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Chapter 34
I wonder if there is something I could do?
Although there are no ingredients for the meal, there should be many around.
I mean, sourleafs and sow thistles were there.
If I take the soup stock and add salt I can do a clear broth soup, if I boil the sourleaf a little, it would be great with the soup, going well together with the soup stock’s flavoring. Ah, I think that sow thistles can be boiled as well. Because I think that mixing sourleaf with miso and brown sugar would yield vinegared miso taste, I wonder the same could be done with sow thistle.
Also

 let’s chop the dried fruit instead of tea? I think that sweets are necessary for living, but


How much is remaining?
Ara, Elm came over. Let’s talk.
「Koyu-sama, regarding the meal

」
Ara, Elm has been thinking the same, or not, Sapin must have told him. I’m glad.
「Nee, Elm. Could you bring out the remaining ingredients from the carriage?」
「Ah, yes」
「I think they are in the『Furoshiki』near the『Carry-on』」
「Ha? What’s that?」
Ah, neither wrapping cloth nor carry-on exist over here. Umm, how do I explain?
「The ingredients are wrapped in a big blue cloth. I think they are next to the rectangular bag I brought from my hometown」
「Something wrapped in a blue cloth next to Koyu-sama’s bag, is it?」
As expected of Elm. He briefly summarized what I meant.
「Yes. Could you bring that? I want to check the remaining ingredients」
「I understand. Wait a moment, please」
After saying so, Elm got into the carriage. How amazing, getting into the carriage without using the stairs. Ah, using stairs

 am I perhaps the only one? Everybody is very athletic, aren’t they? I couldn’t do that even in my younger days. Probably


Elm brought the ingredients, and everyone has gathered. Un, un, meals are important.
Now then, what is left?
・Seaweed salt (a little)
・Miso (3 tablespoons)
・Soup stock pack (2)
・Malted rice
・Wheat (handful)
・Dried fruits (a little)
・Biscuit (1)
・Rosemary
・Chrysanthemum (a little)
・Perilla (a little)
U~n. Too little. Ah, which reminds me, Sapin said that there meat.
「Elm, this is all I have at hand, but do you guys have?」
「Meat. We have Rabi (Rabbit) and Cocco (bird). Also, Boa (Wild boar) dried meat」
Ara, if there’s meat on a bone, I can use it for a delicious broth. Because fat can be taken from the skin, cooking lean fat with wheat will make it usable as an ingredient.
「There are also the leaves Baasan picked. They are shriveled, though」
Shriveled

 I wouldn’t want to use that now. Ivar should recognize the plants, let’s ask him to gather fresh ones.
「Ivar, can you recognize the plants we picked the other day? There were the two kinds」
「Recognize」
「Just a little is enough, go pick some, please. Ten of bitter ones and two of sour ones is enough」
The sourleaf has a lot of moisture and two should be plently because it’s thick. Right, it’s too heavy

 because of that, the guard Ivar has left my side.
「Un

」
Glance, glance. Everyone is with me now, so it’s all right to leave my side, you know?
「Everyone is here, it’s all right. Ivar is the only one who recognizes those plants, right?」
「Un」
It appears he finally understood that it’s all right and gradually left from my side. Un, depending on the circumstances, it would be a problem if he didn’t understand that everything is all right.
Maa, let’s think about it later.
「May I start cooking?」
「Please, give me instructions. I will make it」
「Eh? Elm will?」
「Yes」
「Not Iris?」
「Cooking is not her strong point

」
「I will help Iris」
「I told you

」
「I understand she’s poor at it, but she won’t be able to cook without practice. Won’t it be all right if I watch over her?」
「There’s only little ingredients left, won’t that be too wasteful?」
「I will do the seasoning?」
「I have warned you, okay?」
「Yes. Please, get Iris」
Surprisingly, Iris appears to be poor at cooking. How unexpected. Maa, we won’t be doing anything difficult so I think it should be all right?
Let’s think about how to make it while Elm went to get Iris.
Let’s see


First, skin the bird.
Let’s cut it into chunks.
Cut the skin into bite-sized pieces.
Prepare two pots.
Let’s put the skin into one of the pots. Once the fat starts coming out, roast the wheat until it splits open. Transfer the wheat to a bowl.
Pour water into that pot


Un, un

 it should be alright to teach her like that, right?
Is what I thought, but


I should have heeded the warning of someone who is a long time acquaintance of hers