READ NOVEL ONLINE Chapter 48
“…So you brought this to me?”
“Yes. It tastes fine to me, but Sir Atanitas and Mary said they need some mental preparation.”
“Well, of course they would.”
“Yep. Right now, it’s a pickle that’s almost like a salad. If we let it mature and ferment like this, it’ll become a pickle.”
Is this fellow trying to make me feel better? Could it be that he noticed my past animosity and anger? They say fairies hear the day’s words and slimes hear the night’s, but that can’t be true.
After all, Zigmeser hadn’t spoken to anyone about it.
Zigmeser stood atop the tiered pedestal, looking down at the table with a sour expression.
At the end of his troubling inner thoughts lay the diced radish that Karem had brought.
The small wooden bowl contained cubed daikon that was glistening red with a seasoning that looked more vivid than the blood of living creatures, distinct from the pomegranate and wine sauce.
Karem obviously feigned ignorance of that glance.
“But, does this bright red radish pickle contain Fire Witch Finger?”
“Yes. It was perfectly dried, so I made this right away.”
“Isn’t that poisonous? Where on earth did you…”
“Sir Atanitas managed to get permission for what was left over after the festival.”
Zigmeser silently lamented.
Sir Atanitas, how on earth do you manage your subordinates?
Of course, curiosity and experimentation are crucial for a cook.
No matter how delicious something is, a person becomes accustomed to it.
Nobles, who regularly indulge in rare ingredients that commoners wouldn’t even dream of, are especially prone to this.
Zigmeser himself had a history of throwing money to hire people in search of new tastes during his heyday, and he was still trying to create new menu items.
Yet he wasn’t as mad as Karem.
There’s no way he’d make a dish using poison.
And Karem clearly knew that Zigmeser was hesitating.
After all, both Catherine and Mary had the same reaction.
Though they didn’t have time to persuade him, Karem steel himself for a moment, channeling the feelings of an experienced player recommending the game to a newcomer.
“Chef, the idea that Fire Witch Finger is poisonous is a misunderstanding.”
“Karem, what do you mean by misunderstanding?”
“Right away, without even considering spices like pepper or mustard seeds, even just onions and garlic have their own sharp and spicy taste, right? Fire Witch Finger follows the same pattern.”
“Are you not interpreting this too broadly?”
“Think about it. Imagine if you took out the poison, the spices, and the herbs; don’t you see any commonalities among them?”
“Commonalities? Well—”
Zigmeser’s face seemed to light up with realization.
Pepper, mustard, onion, garlic.
Different plants, but with a clear commonality.
“All of them are strong-smelling and spicy spices and vegetables.”
“Yes. And if you undercook them or eat too much, they can make your tongue hurt to the point of tearing up, right?”
“Could it be the source of this red poison’s pain…?”
“Must be due to the spiciness.”
While their roots are different, they all yield spicy results.
Reflecting on such an obvious truth that had slipped his mind, it truly seemed plausible—
“No, wait. If that’s the case, then the burning pain from just touching it doesn’t make sense?”
“Mustard stings the tongue, garlic subtly irritates the back of it, and just the smell of raw onions can make one tear up and feel sharp. I think they’re similar but distinctly different flavors.”
“…That makes sense.”
Now that he thought about it, indeed.
As Zigmeser began to ponder seriously, Karem calmed his excitement.
The important thing was to persuade at least one more person to clear up the misunderstanding.
He needed to ensure that Karem could use red pepper powder as he pleased.
He hadn’t really cared much for its popularity.
Food culture generally flows from the top down.
Once the nobles start eating it, it’s only natural for it to gradually spread in trend.
Of course, that would take a long time, but that was of no concern to him.
There was no way he could bother with such tiresome tasks himself.
After contemplating for a while, Zigmeser seemed to have steeled his resolve, nodding firmly.
“Fine. I will try it. The tableware—”
“I anticipated that, so I prepared it in advance.”
“I like a quick preparation.”
“Of course, since this is a tasting invitation after all.”
Zigmeser picked up the fork with a dwarf-like exuberance and immediately pierced the pickled radish.
Though, even as he did so, the bright red color was still quite unsettling.
“This smell seems to be a mix of garlic, onion, and perhaps some ginger?”
“A bit of ginger and garlic, some onion, salt, garum, apple jam, honey, and flour all mixed in.”
“Hmm. Certainly, the sweetness suppressing the spiciness is effective—no, wait a moment.”
Zigmeser suddenly turned his head as if he sensed something was off.
“What did you add?”
“Oh, flour?”
“No! Not that! After the salt!”
“Garum?”
Why is that brought up here?
For a brief moment, Zigmeser’s face looked blank, his wrinkles smoothing out.
Sensing something was wrong, Karem quickly revealed the previous situation in detail.
“…So you’re saying it was received due to a transportation mistake by the warehouse workers?”
“Yes. Regardless of what went wrong, all the responsibility falls on them. Perhaps—”
“Right. That’s probably an order I placed. It had such extreme reviews that I wanted to experiment with it.”
“Yes. I will return it.”
After a moment of feeling headachey, Zigmeser felt relief.
At least Karem had recognized it as an ingredient.
If not, he might have thought it was something rotten and tossed it, throwing dozens of silver coins into the void.
“No, wait a minute. You said garum was included?”
“Yes. About two spoonfuls.”
And yet, there was no fishy smell at all?
Even with two spoonfuls of garum?
Zigmeser, who still couldn’t shake off his biases about Fire Witch Finger, was now clouded with curiosity.
