"Liquor is a fun thing! last time, the mead that was drunk by two of us was delicious"
As soon as I arrive at home Lucie is telling me in high spirit
Until now, they were gathering maple leaf and cranberry, after they know the purpose it were gathered, they become motivated.
All the elves like alcohol. when the village wasn't under the rule of the Empire, they sell excessive food and bought Liquor instead.
Because Mead and Wine are expensive, They bought ale instead which was made using wheat, and drink it at harvest festival.
"The Liquor I make before, is sweeter than Mead and is more delicious"
"Are you making a Liquor using cranberry? is the taste sweet and sour?"
"Cranberry is only one of it ingredients, the main ingredient is different. it is how to make winter more fun"
"A fun winter.. Maybe this is the first time i looking forward for long winter"
Lucie laugh happily. with that feeling alone this place seems to become brighter.
As expected the smiling face really suit Lucie
"But… Syril, If you can effort to make Liquor with it, But if we aren't able to collect enough food, then won't the village going to starve later?"
Lucie who was smiling happily before now has serious look on her face.
Watching my work, it seems like Lucie can understand the situation in the village even though it is vague.
"There is some truth on what Lucie said,But it is not only like that."
I smile gently to Lucie.
"What do you mean?"
"As Lucie said,It is important to collect food to survive. But, if it is only that people wouldn't be able to preserve themself."
"Is that so?"
"That's right, a person will become tired if they only work in order to live. Because there is hope to live happily tomorrow, people can work hard now. But this is only my way of thinking, This is two grand task as the village chief job"
It is the admiration that Syril have for his father who is village chief before, also, it is what he actual feeling that he got through his own experience.
"To protect everyone life on the village. I will use every power I have to ensure everybody can keep living."
Therefore, I'm working on food issues, and how to improve village life.
"And to show another dream to everyone in the village. Letting them believe there is a dream where there is better day tomorrow than today. only after I can fulfill this two task I can stick out my chest and said that I am village chief"
I will make the villager to look ahead of them
I believe that is the condition to become a good Village chief.
When father was a village Chief, all villager was laughing. They believe in tomorrow and made an effort for it. I want to make such village.
Lucie is looking at me with sparkling eyes while I said immature thing.
She was very happy that it make me embarrassed.
"Syril right know is kinda cool. Ah, that's right. it is worthless if you only try to live. when it is winter, the battle will be over, there will be enough food for the two of us to live leisurely, and drink a liquor in front of fireplace, can I dream of such a future?"
"Yes, of course you can. I'd like to spend such time with Lucie too. if I can add another one,I wish to be able to feed Lucie mouth to mouth again"
"…No!"
with blushed face Lucie averts her eyes from me.
Surely,when the time come I will asking about it seriously.
When we talk, it doesn't feel like It was already time for lunch
Because there is still a work for the afternoon, I still need to make something.
"Shall I bake a bread today?"
"it was unusual for Syril to bake a bread. usually Syril only make a noodle"
"Because there is Important material that was missing to make it"
While saying so I take out a bottle from the shelf. it contain water with cranberry inside.
if you look closely there is white bubble floats on the surface.
"Wow, Syril what is this it make it make a *Buble-Buble[TL: not sure about this sound effect] sound and there is this whitist color stuff that make me sick I think it is useless now we should throw it away."
"No, we shouldn't throw it away. I spend the past week just to make this."
It was a yeast in liquid form that I made by soaking cranberry in the water for a week.
it can be used in various way.
"Look Lucie. to make bread dough from wheat we need to pour water and knead it in large bowl. In addition I will pour yeast liquid from cranberry into it"
While saying so I continue to knead the wheat and soon it turn into bread dough that was one size bigger than my fist.
"It is important wheat. is it really okay to eat it?"
"Believe in me. Let's cover it with this cloth while put it aside for a while"
While the fermentation begin I start hearing a sound of air leaking while measuring the timing.
Ok, now the first fermentation is sufficient.
"Ok, it will look good soon. Look"
"It has become much bigger then before"
"This is the power of yeast liquid that was make from cranberry. So doing it like this, it will inflate the bread dough with gas while it broke down the sugar.
Because it is quiet big I beat the bread dough again cutting board several time.
it is quiet big I beat the bread dough again cutting board several time.
"Syril, you shouldn't play with food."
"No, you are wrong, this is the wonder of cooking. You need to let out the gas inside of the dough and let the new air in. By doing so the yeast inside the dough will reactive and make the dough smoother. After you done with it you complete second fermentation stage"
"I'm sorry,Syril. I don't understand yeast or fermentation you mention before"
"Simply put, the bread dough can easily take in the nourishment from the wheat and make the bread become soft, with this change it will make the bread more delicious"
"Amazing. It is so wonderful to see such amount of weed seed turn into big bread"
Until recently before i start cooking Lucie was entrusted to do the cooking in the kitchen, it seems like they was told to use the wheat as little as possible.
Someday, I will make them not to worry about such a thing any longer.
"It is too early to be surprised. when i bake it, it will become much bigger then this."
I cut the bread dough into smaller size and then put it on iron plate and place it on stone stove and bake it.
After waiting for a while, it is finished.
"How exciting. If Syril can cook more different kind of foods, you should do it more sometimes"
"I can't promise that. It's only been a short time since I was on cooking duty."
