245 - - 二百四十三话 トマト

With the help of Nomos and Dolly, twenty-three picture frames were completed. All that is left to do now is to put the pictures in the frames and hang them in their respective rooms. Now we will be able to look at the spirits' paintings anytime we want. Gina and Belle will be pleased.

For now, let's put the group pictures of all the spirits in their rooms, but what about the individual pictures of the spirits? Gina and the others can hang up the pictures of their contracted spirits in their rooms, but in my case, I'll have to hang up a total of thirteen pictures in my room. ...... That's a lot of pictures. I don't want my room to look like a music room.

It would be better to hang them in the living room or in the hallway. I can see the spirits, so I don't have to hang them in my room.

Let's hang the paintings in prominent places in the house for now. I'm starting to enjoy this. Places I'm usually at. I'm going to hang my paintings in the places where I often pass by.

......A house with paintings is not so bad. The house was a bit drab because I still have only necessary things in the house, but now that the paintings are displayed, it feels a bit more cheerful. You'll be surprised when they come back.

I feel satisfied with the work I have done. What am I going to do now?　...... I don't want to put too much work into it, so I'm going to have a cup of coffee and rest until dinner.

I'm not finished yet, but I'm on track for coffee berries, and I've got sugar and milk. I should be allowed the luxury of a cup of coffee today.

I rush back to my room, take out the instant coffee, koup, and sugar from the magic bag, and pour the desired amount into the cup with shaking hands. The more patient I've been, the more impatient I feel when the moment comes to drink the coffee.

You take out a pot of boiling water from your magic bag and pour it into the cup. You slowly lean back on the sofa and sip the cup, savoring the familiar smell that pervades the room.

"Mmmm, this is good. Tastes are necessary for people after all.

He sips his coffee in a relaxed, slouched posture. If the processing of the coffee berries is successful, he will be able to drink coffee without hesitation. I'm looking forward to it. Oh, what about roasting and breaking the beans into small pieces?

I have a feeling that if I ask Flair to do the roasting for me at ...... Flair will obliterate it. I have a feeling that iff ...... iff will also be a charcoal extinguisher, but I'll trust that he is a great spirit and can control the fire delicately.

I don't know the structure of ...... coffee mill to grind it finely, so I'll ask Sylphy to do it for me. A millstone could be a good substitute, so we could ask Nomos to make one for us.

Well, it would be better to have Sylphy grind a lot of coffee at once and store it in the magic bag, since it will stay fresh for a long time. I sip my coffee slowly and plan out a fun plan in my head.

"I've already finished my drink. ......"

I stare at the empty cup with an extremely sad feeling. I'd love to have another cup, but I know I'll regret it if the processing doesn't work. Now that I'm relaxed enough, I'll just sit back and relax.

"Oh, shirpy!

While I was relaxing, I heard Bell's loud voice from below. She had found a picture of Sylphy on the front porch. It's the first place you see when you come home, so a picture of a beautiful woman is appropriate.

I heard them cackling, and when they found their own picture, they called the other spirits to them happily. The voice was a flare, so everyone has reached the living room. In the living room, I hung the group picture in the most conspicuous place and scattered the Belles in various places. They will enjoy it.

However, even if the spirits are having a party in the living room, they can hardly be heard, but the fact that their voices can reach this far suggests that they are making quite a loud noise.

"Qooooooo!"

"Oh, really! Deene is here.

Rain has found Dene. Deanne should be on the second floor, directly in front of the stairs. She'll be at my place soon.

"Yuta. So many pictures!"

As expected, the Bells charged right in. I was a little surprised because they were all clumped up like dumplings, laughing.

"I hung up your paintings. Did you find your picture?"

"I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it!" "I found it! ......"

He does his best to tell me where his painting was, but I'm the one who put it up. ....... Well, I'm glad you enjoyed it. After calming down the excited Belle and the others, we all head for the living room.

"Oh, I didn't know Gina and the others had come back.

I was so distracted by the commotion of Bell and the others that I didn't notice it at all.

"Yes, I just got back. I see you've put up your paintings.

"Yeah, I had some free time, so I hung it up. What do you think?

"I think it's very nice, because we can easily imagine Sylphy and her friends."

It's kind of weird when Sara compliments me on my work. I don't know how to respond to her because she talks so elegantly even though she is a child.

"Hey, master. Do you know why Sheba has been so restless since we got home?

I look at Shiva at Gina's question and see Shiva waving her right hand up and down hard in my direction and waffling. ...... hmmm I don't know.

"Belle. Do you know what Sheba is saying?"

"Hmm. "He says he doesn't have Shibatachi no e..."

"I see. Thank you, Belle."

They were looking for their picture because it was missing. I was going to give them to you after dinner, but at this rate I'd better give them to you first.

"Gina. Sheba was looking for her paintings. I thought it would be better to put the paintings of Gina and the other contracted spirits in Gina's room, so I haven't put them there yet. I'll give them to you now.

Gathers Gina and the others together and gives them each a picture. I gave Gina the group picture and Shiva's picture, Sarah the pictures of Fuchu and Puru, Marco the group picture and Uri's picture, and Kikka the picture of Mame.

