007: A Tired 3-year-old

“Transference!” Al

Thud, thud thud!

From the next room there is the sound of three wooden plates dropping to the ground. I wonder if my transferred dishes fell straight to the ground, or hit something on the way down. Probably, just the former.

“Hmm, this might be tricky.” Al

Two months later, I’ve continued experiments on Transfer Magic and have a better idea of how it works.

The first thing I investigated was what occurs when the transition target space was already occupied.

I found out that the transferring object will be moved to the nearest space that won’t collide with anything. I’m ecstatic that I won’t have to worry about transferring myself into a wall. Thanks to that knowledge, I’ve been transferring myself with peace of mind.

Another restriction is that I must be touching the item to be transferred.

In addition, I can’t transfer half of an object. I guess Transfer Magic isn’t allowed to modify the transferred items? I don’t see this being a problem for me.

Also, living beings will take more magic energy to transfer than an inanimate object of the same weight.

Finally, the energy required will increase commensurate with the distance of the transfer.

At some point, I’d like to try it on another person, but I don’t want to do that without their permission…

Thump!

“Huh?” Al

“Al! It’s hot today, can I get some ice!” Eleanora

“Eleanora, please knock before entering. You surprised me.” Al

“Really?” Eleanora

“Please knock next time.” Al

Eleanora doesn’t seem to interested in knocking. I wonder if I can setup some sort of trap to encourage her to knock?

“Anyway… Let’s see some ice!” Eleanora

Yes, yes. Next time, I might just transfer some shelves in front of my door so she can’t come in.

“It hurts! Why did you hit me?” Al

“Your face revealed you were thinking of something silly.” Eleanora

“Really? That’s intolerant. I’m just a three-year-old adorable little brother?” Al

It’s like I can’t even insult Eleanora in my mind, is she a mind-reader?

“How did you pick up a difficult word like intolerant?” Eleanora

“I read it in a book.” Al

That excuse usually explains random bits of knowledge.

“Get moving already!” Eleanora

My sister holds out a plate for me to put some ice on.

“OK, here’s some ice cubes.” Al

Interestingly, ice magic is known as an advanced variant of water magic. Since I’m not able to make an air conditioner, I decided to focus on implementing a swamp cooler. I worked desperately to achieve ice magic.

“Not that!” Eleanora

“Huh? Looks like ice to me?” Al

“The fluffy ice that you eat!” Eleanora

“Oh, shaved ice?” Al

“Yeah! That kind!” Eleanora

Ugh, why can’t you remember what I called it the last time I made it for you.

“OK, give me a second.” Al

Let’s remember that this adorable younger brother is willing to humor his sister, Eleanora.

I ask Eleanora to put the plate of ice cubes on my desk, then grab two plates that I had been practicing Transference with. I’ll give the other plate of shaved ice to Silvio. I use my unique shaved ice magic to fill the two plates with piles of shaved ice.

“Wow, great! Al is clever.” Eleanora remarks as she watches the shaved ice accumulate on the plates.

“OK” Al

It’s hard to accept such a nice compliment, it’s makes me feel a bit shy. Usually Eleanora and I are more contentious.

By the way, this magic doesn’t use a casting phrase. I’ve practiced my common spells enough that I don’t need to chant to instantiate the magic. However, the shaved ice magic is based on a high degree of magic control, it require finesse.

As the shaved ice piles up on the plate, I’m reminded of the core food of Japan, rice. I’ve gotten weary of eating the staples foods of breads, soups, and stews. Bread is nice, but I’ve spent too many years enjoying rice dishes to not be weary at this point.

“OK, the plate is full of shaved ice, do you need a spoon?” Al

“No!” retorts Eleanora.

Did you prepare one already? Well, I’ve borrowed a few spoons for Transfer Magic practice so I have a few in my room. They’re just wooden spoons, but they’ll work for the purpose.

“I brought a spoon!” Eleanora

“It’s nice to be prepared.” Al

Eleanora seems happy with her plate of shaved ice, I stand up with Silvio’s plate of ice.

“Then I’ll be off to deliver Silvio’s share.” Al

“I can’t wait for the crispy and chilly feeling.” Eleanora

I’ve given up on paying attention to Eleanora.

“Eleanora, do you want to learn a fun way to eat shaved ice?” Al

“What? Tell me!” Eleanora

Eleanora, who was about to dig into the ice, perked up and listened intently.

She took the bait just as I expected.

