The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 5 - Chapter 262

Chapter 262:

The Happy Couple’s Little World

“Good morning.”

“Mornin’. I’m not openin’ the shop today, so go ahead and lock the door behind ya.”

“Are you sure, ma’am?”

“Yeah, I’ve got somethin’ better than work today!”

Was that really the right way to look at it?

We locked the door behind us as we came into Rose’s shop. Then Delos emerged from the back room, all smiles.

“Good morning,” I greeted.

“Morning. Is Rose giving you a hard time?”

“It’s all right. She’s the one doing us a favor.”

“Well, Rose loves doing favors for people, so that’s a good thing.” Delos really did seem to love Rose. His eyes got so soft whenever he talked about her.

“The cooking area is already set up, so let’s get started. Oh, what should we do about them?” Rose looked a bit hesitant when she saw the bag my creatures were in. Maybe she hadn’t told Delos about my creatures yet? I’d just assumed she probably had, since they were married.

“Didn’t you tell him about them?”

“Of course not! I had no reason to. But I’d feel bad leaving them in the bag all day… Should I send Delos away somewhere?”

What? Send Delos away? But wouldn’t most people just tell their husbands about my creatures instead?

“Sorry, Delos, but this’ll take about five hours.”

“No, no, Rose, please, ma’am,” I insisted. “You know better than anyone what kind of person Delos is. He’s someone we can trust, right?”

“Sure he is. I wouldn’t have married him if he wasn’t.”

“Then it’s okay if he knows, so please don’t kick Delos out of the shop.” I was quite flustered. Meanwhile, Druid was chuckling beside me. And what about you, Delos? Why do you have such a big grin on your face when we’re talking about kicking you out of your own shop?!

“Well, if I must, I must…”

I wouldn’t say it’s a matter of “must”… I just don’t get the way Rose thinks. As I stood there, my mind swimming, Rose told Delos about my special creatures.

“Ivy has some secret pals: Flame, Sora, and Ciel. They’re all cute little monsters, but they’re quite rare, so don’t tell anyone else about them. Got it, hon?”

“Yeah, I understand.”

I thought Rose’s oversimplified explanation would only make things more complicated, but Delos nodded with a smile. I guess this is what being married is like?

“Well, now that he’s heard their story, take your kids out of the bag already! Poor things.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

I took them out and Sora immediately bounced over to Delos. He quickly caught the slime, but I felt bad about it.

“Sorry about that, sir.”

“Oh, it’s okay. Wow, I’ve never met a slime as lively as you before! And you’re just as cute as Rose said you were.”

“Isn’t it, though?” said Rose. “I could stare at it all day.”

“Now, now, didn’t you bring Ivy and Druid here to teach us how to cook ryce? We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. Okay, the kitchen’s this way. Delos, babysit the slimes for us, okay?”

“Of course, dear.”

Rose and Delos sure had a mysterious connection. Watching them, I got the idea that nothing we ever did could possibly come between them. I had the urge to watch them quietly from the sidelines… Anyway, the mood between them was hard to describe, but it was magical.

“Hm? Whatcha both doin’?”

“Oh, nothing.”

Watching the happy couple warmed my heart. I really hope I meet someone I can share this kind of bond with. Druid is more like a father to me, which isn’t quite the same thing. Then again, I should focus on getting him a sweetheart before me… Maybe we should make finding Druid a sweetheart one of the goals of this journey? He does strike me as someone who’s given up on romance. What a shame. He’s such a good person.

“I’ll do my best for you, Mr. Druid.”

“Hm? Uh…about what? The onigiri?”

My sudden proclamation was making Druid act a little odd, but he’d definitely protest if I told him what I was thinking, so I kept quiet.

“Okay, let’s get started,” Rose said.

“Sure, but there’s really not much to do while we wait for the rice to cook.”

“Really, hon?”

“Yes, ma’am. All you have to do to steam good rice is monitor the water temperature.”

“Keeping track of the temperature is a bit tricky, though,” said Druid, who had recently taken to watching me when I cooked. He was comfortable enough now that there were no problems, but he was originally very worried about moderating the heat on the stove. Many times, I had to stop myself from laughing at the solemn look on his face as he checked on the rice. Well…I used to pray whenever I opened the lid, so I’m one to talk.

“Should we make somethin’ else while the rice is cookin’, then?”

Oh, that’s right! I wanted to ask her something. “Rose, could you please teach me how to use Hatow’s mother sauce?”

I brought the sauce I’d bought yesterday. It was the least sweet kind, but it was still so sweet that I didn’t quite know what to do with it.

“Hatow’s mother sauce? There’s no special way of using it, though.”

“But isn’t it too sweet?”

“Maybe you bought the sweetest kind?”

“No, I bought the opposite, actually.”

Rose gave me an odd look. Did I say something funny? Once we were in the kitchen, I took the soaked rice out of my magic bag. When I soaked it, I’d allowed plenty of time for us to cook it.

“So ya put water onto ryce, is that right, hon?”

“Yes, ma’am. You soak it for about thirty minutes. And the longer it’s been since the harvest, the longer you should soak it. It all comes down to personal taste, though.”

“Okay. I gotta make a note of that.”

I added some water to Rose’s pot and turned on the flame. I started with high heat, then turned the fire down when the lid of the pot began to rattle. Next, once the rice was finished cooking, I steamed it with the lid on. I explained these steps simply to Rose while Druid told her how to monitor the flame.

“So ya have to keep track of the flame and water levels. Got it.”

As we watched the rice cook, I took the sauce I’d just purchased out of my bag. I’d tasted a little of it the night before, but it was so sweet I thought it would overpower anything I cooked with it.

“This sauce? Oh, no. This is the sweetest sauce out there, hon.”

“What?!” Druid and I gasped.

Huh? Did we mess up? Or did Alloui’s brother get mad because we made him lose the bet?

“This sauce is famous for being unusually sweet. Not many people like it. Where didja buy this?”

“From a shop run by a brother and sister. A grocery store and a butcher under one roof.”

“Oh, you mean Alloui and Toluca’s shop. Was Toluca the one who brought ya the sauce?”

So she knew them. “Yes, ma’am.”

“I’m so sorry, hon. That boy is a bit of a doofus.” Rose sighed heavily and pulled two bottles of sauce off her shelf. “These are the main sauces we use in Hatow. They’re not so sweet, and they’re easy to use in all your recipes.”

Rose poured a little bit of each sauce onto saucers and handed them to me. I dabbed my finger in them and tasted. She was right—neither sauce was very sweet. They did seem like they could work with a lot of recipes.

“They’re good. Just the right amount of sweetness, too.”

“Right? These sauces are the pride of Hatow Village.”

I could see why people would be proud of them. There was a richness behind the flavor, and they really did taste good. If I ever wanted to cook something sweet and spicy, I could probably make do with just this sauce.

“That poor Toluca. Criminy, he’s got a lot of work to do,” Rose grumbled as Druid chuckled.

I followed Rose’s instructions and made some braised vegetables with Hatow’s mother sauce. The kitchen started to fill with the sweet aroma of steamed rice.

“That’s a lovely smell,” Rose said.

I guess she likes it. If she didn’t even like the smell, it would be game over already. Okay… Once it’s cooled down a bit, let’s stir in the filling and form it into onigiri!