Published at 9th of April 2020 10:00 pm

Volume 5, Act 04: Japanese Food

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

Translator: Blushy

Editor: Sam

A week has passed since we returned from Morganhaven.

After I came back, I did nothing but work at the research institute, just like I had before.

I asked the civil officials about the black swamp, but they haven’t found any others right now.

Thus, the 【Saint】didn’t have to do anything, and I spent my time peacefully.

I’ve already decided on what I will do next since I have time.

It’s to make Japanese food.

Since I decided on this, I accumulated my days off and did nothing but work.

Then, on the afternoon of the day when I could finally take a break.

The time has finally come.

“Are you finally going to make it?”

Director came when I was preparing in the kitchen.

As usual, he’s sharp when it comes to new recipes.

“Yes!” I answered with a smile, and he looked at my hand with interest.

“Is this the rice you were looking for?”

“Yes. It’s a staple food in Japan.”

In front of me was a basket filled with white rice.

I had just finished measuring the rice, so it was time to wash it.

“It’s still going to take a while.”

“Really?”

“Yes, I need to let it soak for a while after I wash it,” I explained the process to him while washing the rice.

When I told him that I would start cooking, he said he would come back later and went back to work.

I watched him walk off and felt a bit bad because I wasn’t sure if it would turn out well.

I learnt how to cook it from Ceylan-san’s chef while I was in Morganhaven.

Even so, I was worried because it was cooked differently than it was in Japan.

After all, I had a rice cooker in Japan.

I’ve only cooked it in a pot once or twice.

If possible, I wanted him to try it after I’ve successfully cooked it, but he already found out about it.

Shall I do my best while praying for success?

After I finished soaking the rice, I put it in a pot and filled it with the appropriate amount of water, then I lit the fire.

Even though I have gained better control of the fire over the past year, I still have a long way to go.

Though, I managed to cook it somehow with the chefs’ help.

“It’s getting fragrant.”

“Yes. I think it’ll be done in a bit,” I replied to Director who had come back before I realised.

I don’t have a clock, so I have to depend on my ears and nose to tell whether it’s done or not.

When I suddenly turned around, Director, Jude and the chefs were staring at the pot.

So, Jude’s here too.

It’s kind of funny to see everyone concentrate on the pot.

I held back my laughter and also concentrated on the pot.

Now, I wonder if it’s nearly done.

I made the fire stronger and heard a sound from within the pot.

I took the pot off the stove because of the crackling sounds.

Now, all that’s left is to steam it.

“Is it done?”

“Not yet. I have to steam it.”

“I see.”

“Don’t be disappointed. I’ll make another dish while the rice is being steamed.”

Director cheered up when he heard ‘another dish’.

I smiled wryly at his reaction and prepared to make the next dish.

The next thing I was making was miso soup.

Cut the vegetables in the same way I would when I make soup.

The nice thing about miso soup is that you don’t have to choose the ingredients.

The ingredients are limited right now, so I appreciate the fact that I can make it with Western ingredients.

“Are you making soup?”

“Yes. Using miso.”

“The one we drank at the warehouse?”

“Yes, that’s right. That was a simple version of what I’m making.”

“Really?”

“In my hometown, we also dissolved miso with dashi instead of just using hot water. We even put ingredients into it.” I answered Jude’s question, and he sounded impressed, “Ooh.”

The miso soup we drank at that time was just miso dissolved in hot water, so it was a little unsatisfying.

Since I’m finally making it, I want to get the flavour as close to the ones in Japan as I can.

So, I made dashi with the dried fish I bought in Morganhaven.

I asked the chefs to make the dashi while I was cooking the rice.

I don’t know what fish it was, but it made good dashi.

After finishing making miso soup, it was finally time to check the rice.

I opened the lid as my heart pounded, and a nice aroma spread around the kitchen.

I mixed the rice with the wooden spoon I had made, and I saw that some of it was burnt.

When I tasted the rice, it was a bit soft, but I’ve successfully made rice.

It’s a secret that I was moved because of the taste.

I smiled, and the chefs cheered.

“Did it turn out well?”

“I feel like it’s a bit too soft.”

“Your expression shows that it’s fine.”

Director laughed with increasing expectations and went to the dining hall with Jude.

I quickly plated the meal with the chefs and also moved to the dining hall.

