Translator: Adel

Editor: Evelet

Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!

Chapter 100 Part 2: Hermit of Endsk (IX)

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Dawn rebuffed Zora in one way or another as Dawn took the seasonings from the house and returned to the shrine. Zora was curious about what was happening, so he went to the backyard and pretended to smoke.

Zora could see several things happening in the shrine’s garden. The priestess, the orphanage caretaker, and the carpenters were gathered around something. After they had finished talking, they began eating, and while eating, the aristocratic boy left with his friend.

“Grampa?”

Yuan called out for his grandfather and Zora panicked. He hurriedly added tobacco to his pipe and puffed out a cloud of smoke. 

“…Yeah?”

Zora tried to scowl as much as possible, but all his expression elicited from Yuan was a look of surprise.

“If you’re that interested in it, why don’t you just go over and look for yourself? Lord Violant suggested that they make a steam cooker using the hot springs and helped them make it.”

“A steamer, huh… So are those Flint’s guys over there?”

Zora was a scholar of spiritual magic and had devoted his entire life to applying his knowledge into creating magical items that would be easy for anyone to use. He was thrilled at the thought of a tool he had never heard of.

In the end, he lost the battle with his curiosity and went to the shrine as Yuan suggested.

“Oh, aren’t you the master magician? What made you come out of the house? It’s rare to see you out and about!”

“I thought you would melt in the sun, gramps!”

Zora gave each of the carpenters a death glare, and all three of them shut up quickly with traces of fear in their eyes. 

“So what is this about a steamer? What are all of you grinning about?” Zora asked.

“Well, it’s like you said, master. We’re grinning over the steam cooker. The cost of the materials is extremely cheap. When you have one, you can cook with steam instead of using firewood and save money. Amazing, isn’t it?”

Nicoli demonstrated the use of the steamer, beaming with pride.

“Well… of course, it’s surely an interesting idea.”

“It was Lord Violant’s idea.”

“Vi… Who’s that? I feel like I’ve heard that name before.”

“What are you talking about, gramps? He’s the second son of the Duke!”

“The Duke of this territory? Isn’t his second son a lazy good-for-nothing?”

Adela was disgusted by his comment and taught him the kind of man Lord Violant was. Zora stared back in amazement.

“How many times have I told you, father-in-law? Seriously, I swear it’s in one ear and out the other with you.”

Picking up a container of seasoning he had taken from the house, Dawn snarled this out as if to tell his father-in-law that he’d had enough.

“What are you doing with that?”

“I brought it to come to help the shrine. I used to help out here when I was a high priest… The way these kids are going hungry has me worried.” 

Dawn had initially worked in the royal capital. Despite that, he had occasionally been sent to various places to help out as needed.

That was how Dawn and his wife Katrea had met. Katrea was assisting at the orphanage, and Dawn had been assigned to help at the shrine.

A bittersweet expression crossed Zora’s face. Back in those days, he had focused only on his research and left the house a mess. Katrea had hated him. He had nothing but love for his daughter, but she hated that all his money went into his research, neglecting everything else. They argued a lot, and in the end, Katrea ignored Zora’s objections and married Dawn.

Katrea had been happy with Dawn; she could afford daily expenses. Zora’s memories of how happy Dawn made her left a bitter taste in his mouth. 

Zora thought of Dawn as a bastard who had the nerve to kidnap his daughter. But when he was reminded of how much Katrea had struggled to pay her living expenses after Zora’s wife died, there was nothing he could say.

Zora was disgusted with Dawn and sucked his teeth at him. Emma, the priestess, pretended not to notice and smirked at him.

“He’s nothing like the rumors. ‘Incompetent younger brother’ is definitely a lie that was made up about him. He is far from being mean. Rather, he is kind and gentle.”

“I think he’s on bad terms with his brother, and that’s likely the reason for and origin of the rumor.”

Emma nodded at Dawn’s reply.

Giving both of them a sidelong glance, Zora approached the steamer.

“Careful. You can get burned by the steam,” Nicoli cautioned Zora.

Zora replied, “Ah, I get it, yes, I see, I see. The lid fits in this groove, and it can slide in and out; does the steam leak through the groove? With the lid on, the inside will fill with steam and heat up… Right? Who’s idea was this?”

“We already told you; it’s Lord Violant!” Dawn responded with an annoyed voice and raised eyebrows.

Emma calmed Dawn down before explaining to Zora, “He said he had read about it somewhere. He explained the idea to Hans and his fellow carpenters, and they built this prototype for the orphanage for free. When asked how much he would charge for the idea, he shook his head, saying he had no need for anything like that. He said instead, if business goes well, that he wants 2% of the proceeds to go to the shrine. We’re so incredibly grateful.”

“Oh, 2%? That’s rather cheap for a design fee, but as a donation, it’s reasonable.” Zora nodded thoughtfully as he circled around the steamer, examining it.

“Did he say anything else that was interesting?”

“Yes, he suggested that we could make a sauce that uses wine vinegar and fruit juice and put it on the vegetables when eating them.”

“I see…! Mixing vinegar and fruit juice, huh. A fascinating thought.”

Zora had a twinkle in his eye.

Zora, who had been involved in research for most of his life, knew that one of the most critical assets in a person was creativity. He started to think that maybe he had made a mistake by not even talking to the man before turning him down.

“Father-in-law, he’s still waiting here in order to hire you for the town of Leca. So if you’re interested, he can come talk to you. Although…”

Dawn’s words pissed Zora off and left him shaking his head stubbornly.

“Don’t know, don’t know! I only came over here to poke around a bit. I’m going home!” Zora said with finality and set off back home.

Zora was a distance from where they were standing before Dawn and his friends shifted their gaze from his back to each other.

“It sounded like he was really interested, didn’t it?”

“Well, he is easy to read”

“But he’s really not being honest about his feelings, you know.”

All the townsfolk who knew Zora laughed as each of them added their own thoughts.

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Author’s Note: If you’re interested please read on.

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Wine vinegar is vinegar made from wine; any place you can find sake, you can find vinegar.

I looked it up on the internet but was inundated with history, so I just put this out.

If you put wine in a container and cover it with an agent to prevent insects from entering, and then add acetic acid bacteria, it can become vinegar. If you mess up, it just becomes moldy wine; don’t do it if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Recently, wine vinegar cannot be made at home anymore because of preservatives, but if you mix wine and vinegar you can make it at home.

It is very acidic so you could use it as a dressing, but I can’t remember eating it by itself.

(Grape wine vinegar is often called balsamic vinegar.) There is a long aging period, sometimes up to 200 years!! So the longer it ages, the more expensive it is.

How to make the dressing: vinegar, fruit juice, salt, pepper, and oil. 

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Adel: I’m not translating anymore of this. It goes into a recipe that includes no measurements; this is a waste of time.

evelet: This cat is not a waste of time, however: