Chapter 7

It has been two months since Quinn joined us. During this time, I have been regularly collecting honey from her. I actually tasted it, and it was incredibly delicious, far surpassing the honey from Earth. My mother also tried it and was so overwhelmed by its deliciousness that she became extremely attached to Quinn.

Finally, finally, finally, the time has come to harvest the sugar beets. Sugar beets, also known as sugar beets, are plants that store a lot of sugar in their thick, fleshy roots.

Making sugar from sugar beets is surprisingly simple.

1. Peel the sugar beets thickly and cut them into 1 cm cubes.

2. Place the sugar beets in a large pot of 70°C water, cover the pot with a blanket or thick towel, and let it sit for an hour.

3. Strain out the sugar beets and reduce the remaining liquid over high heat.

4. Continue to reduce the liquid for about an hour, skimming off the foam, until it becomes syrupy. Then, reduce the heat and continue to simmer.

5. When the color changes to a light white, remove the pot from the heat and keep stirring.

6. When it starts to solidify, transfer it to a plate.

7. Once it has hardened, break it into your desired size pieces, and it's done.

Technically, the sugar is complete at this point, but it doesn't look like the sugar we're familiar with. It's more like brown sugar in appearance, and it has a slight bitterness. ... Well, if I can get this far, I'll use magic to refine it further.

The image is of extracting only the sugar: "Extract!"

Oh, wow! The brown sugar has lost its color and turned into a light white. It didn't turn completely white, so I used the extraction process again and managed to refine it into the pure white sugar I've seen on Earth.

"Done!!"

I still have 98 more sugar beets to refine. I just need to keep making it. Make it. Make it. Before I knew it, it was evening, and it had been nearly five hours. However, thanks to my efforts, I managed to make enough for 100 small jars, which is about 30 kg.

With this much, it should last for a while. When spring comes again, I can plant a lot more. I still have plenty of seeds, so next time I'll try to make twice as much, no, three times as much. I might even try selling a small batch to Mr. Leblanc.

In any case, I now have sugar and honey. With these, I can start making some sweets. Next, I need chickens. I asked Mr. Leblanc to get me three chickens last time. With eggs, I can start making more serious sweets. I bought the chickens without telling my parents, but since I used my own money, they shouldn't be angry. ... Right?

By the way, tomorrow is my 6th birthday. It seems that a year in this world is also 365 days, so I can live comfortably.

---

After a night's sleep, it was my birthday. Quinn was, as usual, perched on my shoulder. I thought she had to stay in the hive as the queen bee, but apparently, she has a deputy queen, so it's fine. Quinn is more attached to me than I thought and is usually by my side at home.

I finished my daily chores. The wheat will be ready for harvest soon, and the grinding process is a bit troublesome, but I have a good idea. I'll just use brute force with magic. Hahaha!! You can say whatever you want! Power is justice!

... Well, I won't hesitate to use power peacefully.

"Aowl, today's dinner is a special treat! Look forward to it!"

My mother seems to be putting extra effort into cooking. By the way, I wonder when my parents' birthdays are. I always receive gifts but have never given anything in return. I'll make some sweets with the ingredients I have to show my appreciation!

What should I make? Without eggs, I can't make much, but I can make cookies. Fortunately, I have oil. Cookies are easy to make; you just mix the ingredients. However, a problem arose: I don't have an oven.

... Magic it is. I used earth magic to build a simple oven and fire magic to bake the cookies. I couldn't brush them with egg wash, but they turned out pretty good. Actually, I made too many. Well, Mr. Leblanc is coming tomorrow, so I might sell them.

"Aowl, happy 6th birthday!"

For dinner, my mother made my favorite fried Welbird and stir-fried forest boar meat, along with a hearty vegetable stew. My father apparently bought the Welbird. I really have the best parents. I need to return their kindness.

"Here, I think they turned out pretty good. For the two of you. As a thank you for everything!"

After a moment, the two of them hugged me and cried. They were so happy.

However, the emotional part ended there. My parents, who had never seen cookies before, didn't know what they were, but as soon as they took a bite, they stopped. Then, their hands sped up, and they started eating silently. Mainly my mother.

In this world, marriage is possible from the age of 14, and I was born when my mother was around 16, so she is about 22 and still quite young. Giving sweets to such a young mother is easy to imagine.

"Aowl-kun"

Aowl-kun!?

"What is this food?"

"This is called a cookie."

"Is this all you have?"

"Well, I set aside some for Quinn, but I still have a lot. I made too many, so I thought I might sell them to Mr. Leblanc tomorrow."

"No way!! Don't sell them!! A war will break out!!"

So, all the cookies except Quinn's were almost forcibly taken by my mother. I learned that women who are hungry for sweets are terrifying. However, since this is a token of my appreciation, I want her to enjoy them.

"By the way, how did you come up with such a wonderful idea?"

"Uh!? Well, it's thanks to my blessing, I guess?"

"Really! Aowl-kun's blessing is truly amazing! We should thank the creator god!"

