LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 75
“Hey, little one. What are you thinking so deeply about?”
“No, I was just wondering if the entrance’s location changes when we leave…”
Upon hearing those words, Iona burst into laughter, shaking her beard.
“Hahaha! If that were the case, the old backs of those organizing this warehouse and my knowledge pouch would have broken long ago. Don’t worry about it!”
So, Godwin’s talk about knowledge pouches started with this person.
Realizing this unexpected fact, Karem figured he could go back through the archway entrance where he had come in, just as Iona said.
On the way back to the Wizard’s Tower, Karem pulled out a chef’s knife instead of a dagger from the dagger holder he received as a service, aiming it here and there while swinging it through the air.
The long, triangular blade masquerading as a chef’s knife made Karem’s eleven-year-old frame look as if an adult was wielding a short sword.
Yet, surprisingly, it was even lighter than a genuine chef’s knife.
Karem exaggerated a bit, wondering if it felt like a Jedi’s lightsaber with no weight at all.
Moreover, the blade was sharper than a razor, implying it would take some time to get used to.
Since the treasure vault incident where Iona displayed Felwinter’s lies, Karem had been able to witness the delightful array of magical tools.
There were barrels that accelerated the contents’ time by a hundredfold, white vessels that detoxified all poisons, a set of cooking tools that prepared ingredients according to the user’s needs, and a bronze box that replicated stored food once a week, and so on.
Even so, Karem chose Felwinter’s lie and never regretted that decision.
Well, to be honest, he felt slightly uneasy about having chosen too hastily.
He was a bit tempted by that orc barrel.
Meanwhile, Catherine, who was watching intently, giggled.
“Hey, little one. Is that really so great?”
“The center of gravity is—huh? What?”
“Well, look at you concentrating while waving it around like that.”
You look like a kid who just received a gift; how mature.
Now able to pick up on what his employer was hinting at with just a glance, Karem halted the wild swings of the imaginary dagger.
And shouted.
“Yes! It’s great, of course! It’s a magic cooking tool! Even if it looks like it’ll slice people rather than carrots!”
Instead of making meaningless lies, he boldly proclaimed it.
Of course, both Mary and Catherine’s gazes were exactly the same as when he had looked at the two of them, but who even cares?
A man, whether as a child or in adulthood, alone, could only imagine scenarios while swinging imaginary weapons in the air.
Indeed, after reincarnation, Karem’s life had been so tough he had no time for that, but now that he’d regained his leisure, that imaginary weapon had become a reality—so why care about how others look at him?
“Moreover, it seems I can freeze and burn my target at the same time. How can I resist this! Just think of all the incredible things I could do!”
“I have no complaints.”
“Me neither.”
As Karem twisted the knife’s handle left and right, an icy chill burst from the left fissure while a fiery heat radiated from the right’s flame portion.
“Dual-property weapon! Even though I’m a man, how can I just dismiss this!”
“A dual-property weapon. Even if it’s amazing to combine two opposing properties, it’s still called a chef’s knife, right?”
“Let’s overlook the minor details!”
“So, what do you plan to do with it? Looking to chop ingredients? With such power, wouldn’t they either freeze or burn?”
“I’ve heard if you swing it gently, the power is reduced.”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Like saying you feel less pain if you get hit lightly by an arrow.”
In other words, it sounded absurd. Karem agreed.
He had thought exactly the same thing upon first hearing it.
“Also, I heard there are other magic spells hidden that even Iona doesn’t know about.”
“Right. I’ve heard that too. Well, it’s not uncommon for such ancient magical tools stored in an old noble family’s warehouse to have hidden effects…”
There was no reason for Iona to lie.
Catherine seemed to share a similar thought as she observed the dagger with interest.
“By the way, what do you mean by the dagger having a power control magic on it…”
“Probably a similar nuance to what you’ve just said?”
“Hey, little one. Can you lend it to me for a bit?”
At those words, Karem glanced up at the sky.
After lunch, the sun slanted diagonally, pulling down an orange curtain across the sky.
It was a long way until dinner was ready in the Great Hall.
Yet, it was also too late to go back to the tower and have a snack.
He had quickly eaten lunch at a time close to brunch, entered the treasure vault, and had only just come out—there was no chance he had prepared anything.
If it were a salad or sandwich, it might be acceptable, but bringing that out as a snack, Karem could easily predict Catherine’s and Mary’s reactions.
