Chapter 95

“What’s for lunch today?”

“It’s barbecue (Japanese style).”

“…What do you mean, ‘Japanese style’?”

“In traditional barbecue, chubby old men with beards like Marx spend hours grilling meat to tender perfection, but the Japanese style is more casual and relaxed.”

“I see… (disinterested).”

Mmm, Fran-chan is so cute today too!

If anyone else gave me that kind of reaction, I’d literally bully them until they were dead… but with Fran-chan, well, we get along, you know? We’re a loving couple, after all!

I’ll even forgive her cold attitude!

…Actually, Fran-chan’s stomach lining gets worn down regularly because of me. If she really broke down, it would be a problem for me, so I do take care of her to some extent.

Sure, I want to power-harass, so I do, but I won’t go so far as to break a potential executive candidate.

I know how to hold back. After all, I’m good at human relationships.

No, seriously, for someone as socially inept as me to pass as human, I have to rely on my high base specs and seriously grind the “human relationships” game… otherwise, it’d be impossible.

Since coming to this world, I’ve been doing whatever I want without hiding my true nature, but back on Earth, I was perfectly capable of pretending to be a top-tier businessman. It’s not like I can’t act human.

I mean, even though I treat Fran-chan a bit harshly, I make sure not to break her.

I’ve done plenty of experiments breaking people’s minds and bodies in this world, so I’m used to it now. Rest assured, I won’t break Fran-chan.

And if she did break? I’d just fix her or recycle her into something, so there’s no problem.

“Hehe, look! Here’s some skewered meat that would get you dirty looks in authentic American barbecue!”

“Yay!”

“Delicious, isn’t it?”

“Nom nom…”

Feeding time for the servants.

I hand them skewers of beef, bell peppers, or shishito peppers, tomatoes, and zucchini, which are grilled on iron skewers.

This is typical Japanese-style barbecue, eaten with a sweet and salty barbecue sauce.

The big ol’ American piggies—er, I mean, the wonderfully well-rounded folks over in America wouldn’t be satisfied with something like this, so I didn’t do it much in my past life when I worked over there…

But when it comes to quick cooking, this is the easiest.

Still, these girls have big appetites.

In their mid-teens, they’re right in the middle of their growth spurts, always wanting to eat a lot.

On top of that, as mages living what’s basically a military school lifestyle… they sure can eat.

They’re probably eating more than the average guy.

“Mmm! This is so good! The sauce is sweet and spicy, just perfect!”

“The vegetables are delicious. I always thought veggies were just grass growing out there… but they’re this tasty…”

“Oh? Everyone, vegetables are important! A balanced diet of grains, vegetables, and meat is the secret to staying healthy… I learned that in an e-learning nutrition course!”

“Oh, since you’re all nobles, you don’t eat many vegetables, right? Just so you know, these veggies taste good because Exas-sama grew them, but the vegetables commoners eat are basically grass.”

Wow, my servants are getting along…!

As expected of the experienced members of the “Victim’s Association” from my power harassment. Their bond is strong. I made sure of that…

Actually, Yuki and Grace aren’t so bad, but Fran-chan, being a high-ranking noble, is quite arrogant, you know?

She only grovels to me because I’m overwhelmingly stronger, but she was raised to think using commoners is just natural.

It’s the superior’s job to correct such work attitudes, isn’t it?

“I’m getting bored of grilling. Ada, you take over.”

“Yes, Exas-sama!”

With everything already skewered and seasoned, Ada takes over the grilling.

I guess I’ll eat too…

Mmm, not bad, right?

The meat is a data-based creation, using beef as a base and modified in various ways, so I don’t know exactly what kind of meat it is anymore, but at least the taste, texture, and nutritional value are similar to Earth’s.

Well, the nutritional value is uncertain? But since it only contains components that would be in meat, it should be fine.

Magic is “the power of information,” and manipulating that magic is what we call “magic.” When that’s the case, the “information entity” created by weaving magic can be used as real matter…

This world is absurdly weird. It’s convenient, though, so I won’t question it too much…

By the way, my sympathizers—new-age mages—are also camping fairly comfortably.

“Man, Josephine’s ‘Freezer Box’ is amazing! With this, we can freeze ingredients and keep them fresh for a month!”

“Exactly! Now we can eat fresh stew while traveling instead of hard jerky!”

“Let’s use detection magic to find some deer and go hunting. Once we butcher it, we’ll store it in the freezer.”

“Salt generation magic is a must for this kind of journey. And don’t forget water generation magic…”

“Heat wave magic is great too! You can heat up your food without starting a fire!”

“I’ve been into generation magic lately. Want to try the wine I created with my ‘Wine Generation’ magic?”

“Ooh, sounds good! …Hmm, the taste still needs work, but it might be decent if you use it for cooking.”

“Wait! Let’s use oxidation magic on this wine… there, now it’s vinegar! Let’s make a wild herb salad with it!”

They’ve started applying the techniques I taught them, using magic to make life easier…

I use magic not just at school but also at work and in daily life, and people see that.

Even if they’re not my followers, they must know the concept of “making life easier with magic.”

But my followers have taken it a step further—they’re now in the realm of “imitating my techniques.”

The saying “Shu-ha-ri” comes to mind. First, start from the basics… or should I say, start from script kiddies?”