Chapter 357
Convenient Tools
The day after we made Daif.u.ku, I decided to go to Grandpa Sol’s magic tool shop to have a kneader made before I forgot.
“”h.e.l.lo~””
“Oh! You came~”
As we entered the building, which still looked like a rundown haunted house, we were greeted by Grandpa Sol, the owner of the store.
“h.e.l.lo. Long time no see.”
“I heard you were leaving the Capital, but I didn’t know you returned~”
“Yes, we have some business to attend to here. Ah, this is a souvenir for you.”
“Oh, thanks.”
I gave him some Daif.u.ku we made yesterday as a souvenir.
“Ah, it’s not a souvenir from our previous desination, it’s just something sweet we made.”
“Hooh~ sweet, huh. Can I taste it right away?”
“Of course, it’s called Daif.u.ku, it was made from Red Wheat and Red Beans. Ah, it’s quite springy in texture, so be careful not to choke on it.”
“This is my first time eating Red Wheat.”
Grandpa Sol picked up the Daif.u.ku with a curious look on his face and bit into it.
“Ohh, it really is chewy~ but also very yummy.”
“”Really?””
“Allen also made this.”
“Elena also did her best.”
“Is that so? That is incredible.”
Daif.u.ku seemed to suit Grandpa Sol’s palate.
“Is this chewy texture coming from the Red Wheat? I see, I see. So you want a magic tool made to help you crush Red Wheat into this chewy texture… something like that?”
“……”
“Am I wrong?”
“… You understand me too well.”
Grandpa Sol guessed exactly what kind of magic tool I was going to ask him for.
“Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh. Looks like I got it right.”
“”Ojiichan, amazing!””
“Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh.”
“You really guessed it right.”
“I’ve never seen Red Wheat in the flesh, but I take it from the name that it’ should be grains just like White Wheat?”
“That’s correct.”
He really knows what he’s talking about.
“How about it? Can you do it?”
“Let’s see~ I could do something like a hammer that moves at regular internvals, but then… it could only crush in one place.”
“Indeed.”
Worst-case scenario, I could have just the hammer part made, and do the rest myself, but…—
“N~ Let’s see~ Would it be possible if there was a mechanism for the action of s.h.i.+fting the Red Wheat, even just a little bit, at the bottom of the vessel?”
“Fumu. I see, so it’s enough for the contents to be s.h.i.+fted around a little.”
“Yes, the hammer doesn’t have to reach all the way to the bottom, so I suppose it could be rigged up at the bottom… I wonder if that would be possible?”
It doesn’t have to be mixing constantly, as long as there is an occasional hand-like motion.
“That should be fine. I will give it a try.”
“Please!”
“Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh. Leave it to me.”
“”Ojiichan, please do your best~!””
Good. He said he would give it a try.
I asked Grandpa Sol to make it for me, and the kids followed suit.
“Oh, and excuse me, could you make a magic tool that gradually cools and freezes a liquid while stirring it?”
“”For ice cream!””
“Yes, that’s right.”
Next, I asked for an ice cream maker.
It occurred to me that if I could freeze a liquid while stirring it, I could make it. I wanted making ice cream to be easier.
“Hmm, I don’t know what ice cream is, but I can do it.”
“Really? Then, I would like that made, too. Ah, by the way, ice cream is kind of like shaved ice made with milk.”
“Hoh~ shaved ice, huh. I’d like to try that.”
“If you want, I can prepare it for you, but it’s a little cold today, so it’s not suitable today, you know?”
“What~ I will just make the room warmer. By all means, please let me try it.”
“Allen will eat too~”
“Elena as well~!”
“Roger that. How about… milk and choco-ichi today?”
“”Sounds good!””
I also like the idea of eating ice cream in a warm room.
“Here you go.”
“”Yay!””
“Oh, thanks.”
As the four of us started eating ice cream, for some reason, I was reminded of the kotatsu.
I don’t absolutely need a kotatsu, but sometimes I miss it. Maybe I should have this one made, too.
“Ohh, this is also tasty! I would love for Stefan to sell this at his place, too.”
“Ah, come to think of it, we were talking about selling the shaved ice, didn’t we? How is that going?”
I asked Grandpa Sol, remembering that shaved ice was sold by the Fiji Company, of which I am a frequent customer, and that Stefan-san, the chairman of the Fiji Company, had taken the lead in selling it.
“What, you haven’t showed your face at Stefan’s yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Stefan is going to cry.”
“Eh?”
“He once rushed over to me to tell me that he had received a special order from the castle for a shaved ice machine.”
“Ah~…”
I remember that when I went to Creta, I gave shaved ice to Austin-sama, and the princes of Creta, Rain-sama and Cloud-sama, and they liked it so much that they told me that they were going to get the shaved ice machine’s magic tool.
“It seems that you have an idea. If you have contacted him beforehand, Stefan would not have been in such a panic.”
“Uwah~ I did something bad~ I will visit him later.”
“That would be for the best. I’m sure he has a lot of other matters he wants to report directly to you.”
“Eh!?”
Was there anything else unrelated to the shaved ice? Curry powder or Easy Salt Series?
Oh, come to think of it, I need to go get a deposit slip from the Merchant Guild as well~
“… I can’t run away, can I~”
“Nope.”
“”Oniichan, do your best!””
“… Yes~”
What a melancholy~ I thought, but the kids cheered me on.
“Fuoh, fuoh, fuoh. You are going to have to do your best.”
“Indeed.”
After this, while enjoying their ice cream, the children told Grandpa Sol about the magic tool shop in the city of Byld in the country of Serdik, and other things that had happened on our trip.
“Well, I will leave things to you then.”
He said that the prototype would be ready in about five days, so we promised to come back around that time and then left the store. Oh, and of course, I didn’t forget to ask him about the kotatsu.