Chapter Twenty-three: A Farewell Curry
After almost a month without Sieg having a fever, Karen’s services were no longer needed. It wasn’t the end of the trial period, but rather the completion of her task.
In this world, people age with each new year. Although there were still several months until Sieg would turn ten, Helfried had judged that his life was no longer in danger.
“Lady Karen, the smell and color are quite intense. Are you sure this is alright?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine!”
Karen, who had been relieved of her service, was invited to dinner, and she had asked to make one last potion, which she was currently doing in the kitchen. Sara was helping her, and the usually expressionless Sara was actually wrinkling her nose in obvious skepticism.
“Karen, I could smell this from my room. What are you making?”
Sieg had popped his head into the kitchen. Though still confined to the house, he had recovered enough to walk around. He’d grown taller, and his cheeks had filled out remarkably.
“It’s a very delicious dish.”
“Didn’t you say you were making a potion?”
“It will probably be a potion too.”
“So taste comes first…”
Sieg gave her an exasperated look, then pulled out a chair and sat down. It seemed he intended to stay in the kitchen.
“The smell is unique, but it does smell tasty.”
“I’ve wanted to make this for so long! But the spices were too expensive, and I couldn’t afford them!”
“So you’re using our family’s resources to make it. Well, that’s fine. Nobody will be angry even if it doesn’t turn out to have the effects of a potion.”
Not everything Karen makes becomes a potion. This might not become one either, despite using mountains of expensive spices. But apparently, no one would be angry. With Sieg’s approval, Karen cheerfully continued sautéing the ingredients while infusing them with magical powers.
“Master Sieg, you came at just the right time. I was about to taste it to adjust the flavoring.”
“You’ll let me taste it?”
“Let me first taste it for poison.”
Sara interrupted as Sieg’s eyes lit up with excitement.
“I’m not really worried about Karen’s cooking anymore.”
“I’m honored by your trust, but I might not notice if someone slipped something in. Sara, please go ahead.”
“Very well, then.”
Sara took a bite and her eyes widened.
“This is… how should I put it… even if there was poison, I wouldn’t be able to tell from the taste. I’m starting to sweat.”
“That’s because of the hot peppers.”
“…After appraising it, it appears to be called ‘curry.’ The effect is health improvement.”
“Oh? It’s already become a potion even though it’s not finished?”
Karen was surprised it had become a potion when she hadn’t even added all the ingredients yet. Sara looked alarmed at Karen’s words.
“You’re planning to add more ingredients even though it’s already complete as a potion? It might lose its potion properties! Besides, it’s already quite delicious as is.”
Sara seemed to prefer spicy curry.
“Sara, let Karen do as she likes. At least since it’s a potion, it should be safe for me to eat.”
Grateful for Sieg’s support, Karen fed a spoonful to Sieg, who was waiting with his mouth open like a baby bird. After taking a bite, he widened his eyes and started coughing.
“It’s a bit… spicy.”
“Should I add some honey? Grated apples would also help to make it milder.”
“Indeed, any potion would be meaningless if Master Sieg can’t eat it.”
Sara quickly switched gears and began grating an apple. Karen loved curry whether it was spicy or mild. It was her favorite food from her previous life, something she’d desperately wanted to eat but thought impossible in this world. She had experience making curry from spices before, so she had persistently tracked down the locations of spices in this world, waiting for the day she could gather them all to make curry.
“Sorry for making you ruin the potion for my sake.”
“Oh, don’t worry about it. I was planning to add these ingredients and simmer them anyway.”
Karen showed him a bowl filled with chunky pieces of carrots, eggplant, and kocco meat. Sieg smiled wryly at the sight of the chopped kocco.
“If it was just kocco, I’d think it was for my sake, but since you’re adding various other things, I guess this is your preference.”
“That’s right. I’m making this curry exactly how I like it best, so please don’t worry. Though if I deserve scolding for using House Ehlertt’s ingredients under the pretext of making a potion, I’ll accept it.”
“Hahaha!”
There was no need to worry about Karen doing as she liked, but if there would be a scolding, she had no choice but to accept it.
Seeing Karen’s antics makes Sieg laugh out loud.
Lately, Karen had been acting up just to see Sieg hold his stomach laughing.
Karen added honey to the curry base, stired it, and took a spoonful.
“Master Sieg, how is this?”
“Hehe… it’s easier to eat than before. But it’s still spicy.”
“Let’s add the grated apple that Ms. Sara prepared.”
After adjusting the taste again, she started adding other ingredients. Eggplant because Karen wanted it, carrots for color, and kocco because Sieg liked it. Kocco was a domesticated monster that looked like a chicken but was three times larger.
She covered the pot and simmered it on low heat.
The meat’s juices seemed to be making the curry even more delicious.
“Ah! What a delicious smell!”
“I’m getting hungry too.”
“Lady Karen, could I taste test a bit more?”
It seemed Sara had also fallen under the curry’s spell. Karen gave a thumbs up to Sara’s request, as they had grown quite close over the past month.
Then she added her secret ingredient.
“Karen, what are you putting in?”
“Heh heh heh. Herbs.”
“You’re using medicinal herbs in cooking?”
She had always thought when handling herbs that they had a unique smell and flavor. They were bitter in potions. But wouldn’t they work well in curry? She thought.
This was powdered dried medicinal herbs.
Karen has little understanding of medicinal herbs. As an F-rank alchemist, she wasn’t allowed to read other alchemists’ papers. She had no knowledge beyond what she learned in a commoner school and only knew that they could be used in healing potions. They seem to have healing properties, though they can’t heal those with Bloodline Blessings. When brewed and drunk, they restore the body to some extent. That’s all she knows. But Karen adds them anyway because taste comes first.
After tasting it, she confirmed it worked. The herbs seemed to be the perfect seasoning for curry, adding a depth of flavor. It was less of a seasoning and more of a harmonizer. The taste was perfect as if the herbs were meant for curry.
Half-certain that this had completely ruined it as a potion, she set aside a small pot of curry for Sara and hid it in the cupboard. When Karen signaled to Sara with her eyes, Sara nodded in return, expressionless but clearly pleased.
Karen appraised the finished curry.
“…Huh?”
“Did it finally break? Well, that’s fine. Don’t worry about it.”
Sieg was half-smiling. Karen returned an ambiguous smile and looked into the appraisal mirror again.
Kocco Curry
Minor Panacea.
A panacea was a type of potion that cured all status ailments that could be found in dungeons. It even cured illnesses that healing potions couldn’t fix. Naturally, it only dropped in the depths of dungeons and was quite valuable. Karen had only seen it in books until now.
To her knowledge, no alchemist had ever created one themselves. Her heart pounded so loudly it seemed to echo in her ears.
“It’s time for me to get dressed. I’m looking forward to the dinner.”
“Ah, right.”
While Karen was zoning out, Sieg had already left.
“Lady Karen, since it’s ready, you should change into your dress too.”
“I need to change too? I don’t even have a dress.”
“Lady Alise has prepared one.”
“When did she do that!?”
Led away by Sara, Karen lost her chance to mention the curry’s effects.
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