In the kitchen, Yuto already had an idea for Remilia's dessert.
Although he was not particularly proficient in Western pastries, desserts did not only refer to cakes.
Dishes he had made before, such as thick tamagoyaki and candied apples, could all be considered desserts.
In traditional cuisine, there were countless dishes related to sweets, an area where Yuto excelled.
He had already heated up the wok. Inside was a mixture of milk, sugar, and starch that he had stirred into a paste. As he stirred, the paste-like liquid gradually became smoother. He was making an extremely traditional sweet dish: fried milk.
Even a liquid like milk had been given new tricks by the people of his homeland. Fried milk sounded unbelievable, but in reality, it was not very difficult to prepare.
Yuto scooped up a spoonful of the mixture and tilted it slightly.
Slurp—
The mixture flowed down from the spoon like smooth oil, showing that he had stirred it thoroughly.
He turned off the heat and took out a square metal mold. Because many of the dishes he knew required molds, he had bought a pile of them.
Lifting the wok, he poured the milk mixture into the mold.
There wasn't that much mixture in the wok, it only filled a little over half the mold, with a capacity of probably a little over seven hundred milliliters.
After pouring the wok clean, he gave the mold a shake. When the milky-white paste struck the walls, it splashed up slight white waves.
Normally, the next step would be to wait for the mold to cool completely and freeze into milk blocks.
However, Yuto did not intend to follow the normal procedure. After all, he had an adorable dragon maid working for him.
"Tohru, come in for a moment," Yuto called softly.
"I'm coming, Boss!" Tohru replied loudly, walking quickly into the kitchen.
Her slightly orange-gold eyes carried a hint of curiosity.
Yuto held the mold and placed it in front of her. "Tohru, can you cool this down?"
Since he had an extraordinary dragon employee, the way he cooked naturally had to be a little different.
"Eh? Cool it down? I can, but... I'm not very good at it," Tohru hesitated.
Strictly speaking, she was a proper fire-breathing dragon.
Although she had come into contact with ice-type magic before, she was not very skilled with it.
"It's fine. As long as you can make the milk inside solidify into blocks," Yuto comforted her.
Hearing this, Tohru nodded and took the mold.
Yuto turned around to wash the wok he had just used to simmer the milk, but Tohru's voice stopped him.
"Boss, it's done."
Her seeking praise tone surprised him.
'That fast?' He turned his head and met her eager gaze.
Lowering his head, he saw that the milk inside the mold had indeed turned into solid blocks, looking exactly as if it had been frozen for a long time.
Although he had prepared himself to accept something beyond common sense, such high efficiency still astonished him.
"Didn't you say you weren't very good at it? Tohru is unexpectedly capable."
His praise made the dragon maid look like a child who had just received candy, and the plump tail behind her swayed back and forth!
"Hehehe. I can only extract heat, that's all. Compared to the dragons who specialize in frost, I really can't compare at all. They can freeze tens of thousands of humans in one breath!"
Hearing her boast, Yuto froze.
"No, Tohru, what you can do is already very good. It helps me a great deal!" He placed his hand on her shoulder and spoke with complete sincerity.
He only lacked a powerful cooling machine for cooking. Freezing tens of thousands of humans... better not.
"Eh?! Really???"
"Mm! Can you keep helping me cool things in the future?"
"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, mm-hmm!"
Watching Tohru nod happily, Yuto felt emotional. 'What is a perfect employee? What is the perfect tool? It's Tohru!'
After she left the kitchen, Yuto cracked two eggs.
Naturally, fried milk could not be made by putting the milk blocks directly into the wok, like ordinary fried foods, it required a coating of egg yolk, starch, and breadcrumbs.
Yuto set up a wok and poured in a generous amount of oil. For deep-frying, there had to be enough oil for the item to float on the surface.
The high flame rose, and the oil temperature gradually climbed. When it reached the desired level, he lowered the flame slightly.
Methods like deep-frying and pan-frying had to proceed slowly over low heat; although the scene looked intense, it was actually a delicate process.
With a washed hand, Yuto picked up one of the milk blocks that had been cut into strips.
He rolled it in starch, coated it with breadcrumbs, and finally dipped it into the egg yolk.
With the coating complete, he held the end of the milk block and slid it along the side of the wok into the boiling hot oil.
When frying many kinds of meat, the oil is usually heated to about sixty percent before the ingredients are added.
But fried milk was different, the oil had to be at eighty percent!
Because the interior was milk, placing it into cooler oil would prolong the frying time, risking a meltdown.
Often, before the outer breadcrumbs had even set, the milk inside would flow out, ruining an entire wok of oil. What was needed was fierce high heat!
Sizzle!
The sound of frying oil echoed from the kitchen, making the already noisy atmosphere out front even more heated. In the wok, the exterior of the milk blocks gradually turned golden.
Yuto placed the blocks into the wok one by one, then removed the pieces that had turned golden, his movements orderly and calm.
During the process of making fried milk, there was actually no special aroma, as the scent was completely sealed inside the breadcrumb shell.
To truly experience its flavor, one had to break it open; that would be the moment the fried milk revealed its charm.
Yuto arranged the golden blocks into a small layered tower, applying the plating skills every chef ought to know.
Since the wok had produced enough for two people, he took another plate. Holding the two portions, he walked out to the dining area.
When he emerged, everyone's attention inevitably turned toward him, though most only gave a brief glance before returning to their conversations.
However, Remilia looked at Yuto with delighted, expectant eyes.
Although the way she had bullied Aya earlier had been tyrannical, at her core, she was still a child who anticipated something novel.
This mentality was universal, whether to human or non-human.
Seeing her expression, Yuto smiled.
After all, Remilia was very cute. Beside her, Sakuya's face turned a little red again when she saw her mistress's expression, a change Yuto noticed.
He became even more certain that something was off about the elegant maid!
"Fried milk. Please enjoy." Yuto served the dishes to Remilia and Sakuya, stepping back a half pace.
Hearing his words, Remilia let go of the reporter's wing.
She looked at the golden blocks in front of her with confusion.
'Fried milk?' The noble young lady froze.
'Milk can be fried?'
Even the elegant maid beside her, who was highly skilled at cooking, wore a strange expression, as this was the first time she had heard of fried milk.
"Oh, right, right. I almost forgot. It tastes even better if you dip it in sugar before eating," Yuto smiled apologetically, bringing out two small dishes of white sugar.
Although Remilia was puzzled, she decided not to ask any questions in order to maintain a little of her dignity.
'If I ask what fried milk is, wouldn't that ruin my dignity as a noble young lady?'
Deciding to try a bite first, Remilia picked up a piece of the golden block, dipped it into the white sugar, and brought it to her lips.
The moment the pastry touched her skin, her hand trembled.
'Hot!'
Scalded, she recoiled like a timid little beast cub, looking extremely cute.
Yuto cast a strange look at the maid standing beside the vampire and reached for the tissue box.
Sakuya was having a nosebleed again!