Volume 3 - CH 18

Chapter 18 – Milk, Cheese, and Pizza

We arrived at the village of Siena. After parting with Girasole, we boarded the Luto for an hour and easily arrived at the village of Siena.

It was a quiet farming village where cattle herding was thriving, and livestock was lying down inside the wooden fences. Would such a wooden fence be able to withstand the attack of monsters?

When I presented my guild card to the village gatekeeper and asked about the milk, he told me to consult the village chief. He said he would give us directions. Can the gatekeeper leave the gate to guide us?

“Village chiefー, you have a visitor, a merchant!”

“I understand, so don’t speak so loud. Nice to meet you; my name is Consalvo, the village chief of Siena Village.”

“Nice to meet you; my name is Wataru, a merchant. I have come to ask you for some milk. Can you sell it to me?”

“Milk? We can sell it to you, but it will take time if you have enough to make cheese.”

“How much would it cost, and how long would it take to fill these two barrels?”

“This will not take long; how about 50 coppers per barrel?”

“Yes, please, here’s one silver coin. I also need fresh eggs and some cheese as well.”

“Cheese and eggs. I’ll have them brought to you. How much do you need?”

“Well, I would like two large chunks of cheese and all the eggs you can spare, as long as they are fresh.”

Fresh eggs from the region will make me feel more secure, won’t it? I think I saw on TV that eggs taste better after a little time… but time is a scary thing in this world.

“I’ve already wholesale some to the Southern City, so I can sell you… Fifty eggs, if you don’t mind. With the cheese and eggs, that would be six silver coins and 40 copper coins.”

“Yes, please.”

“I will have them prepared for you. Shall I carry them to your ship?”

“Thank you. If you could bring it to the front of the ship, that would be great.”

“Alright, now, since you are the first person to purchase milk, may I ask what you will be using it for?”

“Milk? I have a lot of things I want to make, so I thought I would give it a try. Cottage cheese, fresh cream, butter, and many other things.”

“I’ve never heard of all these things. Are they things that Wataru-san deals with in his business?”

You make cheese in this village, and you don’t know about it? Is it under a different name?

“Fresh cream is the part that floats on the surface of milk after it has been left to stand for a few hours. Butter is also made from fresh cream. Cottage cheese is one of the fresh cheeses, and it tastes best when it’s freshly made.”

That’s what they explained during the ranch tour, right? I’m sure I’m not wrong…

“Can you tell us if there is such a thing if you don’t mind me asking? This village is also convenient because of its proximity to the Southern City, but the only specialty we have is cheese, and we don’t know what’s in store for us.”

“Well, I don’t mind if I teach you, but I don’t know if it will work, you know?”

Am I going to help develop a village with the knowledge I gained from visiting a ranch? Isn’t it dangerous? Are they at such a loss that they are asking a merchant they’ve never met before to teach them something?

“It doesn’t matter; this village won’t change unless we have a chance to change something. I’m willing to try anything.”

“Hah… I understand. Do you have fresh cream? I can’t do it if the milk isn’t left for a while, but I have to be back in the Southern City at night, so I don’t have a lot of time.”

“I have some milk that I squeezed in the morning that I didn’t use up, so as long as it’s ready, I think I’ll be fine.”

“Alright, I will go back to the ship to load up and come back, so please prepare everything. You will need milk, salt, lemons, a colander, a large pot, a water bottle, and a clean fine cloth.”

Isn’t this getting caught up in the village development? This is a template event… Isn’t it?

We returned to the ship and repatriated the goods we bought.

“I’m looking forward to Master’s second cooking class.”

“It’s not that big of a deal. The thought of teaching something I don’t even know if it will work makes me sick to my stomach.”

“Master, if you weren’t sure, shouldn’t you have said no?”

“That being said, I couldn’t say no to him when he suddenly started talking so much about how he couldn’t see the future of the village and how he had to change.”

“Ufufu, you’re such a weakling, Master.”

“Ugh.”

“Ines, you should speak more kindly to him. He is our Master.”

“N-no, it’s okay, you two, we’ll go back.”

Back at the chief’s place, the villagers had gathered….. it’s so much pressure…..

“Wataru-san, we are ready. Please take care of us.”

“”””””””””Please take care of us.””””””””””

Ugh, I want to go home…..

“I understand. First, we will make cottage cheese, which takes a long time.”

“Yes.”

“First, heat the milk without boiling. Stir slowly to warm it up. When warm, add salt and lemon juice, stir and remove from heat. Let it sit for a while until it cools.”

“Yes.”

“Now we will make the butter during this time. Put the cream taken from the top of the milk and the salt in a water bottle and shake it up and down. Shake it as much as you can until there are solids inside. I don’t know how long you should shake it, but you have to keep shaking it for 5 to 10 minutes, so either you are physically strong or take turns shaking it. So, please try it. Oh, and I heard that the cream will harden more easily if it is cold, so the next time you make it, it would be better to make it early in the morning or when the temperature is cooler.”

“Yes.”

Everyone is shaking their water bottles incessantly. It’s surprisingly tough… butter and cottage cheese… That’s not enough to sustain a village… I’ll have to think of some main course…

Maybe I can make a pizza? We don’t have any dry yeast or anything like that… would a crispy pizza work? Oh, let’s try it with the bread dough they make in the village; it would be a highlight in a village that makes cheese.

“Is the response to the water bottle you are shaking changing? If so, open the water bottle, throw out the water inside, and take out the solids. That’s butter; spread it on the bread and eat it.”

Even the exhausted villagers seemed to be invigorated by the taste. They were all talking about how delicious it was.

