Chapter 134: Morning Alley
I returned home, only to have Rishu sniffing around me, probably trying to figure out if I smelled like Daifuku or if I was just plain stinky.
I had left Daifuku at Kanum’s House. Well, it wasn’t so much that I left him; when I asked if he wanted to come along, he showed no interest and promptly curled up in the middle of the bed to sleep.
After washing my head and body, I soaked in the hot water. Ah, a bath really is the best.
Once I got out, I drank some milk, played with Rishu, and enjoyed a book while sipping coffee. The sweets I had were a sweet and tangy raspberry jam and a rich Linzer torte. They paired perfectly with the deep-roasted coffee.
Wearing these comfy pajamas and feeling my feet liberated from my boots brought me immense joy. Tomorrow, I’ll make some Daifuku.
The ingredients I need are gyuhi, katakuriko, and anko. For gyuhi, I need shiratamako or joshinko, along with water and sugar.
But I don’t have any shiratamako. Shiratamako is made from glutinous rice that’s ground into powder and then settled in water. The process of settling is repeated in the cold to dry it out, which is why it’s also called “kanzarashi.”
Making it in the cold prevents mold, so I wonder if it’s still okay to do it now? I’ll need to grind the rice into powder, so I’ll just soak the glutinous rice in water for now and do it tomorrow.
Ugh, I’m getting sleepy.
I crawled into bed and gently petted Rishu, who was curled up in the basket beside me, and said goodnight.
Having gone to bed early, I woke up in the dark and spent some blissful time rolling around in bed.
After completing my usual morning routine, today I planned to bake bread. Since Ash and the others probably didn’t have anything ready to eat right away, I intended to bring them some bread, eggs, and ham.
Well, I could always buy some from the morning bread vendors or egg sellers in the town if I needed to.
As the delightful aroma of baking bread wafted through the air, my breakfast consisted of rice topped with a raw egg. Cracking the egg over the white rice was fun, and watching the soy sauce slide over the bright orange yolk and seep into the rice was delightful.
The freshly made soy sauce had a wonderful aroma. The soy sauce in the pantry always had that freshly opened scent and flavor.
I had miso soup with wakame and tofu, along with lightly pickled cucumbers. Topping it with roasted nori and sesame, I broke the yolk and mixed it all together, savoring the happiness of each bite. The freshly cooked hot rice made the slightly warmed yolk sweetly cling to everything.
Feeling content, I teleported to Kanum’s House, only to find Daifuku missing. He must have whimsically decided to leave after all.
A bit disappointed, I walked around distributing bread.
At Dinoss’s place, only his wife was awake, while at Ash’s, only the butler was up. Downstairs at Dean’s, I found Retze.
And there was Daifuku too.
“What’s going on?”
“Hey, should I bring a bed over after all?”
Daifuku, who had been sprawled on Retze’s lap, silently hopped down and rubbed his face against my knee.
He’s so big, Daifuku. If he weren’t a spirit, he’d be too heavy to sit on my lap.
“Wait, what’s with that line and that gesture?”
The way I was petting Daifuku would look quite suspicious if someone couldn’t see what I was doing.
“It’s nothing, nothing. Here, have some bread and eggs.”
“I’m not falling for that, you know?”
“How about I add some bacon and cheese? Want me to brew some coffee?”
“Damn it… Make it strong.”
Retze gave in.
Coffee really can be addictive. Yeah.
Retze’s quick surrender might have been because he couldn’t see. Even if he was there, he wouldn’t be a nuisance, and if I asked him to, he wouldn’t use his ‘Sleep Ability,’ so there was no real harm. It just made me look like a suspicious person sometimes.
Having given up, Retze started frying thick slices of bacon in the fireplace while I prepared the siphon on the table to brew coffee.
I poured some water into a dish for Daifuku, and he seemed to like it, drinking happily. I wondered what other delicacies he might enjoy.
While Retze ate breakfast, I was content petting Daifuku. Despite his whimsical nature, he seemed to enjoy being around humans. However, his preferences for quietness, texture, temperature, and brightness were quite strict.
When Chris came downstairs, he seemed to dislike the tone of her voice and quickly vanished. He also seemed to have a thing against children’s voices, and Chris was all hyper this morning.
I hope he comes to play again.
Even though there was no real harm done, I was aware that I had been a bit of a nuisance to Retze, so I decided to offer him the siphon. I’d bring the filter later.
Now that I’ve made the shiratamako, I’ll prepare to make Daifuku tonight. I should create a stable for horses at home… No, it would be better to hire someone to take care of them on Naruadeid Island. It would be troublesome if I had to leave for several days like this.
On my way back home to teleport, I spotted a suspicious figure in the alley, someone with a butler-like aura, quietly engaged in a scuffle with Retze. Retze seemed quite relaxed about it.
“Excuse me for a moment.”
Since it seemed impossible to pass without interrupting, I called out and made my way through.
“What!?”
“Lord Jean!”
As I called out, both of them jumped back and turned to look at me.
“Oh. I’ll be right there, so don’t mind me.”