Chapter 468 Lots of Vegetables

Gumihou: Many nostalgic deletes here~

“Haaahhh…”

I returned home with my shoulders drooping.

My magic stove, which I had hoped could be fixed was…well…

[1]

“Hmm, if you really wish to have it fixed, it’s not impossible. But it would cost you a lot in terms of time and money,” said the proprietor of magic tools.

“Money is no issue,” I said immediately. I practically have money oozing out of my ears thanks to my familiars.

“If that’s the case… hmm, the physical casing of the stove would have to be fixed first. Parts of it would have to be replaced. This section here, where the magic lines run over must be sanded away and rewritten, or recarved rather. Then, an expert had to check it… from the state that it’s in… I expect that it would take at least a year. Look here, this part is completely smashed through…”

I was no longer listening, “A- a year?!”

“Indeed, that’s not taking into account materials that may have to be sourced… dear customer, while it is not impossible to fix this, my advice is to just get a new one,” the proprietor said matter-of-factly.

“Hahhh…” I sighed. “I guess I have no choice, would you happen to carry one?”

“Ahem, if you want a magic stove with a similar level of performance, I’m afraid my humble store does not carry any,” the proprietor patted the broken bit of the stove gently. “This is something that could only be found in a n.o.bleman’s mansion or a high-end restaurant. In other words, only large cities would have shops that carry these.”

“I bought this one in Doran,” I said.

“Ah, a dungeon city with a fairly high merchant population,” the proprietor nodded.

“So… I have to go to Doran?” I am… not looking forward to it. After all, a certain bane of dragon’s existence is there…

“Well, the Royal Capital should have a couple of stores that carry these too,” said the proprietor. “Lots of aristocrats there looking to outdo each other on the latest magic tool product.”

“But, if it’s the Royal Capital…” if I ever set foot into that place, I would most likely be summoned to the Royal Palace.

That would be seriously troublesome.

Ugghhh…

Elland-san vs A Bunch of Annoying n.o.bles.

… I can’t tell which is worse…

“Is there anywhere else I can buy this stove?” I asked a little desperately.

“Well, if it’s within the country, perhaps the City of Ronkainen, or Avering, the other dungeon city. Otherwise, you might have to go abroad.”

“Ronkainen?” I have never heard of this place before.

“It is close to the Republic of Quin, I think the city is formed through trade, so the chances of it having this kind of stove is fairly high, but…”

“…but?”

“Well, you know how those small countries are. Even though they call themselves a Republic, they still launch skirmishes at each other. So, Ronkainen is said to be… unsafe.”

“I see…”

Well, when it comes to safety, I have my familiars with me. So that’s not a problem. Right now, I have three choices, Doran, Royal Capital or Ronkainen. The proprietor did mention Avering, but I don’t recall seeing something like a large magic stove there, so…

Ah well, I still have the magic stove in the kitchen, there’s really no need to rush. Let’s decide after consulting everyone.

[1]

With that in mind, I returned home.

“Kukuku, it’s time to make dinner~”

Everyone, especially Fer and Grandpa Gon must be expecting meat for dinner.

Well…

However, it won’t be like that tonight.

I haven’t forgotten how I alone had been lectured by the Guild Master, while the other two were snickering at each other, after having tricked me into going along with their stupid plan.

Well, they should know that tricks like that come with consequences!

“Kukukuku…”

I have one way of retaliation, and that was through food.

I wonder, what would happen if I serve meat supremacist Fer and Gon some lovely vegetable dishes. Naturally, I won’t be serving them vegetables only. I want to punish them, but still fulfil my side of the contract with them.

Now, I have been putting lots of vegetables into various meat dishes. This time, instead of meat dishes with vegetables, I’m going to serve vegetable dishes with a bit of meat. It’s too bad Dora-chan and Sui would also be caught up in the scheme, but they don’t hate vegetables like certain individuals, so I think they should be fine.

“Fer and Grandpa Gon can’t complain. Not if they want to eat. Mwahahaha!”

Anyway, I have mountains of vegetables to choose from, thanks to Alban.

“Fufufu, I’ve been craving curry for a while now. Hmm, let’s make some dry curry with plenty of veggies, and a consommé soup, also with lots of veggies. Hmm, I guess I could add a little meat here and there.”

Menu decided, I booted up [Net Super]. I’ll have to get a few boxes of curry roux, maybe some wieners…

Once the shopping was done, it was time to cook.

First, I prepare the ingredients for the consommé soup.

Roughly chop up a couple of whole cabbages, peel and cut a few potatoes and carrots into bite-size pieces, thinly slice the onions… I’m aiming for a more hearty style of consommé here.

As for the wieners, hmm, let’s just cut them in half.

