Gene’s Defeat
“Mmgh!! Water, water, water…!”
“““““Knew it~”””””
“So Young Lady Joan can’t handle it either…”
“It was a bit saltier than I expected… But the sourness is just right. Um, Athos, may I remake this?”
“Remake? You mean make it edible for others?”
“I’ll have to try and see…”
“Please!! Throwing it away feels so wasteful…”
“Alright then, I’ll give it a try. First, I’ll pull out some of the salt. Could I get some hot water? And also, salt.”
“Eh? Salt, for pulling salt out?”
“Yes. A light saltwater solution makes it easier to draw the salt out. The hot water’s just to speed it up.”
Once the salt was drawn out, she drained the water, removed the pits, and chopped the plums into a paste with a knife. To that she added dried bonito flakes and sugar, kneading it together again.
“Mm, okay. Done.”
“What’s this?”
“This is plum paste. With bonito and sugar mixed in, it should be easier to eat. Could you try a bit on your rice?”
Each of them was served a scoop of rice topped with plum paste. Everyone except Athos wore an openly reluctant look.
“Heehee, just try it—you might be surprised.”
“I-I’ll go first!!”
Belle declared and took a bite…
“Sour…? No, not sour! It’s delicious… Joan! This is delicious!”
““““Eh!!””””
Encouraged by Belle, the cooks nervously tried it too.
“Ah… this is good.”
“Yeah, not salty at all.”
“More sweet than anything, really…”
“And with the sweetness of the rice, the oume tastes great…”
“Now, if you mix this paste with sake and mirin and simmer it, you’ll have a sauce. Pour that over a chicken steak seasoned with salt and pepper, and it’ll be delicious.”
“That’s surprisingly easy. Alright, let’s do it.”
““““Yes!!””””
At Athos’s call, they began prepping for lunch.
“Then let’s make the second sauce ourselves.”
“What kind of sauce?”
“Let’s go with a tomato sauce. First mince garlic and onions, then peel and dice the tomatoes.”
“Got it~”
The method was simple: sauté the minced garlic in oil until fragrant, add the onions and cook until soft, then add the tomatoes and sugar, simmering over low heat. Finish with salt and pepper, and it was done.
“How is it, Belle?”
“… It’s good. Maybe because I made it myself, but I think I like this one better.”
＊＊＊＊＊
“This is delicious.”
“Yes, the oume sauce makes it refreshing.”
“And this freshly cooked rice? It’s a different kind of tasty compared to yesterday’s rice balls.”
Those words came from Belle’s father, her mother, and Lady Isabella. Hans, Eric, and Gene only muttered “Delicious!” once and then ate in silence, but their nodding faces showed they were enjoying it.
“This tomet sauce is good too. I never liked tomatoes, but I can eat this.”
“Mother, Joan taught me how to make that, and I helped.”
“Oh my? You did, Belle? Hearing that makes it even tastier. Thank you, Belle.”
“I’m glad, Belle.”
“Mm. Thanks, Joan.”
“Oh, right. Belle, I got a message from the Guildmaster—he wants you to come to the Adventurers’ Guild later.”
“Eh? From the Guildmaster?”
“Yeah. He said he wants you to bring Joan as well. Something about how the disassembly of yesterday’s Giant Snake is finished. What’ll you do?”
“We’ll eat it, brother.”
““““Huh?””””
Belle’s parents, Lady Isabella, and Hans couldn’t believe their ears.
“B-Belle… that thing’s nasty.”
“Yes, I’ve eaten it on a monster subjugation expedition before, and it’s not fit for the table.”
“It’ll be fine, Father, Aunt. Joan is with us!”
“You mean Young Lady Joan can make it edible?”
“Father, we’ve already eaten it deliciously. Right, Eric?”
“What—!? Eric, you too!?”
“Pfft… why’d you have to drag me into this? … But yeah, it was good… Hey, Hans, don’t throw that knife at me!!”
“So it really was like the rice—the problem was the way of eating it… Young Lady Joan, forgive me, but I’d like you to give our cooks some instruction.”
“Gladly! Let’s practice local production for local consumption in the Burst territory too!!”
““““““Local production for local consumption?””””””
As she explained, Joan told them about how the Lampail domain had done it.
“I see. So you make specialties from what your land produces… And it can be anything?”
“Exactly. For example, in Lampail we process and freeze sweet potatoes so they’re always available year-round. Sorry, but I’m not very familiar… what does Burst produce?”
“Being surrounded by mountains, in spring we get bamboo shoots and mountain herbs, in summer tomatoes, eggplants, oume from the fields, in autumn potatoes, rice, and mushrooms from the mountains, and in winter tuberous crops like slime yam.”
“Slime jam?”
“You don’t know it, Young Lady Joan? It’s a yam that gets slimy when grated.”
“Hm? Slimy when grated… Oh! That’s tororo!!”
““““““‘Tororo’?””””””
“Ah… um, well… It’s just what I call it. A yam that turns gooey and slimy when grated.”
“It is gooey, yes… So then, do you think we can make a specialty in our land too?”
“Of course you can!”
—Ding!
“Ah.”
“Hm? Young Lady Joan, what is it?”
“Ah, um… the five-year-old plum wine is ready.”
““““““What?””””””
She explained the aging function of her Storage to the Burst family and Gene.
“… Jo, why didn’t you tell us about that? Father and the others didn’t know either, right?”
“I’m sorry. I just… found out myself earlier.”
“Haah… You realize what Mother and Noel will say when we get back…”
“Ughh…”
Just as Gene said, Joan could easily imagine being grilled by her mother and elder brother later, and could only groan.
“W-well, when that time comes, Gene, you’ll be with me… right?”
“Hah? Why me! Don’t drag me into it.”
“Oh? Then you’re not going to drink it? Even though it turned out delicious? Absolutely delicious? That’s such a shame~”
“Ghh… you… Fine! I’ll apologize with you.”
“Heehee, that’s my big brother.”
“Pfft… Ahahaha, Gene, you really can’t win against Joan.”
Watching their exchange, Eric had been nervous at first, but when Gene gave in, he couldn’t help laughing.
“No! I didn’t lose to Jo—I lost to Jo’s plum wine!!”
“Yeah, same thing!”
What do you think about this chapter?
