BXBX NOVEL Chapter 88
PR: Filip/Gecko
By the time the man whose stomach was slashed by an axe’s stitches were taken out, the new flat-bottomed boat was completed. We had enough coffee at the moment so we took them to harvest the cacao.
After they were peeled and dried, the cacao was put into wooden boxes in order to ferment them.
I received a request from Sharlet-san, our stonemason for stones he will use to make the stone paving so my next task was to go to the quarry and mine some stones with my 【Diamond Cutter】.
「Give me heavier and slightly thicker ones」
So he said but I honestly haven’t cut stone for pavement before so I just randomly cut thin square slices.
After continuing that cycle of doing work until evening or when I get tired from using up my mana for several days, this appeared.
【Skill: Magic Amplification：3】 acquired.
This thing really only comes whenever I forget about it, huh?
The following day, it became much easier to cut stone so I was able to accumulate even more.
「Where are these going to be used?」
「The church would take most of it but I’ll also lay some of it on the commonly used paths. I’m just the mason so the carpenters will be the ones telling me where I should lay them out」
There are no interior designers here after all. I wonder if this is also part of the carpenter’s job?
「Well, if it’s this thick, it would be fine even if a carriage passes though right?」
「Probably, yeah. I haven’t seen a slab as pretty as this so I don’t know about a carriage but dust probably won’t get kicked up now」
「That’s true. But wouldn’t it get muddy if it rains too much? How about we spread some small pebbles around?」
「The carriage’s wheels would just probably get buried in that case」
「Ah......」
The wheels don’t have that thick rubber that car tires have after all.
「Just leave it to the experts if you don’t know much about it」
「Sorry......」
「Don’t worry about it since everyone has things they’re good at. Just keep on helping everyone with that stupidly convenient magic of yours」
「Yes. Of course」
「Whenever you’re involved, a job that normally takes a lot of time and effort is done in an instant so the efficiency is increased. Doing that a lot must have raised your mana. That’s probably why you became a Demon Lord huh?」
「You might be right. I was just working to make life somewhat easier and it just happened before I knew it」
「Isn’t that the same as a swordsman’s training then? But instead of waving around a sword, you just use your mana until you run out」
「Ah! Ahhhh......」
I nodded my head with my mouth half-open.
「I sometimes can’t tell if you’re smart or dumb. Well, I guess it’s better that way」
「But it’s a good thing to make things easier though......」
「Whew, that’s true」
「Well then, are you done for the day?」
「That’s right. You were a great help」
「It was my pleasureー」
◇
With the drying, fermenting, and roasting of the cacao done, it was time to grind them.
Cocoa powder seemed pretty fine from what I remember so with that in mind, I produced a millstone using magic. I made the gap in between as narrow as possible then proceeded to make the cocoa mass. Howeverー.
「Uwa. It was already dried so why did it become this mushy? What’s happening?」
When I tried touching it, it felt kinda oily.
Is this what they call cacao liquor? I haven’t seen it before so I don’t know much about it.
「Excuse meー. Can someone bring me a fine cloth and a bucket please?」
After I said that, a woman immediately brought me a cloth bag and bucket.
「Uwah, what’s that?」
「I’ve been working with the cacao recently but it becomes kinda mushy when I grind it. It feels oily when I touch it so I thought that maybe using this would squeeze the oil out」
「So that’s why you asked for fine cloth」
「Yes」
While we were talking, I put the mushy cacao liquor into the cloth, twisted the opening, placed it on a plate, then put a stone on top to squeeze all the oil out. After that was done, only the cacao mass remained.
Wait, could this oil also be used to make chocolate? Maybe by adding some sugar and milk or something. Back then, I just mindlessly crushed the cacao, added some sugar and coconut oil to try out making chocolates but I wonder if this is actually how you make it.
Uwaa, making chocolate is pretty difficult huh? Cocoa powder is made from this thing that I squeezed out the oil from right? Is this worth it? Well, I guess it would be if we raise the price a bit.
Alright, let’s proceed like this. If the coffee business keeps going, I should buy a cow.
But before that, I’ll need to deal with squeezing this oil and making cocoa.
Come to think of it, there are a lot of oils on the island huh? There’s coconut oil, olive oil, and now there’s cacao butter. Should we enter the toiletries and cosmetics industry? We could make detoxing products that you apply to the face or something before entering the hot spring. If that’s the case then it might also be possible for us to enter the tourism industry.
In the meantime, I’ll leave making the cocoa for another day and just focus on the chocolate. You just mix milk and sugar with the cacao mass then knead it right?
We don’t have milk so let’s just use water. I don’t know if this will work but let’s mix it all for now.
