Chapter 56

This is a work of fiction.

The characters, organizations, and names are all fictitious and have no relation to any real entities.

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054 - Curry Day

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It was the 62nd day since my reincarnation. Today, I went to the temple early in the morning with Solidia and Voss. Of course, it was to change our jobs.

Voss had decided to become an adventurer after a night of consideration. It seems he made up his mind to give up on combat roles around dawn. He had dark circles under his eyes.

"Lord, I have successfully changed my job to Necromancer."

Solidia's happy face after changing her job was very impressive.

"Congratulations. Your level has dropped to 1, but let's work hard to level up."

"Yes, please take care of me."

Voss came out, looking refreshed.

"I have changed my job to adventurer."

"Sure. Let's work together from now on."

"Thank you very much."

The temple's prices are still outrageous. I paid 40,000 grils for the two of us to change jobs. While I can afford it, it's too expensive for ordinary people.

Next, we went to Gorteo's shop. Since Gorteo wasn't there today, I asked the deputy manager to release Rosalina.

"Release is complete. Congratulations, Rosalina. I mean, Lady Rosalina."

"Hehehehe."

After releasing Rosalina, I patted her head.

"Count on you, Rosalina."

"Yes, sir."

Since Gorteo wasn't there, I asked the deputy manager.

"Rice and watermelon? Hmm... I've never heard of them..."

He tilted his head.

"Watermelon is a large fruit with green and black stripes."

"Oh, maybe it's Uomelo?"

Watermelon, so it's Uomelo? The name doesn't matter.

"Do you have the seeds for that?"

"That's a rare fruit, and unfortunately, we don't have the seeds."

It's not even available in such a big store. It's a shame, but it seems I won't be able to eat watermelon for a while.

"But if you give us some time, we can order them."

"Really!?"

There's a god for everything! I'll wait, so please order them!

"Even if it takes time, please order the seeds."

"Understood."

The prospects for watermelon are set! Now, it's rice.

"Rice is like Flower, but it's grown in fields with standing water."

I explained it in simple terms, as I wasn't sure if they would understand "paddy fields."

By the way, Flower is a grain similar to wheat in this world. Bread is made by mixing Flower flour with Gugurt flour.

In Japan, we used to call flour with different gluten content "cake flour" or "bread flour," but there should be various types of flour in this world too. The characteristics of the grains would differ by region, so it's possible that rice is different as well.

"Fields with standing water... similar to Flower... Could it be Rice?"

Eh, Rice!? Just like that?

"Yes, that's it. Probably."

"Rice is grown in places with abundant water. Because the yield per hectare is higher than wheat, it's used as animal feed."

What a waste... In my world, it takes 88 steps to make rice... but maybe it's different here.

"Is this rice available in the store?"

"Yes. Since it's used as animal feed, it's stored in the back warehouse."

I was led to the warehouse and confirmed the Rice. It was brown like unhusked rice, but I think it's rice. I bought it, of course.

Dehusking... or was it dehulling? How do you do it? Well, I'll figure it out.

I bought ten bags, each containing about 10 kilograms of Rice. There was a mountain of it because it's animal feed. It was a delightful sight.

If it tastes good, I'll come back to buy more.

When I returned to the mansion, Solidia immediately started making a catalyst.

She can do this with a skill, so it's not difficult as long as she has the materials.

The main material is a magic stone. We have a few because the mansion uses them for magic devices.

I watched her make the catalyst, and it was like a game.

She placed the magic stones on the table, put her hands over them, and activated the skill "Catalyst Creation." The magic stones glowed, and the catalyst was made.

Using F-rank magic stones dropped by gargoyles, she made ten catalysts. Right now, she can only make catalysts for summoning skeletons, but she should be able to make other catalysts as her skill proficiency increases. It was a mysterious and game-like scene.

After that, I watched Rosalina train with Gandarban while removing the husks from the rice.

It was a bit rough, but I put a little rice in a burlap bag and hit it against a flat stone. Surprisingly, the husks started to come off. After a bit more, most of the husks were removed.

Next, I put the rice in a small barrel and poked it with a stick. This is polishing the rice. When I did the poking, something like bran came out, so I think it was polished.

When I looked at the rice after separating the bran, it was still brown. It seems I need to polish it more to make it white.

I did more poking, and it became quite white. It's quite a bit of work.

If I eat rice regularly, I'll need to make a rice polisher. But I won't make one yet because I don't know if this rice tastes good.

The mansion's kitchen has a magic stove, but I made a hearth in the garden and cooked the rice in a pot.

"Huff, huff."

Managing the fire was challenging.

Since I had the fire going, I thought about having a barbecue. I asked the cook, Zoppa, to cut vegetables and meat into appropriate sizes and skewer them. Of course, I also had the pond squid skewered and seasoned with burgan.

Then I mixed several spices to make curry. It felt like camping and was fun.

There were dozens of spices, and I mixed about ten of them. When I added finely chopped tomatoes and simmered them, a good smell rose, a mix of the various spices. It smelled like curry!

I cut the labyrinth cow's meat into small pieces and added it to the curry. Since moving to the mansion, I haven't eaten rat meat. I don't think it tastes bad, but my heart somehow rejects it.

"Master, is this curry good enough?"

