Chapter 2
Chapter 2
Not something boldly flavored like Arrabbiata or Bolognese, completed by mixing with other ingredients. ‘What I’m aiming for is the all-purpose sauce that could serve as the base for all of those.’ Standardized and stable like a mass-produced commodity, yet with its umami pushed to the absolute limit—that very flavor. Yes, the one sealed in a glass jar at the mart, exuding deep, rich savoriness even without a single piece of meat. And my hands perfectly remembered that recipe. “Hmm~ Hm-hmm.” I hummed a tune and let my hands move according to memory
In my previous life, I loved cooking and had tried countless dishes, so now my hands moved guided by those memories. First, I took out the stewed ripe tomatoes. I crushed the red flesh with my fingertips and poured it into the pan, heating it on medium flame while gradually driving off the acidity as foam rose. Olive oil generously—a full lap around the pan. On top of that, half a finely chopped onion and two cloves of garlic. Sizzle, sizzle. The delicious bubbling sound. By the time the onion and garlic soaking in the oil turned golden brown, the tomatoes merged together like red waves
I reduced the heat to low and began simmering it slowly, stirring gently with a wooden spatula. As time passed, the tomatoes thickened, and at the bottom, umami-rich condensed crystals—the fond—stuck firmly. In the meantime, with a familiar sensation at my fingertips, one small teaspoon of sugar. Just a touch of salt to tame the acidity. For herbs, a pinch each of dried basil, oregano, and thyme. I stirred once more until the spices settled into the bubbling sauce. The thickened consistency, the sticky gloss coating the pan, and the tomato aroma tickling my nose
Finally, instead of citric acid, a few drops of freshly squeezed lemon juice. And the secret seasoning I’d prepared for this very moment. Right now, in this instant, my fingertips surely remembered. Before I knew it, a fairly enticing red sauce was beginning to bubble in the cauldron before my eyes. “Hmm…” The flavor of the finished sauce burst in my mouth—fresh yet weighty tomato essence. Along with it, the smooth, nutty gloss of olive oil and the slightly viscous texture from the starch. Following that, the subtle sweetness of onion and the warm pungency of garlic
In between, the refreshing, bittersweet grass notes from basil, oregano, and thyme. Finally, a lingering saltiness, with the natural sweetness from sugar balancing the acidity. “Perfect…” It was excellent, even though I’d made it myself. Now that the recipe was done, it was time to distribute it. So I just had to hand this over to the caravan— “Jonathan, at it again over there? Really.” Right on cue, a clear voice from behind—like jade beads rolling across a silver tray. I turned around to see softly wavy long hair like threads of spun gold
Sapphire-blue eyes. Perfectly sculpted features like a statue, porcelain-white skin. A remarkably small face. A moderate height. From slender shoulders downward, generously proportioned bust and hips, contrasted by a trim waist. My childhood friend and fiancée. The eldest daughter and only child of the Argentis Count family, closely allied with our Valerius house. Erika Argentis stood behind me, smiling as she asked the question. “Oh, Erika’s here?” “Goodness me. When a guy with zero interest in alchemy asked to borrow our family’s alchemy facilities, I wondered what had gotten into you, but this was it, huh.” She smiled with an incredulous, exasperated expression as she peered at the pot bubbling on the cauldron
“But you like it, right? Here, ah—” “Geez… Aah~” I carefully scooped up a spoonful of sauce, blew on it to cool, and fed it to her gently. She smiled helplessly, closed her eyes, and parted her cherry-red lips. Her small mouth opened. The wooden spoon slipped carefully into her mouth, deposited its contents, and withdrew empty. I waited with a satisfied smile for her reaction. As always, she’d give a light scolding like can’t help you, followed by praise that it was delicious. But Erika said nothing
Her playfully closed eyes remained firmly shut. Only the movements of her red lips, chewing slowly and deliberately, as if carefully pondering something. “Erika?” At my call, her closed eyelashes fluttered. That was the signal. The next moment, her eyes snapped open. Her sapphire-blue pupils shook violently, as if struck by an earthquake. The usual clever, playful gleam was gone. “……” She couldn’t speak a word. She merely raised a slender hand as if to touch her lips, only to freeze in midair. Like someone unable to even comprehend if what had just happened in her mouth was real
