LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 412
Not long ago, the southernmost village of Borderedge in the Amigranra region of Iceland was on the brink of collapse.
The village and its territory could not withstand the recent undead uprising.
The ruler had effectively abandoned his responsibilities, and the people left in search of a way to survive.
And so winter came.
Thus, there was far more work to do than usual.
Had it not been for Alfred’s support, we would have been stuck inside the barricade, waiting for winter to pass.
Thanks to that, Borderedge village was bustling with crowds like never seen since the establishment of Iceland.
The villagers, dumbfounded by the sudden hope, adventurers who took on jobs without hesitation due to a need for quick cash, workers hired with a bonus, guild staff, low-ranked officials, clergy members, and more.
The only times it was busier were when the Ancient Palatino Empire set foot in Iceland only to retreat, asking what kind of place this was, and following the invasion of the Demon King’s army.
“I really can’t adjust to this.”
“What do you mean?”
Mary, lightly mincing garlic, chimed in.
“Like, doing nothing at all.”
“Unlike at the tower, it seems you have nothing to do, and it’s boring.”
“Well, you can’t really do the research or training we usually do here. I can’t believe this is okay.”
“Just think of it as an extended stay at the villa.”
“Does it feel like a villa here?”
Comparing Fellow Mansion to this modest countryside house with a small warehouse would surely anger even the estate’s Kikimora.
“Looks like I’ll spend this winter in this village.”
“Haah. That’s not happening.”
Catherine yawned widely as she walked in, stretching like a cat.
Brrrr—
“Ugggh— Although there was a note about an escort, this whole thing is purely because the Duke Godwin wanted it.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“At an appropriate time, His Grace Alfred will send a letter instructing for a return. More importantly—”
Her half-lidded eyes turned towards Karem.
Specifically, to the head and bones of the red snapper he was preparing.
Our eyes met with the fresh fish.
“…Are you trying to make seafood broth or something?”
“No? I’m making a soup, like, a stew. That’s vegetable broth.”
“It looks like it’s for extracting flavor. Fish head soup, huh? What about the flesh?”
“Weren’t almost all of it fried yesterday? You enjoyed it.”
Karem chopped the head into pieces and cut the spine down to the tail before placing it in the pot. He then poured a generous amount of the vegetable broth Mary had already boiled from his space expansion pouch and set it over the stove.
As the fish steeped deeply in the broth, changing its color, he chopped leafy vegetables, radishes, mushrooms, and leeks to enhance the refreshing flavor and added tofu.
Finishing it off, he mixed in the spicy stew seasoning he had made on the spot.
The visual was quite horrifying due to the sheer size of the snapper’s head even when cut into four pieces.
Catherine’s suspicious gaze lingered only for a moment.
As the vegetables wilted, and the essence from the head and bones mixed with the vegetable broth, the seasoning blended in creating a spicy and refreshing aroma.
“…Oh.”
Catherine glanced over as if to say, when did this happen?
“The smell is quite wonderful. It looks horrifying, though.”
“There are plenty of dishes like this in countryside cooking, so I’m used to it. But truly, if a fish’s head gets this big, it can get pretty grotesque—”
“Ah, as long as it tastes good, right?!”
Karem placed the boiling pot onto the table with a thud.
The common gaze of the two servants turned toward the pot.
It was in no way the form of your typical spicy stew.
Yet it also didn’t resemble the kind of fish soup or stew where fishermen toss in whole fish heads.
The grotesque appearance of the snapper head, alongside wilted vegetables, translucent, well-cooked radishes, mushrooms, and tofu soaked in the broth.
Despite its horrific appearance, the aroma was sensational, almost intoxicatingly enticing, leaving Catherine bewildered.
No, it smells great.
“The plating is just…”
“You’ll find it different once you try it. Just try it.”
Even Mary, who usually hesitated, couldn’t resist and scooped the most fleshy upper head portion into a bowl for Catherine.
