CH 207

I told Plana to build the still halfway so that we’d finish it together once I got back, but since only a little push was left anyway, I’m going to wrap it up while preparing the sake. Though it really hurts that I got no yeast plants.

Anyway, I’ll somehow manage with what I have on hand!

I pickled polished rice in gastric juices of worms (on top of working as a powerful disassembler, the gastric juices themselves have no taste) in a ratio of 50:50 to split off the sugar.

In addition, I made unpolished rice ferment to disassemble itself. It was a fermentation process where lactic-acid bacilli and yeast would be added to this. Though I didn’t expect that it’d go smoothly in one shot. But, I’ll do my best by using a trial-and-error approach.

Not only the brewer’s team, but also Sword participated in this.

“Somehow it got a weird aroma.”

“That’s how rice smells.”

I mean, it’s a unique scent after all.

＊

T/N: I left the part about brewing in without any changes, next comes an array of food porn. I’ll summarize it a bit.

While waiting for the sake, I used the time to cook. I wanted to try both brown and white rice. Japanese cooking generally uses white, polished rice while Western cooking leans towards brown, unpolished rice, I think.

First I started by simply cooking it. This was also the way it was locally eaten, according to Bennyboy. The reaction by my taste testers Bennyboy and Sword was so-so.

Next I threshed and polished the rice (of course with magic), and then I divided the result into rice, rice-bran, and rice husks.

“Please tell Mr. Amato to store the husks in a silage. Rice-bran can be used for rice-bran pickling,” and then I looked at the women, and added with a grin, “If you put this into a bag made out of insect cloth, and pat your face and skin with it, it’ll make the skin healthier.”

The maids immediately picked it up.

“And lastly we have this, the actual rice. It’s so white because I polished it with magic, but it’s not like you have to polish it. Given that unpolished rice has its own peculiar taste, I’ll use it to add it to cooking. The polished rice will be steam-cooked until all the moisture is gone. That’s how it’s originally prepared in Mr. Amato’s and my previous world, though it’s not like I ever ate it.”

Mr. Amato got totally hyped when he heard this after rushing over to pick up the rice husks.

“Hmm, what should I make as a side dish…? Oh right, I guess I’ll go with gyoza.”

“For reaaaaal!? Gyoza rice!? Whoa, sucks to be Damsel Scarlet. She can’t eat it since she already went back.”

Nah, I doubt that a former female high-school student would be so gung-ho about gyoza.

＊

Mr. Amato could naturally use chopsticks, but the same applied to Sword. He had quickly learned it after I told him that it’d required skill to use these, thus tickling his competitive spirit, back when he saw me using them and asked.

And the cooks were able to use them too. They apparently learned it after judging chopsticks to be handy for cooking.

At some point, the maids and servants apparently picked it up as well, also finding them convenient.

So, since most of the people in this mansion could now use chopsticks, they should all be able to enjoy gyoza rice. Though it’d also be okay to eat it with a spoon, fork, and knife, to be honest.

＊

Using my magic and high-spec body, I made close to a thousand gyoza in no time. If there’s anything left afterwards, I just need to freeze-store them anyway.

By the way, Mr. Amato was a challenger who would later borrow a spot in the kitchen to make more of them whenever he got an urge for gyoza. Moreover, seeing him do that, the servants would coax him into making additional ones, and given that he was a softhearted guy to begin with, he’d humor them.

＊

Anyway, with the gyoza set as the main dish, I added a sour soup and a simple stir-fry of greens. I also prepared various sauces for the gyoza.

“Fuhahaha!”

When I cooked the rice while getting meaninglessly excited over my awesome skill in magic, not only the cooks, but also Sword and Mr. Amato showed up.

“Wow, that sure is a nostalgic scent, I gotta say.”

“…Somehow, it smells weird.”

Unlike Mr. Amato and me who were excited, Sword seemed rather uninterested.

“Well, please don’t harbor the same expectations as Mr. Amato and me. I’ve said it many times over, but cooking is a matter of individual taste. It’s impossible for someone to consider everything tasty.”

Sword put on a troubled expression, “No, well…”

“EH? Personally I consider everything you make to taste great, you know Lady Indra?” Mr. Amato told me.

Sword turned his head around towards him with such force that I thought he’d pull a muscle there.

“Hmm? Is that so? I’m grateful to hear that… I’m really happy if I can have people eat my food while enjoying it.”

“I mean it, seriously! I was a corporate slave, but sometimes during my vacations I went out to various places. I also happened to visit restaurants and eateries with good reputations, but you see, I think your cooking goes way beyond theirs in deliciousness. Moreover, you had to make all the seasonings and stuff yourself, unlike those places, so I think it’s truly incredible for you to produce such an awesome taste, okay?”

I see. I’m really happy to hear that, yep, yep.

After flapping his mouth open and close like a fish, Sword vanished.

……Hmm? Was Sword one of the people who disliked rice?

“…Oh damn, it looks like Sword is bad with rice.”

“Eh!? Seriously!?” Mr. Amato looked like he couldn’t believe that such people even existed.

“Hmm, maybe he simply dislikes this aroma? …I wonder if it’d be better to process the rice as it’d be easier to eat it after the smell is gone when letting it rest for a bit?”

“Ah! I know what you’re talking about! You mean the fans of cold rice! I’m all for hot rice, though!”

Such fan-bases actually existed?