"Is that so, I have slight complicated feeling. I like to cook for Syril and…. Even though I am defeated right know, I will learn Syril cooking a little bit in time, so I will catch up with Syril soon." [TL: not too sure about this phrase]
"Because it is for Lucie, I though I will make it everyday"
"Because right know I can't make tasty food for you. So until Syril can't make a new dish anymore, at that time I want to do what I can"
"That is no good. I like the dish that Lucie make. It's to the extent I want to eat it every day"
"thank you. But I want to remember a lot of delicious dish Syril knows now. Then I will arrange the dish that was make for me. and I will make it more delicious"
" I'm looking forward to it."
The best seasoning of the dish is because Lucie make it. It can't be helped, From now on let's enjoy it.
◇
"Look, it was baked"
I take out the bread from the stone stove. the bread swell about two time then before
I cut the bread in half and put dried cranberry on the other half and venison in another.
"Wow, it really become big. Syril can I eat it?"
"Go ahead"
When I say so, Lucie take the bread with dried Cranberry from my hand and stuff it in her mouth.
"It's soft. it is so fluffy and sweet. the bread is so good."
I want to pat Lucie head so badly when she stuff her mouth with bread while making *Mofu Mofu sound.[TL:Eating Sound in cute way (maybe)]
"Though it was more delicious that what the village had make,I wonder if it was a insufficient"
Because it only contain wheat, water and yeast it doesn't have enough punch. If only we have egg or butter, something much better can be made, but there is no domestic animal on this village.
There is horse that was used for farming and transportation, but it was hard to get the milk quantity I need, and this guy doesn't become pregnant easily, so I can't use it.
when considered a future we will need procure a livestock and have a stable supply of salt.
if we are thinking about manpower cost and performance cost goat can be an option. If we do so, we can get goat's milk and butter.
"I think even though it is like this it is delicious enough. Syril, why does the yeast make the bread grow big? Does yeast increases the amount of wheat?"
"No, it is impossible to increase the amount of wheat. but when the bread was made there is a lot of gap for air. to the extant that it can make the bread grow big and become soft"
"Un. but it is troublesome to make yeast every time since you need to soak cranberry with water for 1 week"
"Yeah, because the yeast isn't active in cold temperature, I need to be careful with the temperature as well. it is good now because it will be winter soon"
"But it is sad, when winter come, we can't harvest cranberry anymore, so it mean we will need to part away with soft bread…."
Lucie said so while stroking the bread with sad face.
"We don't have to worry about it. It doesn't need to be raw cranberry to make a yeast liquid. I am planning to have enough to make dried cranberry. Do you know what this is?"
"That is part of bread dough from previous bread, isn't it?"
"Correct"
I smile on Lucie while rolling one part of previous bread dough on my palm.
"Yeast is alive on this small dough. so when you add this small dough when you make bread next time it will grow big like the bread before"
"I see. then the next time too when i make bread I should leave one part of it so I can eat a soft bread again is it."
"Correct. but, sometime there will be another bacteria on the yeast as well but the basic is like this."
"But where did you hear it from?"
"When my father was still a village chief, I have followed him to town. I knew it at that time"
This is a lie.
It is only at 19th century the art of using yeast began to spreed on earth. For this world which only has technology around 16th century this kind of use is still unknown.
And the use of yeast isn't only limited to bread.
"I should tell everyone to follow this method. with this we can make big bread with a little bit of wheat, and it is delicious."
My eyes become round. I was going to ask Lucie to spreed this method to other villager, but she said it by herself first.
The bread I eat today is more delicious then usual.
It's small, but people can feel happiness with that alone.
Lucie is different from me, she suggest because she want everybody to enjoy this bread from the bottom of her heart, and no calculating like me.
"Un, I'm counting on you. because there is several bottles of yeast liquid at the storehouse i want you to spread it using it"
"Yes, leave it to me. I will make one tomorrow, and I will tell everyone that Syril found a way to make it turn well"
"It is not necessary to mention my name particularly"
"No. since me and everyone is grateful for Syril"
My heart beat fast when i see Lucie smile. when I am with Lucie, I find myself to like her more and more.
"Thank you. For Lucie I will try hard and never give up"
"Don't worry about it. Syril doesn't have anything to be ashamed. because there is nothing that can make me hate you."
I couldn't endure it anymore so I tactlessly patted Lucie's head
"Recently, I feel like Syril treating me like a child"
"That is not true. its only because of Lucie that I have been only to do this much, I actually want to do more adult things you know."
It was my Earnest wish, but I can't cross certain line when I touch Lucie. It is scary if I can't stop when I should.
"Adult thing?"
"Like hug, Kiss or made a child."
Lucie after hearing my word her face become flushed with red.
"Moo, Syril"
Lucie eyes become monochrome and raise her voice in Embarrassment
[TL: I really have no Idea about this phrase if someone can help me please do]
目を白黒しながら,戸惑いの声をルシエは上げた.
"Is it strange? I though it is the natural reaction to want to do this thing with the person you like"
"It is not strange, but you can't said so casually like that, my heart isn't ready yet"
"it is not usual thing? then I will said I like Lucie instead of greeting from now on."
"Such a thing is different"
"I'm sorry, I don't think that Lucie will be so surprised. But if Lucie accepts me, after saving the village as I promised, I want to do what I said just now everyday"
"Uu, it is unfair. why my heart is pounding so much"
"My heart is also pounding as well you know. As expected it need a lot of courage to said such a affection thing."
"I don't see it like that"
"Because in front of Lucie I need to keep my image"
I say so and smile. Even I'm embarrassed.
I want to save the village and Hear my Early confession soon.
"Hey, Syril. everyday?"
"Un, of course. So based on that, Please answer my confession"
While saying that the time for lunch passed.
I savor this moment one second and then one minute.
Surely we are running out of time to do this kind of thing.
Because this is Calm Before the Storm…