider the future influx of meat at all. What a strange boy he was.- How do you know? Perhaps my descendants bore such a surname. – When the ink on the paper was dry, Jay folded it and sealed it in an envelope. – But seriously, it's easier this way. After all, no one would do business with a child. And now I need a steady stream of income to prepare for the winter, and for the future of this disaster of yours. Of course, I don't know when it will be, but it's better to be ready for it in advance. – Jay put the letter on the table and, wiping his ink-stained hands with a wet towel, took a freshly picked strawberry from the drawer and began to eat it slowly.Although the magician recently took the whole harvest, but he had full boxes of it again. After all, the roots of this berry have long been overfilled with a growth potion. The harvest from it was now pouring down. By the way, it would be necessary to decide in the future where it can be used except for fresh supplies. Jam was already available here, recently Jay was at the market and saw how merchants from neighboring countries were selling it, which means that it will most likely have to be used in sauce. After all, so far he does not want to supply it to anyone except a magician. Since people may have unnecessary questions. Where, they say, did you get the berry so early? Not everyone is like a magician, there are also curious individuals who want to get hold of someone else's expense.But since he has already started thinking about the sauce, it would not hurt to cook two promised ones for the count first. After all, he has all the ingredients. It just so happened that he easily managed to buy them at the farmer's market. By the way, the market given in this world is rich and what is not there. When Jay went to the part of the city where he was, and previously he had no money, so when he first visited there he did not even look, he did not believe his eyes at first. Before that, there were so many different products there. In a word, the developers of this game were not too lazy and wrote a lot into this world from food and not only from it. In addition to the usual products from the modern world: hard cheeses, foreign sweets, fruits, vegetables, there were also quite normal necessities. Toothbrushes, toothpaste (although it was in a glass jar and without the usual label), a variety of soap, bath bombs, a bunch of little things for the house, seasonings.While there, Jay even forgot for a while that he was in another world and had a completely different life now, to such an extent everything looked the same there as in the last world.- I wish I could write a review, otherwise I would have put a 5 plus. After all, not everyone can work out the world in such detail, especially the otome game.- What are you mumbling about? – The wind spirit asked when he heard strange words from Jay.- Yes, I'm saying that it's time to get busy, and pay a visit to the count. It's been more than two weeks now, and I haven't given him any news.- So it's your own fault. I bought myself a bunch of stuff and got stuck with it on the field.- Oh, really? – Jay turned his head and looked at the spirit with a grin. "Was it really my fault?"- Well ... - he swallowed nervously when he saw the boy's bad look and, taking off, headed for the exit, speaking fluently. – It's your fault and your land. Who knew that once a seed falls, it will germinate in a second. I just wanted to try it, but it turned out to be sour. I threw it away so that you wouldn't get poisoned by it. By the way, I care about you.- It was a lemon. I warned you about him. – Jay, meanwhile, did not take his eyes off the spirit, as if he was trying to incinerate it from a distance.- What about me? I'm nothing. – He shrugged his shoulders and, seeing that he was already near the exit, accelerated. – I'm generally looking after eggs. – And after a few seconds he left the kitchen, saying that he didn't have time to do other people's business, he had his own, by the way.- Fly, fly, little bird. But don't forget that I remember everything. – Jay indifferently waved his hand at the escape of the wind spirit and, seeing his such diligent behavior in relation to the occupation that he had entrusted to him, decided, in the end, not to tell that, by the way, he himself was going to sow seeds a little later, which the spirit had sketched when throwing out half-eaten lemons with limes. It's better to keep being a good boy, it's for his own good. After all, otherwise... Jay could seriously think about trying what perfume tastes like.After sitting for a while, Jay still got up and went to prepare the sauce. It was necessary to take the letter to the count before it got dark. It was no longer possible to debug with this, especially considering that he now had to build several greenhouses separately for the trees that he planted. After all, but, neither lemon, nor lime, nor avocado will be able to survive at subzero temperatures. Of course, it would be easier to buy them on the market, but he doesn't have time to go there now, much less extra money. There is too much to build, too much to buy, again, to hire builders, servants.The latter, perhaps, would not hurt to have now. Since Jay's vegetable garden was getting bigger and bigger every day, and at the same time there were people to look after him, and even more so to harvest, no one except him. And he is alone.... He generally began to cope with it a little. Since some vegetables, for some unknown reason, gradually began to yield a very high and fast harvest. Although it may be the fault of the second potion found by Jay, which he finally decided to test.As it turned out, it gave a high yield. And on the one hand, this is good, because the magician paid a pretty good amount for a full box of fruits or vegetables. This means that he will be able to earn twice as much in this way. But on the other hand, I didn't really want to disappear all day in the garden. It must be said, although thanks to this work and his intensive training, he finally began to lose weight, but sometimes lately he wanted to give it all up. After all, from the moment of arrival in this world, he was practically there all the time. Every day a vegetable garden, a vegetable garden, a vegetable garden... it's been like this for two months.- Okay, as soon as I don't have to worry about money, I'll go somewhere on vacation. Jay promised himself. After all, he had a greater desire to explore this new world. There were a lot of interesting things here. Then he rolled up his shirt sleeves and began to cook.First of all, he decided to make pesto. In Jay's family, no dinner took place without this sauce. And how his grandmother loved him... to the extreme. In addition, it was very easy to cook, the main thing is that everything was at hand and the necessary ingredients and kitchen utensils. And Jay had the benefit of all this, it was not for nothing that he spent so much time at the market, and even spent all his money earned from the sale of berries and vegetables. How much did the food processor alone cost...Of course, it can't be said that Jay regretted it. Of course not. It was the most necessary thing in the kitchen. But it is worth mentioning that he was surprised that such a thing exists in such a world, although it looks a little different here. Instead of electricity in it, as in other and most similar things, they used all the same stones charged with magic with the help of spirits. They were generally used everywhere here, from lanterns to water supply through taps in the city. A necessary thing, and usually the nobles always stocked up on it. But Jay still had enough of one stone, since he didn't have much place to use it.Placing the only such yellow stone, inside of which, if you look closely, sparks could be seen, in the center of the food processor, Jay turned it on and began to throw the ingredients in turn:To do this, take a few cloves of garlic with a small pinch of salt and throw it to grind, followed by adding fresh basil. As soon as the aroma of herbs begins to unfold and green juice appears, add a handful of lightly roasted pine nuts there. When their ripe kernels begin to break down and turn into crumbs, a new smell appears, a deeper aroma, but not yet so appetizing. To stimulate your receptors, pour the resulting sauce into a bowl and add to it a handful of freshly grated brittle grainy cheese. Slowly mix and pour in the olive oil so that the sauce binds and reaches the correct consistency. The milky aroma mixes with the slightly pungent smell of herbs and the sweet smell of nuts, making you want to try what happened. But before you start tasting, you need to remember to season the sauce to taste, adding after that another handful of freshly grated cheese and pour in a little oil to finally make a thicker version of the sauce. After that, feel free to take the bread, and tightly putting the sauce on top of it, slowly eat it. Or it is best to pour this sauce liberally over pasta served for dinner.The sharp taste of garlic with the delicate taste of cheese at the same time... all this mixes and turns into a firework of taste, that long-forgotten taste that reminds you so much of home and it even seems to you that the door to the kitchen will open right now and your whole old family will come in here and say hello to you as if nothing had ever happened. And as if there was no accident, no transition to another world.Jay slowly ate such a familiar sauce with bread and smiled nostalgically warmly, remembering the good times. Suddenly the house shook. The memories stopped, and this bread did not seem to Jay as tasty as before. And when the house shook for the second time.... Jay regretted that he had not slapped the wind spirit earlier and, feeling growing irritation, went to find out what had happened there until the walls began to collapse. By the way, he didn't have money for a new house yet. What the hell is he doing there?The spirit of the wind, who was suddenly accused of all mortal sins, was certainly not guilty of anything. He himself had been lazy for a minute earlier, and then suddenly, unbidden, the one he least wanted to remember appeared in the house.- Is that you?! It's really you, traitor! – The man screamed and rushed at him.The wind spirit, immediately recognizing the voice, even if more than fifty years have passed, naturally wanted to escape from here as soon as possible, and not to find out where his acquaintance could appear here. But he foresaw his maneuver and managed to grab him by the wings before that.- Are you going somewhere? And how to account for the death of the owner to the others? – He rasped in his ear, in an angry voice."I-I just wanted to be hospitable. The wind spirit replied, turning his head slightly, trying to see if it was possible for him to release his wings. Instead of what he expected, he came across an angry look from his comrade. – Heh-heh... for so many years, Aniela, we haven't seen each other. And I see you're still wearing the same thing. Nothing new at all.Anel lowered his eyes lower and looked at his gray little shirt and trousers of the same color, gnashed his teeth when he felt that the spirit of the wind was trying to flap its wings. Again he wants to outwit him and slip away. Once again...! The same thing! How can he be led to this all the time?!- At least, I pay tribute to our dead master. Anel squeezed the wings with one hand, and with the other grabbed the ear of the wind spirit and pulled its top. "I see you don't even have an excuse, Eyre.- Don't say my name. It was not enough for someone to hear him and take advantage of it."Oh, are you tired of killing your masters? Conscience finally woke up.Eyre, who in the old days was distinguished by his calmness, lost his temper when the word "conscience" sounded. He wants to start teaching him again! This water spirit is too right...- I didn't kill anyone. It was his own fault then. I told him and all of you that you need to run. But no... we have to stand until the end. After all, we are a magic tower, this is our duty. And what did it lead to? It was his choice, so don't blame me for that.- You could stay with everyone and help. – Anel disagreed with him.