Who is the Strongest Appraiser?
Chapter 30
This one got translated in the LN too, but it’s a smaller chapter and I wanted to post something… so here you go!
Chapter 30
There was a man in the Scarlet Lynx who was very weak in the body. He was so weak that he is often criticized for being an adventurer. However he was not weak due to frail constitution, nor suffering from an incurable disease. To sum it up, he is an exceptional indoor person and so has a frail body. (TLN: Weird phrasing sorry.)
"...Is he bedridden?"
"Yeah. Don't worry about it. He'll be up and about in a few days."
"I see..."
Upon hearing Ari's words, Yuri made a troubled face and nodded slightly. He hadn't been bedridden since he came, but it seemed like he had been for a while this time. The cause was simply lack of sleep and overwork. It was like a model of poor health. If you stay up late every night, your physical strength will definitely be sapped and you will eventually collapse.
Anyway, after finishing the morning rush of breakfast and cleaning up, Yuri finished washing and cleaning the entrance as part of her daily routine and headed to the sick person's room. Today, most of the people were out, and only apprentices were left to watch over the house. Usually, someone is there, but Ari also had something to do in the morning today. ...Well, he said he would be back for lunch.
“Jake-san, are you feeling okay?"
Yuri knocked on the door, but there was no response. After knocking again, a weak voice replied that the door was open, so Yuri quietly opened the door and peeked inside. The room was filled with so many books that it looked like a library. Yurie understood why his room was located at the end of the first floor. There were too many books. Despite the large number of books, they were organized and tidy, reflecting the owner's personality. It felt like the room was only packed with items that Jake was interested in.
Jake, the owner of the room, was peeking out from his bed. Jake was a treasure hunter, but his job class was a scholar. He was the type of person who would research and study various things, and then write papers on them. Scholars were often of the research type and had higher intelligence than normal people. However, their bodies were weak as a trade-off. They were often indoor types who lacked proper training, and yet they would stay up all night reading books every day, leading to many cases of collapse and general dysfunction.
Jake was no exception, he was a typical scholar type. Everyone says it's the usual thing and that he'll recover in a few days, so no one really thinks it's a big deal anymore.
"Ah... it's Yuri-kun... It's okay, I’ll get better if I sleep..."
"If you keep pulling all-nighters, you'll collapse eventually... That's why I asked you to sleep properly…"
"...Sorry. I was just curious about the rest of the book..."
"I thought so... Do you have an appetite? For now, I'll put some lemon water in the pitcher for you."
"Thank you... but I don't have an appetite..."
While talking, Jake suddenly stopped moving, whether he was attacked by drowsiness or simply exhausted, he passed out. Despite being taken aback, Yuri poured lemon water into the pitcher next to Jake's pillow. The pitcher already contained sliced lemons and fennel, which he had bought as an ingredient, with the thought that it might be refreshing. Yuri was a thoughtful person, but his actions were often surprising to the people around him because they followed the common sense of modern Japan, which didn't always apply to other cultures. However, he didn't care that his behavior was surprising others, he just followed his own pace.
After leaving Jake's room, Yuri went straight to the kitchen. Despite not having an appetite, he decided that it would be best for Jake to eat something. Even if he just claimed it was due to lack of sleep and fatigue, there was no way he could go without taking in nutrients. With that in mind, he thought about what Jake, who had no appetite and wasn't feeling well, could eat.
However, Yuri was just an ordinary high school boy. His only special skill was that he was good at home economics, being an Otomen, and he wasn't a professional cook or had any experience working part-time in a kitchen. He could only make home-cooked meals and follow easy recipes he found on the internet or on TV.
"...I think there was some leftover rice in the rice cooker from last night, right?"
Breakfast was always bread, but they sometimes used rice or pasta for lunch or dinner. That was up to the cook's preference. Last night, they used rice at the request of Jake, who wanted a donburi dish. The menu became kakiage donburi because they had some leftover vegetable scraps.
Yuri opened the rice cooker and saw about a bowl's worth of leftover rice. Satisfied with that, he filled a small pot with water and soaked some kelp. Kelp broth was great. Actually, they also wanted some bonito flakes or dried baby sardines, but they couldn't find any yet. Yuri was a serious Otomen who was thinking about going to the port town to find them. The aim was to get some broth-related ingredients.
He thought that putting too many ingredients wouldn't be good if Jake had no appetite, but also concluded that not putting anything would mean a lack of nutrients. Yuri chose enoki mushrooms. Since they were mushrooms, porridge would come out properly, and enoki had a light taste, so they were easy to eat even when there was no appetite. If they were finely chopped, they would also be easy to digest. Probably.
He boiled the broth, removed the kelp before boiling, seasoned it with salt, sake, and soy sauce to make it light, then added the enoki mushrooms and rice from the rice cooker and simmered it. The broth was very simple, a "less is more" type of broth.