"You can hang them in your rooms. When you have decided on the position, I will put a nail in the wall.

At my words, Gina and the others headed for the room with their own contracted spirits. It's quite cute to see Fukuchan and the others flying around us, peering at our paintings.

Well, if we put the food on the table now, it's going to get cold, so we'll have dinner after Gina and the others finish decorating their paintings. Tomorrow will be busy too, so let's eat well and get a good rest.

**

"Now we will harvest the tomatoes!

Belle and Gina applauding. It's great that everyone is so friendly with each other. By the way, Sylphy, Dine and Dolly are watching the Great Spirits. Nomos is going to remodel wands, If is going to distill alcohol, and Vita is going to take care of the animals.

In the field, bright red tomatoes sparkle in the morning sun. I know a tomato when I see one, it's perfectly ready to eat.

"Well, let's each take one tomato to eat first," she says.

"Want some?　Is it good?"

Belle asks, a little wary. She still can't get over the bitterness of komatsuna. Tomatoes are sour but not bitter, right?

"I think it's probably delicious. If you can't eat it, I'll eat it, just try a bite."

"Hmm, okay..."

I'm not in my usual good spirits, but now that Belle has convinced me, let's get to eating the tomatoes. We go into the field and pick the most delicious-looking ones. They are fresh, so we try them without salt at first.

I take a big bite into a shiny, bright red tomato. My teeth pierce through the thick skin, and I am surprised to find a surprising amount of moisture and a slight acidity. And sweeter than I expected. Why are they so sweet when they haven't been bred?

I was surprised, but I was so absorbed in eating that I easily finished off a whole tomato. The skin was much thicker than that of Japanese tomatoes, but the taste was perfect. Maybe because they were freshly picked and ripe?

"Yuta, is it good?"

While I was thinking about tomatoes, Belle asked me what they tasted like. She is holding a bright red tomato with both hands, but she is afraid to eat it. ...... And not only Belle, but all of them are looking at me with tomatoes.

Sarah and the others were in a slum, so they must have been less averse to food, but why didn't they eat it?　They're used to eating ketchup and such. Maybe you poisoned your master?　...... No, Gina and her friends would never do such a thing. They were just waiting for me to eat.

"Yes, it's very sweet and delicious. You should try some."

"Sweet?"

"Yes, it's very sweet."

At my words, the contracted spirits and their disciples bite into the tomatoes.

"Sweet!" "Cue!" "Delicious!" "Cooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!" ......"

"Master!　These tomatoes are delicious. I've never tasted anything like it."

"Master, it's really delicious."

"Master!　Tomatoes are good!"

"Osho-sama. Kikka, I love tomatoes!"

Tomatoes seem to be a big hit with Belle, Gina, Fukuchan and the others. Belle was so crazy about them that she was gobbling them up. Marco and Kikka have tomato juice all over their faces.

But is this Gina's first taste of tomatoes?

"Yuta, what's wrong?"

While I was struggling, Sylphy called out to me.

"No, Gina said it's so good that she ate it for the first time, didn't she?　I was wondering why it made such a difference since the tomatoes were from a village near the labyrinthine city."

"Of course. It's no wonder. Dolly and Tamamo took their time to grow the same tomato seedlings. It's got to taste good."

...... I see. Tomatoes grown by a great spirit of the forest and a lowly spirit. I think it's only natural that they should taste good. And since I ate them as they were without cooking, I could taste the difference in taste.

"I'm convinced. With Dolly and Tamamo's help, it will be delicious. Thank you, Dory."

Let me first thank Dolly. I'll thank Tamamo later, since she's into tomatoes.

"I'm glad you enjoyed them. It's nice to have vegetables that are grown slowly, as opposed to those that are grown too quickly.

"Do vegetables that take time to grow taste better than those that grow rapidly?"

"Yes, that's right. If you grow vegetables in a hurry, it is hard on the vegetables themselves, and you have to spend less time and effort on them than if you grow them slowly.

"I see. The rice and other things tasted so good that I didn't feel any different."

"Mr. Yuta, I have confidence in my plants. I am confident about plants, Yuta-san. Even if you grow them rapidly, you can produce more than ordinary crops. It's just that if you take your time, you can make something even better.

Oh, she's smiling beautifully as usual, but I think I've seen Dolly's non-negotiable commitment to her plants.　

"I see. That means we can make the rice even tastier than before, right?"

"Yes, if you tell us what you like, we can make it closer to your taste."

I'm fascinated by more delicious rice ...... best. This is it. When the sanctuary-related busyness settles down, I'll ask you to grow some real rice.

"Yuta. Beru, one more time!"

Belle flaps her arms and legs, demanding a refill. She seems to like it very much.

"Ha-ha! Well then, everyone, let's have one more before we start harvesting.

Just as well, because I wanted another one too. We'll eat well and harvest quickly. With the magic bag, I can enjoy this deliciousness every day. A magic bag is the best tool for farm work.

Now we have to go to ...... to catch the animals after the harvest. We've done this a few times before, so let's catch them quickly and fulfill the requirements for the sanctuary.