Chapter 4: CH 4

Translator: Haruchin   Editor: JackOFallTrades

The outer wall, the roof materials, and the exterior design were all selected from the materials that were common in this part of the land. The stone wall was not too white nor too black; kind of like pale yellow with a tinge of gray, or maybe sand-colored shade would describe it better. The roof was tawny with hints of orange. Well, the window was fitted with a large glass just like that, and there was also a floodgate for water management like that, with a stream running through it.

The interior was cool and comfortable thanks to the water running under the paving. The floodgate should be closed during winter, though or else the floor would freeze over, and that would definitely be troublesome.

White plaster coated the house interior’s walls, and dark brown beams decorated the ceiling. Bright brown stones covered the whole floor, making it look as if it were tiled, but it’s just made from relatively thick stone paving. The same stuff stretched on towards the terrace outside the huge sliding glass door, and a rack that could be used as a grapevine trellis hung above the terrace. Upstairs, flooring was made of planks with the same dark brown shade as the beams.

There’s the entrance hall on the first floor, with the living room and kitchen at the right side.The kitchen also had a splendid room connected to it, probably for the butler’s use. The entire left side was dedicated to the parlor.

Three rooms occupied the second floor. There’s the bedroom, a study and a guest room, too. The living room staircase led to the bedroom, while the one in the entrance hall led to the guest room. The house looked like it’s split into two; a side that could be shown to the guests and a side for the private interior. The hall’s huge – a hall, mind you. Truly got that rich person vibes.

There’s also a few food storage rooms and storerooms. The one in the basement had a skylight at the side of the entrance hall. The ground was uneven between the northern living room and the southern entrance, so that window was small ー just the width of a few stair steps. Both the master bedroom and the guest room had bathrooms, but the one in the master bedroom had a large window, so it was bright.

The channels, sewage, food storage room, firewood and toilet were way too awesome, they’re totally against the rules! Normally, water must be drawn from the well or from the river, but here, you could get water by turning the faucet, and hot water would also come out in the bath. The toilet was also flushable since I chose water circulation over the gas stove and lighting. Had to sacrifice gas and electricity, but thank goodness the firewood in the fire rack would never run out. Didn’t want to go through the trouble of gathering firewood EVER again. Besides, I requested them to make me a stove and a kiln for cooking, as well as a kamado* that was designed so that a huge chinese wok’s bottom could sit on it. It’s also suitable for pots. This country didn’t have anything like it.

One of the brick ovens had efficient thermal storage. It could bake bread in series, and was also great for making slow-cook dishes that would take overnight to cook because the heat was preserved even if the fire was extinguished. The other one had high insulation efficacy, so it’s suitable for pizza and open-fire cooking where the fire was constantly burning. Both ovens looked identical, but the stones used in their hearths were different, apparently. Not that I can tell.

The food storage rooms were stocked to the brim with various ingredients. They were not unlimited, so I chose plenty of things I could use ー ingredients that did not exist or were difficult to get in this world, things that had a huge taste difference from the other world… in the end, I accumulated a lot of stuff.

I tried to recall the dishes I wanted to eat then listed their ingredients. They gave advice as they helped me choose, but it had been quite difficult to narrow it down.

The shelf was divided into squares. Rice, Chinese cabbages, potatoes, tea leaves, miso, soy sauce and all sorts of koji mold were placed in those squares. Beef, pork, lamb, and chicken were placed on planks and they were also lined up on the shelf. Sweetfish swam in the bucket, and there was also a school of Pacific saury ー rather than saying they were swimming inside the bucket, it was like the water surface rippled inside it. Maybe it’s like that so I could catch fish anytime, right at the center where the ripples started? I didn’t think it was connected to Japan, but what’s going on?

The pantry was an absolute dream. I could get all I wanted without worrying it’ll run out. Opted to pour the highest amount of power in it, to be precise. Actually, they suggested I get 【Complete Magic】instead of【Magical Talent】,【Complete Martial Arts】instead of【Martial Arts Ability】. No need to think twice, of course it’d be food and amenities!

As a result, I got a house that was clean and comfortable. Even linens had been prepared.

Nobody would be aware of this house, no one could enter without my permission and nobody within this site would notice that I exist. It was a completely safe house.

Since this world contained an abundance of magic and monsters, transmigrators were given protection for three moon cycles at the moment of transfer to learn more about it. Now I understand why I never saw a beast despite sensing them. The snow had been dangerous, but it seemed that I was barely safe from the monsters, too.

I was so fed up with having to put up with being severely bitten by insects during my stay at the island that it has been reflected in my territory system, rendering pests and monsters unable to enter my territory, naturally. By the way, those guys suggested that I should extend my authorization system to the woods for the invisible spirits, as well as beneficial insects, birds and beasts.

I had a lot of remaining life span compared to Sis and the others, but got very few skills to show for it because I used most of it on this house.

I already had been given talents while self-improvement could be done on my own, so I didn’t have any regrets.

I did think that I should train for a bit as a counterplan against Sis, just in case, though. My guardians would also gain more power if I became stronger, too. Well, apparently it would also depend on whether I cooked or made this house more comfortable, so maybe it would be fine even if I didn’t think about this too deeply.

In the meantime, let’s 【Cut Ties】 with Sis, her two friends and that ball of light.

Good people and bad people all change depending on their status and circumstances, so I was not really keen on using this ability, but those four absolutely didn’t deserve fretting it over.

I placed Riche inside a cage lined with a towel, then hurriedly entered the bath afterward. Only the essential toiletries like soap were there, but it’s easy to get more of the good ones I like later on.

My dirty body didn’t foam easily while bathing. Hey, what’s that floating on the hot water ー strange, so I’m still dirty despite the change in looks, huh.

