Hot And Fresh Delivery Pizza, Straight To You! (4)

“Shirley, no. You’re kneading the dough far too poorly. You need to think more about how the whole thing comes together and work it until it develops more elasticity.”

“Yes, Oneesama!”

“Anne, that’s too much water. You need to adjust how much you add depending on the air each day. The humidity and temperature matter. You can’t just pour in the same amount every time without thinking.”

“Yes, Oneesama!”

“No, no, the stone oven is far too hot. Adjust it more carefully. Be smarter about where you place the firewood too. And also…”

“Y-yes, Oneesama…”

“Shirley, do that part like this.”

“Shirley, make sure you treat that step carefully.”

“Shirley.”

“…………”

Christina-oneesama calmly pointed out flaw after flaw, right down to the smallest details.

There seemed to be an endless number of things we were doing wrong, forcing us to confront just how vast the difference in skill between us really was.

Even when it came to something as simple as dough, the dough Oneesama finished seemed almost golden, and when stretched, it spread thin like rubber.

Even though we were supposedly using the same ingredients and following the same process, the difference between hers and ours was like heaven and earth.

Oneesama’s passionate instruction continued late into the night day after day, and refusing to give up, we desperately struggled to keep up with her.

“Uuugh… the dough… the dough…”

It was late at night. Anne leaned against the worktable and groaned in her sleep.

After cutting back on sleep day after day to keep working, Anne had finally reached her limit and dozed off where she stood.

“She looks like exhaustion has finally caught up with her. Let her sleep a little longer.”

As I wondered whether I should wake her while continuing to knead my dough, Christina-oneesama said that.

In that case, I would take her up on the suggestion and leave Anne alone for now.

Then, looking at the dough I was kneading so desperately, Oneesama spoke with satisfaction.

“You’ve improved, Shirley. I think you’re doing very well. You had talent to begin with, but because you taught yourself, there were gaps in your technique. From here on, it’s up to how much effort you put in.”

“Really!? Thank you so much, Oneesama!”

I answered emotionally without stopping my hands.

The past few days had been brutally difficult, but Oneesama’s instruction had genuinely taught me a great deal.

My bread, which had once been little more than an extension of home cooking, should have improved considerably. I was confident that now I could make things like three-flavor bread and chocolate cornets far more deliciously than before.

But just as I thought that, something suddenly occurred to me, and I quietly asked Christina-oneesama a question.

“But… was it really all right for you to teach us so much?”

I couldn’t exactly say it aloud, but at present, all the snack-maid teams were effectively rivals.

Everyone paid close attention to which team the young master ate the most from, and we all tried not to reveal too much about our own methods.

And yet Christina-oneesama had generously taught us her bread-making techniques without holding anything back.

I wondered if she could afford to do that because Team One had the highest skill level, but Oneesama simply smiled a little and spoke.

“It’s fine. Maybe everyone has forgotten, but although we’re rivals, we’re also companions. Our first priority is for all of us to make sure the young master has an enjoyable time.”

I see. That was certainly true.

Besides, no one had ever said that unpopular teams would be disbanded.

And I couldn’t imagine that young master ever doing something like that either.

“But still, everyone gets anxious about the possibility of losing their place here. After all, everyone came to the Royal Palace with their entire future riding on this.”

That was something I already knew.

Most of the older maids were daughters of nobles or wealthy merchants, and they were working as maids to increase their own value.

“Everyone wants to achieve solid results here and earn the prestige of being known as someone skilled enough at cooking to please a member of the royal family, while also proving they’re quick to learn. Of course, that includes me.”

“Yes. Everyone works so hard because it affects where they may marry and the rest of their lives.”

I nodded along as I answered.

Then Oneesama stopped kneading her bread and looked straight into my eyes as she spoke.

“That girl… Jacqueline is the same. She’s one of the newer snack maids, but her skills were recognized so quickly that she was soon made Team Head of Team Four. Apparently, because she was expected to distinguish herself as a snack maid, she was trained in cooking from the time she was very young.”

I… hadn’t known that.

So Jacqueline had been working hard since she was that little.

“That’s why she’s under a lot of pressure, and why she takes such pride in her abilities. Sometimes it all boils over and she lashes out… but she’s not really a bad girl. Please try to understand that.”

“…”

Seeing the serious look on her face, I realized something.

Christina-oneesama had wanted to tell me that.

Perhaps the reason Jacqueline had started returning my greetings was because Oneesama had spoken to her on my behalf.

In her own way, Oneesama had been working hard to bridge the gap between the maids.

I’m sorry I ever thought you were a little unreliable.

You had been properly fulfilling your responsibilities as our leader all along, Oneesama.

“Of course. I never thought Jacqueline was a bad person in the first place. I’ve already realized she’s just a tsundere.”

“A tsun… what?”

The word tsundere didn’t exist in this world, so, to make a long story short—

In any case, I needed to put Oneesama’s worries at ease, even just a little.

“But I don’t intend to hold back. Just as you said, Oneesama, the most important thing is making the young master happy. In that case, surely it’s better for all of us to push each other to improve. Isn’t that right, Oneesama?”

After remaining silent for a moment, Oneesama gave me a sweet smile and spoke.

“Yes, of course. And I don’t intend to lose either, Shirley.”

Then the two of us smiled at each other.

In the quiet kitchen at night, only our laughter and Anne’s sleep-talking continued to echo.