I took my seat while the people who tasted it started chatting noisily and stared at the rice and miso soup again.

There were no bowls, so the rice was plated on a plate, and the miso soup was in a soup cup.

However, I was deeply moved.

I can finally eat this.

Even though I’ve already tasted it, that thought sprung up in my mind when I could eat it properly like this.

“Delicious…”

When I put the rice in my mouth and chewed, the sweetness from the rice spread in my mouth.

Director, who was sitting across from me, laughed gently at my expression.

“I’m glad for you.”

“Thank you.”

I immersed myself in the emotion and reached for the miso soup next.

After I took a sip, I could smell the dashi.

After that, I tasted the miso, and a sigh flowed from my mouth.

Ah, that hits the spot.

“This is miso soup?” Jude enquired while I was feeling warm and fluffy from the miso soup.

“Yes.”

“It’s completely different from the one we drank in Morganhaven!”

The dashi was so good that it apparently tasted utterly different from the one we had in Morganhaven.

“Is it that different?”

“Yeah. The one we drank over there had a sharper taste.”

“I see. The miso soup in Morganhaven was only dissolved in hot water, so it has a pure miso flavour.”

“Is this one different?”

“I dissolved miso with dashi, and you can taste vegetables in this one too.”

“Does that make it taste sweeter?”

“I think so.”

“I also want to drink miso soup dissolved with just dashi.”

“Shall I make it later?”

I guess there’s a remarkable difference, but it was rare to see Jude this interested in something.

I asked him if he could check the difference in taste with or without dashi, and with or without ingredients, and he agreed while smiling.

Of course, Director is also joining in.

After talking for a while, Director suddenly said as if he had just noticed this, “Do miso soup and rice have some kind of an effect?”

“An effect?”

“Yeah, like increasing max HP, and so on.”

“Food effects, huh. I wonder.”

Food made by people with the cooking skill have effects added to them.

I made the food today, so if there is an effect, it would be obvious.

In response to Director’s words, the people sitting around us opened their status.

“I don’t notice anything different at a glance.”

“You’re right.”

“I see. I thought it would have an effect since it’s food from Sei’s hometown.”

I agreed with Director who seemed disappointed.

Miso is said to be good for your health.

I can’t believe that it doesn’t come with an effect.

Perhaps, it may be an effect that’s hard to see on a status like increased strength or increased natural HP recovery.

Director seemed to have noticed this and decided to continue investigating.

I bought a lot of rice and miso from Ceylan-san, but I was a little reluctant to give it up for research.

I wonder if they can research this with fewer ingredients.

I put the rest of the rice into my mouth as I thought about a more efficient research procedure.

◊♦◊♦◊♦◊

“Hello!”

“Welcome, Aira-chan.”

A few days after I was able to cook rice at the research institute.

At noon, Aira-chan came to the research institute.

I’m going to cook rice today, so I invited her to lunch.

She immediately agreed to my invitation when she heard that she could eat rice.

The rice that I had first cooked at the research institute was also delivered to Aira-chan that night.

I had delivered some rice balls and miso soup to her at the Court Mage Division’s lodging house.

Aira-chan looked at the basket strangely when I gave it to her and widened her eyes in surprise when she removed the cloth that was covering the basket.

Then, she looked at me with the same surprised expression and asked if I wanted to eat with her.

We went to her room and ate the rice balls and miso soup together.

We talked about our distant hometown as we ate, and the food tasted saltier than when I had sampled it.

“What’s today’s menu?”

“Today is mixed sushi.”

“Sushi?! Huh?! You can make sushi?”

“The vinegar isn’t rice vinegar, so the flavour will be a little different.”

“But I’m still looking forward to it!”

I went to the dining hall with Aira-chan, who was smiling happily.

As I told Aira-chan, today’s menu is mixed sushi.

I will be using wine vinegar instead of rice vinegar, so it won’t taste like I expect it to.

But I think I’ll be able to make decent sushi.

The ingredients are great burdock, carrots, and the dried fish I had bought in Morgenhaven.

I won’t forget to put thinly cut omelette on top either.

By the way, I had Director give me some of the great burdocks that he was raising in his plot.

Director was growing great burdock because he had gotten it from a foreign kingdom.

Was it around last year when I had noticed?

I was surprised when I saw the harvested great burdock.

Well, Director was the one who was surprised when I told him that we ate it as a vegetable in Japan.