Crap, why is it not hardening? It’s not working no matter how much I knead. Will chocolate not harden if left at room temperature?
I would usually just melt it in hot water, add fresh cream, then let it cool down in a container. After that, I just add the cocoa powder then the nama choco(ganache) is done.
Why didn’t it solidify even though I squeezed out the oil to make the cocoa?
「Hm?」
The oil that I squeezed out solidified but the cacao mass didn’t. Does that mean that it will if I put back this oil? To try it out, I took a bit of the hardened cocoa butter then fired up the stove to melt it. After that, I added it to the cacao mass then stirred it while waiting for it to cool down.
「Ohー, it’s starting to take shape. Next time when I am able to add milk, I should adjust the amount of cocoa butter I put in」
I murmured that to myself when the children came in.
「Waaー, it smells so good~」
Since the children who came to give me additional sugar found out about the chocolate’s existence, I let them try it out by letting them have a lick of the still runny chocolate.
「It’s really tasty!」
「Caam amazing~」
Fufufu. Just because it contains sugar and oil doesn’t mean that it’s bad. Calorie is justice after all! Just adding more oil would give it a richer taste and make it even more delicious. Just like ramen and curry.
「Ah. This is poisonous to dogs, cats, and wolves so make sure you don’t give any to Wulf, Tanya, and Sonya okay?」
「Does that mean Uncle Keith can’t have any~?」
Uncle? He’s not that old though. Still, I wonderー.
「Hmm, I’m not sure. Should we get him to try it? No, I guess that’s not good. It might still be poisonous even for Demonkin after all. Still, the toxicity is based on the amount consumed per kilo of body weight. Ah, he also drank coffee right? I wonder?」
「Caam-san is making a difficult face」
「Alright, let’s call Keith」
I opened the chocolate container, cooled it then cut it into bite-sized cubes.
「Oiー, Keith. We’re pretty close right? I have a favor to ask」
「What’s with you all of a sudden?」
「This newly made treat is actually poisonous to dogs, cats, and wolves but I’m not sure if they’re poisonous to their demonkin counterpart」
「Alright, so?」
「Try eating it」
「Are you an idiot? Why are you asking me to eat it if it’s poisonous?」
I didn’t want to lie so I just tried asking honestly.
「To be honest...... the coffee you’ve been drinking is also poisonous to dogs and cats. But you’re still fine after drinking it right?」
Keith’s mouth was opening and closing like a koi fish from shock as he pointed at me.
「You...... What the hell?」
「Well, I just forgot」
「Don’t forget something that might cause someone to die!」
「You didn’t die though. You’ve already had one today right?」
「I was kinda sleepy after all」
「Ah, if you’re just getting stimulated and awake then it’s fine. Anyway, have a bite for the sake of the island’s future」
「No! Go and ask the old men instead!」
After saying that, he left.
Hmmー, I guess it can’t be helped. I’ll go and ask the old menz then.2
「Cat-eared old manー」3
I called out to the cat-eared old man who happened to pass by.
「What’s wrong?」
「You’ve been drinking coffee lately, right?」
「Yeah」
「Have you ever felt sluggish or anything weird after drinking it?」
「No」
「Well, I made this new snack I want you to try. But the thing is, it’s poisonous to dogs and cats. Coffee is the same but since you’re fine when drinking it, I think you’ll also be fine eating this」
「Got it. It’s fine, right? It’s the life you’ve saved so it’s just right for you to take it away」
「No, you don’t have to take it that seriously. You can just refuse if you don’t want to you know?」
He just ignored me and threw one into his mouth without hesitation.
「It’s sweet. It’s different from candy though since it melts quickly. I like it」
「If anything happens, please drink plenty of water and try to throw up what you just ate. If you feel like something is wrong with your body, please have someone let me know right away. You need to make sure to do this okay!?」
「Sure」
After saying that, he just picked up his axe again then went back to work.
It doesn’t look like there were any bad effects. Still, I decided to do my work near where the cat-old man was.
After waiting a while, I didn’t receive any reports. Is he alright?
「Old man, is everything alright?」
「Yeah. Nothing wrong here」
「Do you feel uneasy? Is your body feeling hot? Does your heart feel like it’s moving too fast?」
「No. Should I eat more?」
「No no no. It might actually be even more dangerous if you eat too much」
「So it’s the kind that’s fine as long as it’s in moderation huh? Well, I didn’t die so everything is alright, right? Then it’s fine now, you can go back to your work」
「Please, don’t forget to let me know if anything happens!」
「It’s fine so just go. Don’t worry about me」
After saying that, I was forced to go back.
Hmー, I should try it one more time. Since it’s a food product, I need to be doubly sure.