Before long, the cube stained with red seasoning was in Zigmeser’s mouth.
Gulp!
The pain—no, the spiciness—was incomparable to onion, garlic, or mustard.
Zigmeser nearly screamed.
But then again, Karem was a child who had also eaten it, so he couldn’t lose his composure.
Yet, it was much more intense than expected…
The pain, incomparably worse than onion or garlic, surged throughout his mouth.
It was fortunate if that was the only thing; it felt like heat flooded through his entire body, and beads of sweat began to form.
The aroma of garlic and onion seemed suppressed by the Fire Witch Finger.
The spiciness that he thought would never end gradually began to be masked by the thick sweetness of honey and the gentle sweetness of apple jam.
But still, the spiciness was overwhelming enough to leave him in shock.
“Cough, cough!? It’s quite edible!? This spiciness and burning sensation are hard to adapt to.”
“Well, for now, it needs to be matured to be complete.”
“Ah, wait, you mentioned it was a pickle?”
“Yes. It’s fermenting in my kitchen at the Wizard’s Tower.”
After a day and a half, placing it in a cool food storage chamber would lead it to mature well on its own.
Karem felt exhilarated at the thought of the refreshing taste, if only he had a soda at hand. But that was too much to wish for.
Meanwhile, Zigmeser, flushed, was still tasting one more piece of pickled radish despite the sweat pouring down.
Initially, he intended to sample it just once, but perhaps it was due to the deep umami flavor embracing all the ingredients and the tanginess of vinegar that compelled him to reach for more.
Shaking his head as if to dismiss Karem’s gaze of success, Zigmeser trembled with beads of sweat forming on his brow.
“There’s certainly room for improvement! It’s exceedingly spicy, but for the moment, it could work as a palate cleanser salad. Cough! Ah! It’d also go well with greasy dishes.”
“I’m glad to hear it suits your taste.”
“But damn it, this spiciness needs to be reduced!”
As if he could no longer hold back, Zigmeser grabbed the tiered pedestal and swiftly fetched a piece of cheese from the corner of the shelf, popping it whole into his mouth.
As the cheese melted rapidly in response to his heated body from the pickled radish, Zigmeser let out a sigh of relief.
“Hah. To think that even with cheese in my mouth, it still feels spicy.”
“Milk would be better than cheese.”
“Right, but no, because milk fills you up too fast, which isn’t too good.”
The heat of his body persisted.
However, as the pain began to fade, Zigmeser’s tongue fervently analyzed the Fire Witch Pickle that Karem had brought and reached a conclusion.
“Hmm, for now, the spiciness should be reduced.”
“Ah, if you remove some seeds from Fire Witch Finger, it tends to lessen the spiciness.”
“What? Does that mean this undercooked pickle didn’t have that?”
“I was so caught up in the recipe that I didn’t even think that far ahead.”
“I’m sorry.” As Karem bowed, Zigmeser waved his hand.
Of course, if he were one of the subordinates working in his main kitchen, he would’ve reprimanded him mightily, but he couldn’t do that with Karem.
After all, since the noble family showed interest and even the Warrior God Tutatis took notice, he couldn’t be treated carelessly.
Though it was also due to burning with anger that caused his foot to tingle.
“By the way, was this something you were usually researching?”
“Uh, no. I was inspired when I tasted a shard of Fire Witch Finger and smelled the garum.”
That wasn’t a lie. It wasn’t a lie.
However, it was certainly a rather novel claim.
Zigmeser nearly said that, but from Karem’s calm demeanor, it was apparent that it was indeed the truth.
“Hoho. Karem, how old are you again?”
“Me? I’m still ten.”
“When I was your age, I was too busy making a fuss about cooking.”
“…Um, thanks.”
Karem spoke a little awkwardly, turning his head.
Since it wasn’t the usual blatant flattery he did every day, this heartfelt compliment felt much more embarrassing.
To shake off the ticklish feeling, Karem quickly changed the subject.
“Anyway! I thought of several recipes, like a sauce made from mixing sugar or fruit with vinegar and grinding it with Fire Witch Finger.”
“A sauce! Karem! Is it another new dish?”
“Yes, indeed. Lady Alicia.”
“Hehe. That’s right. Alicia here.”
Wait a minute. Who?
Karem and Zigmeser swiftly turned their heads.
Unbeknownst to them, Alicia had appeared, straining on her tiptoes to peer over the table.
“Fire Witch Finger? What is Fire Witch Finger?”
“Oh, it’s just a shortened term for the fruit Fire Witch Finger. It’s too long to say it as is.”
“Fire Witch Finger? Isn’t that poisonous?”
“Oh, that’s a misunderstanding. It feels more like pepper or garlic or onion. Just, Fire Witch Finger is spicier than those.”
“Hmph? Is that so?”
Please tell me she doesn’t want to try it.
Fortunately for Karem and Zigmeser, Alicia’s curiosity seemed to have returned her attention solely to Zigmeser.
“Zigmeser! Can’t we have a snack?”
“Well, of course. How about a somewhat unusual pudding today?”
“An unusual pudding! That sounds wonderful!”
As Zigmeser grabbed Alicia’s attention, Karem quickly exchanged a look with him.
Karem quickly shoveled the bowl that contained the pickled radish into his mouth, receiving a look of astonishment from Zigmeser as they moved to a corner of the kitchen.
The exchange between Karem and Zigmeser was momentarily paused until Alicia left in satisfaction.