New chapter of Plant Magic Lord is out (3/10 chapters)

 

 

Surprisingly a Hardcore Enthusiast

(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)

After that, various plans progressed at an incredible pace. Well, we had already decided on most of the important things. All that was left was to keep pushing forward.

Now it’s just the Elven cuisine and the play, I guess.

I wanted about two more dishes in addition to the spicy stir-fried tomatoes.

The main would be the spicy stir-fry, but I needed something smaller to go with it. When I conveyed that, Stella smiled gently.

“Then, I think gyoza would be good.” (Stella)

“Gyoza…” (Elt)

They have that?

No, it might be something completely different from what I’m thinking of.

“By the way, what kind of dish is it?” (Elt)

“Umm… You stuff chopped pork, shrimp, and garlic chives into a flour-based skin and steam it. They’re fluffy, springy, and delicious!” (Stella)

Hm? That’s steamed gyoza, isn’t it… Ah, right. In authentic Chinese cuisine, pan-fried gyoza are actually uncommon. In Japan, ‘gyoza’ typically means the pan-fried kind. But in Chinese cuisine, boiled or steamed gyoza are the standard.

I see. Elven cuisine really is basically Chinese food, huh.

As I mulled that over, Stella called out to me.

“I’m sorry… It’s probably hard to imagine, right? Since it’s not a common dish around here…” (Stella)

“No, I’ve read about it in some book before, so it’s fine. I’ve never eaten it, but I can picture it somewhat.” (Elt)

I ate tons of pan-fried gyoza in my previous life. Steamed ones were far less common, but… judging from the recipe, they’re basically the same.

“I’m glad…! In elf cuisine, the spicy stir-fry is from the south, and the gyoza is from the north… I didn’t think there were books that covered it in that much detail.” (Stella)

“Yeah, that’s what the book said too.” (Elt)

Spicy food comes from Sichuan, in the southwest of China. Gyoza is from northern China, or Huabei.

So that’s the same too, huh. Unexpected… or maybe not? If the geography is similar, I suppose it makes sense. Well, no use overthinking it.

“We have oyster sauce and vinegar, so as long as we have ginger and garlic chives, we can make it…!” (Stella)

“Hmm hmm… These, right…?” (Elt)

Good. They existed among the plants I could create with plant magic. Ginger and garlic chives weren’t distributed around here. Even if I ordered them, they’d be insanely expensive.

I focused my mana and conjured up ginger and garlic chives. It was quite simple.

“Oooh, yes! This is exactly ginger and garlic chives!” (Stella)

Stella held the ginger and chives up like they were precious treasures.

Cute.

“Anything else we need?” (Elt)

“I ordered flour and such from Naru’s shop, so we’re good!” (Stella)

“Hm? You bought it?” (Elt)

“Yes, I did, but…” (Stella)

“…I’ll pay for it.” (Elt)

She had made preparations in advance. Naturally, I’d cover the cost of that. But when I said that, Stella flinched and began to panic.

“Eh… umm… n-no, it’s fine!” (Stella)

“No, really, I should—” (Elt)

“Ahh… no, that’s not it… I-It’s just… keep this between us, okay…?” (Stella)

Stella leaned in closer.

Her gaze was directed toward Dia and the others playing in the living room. In a muttering, excuse-like tone, she confessed:

“I wanted to try out a few things, so I snuck into the kitchen at night and cooked and ate some myself…!” (Stella)

“…I-I see.” (Elt)

So, it was like… snacking, or a late-night meal.

“Weren’t you missing ingredients, though…?” (Elt)

“That’s why it wasn’t real gyoza… It was a fake, thrown-together kind that would get me publicly shamed back home!” (Stella)

Stella’s face turned red. I gave her a gentle pat on the shoulder.

“Stella’s cooking is good. If you want to test something out, I’ll help. And if you want to sneak a bite at night… yeah, that’s fine too.” (Elt)

I don’t want to intrude on that sort of thing too much. Everyone gets hungry in the middle of the night sometimes and wants to nibble on something…

“…Actually, I sometimes eat cookies at night when I get hungry too…” (Elt)

I mumbled this as an afterthought. Sometimes when I exercise and go to bed, I get hungry in the middle of the night.

