Chapter 262: Salt Flavor
The butler had woken up, so it was time to head back home. If I remembered the location well enough, I could return, but I had to avoid places where people were gathered. So, I moved a little further away—
But first, I needed to let the focaccia dough rest and go through its second fermentation.
“…You.”
“Lord Jean…”
Karn was fussing with his cloak again.
Underneath the cloak, he was only wearing something like a carpenter’s apron and a piece of cloth wrapped around his legs up to his shins. Unfortunately, one side was split around his thigh, so I had to be careful about where I placed the dough to avoid any accidents. I didn’t bother asking if he was wearing anything underneath.
Now, it was finally time for a walk with Rishu.
In the dim light, we ran through the hills and fields. Sometimes we strolled leisurely, taking detours, while other times, like today, we dashed to cover more ground. Well, since Rishu was small, I was more like walking fast or jogging to keep up.
We slowly explored the fields and orchard together, and before I knew it, time had flown by. It seemed Rishu didn’t want to go outside anywhere except the sacred grove of the forest. I had taken him to Kanum’s House once, but after confirming it, he seemed satisfied and didn’t want to go again when I called out to him.
He didn’t seem unwell, but perhaps he lacked confidence in fighting against the Black Spirit or Demon Beasts, given the barrier set by the Gods around the house and the former territory of the sacred grove?
I wanted to take him along to various places, but I had no intention of forcing him, so I left him behind this time. After giving him a good pat, I returned to the labyrinth.
“I’m back.”
“Welcome back.”
“Welcome home.”
“…Yeah.”
I wondered if the butler had stayed up even after it was Ash’s turn to watch?
“Is it okay?”
I rummaged through the focaccia dough. Karn looked quite annoyed, but I hoped he would give up on it.
I shaped the dough into a square and stuffed it into a hot sandwich maker—though it was a bit large for that—brushed it with olive oil, arranged semi-dried tomatoes, and placed slices of black olives in between. After grating some cheese on top, I sprinkled a little basil and salt.
I stoked the small fire to cook it. I reheated the leftover meat from yesterday and boiled some hot water, filling the area with a variety of aromas.
“Wow, that smells good,” Dinoss said as he came awake.
“Eat up; I’ll be making more soon.”
I cut the freshly baked focaccia into eight pieces, two for each person. Retze had woken up, but I asked him to wait a moment.
“Why does Note look so uneasy?”
“No…”
The butler’s gaze shifted at Retze’s question.
“Did Jean do something again that people can’t do? Oh, this is delicious!” Dinoss bit into the focaccia. Along with the focaccia and meat, the butler had also provided cheese and dried figs.
“Well, if we’re talking about whether it can be done or not, it can be,” the butler’s wandering gaze finally settled on his own piece of focaccia.
The warm focaccia was steaming. I must say, it looked quite appetizing in this slightly chilly place.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like it was stuck to human skin or anything…” The butler took a bite, looking as if he had steeled himself. Ash had already finished his portion.
“It’s delicious…” he said, sounding somewhat reluctant.
“If you find it lacking, feel free to add some meat. If it’s too dry, use this.”
Since it was yesterday’s leftovers, I set out the olive oil.
The ceramic jar was wrapped in cloth to prevent it from breaking. There was also a sturdy glass bottle that could serve as a bludgeon, but I restrained myself and bought a regular ceramic jar from Kanum.
Just as the next batch was finishing, Dean and Chris woke up.
“Is this red one a tomato?”
“Yep.”
Retze seemed to pick up names quickly.
“Don’t serve this to others too much, okay?”
“Even if it’s delicious, just keep it for when there are no others around,” Retze and Dinoss warned.
“Yeah, yeah.”
In the south, it was somewhat circulated as an ornamental plant, but it hadn’t made its way here yet. It was referred to as a poison apple and treated as toxic. Indeed, the nightshade family has its share of toxins, and tomatoes contain tomatine, a rather oddly named alkaloid toxin. You’d have to eat tons of it for it to have any effect, though.
I needed to spread tomatoes and eggplants quickly. Potatoes had just begun to trickle into the coastal countries. They were still smaller and had a reddish hue like sweet potatoes, but they were shipped from Naruadeid.
I figured that by next year, the ones I sold would be circulating. The merchant I sold the seed potatoes to seemed to be working hard to increase their stock.
“It has a nice balance of acidity and sweetness.”
“Indeed, the salt flavor is good too,” the butler and Ash agreed.
“Vegetables that go well with meat are always welcome!” Dean skillfully sliced the focaccia with a knife, stuffing it with as much meat as he could before taking a big bite.
“It’s wonderful to have something warm to eat in the morning!” Chris cradled the tea the butler had brewed in one hand while eating focaccia with the other. Huh? Is Chris sensitive to the cold too?
He didn’t seem as bad as Karn, though. I’d have to ask him about it later.