They brought us some, too, so we tasted it. Yes, it’s delicious. Is it because of the rich cream? It is rich and has a wonderful aroma. I could eat as much bread as I wanted. Ines and Felicia are happy too.

“Next is the cottage cheese. Put the cooled milk in a colander on top of another pot, lay a cloth with a fine texture over the colander, and pour the milk into the colander. Let it sit for at least half a day, and when it hardens, it’s complete. You can use it in salads, as an ingredient in sweets, and many other things, so try it out. Please adjust the butter and cottage cheese to your liking, including the salt.”

“Yes.”

“I’ll tell you about another main dish. If you improve this and sell it along the river, it could become a specialty. First, please prepare the bread dough, cheese, tomatoes, garlic, basil, onions, chilly peppers, and olive oil.”

Everyone is very motivated. As soon as they heard what was going on, they ran to gather the ingredients.

“When you are ready, the first thing you need to do is make the tomato sauce. Boil the tomatoes, peel them and chop the garlic, basil, and onion. Put olive oil, chilly pepper, and garlic in a frying pan and heat through. Throw in the chopped basil and onion and saute further. Next, mix in the tomatoes, crushing them, and season with salt to taste. It’s more expensive, but it tastes even better if you add white wine and some pepper, understand?”

“Yes.”

“Next, roll out the bread dough thinly, spread it with the tomato sauce you just made, and sprinkle cheese all over it. Sprinkle with torn, dried meat and bake in the bread oven to complete the dish. Can you do the baking for me?”

“Yes.”

A man ran to the bread oven with the dough. After a while, he came back with a baked pizza. He quickly cut the pizza into pieces and tasted it. It was so well received by the villagers that they were fighting over it.

“This food is called pizza. We made a simple one this time, but there were many ingredients, such as sliced tomatoes, potatoes, vegetables, meat, fish, and so on. If you make good pizza, people may start stopping by your village, so please do your best.”

“”””””””””Yes.””””””””””

Can it be done? I am full of anxiety because I am an amateur cook. I wonder why I ended up in this situation when I came here only to buy some milk.

Maybe it’s the protagonist’s trouble constitution. I’m not sure if I’ve acquired the hero’s constitution by coming to a different world. …Not true. All I did was cook.

“Thank you, Wataru-san, it was a delicious dish. If we can sell it to boats along the river, people will come. If it gets to the Southern City, the consumption of cheese will increase, and the village will become more lively. We can’t give you much in return, but we are willing to sell cheese and other products free of charge to you, although there is a limit to how much we can offer.”

“No, no. If it is free, it will be hard for us to come here. I will be out of the country in a few days, so the next time I will be here will be in a few months. I look forward to seeing how things are going, so good luck. Oh, and the cottage cheese is delicious if mixed with tomatoes and olive oil and seasoned with salt. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Waving goodbye to those who saw us off, we headed back to the Southern City. We docked at the harbor and went to the clothing store to pick up our jinbeis.”

“Excuse me, are my clothes ready?”

“Oh, yes, yes, they are ready. Thank you for introducing me to Girasole during the day.”

“No, it just so happens that we need the same clothes, so don’t worry about it.”

It’s amazing how many people thank me just for bringing them to the store. Will they get more customers like the Black-tailed Gull’s Inn? That’s possible.

“Still, thank you so much. Here are the items you ordered. Please check it.”

“Oh, it’s exactly as ordered. That’s good enough. Thank you very much.”

“No, it was an unusual order, and the craftsman was pleased. Please let me know if there is anything else I can do for you.”

“Yes, that would be my pleasure, too.”

After receiving the jinbei, I returned to the Luto and quickly changed into it.

“It’s a somewhat unusual outfit, but it suits you well, Master.”

Yes, if I may say so myself, I think it suits me quite well. The gray jinbei matches well with the rest of the outfit. Is it because of my good old Japanese physique? It’s not because my legs are short…

It’s somehow not really a good fit for Ines and Felicia… pure white and brown skin, heaving big breasts, and long slender legs… It doesn’t feel right. I guess the pants shouldn’t have been shortened a bit, either. But I guess it’s okay since these clothes are for the Jacuzzi.

“This dress is very comfortable to wear indoors.”

“Ines is right. It’s easy to put on, and it’s easy to take off after getting wet. But now that you mention it, why do we need these clothes for the bath?”

“Well, come to think of it, Master, why is that?”

“Umm, those are clothes for when Girasole is here, and you won’t need them tomorrow. After that, you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“Ufufu. Alright.”

“I understand.”

Good, because if you poke too deep into it, you’re going to get ripped off…

“Whew, that turned out to be an unexpectedly hard day. I’m tired, so let’s take it easy today.”

“”Yes.””

“Master, the pizza was delicious. You must make it again.”

“I like it too.”

“And Rimu too, Pizza.”

“Ines and Felicia learned how to make it, didn’t you? Next time I’d like to eat a pizza homemade by the two of you. Rimu will eat pizza with us then.”

“Alright.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Eat.”

Everyone seemed to like the pizza. I was a little dissatisfied with the pizza, but if everyone liked it, then good for them.

“Tomorrow, we’re going to check out the new ship, so we’ll be out in the open sea after we wake up.”

“So we’re finally going to see the new ship. I’m so excited.”

“Master was very enthusiastic about it, so I’m looking forward to it.”

“Yes, the new ship will exceed your expectations. You can look forward to it.”

“That’s a lot of confidence. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Master like this before…”

“Are you okay, Master?”

“I’m fine.”

I wonder, is it too unusual for me to be so confident that both of them look so anxious… is it weird for me to be so confident?　

We have a light dinner, shower, have some lovey-dovey time, and go to sleep.