Chapter 561 – The Start of the Fermentation Experiment

“My, this is another large haul.”

I brought the materials to the Adventurer Guild for appraisal. Seeing the delivered materials, Heather smiled. Well, this much was business as usual, so Heather seemed quite accustomed to it, or rather, she appeared to be in relatively good spirits.

“We encountered a rather large group of monsters, you see.”

“Well… normally that would be a situation where one would retreat. The materials Theodore-san and the others bring in tend to have very little damage, which we are grateful for.”

Hmm. Probably because individual battles don’t drag on too much. If you inflict damage bit by bit, things like pelts might end up more damaged than necessary.

Anyway, this time there weren’t any large Magic Stones or particularly valuable materials, so we took only the necessary amount of Cannon Beans for the bean cannonballs needed for the experiment, along with food like meat and mushrooms, and opted to sell the other materials.

So, while waiting for the appraisal of the delivered materials to finish, I was looking at the request sheets posted on the Guild’s bulletin board when the members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order arrived, bringing supplies into the Guild.

Mercedes seemed to be directing the personnel, but the expressions of the Order members looked relaxed. I could see other personnel outside the window as well. They seemed to be carrying out folded tents and other luggage, loading them onto carriages… Hmm.

“Theodore-sama. And everyone else as well.”

Mercedes noticed us and gave a quiet bow.

“Good afternoon, Dame Mercedia. I take it you are withdrawing from the Labyrinth?”

“That’s right. We’ve folded up the encampment, and the withdrawal from the Labyrinth is complete.”

Mercedes smiled. Hmm. So they completed the withdrawal without any major issues.

“In that case, you’ll be on leave starting tomorrow, I assume?”

That’s why the members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order were relaxed, or rather, seemed a bit elated. The training in the Glacial Forest was probably quite harsh, after all.

“Yes. There are still a few minor tasks remaining, though.”

In Mercedes’s case, selling materials to the Guild probably counted as one of those.

“I see. Well, it’s wonderful that the training was completed safely.”

“Thank you.”

While exchanging words with Mercedes like that, Elliot, Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana, along with Corulis and Flamia, and the main members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order including Weltes and Eckels, appeared in the square outside the window.

Corulis twitched its nose and looked this way. Through the window, my eyes met Corulis’s.

It waved, so I waved back lightly. Then, Corulis gently pinched the sleeve of the Princess Stephania standing next to it with the tip of its claw, informing its master about me.

Princess Stephania seemed to notice me because of that. When our eyes met through the window, she smiled.

Together with everyone, I went out from the Guild into the square to greet them. Auria also came out to say hello, given the company present outside.

Listening to their story, it seemed that right at the very end of the withdrawal, a small group of monsters attacked, and Elliot along with a few others acted as the rear guard to prevent them from getting close to the stone monument.

Well, we hadn’t been contacted about it, and from what I heard, even though it was called an attack, it was sporadic and seemed to be on a manageable scale.

“Are you injured? If necessary, I can use Healing Magic,” Ashley said.

Elliot narrowed his eyes gently.

“Thank you, Ashley. We had set up position near the stone monument and withdrew in a planned manner, so no one, including myself, sustained any major injuries.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Elliot returned a smile to Ashley, then turned back towards me.

“I’m glad you are all safe and sound.”

“Thank you. This means we can report to His Majesty with our heads held high.”

Indeed. With the Labyrinth confinement training and a smooth withdrawal with minimal losses, as the Commander in charge of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order, he could consider it a sufficient achievement.

“That’s right. It seems you still have tasks remaining, and it might not be the best time for a long conversation… but since the training ended safely, I’d like to celebrate it as well.”

“That is… thank you. Then, after I finish reporting to His Majesty Melvin, I will visit you later to pay my respects.”

“Understood. Then, later.”

Replying thus, Elliot smiled and nodded, then returned to work, giving various detailed instructions to the members of the Demon-Slaying Knight Order and receiving reports.

“Are you all heading to the Labyrinth too?” Princess Stephania inquired.

