“Sensei and Henrik, you both have quite a bit of experience with the cuisine in the Kingdom’s Capital, so I really wanted you to try this today. If this were put on the menu at a dining hall in the capital, do you think it would catch on?”
“Hmm… I think it would do just fine.”
“I don’t recall any dishes using this kind of breading before. I think people would find it refreshing and new.”
“I’m glad to hear that. In that case, I wanted to discuss with Henrik about possibly selling this dish in the capital and other regions in the future.”
“I see, that’s definitely worth considering.”
“Um, um—”
Bettina, her cheeks a little flushed, raised her hand.
“This might be a bit impolite, but if it cools down a little, I think kids could hold it in their hands and have it as a snack.”
“Oh?” For once, Henrik’s eyes widened with excitement.
“I see. From that angle, there may be more ways to market it.”
“What do you mean?”
“Not just as a restaurant menu item, but perhaps we could sell it as a takeaway snack. As for House Berushuman, we don’t have many connections to food-related shops in the capital right now. Rather than building those ties, it might be easier to sell it as a snack through small retailers, with fewer hurdles to getting started.”
“In that case, perhaps we could also try selling it at food stalls, which are quite common in the capital.”
Henrik’s suggestion prompted Vessel-sensei to add his own opinion.
At that moment, Lansel spoke hesitantly, “This dish uses mostly local specialty ingredients, so they’re easy to get, but as the one making it, I can’t help but feel it’s a bit wasteful to use so much salt and oil, since those are expensive.”
“Salt and oil, you say?” Henrik put a hand to his chin.
“We might be able to manage with the salt, but it looks like the oil is used in large quantities, so we’ll need to think about that.”
“Still, if the experiment we’re conducting now succeeds, we’ll have a stable way to use Goroimo in large amounts. That might offset some of those concerns.”
Prompted by Sensei’s words, we decided to check on the Wild Rabbit from earlier.
As expected, when we returned to the dining hall, the Wild Rabbit that had eaten the sprout portion was motionless.
The other rabbit, meanwhile, was still happily hopping about.
“Wolf-sama’s guess was right, then.”
“In other words, as long as you peel the Goroimo and remove the sprout, the rest is safe to eat. Lansel, if that’s the case, how much more could we use compared to now?”
“Well, roughly… it means we could use about ten times as much as before.”
“That’s almost hard to believe,” Henrik nodded.
“With just this, we could easily solve the food shortage in the territory. If there were buyers, I’d almost want to sell Goroimo outside as well.”
“So, I wanted to ask… Would it be possible to publicize the results of this experiment, say in a paper or something?”
My brother looked at Sensei as he asked.
Sensei, addressed directly, crossed his arms and let out a thoughtful “hmm.”
“Writing a paper is possible; the Central University is always looking for such research. But Goroimo has never really caught the interest of the public, so I can’t say how widely it would spread.”
“If the timing of the paper matches the rising popularity of these croquettes, might it not catch on more? I know it’s a convenient hope.”
“I see. So you want to synchronize the academic initiative and the commercial effort. Is that why you invited Henrik and me to today’s experiment?”
“Exactly.”
With a shrug and a smile, my brother was met by a reassuring pat on the back from Sensei.
“I was just thinking it was about time to present the results of my local customs research here, too. This could be an interesting subject.”
“Looks like, for the second day in a row, I’ll have to send a carrier pigeon to the master. I can already picture him spinning in surprise at all this shocking news.”
I recently learned that the emergency communication between here and the Kingdom’s Capital is carried out by carrier pigeons.
Incidentally, the letters are written on thinly stretched tree bark.
Paper made from animal skins is outrageously expensive.
While we were on the topic, Henrik reported to my brother that a reply had just arrived from Father, giving permission to investigate the Salt Lake from yesterday.
However, this was still not something he could share in detail with Vessel-sensei, so he kept it vague.
Even so, Sensei seemed to realize it was a private matter and, as if not to intrude, turned his gaze toward Lansel, who was back to work in the kitchen.
Before long, “Hm? What’s that?”
Something seemed to have caught his eye, and saying, “Excuse me,” he peeked beside the cook.
“Isn’t this sesame?”
“What’s sesame?” Bettina, curious, walked over as well.
Looking down from her arms, she could see that the small bowl Sensei was peering into was filled with quite a few tiny black seeds.
“Don’t you know? Well, I suppose it’s not that well known. It’s a specialty product of the western neighbor Dansk and a rare luxury item here. It’s rarely eaten on its own, but is used to give foods a distinctive flavor—apparently it’s quite a high-class ingredient. I wouldn’t expect to find something like this here—mind if I take a closer look?”
Sensei asked Lansel’s permission and brought his nose near the bowl.
Oh, I remembered—those are the seeds of the Tsubukusa I picked the other day.
“I’ve only seen it once, but the scent is faintly similar. Still, I’ve heard the aroma only really comes out when they’re crushed—”
“Try crushing some. Lansel, do we have a stick or something for that?”
With a determined air, my brother stepped forward.
Lansel scooped a small amount onto a dish and brought over what looked like a wooden pestle for the job.
“In that case, it’s best to roast it a little first.”
“Understood.”
Following Sensei’s instructions, Lansel moved quickly.
When the crushed, roasted seeds were checked, my brother murmured, “Heh.”
Even from a little distance, you could catch the scent.
Sensei took the dish to his face again.
“Ah, I think this must be it. But if that’s so, why is sesame here? Did you gather it nearby?”
“There’s a lot growing near the forest.”
“Huh?”
My brother, perhaps not thinking to hide it, answered honestly.
Sensei gaped in astonishment.
Henrik, who had come closer, wore a puzzled look as well.
“Is that really true? That such a luxury ingredient can be gathered in abundance?”
“If Sensei says it’s probably correct, and it really does have a lovely aroma, I’d say it deserves to be called a delicacy.”
After sniffing the dish from Sensei, my brother handed it to the butler.
It was then passed along to Lansel, then Bettina, and finally, I got to smell it too.
“The aroma does seem like it could be called a rare delicacy,” Henrik nodded.
“But for something that grows so abundantly here to be considered rare and valuable… I can’t quite accept it. Usually, things are precious because they’re hard to harvest or cultivate. If these seeds really are sesame, maybe what we see here isn’t the same as what’s considered valuable. Perhaps what we see in abundance is a lookalike, and only a portion is actually sesame.”
“That’s something we’ll have to investigate again—”
My brother replied thoughtfully, recalling the circumstances when we collected the Tsubukusa.
“But even Dimo says it’s the same species. Besides, we didn’t pick them selectively; we just pulled up two plants at random.”
“In that case, it’s unlikely to be a mistake. There’s something else to consider, though: all we know is that sesame is famous in Dansk, but no one here knows how much is produced or what it’s like over there. The pricing may not reflect actual production, but might simply be whatever price they choose to ask.”
At Vessel-sensei’s explanation, my brother and Henrik exchanged surprised glances.
“Is that so?”
“One other thing: while there’s a mountain in between, we are neighbors to Dansk, and the climate is quite similar. It wouldn’t be strange if some seeds were carried here by the wind and took root.”
“I see.”
“So, the possibility that Dansk’s famous crops are quietly growing wild here isn’t something we can rule out.”
“I see,” Henrik nodded, once, twice, three times.
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