Reincarnation with AI (Unemployment-Free)

Chapter 84 Desserts

Since the riot, Rudeus and Iris's relationship has gradually recovered.

With Hilda's intervention, Alice apologized to Rudeus.

Although they still seem to be having a tiff.

In hindsight, the focus of this matter should not have been on Alice.

The world of children is real, yet also blurry.

The process of growth is slow and it is also repetitive.

Thinking this way, and seeing Alice's awkward apology, Rudeus no longer felt there was anything wrong with it.

Her parents and grandfather are now on her side. Even though Alice still thinks she shouldn't apologize, she has begun to realize her mistake when all her loved ones are on her side.

Hilda's intervention, her grandfather's and father's taking sides—the will of these adults formed a wall.

Alice apologized not necessarily because she understood why violence was wrong, but because she discovered that everyone she loved was standing against her.

This feeling is very subtle; it always feels like a different kind of coercion.

Rudius had a feeling that he had used something and defeated something.

This is not education, it is discipline.

It's the kind of discipline you figured out before—turning "you should" into "you must".

You became part of the discipline.

Rudius frowned. AI wasn't entirely right, but it did convey that meaning.

That vague feeling is a mixture of power, politics, discipline, family ties, education, and many other things.

It can't be explained in just a few words.

However, AI still gave Rudius a heads-up to prevent him from inadvertently turning education into a more covert form of discipline or a more covert exercise of power.

During this period, Rudius was reflecting on what problems had occurred in the process of education.

Education always contains an element of discipline, and discipline can indeed sometimes foster growth.

Things we dislike will make us instinctively avoid them, but in reality, there is no absolute black and white.

We cannot ignore the power of discipline as a means simply because we dislike it.

Having grasped this understanding, Rudeus gladly picked up the first teaching tool he used against Alice—the power bestowed upon her by her family.

It was quite a subtle thing, Rudeus thought of something he often heard in his previous life.

The parents dropped their child off at school and said to the teacher, "If the child misbehaves, you can hit him as you please."

Looking back, it turns out this was actually a kind of invisible grant of power.

How stupid of me! I should have dealt with Alice's parents from the beginning.

The reason why the previous teachers couldn't teach Alice was ultimately because Alice had confidence and knew that she would be indulged.

Now, Rudius simply copied the math problems he had prepared for Kyrie and handed them to Alice.

You don't need to say anything, just look at her.

The young lady had her head down, her eyes darting around, as if she wanted to hide her expression with her hair.

He clenched and unclenched his fists, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Watching Alice gradually grit her teeth.

Rudeus put away his teasing smile and said in a gentle but perfunctory tone, "Miss Alice, you will be studying with Kyrie Irvine from now on."

The morning's study time was back on track.

Rudius no longer made a point of keeping his distance from Alice.

Instead, there's a subtle sense of anticipation.

Imagine what it would be like if Alice had that expression on her face, like a primary school student accidentally hitting their homeroom teacher.

This desire even surpassed his aversion to pain, giving Rudius a subtle, almost masochistic urge—

The content of the education was still simple, and it ended in a short time.

Rudius closed the storybook and said, "That's enough for now."

After saying that, he turned to look at Alice, who looked like she hadn't had enough, only to see her immediately turn her face away, cross her arms, and say, "Hmph!"

There's still quite a while before lunch.

What should we do next?

Looking at Alice's bright red hair, Rudeus suddenly remembered the breakfast he had asked Liliana to bring out last time—wasn't he also running away from discipline?

Thinking of breakfast, Rudius thought of honey again.

To be honest, it was only after he went home that he realized this kind of dessert was something that was rarely available in rural areas like Buena Village.

Next time I go home, I'll bring some for Senis. Lilia and Sylphie will like it too, and even though they're still little, it's okay if they take a lick—this was stolen from my workplace by your brother—

Without hesitation, Rudeus asked, "Miss Alice, have you eaten cake?"

"Huh?" Alice turned her head, giving me a look that said, "Why are you asking that?", before replying with an air of superiority, "Of course!"

"I see." Rudeus said calmly, lowering his eyelids as if lost in thought.

