Who is the Strongest Appraiser?

Missing chapter is due to the LN already translating it. I recomend reading the LN chapters before reading this, but again, it doesn't make a huge difference.

Chapter 28

"Wow, this is what a dining hall looks like~"

"Well, the atmosphere varies depending on the establishment, but generally it's like this. Shall we go in?"

"Yes."

Prompted by Tiffana, Yuri nodded and followed her through the door. The place she had brought him to was a diner for commoners called "Komorebi-tei". It was like a fantasy version of a simple, popular diner. The building and furnishings were simple, but kept clean, and as the name suggests, the sunlight filtering through the trees into the courtyard was truly beautiful.

However, the sign hanging on the door that said "Closed today" was rather sad.

"Hello, is Alga here?"

"Oh, welcome Tiffana."

"Welcome, Tiffana nee-san."

When Tiffana called out, a pair of siblings with green eyes and chestnut hair appeared from what seemed to be the kitchen in the back of the cafeteria. The older brother appeared to be in his mid-twenties, while the younger sister looked to be around twenty years old. Their features were similar, so it was safe to assume they were siblings.

The older brother's name was Alga, and the younger sister's name was Sheila. They were the children of the owner of "Komorebi-Tei." Sheila assisted her father as the poster girl while Aruga was the poster boy of the inn "Higure-Tei," run by their mother next door. However, at present, Alga was playing the role of a cook and was wearing an apron.

"Yuri, these two are Alga and Sheila. They're the interim manager and poster girl of this 'Sunlight Cafe.'"

(TL: ” 木漏れ日亭'' Translates as sunlight filtering through trees and “亭” is small teahouse or cafe. I will be translating it as Sunlight Cafe)

"Tiffa, don't call me the interim manager..."

"But you are, aren't you? How's your father doing?"

"The wound itself isn't that bad, but it'll take a few months to heal."

"Really, he always thinks he's young and goes out to gather ingredients, then this happens," Sheila pouted.

Alga shrugged nonchalantly. There was some reason behind their father's actions. He used to be an adventurer, and even as a chef, he was a bit of a maverick who went out to gather ingredients himself. However, he couldn't beat the effects of aging, and he suffered a major injury about a week ago. As a result, the shop is currently closed.

To help their father's shop, Alga and Sheila decided to take over. However, there was one problem. Alga could only make simple dishes like staff meals, while Sheila, who had excellent serving and order-taking skills, had the unique ability to create unidentified objects when it came to cooking. With these two in charge, it was a situation of how they could possibly run a restaurant.

And hoping to assist the two of them, Tiffana brought Yuri here.

Yuri has heard all about their situation. There's an older brother who's only a little better than an average person cooking, and a younger sister who, if left to cook, would turn it into a crime scene. In other words, Sheila who is better at customer service will continue to work as the face of the shop, and the only option is to Alga do the cooking. And that means coming up with a menu that even such a brother can make.

At first, Yuri tried to refuse Tiffana's offer. He can only make home-cooked meals. He can't make the kind of dishes that are served to customers in a restaurant. Even if everyone in the hideout gave him high praise, that was the truth. For Yuri, his cooking is not something that should be charged for money. It's just like the meals that ordinary households have.

But Tiffana smiled and said, "That's perfect."

After all, "Sunlight Cafe" was a restaurant that served home-cooked meals at a low price. The dishes were not complicated. They were simple dishes that everyone has eaten at home. The only difference is that they offer these dishes at relatively low prices and allow anyone, regardless of their appearance or status, to eat them without any worries. That's what Darios, a former adventurer, had been doing... making meals that even the most broke and struggling adventurers could eat.

Therefore, what Tiffana asks of Yuri is to teach Alga how to make the same kind of home-cooked meals he always makes. However, Alga's cooking skills are not that high. Tiffana is making an unreasonable request, asking for dishes that are as simple as possible, do not require expensive ingredients, and are easy to prepare or can be made in advance.

"I'd like to propose a rice bowl menu for now," he said.

"Rice bowl?" she asked.

"It's a dish from my hometown where you just put ingredients on top of rice in a bowl. It's simple, but you can make variations depending on the ingredients you use. Plus, there's less washing up to do."

As soon as she heard "less washing up," Sheila's eyes lit up. If there were more small dishes and plates like in a set meal, it would be a hassle to wash them all. That would inevitably affect the turnover rate. Since Komorebi Tei was run by her and her father alone, washing dishes was mainly her job. If she could reduce the workload, it would be a godsend.

"And we'll serve a soup with plenty of vegetables. We'll chop up the vegetables so even the odd-shaped ones or leftovers are fine. In fact, misshapen vegetables are often cheaper, so it's a good idea."

"Put vegetables in the soup?"

"Yes. We'll put in a lot of vegetables that can even serve as side dishes. Sometimes, adding bits of meat can deepen the flavor."

Typical soups have few ingredients. So, Alga and Shira couldn't imagine it. However, for Yuri, if you make a bowl with lots of vegetables, it would be a well-balanced meal. He hadn't calculated the cost. He left that to the professionals.

But words alone have no meaning, so they decided to make a prototype first.