If it were anything typical, at least.
Karem held the chef’s knife, which exuded dry-ice-like, or even colder chill.
“Let’s try making just one thing with this. You need to have a snack, right?”
“…Are you planning to make sorbet or something?”
A frozen dessert, made by freezing sweet juice or wine with additives.
Also referred to as sorbet.
There was a hint of anticipation in Catherine’s voice.
The cold emanating from the dagger felt like the bitter chill of winter in Iceland.
If he were to make a snack with it, Karem knew there weren’t many options.
“Ah—no. I’m going to make ice cream.”
“…Karem, freezing cream? Isn’t that a waste?”
“Not at all. I’ve heard that in Adobice, they freeze milk or cream to eat it like sorbet. But are you planning to freeze whipping cream?”
“Oh, that’s not a bad idea. But I’ll be making it another way this time.”
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Items that can be regarded as the origin of ice cream have existed for thousands of years, but the origin known to modern people traces back to the Tang Dynasty, and from there it was brought to Europe, evolving into the ice cream we know today.
However, unlike Karem’s knowledge of modern origins, it seemed that in Europa, it hadn’t been conveyed as such. Ice desserts were limited to sorbets, hard varieties, or milk ice close to shaved ice.
Karem quickly mixed cream, melted butter, egg yolks, and syrup in a copper pot while keeping all his focus on the heat beneath it.
If the temperature got too high, the mixture would turn into creamy scrambled eggs.
But if it were too low, it would simply become a warm mixture of cream and other things.
And watching this, both Catherine and Mary still wore puzzled expressions.
Regardless of that, the boy stirred to create a liquid custard over low heat, ensuring the yolk wouldn’t turn into scrambled eggs.
When Karem added a generous amount of grated parmesan cheese, their expressions changed weirdly, yet they nodded in unison.
After all, desserts like cakes or tarts aren’t uncommon with cheese in them.
Once all the cheese melted, Karem poured the hot pot directly towards Mary.
“Here, take this.”
“Eh?”
Then, turning to the side, he held the knife, which was exuding cold, in his other hand, as well.
“What do you want me to do with this?”
“Just stir it steadily with this until I say stop.”
As Karem demonstrated with his imaginary pot and the knife, Mary tilted her head but began whisking the pot using the knife that spewed dry ice-like—no, even colder—chill.
In the modern world, preparing cream essence for ice cream was simple.
Just toss it into an ice cream maker and switch it on, and it would be taken care of.
You could say it was a triumph of science—long live modern civilization!
However, this was far from modern Europa.
Of course, there weren’t even ice cream makers, let alone something similar.
Thus, ordinarily, one would have no choice but to support a bowl of essence over ice, sprinkling salt on it and whisking until it became ice cream or simply waiting until winter.
“Hmm? Am I beginning to feel a strange sensation?”
“Let me see too. Hmm? It feels like a bit of density—or is it viscosity? Something like that seems to be developing?”
“Let me see, it’s definitely coming along. Keep stirring hard.”
However, Karem was fortunate enough to have the all-powerful house fairy, Mary, nearby.
If it was a tedious, boring, and exhausting job, she would gladly volunteer to take over those kinds of tasks.
As the magic knife Mary held had the thickness of the frozen liquid increase, the pot’s contents began taking on a slushy texture, soon resembling mixing rather than stirring.
Ice cream was completed more quickly than Karem had expected.
There was no need for additional freezing in a freezer.
“This is as good as complete. Well, it’s finished.”
“I wonder if this would indeed have the texture of frozen whipping cream.”
“Well, if you freeze whipping cream, it would become like infinitely light ice.”
Karem snatched the pot from Mary and scooped the ice cream he had prepared with two spoons, shaping it into a round ball.
The size of the ice cream ball was initially as small as a baby’s fist, but as Karem continued to scoop and form more ice cream, it grew larger, eventually the size of a baseball.
While the two, used to icy treats only being sorbets or icy snacks, filled with curiosity, the boy presented the bowl filled with ice cream and spoon to his employer.
“Here, what more can I say? Just take a bite.”
“Hah. This texture is truly difficult to imagine. Or should I say, the feel?”
Mary immediately grabbed the spoon and scooped up a light yellow-tinted ice cream, resembling snow compacted by wind.
While the firmness yet softness presented a contradictory sensation that shocked her for a moment, she soon regained her senses and brought it towards Catherine’s mouth.
