ALL NOVEL chapter 49 - Divine Cat Mii-chan Awakens to Red Bean Paste
49: Divine Cat Mii-chan Awakens to Red Bean Paste
At the communal bathhouse, the landlady asked me a lot about the current situation. It seems she has acquaintances in a neighboring village, which must be worrying for her. I assured her that it would be okay since many hunters and the lord had sent soldiers as well, though I had no concrete evidence to back this up. Sometimes, even a white lie can help ease worries.
Mii-chan also tried to comfort the landlady by rubbing up against her. Mii-chan is so kind.
I enjoyed the bath as usual, but my heart still felt heavy. I wondered if everyone in the Azure Dragon’s Roar was okay.
The next morning, I went back to the guild for work, but there was still no news. I decided to take no news as good news.
I took care of Sumire, but wasn’t in the mood for a walk, so I apologized to Sumire and went to the guild’s kitchen.
It seems that lunchtime has been getting busier with more general customers lately, which is a good sign.
I borrowed a corner of the kitchen to cook azuki beans. While doing that, I taught Sykes how to make mayonnaise. A strange noise from the kitchen led to a report from one of the guild staff, and Eva came to see what was going on and got angry. I explained that it was necessary and showed her the mayonnaise on vegetable sticks. She grudgingly accepted it under certain conditions. Mayonnaise is great!
After several rounds of removing the bitterness from the azuki beans, I had lunch with Mii-chan at the guild’s tavern and then started making the bean paste. I prefer smooth red bean paste, but since it’s a hassle to make, I decided to go with a more straightforward approach. While kneading, I added a small amount of black sugar and then honey to adjust the sweetness. It turned out sweet enough, but it wasn’t quite what I expected. It was indeed sweet, but lacked the characteristic richness of red bean paste. Maybe it should be described as a lighter red bean paste.
Mii-chan was unusually fixated on the red bean paste. It’s rare for her to show interest in food other than her cat food.
“Mii-chan, do you want to try some?”
“Mii~”
I scooped a spoonful of the red bean paste into Mii-chan’s usual dish. After sniffing the paste, Mii-chan took a tiny lick.
“Mii~!”
Her eyes sparkled as she looked at me for a moment, then she licked the dish clean until it was spotless. She must have really liked it.
“Mii~”
“Do you want more?”
“Mii~”
“Well, it’s not something you should eat a lot of. I’ll save some for you, and we’ll make it a treat for you tomorrow.”
“Mii~”
Mii-chan seemed excited about the idea. I reminded her not to eat it all now and put the dish back into her carrier bag. I realized later that I should have explicitly told her not to eat it all.
I took the remaining red bean paste and spread it on small pieces of lightly toasted black bread, which I then distributed to the tired guild staff.
I served some of the red bean paste to Sykes and the cat beast waitress.
“So this is what the red bean paste is?”
“It’s sweet and delicious~. It doesn’t look too good, but it tastes great.”
“That red bean is usually just used to add color to soups, but I didn’t know it could be prepared like this. Cooking is really deep, isn’t it?”
While enjoying my tea and petting Mii-chan, a group of guild ladies arrived and asked for refills. I mentioned that I was covering the cost myself, but they insisted on paying and asked me to make more.
When I asked Mii-chan if it was okay to give them some of her red bean paste, she went silent and froze with a look that seemed like the end of the world…
That was a no-go.
“I’ll buy the ingredients, so could you help me, Sykes?”
“Sure, I don’t mind.”
I told the guild ladies it would take some time and left the guild.
I took Mii-chan with me to shop at the bazaar. Along the way, I found a stall selling something like kuzukiri (kudzu starch jelly). When I asked the stall owner about the ingredients, she kindly directed me to where they were sold. Of course, I bought some of the kuzukiri and enjoyed it with honey.
At the place she directed me to, I was able to find not only kuzuko (kudzu starch) but also katakuriko (potato starch). With these, I might be able to make that. I also bought some soybeans for another recipe. I was pretty lucky today.
When I returned to the guild and started cooking the red bean paste, Mii-chan finally seemed to relax and resumed her work after being frozen earlier. It must have been quite a shock for her.
Normally, I’d need to focus on my regular duties, but today there wasn’t much to do, so I was allowed to work in the kitchen. Although I’m not really a cook, it seemed like a good opportunity.
I dissolved the kuzuko (kudzu starch) in water, cooked it until it became transparent and sticky, then kneaded it. After transferring it to a deep dish, I cooled it with cold water. Thanks to my water skill, cooling it was easy.
Meanwhile, I roasted the soybeans, removed their skins, and had Sykes crush them into a powder using a mortar-like tool. I made black syrup by dissolving brown sugar in water and heating it.
I also cut some meat into bite-sized pieces, marinated them in garlic oil, and set them aside.
Once the kuzukiri was ready, I took it to the guild ladies, only to be met with complaints that it wasn’t red bean paste. I told them to try it anyway.
They hesitantly began to eat. Since it was something sold at bazaar stalls, it shouldn’t be too unusual. I’d tasted some from a stall before, and it was a bit watery. However, since the brown sugar I used was a luxury item, what they were eating was a high-end treat.
“This is… delicious…”
See? I’ll make sure you pay for it, though. Brown sugar doesn’t come cheap.
Returning to the kitchen, I coated the marinated meat with potato starch and fried it in oil. I also cut some potatoes into thin strips, fried them, and lightly salted them.
I prepared fried chicken and French fries. It was a shame I didn’t have any soy sauce, but I had some lemon-like fruit to serve on the side.
This was for the male staff. I took it over to Henry, who was idly waiting.
“Can I eat it?”
“Well, starting tomorrow, it’ll be for sale.”
The male staff gathered around to try it out.
“It’s delicious!”
“This goes really well with alcohol!”
Fried chicken pairs with almost anything, even sandwiches, and with ketchup and mayo, it makes a great snack with drinks. Or so I assume, since I don’t drink alcohol myself…
Upon hearing this, the female staff also gathered, leading to a scramble for the food. As I tried to escape the chaos, they shouted:
“Make some for us right now!”
But I’m not a chef!
When I returned to the kitchen, I saw Mii-chan sitting at the counter, her tail swaying back and forth, watching the pot of red beans I was cooking. Curious about it?
“Mii~”