“Okay, while we wait for the dough to ferment, we’re going to get the oven ready. We want it to heat slowly over a few hours until it’s nice and hot.” The knowledge came readily to Kaito’s mind. It took time not only to make the dough but also to heat the oven. Making a pizza was harder work than he’d thought. “I’ve never seen such a big oven before…” Lilia peered into the domed oven in deep interest. “What do we do first?” “We need some small- and medium-sized firewood, stuff that will light easily.” Kaito picked up some of the firewood that had been prepared for him. He put five sticks of the right size into the oven; then he lit a piece of paper on fire and put it in as well. Then he added more wood. It was important to gradually progress to bigger and bigger pieces. “Wow! It’s really burning now, isn’t it?” “Yeah, this looks good.” The two of them looked into the oven and then at each other. Kaito found Lilia was much closer to him than he’d realized, and he scrambled back. Oh man! Our noses were practically touching! Lilia turned red and looked at the floor. “Now all we have to do is wait.” No sooner had Kaito spoken than a knock came at the door. “Lord Kaito, I’ve brought lunch.” In came Fiona, the headman’s wife. She was also Lilia’s mother, and the family resemblance was obvious. Fiona looked young enough to be Lilia’s older sister. She had her long strawberry-blond hair tied in back. There was a certain calmness to her. “It’s not much, but…” She unwrapped the parcel she had brought to reveal sandwiches. They consisted of a heap of vegetables between two pieces of bread. Kaito would have given anything for a pork cutlet sandwich, but he would just have to keep quiet for now. “Thank you very much.” “If I may ask, is—is Lilia being helpful?” Fiona appeared a bit concerned. “Yes, very!” She inspired a little anxiety in him from time to time, but she had certainly done her part in making the dough. Fiona smiled happily at his response. “I’m so glad to hear it. I’ve tried to make sure she knows how to cook and sew. Truth be told, she’s not much of a seamstress, so she’s still taking lessons…” “……” Am I imagining things, or does it sound like she’s trying to sell me on a future wife? He recalled his earlier discussion with Lilia about marriage. They had kept things vague, but who knew what that meant? However, he also got the feeling any excessive questions would come back to bite him. “I know that, as her mother, I might be biased, but I think she’ll make an excellent wife for you, Hero.” “Ah…er…” As he had stood ruminating, Fiona beat him to the punch. “Please take good care of my precious daughter.” She bowed her head deeply and then quickly left the store. “Um…?” Goddesses, elf-mothers… Why won’t anyone around here listen to what I’m actually saying?! Kaito had reached out as if to stop Fiona from going, but now he let his arm fall limply back by his side. Lilia was beaming at him with a bright smile. Ergh… I can’t shake the sense that I’m being forced into a corner here. But I’ve got to deal with my stomach first. All this hard work has me at max hunger! “Bon appétit!” Kaito and Lilia dug into their sandwiches. “……” Vegetables… Tasteless, just tasteless. It’s like I’m eating grass here! Frankly, it’s totally unappetizing! Kaito worked his way through his meal uninterestedly. I’m not getting any energy from this at all. I know I was never the most conscientious eater, but at least it fueled me up. It made him appreciate afresh the importance of good food. “Hey, do you guys always eat food this bori… I mean, do you always eat vegetarian?” “That’s right. It’s the way our queen does things. She believes eating plenty of vegetables leads to a beautiful body.” “Huh… So you go out of your way to eat leafy greens?” He would never have figured it was national policy. “Not a lot of meat and fish, right?” “Mainly vegetables and fruits. We have to import most of our meat, fish, and wheat, so they’re expensive…” “I see…” The plain food definitely didn’t give the impression that this was a prosperous place. Plates full of plant life might sound idyllic and in tune with nature, but really it looked like this nation just couldn’t afford anything better. “Our country is inland, surrounded by mountains and forests, so it’s not easy to transport goods here.” “Yeah, I can see where that wouldn’t be very convenient…” Kaito reflected that it would be nice if he could help improve the trade situation at some point, and the elves’ unbalanced diet bothered him. Even though he’d only just arrived, Kaito found himself deeply concerned for his new home. About two hours later, after he had checked the state of the dough’s fermentation, Kaito looked in the oven. The bricks inside the dome-shaped construction glowed white. “Yeah, it’s at a good temperature now.” Kaito used the steel-bladed peel to clean out the interior, then wiped the utensil with a damp rag. “Okay! Our oven is good to go!” “So we can bake a pizza now?” Lilia looked at him excitedly. “Yep. We can cook it up anytime we like. All that’s left is to shape the dough, put on the toppings, and—” He stopped in midsentence when he realized they didn’t have any ingredients. He had planned on making a simple