“Yes. We went to the Phantom Mist Valley to search for materials for a fermentation magic experiment.”

“Ah. The magic from the Sorcery book you were reading in the workshop yesterday.”

“That’s right. We have the materials and necessary Magic Tools gathered now, so we plan to start the work right after this.”

“Hmm. Fermentation, you say? Like cheese or yogurt?”

“I’m not sure how it will turn out yet… but we’re going to try using Halvaronis mold,” I replied to Auria.

Princess Stephania and the others nodded with interest, but well. This amounts to fermented food development, but I wonder if the three of them are actually interested?

“Um. If you’re interested, would you like to come and see?”

“That sounds interesting. But being allowed to watch a magic experiment is something you rarely get to do normally, is it really alright?” Princess Adriana asked, her eyes widening slightly.

Well, this kind of reaction might stem from the premise that Magicians usually keep their research secret.

“Ah, well. This is more like a hobby, and the Spell Formula is written in a book anyway. The only thing that might be novel is the materials we’re using.”Besides, they don’t seem like the type to steal research results.” It’s more like coming to watch someone make miso or soy sauce, and for me, it’s not a secret experiment either. In response to my proposal, the three of them happily nodded, as if saying, if that’s the case.

Princess Stephania and Princess Adriana said they would first head to the Royal Castle to inform King Melvin that they’ve returned from the Labyrinth, and then come here.

Auria too… apparently she had finished dealing with the paperwork that piled up while she was away in Grantios, and seems to have returned to her normal duties now, so she decided to head home with us.

There are preliminary tasks like soaking the beans and creating a basement for fermentation… so I figured we’d work on those before Elliot comes to visit.

Personally, I’m thinking of making two types: miso and soy sauce using magic in the process, and ones relying on natural fermentation with as little magic as possible, and then comparing the tastes. Well, we’ll see how it goes.

As for the process of making miso and soy sauce… I have it in my head, at least.

Of course, it’s Kagehisa’s memories. In elementary school, we had an extracurricular class where we tried making miso and soy sauce… Well, it’s hardly professional artisan skill or knowledge, but there is a phrase like “handmade miso,” so it should work out somehow. Probably.

The biggest issue, the koji mold, we’ve managed to obtain.

So, after returning home, we immediately got to work.

“Is there anything I can help with?” Grace asked.

“Hmm. Let’s see. Could you fill the barrels we prepared with water? I need to first create a new basement and install the Magic Tools there.”

“Understood. Then, once the barrels are ready, I’ll organize and store the monster materials we gathered today.”

“Mm. Thanks.”

So, I went around to the back of the house and, together with Seraphina, started digging out the basement. We solidified the walls, petrified them, turned the soil into Golems to carry it outside, and expanded it to a suitable size.

We laid water pipes, created a sink, and set up an environment where it could drain by connecting it to the sewer.

We prepared a workspace with facilities like a hearth, air vents for ventilation, almost like a kitchen, and built another room next to it. This one is for storage and for conducting the fermentation work.

We formed shelves for storage space in the storage room. Created the fermentation room and installed the climate-control Magic Tool. Adjusting the Magic Tool… that will be later, with Forset.

By now, I’m quite accustomed to this kind of basement construction work, having done various ones before. Finally, we formed doors and hinges from the wood and metal we had prepared, and installed them for each room.

“Theodore.”

Rosemary peeked her face in at the doorway. Lasnote and Floria seemed to be with her. Both of them looked very interested in the fermentation magic experiment.

“I’ve stored the meat. The barrels are ready too, but how is the progress?”

“Thank you. You can bring them over here now.”

“Alright.”

Rosemary nodded and returned to the others with Lasnote and the rest. Well. Finally, it seems the preparations are complete.

Since the Cannon Beans are quite large, it might be better to break them up a bit before soaking them in water. Normally, just soaking them would take a whole day, but… we can use Water Magic and Wood Magic to speed up the permeation, so we should be able to proceed without issue up to the point of softening, boiling, and mashing them.

Well, it seems best to proceed while conducting comparative experiments, keeping some reserves as well.