Sandrine brought the bread dough and handed it to Rodrigo.
"Here, Father."
"Ah, thanks. So, Rei-san — I just wrap this meat filling in the dough, then steam it... is that right?"
Rei nodded at Rodrigo, who was asking to make sure.
"Yeah. I'm not entirely sure about the steaming time, though, so you'll need to adjust that yourself."
Back when Rei had lived in Japan, he'd bought nikuman from the supermarket before.
But there was a clear difference between sprinkling water on store-bought nikuman and microwaving it versus actually steaming them from scratch like this. After all, the ones sold at supermarkets were already fully cooked — heating them up was all you were doing.
"Hmm, right. I'll experiment with that, then. So, let's get started—"
"No."
"Eh?"
Rei stopped Rodrigo, who had rolled the dough into a rectangle, placed the filling inside, and was about to fold it over like an envelope.
"Umm, let me think..."
Reaching back to the cooking show he'd once watched, Rei recalled how nikuman were wrapped and reached out.
"Like this — put the filling in the center of the dough, then gather it up at the top, wrapping it as you go... Ah, that's not working."
"Like this, maybe?"
Rodrigo must have grasped the gist from Rei's explanation. He wrapped the filling in the dough and shaped it into the familiar form Rei recognized.
To pull off the proper shape from a verbal description alone — that was a cook who ran a shop on the main street, all right.
"Yeah, that's it. The nikuman I know are basically that shape."
Under Rodrigo's hands, the familiar shape of nikuman took form.
Rei simply didn't know that other varieties existed — ones where the dough was spread into a circle, filling placed inside, then folded into a half-moon.
"Hey, Rei-san. Is there some meaning to this shape? It takes quite a bit of effort to form it this way. Wouldn't wrapping it the way Father did earlier, like a regular roll, work fine?"
It was a natural question. This shop saw a lot of customers, so keeping the process as simple as possible was a given.
"I'm not sure. I only know this shape, so there's probably some reason for it. I'd like you to experiment with that too — it might affect how it steams."
Rodrigo nodded at Rei's answer. It was an undeniable fact that the shape would affect both the steaming and the resulting texture.
And since the dough recipe and the filling ingredients would also influence those factors, there was no question that research was necessary.
"Understood. It sounds like there's plenty to experiment with — that's a good thing."
Rodrigo came across as timid, but when it came to his craft, his enthusiasm was clearly on a different level. Or perhaps it was simply that his hobby and his work had become one and the same.
"Anyway, let's try it. We won't know what to do next until we see how it turns out."
With that, Rodrigo quickly wrapped the filling in dough and placed it into the steamer.
The steamer itself wasn't much different from what Rei knew. Since steaming was the cooking method, it was only natural that the shape turned out similar.
(If we used a Magic Item or something similar, it might take a completely different form... but fortunately or unfortunately, this shop's steamer is the old-fashioned type, closest to a seiro.)
Even while the dough steamed, Sandrine didn't forget to gather information. Rodrigo, meanwhile, kept his eyes glued to the steamer, watching intently as if waiting for the moment it finished.
"Hey, Rei-san. You said nikuman is a basic steamed bread dish, but what other kinds are there?"
"Let's see. As far as I know, there are ones with different fillings... and also ones where cheese is kneaded right into the dough before steaming, I think."
Rei answered as he recalled the steamed bread his mother had bought from the supermarket back on Earth.
"Cheese? ...I see. That does sound tasty."
"Well, what kind of dish to make is for this shop to decide. Personally, I think nikuman is the way to go."
"...Hey, Rei-san."
Sandrine suddenly spoke up, studying Rei with a curious look.
"Hm? What is it?"
"Your knowledge of steamed bread... no, of this dish called nikuman — that's purely from books, right?"
"Yeah, that's right. Why?"
"For someone who says that, the way you've been talking makes it sound like you've actually eaten it before."
"..."
Rei fell silent at the sudden remark.
Thinking back on everything he'd said and done since they started making nikuman — no, since he'd first started explaining it — it was no wonder Sandrine had gotten that impression.
(Did I get a little too particular about the nikuman?)
Sandrine was sharper than he'd expected, that much was true. But even so, he had to admit his own conduct had been careless.
"That's..."
He got that far, then hesitated over what to say next. If he claimed to have actually eaten this dish before, he'd be asked where, and why he'd been hiding it.
Of course, deflecting those questions wouldn't be hard. Rei traveled to all sorts of places with Set, and before coming to Gilm, his cover story was that he'd lived as a mage's apprentice. But even so, he wanted to avoid carelessly making up excuses here.
"Sandrine, does it really matter where this dish called nikuman — or steamed bread in general — comes from?"
The one who threw Rei a lifeline was Rodrigo, who'd been staring at the steamer the whole time.
"Father."
"Rei-san has helped us enormously with this. Considering that, it doesn't matter whether this dish is actually made somewhere. ...No — if it is being eaten somewhere, that just means it's already been accepted."
Rodrigo's words were undeniably true. If nikuman was a dish that people actually ate, that meant the dish had already proven itself.