The sight was loaded with vegetables, creating a look that appeared overly abundant.
The upper head, cut into four pieces, still had its eyes intact, making it even more peculiar.
And they were even white from being well-cooked.
“…You want me to eat this?”
“Before you say that, shouldn’t you first wipe that grimace off your face?”
“No, sure. The aroma is wonderful. It is. But with an appearance this grotesque, my appetite is bound to drop.”
“However, a house fairy’s duty is important.”
Mary pulled the divided spicy stew bowl towards her and, unconcerned with her master’s reaction, picked up a spoon.
The perfectly peeled flesh came off cleanly.
She added bite-sized translucent radishes and a bit of leafy greens.
Even a scoop of tofu she took, holding it out to Catherine.
The person in question still wore a reluctant expression.
“…When I look at it, it seems decent—”
Before she could finish, her gaze caught a glimpse of the enormous eye of the snapper, well-cooked and dulled by the broth.
In contrast, the spoon Mary offered contained only the flesh, making it appear all the more appetizing. The aroma was delightful too.
Glug—
“Fine, I’ll eat it.”
Shouldered by the spicy and refreshing scent, both curiosity and appetite overpowered her reason, and she took a bite of the small spicy stew on the spoon.
“…Haaaah.”
The warmth chased away the remaining sleepiness and awakened her senses as what was once hesitation melted away down her throat.
She could clearly see there was nothing more than the giant fish head and bones in the broth, yet how could it taste this deep?
The broth made from fish bones and head offered an incredibly rich flavor.
It was almost akin to that of rich bone broth!
And the taste and texture of the ingredients clearly added for flavor were marvelous as well.
The radishes were soft, and the leafy greens were crunchy.
Tofu that combined coolness with nuttiness, and mushrooms that subtly restrained the overpowering ocean scent.
Even with all the ingredients giving up some flavor to the broth, the juicy texture of the springy head meat continued to shine through with umami in every chew.
“Ah, I can’t hold back any longer!”
“Haaah… Huh? What’s up all of a sudden?”
The return of Karem brought an Eranos pot down.
He placed it down at one corner of the kitchen, gripping both sides of the pot with focus.
“Have you finally decided on the second product?”
“I thought long and hard about it, but there’s just this.”
“So what are you making—”
“Rice.”
“Wait— Huh? Rice?”
Catherine blinked, taking another spoonful from her refill and, curious, asked.
“Rice? It can take time, but it can be procured—”
“It’s not that rice!”
“What do you mean? What other rice is there?”
Unable to endure any longer over the spicy and hot broth, Karem snapped.
It was practically a crime to have this incredible broth without rice!
Though a similar product could be made from the long grain variety, there was a world of difference compared to the rice he ate every day in his previous life.
As two hands poured forth urgent will and divine power, the newly-found divine energy responded.
A single grain of rice suddenly appeared out of nowhere on the bare bottom.
That one grain turned into three, three into nine, one scoop, one bowl.
The shiny rice began to fill the pot as if the cells were undergoing self-replication, ultimately overflowing half the pot.
Karem, enraptured by that radiant, dream-like sight, narrowly held onto his sanity, stopped supplying divine power, and quickly dished out rice into a bowl.
“…Hoh?”
Catherine looked down closely at the sight.
“Contractor? Do you see something odd?”
“Look closely. The shape is different.”
Karem had sourced this from Inamark, and the rice Catherine and Mary had seen was your typical long grain variety, slightly shorter than a pinky nail.
In contrast, the grains of rice produced from the Eranos pot laid on the table were roughly 1/3 that length.
To Catherine and Mary, it was very different from the rice from Servianus; it seemed somewhat smaller and more slender, resembling barley.
“…Uuuhhhhh—”
Karem took a big spoonful, popped it into his mouth without chewing, and let out a hot sigh of relief.
It had a noticeably different texture and weight compared to the long grain rice he tried to mimic.
Most importantly, the texture derived from an unreplicable density due to the species characteristics.
