CH 56

After frolicking with Mark and Tom for a while, I head to the field to work in the field.

“Heeyaaahhhh!”

I hear a scream from the gate that sounds like a piece of silk being untied.

When I return to see what is going on, I find that a female student has collapsed.

Mark and Tom are standing close by, sniffing and puffing.

“Oh, so she was surprised by Mark and Tom. That’s understandable. After all, it’s a bear and a black panther.”

The collapsed girl has a small cocked hat on her semi-long head, and her bangs are so long that they cover her eyes.

She is dressed in the school’s standard uniform, but her skirt is long enough to make her look uncomfortable.

She is holding something like a paper bag, and she fainted while holding it tightly as if it were her own child.

I walk up to her, crouch down, and help her up.

“Hey, you okay?”

I shake her, and she wakes up with a groan, “Ugh ……”.”

I can’t tell where she’s looking because of her slicked-back bangs, but she probably saw me and freaked out!

She had her mouth wide open and said.

“Ah, a- a- A bear, a bear, and a black lion …….”

“It’s not a lion, it’s a panther. They’re both my pets, don’t worry.”

Mark and Tom are sitting a little distance away from us. She whines back.

But she is still a bit skeptical.

“A-ha, …… that, that, that ………”

“What, did you come here for me?　Or are you just passing through?”

She nods her head, and I can’t get the gist of it.

“For the time being, you can go inside and have some water.”

◆　　◇　　◆　　◇　　◆

I invite the girl into my house and offer her a wooden cup of water.

She doesn’t let go of the paper bag, but fearfully reaches out with her hand and takes the cup, gulping it down.

“Have you calmed down a bit?”

She jumps out of her chair at the sound of my voice.

“Ye-, yes! Ah-um-um, thank you very much!”

Hmm, at first I thought her tone is so slurred because she was scared of Mark and Tom, but …….

Apparently, this is who she is.

“I’m Leopin. What’s yours?”

“Yes, yes!　My name is Kurumi, I’m in Class 1-16!”

“I remember Class 1-16 has a lot of cooks. From the way you look, it looks like you’re one too.”

the girl who called herself  Kurumi shrugs her shoulders and says, 

“Yes, ……. But, but…  I’m a …… pastry chef,…….”

Kurumi keeps her head down and talks in whispers.

“Patissier pastry chef is not needed by any of the …… people in this school,……. I think I’m going to be “exiled” from my class soon,……. If I get kicked out, I’ll be …….”

In the middle of her words, Kurumi notices something and looks up.

She shakes her face from side to side, so that her hair swirls.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!　I didn’t mean to say anything bad about you, Leopin. ……!”

“Don’t worry about it. So you’ve come to check out the “Special Training Class”?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s part of it, but ……. I have a favor to ask you, Leopin. ……”

“What is it?” I ask and Kurumi hugging the paper bag that she is holding so dearly to her chest even more tightly.

And then, as if gathering up her courage, she looks up and says.

“P- P- Please share the …… sweet potatoes with me! Before I’m banished, I want everyone to have something sweet to eat. ……!”

Kurumi suddenly has a dreamy look on her face.

“When I was given Leopin’s baked sweet potatoes before …… They were so delicious. It was very, very delicious. …… As soon as I took a bite, it was like a golden land in my mouth. …… That was the only time I was able to laugh with my classmates, even though I was useless. …… If I could taste that deliciousness again with everyone, I would have no more regrets. ……”

Kurumi’s tongue is fluid when talking about sweets, and her stammering has disappeared.

“You have a sweet tooth, don’t you?”

“How do you know, ……?”

“I can tell. I can tell when you talk about it so passionately.”

Kurumi turns her head away in embarrassment.

“Well,……, actually, yes,……! But my family has a restaurant that specializes in spicy food, and my family all loves spicy food. ……! Wawa, if they find out that I like sweets, and that I’m a confectioner, I’ll be in big trouble. ……!”

“If you want sweet potatoes, I’ll give you some. But just baking sweet potatoes is not really a pastry, is it? You’ve been given a skill, so why don’t you use it to make some sweets?”

“I’ve been looking at it for a while, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot,……. Oh, and sugar, I bought some in the purchasing department …….”

Kurumi squirms and shows me the paper bag she is holding to her chest.

On the paper bag, the word “sugar” is written in handwriting. 

“I can’t find any other ingredients that I can use to make sweets, The cooking utensils were too expensive for me to buy ……. I tried to get a classmate to lend me one, but when I told them I was going to make candy, they wouldn’t let me. …… W- w- without any tools or ingredients,……. You can’t make candy with just sugar,…….”

I said, “Really?　I don’t think so…”

Perhaps she didn’t think she’d get a rebuttal, but Kurumi is flabbergasted.

“Well, it’s tough to make it with just sugar, but you can make it with water.”

“Th- that’s ……. It’s called “sugar water,” not candy. I’m sorry, I was being cheeky ……. But, but, there is no such thing as candy that can be made with just sugar and water,…….”

“Hey, follow me.”

I say as I get up and leave the house.

Kurumi is surprised, “Eh??” and follow me quickly.

I go to the kitchen in the garden and first change my job to “Masonry”.

I take the two rocks out of my coat pocket and compare them.

“Granite is tougher, but it’s a poor conductor of heat, “Great king stone” is the best, but we don’t have any right now. Lets use “forest stone”.”

I decided on “forest stone” as the material, and used the “forest stone chisel” and “gisu mallet” I had made earlier to cut it.

Process it into a large, deep dish-like shape.

In addition, shave the “Gisu Wood” into a stick shape and attach them together. ……

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Forest Stone and Gisu Frying Pan

Quantity 1

Quality Level 34 (Material Level 13 + Dexterity Bonus 6 + Occupation Bonus 15)

A frying pan made of forest stone and gisu wood.

Even when heated, the wooden handle allows you to hold it without using a pan grip.

Due to various bonuses, it is lighter than an iron frying pan and cooks food better.

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“Okay, it’s done.”

I look at Kurumi, and her eyes light up.

“E- Eh?　Th- that’s a lie, right? I can’t believe how fast you can make a frying pan,……. And it’s a lot better than what they sell in the purchasing department,…….”