Chapter 17 – Single Aristocrat Makes Highballs In His Own House

　Just like that, I cancelled dinner plans with Tristan and went straight home.

　First thing I should do……

“A treasure tool appreciation session.”

　Opening the case I received from Gwan< I take out the Bubbling Cup.

　I place the golden wine cup on the table.

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　Its elegant colour and radiance are otherworldly, it indeed looks like how a treasure tool ought to. 

　Although treasure tools are typically obtained from treasure chests in dungeons, this one had been properly handled, there was not a single scratch on it.   

　The deeper you go into a dungeon, the more likely you are to encounter rare materials and treasure tools, but the traps and demons that stand in your way are also all the more vicious.

　Despite that, the fact that this treasure tool was brought back to the surface without any imperfection is testament to the extraordinary skill of the adventurers. And Gwan’s maintenance must have been excellent as well. 

　I looked at the perfect cup from all angles and lifted it up.

　It felt a little heavier in my hand than an ordinary wine cup. Tapping it with my finger, it made a rather hard, cool sound.

“I wonder exactly what material it’s made of.”

　Being someone who makes his living as a magic tool specialist, I’m more familiar with materials than the average person, but even I didn’t have a single clue about which materials were used to make the treasure tool.  

“‘Spring’.”

　After I uttered the key word that was requried for activating the treasure tool, from the bottom of the empty cup, carbonated water came gushing out. 

　An absolutely mysterious treasure tool. If you asked me to do something like this with a magic tool, I would simply say it’s impossible. 

　As I thought about that, I looked at the memo that was included in the case. 

　Written on it is the information that Gwan had obtained through his appraisal skills and his conjectures about the treasure tool based on his experience so far. Most of the time his guesses are on point, so it’s very helpful. 

　The memo contains detailed information on the estimated strength of the treasure tool and ways of handling it, such as the cleaning method.

　According to Gwan’s speculation, the cup is not that fragile and won’t crack even if it were to be dropped a little. It seems like it’d be fine to wash it like you’d with a normal wine cup. 

　As for the temperature and amount, it sounds like if you strongly think about the temperature and amount you desire when you use it, it’ll come out exactly as imagined. 

　After making sure that there were no other warnings, I gulped from the wine cup.

　The carbon pops in my mouth. It crackles and flows straight down the back of my throat.

　I can’t get enough of this refreshing feeling.

　From now on, I can drink soda water anytime I want. However, since it’s soda water after all, it’d also be a waste to simply just enjoy it alone.

“……Shall I make a highball?”

　There is whiskey in this world, but because of the lack of carbonated water, it’s almost always drunk on the rocks or cut with water. But now that we have soda water, I can make highballs.

　I moved to the kitchen.

　From my storage cabinet, I take out a bottle of whiskey and a glass, and from the fridge I take out ice. 

　However, the sheet of ice I made in the fridge is rather large so I decided to cut it down.

　I could have used ice magic to instantly make ice that was the right size, but I was in a slight mood to enjoy this sort of work. 

　Though it would be easier to cut the ice after letting it thaw naturally for a little while, I skip that step because I can’t hold myself back.

　After lightly washing the ice sheet with water, I placed it on a cutting board.

　I put the knife right in the middle of the ice sheet.

　While using a small hammer to press down the knife, I slide it to make an incision. 

　Then, when enough of a cut is made, I carefully tap the top of the knife with the hammer.

　If I mess up here, the cut of ice will be terribly disappointing. I have to be very delicate.  

　Concentrating my attention on the hammer, I hit the knife on the top. 

　With that, the weight of the hammer causes the knife to bite into the ice, and at the fourth tap, the ice cracked.

“It’s a clean cut. The best I’ve done so far.”

　The ice sheet that was split into half was so beautiful that I couldn’t help but praise myself.

　I have made ice like this at home, but it’s been a long time since I have broken ice this nicely so I’m very happy about it.

　The split ice sheet was further broken into four equal pieces. I again divided it in half into eight equal parts, then finally divided it into three equal parts horizontally. 

　Though, the pieces were still too big, so I had to split it one last time. After washing away the loose fragments with water, ice for the highball was complete. 

　The crystal clear ice is very pretty. And since it’s something I made myself, it was especially lovely. 

　After I arrange the ice into the glass so that there aren’t any large gaps, I pour the whiskey in. 

　Getting a measuring cup will be a bit troublesome, so I measure by eye.

　An adult male’s finger and a half is roughly enough whiskey.

　When the pouring is complete, I prepare a stirrer and stir the ice in the glass.

　The purpose of this is to make sure the glass is cool.

　If you stir too slowly, the ice will melt more easily and it’ll become diluted, so you need to be careful. 

　When the glass is cool enough for condensation to form, add more ice as though burying the ice that’s already slightly melted.

　By adding ice at this point, the ice will not float when soda water is poured in, preventing excess water from being released.

　Contrary to how simple the process of making a highball seems, if you don’t put in enough effort, it’ll become diluted and taste bad.

　So despite its simplicity, it’s something that must be carefully prepared.

　After adding ice, the next step is to add the soda water.

“‘Spring’.”

　After properly imagining cold soda water, I swirl the cup and pour it through the gap between the ice cubes.

　If it hits any ice, the carbonation will be lost, so the key point is to pour carefully without letting it touch ice.  

　Tilting the cup and pouring slowly, you can hear the sound of the carbonation quietly popping inside the glass.