margherita pizza, but that required tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, basil leaves, and olive oil. “I-ingredients!! Toppings!!” “Is everything all right?” Lilia seemed concerned for the panicked Kaito. “Lilia, do you know what mozzarella cheese is?” “Cheese I understand, but it’s something we have to import, so it’s very expensive.” “……” Kaito stood dumbstruck as it sank in that he was completely broke. Not so much as a penny… I thought some cash was supposed to be a standard starting item! That stupid, stupid goddess…!! Maybe she forgot to give it to me? He knew he was grasping at straws, but he reached into his item pouch anyway. “Huh?” There was a rustling sound. He realized there were more cards in the pouch than there had been before. “Whoa, whoa, whoa!!” He pulled them out and found they bore the names of precisely the ingredients he needed at that moment. “Oh, thank god!!” So apparently, the system was that he got more cards as he needed them. Since the oven was ready and the dough was done fermenting, he’d been given the tools for the next step. He put a hand to his chest, deeply relieved. Kaito watched the clock, letting the dough ferment until evening. It would be time for the feast soon. He’d better get started. The pizza would only bake for around ninety seconds, but they had to form the dough and add the toppings first. “Mozzarella Cheese!! Tomatoes!!” he read aloud from the cards. “Eeeeeeek!!” Kaito stopped, surprised, when Lilia screamed. “What is it? What’s wrong?” “That’s amazing!! The cards turn into ingredients!!” That made sense. He couldn’t blame anyone for being surprised upon seeing it happen for the first time. “What’s going on? Is this magic? Can you use magic, too, Lord Kaito?” “Er, um, well, kinda…” It would be a pain to explain it, so he just sort of trailed off. Frankly, he didn’t even really understand how it worked himself. He would have to bug the goddess about it next time he saw her. Lilia gave a sigh of admiration. “That’s really incredible… Surely, only the most accomplished magic user could do such a thing. And only after many years of study at an advanced magical university…” “Wow, really?” “You have to have exceptional intelligence to be able to use magic. People who can do it usually end up serving at the palace.” “Whoa…” Of course an elf world would have magic. Lilia picked up the bag of mozzarella cheese. “What’s this?” “It’s mozzarella cheese. Wanna try a bite?” “May I?!” She took a handful of the shredded cheese and stuffed it in her mouth. Her face went red. “What a rich flavor!! I’ve never tasted anything so delicious before!!” “I’m glad you like it.” “It’s truly incredible!” Lilia grabbed more of the cheese, putting it in her mouth so fast her hand became a blur. Munch, munch, munch, munch. “U-um, that’s enough, now! We need that! I said a bite!!” Lilia was already up to about twenty. “Oh, I’m sorry… It just made me feel so energized!” Nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom, nom. Smiling broadly, Lilia continued shoving cheese into her face. Her hand dipped in and out of the bag, showing no sign of slowing down. “No, you’ve got to stop! We’ll run out of cheese!” “Oh! I’m so sorry!” When Lilia finally regained control of herself, about a third of the cheese was gone. “I-I’m very sorry…” She looked down dejectedly. “……” For a while now, Kaito had been unable to shake the feeling that Lilia reminded him of something, and now he knew what. She was just like a pet dog he used to have: plenty of appetite and suitably ashamed when scolded for getting into food it shouldn’t have. “Wait till later! When the pizza’s done cooking, you can have as much as you like, okay?” “Okay…” Lilia sounded repentant, but he couldn’t help noticing how her eyes kept flitting back to the ingredients. She has a serious appetite for someone so small… He took half the cheese and put it in a bowl with a strainer inside. He intended to wash it but couldn’t concentrate for fear of what Lilia might be doing. “Say, Lilia…” “Yes!” Lilia looked at him, her beautiful, emerald-like eyes shining. “I’ve got a job for you.” “Anything!” “To enjoy making pizza, you need a rhythm. Slap the countertop with the peels—gently, okay? Hold one in each hand.” He passed her the wooden and metal peels. “Okay!” Lilia began smacking them to a beat. Good, both her hands are full! Now I can concentrate! He opened the canned tomatoes and put them in the bowl. The bright-red color made them look delicious. “Hey, what’s that?” “I’m making tomato sauce.” “…It looks great.” Drool. “Calm down, Lilia! Keep your hands moving!” “Right!” She hurriedly went back to clapping the peels against the counter. Kaito added a bit of salt and began mashing the tomatoes with his fingers. “It’s important not to smoosh the tomatoes so much that they get completely smooth. Leaving them a little chunky adds to the tactile experience.” Drool. “……” It was like having a monster with an empty stomach right next to him. Kaito nervously continued working on the pizza. “Okay, time to shape the dough.” Kaito dusted the dough with flour, getting rid of the excess white powder. This was where he would really get to show off his skills. That might sound