Published at 12th of April 2023 7:28 pm

Chapter 313: Cucumber And Miso

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

It’s about time our clothes are dry after we got too carried away playing in the stream.

「This is my family’s vegetable garden」

Asmo and I had come to Torr’s family vegetable garden.

「Hee, unlike the one in front of your house, you mainly raise vegetables here, huh」

I never went to this field before since I always immediately passes by the field near his house.

There are small tomatoes with thickly grown leaves and ripe purple eggplants in front of my eyes. There are various types of vegetables lined up in a row. Solanum melongena

「What are you growing here?」

「We carefully grow some cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, carrots, potatoes, and eggplants」

「Heeー, so all these fields are Torr’s?」

「Nah, the one from over there are Asmo’s family fields」

So not only their house, even their fields are neighbors. Oh well, it’s close to their houses so it’s natural.

「What kind of crops do you grow in your fields, Asmo?」

「The same as Torr's. We grow various kinds of vegetables」

「That way it will be great since we can eat all kinds of vegetables. Since it is also easy to manage for us」

Well, rather than growing a single type of vegetable in large quantity, it’s going to make their life easier that way after all.

In reality, there are a lot more people among the villagers of Koryatt village who grow more than one type of thing compared to people who specialize in growing something.

After a certain amount of explanation, I freely walk through Torr family’s fields.

There are cucumbers in front of me.

It looks like a green curtain where the leaves are growing thickly while twisting around the thin support. I’m sure that the temperature in the shaded area is much cooler than in the normal, exposed area. I’m a bit disappointed that it’s small, since if it was a little bit bigger then I can go under the shade.

「I wonder where’s the cucumber-....there you are」

After looking through the yellow flower and leaves, there were plenty of long and narrow cucumbers growing in the back. 1

「Ooh, they are growing properly, aren’t they」

「Of course. I raised them diligently so they can grow like that after all」

「This, can I have one?」

「Ohh, ain’t you a good picker」

When I point at the cucumber in front of me, Torr raises an impressed voice at me.

「Do you know how to distinguish delicious cucumbers?」

「They are dark green, uniform in thickness, and moreover have a thorn that looks like it’s going to be painful, right? Bartolo taught me a bit」

「Correct. So Al understands it, huh」

Asmo firmly nods when I answer like that.

Well, I used to cook a bit in my previous life so I know that much. Just that, I know nothing much about the method of raising them.

I received their approval for now, so I reach out with my hand trying to pick a cucumber.

「Ah, the thorns hurt」

However, I guess it’s because they’re fresh that the cucumber’s thorns are pointed and they’re a bit painful. They will prick your hand if you try to pick them.

「Haha, so even if you have the knowledge, the actual harvest is still unskilled. All you have to do is to grab it where it doesn’t have thorns and you pick it as if twisting the cucumber」

Even when Torr said that to me to try while laughing, there are a lot of thorns and I can’t successfully pick it up.

「……this cucumber is such a brat, just like Torr. It’s only playing a prank on you」

「That’s cause they were not only raised by me but also by my neechan you know?」

So it’s a cucumber Ema-oneesama raised with great care. If I think like that, this vegetable seems to be more valuable than the regular vegetable.

Since it’s painful when the thorns prick my hand, for now, I quickly use Wind magic and make a small blade of wind to cut off the upper stem.

「Yosh, I picked it up」

「Oi, wait a minute! Just now, there was something sharp that flew!? Did you just use magic!? You didn’t cut all the cucumbers in the back, didn’t you!?」

As I look at the cucumbers I cut with Wind magic, Torr - who was nearby - yelled.

「It was only a small blade of wind made with Wind magic that flew out. Not to mention the other cucumbers, I didn’t damage the leaves or stems」

「Re, really?」

Even after I explain it to him, it seems like Torr is still worried about it as proceeds to check on their condition while reaching out and pushing the leaves and stem with his hand. Can you please have some faith in my control of magic a little?

「Why don’t we eat salt-covered cucumber for now? Here, I got salt and the cutting board. I brought it from Torr’s house」

「You’re right. The thorns will be going to hurt if I eat them as is」

Asmo brought a small jar of salt and a cutting board to me, so we decide to do the pre-treatment of the cucumbers at once.

He said that the salt and the cutting board were from Torr’s house, but I won’t ask about it. This sort of thing should be common between the two families.

First, I make a bucket with Earth magic, then I use Water magic to pour water into the bucket and lightly wash the cucumbers.

After that was done, I sprinkle some salt on the cucumbers, put the cutting board on top of the bucket, and start rubbing it on the cutting board.

Then I roll around the cucumbers on top of the cutting board with both of my hands.

When you use salt and rub it on the vegetables, the surface of the vegetables will be clean and the color will become brighter. The rugged thorns of the cucumbers also come off and smoothened, and when you season the chipped part, it will be easier for the taste to permeate the vegetables. Moreover, you can get rid of the raw bitter smell of the vegetable so it’s all good.

「Oi, isn’t this the cutting board from my house」

「Now now, I also made some for Torr, here」

Asmo gives the salt-covered cucumbers to Torr to get him in a good mood. Immediately after that, receive it naturally and say 「Oh well, no matter」.

