The Personal Chef of the Sorceress Who Can’t Eat Alone

Chapter 46




Pepper.

It hasn’t been long since it made its debut in history, originating from the South American continent, but within just a few hundred years, it has been cultivated and used worldwide.

There was no way Karem wouldn’t know about this crop.
After all, how could a Korean not know about pepper?

In fact, it would be quicker to find dishes without pepper among Korean cuisine than those that actually contain it.

And right now, pepper was in front of Karem.

Although its form and name were quite different.

“So, Sir Atanitas.”
“What is it?”
“What did you say the name of this thing was?”
“Fire Witch Finger.”

Right. That was the name.
For a moment, Karem, wearing protective gloves borrowed from Catherine, rolled the oddly-shaped red fruit in his hand (which Catherine had brought personally).

It had a red skin and a straight shape.
There was no doubt about it. The smell was undeniably that of pepper.
Although it was slightly exotic and spicy.

However, there were definitely differences.
True to its name, it looked like a finger at a glance, with wrinkles like an old person’s skin.

As Karem rolled this pepper version of another world curiously, Catherine said,
“It’s one of the few plants that can thrive in the extremely barren Iceland. Well, it’s only natural for a poisonous plant to grow in such a cold region.”

“Are you saying the Fire Witch Finger is a poisonous plant?”
“Yes. It causes pain upon contact, and if consumed, you feel a burning pain in line with the fire magic it holds. Not even the fiercest beast, monster, or bug dares to approach it.”

“That’s—”
Karem was bewildered.
Listening to those characteristics made it sound just like one of the top three indispensable ingredients for most Koreans, alongside garlic (the other being soy sauce).

Moreover, the stinging sensation when touched—the pain—felt remarkably familiar.
Specifically, it was a nostalgic and welcome sensation he often experienced at his grandparents’ house during kimjang season.

But you never know.
True to its name, the Fire Witch Finger had a look that was a bit unsettling.
And it came with the fantasy attribute of fire magic.
It was often said that a survival specialist from a special forces unit would advise against eating or touching plants one has never encountered before.

Yet, Karem eventually succumbed to temptation.
He took the dry red skin fragments and seeds he was holding in his bare hand and tossed them into his mouth.

And he chewed.

Catherine was stunned by this sudden act.
In stark contrast, Karem felt a thrill.

It had been ten years since Karem was reincarnated.
The very familiar burning sensation that started from his soft tongue excited his nerves to the point of making his skin crawl.

And that stimulation reached up to his brain, eventually resonating with Karem’s very soul.
A taste that resonated with all, or rather, with the vast majority of Koreans.

Although the variety differed slightly, changing the flavor and spiciness, there was simply no escaping that it was pepper. No doubt about it, it was pepper.

As Catherine stared, her jaw dropped at the unexpected behavior of the head chef, she noticed Karem’s eyes welling up with tears of emotion.
Well, it was only natural.
She had clearly stated it was poisonous, and yet he was putting it in his mouth?

Any sane person would naturally have their mind short-circuit for a moment.

“Hahahahaha! Hahaha—! Hahahahahaahh!”
“…Kid!? Are you losing your mind!?”
“Haha—what? Wait a second!?”

Catherine’s reaction was swift.
Overjoyed, she tried to pack Karem’s mouth with a bunch of magically created ice.

“Sir! Sir!? What are you suddenly doing!!!”
“I’m doing this for your sake, so just eat it!”
“Even a normal parent would freak out doing that!”
“You’re the one who’s insane, casually putting something I told you was poisonous into your mouth!?”
“Ah, that’s not the issue! Sir Atanitas! Sir Atanitas! Just listen to me for a second—!”

Thud! The small body of Karem, only ten years old, got toppled over by Catherine.
The pot on the charcoal stove shook for a moment from the impact.

And moments later, Mary, who had just finished clearing the snow, walked in.
“Phew, the fragrant smell… aside from that.”
What on earth is happening here?
Is the contractor going wild with desire and trying to pounce on Karem?

Mary had a brief doubt about it.
But as she quickly heard the panic in Catherine’s voice mixed with confusion over the ice in her hand, she dismissed her suspicions.

Relieved, Mary approached the two sprawled on the floor to diffuse the situation.

*

*

*

Thanks to that, the situation calmed down.
Catherine finally felt satisfied after stuffing ice into Karem’s mouth and could now rapidly prepare for the meal since the cream stew was completely done.

While receiving the stew Mary offered, Catherine, still not having calmed down, continued to warn Karem.
“I told you, being curious doesn’t mean you can just toss anything into your mouth, kid. Really, what were you thinking?”
“Sir Atanitas, may I ask you a question?”
“What is it?”
“That’s the child from earlier.”

What in the world is that nonsense—wait, no?
Catherine realized the obvious truth she had been oblivious to until now.

To anyone’s eyes, as long as he kept his mouth shut, Karem was just a mere child anywhere he went.
Catherine contemplated for a moment while taking a bite of the cream stew before speaking again.

“This is all your fault!”
“Wait, what!?”
“It’s because you’re acting so mature for your age!”
“It’s technically more mature—”
“Shut up! Without me, you would’ve been rolling on the floor in so much pain you might as well have died!”

Thus began Catherine’s lecture of the careless head chef throughout the meal.
Initially puzzled, Karem quickly understood and quietly took the reprimanding.

After all, it was indeed the fault of the one who recklessly consumed a toxic substance out of sheer curiosity.
Regardless of how it played out, it was unquestionable that the blame lay with the one who carelessly ingested a hazardous substance, and Karem understood this well.

