LIGHTNOVELSTORY Chapter 416
Catherine, who had lived for 300 years and accumulated a wealth of experience, prided herself on her diverse adventures.
With the knowledge gained from the “previous life” stories of Karem, forming a completely different worldview, she thought to herself, “Well, I guess there’s nothing left to surprise me now.”
However, that thought was updated every year since the savage harvest of vanilla.
Tatatatadah—
“…What a bizarre sight this truly is.”
“Mary, that’s too much oil. A little less. More! Yes, that’s thin enough.”
The charcoal stove barely emitted any heat, let alone smoke.
On top of it, a thin sheet of dark green paper was placed between the grill handles that Karem was holding, radiating heat.
As the little moisture left evaporated with a crackling sound, bits of black began to disappear from the paper each time a spark jumped in the barn.
The moment the side of the paper that was roasting over the charcoal was flipped, the weak sesame oil brushed on with a brush became almost invisible.
Just before the process ended, Karem quickly raised his hand, like a swan, and evenly sprinkled salt on top of the steam.
Catherine’s observation of all that was brief.
“It’s hard labor.”
“But the fruits of it will be sweet, right?”
“It seems more likely to be salty…”
Despite saying that, Catherine wore a curious expression.
With the nutty aroma of sesame oil filling the air, the smell of the sea intruded just before it incapacitated her nose. The oppressive scent of charcoal intertwined two completely contrasting aromas from entirely different realms.
During brief moments of breath, the three scents continuously cycled.
It was so stimulating that it almost felt like she could already taste something on her tongue.
Even trying to maintain indifference, Catherine, drowned in curiosity, couldn’t tear her eyes away from the grill and subtly asked,
“…So, how do you eat this?”
“You can cut it up and eat it like that, or wrap it in rice—”
Knock knock knock—
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“Sir Atanitas. Sorry for barging in! Goodness, Tutatis, what is that smell?”
Just like the Winterhome saying that when you smell cooking, Alicia comes knocking, Godwin and Viktor appeared out of nowhere.
Catherine raised an eyebrow and nodded as if she understood while glancing at Karem and Mary, who were busy grilling and steaming.
“It’s sudden, but I suppose it’s all right. You should join in the tasting as well.”
“…Sir Atanitas. Surely you wouldn’t offer me anything so precious—”
“If you’re going to say that, lose the expression of a starving Alicia before a meal.”
At those words, Godwin couldn’t help but hide his eagerly expectant expression, as if it were beyond his control.
“So, Sir Atanitas, can you tell me the identity of this indescribably pleasant aroma?”
“That’s… Hmm… Never mind.”
“Sir Atanitas?”
“Let’s keep that as a treat for later.”
Catherine turned her head and asked Karem, who was starting to grill the last piece of meat,
“Is that all right?”
“Of course it is.”
For better or worse, it was Godwin, who was practically family.
It wasn’t someone she was seeing for the first time, and since someone as eager as Alicia was here, Karem didn’t want to miss this opportunity.
Besides, he was curious about how they would react upon eating it.
“So, how will this snack be prepared?”
“All you have to do is cut this seaweed into a small size.”
“A small size… is that all?”
That was indeed all.
Of course, there would be various ways to eat seaweed.
The crispiness, saltiness, and richness coalescing—anyone who enjoyed drinking would find it hard to resist the bewitching charms of deep-fried seaweed.
The taste that beckoned one to drink hangover beverages, it was the profound scent of the sea that could be fully appreciated in kelp soup.
The essence of bento, where vegetables, stir-fries, meat, and various fillings are rolled up and sliced into bite-sized pieces, known as gimbap.
Diverse ingredients and methods led to an array of variants, rivaling even bread in types.
However, even after encountering various variations, it was said that one would ultimately seek the original, the simplest way preferred by Karem was the most basic.
Freshly made warm rice.
A piece of seaweed placed on top.
“Oh, but we need Spam.”
“Spam?”
“I mean, the Giant Dungeon Hamster. Let’s leave it out since we don’t have it.”
Taking out Eranos’ pot from his pocket and restoring it to its original size, Karem shook his head to clear his mind.