“Shaved ice is better if you eat it a bunch at once rather than little by little.” Al

“Eh? That seems wasteful.” Eleanora

“It’s a more intense rush of deliciousness. Try it before you knock it.” Al

“Hmm, I see! I’d love a better way of enjoying this!” Eleanora

“Have fun.” Al

As I left the room, Eleanora was shoveling shaved ice into her mouth.

As I went down the hall, I heard Eleanora’s expletive from her brain freeze.

Today I will increase the food repertoire of my home. I’ve been missing my beloved Japanese food since the shaved ice was reminding me of rice. Rice! Since I have no clues on how to requisition some, I’ll introduce a new dish based on wheat, since it’s available.

I walk to the kitchen located at the back left on the mansion’s first floor. Next door to the kitchen is the maid’s rest room, where all sorts of information is regularly exchanged.

“Oh, it’s hot these days.”

“Well, it’s summer, what do you expect? Unless you’re living in the royal capital and have the money for specialty magic tools, it’s going to be hot.”

“I want something cold to take my mind of the summer heat.” Mina

“Yes, here’s some cool water.” Other Maid

“I’d like some cold ale. It’s good with water.” Mina

“Don’t be so needy, the water is plenty cold here.” Other Maid

“Is it possible for it to snow today? When I went to pick up something from Alfred’s room it was cool?” Mina

“What’s happening in Alfred’s room?” Other Maid

“Yeah, it’s weird. When I went into the room it was chilly like it was winter.” Mina

“Really? Are you sure you aren’t out of sorts from the heat?” Other Maid

“It’s true, I’m not that far gone.” Mina

“Nevertheless, Alfred doesn’t seem much like a three-year-old.” Other Maid

“I get that! He’s been starting on simple arithmetic already, I feel distinctly outclassed.” Mina

“I’m pretty good at learning, but I don’t know if I’m going anywhere. Well, Mina can’t really retort.” Other Maid

“I sympathize with the first part, but want to deny the latter.” Mina

Two maids are having an odd conversation. Apparently I’m today’s topic. It might seem fun to keep listening for a while, but I have bigger fish to fry.

“Oh! Bartolo! Are you working today?” Al

I was looking for Bartolo, the mansion’s chef, who is a nice guy that’s gone bald early. The Slowlette family is a new noble house, so they don’t have holdover human resources like older noble houses. In addition, it’s like a branch family of an existing noble family, so there aren’t relatives to consult on those issues either. Most of the servants were referred by Elna’s parents, a family of merchants.

Bartolo is not of those but a fellow adventurer that my father Nord met previously. It seems he wants to open his own restaurant in the future, so he’s working for Nord to get some experience and save some money. Unlike typical noble chefs who focus on making complex dishes, Bartolo prefers to make simpler dishes that have been well seasoned. While I understand the allure of a complex dish, I prefer the simpler dishes that have an exquisite flavor profile.

“Bartolo, can I borrow some kitchen space?” Al

“Oh, Alfred. I thought you were popping in for a snack?” Bartolo

Bartolo is suspicious of my sudden culinary interest. Are you really sure that type of reaction is warranted? If you’re not careful, someone might think you were really a hardened criminal instead of a cook.

“I’ve found something I’d like to make.” Al

“Is my cooking not measuring up to your expectations?” Bartolo

“You’re a good cook, I can’t complain about your skills.” Al

I’ve cooked for myself plenty of times, I should be able to make what I’m thinking about with the supplies on hand.

“Are you sure?” Bartolo

Bartolo folds his arms and sends me a strange look. I can understand his point of view, kitchens have plenty of dangers and aren’t setup for children to play in. He’s sizing me up.

“Well, you look serious, and I can’t tell you no. I’ll keep an eye on you to make sure you don’t hurt yourself.” Bartolo

“Thank you” Al

“So what is the thing you’re interested in making?” Bartolo

Perhaps it was hard for his personality, but Bartolo is a pretty straightforward person. He’s a nice guy who a bit on the lanky side with an angry face.

“I’m going to make spaghetti, have you heard of it?” Al

“Spaghetti? What’s that?” Bartolo

“Eggs and flour, a little bit of oil and a little bit of salt.” Al

“A new use for wheat flour?” Bartolo

“Yeah. If we can make it work, I think the recipe variety will really expand.” Al

“That’s awesome! I don’t know how well it will work, but this sounds like a great idea.” Bartolo

Bartolo assists me by handing me each ingredient as I ask for them and any tool I need. I had to stand on a chair next to the counter since I’m not tall enough to reach the counter normally. Throw eggs and flour (from tough wheat) to a wooden bowl and mix with a spatula. 00 flour is made from a hard type of wheat then ground finely to allow for it to be rolled out very thin, the kitchen has it around for certain flatbread recipes. It’d be nice if we had some soft flour as well, so I could make cakes and tempura, but it seems we don’t have any.