I found rice and miso, so should I ask Director to grow more great burdock as ingredients next year?

When we sat down on the tables in the dining hall, the chefs brought us food with a smile on their faces.

The curious chefs were in an excellent mood since they had the opportunity to learn more about rice, a new ingredient.

Aira-chan’s eyes sparkled, looking at the mixed sushi and miso soup.

It seemed like she couldn’t wait, so we said our prayers straight away.

“I haven’t had this type of sushi since I was little.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Mum brought it for me at the Girls’ Festival. But only until I reached the second grade of primary school.”

“Oh, my grandmother also made it for me when that festival was on. She also made it for me sometimes during the year.”

I remembered my grandmother while talking to Aira-chan and teared up a little.

I can’t. No.

Calm down.

I took deep breaths and calmed myself down.

I lifted up the soup cup when my tears dried up.

When my grandmother made mixed sushi, she usually accompanied the dish with a Japanese-style soup, but we were having miso soup with it today.

I can probably make Japanese-style soup with just salt, but it would feel like it’s missing something without soy sauce.

Though, I can reproduce it as long as I have soy sauce.

There’s miso soup in this world, so they probably have soy sauce too.

I’ll ask Oscar-san later if I can find it in Saidera.

“That was delicious!” Aira-chan thanked me with a smile after she had finished her meal.

“That’s good.”

I was a bit worried about using wine vinegar, but it tasted fine.

Aira-chan said she had work after this, so I gave her a pound cake to have as a snack, and she left.

Pound cakes seemed really popular with people in the Court Mage Division.

She said it seemed like people were going to scramble for the cakes, so I gave her a few more.

Aira-chan looked ashamed, but it’s fine.

I always make a lot of pound cakes.

Then, the next day.

An unexpected guest came to the research institute.

“What happened?”

“I have something to ask you.”

Head Magician-sama visited just after opening hours.

Behind him, Aira-chan looked troubled.

I winced as I stared at Head Magician-sama, who was smiling beautifully in the morning.

What the heck is going on?

It was impolite to make them talk at the entrance, so I guided them to the parlour.

“I’m here to ask you about the food that Aira-dono was eating yesterday,” Head Magician-sama began speaking as soon as he sat down on the sofa.

Somehow, the pressure from his smile is so intense.

“Yesterday… Are you talking about the mixed sushi and miso soup?”

“That’s right! I’d like to try your food too, so can you make some for me?”

I looked at Aira-chan, asking for an explanation, and she just shook her head as if she didn’t know what was going on.

However, Head Magician-sama explained the situation.

Aira-chan had practised magic after she returned to the Court Mage Division yesterday.

Then, Head Magician-sama saw her as he passed by.

He watched her for a while, then asked her a strange question, “Did you do something different today?” So, Aira-chan answered that she had eaten at the research institute.

I see.

One of the dishes yesterday probably had an effect that attracted the interest of Head Magician-sama.

Seeing how he was reacting; it was probably an effect that was related to magic.

I was just about to research the effects of rice and miso soup, so it might be a good idea to get Head Magician-sama’s help.

“I don’t mind making it for you, but I have a request.”

“What is it?”

“I’m sorry, but can I get Director’s permission first?”

“Alright, I’ll come with you,” he stood up as soon as soon as he said that.

It seemed like he really wanted to eat yesterday’s food.

I managed to stop him since I thought I would get permission straight away and left the parlour.

He hadn’t said anything, but he would probably stay like that until I come back.

I rushed to Director’s office and knocked on the door.

After hearing a response, I opened the door. Immediately, I saw Director looking at me in surprise.

“Why are you in such a rush?”

“I’m sorry, but I want permission for something.”

It seemed like I had opened the door too quickly.

I told the worried Director that Head Magician-sama wanted to eat food and that I was going to get him to help me research the effects of the food.

“I see. Dreves-dono…”

“Yes. I’m certain the effects are related to magic, so I think it would be better if Head Magician-sama can help me this time.”

“You’re right…”

“We don’t have much rice and miso, so I thought I would use fewer ingredients if he were to help me.”

“Well, he certainly has an eye for magic. Alright.”

Yes, there’s a reason why I wanted Head Magician-sama to help me.

I only have a limited amount of ingredients, and they’re hard to come by.

I have a strong desire to reserve Japanese ingredients for myself and Aira-chan.

