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“No, seriously, does it make sense that potatoes are the most delicious food in the world?”
He had been in front of the cabin's hearth since dawn. The axolotl, having come out of its cage, blinked sleepily and crawled over the hearth with a 'kek'.
Rahan crossed his arms and reflected on last night's conversation.
'What's so delicious about potatoes?'
To Rahan's question, Iris had countered with wide eyes.
'They're incredibly delicious! Freshly roasted potatoes are great, and if you make bread porridge with potatoes, it's so warm and tasty!'
The foods she listed...
Potato soup, green bean fritters, and other things so pure they felt like they would make one's tongue shrivel up.
Rahan wanted to ask if she had lived on nothing but that kind of stuff for twenty years, but he couldn't because of Iris's question.
'Then, Rahan... do you hate potatoes?'
'It's not that I hate them, but they can't be the most delicious thing...'
'Then the potatoes I gave you for dinner that day... you must have forced yourself to eat them.'
Faced with the deflated girl, there was only one thing Rahan could say.
'N-no! They were delicious. They were!'
Of course, it didn't help much. Iris only became more sullen. Eventually, Rahan had hurried Iris along.
'Let's go. I'll show you the cooking skills I honed during my expedition life.'
However, Rahan failed to make the meal last night. Iris had jumped up, insisting, 'How could I let a knight cook?' and stopped him adamantly.
Not only that, the remaining white bread had to be dealt with quickly. White bread was soft and savory, but it dried out and spoiled just as quickly.
So, for dinner last night, they had grilled deer meat bought from the village to accompany the remaining white bread.
'This is delicious too, right?'
'Yeah.'
Of course, it wasn't tasteless. But Rahan couldn't be satisfied with that.
He couldn't even remember how he fell asleep, filled with the determination to show a girl who thinks potatoes are the best food in the world a taste of something else.
“Let's see.”
He opened the cap of the apple cider bottle he had secretly brought out, fearing he would wake Iris.
A musty yet fragrant apple scent wafted up. Tasting a small sip, he found it was just on the verge of spoiling.
“With this... I'll have to make that.”
The man began to warm the apple cider, careful not to let it boil. Then, he brought over a doe that had been bleating 'maaa' since dawn.
“...I need some mental preparation.”
Normally, cream made from cow's milk is used, but since he couldn't obtain cow's milk immediately, he had to settle for goat's milk.
According to the village chief's wife, this goat Robbie brought had recently given birth to kids, so the milk should flow well.
But there was a problem.
Rahan had never milked a goat before.
“It'll work out somehow.”
He placed a large bowl under the doe's belly and touched the udder. The squishy sensation felt strange. The goat let out a 'maaaa'.
“Be quiet. You'll wake the girl.”
From the goat's perspective, it must have been an absurd situation.
Is it okay to wake me up while I'm sleeping to milk the goat, but not okay to wake the kid at home?
Of course, since goats cannot speak human languages, it couldn't protest. Rahan stood the goat up and gave the udder a firm squeeze.
"Maaaa!"
Naturally, the goat's milk didn't come out all at once. Instead, the doe protested violently against the novice.
After struggling for a long while, Rahan managed to squeeze out a small amount of goat milk. Needless to say, his entire body was soaked in it.
"I'm gonna die."
He reheated the apple cider that had gone cold in the meantime and mixed sugar and salt into the goat milk.
Next, he needed cloves... Actually, he needed ginger too, but that could be skipped. The important thing was the cloves.
However, there was no way spices like cloves would be available in this countryside. Rahan let out a sigh. That brat Riet—if he was going to bring something, he should have brought my spices instead of that axolotl.
"Hey."
The axolotl, which had been wandering and crawling across the grass, tilted its head. Rahan clicked his tongue.
"I'm talking to you, you."
The axolotl didn't answer. To an outsider, it would look like Rahan had gone mad, talking to an axolotl.
But Rahan persisted and spoke again.
"Hand over some cloves."
The axolotl flicked its tongue.
"Your soul is out of the question, obviously. Do you think I'd trade my soul for a few flower buds? The math doesn't add up."
