188 - - 186 times work done

We harvested burdocks and pumpkins, and Sylphy, Dine and Nomos went to lay the liquor on the ocean floor. We also planted a lawn in the center of the block and made the trees bear nuts. ...... we've done a lot in just half a day.

"Master, what's next?"

Having stored most of the materials in the magic bag, Sara asked me if I had any doubts.

"Well, what we are going to make today is a dish called tempura, and we are going to make the batter for it.

"Batter?"

Sara tilted her head, and behind her, Gina tilted her head as well. I don't understand what you mean when you say "batter. But it's hard to explain, so I'll just have to let you watch the cooking process.

"Yes, I'll explain it to you as I make it.

Let's make the batter for now. I think it would be more fun to fry them in front of everyone, but there are so many of us, it's hard. It would be safer to fry them all first and store them in the magic bag.

As I take out the flour, eggs, and water and start to make the batter, I hear Bell and the others making noises. I looked out of the kitchen window and saw that Belle and her friends were welcoming Shilfi and her friends back home.

"Master, what's going on?

"Oh, Sylphy and his friends came back from their trip.

"Speaking of which, I can feel your presence. How strong are you, Mr. Sylphy, that you can see them from inside the building?

A question as simple as it is difficult to answer came up. I have never seen the upper limit, so I don't know how much it is.

"Is Sylphy strong enough to beat Fire Dragon by herself with ease?

"I see. ...... I had a vague idea, but is the master so strong that he would be in trouble if he wasn't?"

"I myself specialize in physics, so I'm pretty strong, but with the help of my contractors, Sylphy and the others, I'm strong as a kitten.

Although I am aided by the cheat performance of the pioneering tools, I can beat an assault dragon solo, so I am sure that I am quite strong. When I borrow the help of Sylphy and the others, even though my magic power also contributes to the victory, I sometimes get scared because it's too much of a cheat.

"Yuta, I'm home!" "Yuta, I put the drinks in the perfect place!"

The cheat kingpins came to the kitchen.

"Thanks for your hard work. We'll see how the liquor goes in about six months. And the nomos?

"Hmmm, six months from now, I'm looking forward to it. Nomos is back at the distillery.

You ran away because Sara's here. Sara and her friends are very nice and I don't think you need to avoid them. ...... I mean, they're perfectly at home in the distillery when they say they're back there. What if they build a brewery?　...... Well, I guess the one you enjoy will take up residence on its own.　

"Oh, yeah, okay. Tell me more about the alcohol later.　　

"Yeah, okay. So, Yuta is making a new dish, right?　Are you going to be good at it?"

"Ha-ha-ha, I don't know. I'll do my best to make it at least edible."

Is that what I said?　Sylphy smiles bitterly. Gina and Sara are also serious?　You're making a face like that. I'm sorry. But I don't think an amateur can make the best tempura with ingredients from another world, even though tempura is a craftsman's art. But I have a secret recipe, so I should be able to make at least ordinary household tempura.

Now let's make the batter. Gina and Sara look a little worried, so I'll have to work on it. Crack the eggs into a bowl and beat them with cold water. Then add the flour and mix roughly. I think it was said on TV that it is just right that there are some lumps left. I think he said that if you mix it too much, it will be sticky and not good.

This is what ...... should be good ....... I'm not so sure though. I used to cook simple dishes in Japan, but I never tried to cook tempura. But I want to eat burdock tempura, so I'll do my best.

"Master, is that sludge going to be the batter?"

"Yeah, maybe. ...... you know, what I'm trying to make now is the kind of food that a chef would spend his whole life trying to master. If I fail, it's okay."

I'll lower the bar for the finished dish. I'm not lying, because I've read such a thing in a gourmet manga like Ultimate.

"Master, why did you start with such a difficult dish?"

"Because I wanted to eat."

...... Gina and Sarah's expressions turn into something subtle. Sylphy and Dine are looking at me funny, which may be a sign of their age. I'm afraid I'll get angry if I think about their age any more, so I'll stop.

Now, it's time to fry them...... and even though they will be cleaned by washing, let's do it outside since oil is likely to be splashed in various places. It's a new house.

Why are we going outside?　I take Gina and the others outside with a wry look on their faces. Take out the grill and put plenty of vegetable oil in the pan. Here comes the secret. He summons a flare.

"What?"

Flare is suddenly called out, and he looks a little confused.

"I'm sorry I was playing with you. I need you to heat this pot over a fire.

"You need fire. I'll take care of it.

Flair smiles for a moment when he realizes that he has been asked to do a job, and then he gladly accepts it with his heart pounding in his chest. He is just like Bell and the others when it comes to being happy to have a job.

"Yes, I'll take care of it.

Flair nods his head and says, "I'll take care of it." Flair creates a fire and starts to heat the pot. From what I've heard, the temperature of the oil is very important for tempura. If Flare can maintain the best temperature, we should be able to make a reasonable tempura.

