550 - - 五百四十八话 二つ目の甘味

We held a sweet potato stew party and were able to entertain the little ones with a huge pot, just as we had planned. I could only check it for a short time, but the spirits who came to play with us were enjoying the stewed potatoes, so we should be able to finish the stewed potatoes party with a great success if we can manage to prepare some sweetmeats to present to Mr. Wright. ...... is under a lot of pressure.

While Dolly prepares the seed potatoes, I'll ask Sylphy to deliver a message to Belle and the others.

It would be quicker if I summon them, but I don't want to disturb them since they are probably enjoying the stew with big smiles on their faces.

It will be no problem if we tell them to come here after they finish eating.

Well, I'll have to have a meeting with Nomos and have him build a stone kiln for us while we're at it. We don't have much time, so we have to be efficient or we won't make it in time.

"Mwah!"

While I was meeting with Nomos, I heard strange voices in the sky. The voice made me look up, and I saw Bell and the others flying toward us.

It hadn't been that long since I asked them to leave a message, and already they were here.

The bells come to a sudden stop right in front of me.

...... No wonder they're so fast. And now I know why I heard strange voices. It seems that the Bells got the message and came here as fast as they could.

They seem to be stuffing their mouths full of stewed potatoes, and their cheeks are puffed up like squirrels, which is a little silly, but very cute.

I want to pet them, but I don't want to, because if I do so now, the sweet-potato stew might come out of their mouths.

Hmm?　Now, the bells were flying toward us at a fairly high speed, weren't they?　But their mouths are full of stewed potatoes.

I don't care if it's a big spirit or a high level spirit, lower level spirits should be able to move much slower when they hold something, but if it's in their mouth, could it be recognized as a part of their body?

If this is the case, then anything that fits in the mouth of Bell and his friends can be moved quickly while in their hands. ...... No, that's a no-no.

Food, though...no, not food either. It's too devilish to make them carry things by stuffing things in their mouths, and I don't understand the point of making them carry things by putting food in their mouths.

Also, I'm afraid of swallowing it by accident.

"Sorry to rush you. I'd like to ask you to help me, if you don't mind."

"Nope!"

Everyone raised their hands in high spirits. I will definitely help you!　The reaction of the students was "I'm so excited," but they couldn't seem to talk because they couldn't swallow the stewed potatoes in their mouths.

Well, he will be able to swallow it by the time we start the work.

****

We have been growing crops regularly in paradise, so Belle and I are quite used to farming.

The Belles are happily hopping around the farmland planting seed potatoes, and I'm quickly planting them with my brain running full blast ......, but I can't seem to come up with a good sweet taste.

A warm sweet that goes well with the snowy landscape, looks good, and is of a Japanese style that I can make in a short time. Maybe the hurdle is too high for me.

Especially, the warm sweetness is a bottleneck. I am bitter at my poor knowledge that I can think of nothing but Zenzai.

How about summarizing the tastes of autumn in connection with the season of sweet potatoes?　Chestnuts, such as Tenjin sweet chestnuts, might be a good idea.

...... is no good. If they are animal type, they may not be able to peel chestnuts. Chestnut and sweet potato is Kurikinton, or since we have agar, Chestnut Yokan or Imojokan.

It is not bad, but it takes too much time to make a large quantity.

Difficult. Even if we include western sweets as an option, what kind of sweetness fits the current conditions?

In the first place, there are too few options when it comes to sweet foods that I can make without any trial and error. I should think of a sweet that I can make in a short time and that still looks good, regardless of whether it is a Western or Japanese confectionery.

If you want to ......, you can go to .......

It's easy and I was addicted to it for a while. Freshly made, hot, and a little wild, it seems to be a good match for eating outdoors.

In fact, it seems to be popular at camps, and the simplicity of the cooking process is also a good point, considering that it is served to a lot of little kids.

More importantly, I know how to make it because I have made it myself. This is the biggest thing.

I know that I have made it myself, so I know how to make it.

The ingredients are ...... simple sweet, so we have them on hand. One of them was treated as a drug, but we stocked them all in large quantities, so we have enough.

No, we'll be a little short of the main ingredients since we're a big group. Fortunately, the crops grow in paradise, and I'll ask Dolly to help me mass-produce them too.

...... is the way to go. The second sweet dish is baked apples with lots of cinnamon and butter.

It's simple, but the smell of apples, sugar, cinnamon, and butter baking is irresistible, and the unique texture and taste of a hot baked apple when you bite into it.

And the whole apple is a crude, yet exciting looking thing. I'm sure you'll enjoy this.

The problem is the cooking utensils. If we have an oven, it would be easy, but can we make it in a stone oven?　I think it will be no problem since it is a sweet treat that can be enjoyed at camp, but I would like to have aluminum foil to avoid any mistakes.

But it will be difficult to get aluminum foil now.

I'll give up aluminum foil this time, but I'll check with Nomos later to see if it's possible to make it.

I think we can get aluminum foil if we can get bauxite somehow. That was the case in a certain battleship game, so I am sure of it.

I have seen bauxite in person, so I can explain what it is. I'll leave the "somehow" part to ...... nomos.

I think I found a few penny coins in my wallet. If you show them to Nomos, he will do something about it.

