Chapter 24
Pet’s Doubt and Attainment
To taste the tofu he had made, Kazuya sliced off from the top of the deep slab, and ate it. “Although the saltiness is not unpleasant… Un.”
“Ho-How is it? Kazuya?”
“There’s a strong unappealing taste to it.”
In the future, I need to control the salt more, to ensure it solidifies it with as little amount of salt water possible.
In addition, how do I describe… it tastes weak, or there is little umami to taste. Honestly, it doesn’t taste good as cold tofu.
“Let’s see… ngmu. What is this texture?!” After taking a bite of the tofu, Izuna’s hair stood on end. “This is great! Such softness, such *boro boro* bounciness. I cannot believe that this is originally soybeans!”
“Well, I guess texture wise, it is great.”
“….You are unsatisfied? Is it normally tasty? It’s easy to eat compared to soy milk!” Izuna exclaims about the long awaited tofu.
‘I would like the taste to be desirable, more than just edible.’ Kazuya though, as he rummaged through the ingredients in the freezer.
He found the dragon steak that was placed inside several days back. “… Finally, let’s try using this.”
“You are going to use that? Does it go well with tofu?”
“No, not like that, I am going to cook them together.”
“Eh? Even though it’s already cooked?”
“But, what I want is not the meat.”
“?”
“Just look”, as Kazuya placed the steak in a shallow pot to cook. Doing this, the meat fell apart and juices flowed from it. It puddled deep enough in the pot to have a rich color. For some reason, dragon meat easily made excellent dashi (soup stock).
“This is great. This will certainly add to the umami flavor.”
He took a ladle and creamed the tofu with the dashi. It was drenched in rich juices that looked like chicken dashi. A thin sheen of oil could be seen on top, making the tofu sparkle.
“Saa, Try eating it.”
“Ano… Kazuya, what is this?”
“Dashi Tofu.”
“Dashi?”
“It is a tofu that is packed with umami. If you eat it, you will understand it.”
“U-Understood. Itadakuyo.”
So Izuna timidly placed the dashi tofu into her mouth, and after a few seconds replied, “…. It’s so delicious.”
Izuna’s face went *funya*
It appears this round was a success.
“It’s really delicious, Kazuya! What is this cuisine. The taste is really deep?! Even though you didn’t use much salt, how …?!”
“It’s the dashi.”
Seems like the cuisine of this world has a dim view towards dashi.
Or perhaps I should say that the cuisine in this world has a strong salty taste. No matter what is it, they use plenty of salt sprinkled on top. With that, it is tasty, but terrible for your health. Furthermore, these hard to eat beans can be made into something delicious. In this world, the raw ingredients for soy milk are eaten as food. Soy beans are bitter, even more bitter than bitter melon. Additionally, raw, it is as hard as a rock. Eating it is certainly difficult that way.
“If it’s made this way, it’s low in calories. In addition, the nutritional value is high. So, i believe it’ll improve your const.i.tution.”
“Is that really true?! If I eat such delicious food, I will become healthier?”
“Only if you follow my advice.”
“I see! Thank you, Kazuya!”
Izuna was smiling from ear to ea
r.
I felt a little embarra.s.sed, after seeing her so happy.
“Ufufu. More so, I am really happy that you are my pet. If we sell this, we will be overwhelmed by the other kings. Even the gourmet king would take notice.”
“Hmm? Is it really true that the gourmet king does not make tofu?”
“Ahh, he makes soy milk though.”
I see. So he makes soy bean milk.
“However, since he had made things like soy milk, he still had not discovered tofu… ”
It must be that the Gourmet King also does some trial and error.
“At the time soy milk was developed by the gourmet king faction, they decided it was a final and complete product. ―― In the royal capital, many items are being developed all the time. Things such as new materials, every day a new product, every year 365 new ones are being invented. In order to stave off boredom, the kings work diligently.”
“So, Tofu was not yet created? What a strange explanation.”
“The direction of enthusiasm is different in each kingdom.”
Kazuya felt something was odd about the way Izuna was speaking. Almost as if he had a warped or disturbed paradigm.
…. What’s that, huh.
The situation present pertains to discovering, or not, tofu. But it seems that’s not the root of the issue. It feels like the kings fear the pursuit of novel things.
If that’s the case.. As I just finish thinking about it, Izuna abruptly raised her voice.
“You won’t sell this tofu? Sekibane would definitely guarantee some shelf s.p.a.ce to sell it.”
“We’re suddenly proceeding into the direction of business?”
“Iya, Isn’t this a good chance to earn huge amount of money? My business sense is telling me.”
“You’re not the Merchant King are you…”
I receive money from Izuna, so I’m not concerned with money matters.
To begin with, I would be unable to produce tofu in large quant.i.ties. Therefore: “I still want to do various experiments. I’m not yet interested in talking about selling it. If you do want to discuss selling it, procuring ingredients must also be considered as well.”
“Understood. This will be our secret for a while.. It’s a bit wasteful but since it’s secret, it can’t be helped!”
I will be saved if you do. Since its an item that every household will want.
“However, if you wish to sell it in the future, regardless, then I will leave it to you. Since Izuna knows best about this world’s matters.”
“Understood. Although we will keep it a secret for awhile, if there is a chance, it can be used as a diet food, I can sell it to the beauty king……!!”
I suspect that this is the first time i’ve seen Izuna in full business mode. Yeah, this queen is only good at doing her job.
“If we sell this, I name it 『Other world Tofu』” The reason being, I came from another world, and made it myself. Additionally, it’s a part of another world’s culture, and there is no tofu here.
“That’s not bad. But, I plan to add more flair to it, so Kazuya’s Tofu is also fine as well.”
“Please don’t bother.” It’s embarra.s.sing and I want to be a hikkikomori.
“….Okay, let’s leave the finer details for later. Before this gets cold, let’s eat the Dashi Tofu.”
“Umu, Let’s do so.”
With that, both Izuna and Kazuya picked at the dish of tofu.
Thus, the turmoil that comes with the『Other world Tofu』looms.
―― Or so it seemed.
Neither Izuna, nor Kazuya noticed. The instant they ate the tofu, Kazuya’s collar glinted with a small sparkle. No, more specifically, the engraved words on the back of the choker… now it has the following 2 sentences written:
「Achievement ―― Attainment of the unknown in the Mixed Kingdom」
「Acquisition――the escape of the unknown(Skill slot unlocked)――」
No one seems to know what those sentences mean.
There are several conditions to obtain the unknown. At this time, however, he had obtained the Unknown.
There is still no one who knows about the sentences.
The conditions of attainment of the unknown are several. However, this time, it is a fact that he had attained the unknown. The uncomfortable feeling being held in this kingdom, seems like it will take a while before it is realized.