strange coming from someone who had never made a pizza before, but thanks to the skill card, he was as confident as a lifelong chef. “You use four fingers on each hand, excluding your thumb, to stretch the dough. Use the pads of your fingers.” He pulled the dough from the center out toward the edge. It was tricky ensuring it was stretched evenly, but with Kaito’s newfound abilities, he didn’t have any problems. “You want to leave about a centimeter along the edge untouched. That allows the gases in the dough to move to the end.” He flipped it around, changed the angle slightly, and continued stretching it. He progressed steadily, stretch, stretch, stretch. “Make it round, make it round, nice and even.” “Make it round, make it round, nice and even.” Lilia mimicked Kaito’s tone. Suddenly realizing he was practically humming, he quickly closed his mouth. He started by making four round discs of dough. “Done! Now for the toppings.” He put plenty of tomato sauce in the center of each disc, running a spoon along it in a spiral to spread it. The trick was to deliberately introduce some inconsistencies so it wasn’t too smooth. And of course, he left one centimeter from the edge bare. Next, he took the mozzarella cheese, sliced it into two- or three-millimeter pieces, and added it to the pizzas, taking care that it didn’t clump anywhere. “And now the basil… Oh.” He didn’t have a basil card. “That’s no good. Lilia, do you know what basil is?” “No, sir!” “Didn’t think so. Do you have any leafy herbs?” “The garden is full of edible plants…” Kaito had her escort him there immediately. “Hmm…” Kaito glanced around the garden. “This! This looks just like basil!” He chose one of the flavorless leaves he’d been served at the feast the night before. Kaito had never had any sort of green thumb in the past, but thanks to his skill card, he now knew just which plant he needed. “Oh, that’s parjee. It has a wonderful smell.” “Parjee…!!” Kaito gently picked a leaf and held it to his nose. “You’re right—it smells fantastic!! It’s a lot like basil!” He immediately pulled off several parjee leaves and put them on the pizzas. Not only did they smell wonderful, but they added a rich green color to the food. “Aroma and freshness are the most important things, so we leave these for last.” Finally, he added a dash of olive oil in a spiral pattern, and the pizzas were ready. “They look SOOOO GOOOOD…!” Excited, Lilia leaned in to take a close look at the food. Kaito, sensing danger, quickly moved them away from her. “Now all we have to do is bake them. Calm down, Lilia! Give me one of the peels.” She passed him the wood-bladed one, and he dusted it with flour. He put the pizza on the peel and added some finishing touches to the shape. Then, he ever so carefully put the concoction in the oven. He would be baking four pizzas at once, so he started with the spot farthest from the fire and worked his way over. This being his first attempt, he was a little nervous, but he knew all the right steps. After about thirty seconds, the dough started rising, so he lifted the edge with a peel specifically for turning pizzas and made sure everything was getting enough heat. “All right!” It was browning up nicely, so he turned it 180 degrees so the other side could cook, too. He did the same for the other three pizzas. All of them were coming out just right. It was surprisingly physical labor, and looking into the oven made him hot. The sight of the well-cooked pizzas was exciting, though. A delicious scent tickled his nose, and he could hear his own stomach rumbling. “They’re done!” Kaito pulled the freshly baked pies out of the oven and set them on the countertop. They were burned here and there, just like they should be, and the crust had puffed up perfectly. The cheese was thick and melted, while the parjee had settled nicely into the tomato sauce. The delightful contrast between red and white and green definitely sharpened the appetite. Just looking at it was enough to make his mouth water. Yes: These pizzas looked very, very good. Kaito sliced them with a pizza cutter. “Lilia, give it a taste test.” “…May I?” She looked at him doubtfully, like a dog that had been told to sit and stay for too long. “Sure! You helped make it; you ought to get the first bite.” “Thank you!” Lilia gently picked up a slice. “Ow, ow, ow, ow!!” “Careful. It’s hot.” Lilia blew on the pizza to cool it down. Despite being sensitive to the heat, she brought the slice to her mouth. The moment of truth. Will my pizza really be suited to the elves’ taste? Kaito watched Lilia’s reaction with no small amount of trepidation. “Wooooooow! It’s so soft and chewy and rich and gooey!!” Kaito jumped at Lilia’s ecstatic exclamation. Her face melted much the way the cheese had. “Fwaaa… It’s sooo…delicious…” He knew she was telling the truth when the slice disappeared only seconds later. “Thanks! But there’s some cheese hanging from your mouth…” “Amazing… I’ve never eaten anything so delicious in my entire life. It smells wonderful, and it’s thick and juicy and satisfying…” Lilia was completely enraptured. Kaito was relieved and excited at the same time. Excellent! I’m gonna have them eat even more delicious food!
Chapter 4
14 min read