Leaving it to the auto-drive, I headed to the passenger cabin.
The three passengers were obediently seated on the sofa.
Some unruly passengers might barge into the kitchen drinking and eating whatever,
so I charge them extra fees for that.
For now, some explanations were in order.
“We’ve departed safely, estimated arrival at Lysio is in five days around noon.”
“I see. Then we’ll be in your care for five days. I’m Feena Vrbia.”
“And I’m her maid servant, Mariela Cadem.”
The blue-scaled white-haired woman and white-scaled black-haired maid gave polite bows.
“Karis Vrbia here. By the way…”
The red-scaled, black-haired man then folded his arms and glared intensely at me.
“Try anything with my elder sister or her maid, and you won’t get off easy…”
I could understand his protectiveness,
but his sister complex vibes were unmistakable.
“Shall I present as a woman then?”
“You’re a Sumerian?”
Exasperated by his sister complex, I casually suggested that, which made him drop his arms from around my neck in surprise.
Some clients do make gender preference requests occasionally –
not for harassment, but due to trauma, discomfort with opposite genders as crew, etc.
There were past incidents of male crew assaulting female passengers after all.
Though of course, female passengers assaulted by female crew, male passengers by male crew, etc. have all happened too.
If he was a Sumerian racist though, that would change things.
“Well? Your preference?”
“No, stay male. Having you as a woman too would be too much.”
Seems he wasn’t a Sumerian racist at least –
not that many Draconians are.
Four hours had passed since departure by galactic standard time.
Closing the holographic book I was reading, I decided to leave the cockpit
and prepare dinner for the passengers and myself.
Just once, on the way to the bathroom, I put out some tea and tea snacks (a pound cake with chocolate chips), but they are Draconian people like Grandpa and the Drakken sisters.
They probably won’t get full stomachs from that little amount, so I should make a bigger dinner.
Thinking that, I spoke to the three guests.
“Umm…I’m going to make dinner now, but is there anything you can’t eat?”
The topic was the dinner menu.
Since they are Draconian, most things should be fine, but since they are staying for five days, I should probably ask about that.
“That’s okay. Umm…may I see the kitchen?”
The guest lady Feena asked to see the kitchen.
To be honest, there are sometimes guests like this.
Well, they probably don’t get a chance to go into a ship’s kitchen often, so it’s understandable they’d be curious.
“Please do.”
So I showed them to the kitchen.
“This is quite grand for a cargo ship’s kitchen.”
“Cooking helps pass the time on long flights.”
Normally a ship this size would just have a pantry area for simple cooking, but when the ship got bigger, I took the opportunity to set up a kitchen about the size of a small town diner’s kitchen area.
That said, I do regret making way too many premade dishes the day after setting it up and having nowhere to put them all.
Lady Feena looked around the kitchen curiously.
While leaving her be, I started making dinner.
As I chopped vegetables, cracked eggs, and sautéed chicken, for some reason Lady Feena just stared fixedly at me.
I understand Draconian people are interested in cooking, but having her gaze fixed on me made me feel tense.
What I struggled to make was, for the Draconian people, a super-sized omelet rice on an oval plate about 40cm long, topped with a demiglass sauce mixed with fillings.
A mound of shrimp fries, onion fries, and potato fries.
A bowl-sized coleslaw salad with a separate French dressing (just vinegar, oil, salt and black pepper, no dairy).
And a premade panna cotta for dessert.
“Hmm, not bad at all. I appreciate you adjusting the portions for us.”
Mr. Karis had good manners, eating quickly but neatly.
“Delicious! This demiglass sauce is amazing! The omelet is so fluffy and moist! The shrimp fries are crispy and wonderful too!”
The maid Mariela ate the omelet rice, then shrimp fry, omelet rice, onion fry, omelet rice, potato fry, then coleslaw salad in rotation.
“Thish ish sho delishush! Shimple yet unmistakably delishush, sho you can tell the cook’sh shkillfull!” (This is so delicious! Simple yet unmistakably delicious, so you can tell the cook is skillful!)
Lady Feena in particular stuffed her mouth with omelet rice, her eyes sparkling as she brought spoonfuls to her mouth.
From their reactions, it seemed all three enjoyed it.
“Sister…please swallow before speaking…”
Well, Mr. Karis just held his head watching his sister’s unrefined display…
After dinner,
Mariela offered to help clean up.
As a maid, she apparently can’t relax unless doing some work, so while I was in the cockpit, she had apparently cleaned the ship interior too.
Though she didn’t enter the kitchen or bathrooms.
Next was the bath.
Not a shower, but a clawed bathtub style bathroom like in the Empire.
I had it installed after liking the bathroom in a Empire style inn I stayed at in Voldar.
The two ladies were delighted by this.
But Mr. Karis seemed even more pleased,
humming loud enough to be heard outside.
As the galactic standard time got late, it was time for them to retire to their rooms.
The beds in the guest rooms are the same as the one in my room.
Normally the master couple would take the bedroom while the maid Mariela would use the sofa bed, but Mr. Karis said he would take the sofa so Mariela could use the bedroom.
I remembered previously hosting a wealthy person who brought a servant, and he was quite arrogant and annoying.
[If you’re a Sumerian, stay in female form!] he yelled, and when I did, he relentlessly sexually harassed me.
He yelled at the servant too, throwing things at her as he pleased.
I remember the servant giving an awful look like she was about to snap.
Compared to that, since Mariela is always smiling, the siblings must be good employers.
And so, the first night passed without any major issues.
READ THE ORIGINAL TRANSLATION AT GADGETIZEDPANDA.COM
Feena Vrbia
The season of the New Bloom Festival, one of the major events for us Draconian people, has come again this year.
This festival is where extended families gather to celebrate those who came of age that year and confirm their growth.
The highlight is a martial arts tournament held only by those who came of age that year.
It’s optional, with eligibility limited to newly adult Draconian people.
I participated about 30 years ago and made the top four.
There is also another highlight of this festival –
the “Potluck.”
Individuals and families all bring different souvenirs and gifts, which are then sampled together.
It’s not a competition judging the best, so some people bring the same thing every year while others bring something new each time.
We too have prepared items for this potluck.
This time, we were very flustered by the sudden strike, but thanks to that we were able to meet such a wonderful cook and cuisine.
From the first omelet rice and on, every dish and dessert was truly exquisite.
He himself said it was normal, but that’s not true at all.
If he can make cuisine satisfying enough for Draconian palates, he can easily call himself a first-rate chef without issue.
It’s a shame he is just a cargo hauler.
But then, perhaps it’s because he’s a cargo hauler that no one has scouted his talents before.
Is there any way we could poach him to become the Vrbia household’s exclusive chef?
According to what Karis heard, since he’s Sumerian, seduction won’t work.
I want to somehow gain his trust so he’ll at least consider it.
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