But I also think it’s important to find out the effects of the ingredients.

So, I wanted a select few to help me find out the effects.

The best option was to get Head Magician-sama to help me since he knew a lot about magic.

I’ll also get him to select some capable people from the Court Mage Division to help out.

I got Director’s permission, so I went back to the parlour.

As soon as I entered the room, Head Magician-sama asked me with an overbearing smile, “How did it go?”

How desperately does he want to eat it? This person.

I pulled back a little while telling him it was alright, and he smiled wider.

I looked next to him, and Aira-chan seemed relieved. She smiled wryly when she met my eyes.

Then, I told Head Magician-sama that I wanted his help to research the effects of the dish, and he accepted willingly.

He had replied straight away.

I was suddenly worried, so I asked if I should tell Intelligent Glasses-sama, and Aira-chan said she’ll take care of that.

Please and thank you.

Well, the head of the Court Mage Division was saying it was fine, so Intelligent Glasses-sama probably can’t stop him.

Probably… probably.

◊♦◊♦◊♦◊

Three days after Head Magician-sama came to the research institute, we began researching the results of the mixed sushi and miso soup.

I was surprised when he contacted me after he went home that day.

Moreover, he said he would help me three days later, so I could tell how much he was looking forward to it.

And, I wonder how difficult it was for Intelligent Glasses-sama…

It was evident since Intelligent Glasses-sama was frowning deeply.

“… Thank you for today.”

“It’s alright! I’m also looking forward to it.”

Head Magician-sama, Intelligent Glasses-sama and three other mages came from the Court Mage Division.

I enquired about Intelligent Glasses-sama’s mood while greeting them timidly, and Head Magician-sama replied cheerfully with a beautiful smile.

Yup, well, it was apparent that Head Magician-sama would be the one to reply.

Anyway…

Intelligent Glasses-sama sighed deeply, then muttered, “I should be the one saying that.”

I guided them to the dining hall as we talked and found out that the top five people from the Court Mage Division had come today.

Top five… Aren’t they all swamped?

“Mm, aren’t you all busy?”

“It’s fine.”

I confirmed in surprise, and Head Magician-sama replied as if it was nothing.

However, I could tell that it was difficult for everyone to adjust their schedules since Intelligent Glasses-sama sighed and the other three smiled wryly.

I didn’t have many ingredients, so I asked Head Magician-sama to gather people who would quickly notice the effects of the dishes, but I want to eat my words now.

I’m terribly sorry.

“The food is a bit acidic. Please check your status for any changes when you’re done eating.”

“Alright.”

“Okay.”

I showed them into the dining hall, and when they sat down, the servants brought out the food.

I only want them to try the mixed sushi today.

If I serve them both mixed sushi and miso soup, then they wouldn’t know which dish provided which effect.

The court mages looked at the mixed sushi in curiosity, and I explained the dish to them.

It was a dish that used vinegar, so I told them that it would be acidic, just in case.

I would be troubled if they thought the food was rotten when they put it in their mouth.

It was a good idea to tell them since they commented that it was an unusual taste, but no one felt repulsed by it.

“It tastes unusual, but I don’t hate it.”

“Yeah. This is my first time eating this white grain. What is it?”

“The white grains are rice. They’re from a foreign kingdom.”

“From a foreign kingdom?”

Surprisingly, the mixed sushi was well-liked by the three court mages.

Intelligent Glasses-sama was expressionless, so I couldn’t tell if he liked it or not.

He was eating in silence, but I don’t think it tastes bad since he wasn’t frowning.

As for Head Magician-sama…

“All the dishes that Sei-sama comes up with are delicious. This is also tasty. I think I can eat this every day.” He grinned.

“I-is that so? That’s very kind of you.”

Can you eat it every day?

Unfortunately, I don’t have enough ingredients to make this for you every day.

But, there’s no point in saying that now.

I decided to keep quiet about how hard it was to get the ingredients, and asked him what I wanted to know, “So, has your status changed?”

“Hmm, 『Status』… My status looks the same,” Head Magician-sama checked his status first, and then the others, but their status remained the same.

Hmmm. So that means the effect that attracted Head Magician-sama’s interest lies within the miso soup?

I pondered, then Head Magician-sama got out of his seat and went outside.

“Eh? What’s wrong?”