Yuri had originally thought that umeboshi rice porridge would be good when feeling unwell, but he couldn't find any umeboshi. Also, he thought that wouldn't be enough nutrients, so he changed to porridge made with broth.
“What's that?”
Yuri heard a muffled voice and turned around to see Mag staring intently at the small pot. Mag pointed at the pot and asked again, while Yuri looked bewildered.
“What's that?”
Yuri finally understood the question of what he was making and broke into a grin. With his usual smile, he began to explain:
"Jake-san is sick, so I'm making rice porridge. There was leftover rice in the rice cooker."
"Broth?"
"Yes, I'm boiling the rice with broth because it's delicious."
"...Delicious?"
"Yes. But this is for Jake-san, so it's not for you."
"..."
"..."
Yuri rejected Mag's silent stare with a smile. At times like this, Yuri demonstrated an unbeatable strength. Yuri tilted his head in response to Mag's frustrated face. While the rice porridge was indeed delicious, it gave the impression of being a meal for the sick rather than a growing boy's regular meal.
Mag was reacting strongly because he was fascinated by the flavor and umami of the dashi and ingredients. Whether his taste buds were sharp or his eagerness to eat was stronger than others, when Mag cooked, he created a phenomenon of making quite delicious dishes with low salt content using the flavor and umami of the dashi and ingredients. He was promising in this way.
After simmering the ingredients and checking that the rice had become soft and absorbed the flavor, Yuri began the final step. He lightly whisked the eggs in a bowl and poured them in. When he poured the eggs into the part that was boiling, he turned off the heat and covered it. It was a strategy to steam the egg.
After waiting for a while, Yuri opened the lid when the eggs were cooked, and they had become fluffy and creamy. The aroma of dashi was wafting, and it looked delicious. Yuri was satisfied with the result and smiled, placing a pot holder on a tray and setting the small pot on top of it, preparing a bowl and spoon. Of course, a small ladle was included with the pot.
With Mag following behind like a remora or a guardian spirit, they headed to Jake's room. Yuri realized he couldn't knock, so Mag quickly knocked and they heard a small voice in response. The two of them then entered the room.
"... Yurie-kun?"
Jake looks bewildered as Yuri approaches him with a tray in hand, but Yuri pays no attention and walks towards him. He places the tray next to the water jug and removes the lid of a small pot, revealing a delicate aroma of broth and soy sauce that fills the room and makes Jake's stomach growl.
"Um...," Jake hesitates.
"It's not good for your health to not eat anything. So, I made this, thinking you might be able to eat it. You don't have to force yourself to finish it all, I'll eat the rest if you can't," Yuri says with a smile as he scoops some egg rice porridge into a bowl.
Jake looks puzzled at the mysterious dish emitting steam, which is not commonly known in this world. There is rice porridge, but not one that uses broth like the one Yuri made. There is risotto, but it usually contains cheese and isn't something meant for a sick person.
In my hometown's cuisine, we call it 'ojya.' It's seasoned with dashi and soy sauce, so it's a light flavor. The only ingredients are enoki mushrooms and eggs."
Jake received the offered bowl with a "Thanks." He had been so exhausted and sick that he had no appetite, even after drinking the lemon water that Yūri had left for him. But when he smelled the dish in front of him, his body inexplicably craved food.
He scooped up a spoonful and blew on it to cool it down before bringing it to his mouth. The rice had been cooked to perfection, soft and tender, and the egg had absorbed the broth perfectly. The finely chopped enoki mushrooms provided a pleasant texture, and the gentle warmth of the dashi and soy sauce seasoning filled his body with comfort. Jake slowly but surely continued his meal, savoring the taste that permeated his entire being.
"If you can't eat it, you don't have to force yourself," Mag muttered softly.
Jake nodded almost imperceptibly, but proceeded to finish the contents of the bowl and even went for seconds. Mag's aura looked increasingly displeased or disappointed as he watched Jake eat, but no one noticed. Mag had been planning to eat the leftovers, but the egg ojya was disappearing quickly, matching Jake's preferences.
In the end, Jake finished the entire pot of egg ojya, and his complexion looked much better, with a satisfied smile on his face.
"Thank you, Yūri. That was delicious."
"I'm glad you liked it. ...Please take care of yourself and don't push yourself too hard from now on."
"Okay, I'll be careful."
The two of them conversed with smiles on their faces, which was truly heartwarming. However, behind them, Mag was depressed, tapping the empty pot with a spoon. But Jake and Yūri were completely oblivious to Mag's sadness.
It should be noted that this incident caused a commotion in the hideout, with everyone wondering, "If we get sick, will we get special meals too!?" But that's another story.
ojya if you were wondering:
