The Artist Who Paints Dungeon - Chapter 89



Only Noblemtl

Episode 89

Sunshine sky, black clam, club trumpet.

These three were the representative specialties of the village of Edlan.

“The club and trumpet need to be used for the sunset….”

“If you just eat it, you’ll end up chewing on mud.”

“That’s right. Isser, can you help me?”

“Yes, of course.”

Isser skillfully picked up the basket containing only a club or trumpet and began to work on the seam. It had been so long since he had done it that he stuttered a little, but his hands quickly found their way and continued working.

“They do similar work on Earth too.”

“Oh… is that so?”

“There are some differences though.”

These representative specialties were made by using freshwater from the village of Edlan, which had to be desalinated to remove the mud. This was slightly different from the desalination method on Earth, where the clams would wither if water from other regions was used, and the salinity of the water had to be adjusted with salt.

Isser nodded as if surprised.

“It’s spitting out mud even though it’s not the local water.”

“Yes, I think it’s okay if you just adjust the salt content to the right level and they’ll spit it out.”

“Isn’t it that your ego is weaker than that of the clams in the Edlan region?”

“Let’s not put our egos on the clams that are about to be eaten.”

The basin full of clubs and trumpets was soon covered with a black cloth.

“Now all I have to do is leave it until the stew is done.”

The club trumpet, the pride of the village of Edlan, was famous for its ability to set the sun early.

Maybe it was because his entire body was closer to flesh than internal organs, but the amount of mud he swallowed was not that much, so he only had to wait for at least 30 minutes, or at most an hour.

“It would be better to change the water in the middle, but….”

“I’ll do that. Once every ten minutes or so would be okay?”

“Yes, that’s right. Please.”

Once every ten minutes might be a bit excessive, but it can’t hurt to be cautious.

‘Nothing makes me more angry than chewing sand while eating.’

Isn’t that Geo, a self-proclaimed gourmet and a big eater? He aimed for thorough cooking that would not be disturbed by anything while eating. If he felt uncomfortable while eating, it was not worthy of being called cooking.

“Then it’s stew now… .”

Simply put, stew was a Western-style soup.

“Just put anything in and see.”

“I know how to cook it too….”

“So, did you do it yourself?”

“… … .”

“Please listen to my class quietly.”

Sometimes people ask about the difference between stew and soup, but it’s easier to think of stew as the main ingredient, while soup is the broth itself. In short, stew is a dish that uses liquid to boil ingredients.

“Would you like to follow me?”

“Huh? Where to…?”

“To the garden.”

That’s how Isser saw Geo’s garden.

“Taran.”

“… a garden?”

“Yes, what’s the problem?”

“No, the garden… .”

“It’s a garden.”

“…All right.”

Isser was convinced.

“There is no way you can farm normally.”

“What did you say?”

“As expected, the smiling tyrant of the seaside village… .”

“tyrant?”

“I didn’t say anything. What did you hear?”

“Now you know how to speak properly, it’s really amazing.”

I was really convinced.

“Here, there are cherry tomatoes in there….”

“All I see is a pumpkin imitating a tomato.”

“I think your eyesight is getting worse. Don’t let your guard down just because you’re a mermaid, and get some glasses.”

“I don’t know if it’s a problem with your eyesight.”

Isser asked, unable to bear it any longer.

“Why on earth is this a garden?”

“It’s narrow and cute, so it must be a vegetable garden.”

“The crops are so big that they look relatively narrow, and none of them are cute.”

“I would appreciate it if you would be careful what you say, as our Queen Elizabeth 32nd may be offended by what you say.”

“Who on earth is Elizabeth 32…?”

Kkuddeukduk―.

At Geo’s words, the tomato leaves, each as big as a pumpkin leaf, rolled back with a loud sound. Isser finally lost his smile at the sight of them clenching their fists.

“…Would you like to eat this?”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, he became almost as serious as when he was watching his sister’s research process.

“This?”

“The kids are all sacrificial and kind, although they have their own unique personalities.”

“I feel like it would hold my Adam’s apple while I’m eating and prevent it from going down into my stomach.”

“You’re not that rebellious. You’re just very gentle, right?”

“that….”

Isser nodded.

“I understand.”

“Did you do it?”

“maybe….”

“Then follow me.”

“If I were to die, I would rather go to the sea.”

“Don’t say anything weird.”

Geo greeted the crops in the garden he had become familiar with through communication and approached his target. The tomatoes, which were shining a vivid red, looked ripe, but were still tightly connected to the stems.