- Why? Isn't the death of the others who died that day enough for you?Anelu heard a hint in the voice of the wind spirit and he wanted to drown him. The magic of water immediately responded to his thoughts and the nearest underground key began to move in his direction. The house, in turn, began to shake from below. Eyre, sensing something was wrong, called the wind to help. He began to head into the house, because of which he was already shaking from all sides. And this is exactly the picture Jay found when he left the kitchen and decided to check how the wind spirit was doing. Two bugs grappled in the air and waited for the moment when it would be possible to use magic to measure strength.- To hell with your kindergarten. – he came up to them at the same moment and grabbed each of them, brought them to the door and threw them out into the street. – I will ask you not to move your disassembly into the house, otherwise you will have to pay for the rest of your life. Is that clear? – The spirits, who were shocked by such an action, nodded their heads, and as soon as Jay disappeared into the house, one asked the other:- And who is this? Your new owner?- Do you think I don't want to live anymore? Of course not!- As if I would be glad of such a companion. Jay heard their conversation out of the corner of his ear and shook his head. By the way, he also wanted to live. And having such a comrade at hand, the years could be drastically reduced. Does he need it? "On business?" – When the house was empty from the noise, Jay approached Wei, who brought the water spirit with him.- The promised scrolls. – Wei, in turn, in response, handed him several pieces of paper rolled up into a tube. When Jay wanted to pick them up, Wei did not immediately let them go, decided to clarify something before that. - Is the next delivery free?- As agreed. Jay refrained from rolling his eyes in response. Oh, these distrustful magicians.Wei breathed a sigh of relief and handed over the scrolls. But he was in no hurry to leave. Remembering that the old man had recently escaped and took with him everything he could (even some of his students' money), he thought that it would be nice to leave not empty-handed.- Then you already have, what can you give now?Jay looked thoughtfully at his figure, trying to figure out how much it fits into him and nodded his head after some silence.- You will take the berries, and the part of the sauce that I managed to make. With what it is on a piece of paper glued to a jar, it is written. You'll figure it out for yourself. He led him into the kitchen.- Sauce? Wei asked along the way. It was the first time he had heard that word.- Ketchup, made from tomatoes. – Jay didn't go too deep into the recipe for its preparation.Was anyone interested in that? The main thing is that he can safely sell it in this world, since there are no analogues. And if there were... it definitely couldn't compare with his ketchup. After all, he has a proven family recipe for years. Loved by many people in the past world who have tried it at least once.– You can take all this. – When they entered the kitchen, Jay pointed to the boxes standing in the corner, and five tightly closed glass jars, slightly shaped like bottles with red liquid inside.For those who saw ketchup for the first time, this mess looked more like blood than something edible. By the way, that was the first thought Wei had when he saw it.- Wait... - When Wei began to collect the boxes, Jay stopped him for a second, as he noticed that the pesto was quite enough for two containers. And if so, why not give it a try to everyone? After all, but everyone's tastes are different. Suddenly, the same count will not like this sauce. – Now I'll give you something else. – He took a free small glass container and, having applied it, tightly closed the glass lid and put that on top of the drawers. – See you in a month. – Wei nodded and began to take out the boxes of berries outside, after which he went to look for the water spirit.After seeing off the magician, Jay began to prepare for the count's visit. Filling the jar with the remaining pestle, he took the last two containers of tomato sauce, one of which was with hot pepper. And, after thinking carefully once again, all the pros and cons of these products, I decided that I made the right choice. Although he wanted to add avocado sauce to this group earlier, but since its shelf life is short ... they would only poison people. But getting rid of future clients when he didn't have any at all is too much. He'd better talk to the avocado supplier about this sauce later.- Yes, it's better to try to promote it first. – He took the letter from the table and hid it under his shirt, Jay, chose one with a portal and the second protective one among the mage scrolls handed to him. And he put the rest deep into the kitchen cabinet, went straight to the count, without warning the spirit about his departure. They'd better not see each other for a while, otherwise he'll definitely kill him. It's necessary to arrange such a thing and almost demolish the house.This time he decided to walk the whole way. Since it was still light, he should have had time to return before dark. And even without the capricious horse, which recently took an example from the spirit of the wind and, demanding three meals a day for its existence alone, it was ten times faster to get there.On the way to the Earl's estate, Jay was once again surprised at how deserted the road was, however. In the short time that he wanders here from time to time on business, he has never met a single carriage or just pedestrians, with the exception of people from the "HOUSE". Well, it seems that this is the only way that bad people use it. Then, perhaps, it is worth paying tribute to his current father. He had almost everything in mind when he was sent here with the servants. Even if he hadn't starved to death, sooner or later the robbers would have definitely come to him. After all, the house is on the outskirts, there is no one nearby. Why not profit?"He's a bastard, but he's smart enough. Well, then I look forward to meeting him. – Jay stopped for a second and, looking in the direction where the city was, laughed merrily, then continued on his way.At that time, he did not yet know that his current father is now trying to find those who destroyed his house and he already has some information that a man from the East is behind all this, and he is about to start looking for him. With this action, changing many future events and the fate of the main game characters. The plot of the game began to change.