"But—"
"Sandrine, Rei-san is an adventurer. And a high-rank Alias Holder at that. You understand there are things he can and can't tell people, don't you?"
Rodrigo's tone was gentle, but his real feeling was plain: he wanted no part of getting tangled up in the affairs of a high-rank adventurer — especially secrets not meant for others' ears — and dragged into whatever trouble might come with them.
That wasn't an unreasonable stance. If he were a confident adventurer or mercenary, that would be one thing, but Rodrigo was a cook, nothing more. Wanting to stay clear of such matters was only natural — especially with a daughter like Sandrine and a wife at home.
Whether she picked up on that or simply decided it was too risky to press further, Sandrine gave up on asking Rei anything more.
(Well, it's not really that dangerous a secret, though.)
Of course, Rei couldn't talk about Japan, but it wasn't the kind of secret that would get someone killed for knowing. Still, if they were willing to let his slip of the tongue slide, that was a relief.
A brief silence settled over the kitchen. Once again, it was Rodrigo who broke it.
"It's done. ...I think the steaming time is about right."
He lifted the steamer off the heat and set it in front of Rei and the others. The moment he removed the lid, steam billowed into the kitchen.
(Since the filling is sealed inside the dough, there's almost no smell. Nikuman usually has a slightly sweet aroma, though...)
When the steam cleared, they could see what was inside.
"Huh?"
The one who said that aloud was Rei. Sandrine, sensing something unexpected in his murmur, spoke up with a bad feeling.
"What is it, Rei-san? Something wrong?"
"Ah... isn't it kind of flat?"
Just as Rei said, compared to when they'd gone into the steamer, the buns were visibly flatter. The nikuman Rei knew certainly didn't collapse like that.
Rei found it odd, but Rodrigo shook his head unconcerned.
"This is the first attempt, so some imperfection is to be expected. If anything, I'm glad it only ended up a bit flat. It's probably because we used the same dough we'd use for baking."
"Meaning?"
At his daughter's question, Rodrigo smiled.
"If we adjust the dough mixture and keep testing, we'll eventually come up with a dough suited for steaming."
"Father, you make that sound easy, but isn't that pretty difficult?"
"It's fine. I'm good at this kind of work. Besides, I'll have Mother help me."
Hearing that he'd have his mother help, Rei was slightly surprised. Since only Rodrigo and Sandrine were here, he'd assumed his wife — Sandrine's mother — was no longer around for some reason. Figuring that mentioning it would only lead to complications, he kept his mouth shut.
"Well then, let's taste it."
Rei picked up one of the flatter-than-expected nikuman and split it in two. The aroma of the Orc meat filling drifted through the air — an appetizing fragrance that promised a delicious flavor.
Rodrigo was a skilled cook. Short of a catastrophic failure, it was unlikely to be inedible.
Drawn by the scent, Rei bit into the nikuman. The heat hit first... then came the flavor of the Orc meat and mixed vegetables, and finally the soft sweetness of the dough wrapped around it all, blending together in his mouth... except.
"Hmm."
After swallowing, Rodrigo groaned with dissatisfaction. Sandrine tilted her head, looking as though something was slightly off.
"Underwhelming," Rei said, giving his honest impression.
And that was the truth. The filling was slightly bland, its flavor muddied by the moisture from the vegetables, making it watery. The dough itself wasn't bad, exactly, but something about it felt wrong. The softness, compared to the texture of the nikuman Rei remembered, fell short — it was crumbly. Watery filling, crumbly dough.
Taken as a whole, "underwhelming" was accurate. It wasn't disgusting by any means, but if asked whether he'd actively want to eat it again, he couldn't honestly say yes.
"Hmm, true. But for a first attempt, I'd say it's quite good. The question is how to raise the quality from here."
Rodrigo seemed to see potential in the flavor, smiling as he spoke.
"You think so? ...I see."
Rei took another bite or two, tilting his head. But if a professional cook said so, then it must be the case. Left to his own devices, Rei wouldn't have had the confidence to make this nikuman — or rather, this pseudo-nikuman — taste any better. Those were surely words born from confidence in his own skills.
"Yes. It's not very tasty at this stage, but I can feel the potential. And above all, the idea of steamed bread is something I'd never even imagined before, so I'm genuinely looking forward to seeing how we refine it."
To Rei, the dish was far from a success, but Rodrigo clearly felt otherwise.
Is this going to be okay? Rei glanced at Sandrine with that unspoken question, and she nodded back reassuringly.
"Honestly, it's a fact that it's not good as-is, but if Father says he can do it, then he'll figure it out. He's usually timid and indecisive, but when it comes to cooking, you can trust him."
"Sandrine... that's a bit..."
Was he being praised or insulted? As a father, he seemed to take it as the latter. With a slightly pitiful expression, Rodrigo addressed his daughter.
"What are you talking about? Come on, let's start figuring out how to develop this dish."
Watching the father and daughter's easy back-and-forth, Rei suddenly spoke up.
"Hey, mind if I let Set try one?"
Told there was no problem with that, Rei fed the pseudo-nikuman to Set... only to be met with a decidedly lukewarm cry in response.