My magic stove, which I had hoped could be fixed wasâŠwellâŠ
[1]
âHmm, if you really wish to have it fixed, itâs not impossible. But it would cost you a lot in terms of time and money,â said the proprietor of magic tools.
âMoney is no issue,â I said immediately. I practically have money oozing out of my ears thanks to my familiars.
âIf thatâs the case⊠hmm, the physical casing of the stove would have to be fixed first. Parts of it would have to be replaced. This section here, where the magic lines run over must be sanded away and rewritten, or recarved rather. Then, an expert had to check it⊠from the state that itâs in⊠I expect that it would take at least a year. Look here, this part is completely smashed throughâŠâ
I was no longer listening, âA- a year?!â
âIndeed, thatâs not taking into account materials that may have to be sourced⊠dear customer, while it is not impossible to fix this, my advice is to just get a new one,â the proprietor said matter-of-factly.
âHahhhâŠâ I sighed. âI guess I have no choice, would you happen to carry one?â
âAhem, if you want a magic stove with a similar level of performance, Iâm afraid my humble store does not carry any,â the proprietor patted the broken bit of the stove gently. âThis is something that could only be found in a noblemanâs mansion or a high-end restaurant. In other words, only large cities would have shops that carry these.â
âI bought this one in Doran,â I said.
âAh, a dungeon city with a fairly high merchant population,â the proprietor nodded.
âSo⊠I have to go to Doran?â I am⊠not looking forward to it. After all, a certain bane of dragonâs existence is thereâŠ
âWell, the Royal Capital should have a couple of stores that carry these too,â said the proprietor. âLots of aristocrats there looking to outdo each other on the latest magic tool product.â
âBut, if itâs the Royal CapitalâŠâ if I ever set foot into that place, I would most likely be summoned to the Royal Palace.
That would be seriously troublesome.
UgghhhâŠ
Elland-san vs A Bunch of Annoying Nobles.
⊠I canât tell which is worseâŠ
âIs there anywhere else I can buy this stove?â I asked a little desperately.
âWell, if itâs within the country, perhaps the City of Ronkainen, or Avering, the other dungeon city. Otherwise, you might have to go abroad.â
âRonkainen?â I have never heard of this place before.
âIt is close to the Republic of Quin, I think the city is formed through trade, so the chances of it having this kind of stove is fairly high, butâŠâ
ââŠbut?â
âWell, you know how those small countries are. Even though they call themselves a Republic, they still launch skirmishes at each other. So, Ronkainen is said to be⊠unsafe.â
âI seeâŠâ
Well, when it comes to safety, I have my familiars with me. So thatâs not a problem. Right now, I have three choices, Doran, Royal Capital or Ronkainen. The proprietor did mention Avering, but I donât recall seeing something like a large magic stove there, soâŠ
Ah well, I still have the magic stove in the kitchen, thereâs really no need to rush. Letâs decide after consulting everyone.
[1]
With that in mind, I returned home.
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âKukuku, itâs time to make dinner~â
Everyone, especially Fer and Grandpa Gon must be expecting meat for dinner.
WellâŠ
However, it wonât be like that tonight.
I havenât forgotten how I alone had been lectured by the Guild Master, while the other two were snickering at each other, after having tricked me into going along with their stupid plan.
Well, they should know that tricks like that come with consequences!
âKukukukuâŠâ
I have one way of retaliation, and that was through food.
I wonder, what would happen if I serve meat supremacist Fer and Gon some lovely vegetable dishes. Naturally, I wonât be serving them vegetables only. I want to punish them, but still fulfil my side of the contract with them.
Now, I have been putting lots of vegetables into various meat dishes. This time, instead of meat dishes with vegetables, Iâm going to serve vegetable dishes with a bit of meat. Itâs too bad Dora-chan and Sui would also be caught up in the scheme, but they donât hate vegetables like certain individuals, so I think they should be fine.