"What, you've never tried it before?" Alice asked back.

"no."

Rudius had indeed never eaten cake.

On his fifth birthday, Paul had a lavish meal, and he even brought back a pig's head as the main dish.

But there was indeed no cake like the one Rudius envisioned.

There was no cream, no sugar, and no that porous, soft bread; frankly, there wasn't even honey in that meal.

Instead, the desserts were fruit pies that looked like apples, and sweet fruits the size of grapes.

There was no honey, let alone sugar; that was a true luxury.

The "cake" Rudius is referring to now is not the same as the one in his previous life, but rather the food that is closest to the definition of "cake" in his understanding; perhaps it would be more appropriate to call it sweet bread.

It is a type of food that uses sugar in its preparation.

Alice stared wide-eyed at Rudeus with an incredulous look. She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then swallowed it back.

"Not even once?" Alice asked, unwilling to give up.

"Not even once." Rudius thought for a moment, then added, "There's no sugar in Buena village. Honey is also a rare commodity."

When talking about honey, one must mention beekeepers. There is no such profession in Bouyena village, but what about Roya?

There are quite a lot of servants in this fortress.

Rudius continued, "Are there beekeepers here?"

"I don't know," Alice replied curtly.

Rudius turned to look at Girenius, who also shook his head.

Hmm... These two guys have no common sense.

This is something you should ask the person in charge of, but Rudius doesn't really want to contact Thomas. He'll ask Alphonse when he has some free time.

Rudius recently figured it out: these two butlers should correspond one-to-one with the master's household. Thomas is Philip's butler, and Alphonse is Sauros's butler.

"Why are you asking that?" Alice's voice brought him back to reality.

"Of course I want to eat it," Rudius said. "I want to know where the honey here comes from. Is it from our own bees, or is it bought from outside?"

"What's so good about that?" Alice said dismissively.

She wasn't a child who loved sweets; based on Rudius's many observations, Alice wasn't picky about food.

They might even express longing for the excrement that Gilead ate.

"Ahem~" Rudius snapped out of his thoughts and said, "Honey is rarely seen in Buena village, so I'd like to take some back with me."

"So that's what they like to eat?" Alice realized.

"Hmm." Rudeus scratched his neck and said, "How should I put it? No matter what I send, they'll probably eat it happily."

"What do you mean?" Alice was puzzled again.

"That is to say, if Miss Alice gives Aunt Hilda a gift, she will be happy to accept it."

Rudius explained.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

Rudius suddenly had an idea, so he said to Alice, "Miss, why don't we go to the kitchen and make a cake?"

"Huh?" Alice asked, bewildered. "Why?"

"That's because it's so much fun!" Rudius exclaimed excitedly.

Is making cakes fun?

"Of course, cooking is a lot of fun," Rudeus continued, his gaze earnest as he urged.

"Oh." Alice looked into his eyes and found no reason to question him, after all, cooking was a blind spot in Alice's knowledge.

Under Rudius's persistent gaze.

"Oh, I see!" Alice crossed her arms and raised her voice. "Then let's go to the kitchen!"

"Great!" Rudius turned to Girenius. "Let's go, Girenius!"

Kyrie Irvine flicked its tail, its eyes seeming to say, "Is there anything more to do with me?"

Rudius glanced at her helplessly—what a silly cat.

Since we're going to cook, a tasting session is naturally essential!

That's the kitchen of the upper-class nobility!

And all expenses are paid for by Miss Alice!

The three walked toward the kitchen. Rudius, walking along the way, suddenly realized something was wrong.

The three of them had no idea where the ingredients were or how to make a cake.

So the three of them went to find a maid.

This time it's a gray-haired, dog-eared maid named Renalya Adludia.

She was a cute maid with a plain face and a few freckles; her ears weren't standing up, but rather lying flat on her head.

Unlike Liliana's short tail, Lenalia's tail is longer, but because it is curled, it looks short.

Adrodia is the race name, which can be simply understood as "dog race". The Tyrodia of Gilead are "cat race".

That's what people of the same race all call themselves.

Walking along the road, Rudius asked about beekeepers.

