Chapter 23 : Irene eats a schnitzel made especially for her

Tonkatsu and schnitzel are similar yet different dishes.

Saying they’re the same because they’re both spicy is like saying that mala soup and kimchi jjigae are the same!

“Irene, sit here and watch Purpure make Anastasia’s special schnitzel.”

Irene sat down on the chair, nodding without taking a single drop of alcohol.

“It’s ready, Lady Purpure.”

The apron that Dominicus put on me was satisfying, as expected of an item I brought from the demon castle.

Even though I don’t like that it’s pink and has a lot of cute patterns!

“But Purpure, what’s different about the special schnitzel that Anastasia made?”

“The thickness of the meat used is different.”

Standing on the tips of my soft toes, I lifted the thick pork loin with my small hands.

Even though I softened it by diligently pounding it with a hammer with my hands, it was still thick.

“Oh… It’s definitely different from before? It’s about the thickness of Purpure’s thumb!”

“Awawa…”

“Th, that is! I’m not saying I’ll eat Purpure’s finger!”

I looked up at Maeve, feeling suspicious for no reason.

“Really! What story is there of a hero eating a demon lord?!”

“I think it’s possible with Maeve.”

Maeve made an X with both hands.

“But… It’s just that the meat is thick.”

Irene said with a worried expression.

“Believe in Purpure. Cooking is where very small differences make a completely different taste.”

That’s why if you mess with the recipe, thinking you can just add anything, you end up with food waste instead of food!

I lifted the pork loin, about the size of my soft and thick palm, and placed it on a plate.

And I took flour with my fingers as if pinching it and sprinkled it like snow.

“Since the meat is thick and not thin, you need to be very careful when coating it with batter.”

When the flour was coated to a certain extent, I put the pork loin in the egg wash.

When the surface became moist, I returned it to the plate and sprinkled flour as if salting it.

I repeated this action very carefully three times.

“It’s definitely different from last time. This is something… The egg wash is gently applied to the meat! And I can’t see the white flour!”

The pork loin, which was coated with flour three times with care, looked like it was wearing a cute yellow raincoat.

“Now I’ll coat it with breadcrumbs.”

I scooped up a lot of the fluffy breadcrumbs that Dominicus had been diligently grinding and coated the pork loin wearing a yellow raincoat.

I carefully coated it alternately on the front and back, and it became covered in white snow.

“Huh? These breadcrumbs are different? The breadcrumbs used when making schnitzel were like dust… Ouch!”

“How can you say food is like dust!”

“B, but! Those breadcrumbs were very small and looked like they would make you cough if you sniffed them!”

The analogy was really crude, but it wasn’t wrong.

“That’s called dry breadcrumbs. This is wet breadcrumbs.”

“Oh… What’s the difference?”

“This is made by grinding soft and moist bread.”

The texture of schnitzel and tonkatsu is different here!

The slightly soggy fried food and the crispy taste of wet breadcrumbs are incomparable, you wouldn’t think they’re the same dish.

“Now I’ll put it in the oil pot and fry it.”

I lit the stove with the oil pot on it and placed the pork loin, coated with breadcrumbs, on a wooden net.

“Purpure! Look at this! I think the temperature is just right! There are bubbles on the chopsticks!”

“Maeve has a good memory.”

Since the oil temperature was just right, I immediately put in the tonkatsu.

Sizzle sizzle!

As the bubbles rose, the batter of the tonkatsu changed from white to golden brown.

The fluffy and soft breadcrumbs turned hard, and the carefully applied batter quickly transformed into a crispy fried coating.

“Huff…!”

As soon as the surface turned a nice golden color, I lifted the wooden net with both hands.

“Maeve! Turn the fried food over with chopsticks!”

The tonkatsu, with white steam rising, is not the end of this look!

I planned to fry it one more time, so Maeve turned it over and let it cool for a while, and I breathed fire on the stove one more time.

“Oh… What, the bubbles don’t rise on the chopsticks this time?”

“The batter should rise right to the top of the oil like this. Be careful because it’s hotter!”

I put the tonkatsu, wearing a golden coat, back into the oil pot.

Sizzle sizzle! Crunch crunch! Bubble bubble!

The sound of the oil dancing and the savory scent tickled my small nose. The savory smell of pork and the crispy aroma of the batter
filled the surroundings, to the extent that the blacksmith father and daughter peeked out and looked at us.

“It smells quite delicious.”

“It’s subtly different from schnitzel…?”

The subtle gold color quickly turned into a caramel-like brown.

Yeah! That’s the color! Tonkatsu should be this brown and appetizing to be well-fried!

As soon as the tonkatsu turned a delicious brown color, I lifted it up, shook it a few times on the wooden net, and quickly put it on a plate.

“Wow… What? Is this schnitzel?”

“I can’t believe it’s the same dish.”

It’s a different dish in reality!

You can change the original dish 180 degrees by modifying only a few recipes!

“This…”

To the bewildered Irene, I cut the tonkatsu into five pieces with a cute kitchen knife and gave it to her on a plate.

“…What kind of magic did you use? Is there really magic that you can use because you’re a Great Demon Lord?”

“Ms. Irene? What do you mean?”

“It’s the same… I wasn’t crazy. I wasn’t out of my mind.”

Irene admired with red cheeks and looked down at the well-fried, brown tonkatsu with white steam rising.

“Does it match Irene’s memory?”

“It’s perfect… It’s exactly the same. I even told them about this look. But it was so crispy that I couldn’t eat it, and I was distressed.”

