Chapter 3
Recovery of the Knights Templar
I quickly began trimming the fatty parts off the pork. It was an insanely greasy piece of meat. I ruthlessly cut away that ‘insanely greasy part.’
“Saintess! Why are you throwing away that delicious fat?”
The chef yelled in disgust while peeling garlic, but I answered loudly for everyone to hear.
“Because protein and thiamine (B1) are all in the lean meat. These people have weak digestion right now, so if they eat greasy food, they’ll get diarrhea right away. Then they’ll lose what little moisture they have left, mister!”
At my fierce tone, the chef shut his mouth. Taking just a tiny piece of the trimmed fat, I placed it on the pan. Zzzzzā A minimal amount of fat rendered out with a sizzling sound.
This time, right before enough oil melted out, I continuously pressed down on the peeled garlic with the blade of my knife, crushing it endlessly.
With a suspicious look on his face, the chef grumbled casually.
“The rice will probably be too hard for the patients to eat. It’s far too harsh on people who are already exhausted.”
“That’s why I added sugar. Thanks to the sugar, the rice will turn out well.”
“Can that really happen just by adding a little extra sugar?”
“Adding a little sugar makes the bran less coarse. It absorbs water much better.”
In fact, it was a method used in the hospital kitchen. If we ran short on rice right before closing, we would mix coarse grains with white rice, add a small amount of sugar, and cook it. Doing so produced a fairly soft result for something made in a rush.
Receiving his skeptical gaze head-on, I picked up a rock that had been securing the tent and set it on top of the rice pot. It was an action meant to utilize the principle of a pressure cooker.
While not a complete pressure cooker, reducing the gap for steam to escape would at least make it somewhat similar.
“If the rice turns out bad, feel free to yell at me then. But the rice will definitely come out well.”
There were about ten patients I had checked in the tent earlier. Even though they were sick, I proceeded with the cooking assuming they would eat heartily. The mixture of pork and garlic began to spread an incredible aroma throughout the kitchen.
By the time the number of spectating knights had doubled, the pork and garlic stir-fry was finished. The rice was also done right on schedule.
The chef quickly shoved his way in, and before I could say anything, he plunged a new spoon deep into the rice and scooped up a huge mouthful. After unhesitatingly stuffing it into his mouth and chewing a few times, he dropped the spoon he was holding onto the floor.
“Why… why is it okay?”
“See? I told you it would be fine.”
I patted the dazed chef on the shoulder a few times. Seeing the chef’s bewildered expression, Cassian, who had been watching the situation alongside us, let out a deep sigh of relief.
Immediately, I pulled out a stack of silver dishware from a nearby shelf, dividing the pork garlic stir-fry and the rice equally onto the plates. Just like that, ten servings of food were prepared.
“Now then, you know what to do next, right?”
The watching knights surged forward, receiving two plates of food and spoons each.
However, just because the food was ready didn’t mean it was over. The real crucial point was whether the patients actually improved. I followed behind the last knight who received food and stepped into the tent.
The knights sat the patients up and fed them the meal. Hearing that they had to eat to get better, the patients opened their mouths one by one to accept the food.
At that moment, something appeared above the head of the patient eating the food.
[Knight Templar ??? : Thiamine absorption 5% in progress]
Startled, I reached out my hand and waved it around above the patient’s head. Floating like a monitor screen, the window allowed my hand to pass right through when I tried to touch it.
“Um, excuse me. Could you please draw back your hand…”
When the caregiving knight spoke with a face full of discomfort, my face flushed hot.
“I’m so sorry.”
I withdrew my hand, stood in the middle of the tent, and looked around. Above the heads of all the patients eating their meal, the exact same window appeared. Differing only in percentages, every window displayed text related to thiamine absorption.
Among them, Asel had the highest percentage. From a single plate of food that looked like an ordinary meal, Asel’s thiamine absorption had progressed up to 30%.
“Asel, how do you feel? Are you alright?”
I rushed over to Asel’s bed and asked for his opinion. Asel puffed out his cheeks full of food and smiled.
“It’s delicious.”
“No, not that. What about the bad symptoms you had earlier?”
“The tightness in my chest has mostly disappeared.”
With that single phrase from Asel, voices popping up here and there claimed their bodies were feeling better. Everyone was gradually warming up to a cheerful mood.
The knights seemed excited by the fact that a ‘curse’āwhich neither holy water nor the high magic of mages could cureāresponded to a mere single bowl of rice.
However, I was the only one who couldn’t relax. The translucent blue window visible only to my eyes, displaying [Thiamine Absorption 30%], was still weighing on my mind.
A single meal isn’t enough. They need to maintain a proper diet for at least a week for the swelling to completely subside.
I crossed my arms and examined the patients with a serious expression. In the eyes of the knights, that sight made me look like a noble Saintess piercing through the condition of the patients with a single glance, causing the surroundings to fall dead silent.
“Saintess.”
A heavy voice called out from behind. It was Cassian. After confirming that Asel’s complexion had noticeably improved, he stood before me and slowly bowed his head.
“Saintess, you have rewarded our faith. So this was not the curse of a magical beast, but… what did you call it, malnutrition?”
“That’s right. To be precise, a deficiency in a specific nutrient. Commander, can you get more of the ingredients I mentioned earlier? Especially pork, mixed grains, and fresh vegetables.”
“I will obtain whatever it takes. Even if I have to scour the entire kingdom to bring it to you.”
The look in Cassian’s eyes had changed. If he had treated me earlier with the desperation of clutching at straws, now he looked at me as an invaluable existence that must never be lost.
It was at that moment. A notification window popped up before my eyes with a clear ding sound.
[Achievement Unlocked: ‘First Healing’ Completed] [Reward: The ‘Nutritionist’ Favorability System is now active.]
Favorability?
Puzzled, I looked at Cassian, and before I knew it, a new window had popped up above his head.
[First Knights Templar Commander Cassian : Favorability 15] [Special Note: Deeply impressed by your cooking skills and decisiveness. However, he still firmly believes you are a ‘Saintess.’]
I swallowed a dry laugh. I told you I’m a nutritionist, not a Saintess. But explaining nutrition science to the people of this world would obviously just be a waste of breath.
“Commander, we’ve extinguished the immediate fire for now, but this is just the beginning. Not only the patients, but all the healthy knights need to completely change their diets as well. White rice is strictly forbidden for the time being.”
The chef stumbled as he approached near Asel’s bed. He still had a look of disbelief in his eyes. Frowning heavily, the chef muttered.
“Are you telling us to change the meals for healthy people as well?”
“Everyone has different amounts of nutrients in their bodies. Even if they look fine right now, they could end up like the patients here at any time.”
“That can’t be. All the members of the knight order have been eating like this up until now.”
At the chef’s words, Cassian scowled fiercely.
“Datian. Accept what needs to be accepted. Can you not see the members of the knight order getting better right in front of your eyes?”
So the chef’s name was Datian. When I nodded, Datian trembled all over as he watched me. Oh? Look at this guy. Anyone watching would think I was his mortal enemy.
However, completely contrary to his anger-filled appearance, Datian suddenly shed a single streak of tear down his face.
