Chapter 80

The Failure Alchemist of the Royal Capital

The Combination of meat, cheese, and fries #

When reading the “Cooking Encyclopedia,” I noticed that rather than the “Fresh Cheese” I made the other day, the term “Semi-hard Cheese” frequently appears.

…I still have safflower seeds left.

Yeah. Mina’s recipe repertoire is sure to expand!

“Shall we make it?”

Since the process is the same up to a certain point, let’s do it while recalling!

Extract ingredients from safflower seeds.

Crush the seeds in a mortar, soak them in a small amount of milk. Stir in magical power while mixing until the seed components come out into the milk.

Once the seed extract has sufficiently transferred to the milk, strain it with a cloth, and leave the milk with the extract.

The milk we usually drink often turns into yogurt on its own if left in a warm place for three days, thanks to the presence of ‘sour extract,’ so we won’t rely on additional ingredients.

Put milk in a pot and heat it. Add the milk with safflower extract to the warmed one at a temperature that can be touched with your fingertips (considerably warmer than a bath). Turn off the heat, let it ferment alchemically, and the milk will solidify to a consistency between yogurt and pudding. Cut it into squares on the bottom of the pot with a knife at intervals about the length of a joint.

After a while, the liquid part seeps out, so heat it over low heat. Slowly stir the bottom, gradually raise the temperature to about lukewarm water. Once the temperature rises, turn off the heat, cover, and let it sit for about two hours.

After two hours, since it separates into solid and liquid, collect the solid part with a strainer.

Here’s where it’s different!

Put the collected solid part in a perforated ceramic container, and prepare a lid about one size smaller than the container that can be tightly pressed from above. This time, we’ll try a size that’s about two rounds larger than the palm of my hand.

And once you tightly close the top with this slightly smaller lid, keep pressing it tightly with something heavy. This takes about half a day, about five times the church bell ringing. Then, more moisture will be released from the inside.

When it’s done, soak it in saltwater for a day.

…Unlike the hard and difficult process of making round cheese, it takes quite a bit of time.

Then, let it dry again in a well-ventilated cool place where the sun doesn’t shine for another day.

Now, it’s the alchemist’s turn!

For the part that would normally mature naturally over a long period, we’ll use alchemical maturation to mature it all at once!

Prepare a dry cloth, infuse it with magical power, and promote maturation and internal drying. And as you occasionally wipe with a dried cloth, the once white surface gradually takes on a yellowish tint.

Maturation takes at least one to forty-eight months even if done naturally, so alchemical maturation takes time as well. Finding the time, I place my palm on the cheese, encourage maturation with magic, and continue to stroke it with the cloth…

A firm, round (pottery-shaped) cheese with a hint of yellow is complete!

“Mina~! Marcus~! I’ve made a new cheese!”

“Yes! We’re coming now!”

With energetic replies, Mina and Marcus came from the store to the laboratory.

Now that everyone is here, they cut the freshly made semi-hard cheese with a knife. They placed the cheese, cut to about the size of the tip of a pinky finger, on a plate.

“Delicious!”

The outer skin is too hard to eat, but when you remove that and put it in your mouth, a salty and nutty richness spreads, melting gently on the tongue.

“If it melts on the tongue, it should melt when heated in cooking…! Let’s use this for tonight’s dinner!”

Something seemed to resonate with Mina’s sensibility.

That night, Marcus and I had the main course, and we were thrilled after just one bite.

The cheese, cut into stick sizes, was rolled with thinly sliced chicken breast, and on top of that, it was wrapped in ham, a preserved food!

“Please enjoy it hot off the press! The cheese melts and comes out!”

Mina had prepared something hot and fresh.

“Wow, the cheese inside is melting!”

Marcus was captivated by the melting cheese.

“Adding ham was the right choice, Mina. It’s delicious just like this!”

With that praise, everyone enjoyed the new creation while laughing and chatting.

◆

This is the realm where the green spirits reside.

Bathed in bright sunlight, it’s a perpetual world of budding leaves. In a sea of green, fairies dance freely in the sky, and spirits converse with trees.

There, the Green Spirit King sat on soft young leaves, a little deep dish in front of him. It was filled with water, and a lotus flower floated on it, reflecting the smiling face of Daisy, savoring a delicious hot cheese fry. The sight of children enjoying a delicious meal happily warms the heart.

“Yeah, he looks lively today too. Seems happy eating something delicious.”

The Earth Spirit King arrived.

“Hey, hey, are you watching again? Seriously, you really love your dear child.”

Coming to the side of the Green Spirit King, who was by the water mirror, he bent down and peeked.

“Oh, oh, looks delicious, huh? Well, with smiles like that, I’d want to peek too.”

At first, the Earth Spirit King was amazed, but he joined in peeking. A lovely smile appeared on their faces as they watched the adorable children.

…The spirit world is peaceful too.