Try Dipping Your Chopsticks in MSG and Tasting It
Try Dipping Your Chopsticks in MSG and Tasting It
Five days had passed since Riman first tasted Sundubu-jjigae and sang its praises.
"It is... complete."
He showed up at the restaurant early in the morning, wheeling the machine behind him.
The massive, cylindrical machine on wheels gleamed silver.
It had a separate input hatch and output vent, plus a cleaning port so you could open the thing up and scrub it properly.
"I took inspiration from Sir Homer's prototype schematics and built the finalized version."
The bags under Riman's eyes were so dark they practically caved in his face as he spoke.
He'd pulled all-nighters for five days straight, and he rattled off the explanation with eyelids so heavy he could barely keep them open.
"As you requested, this is a fermentation machine that processes yeast to extract the natural MSG in molasses."
"Sir Homer's prototype lacked a recovery function to sustain long-term operation. I minimized mechanical stress, which meant reducing the production yield for this first version. Even so, it's more than adequate..."
Riman went on at some length. I didn't catch every word.
"Anyway, bottom line: this machine makes MSG?"
"Correct. You simply load it with molasses, wheat, or sugarcane and supply some mana to kickstart it. It accelerates the fermentation and delivers results fast."
I ran a hand over Riman's machine.
The silver body was a little crude, but efficiently designed to hold a large batch.
"Nice. Let's see it in action."
"Ah, of course."
He loaded it up with wheat.
Tossed in the yeast, shut the machine.
"Starting now."
He grabbed the machine's handle, fatigue written all over his face.
Eyes closed, Riman poured his mana into it, and the machine began to hum.
"Now we wait thirty minutes and the breakdown is complete."
"Only thirty minutes?"
"Yes. As I said, I layered acceleration and activation spells into it. It demands a lot of mana to kickstart, but it finishes just as fast."
He puffed out his chest, clearly proud of himself.
"Does it need a constant mana feed?"
"No, the internal magic stone handles the rest. You only need mana for the initial startup. The catch is the stone itself... I installed a cheap one for now, so it'll need replacing every three months."
Hummmmm!
I watched the MSG fermentation machine Riman had built and asked.
"So, what's the status on the freeze dryer?"
"Ah. I'll begin work on that tomorrow."
"Is that so?"
I clapped Riman on the shoulder—the man had worked himself to the bone.
I still remembered his face when he first tasted the Sundubu-jjigae.
The voice declaring he'd build it as fast as possible, the spark of life returning to his eyes—it still echoed in my ears.
"How long do you figure it'll take?"
"I've roughly grasped the principle, so it shouldn't take too long. But building a machine viable for commercialization... at least half a year, I'd say."
Half a year.
By then, Princess Diana would be ascending to the throne, right?
That was the part of the story where she bested all the emperor's challenges, surpassing her siblings to be named Crown Princess.
And not long after, the emperor passes away.
Naturally, the nobles started whispering that Diana had poisoned her father the moment her place as heir was secured.
A time of open conflict between the Noble Faction rallying behind the First Prince and the newly crowned Diana.
There wasn't any real need to force commercialization and spread MSG to the capital.
'Even if we did, the nobles won't have the peace of mind to enjoy fancy new ingredients.'
"Don't rush it. Take your time and make sure it's a solid, reliable success."
"Understood."
This is why knowing the future is a cheat code.
I could dodge a future where I recklessly overinvested and flopped.
"You look like hell, by the way."
"Ha... haha. No, I'm fine. Dark circles are an alchemist's fate, you see."
Mid-conversation, I spotted Bldi peeking at us from a corner of the kitchen.
"Bldi, what are you doing over there? Come here."
"..."
Her voice was so soft to begin with, I couldn't hear a thing from that distance.
"What was that?"
She squeezed her eyes shut and mouthed the words a little wider.
"..."
"Still can't hear you."
Then came the sound of.
Grrrrr.
"..."
Her stomach growling.
"You were just hungry?"
Bldi shook her head furiously, face turning bright red.
"Th-that's not it... Mr. R-Riman's face... it scared me."
"Scared?"
I glanced at Riman.
Hollow eyes from days without sleep, skin flaking, an uneven scraggle of beard, and cracked lips twitching as he swayed unsteadily—probably dehydrated.
At a glance, he did look a bit like a zombie...
"Okay, fair. He is scary."
"S-scary? That's too harsh."
"Go wash up. A zombie just walked in here calling me 'big bro.'"
"It's that bad?"
"Yes."
Riman checked his reflection in a mirror and let out a groan.
"Ah, what happened to my handsome face..."
Announcing he'd wash up, he shuffled off to the staff bathroom.
While he was gone, the MSG machine finished its cycle.
I opened the cylindrical machine's lid to find a heap of pure white MSG crystals, extracted from the grain.
The fermentation process really had been compressed into thirty minutes.
'This is the power of alchemy?'
As soon as Riman was out of earshot, Bldi scurried over and peeked inside the machine.
"Th-this white powder... is that the ingredient you put in the stew?"
"Yep. The source of that savory richness. MSG."
Bldi sniffed at it.
"It doesn't smell like anything?"
"It doesn't. As a powder, it's odorless. The magic happens when it hits the broth."
"Aha..."
I scooped the white crystals out of the output vent and bagged them up.