Lenalia pointed to a tree near the courtyard wall in the distance and said, "There's a beehive up there. We can harvest the honey before winter comes."

"A tree?" Rudius looked in the direction she was pointing, and there was indeed a tree there.

I looked around twice, but couldn't find the beehive.

Rudius was a little confused. Was he really in a tree?

"Why don't you take it off?"

Renalia thought for a moment and explained, "That location is very safe; there's no need to worry about it being stolen."

Alice and Kyrie listened in silence; they were used to Rudeus asking all sorts of questions while they were shopping.

"So, those are trees specifically for producing honey," Rudius joked.

"Yes, I hope I'll be this lucky next year," Lenalya chimed in.

"Lucky? What do you mean?" Rudius asked, looking at her with a puzzled expression. "Do bees only live for a year before dying?"

Upon hearing this, Renalia explained, "No, but beekeepers kill the bees to extract the honey before winter."

Rudius opened his mouth but said nothing more. It seemed that the so-called beekeeper was completely different from what he had imagined.

In his understanding, honey is the bees' winter food reserve. After it is taken away, beekeepers will use sugar water—no, here sugar is a more luxurious item than honey—and the honeycomb has not been moved to a hive. Are there really hives here?

It seems I still have a lot to learn about various common sense things.

The group went to the kitchen, where Lenalia brought out various ingredients and, under Rudeus's direction, divided them into four portions.

Kyrie Irvine pointed to himself and asked, "Should I do it too?"

His voice also sounded somewhat stiff.

However, Rudius's attention was completely drawn to the strange magic bestowed upon him by the apron.

With the apron covering it, isn't the bikini practically the same as not wearing anything at all?

Alice, who was also wearing an apron, looked at the ingredients in front of her with a bit of a daze. She was the one who walked in, but now she seemed to have no idea why she was standing here.

Seeing her expression, Rudeus smiled. He hadn't expected that the two of them would start with a cooking class instead of learning the language of the Beast God.

This might not be very kind to Alice, since she has been doing housework at home for a while. If she does it too well, will it discourage her?

Oh dear—thinking about these things again.

Have fun!

Rudius picked up a fruit that looked a lot like a tomato and asked how to prepare it.

The cooking class has officially begun.

The kitchen was bathed in soft light, streaming in from the high window and tinged with a thin layer of gold by the steam and flour dust.

Rudius stood in front of the workbench, looking at the ingredients divided into three portions, and suddenly felt that the scene was a little unreal.

Standing in the kitchen of a high-ranking nobleman, beside him was a noble lady and a beastman swordsman, learning to cook from the beastman maid.

In front of me were flour, eggs, honey, and two kinds of fruits that looked like tomatoes and grapes that I had never seen before.

Alice had no concept of cooking at all; she was just kneading dough or chopping nuts and fruits—although she was ruining food, at least she seemed happy.

Although Lenalya can bake cakes, she is not good at teaching.

Rudeus had no choice but to learn and summarize his experience while helping Alice keep her from falling out of the game's rhythm.

The production process is not complicated.

It's a dessert without cream, and the bread isn't fluffy; it's simply bread covered in icing and garnished with fruit.

In the end, it was like a main dish garnished with some expensive side dishes.

There was no sugar, no whipping technique for butter, and no use of yeast.

If we really want to recreate the delicacies from our past lives—we can only say that it's a long and arduous journey.

Footsteps approached, followed by a knock on the door.

Thomas pushed open the door and said, "Miss, it's time for dinner."

Alice, her face already covered in flour, wiped it with her sleeve and asked, "Is it time for lunch?"

After Lenalya came over and took off Alice's apron, she strode outside.

I was just having a great time. Was it just because I enjoy cutting fruit?

In short, the young lady did not show any fondness for the food.

Gilead untied his apron and quickly followed.

Rudius glanced at the small cake in his hand and decided to go have lunch together.

As they strolled toward the restaurant, Thomas stepped forward and whispered to Rudius, "Young Master Rudius, did you not greet the doorman when you returned home earlier?"

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"Hmm?" Rudius turned to Thomas in surprise and replied, "No."

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