After a moment, before he could chew a few times, he swallowed and ladled on some of the fish head stew with its vegetables and broth onto the scoop of rice.
Chomp, chomp.
He then started to eat with a passionate slapping sound.
“That’s a much more intense reaction.”
“Should I try it the same way?”
“For now, just the plain rice.”
“Got it. I’ll bring it immediately, just this.”
As Mary stripped off some of Catherine’s cheek to feed her, she quickly returned with a new bowl of rice.
“Hmm. There’s definitely a clear difference.”
“For example?”
“First off, it glistens, has a different aroma, and the weight feels different too.”
Catherine said this while carefully examining the warm scoop of rice Mary offered before taking a large bite.
“Hmm? Oh?”
It felt worlds apart from the bread.
Warmth spread through her whole mouth with that one bite.
It was reminiscent of the rice made from Servianus but with a palpable difference.
It was heavy and nutty.
While it clumped together, it didn’t resist, breaking down when chewed; it felt like it squished softly while still packed solid, a very unique sensation.
After chewing a bit, a faint sweetness noted to be quite pronounced compared to Servianus rice.
Glug—
Catherine immediately commanded Mary.
“Mix that rice in with the soup.”
“Understood.”
The spicy yet refreshing broth, chewy head meat and flesh, tenderly breaking radishes, leafy greens, tofu, rice, and rice in the broth.
Thus, Karem and Catherine gulped down three bowls with noses sniffing amicably, and only after the stew’s amount had dipped below half did they momentarily put down their tableware.
“Well, I certainly overindulged for breakfast.”
“What? Are you ending it already?”
“What more could there possibly be here?”
“I was planning to make porridge with the leftover rice and stew.”
“Porridge?”
Catherine grimaced and instinctively leaned back.
*
Catherine’s thoughts were quickly reversed as she stared at the pieces of fish head and the eyes she had encountered before.
Just one spoonful.
One spoonful of the porridge made for dessert was enough.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve never had such rich, dense risotto during my life…!”
“…Is it true that there’s no cream in this? No, I did witness the cooking process myself, but this is…starch! The starch released from the cooked rice melted into the broth and, as the moisture evaporated, condensed like cream!”
Dessert must be featured at the end of a meal.
The same goes for broth dishes.
Starchy dessert is crucial.
Ending it off with a light drizzle of sesame oil led to an even more intense reaction.
Thanks to this, only the bones of the snapper remained at the bottom, with not a scrap of rice or spicy stew left.
“Hah, I’ll take a short walk.”
“A walk?”
“I ate more than I expected.”
“You can come back late.”
“Who knew I’d end up like this? I’ll definitely return before morning snacks.”
Tch— with an overt clicking of the tongue, Karem promptly exited the house.
Since morning, the village bustled with activity.
Strong winter winds were driving them from behind.
Not particularly fond of crowds, Karem had only one destination in mind.
“There’s supposed to be a tidal flat.”
Previously, it was all sea and beach, seemingly due to timing issues.
At this early morning hour, the tide must not have come in yet.
Just as Karem expected, as he stepped outside the village, the saltwater that had washed up onto the sandy beach had retreated.
At the dock’s edge out of the seawater, green rocks revealed themselves, covered in barnacles and clams, isolated aquatic creatures in puddles, and undead remains stripped bare by aquatic life, etc.
Looking further ahead revealed vast tidal flats, showcasing the coastal ecosystem entirely.
“…For lunch, clam soup would be good… Huh? Wait. Green?”
Karem wondered if he was seeing things wrong.
Lowering his head towards the ocean and tidal flats.
Upon further inspection of the rocky area by the beach and dock, something looked off.
Something was clinging to the rocks, blossoming with frosty flowers, all coated in a thin layer of ice. It was oddly reminiscent of a skirt that didn’t quite fit the size, but it seemed familiar.
“I feel like I’ve seen that somewhere.”