Rather than getting lost in what was immediately unavailable, it was better to focus on what was present.
As Karem infused divine power, the pot of Eranos, learned repeatedly, produced rice at a pace rivaling cola.
In no time, the pot brimmed to the top with rice.
Seeing that, Mary, who had been waiting after cutting the ordered seaweed, asked,
“Isn’t the rice too much compared to the amount of seaweed?”
“Uh… well, I can save some for later.”
Mary’s gaze seemed to ask if she was really saying she would leave food uneaten, but Karem was sincere.
‘Well, leftover rice has its many uses.’
In specifics, fried rice.
Karem personally agreed that fried rice made from long-grain rice was the best, yet regrettably, the long-grain rice was ultimately lost underwater.
Especially since they had to rely on external supplies, the leftover rice was the next best alternative.
Thinking of Karem’s previous life, this was closer to the familiar taste of home.
After finishing tidying up, Karem followed Mary to transfer the tableware.
Meanwhile, the three people who had gathered in the living room chatting suddenly fell silent, their heads turning in unison towards the warm, savory aroma and all gasped in surprise.
Hmm? What’s the problem?
“Every time it’s called a tasting, it’s surprisingly… simple compared to the grand preparations we’ve had before?”
Upon Catherine’s words, Godwin and Viktor nodded in agreement.
It was indeed simple; what lay on the table were only rice and seaweed.
Other than that, there was just the tableware each would use.
However, Karem was confident.
“Seeing it like this, it looks like a shiny black paper, contrary to the smell.”
“I’ll prepare it right away.”
Freshly made rice, steaming hot.
Karem picked up the piece of seaweed using the thin, long cooking tongs instead of chopsticks and placed it on top. Then he quickly relaxed his grip on the tongs, gently pressed down, and gathered the rice.
Crisp-!
The perfectly roasted seaweed, brushed with sesame oil, and compressed with rice looked even shinier.
However, this would not last long.
The seaweed wrapping the hot rice would soon become damp from the moisture of the hot rice, and to prevent that, Karem quickly placed it on the plate that Mary just extended at the right moment.
“Contractor. Will you eat it right away?”
“No, you should try it first.”
“That’s what he said.”
Karem hurriedly stabbed a fork into the rice as if trying to cut off Catherine’s words before she could change her mind.
Crisp-!
The first sensation was the deep aroma of charcoal.
Following that, the flavor and scent of seaweed, infused with sesame oil and the sea, arrived immediately.
The most primal taste of home.
The continuously crispy texture that was torn apart soon faded, but that taste and aroma coated each grain of rice.
The subtle sweetness that arose while chewing the rice, combined with the saltiness of the sea, the rich flavor and aroma of sesame oil, and the umami of the seaweed.
No flavor overshadowed another; all ingredients played their distinctive roles perfectly at that moment.
Catherine’s face lit up with surprise as the curiosity and doubt in her expression mixed together, frankly seeming to question if it was that good.
Were they still doubting after smelling that scent?
“You’re lacking trust. Quickly taste it before it loses its crispiness.”
At that, the three, a mix of curiosity and doubt…
Ultimately, curiosity and their past experiences triumphed as they all joined in tasting.
Crisp—
“…Hmm? No, wait. This isn’t the rice flavor I know.”
“Hmm, the aroma is definitely more impressive than I thought… Hmm? Whoa, whoa, whoa?”
“…The flavors that should be discordant blend together as if they have always coexisted?”
As the three fascinatedly expressed surprise in their distinct ways, Mary gave Catherine a bite of rice wrapped in seaweed, then separately sampled just the seaweed.
“Indeed, this umami you feel at the end… it’s subtle but clearly similar to kelp.”
“Kelp? Wait, Mary. What do you mean—Hmm.”
Godwin, with a face full of astonishment, raised a hand to pause, swallowed the flavors he felt in his mouth, then continued speaking.
“Are you saying this is seaweed?”
“Exactly. More specifically, it’s Neptune’s hair.”
As they faced an unexpected identity, Godwin and Viktor briefly exchanged glances.