Bldi watched the whole process with laser focus.
I could see her eyes sparkling with curiosity.
"Wanna try a taste?"
"C-can I?"
"Sure."
I scooped up a tiny mound on a teaspoon and handed it to Bldi.
She lifted her small hand, delicately took the spoon, and put it in her mouth.
"Eh? U-umm? Huh?"
"How is it? Good, right?"
Her eyes went wide, eyebrows shooting up.
She stared at me, wide-eyed, fumbling for the words.
"Th-this is what this powder tastes like?"
"What does it taste like?"
"It's salty... but not just salty. Something rich clings to your mouth and makes you crave more... so, um..."
She whined, clearly struggling to pull the words together.
"Delicious, right?"
Nod nod.
Bldi nodded, like a little hamster.
"This is one of the secrets behind our food."
Bldi smacked her lips, savoring the lingering taste of the MSG.
Her eyes were practically glued to the MSG pile.
"But I don't recommend eating it straight like this."
"Wh-why not?"
"It's too overpowering."
"I-I'll only eat a little. Ju-just once... no, t-twice?"
"You're not trying to make a meal out of it, are you?"
"Ah... then, Master... what if... wh-what if I put a little in... in my blood? Would th-that be okay?"
She clenched her tiny fists, squirming on the spot as she forced herself to meet my eyes.
"I'll... I'll control the amount carefully. I'm, I'm good at that. I'll eat other things too. I'll eat really well. Even just... occasionally would be fine... I just want to try it... because... it's delicious..."
She looked so much like a little kid pleading for a gift that an involuntary dad smile crept onto my face.
Maybe I should just chalk it up to my Bocchi Vampire slowly developing social skills.
"Alright. Treating yourself to it now and then shouldn't be an issue. But before that, there's something even tastier. Want to try?"
"S-something even tastier? Wh-what is it?"
"Ever heard of Sundae?"
She shook her head.
"Wh-what's that?"
"It's Pog intestines stuffed with glutinous rice, vegetables, and Seonji."
"S-Seonji!"
Bldi's pupils trembled.
The sudden mention of her all-time favorite menu item made her gulp.
"D-does it have Gallek too?"
"Some, but not a lot. I can make you a separate dipping sauce with extra Gallek if you want."
"G-good. Hehehe."
"You really love Gallek."
"I... I didn't know it would be so tasty."
"Aren't vampires supposed to be weak to Gallek?"
Bldi flinched, then shrugged stiffly.
"I-is that so? I wouldn't know..."
Huh?
What's that supposed to mean?
"Don't vampires mingle with each other?"
"Ah, well... we..."
She was stuttering through her sentence when.
"Phew, all washed up."
"Eeek!"
The moment she laid eyes on Riman, clean-shaven or not, she zipped right back behind the fridge.
The narrow sliver of space between the fridge and the pillar.
Her chest was large enough to get stuck, but she still forced her way in.
Did she hate talking to Riman that much?
"...D-did I do something wrong to Miss Bldi?"
"She's just a really shy employee."
"Ah..."
The dark circles still lingered under his eyes, but at least the zombie cosplay was gone.
"Ahem, did the MSG turn out well?"
"Taste it for yourself."
Riman's eyes widened the moment he tasted the MSG crystals.
"Ooooh... this is..."
"Good, right?"
"Incredible. The pure essence of flavor just swirls around in your mouth..."
Riman nodded in admiration.
"Now I see why that Sundubu-jjigae was so delicious. With a mysterious seasoning like this mixed in, it couldn't possibly taste bad."
Riman finished his praise and asked.
"Any plans to sell this? Put it on the market and you'll make a fortune. Lady Camilla would be thrilled, too."
"Not yet."
I could tap into the Golden Wagon's distribution network this moment, but unleashing MSG on the world was something I still had to think about.
Not for some grand reason like "I can't change the laws of this world."
"Mass production would drain Mr. Riman's mana down to the root."
"Ah..."
We lacked the capacity for mass production.
That was all there was to it.
Of course, once Camilla got here, she'd probably say "Send more alchemists!" and push for it.
'But there's no rush to decide that before she actually arrives.'
Right now, building the freeze dryer was the higher priority.
"Anyway, you worked hard building the machine. At least have a meal before you go."
"May I?"
"Of course. You need a proper meal if you're going to keep working so hard."
Anticipation filled Riman's eyes.
What menu item would he get to try today?
Just like the other knights, just like the staff.
Riman, too, had fallen hard for Lucas's cooking.
"She should be getting back any time now."
Right on cue.
"Boss, I'm back!"
Andrea, who'd gone to the Pog Ranch to order supplies, had returned with fresh meat.
"Did you get the offal too?"
"Yes! Got it!"
Starting with Andrea, then Riman, and even Bldi, still stuck in the corner and looking around helplessly, trying to wiggle out of the tight space.
Everyone looked at me with expectant eyes.
Gulp.
They should have been grossed out by offal, but they'd all been trained well—if anything, they were eagerly awaiting what I'd cook up next.
"First, let's clean the offal."
"Got it."
"Mr. Riman, give us a hand too."
"Ah, yes."
You can't have delicious Sundae without starting with clean intestines.
Sundae with braised meat, and market-style Tteokbokki rich with that MSG flavor.
That was today's menu.