Chapter 122 (1/2)

Volume 2

CH 2

Volume 06 Chapter 02

「Kitchen Lunch」

The Great Canada forest spread out over the southeastern region of the Northern Continent .

Long ago this area had been considered barren land, but the elves fled persecution by cultivating the forest through mystical means . Now the forest, and the numerous monsters inhabiting it, acted as a natural barrier that kept humans away .

However, multiple elven villages resided in this forest .

The elves’ prowess with magic and their walls allowed them to create almost fairy tale-like villages .

The village was dotted with mushroom-shaped wooden houses, and a mansion fused with a large tree stood at the village’s center .

Of all the elven villages, the one named Raratoia was the one led by Ariane’s father and the one I currently resided in .

The large residence we stood in front of was elder’s home and were Ariane had been raised .

While this tree-house hybrid was thin compared to the Dragon King’s tree, its trunk was considerably larger than the average human home . The branches on the tree rose high into the sky and the leaves cast a deep shadow over the area .

I followed Ariane as she walked into the mansion unimpeded .

Stepping into the main hall I was greeted with the sight of two parallel stairways leading up to the second floor, where the dining room was .

Inside the dining room was a woman with an aura similar to Ariane’s, and when she saw us entering the room a smile started to bloom on her face .

“Oh, you finally came back? Arc-kun said that he’d be making lunch today, I was thinking of postponing it if you didn’t return soon . ”

The woman was Ariane’s mother and the wife of the current village elder .

Glenys Aruna Raratoia acted as the substitute village elder while her husband was away on business, and she didn’t look much older than Ariane .

Given the longevity of elves, in general, you couldn’t accurately judge their age by appearances alone .

In any case, trying to assign an age to Glenys was the equivalent of jumping head first into my own grave . Glenys was the one that taught Ariane swordsmanship, and in all the sparring sessions I had with her I was never able to put up much of a fight .

I offered an apology to her still smiling visage .

“Sorry, Glenys-dono . I got a little too absorbed in making the kiln . ”

I originally planned to work only for a couple of hours, so I had offered to make lunch today .

I went to the kitchen in the dining room while still wearing my armor .

Humans used firewood to cook in this world, but elves were able to maintain higher living standards through the use of a magic tool .

There was actually an stove for firewood in the kitchen, but next to it was also a tool that looked kinda like a gas stove . .

Since the only alternative were magic stones, it wasn’t all that surprising that firewood was the predominant fuel source .

“That reminds me, what were you messing around with last night, Arc?”

Ariane looked into the kitchen as I started to get to work .

Her eyes looked over the two bowls I held in my hands .

The two ceramic bowls contained dried tomatoes and mushrooms that were soaking in water .

“It a new seasoning I’m trying to make . ”

I began removing the tomatoes and mushrooms from the bowels as I replied .

I was challenging myself to make soy sauce this time around .

Normally soy sauce was made by fermenting koji and soybeans, but the process was quite complicated, requiring precise timing and temperature management . It’s unlikely that an amateur like myself would be able to make it .

However, it should be possible for me to produce a chemical equivalent of soy sauce .

The first step was to soak tomatoes and mushrooms in water .

The recipe actually required morels, but I haven’t seen those in this world . That’s why I used some aromatic mushrooms Glenys had recommended .

Visually, they resembled eryngii .

I poured the contents of the bowls into a pot full of minced chicken breast .

Next, I placed the pot over the fire to cook .

The ‘stock’ component of the arrangement was almost done .

After a slight smell and taste test, I was confident that it was a delicious stock .

However, Ariane grimaced when she caught a whiff of what I was making .

“……What is that? It doesn’t smell all that enticing……”

I started to shrug my shoulders at Ariane’s apparent disgust but stopped .

My Japanese upbringing meant that I had gotten used to the smell, but I knew foreigners compare it to steamed laundry . I guess it depended on what one was accustomed to .

Well, let’s finally make the substitute soy sauce .

Ultimately, so long as I had the amino acid and sugar I had the base needed for the soy sauce .

First there was the amino acid: I put the leftovers of the minced chicken I had put into the stock into a bowl and carefully started mixing in maple syrup, a specialty of Canada Forest, into the pot as a replacement for the sugar .

As I began to raise the temperature, the Maillard reaction started to take effect as the minced chicken and stock started browning . At that point, I added salt and liquor to the mix and put out the fire .

“Hmm, it should be done . ”

I dipped a finger into the dark brown liquid inside the pot and tasted it .

While not exactly what I expected, it resembled soy sauce well enough .

Since I could only get my hands on a white-wine-like liquor, the taste harkened back to western flavors .  It was the difference between soy sauce (醤油) and soy sauce (ソイソース) .

Even though I didn’t use any soy to begin with .

Ariane sat nearby and held Ponta in her arms as they watched me working . They way their nose twitched showed their interest in the soy sauce .

“How is it, Ariane-dono? The stench no longer bothers you?”

She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head .

“The smell changed a while ago . How should I say…… it now gives off a pleasant aroma . ”