“I’d like to try something outside.”

“Outside?”

“Yeah, it’s hard to clean up afterwards here,” he said before quickly going outside.

Everyone was shocked, but they quickly came back to their senses and rushed after him.

Head Magician-sama stopped as soon as he got outside and started activating his magic.

Then, the magic activated a short while after Intelligent Glasses-sama stopped beside him.

Water balls launched up into the sky, and burst, causing water droplets to pour down in the area.

It was water magic that Jude often used to water the plants in the herb fields.

But the water balls went higher than when Jude activated his magic, and the water droplets fell in a wider area.

“Hmm…”

“It’s like I thought. My magic attack has increased,” Head Magician-sama said as he turned around happily.

“Huh?”

He said he wanted to test it out more, and quickly rushed back to the training grounds in the Court Mage Division.

To be more precise, Intelligent Glasses-sama dragged him back there when he was going to do more testing on the spot.

Thank you for stopping Head Magician-sama.

I’m glad he didn’t damage the herb fields.

I asked the servants to clean the dining hall and moved to the Court Mage Division.

Head Magician-sama, after he arrived on the training grounds was terrifying.

I discovered that he was taking it easy at the research institute when I saw him activate magic one after the other.

The other mages also activated their favourite magic attacks to check the effects of mixed sushi.

“『Ice Arrow』.”

This was my first time seeing Intelligent Glasses-sama using magic.

He accurately shot the ice arrows into the middle of the target, which was located far away, and many times at that.

‘Amazing’, I wasn’t the only one who thought this. The people around me also cheered.

I looked around and saw that a lot of mages had gathered in the training grounds.

I asked a nearby mage why they were all here, and he told me that it was rare to see the top five at the training grounds together, much less activating their magic.

So, everyone gathered here.

“It seems like the magic accuracy rate has also gone up.” Intelligent Glasses-sama activated his 『Ice Arrow』for a while before he came to where I was and spoke slowly.

“Really?”

“Magic usually deviates a little on impact.”

He said that magic deviates, but I can only see a mark in the middle of the target when I looked at it.

The size of the mark wasn’t that big, so I can tell that the Ice Arrows he had shot hit through the middle a few times.

Intelligent Glasses-sama told me that he was confident in his aim, but he didn’t usually hit the same place all the time.

“How was the magic attack? Head Magician-sama said that his went up.”

“It definitely increased.”

Magic attack affects the power and size of the magic one wants to activate.

The droplets that Head Magician-sama had activated at the research institute had fallen down into a wide area range.

Usually, when he used the same amount of MP, the range would be narrower.

Intelligent Glasses-sama had used less MP to activate his Ice Arrow, but its power and size were the same as his usual.

Thus, he confirmed that his magic attack had risen.

Since Head Magician-sama and Intelligent Glasses-sama confirmed the effects, I’m almost certain that the mixed sushi increased magic attack and accuracy.

I’ll ask the other three mages if their magic attack and accuracy has increased as well for confirmation.

And, as expected, the three confirmed that their magic attack and accuracy had risen.

I also asked them to check if there were any other effects just in case, but it seemed that there were only those two.

“Thank you for your help.”

“It’s alright. Thank you for telling me about such wonderful food.”

I found out the effects of mixed sushi, so today’s research is finished.

I thanked Head Magician-sama and everyone else, and Head Magician-sama responded with a smile.

Many of the food effects were related to attack power and HP, and MP was the only effect that was related to magic.

But I found out that food can also affect magic thanks to the tests this time.

I also know that Head Magician-sama was really interested in this because he was known as the magic fanatic.

“The ingredients for today’s dish are tough to obtain, aren’t they?”

“They are.”

“If possible, I want to eat it every day…”

“That’s difficult right now. I’m thinking about importing the ingredients regularly in the future.”

“Regularly?”

“Yes. The rice that I had used today was a staple food in my country, so I want to eat it once every day if possible.”

“Does that mean that once you start importing it, it’ll be served at the research institute’s dining hall every day?”

“Yes, probably?”

“Really?! Then please let me know when it becomes available at the dining hall. I’ll visit!”

But I didn’t think it would turn out like this…

It seems like he’ll come every day.

Well, whatever.

I’ll charge the Court Mage Division for his meal costs.

I thought about what I should do in the future as I replied positively to Head Magician-sama who was smiling radiantly.

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