“We will gather the bells that will board the basket~”

At Geo’s words, several tomatoes hung on the stems and swayed slightly from side to side, indicating their intentions. When Geo placed a basket right underneath them, tomatoes the size of small watermelons landed with a thud.

“… … .”

“Wow, that’s it. It was easy, right?”

“…yes.”

In that way, Geo was able to harvest a basket of tomatoes in an instant.

“Personally, I like tomato stew the best among stews. It may be because that’s what we always ate in Edlan Village, but it’s much lighter than cream stew.”

“Ah… that’s right. I remember you liking it because you didn’t feel sick even if you ate a lot.”

Isser, who had regained his smile that resembled Giovanni’s, continued speaking.

“They also said that it is the best food to boil a lot and eat for a long time.”

“You remember it all.”

“It’s hard to forget about you, teacher.”

“I never thought I’d be this easy to understand. I’ll improve even more.”

“Don’t… Don’t… How much further are you going to progress from here… .”

“No one can stop me.”

“Please help me stop it.”

“You couldn’t stop me even when I was an ordinary priest.”

“teacher.”

“Now I’ll add more.”

However, even though he was a teacher, he did not want to become a person who was slower than his mermaid students. Geo was a generous adult who did not set limits for himself.

“I think the reason tomato stew is easy to eat is because it’s made almost entirely of vegetables. I don’t know, Isser, who is a strong and energetic young man… .”

“Oh, you still consider me a young man? A thousand years have passed?”

“Please keep quiet, because the genealogy is tangled. Anyway, as you get older, it’s really hard to feel sick. It’s especially a harsh ordeal for someone like me who loves to eat.”

“At least that would be a trial that the Sun God has never sent down before.”

Geo furrowed his brow as if he felt sorry for the mermaid’s tackle.

“Where did my student Isser, who used to shyly smile when I talked nonsense, go?”

“… It’s… okay… It’s gone now… .”

“Don’t worry, Isser. People can regress at any time.”

“What do you plan on making me into?”

“A pig with a sore throat?”

“… … .”

Isser smiled brightly. It was a more mature and refined smile than Geo’s.

“Nothing has really changed. You look different inside and outside the house.”

“… Huh… .”

“When he was with people he was comfortable with, he would make a lot of funny jokes like this. It was quite different from his public image, when he was called the Saint of the Sun.”

“… … .”

“When I was young, I didn’t even know that it was a sign of trust from my teacher, so I was always embarrassed. I still remember it vividly.”

Who are you? Where did my little one go? Who is this strange gentleman?

‘How did you grow so much in the meantime?’

It was a legendary joke that made me expect Geo to laugh awkwardly or frown like Honey just like before, but it was a bit awkward for Geo, who had no intention of becoming hazy, to suddenly become hazy like this.

“… Well, anyway.”

“You avoid it because it is disadvantageous.”

“It’s not about reminiscing about the past before eating. That’s what makes the meal uncomfortable.”

Geo continued, firmly blocking out his hazy emotions.

“Even if there is no meat in it, tomato stew has a very rich flavor because the main ingredients are tomatoes and onions. It also goes well with a variety of side dishes.”

Tomato stew goes well with any kind of meat. Adding a little wine and adding sliced ​​beef gives it a mature flavor, and adding chicken gives it a harmonious flavor that blends well with the juice of the tomatoes.

“Lamb isn’t bad either.”

“Isn’t the scent a bit strong?”

“That’s why I couldn’t eat it often when I was with you all, because you really hate strong smells…”

Not only these siblings, but the mermaid race originally avoided strong scents. It was okay to sprinkle a little pepper or add some scent, but if that scent became the main scent, they hated it so much that they had to run away.

“If you think about it, I must have smelled quite strong, even though I was rotting away. You managed to eat it. Maybe you couldn’t help it because you were under the influence of drugs?”

“… … .”

“… That… Yes, I think it was my fault this time. I didn’t say it with any particular intention, so please don’t make that face…”

“…yes….”

“I’m sorry, teacher, for living without thinking.”

The ruined atmosphere was barely able to recover after a long time. Geo said with an awkward smile.

“The lamb from Earth doesn’t have that strong of a flavor, would you like to try it later?”

“… My taste has changed a little since then. It’s okay even if the flavor is strong.”

“Oh, has it changed?”

“I guess a lot of time has passed… People also start to eat things they couldn’t eat when they were young as they grow up, you know?”

“Even if you are a mermaid, it seems you can’t endure the passage of time.”

