CH 152

“It can be done anywhere. That's the essence of productive activity.”

Translated by Dawn

“It can be done anywhere. That’s the essence of productive activity.”

“Well, I can’t waste time just standing around waiting, so let’s get to work.”

Saying this, I cast a magic spell on the prison I was in to purify it of odors and dirt, instantly creating an environment where I could concentrate on productive activities.

The environment of the jail was quite vicious, as it was a dungeon, and to describe it clearly, it was smelly, dirty, and cramped without omission.

It was insane to do production activities that require concentration in such an environment, so I was allowed to improve the environment a little. Since there were other criminals in prison besides me, casting magic on other prisons would cause a commotion. Therefore, I kept the magic only in my own prison. …I am sorry, my fellow prisoners

With this in mind, I took the work table and simple cooking stove from storage that I had made in advance and began production activities. Today’s production activity was cooking.

“So, without further ado, welcome to Rolando’s Exciting Cooking Corner!” (whispered)

You might think that cooking in a place like this would be a bad idea, but since it was just about lunchtime, I decided to make lunch while cooking a new dish.

Cracked eggs were placed in a wooden bowl, and the soup stock prepared in advance was added. By the way, the dashi broth was made from seaweed substitute and fish, which I obtained at Marine Trill.

Add the flour a little at a time, being careful not to make any lumps in the mixture. Chill the dough a little using ice magic, and in the meantime, prepare the iron plate.

While the iron plate was heating, the octopus legs were cut into bite-sized pieces, and when the plate was warm, the batter was poured in.

When the iron plate was heated, I put in the dough. The sound of the dough baking and the delicious aroma of the soup stock made from kelp and fish filled the air. The criminals in the jail did not notice my action, and they were staring at me as if they were watching me intently.

Before the baked dough hardened, I inserted the octopus legs of Octopus into each hemispherical groove, and using a tool made to look like a thousand-pound knife, I turned the octopus over and over to form a round shape.

“Oh, I never did this in my previous life. It’s a lot more fun than it seems when I try it.”

I had heard that in certain areas of the Kansai region, elementary school students were forced to do this halfway through school using special equipment for home use, but I found it surprisingly enjoyable, and I turned the dough over with an exhilarated feeling appropriate to my age.

When the other side of the turned-over dough became round and brown to a certain degree, it was ready. As you could see, the takoyaki was now complete.

“All that’s left to do is to pour over the special sauce made from fish sauce and vegetables and…it’s ready.”

It should be called an otherworldly sauce made by putting fish and salt in a container and mixing the fish sauce, which was created by fermentation, and soup stock, which was created by stewing vegetables. Incidentally, the fish sauce was made using conversion magic to shorten the time required, since it would normally take about six months to make.

Even if it was a sauce, there was no way it could reach the same quality as in my previous life, and its taste was inferior. At the very least, if I had rice, soybeans, vinegar, etc., which I have yet to obtain, I could make a higher quality product, but what I didn’t have, I had no choice, so I had to compromise with this for now.

“Well, whatever it is, let’s taste it. Now itadakimasu…Nom, nom, fuha, fuha.”

The ideal texture of takoyaki, as it was commonly called, was crispy on the outside and tender on the inside, and the special sauce, although instant, go well together, making it quite a delightful taste experience.

Because of the lack of reliance on chemical seasonings and the high quality of the ingredients, it seemed that what was not so tasty in a previous life could be quite tasty here.

“Yeah, it’s delicious. Good, this is really good.”

“Hey, kid! Give me some of that delicious stuff!”

“Me, too!”

“I refuse!”

As the criminals yelled at me, I repeatedly grilled and ate octopus, and when my stomach was full, I made a dessert to finish the meal.

On the way to the Duchy of Saverdales, I found a few villages where I picked up some interesting ingredients, which I would use to make a dessert.

First, I would steam the ingredients I picked up in the villages using a bamboo steamer, and once steamed, I would peel the skin off and mash it into small pieces using a spatula or spoon. To the mashed mixture, add a mixture of goat’s milk, sugar, and dietary vegetable oil that was found beforehand, and mix until smooth.

From the resulting mixture into a bale shape, coat the surface with egg yolk and heat it using fire magic…

“The sweet potato is complete.”

Yes, what I found in the village…was sweet potatoes. I happened to find a sweet potato in the village and the villagers gave it to me to eat, but the moment I found it, I bought them up so that it would not affect the villagers. I was amused to later realize that I could increase it infinitely through alchemy.

“Then, itadakimasu. Nom, nom, nom…”

I tasted the resulting dessert, marveling at the fact that the ingredients I had acquired when I had time to get them had now seen the light of day here.

The sweetness of the sweet potatoes and the sweetness of the sugar were in perfect harmony. Mmm, it’s delicious.

If I were a girl, I would probably have a different appetite for sweets, but I was a guy, so I kept it in moderation. However, there was a shout of anger that interrupted me.

“Hey, kid! Don’t you go have a good time all by yourself!”

“That’s right! Give us some of that!”

“But I said no!”

It was utterly deplorable. Why should I give my carefully prepared dishes to a person I didn’t even know? Moreover, they were criminals, criminals who had broken some kind of law. There was no reason at all to give them my dishes.

“What’s with all the noise? Can’t you quiet down a bit……huh?”

Just as I was thinking this, Balm appeared with a stern expression on his face, having heard the commotion, and arrived. There was nothing more frightening than a strong face with wrinkles between the eyebrows, but that face soon transformed into a dumb face. Mainly by seeing the cell I was in…

“Hey kid, why is there a stove and a table in your cell?”

“Because I took them out, of course.”

“Then why is there a delicious-smelling dish?”

“Because I made it, of course.”

“Then why is the cell you’re in so clean?”

“Of course, it’s because I cleaned it up, no?”

“……”

When I finished answering all of Balm’s questions, he made a gesture as if he was covering his eyes with his right hand. I wonder if his eyes are getting tired from work. For now, do you want some takoyaki?

“Nom, nom. This is delicious.”

“I know.”

“Don’t joke with me, you kid! Give us some of that too!”

“Shut up, you criminals!”

When I handed him the takoyaki through the cell, he hesitated but could not resist the temptation of the dish that smelled so good, and he took a bite. As Balm expressed his opinion of the taste of the takoyaki, the criminals began to make a commotion again, and Balm yelled at them.

Of course, there was no way that those who committed crimes were the same as the Balm, the soldiers who were protecting the city’s security. I didn’t have anything to give to the sinners, but I was willing to give some charity to those who were doing their best…

Then, as we were finishing our additional takoyaki and sweet potatoes for dessert, the criminals’ complaints exploded again, but they were silenced by one voice from the Balm.