"Umm, yeah."

"Aowl-kun, you should keep making wonderful things!"

"Okay, Mom."

---

My father, on the other hand, became invisible. Seeing him sulking after my mother took the cookie basket made me almost cry.

In any case, I'm glad my parents were happy.

---

The next day, Mr. Leblanc came to trade, so I had prepared more cookies in advance. I also had sugar and honey. The honey is stored in a wooden container.

"Hey, Aowl-kun. What's up today? Where's Lark?"

"I came alone today! Um, can I sell these, these, and these?"

This was the first time Mr. Leblanc saw pure white sugar.

"Aowl-kun, is this sugar...?"

"Yeah. It's made from sugar beets."

Mr. Leblanc knew that sugar could be refined from sugar beets, but he couldn't make it this clean. The best he could do was brown sugar with a slight bitterness. He tried a taste, and it was smooth and sweet without any bitterness.

"Aowl-kun, do you have more of this?"

"Um, I can sell up to 20 jars."

Each small jar holds about 300 grams, so 20 jars would be 6 kg.

"I'll buy them! I want all of them! How about 5 gold coins per jar? The jars are well-made, so 5 gold coins and 5 silver coins per jar!"

Hmm, that's a total of 110 gold coins, which is about 1.1 million yen. 1 million yen for sugar alone seems quite high. I still have more, but I want to keep some for myself. Still, I might be the only one who thinks it's worth more. Maybe I should try to push a bit more.

"Mr. Leblanc, you're not trying to lowball me, right?"

"... Ha, you are Lark's child. How about 7 gold coins per jar, including the jars?"

"Mr. Leblanc?"

"Hahaha, I can't match you, Aowl-kun. 8 gold coins. That's my final offer."

This "final offer" means he won't go any higher. Mr. Leblanc is a kind traveling merchant who comes even to this remote area. It wouldn't be right to push him too hard.

"Thank you, Mr. Leblanc. Here, have this as a bonus." I handed him a cookie.

"What is this?"

"This is a cookie. I made it with the sugar. Please try it."

Crunch

"!! Aowl-kun! Is this, or rather, the sugar, made by you!?"

"Uh... yeah."

"..."

(This child is a prodigy. Unprecedented sugar refinement and the creation of the ultimate sweetness. I have a hunch that the secret bear is also related to this child. This child will likely become famous. It's a good idea to befriend him now.)

Mr. Leblanc doesn't judge people by their appearance, even if they are just a regular child.

Aowl gave the impression of being a well-featured child, but the moment he decided to treat him as a person, it was a turning point.

"If you have more of these cookies, I'll buy a small basket for 5 gold coins."

The basket only had 10 cookies, so that's 500 silver coins per cookie. I can't imagine a cookie worth 5000 yen.

"Is that really okay?"

"Yes, they are that delicious, so they will definitely sell."

"Then, I'll sell all I have, but please don't tell anyone I made them."

"I promise." (So, he did make them...)

Since I didn't have a basket, I borrowed one from Mr. Leblanc and sold 200 cookies for 100 gold coins.

"Then, what else do you want to sell... Is this it?"

"Um, well, I got a good price, so I don't really need to sell this, but..."

"No, I want to buy it. This is honey, right? And the smell and color... Is it Genocide Bee honey?"

Genocide Bee? Is Quinn such a dangerous monster?

"I don't know the name, but it's monster honey."

"For this container, how about 5 gold coins?"

"Um, I can sell up to 10 containers."

"I'll buy all of them. Let me calculate... 310 gold coins."

"..."

Mr. Leblanc's leather bag was so heavy that I had to use body reinforcement to carry it without being noticed.

"See you, Mr. Leblanc."

"Hey, Aowl-kun, when you come of age, would you consider working for me?"

"Eh? I'm only 6 years old. Besides, I'm suited to being a poor farmer."

Poor farmers don't usually earn 310 gold coins in a single transaction, but he was still a poor farmer at heart and didn't realize his exceptional nature.

---

As Mr. Leblanc watched Aowl leave, he started thinking about how to sell the goods he had just bought. He also decided to keep Aowl's identity a secret for as long as possible, at least until he turned 10, knowing that Aowl would likely get involved in trouble in the future.

The 310 gold coins were stored in the item box when no one was around. I returned home in high spirits, and my mother was waiting for me. I was wondering what was going on when I noticed the mess from making cookies behind her.

"Aowl-kun... Did you make cookies?"

"Um, yeah."

"Is that so. Where are the cookies?"

"Um, here they are."

I took out the 100 cookies I had set aside to eat later.

"Oh, good. I thought you had sold the cookies. Here, I'll manage the cookies."

I had to hand them over. Mothers are strong in any era. My mother is still young and can't resist sweets.

Her hand moved so fast that I could see afterimages. Was it just my imagination? However, it's better if I keep the gold coins. I can always give them to her if something happens.

The poor farmer's life is peaceful today.

I'll update this bit by bit.

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