“I-I see… So even Elto-sama…” (Stella)

“Y-Yeah. So don’t worry about it…” (Elt)

“Got it… We’re the same then! Yay…!” (Stella)

Stella raised her hand for a high five.

What’s with that energy…?

“Y-Yay…!” (Elt)

I hesitated but went along and high-fived her.

*Kyuu*

The moment we high-fived, Stella’s fingers gently intertwined with mine.

“W-Wha…!?” (Elt)

Startled, I saw Stella had leaned in closer. Not quite as close as when we sleep bundled in cotton, but still.

“What are you doing, piyoo? Something nice happened, piyo?” (Dia)

“Eh… um, we’re just pretending to be good friends!” (Stella)

“Piyo! I wanna do it too, piyo!” (Dia)

Dia’s voice came from the living room. Stella released her entwined fingers and turned toward Dia.

“Yay, piyo!” (Stella)

“Yay, piyo!” (Dia)

Stella crouched down and pressed her back to Dia’s, giving her a high five.

Dia jumped up with a pyon.

Adorable.

“Well then, I’ll go make the gyoza now…!” (Stella)

With a patter of footsteps, Stella dashed off to the kitchen.

Hmm… well, that’s fine. We probably both need some time to sort out our feelings.

 

—

 

About an hour later.

Stella returned with steamed gyoza.

Hmm… this bucket, or rather steamer, looks handmade. I can see how much effort Stella put into it.

It was already noon. We all sat around the table and tried them.

“Piyo, what a mysterious dish, piyo…!” (Dia)

“Ugo-ugo, soft?” (Wood)

“Looks springy!” (Marcosias)

“Just like the book said…” (Elt)

Gulp. Though in reality, it’s just like I remember from my previous life.

The steamed gyoza were neatly wrapped in skins. They were steaming and looked delicious.

“Rather than chopsticks, maybe a fork would be better… You can eat them as-is, but dipping them in this vinegar makes them tastier!” (Stella)

“Itadakimasu, piyo!” (Dia)

“Itadakimasu!” (Marcosias)

“Ugo-ugo, itadakimasu…!” (Wood)

“Itadakimasu!” (Elt)

Each steamed gyoza was quite small. I placed one on my fork and tried eating it directly. Juicy, yet with a springy texture.

No doubt about it. This is proper steamed gyoza…!

“Delicious…!!” (Elt)

“R-Really? I’m so glad!” (Stella)

“It’s a strange flavor, piyo, but hot and tasty!” (Dia)

“Ugo-ugo, yummy!” (Wood)

“Hot! It’s hot!” (Marcosias)

“Are you okay!?” (Stella)

“Y-Yeah… It’s just, there’s a lot of juice inside…” (Marcosias)

Ah, I see…

Dia and Wood were fine with the heat, so they just chomped down. Stella and I understood how steamed gyoza worked. Marcosias must’ve gone in without knowing.

“If you tilt it and nibble from the side like this…” (Stella)

“Oh! Now I can eat it without spilling!” (Marcosias)

With Stella’s lesson, Marcosias was able to eat smoothly too.

Well, she had terrifyingly good bodily awareness…

It was the perfect angle, or rather, the perfect way to eat.

“I think this works well as a side dish. Very good.” (Elt)

When I said that, Stella blinked a few times.

Ah. This is…

Stella began to speak hesitantly.

“Umm, gyoza is…” (Stella)

“It’s a main dish. Yep.” (Elt)

When I said that, Stella gave a bright smile.

“Yes! Now we have two main dishes!” (Stella)

Dangerous. Stella’s surprisingly a hardcore Chinese cuisine enthusiast. In Chinese food, gyoza is a main dish after all.

“All that’s left is dessert, and we’re set…” (Elt)

“In that case! I have a great idea!” (Stella)

Stella raised her hand with a zubishi.

She’s fired up.

“Almond tofu!” (Stella)

 

—

 

Cockatrice Festival Preparation

50%

Grass Dumpling Festival completed

Lodging set up in the underground plaza

Elven Cuisine Welcome (Spicy Stir-Fried Tomatoes, Steamed Dumplings)

Dia’s Play: (Cockatrice Costume Edition)

Adventurer Guild Design finalized

 

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(Thank you for reading at bayabuscotranslation.com)