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Chapter 115 – Still Winter

If you want to ask me about the food I want to eat during winter, my answer is mochi.

Mochi.

Steam it then pound and pound and pound it.

Mochi.

I want to eat mochi, I want to eat a lot of mochi.

Mochi, mochi, mochi.

Even though I only have a small amount of glutinous rice, I can’t call myself a human if I don’t make mochi!

First try in steaming, failure.

Kuh.

Second try, I somehow succeed!

However, the texture is somewhat off.

Did I pound them the wrong way?

Or is it because of rhythm?

Or maybe I don’t have the right strength?

On my third try, I told my centaur errand maid to have the minotaur pound it for me.

The result was great.

Sugar soy sauce is exquisite.

Sugar soybean flour is not bad too.

Let’s increase the glutinous rice field next year.

It is a good crop that we can preserve.

If you want to ask me about the food I want to eat during winter, my answer is zensai.

TN: Zensai is mashed red bean sweetened with sugar that is usually used as stuffing in dumplings such as mochi.

Boil azuki beans and add sugar.

And add a little bit of salt.

It is difficult to balance the taste.

After my seventh try, I finally tasted the taste I’m looking for.

I’ll stuff this to the mochi.

Perfect zensai!

「Oh, to stuff it in mochi….great innovation.」

「Mochi is already delicious, to think that it will be better.」

It was eaten up in no time.

If you want to ask me about the food I want to eat during winter, my answer is …..what?

Ehoumaki?

TN: A sushi roll composed of seven ingredients. Its seven ingredients signify luck.

As for nori…..I ordered them from Michael-san.

I have rice here too.

And vinegar.

For other ingredients…..the stuffing is usually vegetables.

How about using omelet….

Has anyone tried this before?

「Is that your new dish?」

「Yeah」

Originally, it should be cut to several pieces first before eating but they are already eating it without cutting.

「It has a mysterious taste.」

「It’s not that different from onigiri.」

「Since we can change the stuff inside…..I think this has limitless potential.」

It was popular.

Speaking of ehomaki, I remembered setsubun.

TN: Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in Japan. Ehoumaki is eaten for good luck during setsubun.

Setsubun.

…….

It will be impossible for me to sprinkle beans during that day now since food is presently scarce.

TN: There is a custom of throwing roasted soybean during setsubun. Too many TN, I should have just put a link.

After that…..valentine?

Chocolate.

Chocolate is made from cacao.

I can raise cacao using the AFT but…

I don’t know how to make chocolate from cacao.

Ah….but, I want to try eating chocolate.

When spring comes, let’s raise cacao.

I can connect with everyone using food.

Because there are a lot of people who were not able to taste the food I made in my house, I decided to make it again a couple more times.

Mochi was popular.

「It can block your throat.」

Experiment during the winter.

When the weather is good, I asked Rasuti to drop something from a great height.

The thing that was dropped is falling.

On its way down, a sling cloth spread open.

It’s a parachute.

The falling object’s falling speed decreases as the parachute opens.

I made sure that the crate has enough weight. I even put glass bottles in it to check if it won’t break.

Gran Maria was surprised with my experiment.

「Village chief, what’s that?」

「It’s a parachute. I’m testing if it will still be in good condition if Rasuti or Hakuren drops it.」

「Drop…..are you planning on things being dropped like that?」

「If it’s an emergency. Maa, I also want to try it on people, not just on luggage.」

「I think it is okay for luggage but it is too dangerous for a person.」

「It will not be completely safe but it will be better than nothing.」

「There is a magic that can control descend.」

「…..I can’t use it.」

「I’m sorry.」

「Maa, I will not suddenly try it on people. After I’m done with several experiments, I’ll ask those who can fly.」

「Then I am relieved.」

Rasuti, who’s flying back, gave her review from the sky.

「It will look great if it can scatter a lot of roses.」

「……」

In any case, that is also an improvement to the parachute.

Zabuton is still hibernating so I can’t do any more than this.

Let’s wait for spring.

「Hnn?」

The wine slime strangely came.

………

Is it alright?

It replied indicating it’s okay.

「I pray for good luck.」

I took the lid of the crate and saluted the slime. The wine slime entered the wooden crate.

As for the lid….would it be good for it to be an open type that you can see what’s inside?

I’m afraid that the parachute will not open if it is too folded.

「Rasuti, can you take it like this and fly again?」

「Alright.」

「Gran Maria, stand by at low altitude. If any unlikely event happens, save the wine slime.」

「Affirmative.」

And, it was dropped again at the same height.

The unfolded parachute immediately opens and its falling speed slows down.

….I feel like I’m watching a balloon.

The wine slime is safe as it lands on the ground after enjoying a few minutes of floating.

The impact is also minimal so it looks like it doesn’t have any particular problem.

The wine slime looks joyful too.

「….it looks like it had some fun.」

「right…」

Gran Maria and Rasuti are also looking at it.

…….