Finally showing signs of repentance, Catherine concluded her admonishment, allowing them to fully enjoy lunch.

“Phew, finally done.”
“What? I just heard something that sounded like you still have complaints?”
“Nothing at all. Really.”

Karem only felt a trickle of sweat for a moment while gobbling down the stew.
He had no time to enjoy the rich flavor filled with cream.
His entire focus was on the Fire Witch Finger held in the gloves on his hand.

He wasn’t certain, but somehow, he had gotten his hands on pepper.
According to Catherine’s statement and what she had previously said about using it as an ingredient in the Flower of, it meant there was a way to get it, regardless of price.

Karem’s heart began to swell with excitement.
It was only natural.
After all,
“I didn’t expect to get soy sauce, soybean paste, or gochujang at all!”

The ingredient for gochujang had somehow ended up in his hands.
How much had he longed for this?
Lost in the reverie, a thought flashed through Karem’s mind.
“Wait, what about meju?”

The ingredients for gochujang were pretty simple when you break it down.
Red pepper powder, meju, salt, and corn syrup.
The corn syrup could eventually be substituted with sugar to make syrup.
But,
“I’ve never made it before, but I’ve heard that boiled soybeans are used with straw, right? I believe there’s a specific mold that goes with it. There’s no way I could find straw here. Could I possibly substitute it with wheat straw? No, but first, what about the soybeans?”

In any case, there was hope.
Even without gochujang, there were substitutes available.

If the peppers were dried and ground up, they would become red pepper powder.
If you ground them and added vinegar and water for fermentation, you would have hot sauce.
While the variety and ingredients would need to be adjusted, if pickled like a jalapeño, it could work.

These three popped into his head right away.
But on further thought, more ideas would surely follow.

“Karem, if you’re hungry, shouldn’t you just take more?”
“Yeah? What?”
“Why are you scraping the bottom of the empty bowl?”
“Oh, no. It’s just some unnecessary thoughts. I mean, there are plenty of things on my mind.”

Karem brushed it off somewhat.
After weighing all the factors, the conclusion was that he needed to persuade Catherine somehow.

She was still watching Karem, who wore gloves but was tinkering with the red fruit with a wary gaze.

How should he handle this first and likely last obstacle…?
As Karem pondered, Mary fed the last of the cream stew to Catherine and stood up.

“Karem, does that mean the conclusion is that this is an unnecessary thought for now?”
“Uh, yes. There’s an obstacle in the way right now…”
“Then how about you quit the pointless thinking and bring that barrel you stored in the warehouse while I clean up?”
“That barrel? Oh.”

The tightly sealed wooden barrel he had accidentally received in the food storage.
Catherine, who hadn’t been there, tilted her head at this sudden mention.
“What barrel are you talking about? Did you beer or something?”
“I don’t know what’s inside. I just kind of received it when I went to the food storage this morning.”
“A barrel?”
“Yes.”

Catherine kept tilting her head.
With a question mark blooming on her otherworldly beauty, if Karem had seen it, he would have muttered the Heart Sutra’s first verse in worry for his own heart.

Fortunately, when Karem came in carrying the barrel, Mary had just finished cleaning up.
“Here, this is the barrel.”
“Hmm? It’s smaller than I expected?”
“Seems like there’s a liquid inside.”
“Hmm… Not leather nor expensive cork? It’s waxed too. All the seams between the metal and wood are covered in wax.”

Catherine wore a curious expression still with her head tilted.
Even wine, which is produced only a few bottles a year, isn’t sealed this much.
Let alone potions, though expensive, if they went through such labor, it would be cheaper to just store it in ordinary glass containers.

Attentively tapping on the barrel, Catherine said,
“Alright. Let’s open it then.”
“What? Right now?”
“Of course. We have no reason to wait. Mary.”

With a snap of her fingers, Mary immediately grabbed the cork from the barrel.
With her thumb, index, and middle fingers, the brownie twisted it.
Creeeak—pop!

The cheerful sound of the sealed seal busting open.
A shocking fishy smell overwhelmed the kitchen.
“Kyahhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!”

As the person closest to it, Mary fainted with a scream.
The vibration shook the barrel, and the water inside began to slosh with an ethereal sound.

Though the hole was small, it emitted the smell of the sea, compressed as if a whole section of it had been squeezed into one spot.
A stench so intense it struck at the brain.

“Wha—!? This shocking smell—! Why is that insane garum here!?”

After a brief moment of dry heaving, Catherine quickly recovered, as if she’d been through this before, magically shielding her nose while exclaiming in shock.

And Karem?
His reincarnated body was vibrating under the shocking smell he had never encountered before.
But his soul felt entirely different.
His soul was resonating once again.

Unable to even speak as the meaning of that resonance flowed through him.
That familiar smell of fermented fish.
And Catherine’s words clinched it.

Garum? Isn’t that fish sauce? Then…

Pepper, fish sauce, garlic.
Though not all, these are essential condiments that no Korean table would be complete without.

At that moment, a memory from his past life struck Karem.
“This might not be napa kimchi, but I could definitely make at least some diced radish kimchi!”

“Hey, kid! What are you standing there for!? Quickly seal that damn hole!”
“…No!”
“What did you say!?”
“I’m just going to enjoy this smell for a bit longer.”
“Are you getting revenge for the ice I stuffed in your mouth earlier!!!???”

Honestly, Karem couldn’t deny he had a tiny bit of that thought… just a tad.



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