Giovanni babbled nonsense with the noble face of a priest.

“You’re growing old together with me.”

“ah….”

Isser, who had been pondering, answered.

“Not bad.”

“I told you not to do that, but it still feels hazy? I don’t like that kind of thing.”

“Ahaha… .”

Isser asked, smiling awkwardly.

“So you were planning on putting meat in this stew? Since you’re making Edlan stew, I expected you’d put in clams or fish… .”

“I’m going to try making two kinds. I have some venison and sausages sitting in the pantry, and I’m going to use them when I have the chance. Not bad, right?”

“Good, I think I might be full after a long time.”

Mermaids convert the food they eat into nutrients that they consume to sustain their strong and flexible bodies.

Even if you don’t take in nutrients orally, you can maintain your health with your skin while you’re at sea, but if you eat food, you’ll get hungry easily.

“Tomato stew goes especially well with bacon or ham, which have a slightly fragrant flavor. It also goes well with hard dried meats that are difficult to eat raw, and since you can add various vegetables, it’s easy to adjust the seasoning in various ways…”

Geo held the tomatoes in his basket up to the sunlight.

“It’s definitely different from Earth or Edlan Village.”

“… I ask again, is that really a tomato…? It’s very different from the ones I know of on Edlan or Earth… .”

“I planted and grew seeds from the Earth, so it’s bound to be a tomato.”

The cherry tomatoes that Geo raised, or rather, grew on their own, were a little different from those on Earth.

It was as big as a small watermelon and slightly elongated like a date tomato, and was strangely transparent so that light could pass through it, and its taste was somewhere between mild and sweet.

“I don’t really like sweet stews.”

“Me neither.”

“But we have to make do with the materials we have, so we’ll have to find a solution with other materials.”

“Oh, and add more salt?”

“There’s already some sausage that’s salty and flavorful. Let’s use that for now. Hmm. What else should I put in it…?”

Geo blurted out the thought that suddenly occurred to him.

“It would be fun to make bacon.”

“Your homemade bacon is amazing, sir.”

Isser nodded.

“Because the townspeople were flocking in and expecting each of them to get a piece of it.”

“That’s me. A genius priest of the sun who can do anything.”

“That wicked man, who has received the grace of such a person, but knows how to do nothing but do useless things… .”

“Calm down and eat some tomatoes.”

Perhaps because he had seen the healthy self of the cherry tomato earlier, Isser hesitated for a moment, but then took a bite of the flesh.

“oh….”

“Isn’t it delicious?”

“This is the first time I’ve ever eaten such delicious tomatoes.”

“I am also good at farming.”

The tomatoes, which were very springy, had slightly jelly-like, springy parts.

Yet, the crunchy sensation unique to tomatoes with firm flesh was vivid, and there was a harmonious balance between the tangy taste of citrus fruits and the subtle sweetness that quickly enveloped it.

“I just touched it and it feels soft like slime.”

“It’s not like it’s slime, is it…?”

“The texture is interesting.”

It was a while before Isser seemed to like tomatoes quite a bit. It was too much for Isser to truly hate moving tomatoes, since he had seen too many of them over the years.

“So what else should I harvest now? Actually, I think it’s a bit odd to use the word harvest in a place called a garden, but anyway…”

“I’m going to try putting in a few things.”

As expected, the stew was delicious when eaten as a mixed soup.

“Carrots are the safest choice. The unique sweetness and faint bitterness of carrots go really well with tomatoes.”

“How about potatoes? I loved the stew you made with potatoes, thickened slightly by the starch from the potatoes. I still remember it.”

“Then let’s add potatoes. The starch that naturally comes out of the ingredients is wonderful, not too sticky or slippery, but rather sweet like bone broth.”

“It’s cooked until it’s soft and fluffy, and when you soak it up the tomato stew broth, it’s soft and mashable. Of course, I’d recommend adding potatoes, sir.”

Isser smiled faintly, excitedly, while holding a basket of tomatoes.

“The cabbage didn’t seem so bad either. The cabbage cooked in the hot broth was crunchy and soft at the same time, which was really nice.”

“It’s really good, isn’t it, when the warm, ripe cabbage juice soaks your mouth, it’s really wonderful in the winter? When it’s fully ripened and you mash it with your tongue, it’s also fun in its own way…”

“… … .”

In this everyday and ordinary conversation, Isser couldn’t help but recall memories from the past.

“… I think I came to the market.”

“I think it’s similar.”

“okay….”

I wondered if I was dreaming.

It was empty and scary.

The painter who draws dungeons