“Huh, the dough is getting harder and harder.” Bartolo

Bartolo is watching with interest as the dough solidifies. Are you already thinking about another use for this? You’re really serious about cooking.

After adding a little water, knead the dough on a surface until the dough’s surface is smooth.

“I wish I could wrap it up with something to let it rest.” Al

“Hmm, we’ve got some Muona leaves?” Bartolo

“A leaf, does it have a smell or flavor?” Al

“No, Muona leaves are used since they don’t have a smell or flavor to transfer. It’s a common thing to keep around.” Bartolo

“That should work.” Al

Bartolo passes me some Muona leaves. It’s thing a large. It’s not that easy to get the dough wrapped up securely, but after a few minutes I’ve managed something that will work. The inventor of Saran Wrap deserves more fame.

“Why did you wrap it up?” Bartolo

“If the dough gets to rest for 15 minutes or so, it will get moist and easy to work.” Al

“Huh, that makes sense. It’s good to make it easy to work, that should make it easy to make a bunch.” Bartolo

“Ahaha, you’re quick on the uptick Bartolo! While it’s resting, let’s get on making a sauce that goes with the noodles. It’s sauce time!” Al

I didn’t want to alert everyone to what I was doing in the kitchen so I asked Bartolo to work quickly.

“So, a sauce… What is going into it?” Bartolo

“The noodles will pair with many sauces, but we should do a tomato sauce to start with.” Al

“Oh, tomato! We’ve gotten a few fresh ones from the village. Let me grab them.” Bartolo

There are other sauces I like more than tomato, but I can make tomato sauce quickly. The tomatoes from Koriat village are fresh and delicious. While some ingredients in this world are the same as Earth, there’s some new ones as well, and there’s some that aren’t quite the same. It’s disappointing there’s no rice growing nearby, maybe there’s some on another continent?

After fifteen minutes, the dough was done resting so I started stretching it. I’d prefer to roll it out, but there’s no rolling pin? I have to put that on my list of inventions to fabricate, there’s so much many dishes that benefit from a rolling pin. After pushing and stretching the dough with my hands, I cut it into squares.

Bartolo seems to be done with the sauce, or at least he seems to be keeping an eye on me as I’m using the knife. Please don’t look so intently, your face is distracting me. I’m more worried than normal about cutting myself.

The noodles aren’t even, but that’s not important for the experiment. I moved onto boiling them in a stockpot with generously-salted water. Once the noodles start floating, scoop them onto a plate and put some sauce on top.

“They look like they turned out well. They should look nicer if a real chef made them instead of a three-year-old. Now it’s time for a taste-test.” Al

I’m acting like this all an organized experiment, but I really want to dig in. Bartolo has a spot cleared off and utensils for us.

“Let’s eat!” Bartolo

I stir the noodles and roll some up onto my work, Bartolo follows my lead, more dextrously of course. Onto the taste… I think it’s good enough. The tomato sauce is quite good, it goes well with the noodles. Should the noodles be longer, thinner? Did I boil it long enough? I’m not sure what wasn’t quite right with this time’s attempt. I bet Bartolo can optimize the recipe from here. I turn over to look at Bartolo.

“It’s delicious, where did this come from?” Al

Bartolo is scarfing down the spaghetti one forkful after another. It seems you can consume plenty if you have a Bartolo-style physique.

“That was delicious.” Bartolo

Bartolo places his fork on his now-empty plate and gave his final opinion.

“Oh” Al

I’m a bit overwhelmed with the response.

“Boy, no, Alfred. I’d like four, no three days. I’ll figure out the intricacies and make a spaghetti dish that surpasses this.” Bartolo

“I don’t need to be called Alfred, I’m fine with whatever you want to call me. I’ll be back when I find something else interesting. Thanks for the assistance today.” Al

“Okay! I’ll be waiting!” Bartolo

Bartolo is smiling. I think we have a good connection.

Three days later, Bartolo had me come over in the afternoon to try his recipe. Compared to my attempt, his new recipe made the experimental version seem like udon. That evening, the family was served spaghetti for the first time, and everyone was excited. It seems women especially like the dish, and we’ve had it every day for dinner for the last week.

I’m getting tired of it…

Translation

Good Job!

Do Better!

Chapter

Love It!

What?

FFS!

Really?