LIGHTNOVELWORLD Chapter 97
Only half accomplished, but the goal was reached.
Karem expressed his gratitude to Corvus and left the greenhouse with a pocket that felt a little lighter and hands that were weighed down.
Although he had been dragged here against his will, he had no complaints.
Every time he was dragged around by Alicia, it felt like he gained something in return.
But this was only the second time.
However, Karem didn’t mind such trivialities.
By the way.
Karem looked down at the basket.
“What should I use this for?”
The basket was filled to the brim with Fire Witch Fingers and their variants.
In other words, red peppers and bell peppers (in progress).
Some would be left for cooking while the rest would be chopped to make Tabasco, pickled jalapeños, or dried and ground into red pepper powder.
It really didn’t require much labor.
Making Tabasco simply involved preparing and chopping the peppers, adding various spices, boiling, grinding, and fermenting them. For jalapeños, you cut them, pack them in a jar, pour in the boiling pickling liquid, and let them mature.
There was no need to worry about the red pepper powder either.
“Once they’re dried, I can just leave it to Mary.”
Of course, it was only natural that he’d initially whine about it since they were red peppers.
But like a workaholic, even if he grumbled with his mouth, his body would obediently grind them just as Karem wanted.
Karem could bet his past life memories on it.
Because it had always been the same.
However, the variant Fire Witch Fingers, which were similar in taste and aroma to bell peppers.
“Should I smoke them and turn them into powder?”
But didn’t they usually make smoked powder from paprika? Would it be similar even if made from bell peppers, or rather, variant Fire Witch Fingers?
“Wow, it’s still so quiet.”
As Karem opened the door with his body and entered the Tower, he surveyed the first floor.
Compared to winter, the number of residents in the Tower had significantly increased, but the first floor, serving as the lobby, still felt empty.
Wizards were generally mostly researchers.
Because of that, it seemed like the first floor was so empty that even a revolving candle could roll around.
“Oh, Karem junior. Here you are.”
“I just got back a little while ago.”
“Good timing.”
As Karem was heading to the kitchen, Mary, who was carrying laundry, stopped him.
“The contractor said to prepare a light meal along with some snacks for you when you return.”
“Lunch and something light? Was there a specific request?”
“I don’t know because I wasn’t paying attention. They just said anything would do. By the way, I’m glad to hear that about you. What do you mean?”
Karem tilted the basket towards Mary.
“I was going to ask you to grind this after drying it.”
“Oh, laundry is more urgent at the moment. Please leave it in the kitchen and let me know later.”
“Well, I suppose. Understood.”
Karem agreed as he looked at the large basket filled with laundry Mary was carrying.
As the number of residents in the Wizard’s Tower increased, so did the amount of food consumed and laundry generated, multiplying like slimes.
Receiving supplies once a week had become a necessity every two days, and despite Mary doing laundry daily, the amount kept steadily accumulating.
Moreover, Karem had completely stepped away from being the head chef in the Wizard’s Tower and fully returned to being Catherine’s personal cook.
Karem began to worry if this was truly a manageable amount of work for one person.
“But really, do we not need more hands?”
“Ha, Karem junior. Do you know?”
“What do you mean?”
“I am currently having the most fulfilling and happy days of my life.”
Indeed.
Karem closely observed Mary’s face.
With each passing day, the fatigue on her face diminished.
Her skin glowed with vitality, plump and vibrant.
If she were human, she would have collapsed from overwork long ago, but for a house fairy, it seemed to be for the better, as Mary emitted a distinctly happy aura, even with her expressionless demeanor.
“Well, if that’s the case.”
Anyway, Karem could confidently say that if every cook had to name the one order they hated the most in the world, it would be this.
“Anything goes. Oh no, here we go again.”
Karem let out a deep sigh.
Usually, when he prepared meals, he would cook something delicious as he pleased, and that would be that.
However, Catherine occasionally asked him to ‘surprise’ her with something, ordering “anything” at times.
Every time, Karem had to wrap his head around it.
But a part of it was also Karem’s responsibility.
Not just occasionally, but frequently, he would whip up dishes she had never heard of or seen before, and anyone, including Catherine, would likely place an order for “anything” with a glimmer of expectation.
What’s the difference between cooking as one feels and “anything”?
It was like the difference between breathing naturally and consciously.
Once you start paying attention to something you used to do instinctively, even things you could do just fine can become problematic. Karem pondered as he tapped the table.
“What’s light enough for a meal that doubles as a snack? A sandwich?”
The moment he thought of it, Karem denied his own idea.
It made sense, though, as he had made too many sandwiches for lunch upon returning.
Catherine might not tire of them, but Karem, the one cooking, was tired and didn’t want to make another sandwich.
While contemplating what to make, Karem left the kitchen and surveyed the nearby pantry.
Various cuts of pork, beef, and Snowrunner.
Fresh leaves and root vegetables.
Several shelves were taken up by large, small, hard, and soft breads.
Wait a second. Meat and bread, huh.
Karem snapped his fingers.
“Wait. I could just make hamburgers!”
“Hey, kid. I definitely ordered a light snack.”
Catherine looked at the large hamburger on the table in the relaxation area of the laboratory with a salt-tinged gaze that seemed ready to blend with the wind at any moment.
Objectively speaking.
The hamburger was something that made one’s mouth water just by looking at it.
Two thick beef patties made with a crust saturated with the savoriness of beef.
Honey mustard sauce oozing out from under the weight of the meat.