"Yeah, it looks good, Annelise."

I asked Annelise to stir the curry. Since I was cooking it without water, using only the moisture from the tomatoes, I had her stir to prevent it from burning.

"It smells good."

"The unique smell stimulates the appetite."

"It goes well with rice."

"You mean Rice, right?"

"Right. I'm a bit hopeful because it's similar to the rice I know."

The lid of the pot where I was cooking the rice was popping, so I took it off the fire and let it steam. I repeated "be delicious" in my mind like a spell. It's not a curse but a charm.

While the rice was steaming, I started grilling the skewers.

The burgan on the pond squid gave off a fragrant smell, and the meat skewers sizzled as the juices dripped onto the fire.

Mondalque and the others set up a table in the garden.

Today, everyone, soldiers and servants alike, would taste the curry. I think the curry smells good, and it's similar to a dry keema curry.

I tasted it, and it was curry. Even if the rice is bad, I can eat it with bread! My mood lifted! I hope the rice is good!

Now, about the rice, it should be ready.

The sweet aroma rising from the pot when I opened the lid was a good sign.

The rice was standing up, which is also a good sign.

I mixed it with a wooden rice paddle (homemade). The brown crust looked delicious.

The biggest issue is the taste... It's a bit dry but not inedible. I'd give it 45 out of 100. Barely passing?

I tried it with the curry. Surprisingly, it went well. The dry curry had enough moisture to coat the rice, and they complemented each other nicely, making it delicious.

"Annelise, can you put about half a plate of rice?"

"Yes."

I placed the curry next to the rice.

Mondalque's family served the plates.

"This is a dish from my country. Please try it."

"Is this Rice?"

Gandarban looked at the white rice curiously.

"In my country, we cook Rice and steam it to make it delicious. However, the Rice I got is not from my country, so the taste might be a bit off. But I think it's still good."

After watching me scoop the curry and rice with a spoon and eat it, everyone followed suit.

"‘!?’"

Everyone opened their eyes wide.

"Is it good?"

"‘Yes!’"

Gandarban and the soldiers ate it eagerly.

"What is this, it's incredibly delicious!"

"It's so good I can't stop eating!"

"I've never had anything like this!"

"It's spicy but addictively delicious!"

Jojoku, Voss, Rin, and Solidia talked while eating. They should swallow before speaking; it's bad manners.

"It's wild in the mouth, but it's delicious. It looks strange, but it's wonderful."

Is he saying it looks like... poop? If you say that, you won't get any more curry, Gandarban.

"Master, it's delicious!"

Rosalina puffed her cheeks like a squirrel. You don't need to cry. It's that good, huh?

"It keeps making me hungry. I didn't know such a dish existed."

"The local dishes are good, but the dishes from my country are also delicious, right?"

"Yes, very delicious."

Annelise ate it in small bites but looked very happy.

"This is a mysterious taste. Mixing multiple spices creates such a complex and unique flavor."

Mondalque looked at the curry curiously. Just eat it.

"It's delicious. I watched you make it. Can we add this curry to the menu from now on?"

"Sure, that's fine. How about making every Light Day a curry day?"

A week has six days: Fire, Water, Wind, Earth, Light, and Dark.

I think the Maritime Self-Defense Force had a curry day once a week. I chose Light Day because it's treated like a Friday or Saturday.

After this day, every Light Day became Curry Day. Incidentally, the cook's level also increased to 2.

After the barbecue, I was in my room thinking about my job and skills when Mondalque announced a visitor.

"Captain Locke?"

I asked to be led to the reception room and changed into simple noble attire with Annelise's help.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting."

"No, no. I'm the one who came without prior notice."

Locke smiled, despite his father-like evil face.

"I came today to inform you of the Duke's decision."

"Decision...?"

Is he asking me to do something again? He's quite demanding, isn't he?

"To be honest, the Duke has decided to award medals to the vassals of the Footsickle Honorary Baron as well, in recognition of their contributions to defeating the demon alongside Toi."

Oh, that's it. I was bracing myself for something else.

"That's very kind of him."

It's not about me, so I accepted it sincerely. It's an honor for Gandarban and the others.

"Still, it's sudden."

"They fought the demon alongside Toi. I think that was taken into consideration."

Mondalque came in and handed me a piece of paper. It was a list of gifts from Locke. Why gifts?

"It seems you've received some good items. I'll thank you for them."

"No, no. Thanks to Toi, I was promoted. I should be the one to thank you."

"Promoted?"

"Yes. I was promoted to battalion commander for my contributions to the search for the headless linen and the demon's defeat. I didn't do much to defeat the demon, but the Duke said it was to keep Toi from standing out too much, so I accepted it."

The Duke is considering things. I don't really need a medal, but generally, awards and ennoblements are rewards.

"Congratulations."

You deserve it. You followed my instructions actively during the search for the headless linen and led the evacuation when it turned into a demon, minimizing the damage.

Locke was promoted from a company commander leading a few dozen people to a battalion commander leading about 200. He looks scary but seems trustworthy. His promotion is a plus for me. I can rely on him if something happens.

To rely on him in the future, I'll send a congratulatory gift. What should I get? I'll ask Gandarban and Mondalque for advice.

Thank you for reading.

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