Chapter 87

"Anyway, just knead it."

"…Well, bread making does involve kneading, I guess."

Lina, who had added the apple yeast and started kneading, was told this by Rick with a complicated expression. His reaction was indescribable after Lina’s rough explanation.

"That’s pretty soft, though…?"

The ingredients in the bowl were still sticky, looking like they would stick to her fingers. Rick asked, somewhat worried, if it would work.

"It’ll come together as you keep kneading."

Getting to this point was the hardest part.

Lina regretted a little that she didn’t just stick to "water dough" instead. It was really troublesome.

"Ah~. So~ troublesome. So~ troublesome."

"…Lina…"

Everyone around her, seeing Lina’s annoying chant as she made the bread, either smiled wryly or chuckled. They understood it was troublesome, but did such a chant even exist…?

After kneading and pounding for a while, the dough, which had been a mess, started to come together. Lina, with practiced hands, shaped the dough into a ball, covered it with a damp cloth, and placed it in the warmed oven.

"…You’re going to bake it with the cloth on!?"

Rick, seeing this, exclaimed in surprise.

"Huh? No, not yet."

"Huh? But you put it in the oven…"

Rick, clearly confused, asked curiously. Putting it in the oven seemed to mean "baking" to him.

"Oh, it’s to let it rise."

It wasn’t strictly necessary, but it would affect the texture and fluffiness.

"Rise…?"

Rick asked again.

Hmm? Haven’t we had this conversation before?

"It needs to rise for about an hour."

Leaving it in the refrigerator overnight for a cold rise would also work, but she wanted to make and eat it quickly.

"Rise?"

"………………"

Hmm? I feel like we’ve had this conversation before.

Should I explain about the bacteria multiplying? That doesn’t seem quite right… How should I explain it?

"The mystery of life’s creation."

"…Huh? Isn’t that a bit too grand?"

Matheus, the sous chef, who was peeling potatoes nearby, widened his eyes. He didn’t think bread rising was such a grand scale.

"I don’t get it either."

Prince Egiedilus, who had appeared at some point, laughed and said.

Come to think of it, I had this conversation with Prince Egiedilus.