Now, in case of emergency, it will be fine for two people to enjoy this.

TN: Thus, the extreme sports skydiving was born in that world.

「It’s sooo good!」

「The feeling of slowly descending is a fresh and pleasant experience.」

「However, it is a little embarrassing to wear parachute since you need to wear it on your shoulders and thigh.」

「I agree. Is there any other method to wear it?」

After hearing that conversation, I asked Zabuton to make trousers for those who’ll use a parachute.

Oh, it’s the wine slime’s turn again.

Let’s let it be as long as it doesn’t cut in the line.

The piled up snow does not hinder the movement of the centaurs.

「Do not force yourselves to travel if there is a snowstorm.」

「We know. There’s no problem on our end ah…..it is a bit scary to cross the bridge with the snow piled up. It would be great if it is a little wider.」

「Hnn….is it? However, I’m worried that monsters and demon beasts will cross the bridge if we make it wider.」

「Monsters and demon beasts….now that you say it, that’s possible.」

「You’re passing through it every day. If it is inconvenient, let’s think of something else to fix the issue. Since we can’t widen it, how about making a handrail?」

「Handrail? Certainly, we will be saved by that. Presently, I’m a little afraid of slipping there since the snow has piled up.」

「Then, let’s go with that. Carry me there on a sunny day.」

「I hear and obey.」

And so, I rode the centaur to go to the bridge.

Along with us are three centaurs, I assigned them with the position of Riaison officers.

We are also accompanied by Kuro and ten of his pups as guards.

Half of those pups were just born this year.

「Are the three of you enough to regularly contact everyone on time? When you started, there were two of you then it increases up to five….」

「Yes. After various trials, we concluded that three is the best number.」

「I see. But don’t push yourselves too hard.」

「As you wish.」

We arrived at the bridge.

Although the weather is nice, snow is piled up on the bridge with traces of centaurs coming back and forth.

「It is a wooden bridge so we’re afraid to use fire magic to melt the snow.」

「Hahaha, it’s good that you didn’t try.」

The bridge is a trunk of a tree with planed top.

If I want to add handrail on it….. I have to use nails.

Good thing I brought nails. Now let’s make handrails.

…..

I entered the forest and looked for a big tree.

This one is about three meters in diameter.

It’s length is also enough considering the width of the river.

I cut the tree then process the timber.

I shaved the log making it U-shape.

Wait, this is not a handrail, this is a side wall.

「How about this?」

「It’s not bad but it will limit the visibility. The height is also….」

「I see.」

I cut the height of the sidewall to make it half its current height and bore holes too.

With this, even if it rains or snows, it will not accumulate water.

I opened some drainage holes on the side walls and make a gentle slope on the surface of the bridge too.

「How about this.」

「Looks great. Thank you very much.」

「Hahaha, good. Since you are the Riaison officers, inform others about the new bridge.」

「Affirmative.」

The three Riaison centaurs crossed the bridge and started running.

「We spent some time here. Let’s go home.」

I was urged by my centaur errand maid and when we were about to return…..

「It seems like the kuros are driving away some prey.」

Even the pups who were just born this year are doing their best.

It looks like the prey they are chasing is something I haven’t seen yet.

Is that a deer?

But looking at it at my angle, it looks ferocious….

Ah, it’s action is also ferocious.

Though it was cornered, it counterattacked but the pups evaded it.

Looking at it, it’s charging towards me now.

My centaur errand maid panicked.

I transformed the AFT into a hoe.

And plowed the neck of the ferocious deer killing it.

Kuro barked at me as if praising me.

「Ahahaha. Bleed it then take it home with you.」

To unexpectedly secure food, I chuckled.

「It’s a panic caribou.」

「Yeah.」

The oni maids and the civil servant girls all have serious faces.

「Am I wrong to hunt it?」

「No…..it’s just pretty rare. It’s a demon beast so of course, you can hunt it…. The most valuable part is its horn….」

Because I used the hoe form of the AFT against it, it’s head, along with its horn, turned to fertilizer.

「Sorry but safety is the priority.」

It will be bad if we got hurt if we deal with it the wrong way.

「We know that but…. it is said that the horn is very tasty.」

….Horn, you can eat that?

「I haven’t eaten one yet but those who have eaten it praises it highly.」

「Could it be that it was evaluated as such because it is rare and has a strange taste?」

Generally known as distinctiveness taste system.

「Probably」

The panic caribou meat was delicious but taste normal.

It became a matter of concern so it has become panic caribou hunting day on sunny day.

The angels and the kuros were heavily mobilized and they luckily hunted one had on the seventh day.

Horns were secured.

It seems like it should be crushed into powder then boil it to make a soup.

We did just that and tried it.

It really was tasty enough for me to be impressed.

It is tastier than the meat.

This is surprising.

However, no matter how much we enter the forest after that, we did not encounter another panic caribou.

Kuh.

Only the memory of its taste was left.

How mean of you, panic caribou.