What Yuri is making this time is the "Other People's Donburi," which Tifana praised before. Even apprentice boys at the hideout can make this dish without much difficulty, and it tastes good even with cheap meat as long as it's seasoned properly. You can use any kind of meat depending on the day. Whether it's Vipers, Orcs, Bison, or Big Frogs, Tamagoyaki Donburi is normally delicious.
(TL: Tamagoyaki is a type of Japanese omelette made by rolling together several layers of cooked egg. Donburi is a rice bowl dish topped with various ingredients such as meat, fish, vegetables, or eggs, so Tamagoyaki Donburi is just to serve donburi as the main dish along with a soup containing vegetables)

Today, they're using Orc meat that Alga had purchased in advance. It seems to be a loin cut. Yuri thinks it's quite good quality, but in this world, monster meat is inexpensive, so even commoners can afford it. Unless it's a rare monster, the price isn’t too expensive.

Yuri put the seaweed she brought into the pot to season the meat. He wanted to spread the greatness of kombu dashi. At first, Alga and Shira were skeptical because they didn't have the concept of making dashi, but after tasting it, they quickly became believers.

Since they were raised by a father who was a chef, their sense of taste is quite refined. ... It's a mystery to everyone how Shira turned out the way she did.

"After making the dashi, please take out the kombu. It's a waste to throw it away, so you can chop it up and add it to the soup. It's delicious when you simmer it well. For seasoning the meat, we'll start with soy sauce, sugar, and sake to make it sweet and salty. You can change it to your liking, but personally, I think this seasoning makes the rice go well with it, so people will be pleased."

"It was very delicious."

"Thank you, Tifana-san."

Alga is nodding and taking notes, and Tifana smiles and tells him. She has actually tasted the other person's bowl (the meat is from Big Frog) so her opinion is very convincing. Today's meat is orc meat, so it is probably more flavorful than usual. Perhaps, it is simply delicious.

Unlike when she made it at the hideout, Yuri decided to cook the onions together with the meat this time. If she makes a lot of it at once, it will be easier. While it's simmering, she starts on the soup. He throws in chopped kombu and various vegetables. However, he excludes onions and potatoes. He plans to use onions for the bowl and potatoes for another menu. The soup is seasoned with salt and pepper, and soy sauce. Since it will be served with a bowl, it has a slightly Japanese taste.

Before simmering, He asked them to taste the soup. Although it should have been enough for only Alga to taste it, all three of them tasted it. Everyone was impressed with the taste of the soup.

"When making a bowl, transfer one serving of meat and broth to a separate small pot. Then, when the contents boil, pour one beaten egg and cook it."

"How firm should the egg be?"

"I think it depends on personal preference. Personally, I like it to be a little runny like this. It will continue to cook with residual heat."

"While chatting, Yuri skillfully prepares the other-person donburi. Regarding the rice, Tifana had already cooked it beforehand, so it's freshly steamed and hot. Sweet and savory meat with egg on top of freshly steamed rice. If this isn't delicious, then the seasoning must be way off.

For now, it's enough to just have a taste, so he prepares one serving of donburi. It's harder to make just one serving of soup, so he made extra, but if there are any leftovers, Alga and the others can have it at home, so there's no problem.

With the hot donburi and the soup full of ingredients, Yuri leaves Tifana to entertain the two who are impressed while tasting, and he diligently washes the potatoes. He washes them thoroughly so that the dirt on the surface is removed. Soon after, he looks satisfied as he sees all the dirt removed from the potatoes.

"Yuri-kun, this is so delicious... Wait, what are you doing?"

"Oh, I thought it would be convenient to have some side dishes in case someone gets a little hungry... So I prepared some..."

"... And the potatoes?"

"Yes."

While smiling, Yori precisely cuts the potatoes that she had beautifully washed into stick-like shapes. To be more precise, she cuts them in half and then into four equal parts vertically, trying to make them roughly the same size. Then, she throws the potatoes into a large amount of hot oil. ...Basically, it's just french fries with the skin still on.

Yori thought it would be nice to have another dish using the surplus potatoes. Ignoring the bewildered onlookers, Yori makes the french fries. When they made it at the hideout, there was a debate between those who prefer the skin on and those who prefer it off, but to make it easy for Alga, who was inexperienced in cooking, she deliberately left the skin on. Peeling the skin is actually a time-consuming task for the uninitiated.

The fried potatoes are arranged on a wire rack tray. The owner seems to have made fried food before, so the equipment is perfect. Yuri continues to make more and more skin-on french fries while thinking, "I want this tray." She lightly sprinkles salt for seasoning. Salt is the only seasoning used. That way, the taste won't get boring. If they sell well, she would like to challenge herself by mixing in some herbs.

"Here you go, the french fries are ready."

"Oh, you're frying potatoes."

"Is salt the only seasoning you use? If you just cut them with the skin still on, I think I could help."

"Don't interfere with the seasoning and cooking, Sheila."

"You're such a bother, big brother!"

While playfully bickering, the siblings take a bite of the french fries and exclaim, "It's delicious!"

Seems like they had never thought of frying potatoes before, and they eat them while nodding their heads. They wash the potatoes cleanly, cut them into bite-sized sticks, fry them until cooked, and sprinkle with salt. The frying process may be a little difficult, but once you get used to it, you can do it in large quantities. It is an ideal dish for both snacks and children's treats. It was not surprising that the two were very pleased.

Later on, "Komorebi-tei" quietly reopened for business and showed the same lively atmosphere as before."

TLN: Once I get fully back into school I'm going to have a better schedule. So for all the 0 people reading this, sorry about the delay.