A mid-level (middle-aged) office worker's laid-back industrial revolution in another world - Chapter 146

Translator: Jasper Kadowaki | Editor: NovelMultiverse

“Now, what did everyone do today?” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Takeo and I went to rifle practice before noon. We tried shooting at 50 meters and 100 meters, but… we couldn’t get very accurate with the 100 meters,” said Alice.

“Oh, is it that different?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“Yes. Alice and I could hit with about 90 percent accuracy at 50 meters, but when we increased the distance to 100 meters, the accuracy fell to about 50 percent.”

“…That’s remarkably bad, isn’t it?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“Yes, I didn’t think it would be that bad. We used trees as our targets, but when using the same tree as a target for 50 meters and 100 meters, the same tree because a quarter of the original size, and so it becomes quite difficult. I heard that mages have a firing range of 200 meters, so I thought that to show any resistance against them, we would need a range of at least 100 meters. I’m going to have to rethink the whole thing,” said Takeo.

“Hmm, Yes. What will you do?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“For practice, my goal is to raise our accuracy at 100 meters after this. I also want to try making a rifle that concentrates on rapid fire, as opposed to powerful shots,” said Takeo.

“Hmm… Why is that?” 

“When I was imagining our upcoming trip, I realized that we wouldn’t need a range of 1000 meters. Rather, it would be a better strategy to fire rapidly at 200 meters, and flee at that point,” said Takeo.

“Hmm, yes. I can understand that way of thinking,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“I don’t know if it’s actually possible, of course,” said Takeo, smiling bitterly.

“We can’t use the rifle that you’ve just improved?” asked Alice.

“We will use it. When we need distance… It’ll probably be used for things like the defense of this city,” said Takeo, “It should be good for firing off of the castle gates.”

“It won’t be used in flat ground warfare, then?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“It’s accuracy is quite low, after all… I really don’t know if it would be possible to hit a moving target… It wouldn’t be good to shoot someone on our side by accident. So, it would really only be of use in mass firings against a bulky mass of enemies,” said Takeo.

“I see,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Or…” said Takeo.

“Hm? What is it?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“Lady Alice could stand up front, and while the lady fights enemies around her, I could fire at a commander or large enemy… From fifty meters, I could surely hit an enemy,” said Takeo.

“Hmm… It could be a nuisance,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Yes. It could be a great nuisance during war. During the last practice, I experienced what battle would be like when taking attacks from mages, but wouldn’t one goal be to take out many enemies before they even engage with their opponents?” asked Takeo.

“Hmm. Yes. That would leave us with fewer obstacles,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“If a rapid fire is possible, I wonder if it could be used as a support to Lady Alice… I don’t think it would work with a single shot with high power.”

“I see. However, as a basic rule, I don’t think I’d have you two in the same battle lines, anyways,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Thank you very much,” said Takeo, and bowed slightly.

“So, after the rifle practice, you two went to the grocery store, correct?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“Yes. They had many products,” said Alice.

“Basically, they had many types of mushrooms, meats, and fish. They all looked quite delicious,” said Takeo.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]

“Hmm, yes. I assume the dinner table would become very full if Takeo got his hands on all of those ingredients,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“I am glad you have high expectations of me, but I would have to consult with the head chef to do anything like that,” said Takeo.

“Yes. Thanks to the dashi made with shiitake mushrooms, the cost of making soup has gone significantly down, and I do believe it would be good to use more dried products,” said Takeo.

“Hmm, yes. It appears we have even more things to look forward to,” said Grandpa Elvis. Alice and Smith nodded in agreement.

“Has the menu for tomorrow’s dinner been decided?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“Yes. As for what it is, please wait until tomorrow to find out,” said Takeo.

“Hmm, yes. I don’t think I’d be able to sleep tonight if I heard about it now,” said Grandpa Elvis. Alice and Smith nodded.

“Are you really expecting that much?” asked Takeo.

“Hmm, yes.”

“Well, please keep looking forward to it. Also, it seems like that sweet using buttery whipped cream was a hit,” said Takeo.

“Hmm, yes. Yesterday, the smell was a bit off-putting, but this time around, the buttery flavor worked well with the raisins,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Yes, I agree. I didn’t expect that cream to work so well with the raisins,” said Alice.

“I got to go to my training in a delighted mood,” said Smith.

“I got a good review from Frederick-san, as well, and so I think we should keep that on the menu as a sweet to be served when a guest arrives suddenly. The head chef said that he would keep buying butter for it, regularly,” said Takeo.

“Hmm, yes. Any guest would be surprised to be served that,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“I heard you said that you wanted to eat it again, tomorrow?” asked Takeo.

“…It was good,” said Grandpa Elvis, looking away.

“That’s fine, but I’m just worried that you will become sick of it if you eat it every day,” said Takeo.

“Haha. Well, then, Takeo – You must make a new sweet every day!” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Now, now. I don’t have that wide of a repertoire… For now,” said Takeo.

“What’s that? Are you putting on airs?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“No, it’s just that there is an ingredient I haven’t been able to find, and so I can only make about half of the recipes that I know,” said Takeo.

“What?!” cried out all three people, in surprise.

“What is it?” asked Takeo.

“…This is only half?” asked Alice.

“You’ve underestimated my knowledge, haven’t you?” asked Takeo, smiling bitterly.

“…Quite the opposite, you know?” said Alice, exasperated.

“…They are about fifteen or sixteen recipes. That can’t really be said to be a lot, can it?” asked Takeo.

“They’re all brand new kinds of cooking, aren’t they?” asked Smith.

“Well, they haven’t been served at the dinner table, yet,” said Takeo.

“Takeo, do you think you could make food for us every day?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“I’m not sure. The food served here is quite delicious, too,” said Takeo, “What’s more – I’m reminded of recipes when I look over ingredients, so I’m not even sure I could tell you what I can or can’t make. While I say fifteen recipes, too, they’re all based on the same foundation.”

“What do you mean?” asked Grandpa Elvis.

“What I mean is this – To use today’s shiitake dashi as an example, there were three dashi soups – the Egg and Onion Soup, the Shaved Dry Fish Soup, and the Vegetable and Minced Meat Soup. There were two chawanmushi dishes made – today’s Shrimp, Shiitake, and Chicken, and Shiitake, Beans, and Clam. Three main dishes were made using the dashi – Vegetable Stew, Meat Stew, and Fish Stew. That’s eight dishes right there. Therefore, even though I said there were a lot of new dishes I could make, they all use the same foundation, and through creativity, they’re made into different dishes. In reality, it’s not that many dishes,” said Takeo.

“Hmm, yes, but just from hearing that, we can say that there are plenty of dishes,” said Grandpa Elvis.

“Yes,” said Alice. 

The two of them were, again, exasperated.[Read this novel and other amazing translated novels from the original source at the “Novel Multiverse dot com” website @ novelmultiverse.com]