After finishing rubbing salt on the cucumbers for three people, I lightly wash away the salt with water and now it’s tasting time.

Instead of cutting the cucumbers with a knife like a civilized person, I directly take a bite of the cucumber in my hand.

A nice snapping sound resounds inside my mouth, then the juicy cucumber spread.

「Ah, what a nice texture」

「Rather than cutting the cucumber, it’s tastier just bitting on the cucumber like this, it feels like you really ate them!」

Torr munched on the cucumber as he said that with a smile on his face.

It’s amazing that you can hear the sounds of people munching the cucumber with their teeth even when you’re separated by a distance.

「It’s really good. And it also tastes like a real cucumber」

「They will become ridiculously huge when the harvest is a bit late and the taste also becomes thin. All the cucumber here, you have to pick them up today or tomorrow at the latest if you don’t want them to become bad」

Ahh, that’s cause cucumbers will grow big like a zucchini if they grow past their harvest time.

As cucumbers grow, they will have more nutrition and become juicy so if possible it will be better to eat them when it’s their harvest time.

I bite into the cucumber while thinking such a thing.

Ah, the thick juice is overflowing. Even if you don’t drink water, you can hydrate yourself just by eating cucumber. As expected from the vegetable said to be 90% water. 2

It’s also good that during the salt-rubbing, a bit of saltiness is stuck, and it also has a subtle accent to the taste. And I’m also happy that I’m gradually sweating right now.

However, eating cucumber with salt is fine but I want to try eating it together with miso. This is just eating a juicy cucumber. Surely this will go well with Kagura’s miso.

「Ah, I want miso」

「「……mph!?」」

When I muttered like that, for some reason Torr and Asmo has surprised expressions on their faces.

「I received the miso from Al but, I never thought of that」

「……Al, you’re thinking dreadful things」

Fufufu, for the two of them who know the tastes of miso, they would be able to imagine what kind of dreadful combination it is when you combine cucumber with miso.

「Yosh, I’ll get some miso from Torr’s house a bit……」

「Stop messing around! You just borrowed the cutting board from my house, didn’t you! Go get some from your own house this time!」

As Asmo was about to go to Torr’s house and get some miso, Torr stopped him by catching Asmo’s shoulder with his hand.

「A cutting board and miso are different in terms of scarcity, y’know!」

「Each time we gather at my house, I’m the one who served the fruit juice!」

「……che, fine」

As expected, maybe he’s weak to the fact when Torr said he’s the one who served the fruit juice every time, the gluttonous Asmo unusually stepped back.

Well, guess Torr must have been having difficulties since he has to prepare the fruit each time, huh? And since Asmo is a glutton, he would also understand the difficulties Torr faced, right?

Asmo headed for his own house to get the miso with an unwilling expression.

And for some reason, Torr began to move around.

「Ihihi, it’s time to harvest new cucumbers now. Not the small half-eaten one, but I’m gonna steal all of his miso with the big cucumbers here」

「Uwaaー, what greedy things to do」

「It’s fine. He’s been eating the food in my house on regular basis. This is payback for that. Come on, Al’s share has also been made on the cutting board」

Torr hold out the salt-rubbed cucumber to me with a wicked smile on his face.

Well, it’s not enough with this half-eaten cucumber to enjoy the taste of miso-cucumber.

I toss the remaining cucumber into my mouth and receive the new cucumber Torr presented for me.

And as we wait while conspiring against him like that, Asmo came back to us.

However, in his hand is not the jar of miso I gave him, but a small plate with a mall amount of miso on it.

「Oi, Asmo! What’s with that small plate?」

「What are you talking about, I brought miso, right?」

Even when Torr question him, Asmo answered like that as he feigned ignorance.

「If you’re going to bring miso, then why don’t you bring the jar Al gave you then!」

「Ahー, you were right. But, miso is still miso no matter the amount, so it’s fine to have this, right?」

Though his tone is normal, his expression looks kinda smiling somehow. He probably saw through Torr’s move, didn’t he?

Seeing through Torr’s aim, he avoided the worst outcome from the beginning and paid off the debt of the fruit juice at the right timing. What a schemer.

「「…………」」

Torr’s glaring eyes clash with his mocking-like eyes.

Although he has a wicked mind, if you look at it from another perspective miso is that important to both of their families. When you think of it like that, it makes me happy since I’m the one who gave it to them.

「Well now, why don’t we eat the cucumbers first」

「……chi, I will forgive you just today」

After I said that to them as though expressing my annoyance, Torr clicked his tongue and pull back.

As always, what a guy who matches saying such delinquent-like lines.

After that, we peacefully add miso to the cucumber and then we take a bite.

The savory taste of the miso spreads, but it’s perfectly neutralized by the cucumber which has a lot of juice. As for the average taste before, now it’s indescribably tasty.

「Uoooh! This really goes well together!」

「If I do something like this back home, the miso will be gone in an instant.....!」

It looks like Torr and Asmo received a shock due to their compatibility, they have a different look in their eyes now and they continue to add miso to the cucumber and munch on them.

In summer when you sweat a lot, the juice from the cucumber and the saltiness from the miso will gently soak into your body.

TL Note:

1. Here if you want to grow your own cucumber, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5_C5PFZcqo0

2. Fact - around 96%

here

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