The bath was really refreshing. A handsome guy stood before me in the mirror, looking like the combined version of Van, Ludere and Ish………….black hair, white skin, bluish purple eyes, and proportionate body.

Those three must have based it on their youthful appearance when they were deciding what my features would be. No matter how you look at it, the guy in the mirror looked like the son of those three, thank you very much.

Not the kind of flashy, gorgeous beauty, though. Plus, thanks to Van’s manliness, I wasn’t the icy cold, handsome man like Ludere, either, nor did I look like Ish’s poker-faced, mannequin appearance. Let’s just say I’m pretty confident that they’d give me a free extra serving at a resto even if I was just standing there thanks to these looks.

……….What happened to my typical appearance, huh?

The floodgate should be opened to let the water flow through the water wheel. The rice was milled then polished from brown to white. A brief peek at the【Appraisal】provided me with instructions on how to use it. Food related matters were really detailed and that helped a lot. What should I do with the bran that came out? Maybe I could make them into nice pickles if there’s plenty enough, I guess.

The grinder was small, but there were two different types lined up – one for milling and grinding, and the other was for pulverizing.

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I found other mechanisms beyond a wall, so I used【Appraisal】to check what they were ー it just said「Used for cloth fulling」and「 Used for tanning leather」. I had no idea what ‘fulling’ was, and since it did not have anything to do with food, the method for using that mechanism remained a mystery. I probably won’t use it, though.

The wheel’s structure was different from the ones I saw in historical dramas before. Most of its mechanisms were installed underground, and the millstone was turned from below.

Even though it was ‘underground’, it was on the first floor if I went in from the opposite side. That’s because the building was standing on a slope. All of these, plus that stone wall, made me feel incredible.

There’s an oven for baking bread, too. I’m not sure if it was built incidentally, though. The area was quite spacious. The second floor must be dedicated for wheat storage, but I didn’t really need this much space. There’s nobody here but me, and this house already had many food storage rooms. Well, having a water wheel was actually weird in the first place.

ー Let’s get some wheat from the food storage room later.

Wheat had three categories so I got curious what those were ー cake flour, bread flour and ‘pasta-use’, it seemed. Surprisingly, pasta-use was separated from the rest, so I checked it, too. It turned out to be just durum wheat, huh.

It was a bit hot, but I still kindled the fire in the kamado and stove. Riche was fine with just plain water, so I gave him some. He could also eat meat supposedly. I planned to stuff him with nutrient-dense foods ー the kind puppies probably ate ー originally, but because he’s really weak now, I was told that feeding him would have to wait until he’s better.

I put some of the ground, polished rice into the pot and steamed it, then I julienned the cabbage while grilling the sirloin. Yep, the combo’s odd, but there’s no helping it; I had been craving freshly cooked rice and meat coupled with some shredded cabbage while desperately trying to survive back then.

I tossed some root crops and chunks of chicken with bones into the pot, then put it inside the stove used for making stews. By the way, all my pots were made from iron. Alright, it’s time to set the table.

The aroma of the meat wafted while I grilled it, and the fragrance assaulted all my senses. The meat was so delicious!! Although it was only seasoned with salt and pepper, it was still so awesome, I almost cried!! I was living on ONLY fish and crabs for the longest time, so it couldn’t be helped, you know.

Huh, didn’t expect that I could only finish half of the food. Maybe my stomach had shrunk. Alright, let’s just put it in【Storage 】for tomorrow’s meal. Anything I stored with this skill was frozen in time as long as they weren’t living things — plants were an exception to that, though.

I placed Riche’s basket and water dish beside the bed. There’s no urgent matters to do while the sun is still up, so I lay down, even if it’s still daytime. The fresh sheets and clean bed pulled me into dreamland. So comfortable………

……….. A week passed by in a blur while I was just lazing around. Well, it would be more accurate to say that I stayed in bed for a long time.

The bruises and scratches disappeared immediately when I used【Heal】, so my body should have been in tiptop shape, but it felt really heavy to the point that I could only get up when it’s time to eat. That chicken dish I made earlier was a life-saver.

I cleaned my bedroom and washed the sheets. I’m gonna make some ramen for today’s meal.【 Complete Cookery】 is activated when I check the ingredients using【 Appraisal】. Recipes emerge on the handy layout, showing the dishes I can make.

It can only hypothesize using my memory of the food I already ate, so going on an eating tour to sample this world’s dishes sounds like a good plan.

They have katsuobushi in this world, and there’s kombu, too. It’s raw, so maybe it’s better to dry it first? Aah, some tsukemono would be nice with these steamed rice and grilled salted mackerel. Oh, I shouldn’t forget to grind the wheat.

Wheat can be used in making bread, and udon, too. I hurriedly ground it into flour, but there’s no bags or containers to store it with.

I also received the same amount of money Sis got from the country when she first came here. No idea how much it’s worth, but since there’s no need to worry about food and lodging, then I might as well use it for other stuff.

Let’s do some shopping today.

——–

T/N: Koji mold – Aspergillus oryzae, filamentous fungus used in Japan to make various food items such as sake, shochu, and rice vinegars by fermentation.

(reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aspergillus_oryzae

Photo:https://www.myfermentation.com/grains/koji-an-ancient-mold-and-its-modern-renaissance-zm0z19fzwoo)

Katsuobushi – small pieces of sliced dried bonito flakes

(reference/ photo: https://casasensei.com/interesting-facts/what-is-katsuobushi-dried-bonito-flakes/)

Kombu – Japanese kelp

(reference/ photo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kombu)

Tsukemono – Japanese pickled vegetables commonly used as condiments

(reference/ photo https://okinawa.stripes.com/food-drink/tsukemono-more-condiment-japanese-meals)

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