“…..Huh?”
Confusion, question marks, exclamation points.
In less than a second, Catherine felt a wave of unfamiliar indulgence momentarily bewilder her.
However, she quickly regained her composure and rolled the cold dessert around on her tongue.
The delicate sweetness and the nutty, lingering taste reminiscent of parmesan cheese made a real impression.
Even though butter had been added to melted cream, it felt refreshing rather than heavy, and the bitterness unique to cheese had been completely overshadowed.
Butter, cream, cheese, syrup.
A collection of the four ingredients in perfect harmony.
Catherine’s eyes widened in surprise at the unreasonable blend of flavors.
The ice cream she had taken into her mouth had long evaporated.
There was no trace of the unique scent or bitterness of cheese.
Only the rich creaminess of cheese and cream lingered, endlessly captivating Catherine’s tongue.
“Th-this is completely different from sorbet.”
“The density is already different since it’s mixed with juice or wine.”
“Certainly, with cream and butter included, the concentration must be notably different. But still…”
Catherine turned her gaze aside while fondling the ice cream in her mouth.
Juggling her thoughts, Karem watched Mary, whose whole body trembled from the addictive eruption as she clutched her arms.
Yeah, I thought so.
Considering that the primary components of this ice cream, made with parmesan cheese tasting exactly like parmesan cheese, were cream, butter, egg, syrup, and cheese, it was remarkable that a fairy, who loved dairy, had tolerated a dessert with three types of dairy in it without a fuss.
Catherine, slowly melting the ice cream in her mouth, lightly patted Mary, who trembled as if experiencing an addiction crisis.
“I think it’s time for you to eat some.”
“Wait, is it even okay to do that?? The poor girl hasn’t had a single bite yet-”
“Just eat it already! I’m feeling so uneasy just watching you!”
“Well, if you insist…”
Hmm, I had anticipated this situation.
Karem scooped out a portion of the pre-formed ice cream and presented it to Mary.
“Then, I’ll enjoy this. Hmph.”
“Wh-what?”
Mary proceeded to engulf the small ball of ice cream in one go.
“Ugh, Mary. You’ll end up regretting that.”
“E? I-I don’t understand!”
And just as Karem had envisioned, the scene unfolded right before their eyes.
Enjoying the taste too much and mindlessly eating ice cream—or anything frozen beyond recognition—resulted in the icy judge’s verdict.
A cold spread of chill, like spiderwebs, enveloped around her forehead, compressing and releasing with a nightmarish sensation.
Mary writhed in agony, having never experienced such pain in her life—or afterlife—before.
“Ah! Oh no! Ugh! Oh, ohhh!?”
Mary let out bizarre sounds while thrashing in place, appearing as though wanting to collapse and roll around but holding onto her dignity, enduring the pain and discomfort juiced with throbbing headaches.
From the depth of Karem’s heart, he reflexively muttered.
“Feel the wrath of winter!”
“Hmm, I often see people do that when eating cold food. Now I’m curious.”
“Are you suggesting that Sir Atanitas doesn’t get a headache from cold food?”
“Exactly. Want me to show you once?”
“In that case, let me have a piece. Where—”
Catherine hastily grabbed the large ice cream ball Karem was humorously offering and popped it into her mouth.
With cheeks puffed like a squirrel or hamster about to burst due to overeating, Catherine beamed with satisfaction as the flavors exploded in her mouth.
Karem couldn’t help but grin at her adorable appearance.
At that moment, the kitchen door swung open.
A blonde mop and droopy long ears.
An old, tattered cloak that seemingly should be thrown away.
Narque scratched his head as he stepped in.
“Uh, um. Excuse me. Is Mary inside? Ah, Karem? Are you—”
“Oh! Oooooooh! Hoo-ha-ha-ha!!”
“Karem. I was a bit hungry, should I come back later? Mary seems really unwell. Uh-oh, something’s wrong with her?”
“Just wait a moment; she’ll be fine soon.”
“Uh, but what’s that? Is it because of that she’s like that?”
“That’s just the consequence of being too greedy.”
One second—or rather, about three-tenths of a second.
The servants exchanged silent glances.
As Catherine gestured toward Narque, Karem quickly scooped up a glob of ice cream with a spoon.
A moment later.
“Ah-hem♪ Uh? Ugh, ugh! Ohhh!?”
Narque, concerned for Mary, could also experience why she was struggling, twisting his entire system.