I drop a drop of batter into the oil a few times. Yes, the current temperature should be good.

"Flare, keep the oil at the current temperature. Can you do that?"

"It's easy."

He took care of it with a big smile on his face. I think it's kind of cute when a little girl makes a smug face.

"Thank you. Gina, Sara, I just drizzled the batter and it sank a little and then floated right back up. That's the temperature at which tempura is fried, so keep that in mind."

"That's when it sinks a little and then rises again. I got it."

"I was wondering why you were dripping the batter liquid, but you were measuring the temperature. I understand."

After teaching Gina and Sara how to measure the temperature, it was time to deep fry the ...... I had forgotten to prepare a net to drain the oil. I summon Nomos in a hurry.

"What is it?"

"I'm sorry to ask this out of the blue, but can you make me some tools?"

I drew a picture on the ground and explained about the iron net and the net for catching dregs, and he easily made something that looked like that. Then he flew to the distillery as fast as he could. I will eventually ask him why nomos is not good with children. The net is washed and placed next to the pot, and the ingredients are taken out.

The tempura is ready to fry, and I'm getting nervous. The serious stares from Gina and Sarah are putting me under pressure. A man's got to have guts......... Let's start with the pumpkin. The pumpkin is quickly dipped into the batter and then into the oil. The crackling sound of the oil makes me a little excited.

He puts several pumpkins into the oil, but the temperature of the oil does not seem to be dropping. Thank goodness for flares. I watch the pumpkins intently. The cartoon says I can tell by the sound, but I can't.

......Here it is!　The color of the batter and intuition lead me to take out the pumpkins and arrange them on the griddle. It looks good, but you won't know until you try it. After the oil has drained off, I fearfully try to eat the pumpkin tempura.

When I put the pumpkin tempura into my mouth, the crunchy texture of the batter and the slightly netty pumpkin appeared. Well, the batter seems a little thick and heavy. It is not crispy at all. Next time, I'll drop some more of the batter liquid and put it into the oil.

However, the texture and sweetness of the pumpkin are quite tasty. I think it's good for home-style tempura. I'll ask him to taste it, since it may be a self-praise.

"Try a little, everyone. It's hot, so be careful.

Everyone was interested in the pumpkin tempura, reaching for it one after another.

"Delicious!

Flair gave me a big smile and told me what he thought. If Frere likes it, I wonder if Belle will like it too.　Sarah, Gina, Sylphy, Dine, and If also seemed to like the taste.

I'm feeling more and more confident. Let's fry the rest at once. I fry a lot of pumpkin, burdock, fish, and shrimp. Looking forward to dinner.

**

Tempura is placed on a big table in the living room. I wish I could have made tempura sauce, but it is difficult to make soup stock, so I gave up. I thought about substituting Nabeyaki Udon (hot pot noodle) soup, but I just couldn't do it. I don't think the day will ever come when I can easily consume Japanese ingredients.

I've heard that good tempura is usually eaten with salt, so I'll just use salt. I prefer tempura with soy sauce, so I'd like to do something about that, too.

"Today's dish is called tempura, and it turned out better than I thought it would, so enjoy it!

He begins his meal with a little bragging. The Great Spirits are picking up tempura with ale in their hands, and the burdock tempura seems to be surprisingly well received.

"Yuta. Belle, I love tempura!"

She shows me a shrimp tempura stuck in her fork and says how much she loves tempura. It's very adorable to see her gripping the fork in a gooey grip and biting into the shrimp tempura, but should I at least teach her how to hold the fork?　No one can see them but me, and the spirits don't seem to care.

......When we become a sanctuary, Sarah and the others will be able to see us, so we'll teach them little by little when we decide to become a sanctuary. I'm sure they'll learn on their own without us having to teach them.

"I see, you like it. But Belle only eats fish and shrimp. Why don't you try some vegetables?　Freya said it was delicious, so I'm sure Belle and the others will be fine."

When I told her that Freya said it was delicious, Belle turned to Freya with an astonished expression on her face. I have never seen Belle so surprised.

"Flair, is this good?"

"This one is good. This one I don't like so much."

Flair says pumpkin tempura is good, but she doesn't like burdock tempura. When she tasted it, she said she didn't like the smell of the soil.

The spirits who heard Flare's words rush to the pumpkin tempura. They are overjoyed with the sweetness of the pumpkin. It is a little disappointing that they did not get to try the burdock tempura, which they said they did not like so much.

"What about Marco and Kikka?　Did you like it?"

"It's hot, crispy, and delicious. I like fish!

Kikka likes shrimp!

They both seemed to like it. Gina and Sara also said it was very tasty from the first taste, so it seems that everyone liked the tempura. I'll make a big batch next time and keep it in stock. I'll have to make some tempura rice bowls. Oh, and katsudon.