The axolotl snapped its head away.
Ugh, look at this thing.
Rahan raised his fist and unwound the bandage wrapped around his left hand. The wound he had cut a few days ago was revealed in red, and he instinctively marveled at it.
"It healed already?"
Normally, he would be pleased with the performance of the monastery's ointment, but now it was different. Rahan stealthily pulled out a dagger and poked the tip of his finger. Beads of blood began to spread.
"Here."
The axolotl, which had been pretending to be sulky, was suddenly at Rahan's feet, flicking its tongue. It was licking its lips.
Rahan snorted and squeezed his finger, letting drops of blood fall onto the axolotl. The axolotl drank the blood without wasting a single drop.
Then, it made a psshhh sound, as if laughing.
"You like it?"
While Rahan was being sarcastic, the axolotl coughed—keck, keck. White smoke billowed from its throat. There seemed to be a faint scent of sulfur.
After a short wait, the axolotl spat something out with a keck.
They were clove buds.
Taking them, Rahan grumbled.
"Hey, what's with this amount?"
But the axolotl only flicked its tongue again, as if to say a price was required for more.
It likely meant it wanted more blood.
Rahan clicked his tongue and gathered the cloves. It seemed like enough for one meal.
He took half of the cloves and mixed them into the heated cider, then added the mixture of goat milk and sugar. Taking a sip, it was warm and fragrant.
"Good."
Looking at the sky, the sun was already rising. From now on, he had to be a bit faster.
Rahan crushed and mixed the remaining cloves with honey and the wild raspberries he had picked yesterday. He took some beans from the food sack Abbot Wilbert had given him, quickly roasted them, and mixed those in as well.
Originally, pine nuts, fennel, and saffron should have gone in, but that was also impossible.
"I have this instead, though."
It was an over-wintered lemon he had quickly bought at the general store yesterday. Spring lemons that have endured the winter have a rich taste and plenty of juice. After adding the lemon juice and oil, it became a decent sauce.
Then, he took out the venison, cut it into appropriate pieces, coated it in oil, and grilled it in the hearth.
Since it was early summer, the meat had thinned a bit, but it was still quite good. Last night, Iris had grilled this meat with only salt. Of course, it was delicious. But Rahan wanted to show off a bit more.
How should he put it? He wanted to see those light green eyes—which had been doing nothing but looking gloomy because of him—widen in surprise...
"Kyak."
The axolotl made a sound as if mocking him. Rahan glared at it for no reason.
"Get lost."
He already knew that mint grew wild around this house. Rahan plucked some mint, crushed it thoroughly, mixed it into the sauce, and sprinkled it over the glossy, brown-grilled venison. It looked quite professional.
"All done."
Just as Rahan straightened his back with a proud expression, the door opened.
"A delicious smell... oh my."
Iris, who had just woken up, opened her eyes wide in surprise. Rahan grinned.
"Did you sleep well?"
* * *
Naturally, Iris's reaction to encountering a feast first thing in the morning was immense.
"How is there such a delicious drink? What is this called?"
"Lambswool."
"Pardon?"
Rahan grinned.
When he explained that it was named so because it tasted as soft as a lamb's wool, Iris was impressed.
"Originally, it should have cow's milk, but put up with goat's milk. It'll be a bit tart."
"It's so delicious! This venison too!"
After eating the meat coated in spices, Iris chewed it several times at first as if she wasn't used to it, but eventually, she emptied the entire plate and patted her full stomach.
"It's so delicious. Rahan, you're a genius. You weren't actually a chef instead of the Grand Duke's knight, were you?"
His shoulders shrugged. Rahan boasted with a glass of lambswool in front of him.
"Don't you regret stopping me last night?"
"A little?"
As she said that, Iris blushed and gave a shy smile.
"It's the same venison, so how did you eat the ones I grilled since they were tasteless?"
As if that were possible. Rahan shook his head.
"The ones you grilled were delicious too."
"Liar."
Iris wrinkled her nose but still smiled. Rahan winked. It was obvious that he wouldn't have much trouble occupying the hearth from now on. He felt proud.
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