Chapter 13: Cooking Practice
"Is that all we need to discuss for now?" Sanji asked Niji. The pair of them were having a council of war to make final preparations for their invasion as the ship carried them to their destination.
"Yes," Niji said. "I believe that covers everything." He leaned back in his chair, putting his feet on the table as Sanji turned to leave. "How's everything going with your fiancé? Your voyage through Storm Pass is the most time you've been able to spend together. Assuming you managed to make time with Nami while she combated storms and made maps."
Sanji paused, wondering why Niji was asking. There was no way he cared about Sanji and Nami's relationship. He'd agreed with Ichiji that Nami should be 'shown her place' for speaking out against a royal family. Unless he wanted to mock Sanji for getting along well with a commoner. If that was what Niji wanted to do, he was welcome to. Sanji didn't care.
"Good," he said. "The marriage may have been arranged by Father and Captain Arlong, but I don't think either of us mind." At least, he hoped Nami didn't mind. She'd been worried about him, so that was at least an indication that she liked him, right? That she cared?
Not waiting for Niji's response, he swept out of the room. He had other things to take care of.
~.~
"Uh, is there a reason you wish to observe the kitchens, Prince Sanji?" The chef asked, sweating nervously. "Was your last meal not to your liking?"
"No, no, it was as fine as always," Sanji said distractedly, his attention on the way the chef's assistant was cooking garlic and onions. Were they always cooked together? Was there a purpose for doing that specifically, or were there times it was better to cook them separately? He could see that cooking them together might help the flavors mingle more. Then again, maybe it was a short cut to save time and wouldn't lead to the most flavorful outcome. "I'm just curious to learn a little more. Is there a point to cooking the garlic and onions together?"
"I—is there what?" The chef asked, looking confused.
Sanji pointed to the assistant cooking on the stove. He jumped at having the attention of a one of Germa's princes on him and dropped the pan that he'd been carefully swirling to move the garlic and onions around.
The chef cursed at his assistant for his carelessness before turning a smile on Sanji. "I'm terribly sorry, Prince, but mealtimes are very busy for us. If you have questions, perhaps you could come back later?"
Sanji rose his eyebrows at a chef giving him an order. The man may have phrased it as a suggestion, but Sanji knew orders when he heard them.
The chef began sweating again. "I'm terribly, Prince Sanji, I did not mean to overstep my bounds. Please, stay as long as you would like."
Sanji looked for another assistant doing something interesting. He spotted one cutting vegetables with impressive speed, but figured he should learn the basics of cooking before worrying over being efficient at it.
Looking around some more, he found one stirring vegetables in broth. Sidling up to him, he asked, "Is there a specific amount of time vegetables should be cooked in broth?" The memory of the mushy vegetables he'd served Nami was still fresh in his mind.
The assistant turned with an annoyed look, then paled when he saw Sanji. "It depends on how cooked you want the vegetables. If you want them softer, you should simmer them for longer. If you want them crunchier, you should simmer them less."
"What do you mean by simmer? And what's the benefit of cooking vegetables inside the broth versus outside the broth and adding them to the soup later?"
"Well," the assistant, began, drawing out the word. He was clearly confused being asked technical cooking questions by one of the princes of the Germa Kingdom. "To simmer something means you bring it to a boil, so there are bubbles visible at the top, and then turning the heat down. This keeps the bubbling going without the dish continuing to heat and overflowing. As for cooking vegetables inside the broth versus outside, if you cook it inside, you keep all the nutrients within the soup, so the eater gets the full benefit of the nutrients from the vegetables. If you cook them outside and add them later, you would lose some of the nutrients."
Sanji nodded, wishing he'd brought paper to take notes. "What else can you tell me about cooking vegetables?"
The assistant looked flabbergasted, but proceeded to answer Sanji's question.
~.~
Niji walked around the deck, too bored to do anything that required him to sit still. He wished it didn't take so long to sail to some of the places they conquered. He normally didn't mind since it gave him time to refine his plan and to train, but at the moment he would have rather been on the voyage ship with Nami…At least her marriage to Sanji had been postponed.
Idly, Niji wondered where Sanji had gone. Usually, he was one who liked to go over the plan multiple times to make sure everyone understood their part, but today he'd seemed antsy to leave. Niji couldn't imagine what Sanji could possibly be anxious to do on a ship out at sea.
Passing the outside kitchen, he saw a flash of blond through a porthole window. Frowning, he backed up, sure he must have mistaken what he'd thought he'd seen. Nope. There was his younger brother, standing in front of a stove flipping something in a pan while several assistant chefs stood anxiously around him. What on Earth was Sanji doing cooking in the kitchen?
~.~
Yonji was not sulking as he sat on an armchair in his room, his feet propped up on the glass double doors leading to the balcony. He was just thinking about how annoying it was that Ichiji got to go a voyage with Nami without Sanji. Not that Ichiji cared. He probably thought it was a pain, despite how amazing Nami had already proved herself.
That was fine with Yonji, though. Ichiji having no interest meant less competition. It also meant Ichiji was a blind idiot, but that was perfectly fine since it benefited Yonji. Stupid Ichiji.
His eyes roved around the room and caught on a gold vase encircled with jewels sitting on his dresser. He'd been so upset about not being chosen to go with Nami on the latest mapping voyage that he'd forgotten the thought he'd had earlier. If he made a plan to conquer Yashta, maybe Judge would give him Nami to marry.
He grinned as his feet hit the floor and made a beeline for Germa 66's war room. With everyone else away, he had an invasion to plan.