TCP 04

Chapter 4

It wasn’t just because she was his daughter that he thought this way.

Having held the title of Duke, he had seen countless human beings.

Some were exceptional, some incompetent. Each had their own status and abilities.

Yet no one had ever achieved something remarkable in just two days like his daughter had.

So, for now, he decided to let his daughter pursue what she wanted.

“Why not let Chloe do as she wishes? She managed to create such food in such a short time.”

At his words, the Duchess nodded in agreement.

Then the Duke took another bite of the hamburger steak and fell into deep thought.

In fact, it was, in a way, a simple dish.

Truly simple—but that made it all the more impressive.

To produce such a taste with a basic combination?

Anyone could think to grind meat and cook it. But no one had done it before, which made it extraordinary.

And his daughter had accomplished it in just two days.

Two days since she had collapsed and woken up.

Indeed.

The ideal taste that their daughter now pursued after her changed palate was this level.

This was the level required for her to feel something was truly delicious. Having been forced to eat food that tasted like dirt, one could only imagine her frustration.

The Duke and Duchess immediately realized that Chloe’s ambition in cooking was not just a passing childish whim. They promised her even greater support.

“I suppose we underestimated our daughter’s passion. To think she could make something like this.”

The Duchess spoke with such emotion that her eyes welled with tears, and the Duke, gently comforting her, solemnly added:

“Yes. From now on, do whatever you wish. Whatever it may be, we will support you.”

Having not only obtained her parents’ approval but also the tremendous backing of the Garnet Dukedom, Chloe enthusiastically vowed to live up to their expectations.

“I will do my best. Thank you for believing in me, Mom, Dad!”

At the same time, Chloe hugged her parents tightly, acting cute as she repeated her promise several times: she would definitely present them with amazing dishes.

With the family’s support secured, it was time to think more seriously about creating a proper cooking environment.

“What should I do with the family’s backing? Let’s set priorities…”

“First, of course, a refrigerator is necessary.”

Keeping ingredients fresh was essential for good taste.

And having a fridge would greatly expand the range of dishes she could make.

“Please summon a magician who can use ice magic.”

“A magician? …Very well, understood.”

Chloe didn’t understand the scientific principles behind refrigerators.

“Electricity, and something called a refrigerant, I guess?”

So, in order to bring her knowledge to life in this world, a magician was her only solution.

You might wonder: how did people here preserve food without a refrigerator?

Nothing special—they just buried the produce in cold ground.

“It feels unreal…”

It would be nice if it were a lie, but unfortunately, in this empire, even though magicians capable of ice magic freely roamed the streets, refrigerators simply did not exist.

No matter how underdeveloped the science was, she couldn’t understand why, in a world with magic, there was no solution other than the primitive method of burying ingredients in the ground.

Even ice itself was rare.

By 21st-century standards, this place was nothing short of a dystopia.

“I’ll make the fridge with a magician, and then…”

“Apprentice magician Esir, at your service. Are you the princess who requested ice magic for… some peculiar reason?”

The Duke and Duchess quickly summoned the magician Chloe had asked for.

‘Who is this guy?’

The magician’s attitude was subtly dismissive and indifferent.

‘Still a bit of a kid.’

He was younger than she expected—so much so that he looked almost the same age as Chloe.

“Haha… magicians aren’t usually inclined to do things like this.”

Hearing the Duke’s awkward laugh, Chloe realized the situation.

Magicians valued combat magic for war above all else. Very few would agree to use ice magic just to preserve ingredients.

That was why, despite the existence of ice magic, no one had thought to make a refrigerator.

‘And now, some kid shows up?’

Chloe sighed, forgetting that she herself looked like a twelve-year-old.

“Still, I hear you’re skilled. Do your best!”

Ignoring the Duke’s unhelpful encouragement, Chloe and the boy magician remained alone in the room, staring at each other.

“Where should we start?”

“Hmm…”

Chloe paused, then opened her notebook with her plan written down.

‘If he can use ice magic, it should work.’

Grateful that a magician had come at all, she explained each of her ideas one by one.

“So, what I want to make is…”

The results were astonishing.

“It works!”

When Chloe explained her plan—“I want to maintain a cold and stable temperature and humidity inside this box so that food doesn’t spoil or go bad”—Esir initially looked as if she was crazy.

But as he listened to her ambitious plan step by step, curiosity began to spark in his sullen expression.

Before long, he had created not only a refrigerator but also a freezer.

“Well, the implementation itself wasn’t hard. It’s just absurd to use magic for mere ingredient storage.”

“‘Mere ingredients’?!”

Chloe bristled at the rude remark, then calmed down. After all, he had magically built a fridge and freezer in just one day.

‘You’re not leaving this Dukedom now,’ she thought.

Full of excitement to realize her grand plans with Esir, Chloe smiled brightly.

“Thanks for making it after all. At first, I didn’t think you’d do it.”

“Well, there’s nowhere else for me to use my magic anyway…”

“Hmm?”

“Nothing.”

Chloe asked again, but Esir didn’t elaborate.

“So, my job here is done, right? I’ll be going now.”

“No, wait!”

Chloe’s shout made Esir raise his eyebrows.

“What is it? Is there a problem?”

“Wait a moment. I need to see how what you made will be used.”

Chloe had no intention of letting him leave just yet. Though the environment was primitive, she planned to entice—or rather, persuade—this magician with the most delicious food she could create.

“What do you think will happen if we freeze milk?”

“Are you crazy… who freezes milk?”

At his startled reply, Chloe’s eyes sparkled even more. Forcing him to meet her dazzling gaze, Esir’s expression grew increasingly annoyed.

Even though he looked increasingly rebellious, Chloe’s eyes kept shining brightly.

“Just close your eyes once. This will only be eaten once, I promise. Okay?”

Esir watched as Chloe placed milk into the freezer, skeptical of her sanity, and then, when she ground the frozen milk, he thought, ‘Yep, she’s definitely not sane.’

Soon, he stared blankly at the honey and honeycomb atop the perfectly frozen milk ice.

Freeze milk. Grind it. Add honey.

He couldn’t even imagine what it would taste like.

Esir didn’t even like sweets, so he took just one spoonful, intending only to humor the princess.

And then…

“How is it? Delicious, right?”

“Th-this is!”

Esir’s eyes widened.

“It… melts in the mouth. Not heavy at all, soft and smooth.”

As he said this, he continued eating the milk ice as if under a spell, only realizing after he had finished that he felt slightly embarrassed.

Freezing milk and grinding it to add honey wasn’t particularly difficult in itself.

But no one had ever thought of it before.