It would definitely be like that if you cooked the schnitzel batter until it turned brown.

Irene urgently cut the tonkatsu in half with a knife and lifted it up.

“The smell is different! The smell of meat is stronger. The savory aroma of oil is also excellent, but the smell of pork is coming out. This is it. This was it!”

Irene happily put the tonkatsu in her mouth.

Crunch crunch!

“Huum…! Ah, ah… This is it. This is the taste. The sound in my mouth is different! The batter is crispy like a cookie. It’s different from the schnitzel I ate earlier. That one is crispy too, but this, the feeling of the grains being chewed is different!”

“Wow… It, it looks delicious…”

“And ugh… Ugh! Yeah! This was it! This taste of the meat… It’s completely different. It’s not thin meat, but thick meat with a chewy taste and juicy juice that’s worth the effort of chewing… Ugh! The batter is subtly loose yet crispy, so it’s the best!”

Irene covered her mouth slightly with her hand and shed tears. The smile seen through those tears looked as happy as if she had regained a long-lost memory.

She happily chewed on the tonkatsu with a fork.

“It’s delicious… It’s the best. This is the taste. Yeah, this was it. It was so delicious that I asked what kind of dish it was, and she told me it was schnitzel…”

“If she said that, there’s no way you could fi, find this taste.”

“I even remembered this thick taste and asked them to make it thick. But, but in the end, it was different. It wasn’t this taste, it was the worst!”

Schnitzel has its own way, and tonkatsu has its own way.

If you suddenly use thick meat when making schnitzel, the inside will be subtly undercooked, and the texture will be garbage.

“Try some too, Great Demon Lord.”

Irene, naturally taking a bottle of alcohol, offered me tonkatsu with a fork.

“Awawang…”

Since my stomach was hungry, I didn’t refuse and ate the tonkatsu.

• Crunch! Crisp!

The first texture of the tonkatsu, with white steam rising, was as crispy as expected, to the point of rivaling a cookie.

The taste of the wet breadcrumbs, which had absorbed a lot of oil and turned hard, was the special itself that delivered the savory taste of oil to the tongue.

And if you go inside, where this crispness hides the white flesh, the batter shows off the soft and smooth taste of flour and egg wash.

Thanks to this, from here, I felt like enjoying a preview of the savory taste of pork, the rich juice, and the heavy weight of the fat hidden inside.

“Yum yum… Gulp!”

The thick meat was neatly fried at the right temperature in a large pot and turned white, emitting a fascinating appearance and taste.

This taste, which is both moist on the outside and moist on the inside, is really the best!

“I made it, but it’s really delicious.”

“Thank you… Thank you so much, Great Demon Lord. I don’t know how you imitated Anastasia’s special schnitzel, but thank you so much.”

Irene said with a happy smile.

“As a craftsman, I can’t think of how to repay this grateful heart other than making a carriage…”

“That’s enough for me.”

“That’s right! I heard that the carriage made by Ms. Irene is incredibly amazing and will never break.”

Irene smiled pleasantly and sipped her alcohol.

The sight of her enjoying well-fried tonkatsu and alcohol is strangely satisfying.

“If the Great Demon Lord wishes, I’ll make it wonderfully.”

I nodded vigorously up and down.

Okay! Then the problem of the carriage is solved now!

“Th, then! Irene! Gi, give me a bite of that!”

“Hahaha! Yeah! Our hero should eat too!”

Irene, who regained her original personality, immediately cut the tonkatsu and fed it to Maeve.

“Huff…! It’s hot! Mmm! But this, chew! There’s a reason why it’s hot?! The meat is incredibly thick, chew chew! The batter is crispy…!”

“Speak after you eat!”

I hit Maeve’s butt with my small hand.

“But~~! It’s really, really delicious!”

“I know. I’ll make more for you soon, so wait a moment.”

I said, poking the blue desire that was dozing off next to Irene with my foot.

Let’s see you in a little while!

Right now, I want to eat a lot of this thickly fried tonkatsu too!

-Grumble!

“Purpure is hungry too, so everyone wait a moment!”

I can power up after eating delicious food, right?

“Gulp…”

In front of me is the blue desire that is quietly sleeping now.

“I can’t see anything, though…”

“It’s a monster called the Seven, and only the Great Demon Lord can see and touch it.”

Irene nodded and patted the blanket next to her with both hands.

“My Seven? Anyway, that guy tastes like alcohol, right? Then if you eat it and lie down right away, there will be no problem.”

“If Purpure gets dizzy and falls, she’ll get hurt! If you lie down, there will be no problem.”

The blue desire tastes like alcohol.

I was a little worried about that fact, so I spoke, and Irene and Maeve laid out a blanket, telling me to just eat it all and sleep soundly.

It’s even a cute blanket that I don’t know where they got it from, so I’m a little angry…

“Okay. Don’t be surprised if Purpure becomes too strong.”

This time, I’ll definitely be able to power up!

With an expectant expression, I hugged the blue desire with all my might and bit it.

“Nom…!”

-Flush!

My head immediately felt dizzy from the taste of alcohol that came up, and I immediately lay down and covered myself with a blanket.

“Eat this too! Purpure!”

Maeve brought the strawberries that she had diligently washed earlier and fed them to me.

It feels like I’m eating fruit snacks?

“Nom…!”

But I have to power up!

In my dizzy head, I did my best to bite the blue desire to the end!