The one yen coin I have is worth less than a candy bar in Japan, but in this world, it may be more valuable than gold in some ways.

If I have enough time, I'll be able to get the aluminum foil, so for now I'll concentrate on planting and making the sweet.

"Yuta, it's done!"

Just as I was about to concentrate, Nomos arrived. The stone kiln is finished.

We leave the planting to Bell and the others, and go to see the finished stone kiln.

"...... It's so big!"

A normal stone potato-ya has a light truck, but I don't think even a ten-ton truck would be able to load this stone kiln.

"It was Yuta who told you to make it like that, wasn't it? What are you talking about now?

"Ha-ha, yes, but I'm tempted to say so."

I had the same impression when I saw a huge pot. But I think my one-track reaction can't be helped because the size of the pot creates a certain kind of power by itself.

And this time, even though it's big, it doesn't take much time since all I have to do is to arrange the potatoes in a row.

"Well, the next step is to put the stones in this kiln, but can you please use rounded stones that won't damage the potatoes, and blackish lava stones?

I have heard that lava stones have more far-infrared rays and make baked potatoes tastier.

On the other hand, I heard that it costs a certain amount of money, but if you ask Nomos to prepare it for you, it's free of charge. No, it's just the cost of alcohol.

......　I thought they were pretty expensive.　

...... Well, it's a little late for that.

"Mm. I don't see the point in going that far for a potato, but it's all right."

"You'd be surprised how delicious a baked potato baked on a stone can be."

"I see."

Nomos responded in a completely uninterested manner. I guess he really doesn't care.

"Also, the sake made with this sweet potato has a peculiar taste, but it's delicious.

To motivate Nomos, I threw a bomb at him. I know for sure that I will be caught in the explosion, but I'm OK with it because I want to drink too.

Sweet potato shochu is delicious.

"What!　Yuta, explain in detail!"

"Yes, explain!"

"Yuta, I want to hear it too!"

Even Sylphy and Dory have taken a bite from the hooks I threw out to get Nomos to bite.

It is very strange that Dolly, who was supposed to be working on planting potatoes, can react to the fish hook, while Shilfi is aware of her surroundings by the wind.

"......I don't have time now, so I'll explain after the potato planting party. But if the potato-noodle party fails, I may not have the energy to explain, so please cooperate well."

If we explain now, there is a possibility that we might go straight into brewing if we are not careful, and we can explain later to get them to cooperate enthusiastically.

"Yes, I'll take care of it."

"Yuta, leave the messages and cooking assistance to me."

"I have to make sure the potatoes grow well. I'll make sure to make a big batch.

"Yes, please."

I have a feeling that this potato stew party is going to be a great success.

**

As usual, the Great Spirit's motivation skyrockets when alcohol is involved.

Nomos quickly covered the inside of the stone kiln with obsidian and completed a huge stone kiln for baked apples.

Dolly also grew a large number of sweet potatoes and produced more apples than she could count.

All we have to do now is to harvest and cook them.

"Okay, I'll explain the process. Belle and the others harvest the sweet potatoes. The harvest is taken to Dolly's place to ripen. When the ripening is finished, Rain will wash the potatoes and put them neatly in this stone oven. Do you understand?"

"Okay." "Cue." "I'll do my best." "Coo." "You're good." "......."

Bell and the others are ready to go, and I think we're going to make it.

Let's get to work!

I call out to the belles as they head out to harvest.

After a while of waiting and preparing for the cooking, many beautiful sweet potatoes begin to arrive at Dolly's place with a joyful laughter.

Dolly waved her hand at the many sweet potatoes and they were ripened. Next, Lane washed the sweet potatoes with a water ball and they were placed in a huge stone kiln.

Then they are put on the fire and baked slowly for two hours, and the delicious baked sweet potatoes will be ready.

I summon If to light the fire and observe the cooking process. It is extravagant to ask the Great Spirit of Fire to guard the kiln, but I am sure that there will be no failure in this case.

Next, we start roasting apples.

After Rain has washed the apples, Sylphy's skill shines through in this case. With a light wave of his hand, Sylphy slices the top and bottom of hundreds of apples into thin strips, and with another wave of his hand, the core of the apple is neatly cut out of the apple.

Belle, in charge of sugar, fills the hollows of the processed apples with sugar, Tulu, in charge of cinnamon, sprinkles a generous amount of cinnamon, and Flair, in charge of butter, dabs a piece of butter on the apple.

Moon wraps up the apple with the head and buttocks, and somehow the apple is beautifully restored to its original shape.

Tamamo puts them one by one on a ceramic plate and carries them to the stone oven with Rain, who has finished washing them.

The baked apples will be cooked in about 20 minutes, which is enough time for the event. It is convenient to store them in the magic bag so that the whole hot kiln can be taken out.

Well, I feel the dependability of the excellent coordination that reminds me of the flow work in a factory, but I would have liked to have dug potatoes and picked apples in a different way if I could have.

...... Next time, let's hold a potato digging event or an apple picking event including not only Belle and her friends but also the spirits who came to play with us.

Then we can cook the harvest together. I'm sure everyone will be very happy. Let's plan carefully.