“Did you know this kind of flavor came from Neptune’s hair?”
“Have I ever tasted that? I can’t say I have. This is my first time eating Neptune’s hair like this. Besides, this aroma. It’s intense and slightly smoky, yet it’s sesame oil.”
“Oh, yes. It’s sesame oil extracted from sesame seeds.”
Godwin looked slightly incredulous even after directly experiencing it, taking another bite.
Viktor seemed no different, his eyes wide open.
“Well, kelp soup made with kelp has a deep flavor, doesn’t it?”
“…When I hear that, I lose my words. But no, isn’t it seaweed in the end?”
Of course, there were some who continued tasting without regard for that.
Catherine; she had experienced this a number of times already.
After all, repetitive experiences become knowledge.
Having witnessed such madness numerous times, the actual taste was far more important to her than the mere identity of dried seaweed.
“This crispy texture and the diverse aromas blend wonderfully. It’s just a shame it loses its crispiness when it gets damp.”
“I suspect that if you made a batter with starch and deep-fried it, it might be better.”
“Hmm? A starch batter… No, that’s actually a pretty great idea.”
After taking a few bites, Mary quickly deduced the potential of deep-fried seaweed, and Catherine praised her for it.
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After a light outing, Godwin returned to his room in the command center, lost in thought.
“Seaweed, seaweed.”
Closing his eyes, he recalled the texture, taste, and aroma that still lingered.
Godwin knew that seaweed grew in the sea.
And in all of Border Edge, there was only one beach.
“Even though rice doesn’t grow in this land, I could replicate a similar flavor with barley rice.”
Not only barley, but the salty taste and nuttiness of grilled seaweed, along with its crispy texture, was something everyone would enjoy.
Unless, of course, it was someone like William who disliked fishy tastes.
Besides, it might not go well with bread.
Anyway, Godwin had clearly heard and seen the used ingredients and cooking methods.
The sesame oil might be an issue, but the crops of the Kingdom of Adobice… although it’ll take some time, it could definitely be acquired from Servianus, and he’d heard the manufacturing process, so it wasn’t urgent.
Moreover, Godwin considered that even without the sesame oil, grilling it over charcoal while adding salt or making it thicker to dip in soy sauce would still yield delicious results.
Given the constraints of winter, the immediate need was solely for the production method of that black sheet of seaweed.
He had thought about asking this as well, but Alfred’s request for it to be solely his task caused Godwin to hesitate.
“…Hmm.”
Even if the response was poor, it symbolized a contribution to the collective project.
There was the matter of selecting customers through genuine interest.
As he pondered, time slipped by, and the logs in the fireplace fell, unable to handle their weight, causing the flames to pop.
After lying on the bed deep in thought for quite a while, Godwin suddenly sprang up.
“Right, there’s no reason to hesitate.”
Upon reflection, this was entirely Godwin’s task.
So wouldn’t it be fine to purchase the recipe legitimately?
After all, for a noble, managing people skillfully is as essential as having keen insight.
Alfred had said so, and Iona had too.
However, the main person involved didn’t have significant greed or desire for honor, so there wouldn’t be anything suitable to offer as payment; still, Godwin neatly passed judgments of that onto his future self.
“Take care of it. Future me!”
If it doesn’t sell, then I’ll just eat it all. Delicious things. Surely, my family would enjoy it too.
So, the only thing left to do now was one thing.
“Viktor, I need to send a letter to Karem.”
“Oh dear, why didn’t you say so a little earlier?”
“Hmm? What?”
“Sir Atanitas mentioned that shortly after Your Highness returns, the lord will receive a letter and return to Winterhome. By now…”
In an instant, Godwin went blank, staring at Viktor.
He always thought he’d come back whenever, but he returned so hastily?
Godwin was struck by the shock of reality.
In the midst of that, fortunately for him,
“But what was Nari planning to do with the seaweed, which gave them delicious options and money?”
“That’s not hard, half a silver coin. He was quite a good brother, wasn’t he?”
“Hrum, hrum. Guys, I’d like to hear more about that.”
The production labor (?) remained.