Next, pour water into a pot, add the potatoes, carrots and onions, and then, set the pot on the stove. Add the consommé soup base cubes and simmer until the potatoes and carrots have softened. After that add the cabbage and wieners.

It doesn’t take long for the cabbage to become tender.

Finally, adjust the flavour with salt and black pepper to taste.

Next, let’s tackle the main dish. The dry curry.

The ingredients should be, roughly chopped onion, carrot, eggplant and green peppers~

Yes~ yes~ more vegetables, more~~

Eh, let’s throw in a bit of minced dungeon pork and dungeon beef just for the heck of it. Naturally, to ensure the vegetable’s sweetness and integrity, first stir-fry the minced meat with grated garlic and ginger (from tube), adjusting the flavour with salt and pepper as needed.

Next, add in lots and lots of veggies~~

Stir-fry until the vegetables are tender before adding water, Worcesters.h.i.+re sauce, consommé granules and finely grated curry roux.

Fry until the curry roux has melted and most of the moisture has evaporated.

“And it’s done~! Woah, it smells really good~”

Seriously, there is nothing in the world like the smell of curry. I can’t wait to eat this with white rice! Yes, nothing like Dry Curry ladled over a bed of perfectly cooked fluffy white rice and topped with dried parsley.

“Fufu, I’m looking forward to everyone’s reaction.”

After putting everything away in my [Item Box], I made my way to the living room where everyone was napping.

As expected, when I started setting out the bowls and a.s.sembling the perfect Dry Curry Roux & Rice Combo with a side of Consommé Soup and Plenty of Veggies, the complaints started.

“What is this?”

Ah, that disdainful voice could only belong to Fer-sama.

“It’s dinner, of course. Look, it’s Consommé Soup with many beautiful ingredients and a lovely fragrant Dry Curry~”

“Master, are there… meat in this?”

“Of course, just a little bit less than usual. I thought it would be a nice change~”

“”Hmm, hmm, Aruji~~ the meat is less, but still very yummy~””

“Oh my, Sui-tan sure knows how to eat! There are plenty of refills so eat up, eat up~”

“”Is that so? Well, I guess it’s nice to have a change sometimes,”” said Dora-chan.

Ignoring the brooding two, I ate my first spoonful of Dry Curry with Rice. “Woah! It’s delicious. As expected, curry and rice are the best combo. Wait, how about a [2] hot spring egg…”

Now that I thought it up, I can’t get rid of it in my mind.

I haven’t made any soft-boiled eggs, but, I do have the trusty [Net Super]!

A quick purchase later, I bought a few dozen because I know my familiars, and I carefully cracked one egg over my curry.

I crushed the yolk into the curry, mixed it with the rice and brought a spoonful into my mouth. “Uunnn~~ yum! It’s really mellow and delicious, it makes the curry even better!”

“”Aruji~ is that egg~??””

“Ooh, Sui, do you want some too?”

Sui bounced in place, “”Yes~! Yes~!””

“”Me too!!””

I cracked three eggs each for Sui and Dora-chan, crus.h.i.+ng the yolks into the curry before returning their bowls to them.

Sui was literally s.h.i.+vering with pleasure.

“”Ohh, the smell of eggs really brought out the flavours in the curry~””

Oh my, Dora-chan is becoming quite the gourmet~

“What. Is. The meaning. Of this.”

Fer sounded angry. Hah, do I care?

“Well, a certain someone tricked me into doing illegal stuff and while I was being lectured, they still plotted to do more stuff behind my back. Surely these certain someones deserved to have less meat for their sins?”

“Gunununu,”

“Nuu,”

However, these two t.i.tans of power still lowered their heads and ate their dinner obediently. They even asked for seconds. I graciously gave them eggs to go with their curry.

Right, how about a nice healthy vegetable-filled breakfast tomorrow~?

[Gumihou: I mean, this att.i.tude is canon to this chapter, which is why I can’t accept an overly excessive uwaaa, and kyaaa, Mukouda]

[1] Retouched the entire ‘Fix Magic Stove’ scene. In the original, Mukouda’s part mostly happened in his head, with lots of ‘according to the proprietor’. Even when the ‘proprietor’ did answer in dialogue form, it would be repeated in narrative form in his head.

In short, suuuuper tedious.

[2] A hot spring egg is different from the standard soft-boiled egg.

Hot spring eggs have firm yolks and runny whites, while standard soft-boiled eggs have firm whites and a runny centre.

A hot spring egg is placed in boiling hot water for a set amount of time, while a soft-boiled egg is boiled at a set amount of time before it is plunged into an ice bath to stop the cooking process.

How much time depends on how firm or runny you like your yolks.

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