Melted yellow cheddar cheese melting with the heat of the patties.
All topped with crispy bacon and enclosed with soft brioche bread.
Though not visible now, the inside of the soft brioche was likely rich with the flavor of butter, having soaked up all the juices of the beef patties, preserving its crispness.
“This ‘hamburger’ doesn’t look light at all.”
The overwhelming absence of even a single pickle or lettuce was striking.
“You said you wanted a light meal that’s also a snack.”
“That’s right, ‘light’ as a snack. Where does this look like a snack to you?”
“One hamburger counts as a snack.”
“Where does that even remotely qualify as a snack, you cheeky little brat?”
“So, are you not going to eat it?”
But Karem stood his ground.
After all, Karem himself was a man who had stacked up hamburgers in his past life.
Naturally, a hamburger was considered a meal only when paired with soda and fries, and he firmly believed two must be eaten for it to count as a meal.
Mary, who was quietly standing next to Catherine to support the contractor’s meal, tilted her head.
“Contractor. Are you planning to skip lunch?”
“No, that’s not it. Hmm, what should I eat?”
“How should I prepare it for you?”
“It doesn’t seem light enough to just pick at like a sandwich.”
“Fortunately, I brought a fork and knife, so you should chop it into bite-sized pieces.”
As Mary prepared, Catherine let out a yawn.
There wasn’t any special reason for wanting a light meal.
Her body was simply worn out from late-night research, maybe being too tired to bother chewing.
It wasn’t unusual for a wizard locked away in the lab for several nights, but the fatigue was reflective on her body.
Potions could alleviate weariness, but Catherine considered it a waste to drink potions for something as trivial as that.
After all, if overdone, one could end up addicted to potions.
Crisp!
Suddenly, a resistant crunching sound from the plate drew Catherine’s attention.
And from the cut hamburger, a savory and stimulating aroma of beef slowly wafted up!
“Ah, the scent is definitely here.”
“The best was when it was just grilled and assembled.”
“What do you mean? It’s still warm. No need to fuss.”
As Mary halved the hamburger, the stimulating fragrance that had been trapped within burst forth with the hot air.
Simultaneously, the juices locked inside the charred meat crust poured out like a waterfall.
And yet, it seemed perfectly cooked, as the insides of the beef patties displayed a delightful pink.
Even the worst drunkard, who felt like they were dying from a hangover after drinking too much last night, wouldn’t dare look away from this masterpiece.
“With layers of minced beef and bacon, and cheese. But there are no vegetables.”
“There are. They’re just hidden underneath.”
“Hmm, just a few pickle slices?”
“When eating a hamburger, that level of vegetable is sufficient.”
“It seems too rich.”
“You’ll understand once you taste it.”
Thinking it might be a little too rich, Catherine took a bite from the hamburger that Mary elegantly sliced into bite-sized pieces and served with a fork.
“Mmm!”
What a relief.
Her concerns were unnecessary.
With her mouth already feeling like a desert due to fatigue, the hot juices from the patty flowed between her cracked taste buds, instantly refreshing her like a sudden drizzle on a plain.
She could feel the rich scent of butter and the creaminess of the moist bread peak at the end of her bite without any resistance, unlike how her teeth sank into the soft bread.
That unexpected sensation brought joy to Catherine.
As the bread tore apart, the hidden beef patty was exposed, quickly releasing a flood of hot oil and juices from the broken dam into her mouth through the one available path.
Each time her teeth crushed the patties, the juices and oils burst forth with each chew.
Unlike the crunchy, condensed flavor exploding with each bite, the inside was softened to a point where it collapsed without any resistance.
To have two beef patties like that!
Catherine’s nose felt like it would be overwhelmed with the bursting meaty aroma.
Amidst that, the crispy, salty, and chewy bacon was filled with a smoky scent.
The rich cheddar cheese vied for attention among the layers.
Though there were cucumber pickles, they were hardly enough to obstruct the harmonious four-way tug-of-war between the brioche bun, beef patty, bacon, and cheese.
It was merely a faint tartness that minimally suppressed the overwhelming richness.
But the pickles fulfilled their role sufficiently.
Just when her tongue started feeling tired from the excessive richness, a bright and refreshing pickle came in right on cue.
And along with it, the sweet and tangy honey mustard.
As the fatigue was quickly washed away, Catherine could once again savor the harmony of the diverse components of the hamburger with the same excitement as before.
“Hey, kid. You were right.”
“Huh? Out of the blue?”
“The vegetables were plenty with just pickles.”
“Well, this was made with the feeling of ‘only meat!’ so there’s definitely room for more vegetables.”
“More like, a slightly spicy mayonnaise would suit it better.”
Karem smiled contentedly on the outside, but internally, he wore a sinister grin.
His efforts to have Catherine seek out spiciness had borne fruit.
It was precisely the moment she started looking for spicy food on her own.
However, Karem decided not to rush it.
After all, it’s hard to improve a bad first impression.
It was enough to proceed slowly as he had been until now.
With that, his response would be.
“I’ll keep that in mind for next time.”
“Sounds good. Huh? Mary?”
Mary, who had been staring down, perked her head up in response to Catherine’s call.
“Contractor? It seems we have a guest.”
“What? Tell them to wait a little longer.”
“But it’s the maid of Duchess Elizabeth. She has entered the first-floor lobby without knocking and is looking for the contractor.”
Hmm? Following Catherine’s lead, Karem also raised his eyebrows.