Chapter 208

It's not just the watermelon. All the fruits in the fruit basket―――strawberries, tangerines, and peaches―――were clearly not sweet enough when I tasted them.

All of them had a good taste of their own, though. However, they all tasted vaguely bland and unorganized.

(I guess sweetness is important even for tangerines……)

Yuri thought about this as she checked the taste.

If only there was a clear sourness, it would be enough to make the core taste good. In fact, I found out the hard way when I tried it.

It seems that even sour fruits do not taste good if they lack sweetness・・・・.

“Euro. Do you know the cause of this?”

“I think it's probably the result of accelerated cultivation.”

“Oh…”

The gods have bestowed so much of their grace on the land that when crops are grown, they grow many times faster than normal.

The difference is so pronounced that crops that would normally be harvested only once a year bear fruit at a rate of five to six times a year, or even more.

“Ummm… What a shame, can't we do something about it?”

“It's a shame. But at least it seems to be difficult at present.”

“…Well, that's too bad.”

Euro, who knew more about foodstuffs than anyone else, told me that I was right in my assumption.

Yuri tossed the cut peaches on the plate in her hand into her mouth again.

It tasted like peaches enough. But… it's still not quite good enough.

“Excuse me, Sister Yuri.”

“Yes? What is it, Estoa?”

“It is true that these fruits taste a little disappointing when eaten as is, as Euros-sama said. But if you process them into jam or something like that, I'm sure you can enjoy them.”

“My. That may not be a bad idea.”

It's just that it lacks sweetness, but the fruit itself has plenty of flavors.

If you boil it down with sugar, you can probably make a delicious jam.

“If you squeeze the juice, you can easily adjust the taste, so it would be good to use it for juice. You can also use it to make jam, as Estoa said, but you can also use it to make compote for confectionery.”

“Fumufumu…”

“Another option, which would require some research, would be to dry them into dried fruit. If you sprinkle some sugar on it, it would be delicious on its own, and it would be suitable as a portable food for travelers.

Of course, dried fruit can also be used as a confectionery ingredient, so it would be great to use it to make pastries like panettone, for example.”

“Oohhh… Yuri Sister is as good as ever. I'm learning a lot…”

Euro quickly recorded Yuri's mutterings in her notepad.

I have heard that even in modern Japan, fruits with poor shape, damaged skin, or insect bites are often processed into juice or confectionary ingredients because consumers are not motivated to buy them.

In short, we can do the same thing with fruits produced in “Shinto City”.

“I don't know much about brewing, but I think it would be interesting to process it into fruit wine. Or, on the other hand, you could soak the fruit in alcohol.”

“I see… I'll talk to Sukunabikona-san about the fruit wine.”

“Yes, I think that would be a good idea.”

Sukunabikona is the leading sake brewer in the city.

The crops grown in the city should be processed and consumed within the city, so it would be better to discuss this with him.

“What about the rest of the fruits?”

Suddenly, Yuri thought about it and asked Euro.

I understand that you have a problem with the taste of fruits, but it's not only fruits that we grow in Shinto City. Of course, they grow a variety of vegetables and grains as well.

“It's similar there, too. In the case of vegetables, it's not that they don't have enough ‘sweetness,’ but they still end up lacking a certain flavor.”

“I see…”

“Oh, the only exception is the rice, which they make twice a month, and it's so good that I can give it my seal of approval.”

If Euro is giving it her seal of approval, then it must be really good.

There are a number of gods of agriculture in Shinto City. But there are many more gods who control the rice crop and give grace to its growth.

This is probably the reason why the rice crop is exceptionally tasty, even when it is grown at an accelerated rate. There is no way that the gods of high heaven would allow the existence of bad-tasting rice.

Of course, as a Japanese, rice is also an important food for Yuri, so she was very happy to hear that it taste good.

At the rate of two crops a month, that means we can grow rice eight times a year. It's hard to believe that a crop of eight crops can produce such delicious rice.

“However, the use of sugar as an ingredient in confectionery was a blind spot for me… If there is a confectionery boom in the country, the demand for sugar may increase in the future.”

“I'm sure that's fine. Why don't we just have them grow sugar cane or sugar beets in the Shinto City?”

“…Wouldn't that produce unsweetened sugar cane?”

“That's scary.”

Yuri couldn't help but chuckle at Euro's words.

If the sugar cane is completely drained of its sugar content, I would like to taste it at least once.

“Well, at that time, you don't have to worry about the “Shinto City”, you can raise them in other cities. There's still plenty of land around Yuritania.”

“That's true. If we put up wards and adjust the environment, you can grow anything you want.”

If you ask <Red Plum> to put up a【 Temperature Control Ward 】on the farmland, you can strictly control the temperature of the farmland. In addition, if you use【 Barrier Ward 】together, you can block rainwater from entering the farmland, so you can limit the amount of water given to the farmland as you intended.

In other words, even though it is grown in the open air, it is possible to obtain the same benefits as growing in greenhouses. In addition to this, if we use the spirits of the earth to improve the soil, there is no crop that we cannot grow.

If I wanted to, I could grow coffee trees without any problem. I can't help but wonder what the heck the coffee belt was all about.

“Euro, do you have apple trees in the Shinto City?”

“Yes, there are. The gods there can provide us with fruit trees or anything else we want in the same day.”

In response to Yuri's words, Euro pulled a basket of apples out of nowhere.

She peeled and cut the apples on the spot, and I tried one.

I knew… it was not very tasty on its own.

“Euro. I'm in the mood for the apple pie you baked for me today.”

“Oh, you like apple pie, don't you? I'll make it then.”

As a rule, Yuri prefers pastries that go well with green or black tea.

In particular, Euro's apple pie with apple compote is one of Yuri's favorites, and she has already made it for her many times since she came to this world.

“If it's your favorite, I'd love to learn how to make it!”

“Oh, then let's make it together!”

At Estoa’s request, an apple pie class is held on the spot by Euro. Apparently, not only Estoa, but also Sofia and Rosamia are eager to learn the recipe.

As Yuri watched from the side, the four girls were making apple pies, chatting happily, but in an adulterous way. Yuri tilted her slightly lukewarm cup of tea, quietly and deeply feeling that it was another happy day.