Out of Space

Chapter 32: The Empire

A pair of huge massive doors, with carved scenes of trees and nature, swings open and a tall slim pale looking male dressed in a black coat with dark red pants, silk-like high collared shirt with a cravat tied in a soft bow, covered over by a black waistcoat, walks through.

His green eyes barely register the 2 guards bowing to him by the doors, a pair of golden earrings hung from his long pointy ears, his long handsome angular face framed by the light blonde hair and a thick sideburn frowns in worry as he hurried his steps towards His Majesty's day office.

Another pair of guards in full plate mail and holding halberds, bows and opens the office doors as he approaches. As he enters the room, he bows low to the person sitting behind the golden gilded desk, His Majesty, Varacen Bluewoods, ruler of the Bluewoods Empire.

"Your Majesty, I await your command." He half kneels on the floor in front of the desk with his head bowed low, waiting for Emperor Varacen to notice him.

The Emperor ignored his presence, continues to read the rolls of parchment tied with colored ribbons. His signature blue hair and thick beard that only belongs to royalty are tied with a dark blue ribbon into a ponytail, have started to show strains of silver. Dressed in a white shirt, waistcoat, dark blue pants and a knee-high leather boots, he finally sets down the scroll.

Emperor Varacen sighs, his aging face still retains some handsome features even after turning 60 this year. "Raise, my Lord Strum." He leans back on his padded chair, finely carved with trees and flowers. "You disappoint me greatly."

Lord Strum stood up and resisted his urge to wipe the sweat off his face. "My emperor! I have failed you, the rebel scum still walks the land, my troops were so close to wiping them out, but the green skins raided in massive numbers, thus I had to fall back my troops to block the tide of green skins." He explains.

"Yes, yes. I read your report and the commanders report too." Emperor Varacen waves away his explanation. "Still, your incompetence has allowed the rebels to escape," Varacen tilts his head slightly looking at Strum like a wolf looks at a rabbit. "Maybe you don't want your title of Duke of Fallowfall anymore?"

"No... no, my liege, I won't fail you again!" Lord Strum fell on his knees.

"You sure? I got many other nobles queuing up to be a Duke." Varacen smiles wickedly, enjoying tormenting Strum. "I think I should just reward some other noble."

"My emperor, I won't fail you again! 2 months, no... 1 month's time! I will root out the rebels from Fallowfall and they will no longer plague our Empire of Bluewood any longer!"

"Make it so, or it wouldn't be just your title." Emperor Varacen promises, "Your head might roll too."

"Ye-yes, My Emperor," Lord Strum trembles slightly with fear, as he knows quite well how mad Emperor Varacen can be.

"I will send the 3rd Lancers to you to help wipe out the rebels once and for all. Do not fail me this time." Emperor Varacen said before waving his hand to dismiss Strum.

The massive doors slam shut behind Lord Strum. He shivers slightly even in his warm coat and turns and looks at the massive castle, battlements, and towers linked together by bridges and spires rising high up into the sky topped with fluttering royal blue trimmed with gold banners.

"Bring my carriage over!" He yells at his footmen, "Hurry up fools! Or I whip the hide off your backs!" Damn the slaves and rebels. I will find you and when I do, you will wish you were never born into this world. His crotch grew hard at that thought and he laughs in anticipation. "Where's my carriage!"

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"FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD!" The crowd queued up in a line chanted in the ship's gallery. "FOOD FOOD FOOD FOOD!" and banging their trays or utensils in rhythm to the chanting.

"SHUT UP YOU PUNKS!" The serving mate hoists a large stainless steel pot into the serving line. "Like you guys haven't eaten in months!"

The crowd cheers as they see the steaming pot and starts to hand over trays for the server to put food into their food trays. Mashed carr-ota, some greens with slices of tomatoes, a few local fruits and finally the main course, wolf stew. Chunks of wolf meat with potatoes from the farms and local onions accompanied by a large piece of freshly baked bread.

Petty officer 1st class Keito Nagasaki, chef of the UNS Singapore leans over the counter and watches the crowd going wild over his cooking. He shakes his head and smiles, enjoying the mood. He always enjoyed cooking, taking a diploma in culinary before being drafted into the navy.

He did not expect to be dropped onto an unknown world but to him, it was like those light novels he so used to read in the past, about reincarnations or transported to another world kind of setting. Due to limited supplies, he has to manage the kitchen and stretch the food supplies to feed over 400 people every day! Luckily the surveying teams after bringing the local wildlife or edible foodstuff to be checked for health issues will always come to find him to prepare them.

Chef Keito was amazed by the different types of materials he has to work on, and all of them are new to everyone, thus he has to create new dishes to cater to everyone tastes. It was challenging and exciting to him, he felt truly alive at this point as his skills are tested to the max.

He returns to the kitchen and took out a piece of flat greenish transparent looking squidlike object. The surveying team brought it back from the plains to the East, and it actually looked like a ball of slime. No, it definitely is SLIME! After several cooking tests and tasting, he found the best way to cook and serve it!

Days before, he removed its internal guts and left it to totally dry in the sun. Once dried, it shrinks and turns hard like dried fish or octopus. He then boils it with salt water and made soup stock from the bones of the wolves slowly boiled over 20 hours, till the soup turns whitish.

Once the dried slime is boiled, he slices it into noodles like strips, paired with the wolf bone soup, tops it off with an ajitsuke tamago, or Japanese marinated soft boiled eggs and some roasted sesame seeds and seaweed and its done! Slime ramen!

Time to serve the officers their meal, as he prepares several bowls of it, whistling along all the way.

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