“Jo… nathan…?” The voice that finally emerged was barely a whisper. Her usual clear timbre was gone, replaced by a faint tremble laced with profound bewilderment. Her gaze turned to my face, then to the wooden spoon in my hand, then to the red sauce simmering in the pot, and finally back to my face. Within those pupils swirled emotions I’d never seen before. Astonishment and rapture, mingled with the pure wonder of a child encountering something utterly incomprehensible. She parted her lips as if to say something lengthy
But in the end, what escaped was something utterly primal and simple. Her grip on my wrist was firm. “One more time…” Her face flushed red, Erika looked up at me and whispered pleadingly. “One more time.” Perhaps thanks to her intensely fervent reaction, I scooped up a fresh spoonful, a bit flustered. I blew on the hot sauce to cool it and handed it carefully to her. She accepted it like a baby bird. Only after savoring the second spoonful did she finally speak in a trembling voice. “This… isn’t cooking, Jonathan.” “Huh?” “This… is magic.” “That good?” *Nod, nod!* She snorted, her blue eyes sparkling as she nodded vigorously
And as if even two spoonfuls left her profoundly unsatisfied, her gaze was fixed on the spoon in my hand. But taste evaluations like this weren’t much help… Hmm. Maybe I’d tease her a little? “Ooh…” As I scooped up more sauce and brought it toward her, her eyes sparkled again, an involuntary gasp escaping her lips. But my spoon halted mercilessly right before her mouth. “Eh…?” A teasing lilt in my voice toward her bewildered expression. “If you don’t give a proper taste evaluation, no more?” The baby-bird anticipation on Erika’s face vanished in an instant
No—more accurately, it was swiftly replaced by another emotion. Her cherry lips pouted resentfully, and her perfectly sculpted brows furrowed slightly. Her sapphire-blue eyes stared at me in disbelief at this turn of events. She was so adorable that I barely suppressed a laugh. “Th-there’s no such thing…” “There is—right here. Come on, hurry up. Explain properly how it tasted.” “Umm… well…” She helplessly flicked her gaze back and forth between the spoon in my hand and my face. Her blue eyes waged a fierce internal battle between the desire to articulate the flavor and the craving for just one more spoonful
After much hemming and hawing, she finally seemed to steel herself and spoke. “At first… it was just like tomato. Sour and sweet… Like the stuff we always eat.” “And?” “But… it’s different. Very different.” She chose her words carefully, like a student tackling a difficult homework problem. “There’s sweetness, but it’s not like fruit sweetness. It’s deeper, heavier. There’s saltiness too, but not just plain salt. It’s like the savoriness from well-roasted meat. But there’s no meat in it, right?” Oh
Not bad at all. She wasn’t just listing flavors; she was comparing it to tastes she knew and struggling to convey the differences. “And… it’s weird.” Erika’s voice dropped a tone. Her hand unconsciously brushed her throat. “I clearly swallowed it, but the taste lingers in my mouth. Saliva keeps welling up from deep in my tongue.” “It’s like my empty stomach is clamoring to be filled with this flavor. It keeps making me crave bread or something else to pair it with… that kind of taste.” Umami. Without ever using the word, she was expressing the very concept with her entire being
For someone with limited culinary experience like her, this was surely her best—and most honest—way to put it. “Hehe…” “Wh-why are you laughing! Was I wrong?” “No, no. Perfect taste evaluation. Here’s your reward.” With a satisfied smile, I scooped up another spoonful and brought it to her lips. Her face lit up instantly. This time, there was no hesitation. Erika’s eyes sparkled as she eagerly accepted the spoon, far more assertively than before. And after savoring the third spoonful, she no longer waited obediently like before
The light of reason dimmed in her blue eyes, replaced by an instinctual, intense possessiveness. The next moment, Erika didn’t grab the spoon in my hand—she seized the ladle resting beside the pot. “E-Erika?” Ignoring my flustered call, she scooped up a heaping ladleful of sauce. Even though it was hot, she had no intention of cooling it; she simply gazed at the red liquid with ecstatic eyes. She looked at me and declared—with a smile sweeter and more alluring than anything before. “I’ll have to manage this, Jonathan.” “What?” “It’s dangerous
This is far too dangerous an item.” Despite calling it dangerous, she looked like the world’s happiest treasure hunter clutching her ladle. It seemed I’d created something uncontainable—not just sauce.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ *Time passed. Imperial Dining Hall.* Red hair, red eyes. Red beard. Beneath clothes embroidered with gold and regal red garments proclaiming his nobility was a sturdy build. The man wearing a crown that bespoke his authority had his eyes fly wide open the moment he put the food in his mouth, utterly shocked
“Wh-what is this?!”