　I’ll do a ratio of one part whiskey to four parts soda water.

　When the pouring is finished, you can see the whiskey rising to the top due to the gas pressure of the carbonated water.

　At this stage, the whiskey is pretty much mixed, so all that’s left is to lightly put in the stirrer and give it a turn to lift up the ice……

“Highball, success.”

　There’s no meaning in just continuing to appreciate the finished highball. It’s best to drink it fresh now before the ice melts. 

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　I pick up the ice-cold glass and lift it to my mouth.

“Ah, this is the best.”

　I let out a sigh.

　The bitterness of the whiskey spreading in my mouth, concealed behind that, a subtle sweetness and savouriness, This is mixed with the soda water to create a lifting taste.

　Since the ice was packed in a chilled glass, the soda water and whiskey blended well together.

　There was almost no dilution or unevenness in the flavour.

　I was so touched by the taste of a highball that I haven’t had in a long time and I quickly emptied my glass.

　As I was about to make my second highball, I suddenly came back to my senses.

“Wait, I haven’t had highballs in a while. Since that’s the case, I might as well have something to go with it for dinner.”

　I may be a strong drinker, but it’s still not good to have alcohol on an empty stomach.

　Besides, with such delicious alcohol, it’d be a waste if I didn’t prepare something to accompany it. 

　Speaking of dishes that go well with highballs……

“Fried chicken.”

　You might exclaim that ‘highball equals chicken’ has far too low-class of an image, but the two go so well together that it’s both the classic and the right choice. 

　Peeking into the refrigerator, I find a pack of seasoned chicken thighs.

　Without a doubt, this is the Solitary God telling me to make fried chicken. 

　I even have a magic stove installed in my kitchen. It also has an adjustable function for keeping a constant temperature, so it’s easy to do deep frying.

　With a grin on my face, I decided to make fried chicken as swiftly as possible.

◆

“Everything’s ready.”

　A small magic stove was set up on the table, and the pot on it was filled with hot oil.

　There is nothing worse than cold fried chicken. As far as I can tell, fried chicken loses flavour as it cools, so I decide to boldly cook and eat it on the spot. 

　I’d also prepared another highball to enhance the taste of the fried chicken.

　The preparation of the meat was already done, so all that was left was to put it in the pot and fry it.

　I put the thigh meat covrered with batter into the pot. With that, a sizzling sound echoed through the living room.

　Different from the bubbling of the soda water, the sound of the bubbling oil was relaxing.

　Sipping slightly from the highball, I waited for the batter to turn light brown.

　After I doubled-fried the chicken, I plated it and started tasting. 

　Freshly fried chicken…… is definitely hot.

　Although I knew that it wouldn’t cool down with just a small puff of air, I couldn’t resist the aroma that wafted from its body.

　I grabbed the hot fried chicken with my chopsticks and brought it to my mouth.

　The crispy texture of the batter and the delicious flavour of the juices seeping out from inside

“Hot!”

　The result was as expected, but I persevered with my will.

　Firm, taut thigh meat dances around, and I feel its tenderness as I bite into it.

　Undertones from the ginger and garlic seasoning oozed from the meat into a harmonious whole. 

“What soft meat.”

　After chewing enough of the meat, I downed my well-chilled glass of highball.

　The soda water washed away the grease that had spread throughout my mouth, and the flavour of the meat matched the flavour of the whiskey.

“……..Delicious.”

　I downed my glass and put it on the table.

　Hot fried chicken washed down with a chilled highball.

　I couldn’t think of any other description than that it was the best. 

　As I continued to eat while struggling against the temperature, two pieces of fried chicken were gone in no time.

　Having fully enjoyed the taste of fried chicken, I decided to change up the taste a bit. 

　I squeezed the lemon I had cut for the fried chicken with my fingers.

　The strong sour juice dripped from the lemon and lightly wet the fried chicken.

　After the lemon juice was evenly spread, I put the lemon on the edge of the plate and again moved the fried chicken to my mouth.

“This refreshing zest of lemon is also the best.”

　The strong acidity enhanced the savouriness of the meat and made it much easier to eat.

　If you were to just keep eating fried chicken, with its strong flavour, your stomach might end up feeling heavy. 

　However, the addition of lemon makes it possible to enjoy a change in flavour as well as making it lighter.

　Eating sour fried chicken and drinking highballs.

　With a treasure tool that cost 30 million soros, I could afford such extravagance. 

　This is the fruit of me working hard for so long to aim at a single life. 

　It is because of that effort that I’ve come this far and am able to enjoy this kind of enviable single life.

“I wish I could go back and praise previous me who worked so hard all those years ago.”

　I think to myself as I raise my Bubbly Cup.

　There’s nothing better than admiring my collection while eating good food and drinking delicious alcohol. 

　With this treasure tool, I can drink highballs anytime, or make carbonated juice or other cocktails. I’m sure that from now on, my future drinking at home will be even more fulfilling.

　Next time, I can make a wine spritzer or something similar by mixing my wine with soda water.

　Ah, I can’t stop imagining the dramatic increase in the variety of drinks I can make.

　Thanks to today’s visit to the opera house, I was able to come up with an idea for the magic circuit. Besides that, I was also able to buy such a valuable treasure tool for a mere 30 million soros.

　Looking back, what a day today was.

　Realising this, I got into an even better mood and started singing a favourite song of mine from my previous life in the living room.

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