âFer and Grandpa Gon canât complain. Not if they want to eat. Mwahahaha!â
Anyway, I have mountains of vegetables to choose from, thanks to Alban.
It doesnât take long for the cabbage to become tender.
Finally, adjust the flavour with salt and black pepper to taste.
Next, letâs tackle the main dish. The dry curry.
The ingredients should be, roughly chopped onion, carrot, eggplant and green peppers~
Yes~ yes~ more vegetables, more~~
Eh, letâs throw in a bit of minced dungeon pork and dungeon beef just for the heck of it. Naturally, to ensure the vegetableâs sweetness and integrity, first stir-fry the minced meat with grated garlic and ginger (from tube), adjusting the flavour with salt and pepper as needed.
Fry until the curry roux has melted and most of the moisture has evaporated.
âAnd itâs done~! Woah, it smells really good~â
Seriously, there is nothing in the world like the smell of curry. I canât wait to eat this with white rice! Yes, nothing like Dry Curry ladled over a bed of perfectly cooked fluffy white rice and topped with dried parsley.
âFufu, Iâm looking forward to everyoneâs reaction.â
After putting everything away in my [Item Box], I made my way to the living room where everyone was napping.
âOf course, just a little bit less than usual. I thought it would be a nice change~â
ââHmm, hmm, Aruji~~ the meat is less, but still very yummy~ââ
âOh my, Sui-tan sure knows how to eat! There are plenty of refills so eat up, eat up~â
ââIs that so? Well, I guess itâs nice to have a change sometimes,ââ said Dora-chan.
Ignoring the brooding two, I ate my first spoonful of Dry Curry with Rice. âWoah! Itâs delicious. As expected, curry and rice are the best combo. Wait, how about a [2] hot spring eggâŠâ
Now that I thought it up, I canât get rid of it in my mind.
I havenât made any soft-boiled eggs, but, I do have the trusty [Net Super]!
A quick purchase later, I bought a few dozen because I know my familiars, and I carefully cracked one egg over my curry.
I crushed the yolk into the curry, mixed it with the rice and brought a spoonful into my mouth. âUunnn~~ yum! Itâs really mellow and delicious, it makes the curry even better!â
ââAruji~ is that egg~??ââ
âOoh, Sui, do you want some too?â
Sui bounced in place, ââYes~! Yes~!ââ
ââMe too!!ââ
I cracked three eggs each for Sui and Dora-chan, crushing the yolks into the curry before returning their bowls to them.
Sui was literally shivering with pleasure.
ââOhh, the smell of eggs really brought out the flavours in the curry~ââ
Oh my, Dora-chan is becoming quite the gourmet~
âWhat. Is. The meaning. Of this.â
Fer sounded angry. Hah, do I care?
âWell, a certain someone tricked me into doing illegal stuff and while I was being lectured, they still plotted to do more stuff behind my back. Surely these certain someones deserved to have less meat for their sins?â
âGunununu,â
âNuu,â
However, these two titans of power still lowered their heads and ate their dinner obediently. They even asked for seconds. I graciously gave them eggs to go with their curry.
Right, how about a nice healthy vegetable-filled breakfast tomorrow~?
[Gumihou: I mean, this attitude is canon to this chapter, which is why I canât accept an overly excessive uwaaa, and kyaaa, Mukouda]
[1] Retouched the entire âFix Magic Stoveâ scene. In the original, Mukoudaâs part mostly happened in his head, with lots of âaccording to the proprietorâ. Even when the âproprietorâ did answer in dialogue form, it would be repeated in narrative form in his head.
In short, suuuuper tedious.
[2] A hot spring egg is different from the standard soft-boiled egg.
Hot spring eggs have firm yolks and runny whites, while standard soft-boiled eggs have firm whites and a runny centre.
A hot spring egg is placed in boiling hot water for a set amount of time, while a soft-boiled egg is boiled at a set amount of time before it is plunged into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.
How much time depends on how firm or runny you like your yolks.