「Oiー, Keith. The cat-eared old man ate it and nothing happened so you try it tooー」
I was immediately sent flying as I said that. Then I was made to sit seiza.
「Are you going to let me eat poison just because someone else was fine eating it?」
「He was fine so I thought you would be too」
I gave him a childish excuse.
「It might have just been a fluke you know? Why the hell are you trying to get me to eat it even while knowing that」
「You and the cat-eared old man were fine with coffee so I just thought it would be the same. Even though I say it’s poison, you’ll just feel uneasy and experience vomiting and diarrhea」
「That’s what you call being poisoned! You...... You do know that there should still be limits even though we’re friends right? For goodness sake!」
「Yes...... I’m sorry」
He was really mad so I just kept looking down but he suddenly tossed a piece of chocolate into his mouth.
「I’m going to bring you with me if I feel like I’m about to die. Still, this thing sure is tasty. Is it really poisonous?」
Keith swirled it around his mouth first before commenting on how delicious it was. I thought that demonkin were different from animals but it’s clear now.
It’s probably okay for them to eat the chocolate.
At that moment, I felt like a translucent god was looking at me from the sky.[noteTL: IDK if this is foreshadowing or a reference[/note]
□
「Greetings, Enomoto-san」
There was a knock on the door. When I opened it, I was greeted by two elderly men.
「What did you want to talk about? I didn’t expect that the young lad who came to visit was sent by you」
「Did you hear about that one Demon Lord who’s Japanese from Iwamoto-kun?」
「Yea. I heard that guy got an island and was doing whatever he pleases」
「That’s right. I was thinking that we should join in on the fun. Enomoto-san, what do you think?」
「Are you telling me to throw away the fields and livestock I’ve built up until now?」
「Yes. I think with the knowledge the three of us have, we’ll be able to do pretty much anything on that island. Are you in?」
「Interesting. I started with nothing when I came here so it might be fun to start over again. It’s the same every year once the ground has been laid after all. Alright, I’m in. What about you, Oda?」
Enomoto-san grinned as he asked Oda-san who has remained silent this whole while.
「Fine by me. There’s not a lot to do here when it comes to entertainment so if it’s something fun, I’m in. I was just drifting randomly when I decided to live here so it’s not a bad idea to aimlessly go about it again」
He also grinned after saying that.
「Then it’s decided. It would be better to bring some rice seeds and the nukadoko 4 with us right?」
「Yea. Those two are the only things we need. The rice here wasn’t good since it wasn’t sticky but I finally managed to bring it close to Japanese rice. I also poured blood, sweat, and tears just to raise that nukadoko so I may have left my wife but I’m not leaving that one」
「Geez. How can you say that to that widow you remarried who went ahead of you」5
「It would have been an embarrassment to leave such a beautiful blonde like that alone. How about you two? Don’t you have any plans to get married?」
「Well, I’m still not sure whether or not it’s fine to leave behind descendants after coming here」
「It’s fine. You don’t have to be considerate to those scum who called us here for their own benefit. Right, Oda?」
「Don’t ask me. I was devoted to my wife after all, unlike you, Enomoto-san」
「Don’t be like that. Didn’t you two chase after women when you were younger?」
「Enomoto-san...... Just how many times did you make your wife cry because of that?」
「Who knows?」
「Now, now, settle down you two. Anyway, since we’re going to leave, how are we going to get in touch with Ugajin?」
「It should be fine to just leave a note in Aida’s house. That guy just comes in and out of here right?」
「Well yeah. We’re close in age after all」
「We don’t have phones here or something similar so we’ll have to go with that. At least we have some paper. When I got summoned here, there wasn’t any decent paper yet so someone else must have spread it around」
「That’s true. I’m glad I didn’t have to do the same with the hand pump. That country would have just benefited from it after all」
「Well then, let’s just bring what we need. You start preparing too Aida」
「I was going to say I’ll only need to bring myself but I’ll at least bring some money」
「For me, it will just be the seeds and the nukadoko. I’ll just give away the livestock to my village I guess」
「I have to get the blueprints I made for the tools I’m made until now」
With that, it was decided that we were going to leave for the Demon Lord’s island.
Hero Aida (35)
Was a technical type hero who taught all sorts of things to the officials in the castle.
「Haa? You can’t even do this type of calculation!? How are you even managing the treasury then!? It’s just a simple division you know!? Even your subtraction is questionable! How could this happen!? I’m going to give you some homework that’s due tomorrow! I’ll go senile before I can start teaching you bookkeeping!」
Hero Oda (62)
Was a technical type hero who apparently introduced the use of windmills for milling.
「The culture level here is kinda messed up, huh? They would have one thing but another necessary thing would be missing. I guess that’s the effect of relying on heroes’ knowledge」