Chapter 37

"Thump"

I scooped up the snow with the rectangular shovel and tossed it to the side of the road where it wouldn’t be in the way.

I’m currently in the middle of a bit of snow clearing.

Here in Regal, the snow doesn’t pile up as much as it does in Japan’s snow country, and to be honest, there’s no need to be that meticulous. But I want to clear the area around the inn where I live.

It seems to be quite a hassle since the inn lacks male hands. Well, you could say I’m just trying to earn some goodwill.

“Oh, thank you so much, Mongrel. That’s fine, really.”

“No, no, don’t worry about it. I’m a guild member, and I have plenty of strength. How about we stop here for now? If it keeps snowing, there’s no end to it.”

The innkeeper, who has been running the inn where I stay since her husband passed away from illness six years ago, does almost all the work by herself.

She has a daughter around 15 years old, a second daughter around 10, and a 6-year-old son who was recently crying loudly after being scalded by boiling crab. The eldest daughter is quite diligent in helping her mother, but most of her time is spent taking care of her younger siblings.

Since her husband’s death, the scope of her work has narrowed.

Without her husband, who had been working in a variety of roles, some recipes were lost, and the heavy work became difficult, leading to a decline in the inn’s services.

As a result, the inn’s reputation had declined a bit, but the quiet atmosphere was convenient for me when I was looking for a place to stay in Regal.

I’ve been renting a room here for six years. …Before coming to this inn, I had been living in other inns, but it was difficult to rent a room for a long time.

I, who want to live in an inn for a long time, and the innkeeper, who can’t provide much service but really wants customers. Our interests aligned, leading to our current relationship.

…By the way, I’ve been in Regal for quite a while now.

Six years at this “Scor’s Inn,” and about two years before that, I moved around a couple of inns in Regal… So, I’ve been in Regal for eight years. Wow, that’s a long time.

I had almost forgotten, but I decided to make this place my base when I was 21. …I’m 29 now. Damn, I might start to have trouble with fatty foods soon. I might turn into a monster who prefers lean meat and fish…

“Mongrel, you should find a good woman soon. You look young for your age.”

“Haha…”

Older women are strict on unmarried men in any world.

“What about my Julia? She’s a bit noisy, but…”

“Mom! Stop making such random suggestions!”

Just as the innkeeper was trying to increase her power limitlessly, the eldest daughter, Julia, shouted from inside the inn.

That’s right. Such talk is usually a nuisance to the people involved.

By the way, Julia’s reaction is not tsundere or anything.

She’s currently getting along well with a boy her age, so she’s just annoyed and shouting. The older man must not misunderstand, especially with younger people.

“Well, I’ll go back to my room…”

“Oh, right, Mongrel, take this! Where was it… hmm…”

The innkeeper hurried into the kitchen.

The eldest daughter and the others were shouting about something. They’re not on bad terms, but it’s noisy. It’s usual.

After a while, the innkeeper came back with a ceramic jar.

“Here, remember? White flour! I got it specially from a relative. But we don’t make bread, so I have too much.”

“Really?”

White flour. That’s incredibly exciting.

If it had been some random pickled vegetables, I would have thanked her with a blank face.

“Use a little! I heard you’re doing some weird inventions again! You can use it for that!”

“Haha… Thank you.”

“Not like the hard ones before, please make something a bit more delicious!”

The innkeeper patted my back and went back to the inn.

…Alright. It’s fine.

Anyway, I got the white flour.

“Well, it’s finally come to this.”

In my room at the inn, I laid out the materials and crossed my arms.

Bread. It’s a major food item in this country.

However, the bread here doesn’t use white flour, has a strange smell, is hard, and makes your throat dry… It’s not very compatible with modern tastes.

To be honest, I’m fine with it personally. Even if the taste doesn’t suit me, it’s nutritious. It has more beneficial components than white bread. If I think of it as a health food, I can eat it normally…

But it’s hard to ignore the effort I put into it, so today I’m going to make bread.

The bread I’m making today is French bread.

It’s a very simple (not really simple) bread made with flour, water, salt, and yeast.

The best part is that it doesn’t use eggs or sugar. The fact that I can make it without expensive ingredients in this world is a significant plus.

Since I have to heat it by the fireplace, it’s difficult to make the long, thin baguettes typical of French bread. So, I’ll try making a batard, which is about 40-50 cm long.

Although the materials for this French bread are simple, the manufacturing process involves a lot of waiting.

It takes a long time to mix the flour well with water and let it ferment. However, the effort pays off, and the resulting French bread is quite delicious. It’s more of a hobby bread, not something to be made individually.

At this time of year, fermentation takes place indoors by the fireplace. Since I can refrigerate the dough with snow, it’s quite convenient. This is the best time to challenge myself with cooking.

However, there are some difficulties in making bread, and a few obstacles in this world.

One of them is sealing. When fermenting bread, you need to cover the dough in a bowl with plastic wrap, but of course, there’s no plastic wrap in this world. You could cover it with a cloth and place a board on top as a weight, but there’s a smarter way.

“Hmm… With this beeswax wrap, it’s perfect…”

The beeswax wrap is, in simple terms, a piece of cloth infused with beeswax from a beehive.

It’s solid at room temperature but becomes soft and pliable with the warmth of your hands.

By covering the bowl with the soft beeswax wrap and folding the edges along the container, you can wrap it neatly.

I could patent it as an invention under the name of Lord Chaos, but since the price of beeswax doesn’t drop even with increased honey production, I’m holding back on this idea. Beeswax is still used for many things, and the rich tend to use it for candles, which is a problem. Just go to bed early at night.

“Finally, it’s time for this.”

The beeswax wrap has another use.

It’s this wrapped ceramic container.

It’s a container where I’ve soaked fruit with sugar and flour to make yeast, an essential ingredient for making bread rise.

Of course, there’s no dry yeast in this world. The usual method is to make natural yeast from fruit.

Natural yeast isn’t something you can buy, so you have to make it yourself.

It’s quite a hassle, as you need to regularly add flour and shake it. Thanks to the beeswax wrap, the process is much easier. Since the container isn’t glass, I have to open it frequently to check the contents, but the wrap is very convenient for that.

Hmm. That’s about it for the preparations.

Now, it’s time to make the bread.

…French bread with butter is good. Soaked in ajo blanco is also good.

The possibilities are endless…

“Alright, let’s check the fermentation of the natural yeast…”

I excitedly peeled off the wrap from the container with the natural yeast.

“…Hmm”

Inside was a moldy mess of what was supposed to be natural yeast.

I failed miserably at making natural yeast.

“…Alright, no more French bread! I’m making focaccia! Let’s switch gears!”

That day, I made focaccia, a type of unleavened bread that I don’t particularly like, and ate it while dozing off.

The next day, when I shared the focaccia with the innkeeper, she gave me a “Hmm, it’s pretty good” kind of reaction.

I can understand her feelings. I don’t particularly dislike focaccia, but…