[V12C6] Tasty is Happy

The Fifth Thorn Witch, Raul Roseberg, tended to wake up early.

The Roseberg estate had many mage disciples doubling as servants, and they took care of the plants in the main house. However, Raul usually slept in the separate building that he used as a workshop, and the fields there were managed solely by him.

As usual, Raul woke up in the bedroom of his workshop before sunrise. That said, he found himself on the floor rather than his bed.

On the floor next to him was Cyril, who was sleeping wrapped in a blanket. His face was practically buried in the fluffy fur of the white weasel Thule.

Since Cyril seemed to be having a hard time breathing, Raul shifted Thule’s tail a bit to the side.

Their investigation of the Forbidden Archives took time. This was not a simple task that could be completed in a day or two.

In addition, the Ascard Library had limited hours of operation, so they could not stay in the Forbidden Archives beyond closing time.

Cyril had reserved lodging near the library, but he also needed a place to discuss and organize the investigation results with Raul. Thus, it was more convenient to stay at the Roseberg estate.

However, Cyril’s visit resulted in a slight problem: there was only one bed.

Cyril had the option to stay in the guest rooms of the main house, but he hesitated to impose while Abigail and Paulina Roseberg were still comatose.

Raul didn’t want to let a guest sleep on the floor, so he had suggested that Cyril use Melissa’s bed. This led to a heated exchange, with Cyril scolding Raul for his lack of decency.

After several attempts at yielding the bed to each other, they found a compromise in sleeping on the floor together.

Raul knew that it would be inappropriate to say out loud, but this felt like a real sleepover with friends. The realization helped him regain a bit of his cheer after the recent events.

Once everything was resolved, he wanted to invite Monica and Ray as well.


Raul tidied himself up, then stepped outside. There, he found a woman with light blond hair walking out of the woods.

The woman was wearing embroidered ethnic clothing and an out-of-season fur mantle. Her true identity was Ashelpikeh, the greater ice spirit contracted to Cyril, who often took on the form of a golden weasel.

While she usually rode Cyril’s shoulder as a weasel, she seemed to enjoy taking a human form and strolling through the Roseberg family forest.

The forest had several areas with high mana concentration, making it exceptionally comfortable for Pikeh and Thule. They occasionally indulged in ‘manabathing’, an act akin to sunbathing for non-magical creatures.

“Hey, Pikeh, good morning!”

“Good morning. Should I help with anything?”

It’s only natural to help out if you’re lodging at someone’s house… or at least, that’s what Cyril apparently taught her.

In fact, Cyril often assisted in cleaning up whenever he had free time. Raul had tried to tell him that wasn’t necessary, but Cyril countered, “I can’t stand being in such a messy room.”

What’s more, Cyril’s desire for cleanliness did not settle at mere reorganization. He ended up giving Raul’s room a full sweeping and wipe down, leaving it sparkling clean.

“Help, huh? In that case, can you help me harvest the vegetables?” Raul asked.

“Okay,” Pikeh nodded.

Raul and Pikeh headed to the fields. There, they found a young man with silvery-white hair dressed in the same ethnic attire as Pikeh, squatting down and examining the vegetables in the field. It was Thule in his human form.

Noticing their arrival, Thule gave a gentle greeting.

“Good morning, Raul.”

“Hey, good morning, Thule! Did Cyril already wake up?”

“Yeah, he was practicing magic.”

Cyril was generally an early riser, though not as early as Raul.

Previously, his condition of mana hyperabsorption caused him to emit excess mana from his brooch in the form of cold air. Thus, Cyril practiced magic early in the morning to consume his mana in advance, limiting the amount of cold air he released during the day.

This was no longer a problem since Thule absorbed his excess mana. However, he still continued the early morning magic training as part of his daily routine.

After silently admiring Cyril’s diligence, Raul retrieved a pair of harvest shears from his pocket.

“Alright, Thule, you wanna harvest vegetables too?” Raul asked.

“Sure, which ones should I get?”

“Let’s start with broad beans. The ripe ones will have their pods hanging down, and the line will turn a bit black. The shiny ones without fuzz are especially good.”

Thule and Pikeh nodded repeatedly, then got to examining the broad beans. Both looked incredibly serious.

While picking up a plump pod, Thule let out a murmur.

“Humans seem pretty delicate. I can eat everything, but humans only consider a few parts edible.”

By “everything,” Thule likely referred to the roots, leaves, pods, etc. Literally every part of the plant.

Meanwhile, Raul glanced over at Thule while harvesting a few pods with his shears.

“…Do you find that annoying?” Raul asked.

“No. Searching for tasty things is fun too.”

Thule’s response was simple, but it made Raul very happy. This was the reason he worked hard to make delicious vegetables.

Raul smiled as he harvested another pod.

“Then feel free to explore my field and find a bunch of tasty stuff!”

Thule nodded back.

Meanwhile, Pikeh held up a pod and declared, “Found a shiny one!” with pride. Raul handed her the basket.

“You know, searching for tasty things is fun, but making them is ever better,” Raul said. “In this season, the broad beans are plump and have a slightly thicker skin. I recommend roasting them in the pods for a delicious treat.”

“Plump? Wow, sounds tasty,” Thule said.

“Oh yeah, you can eat the inside of the pod too. I love that part since it’s so sweet. I wonder if Cyril will like them.”

“Cyril eats anything given to him,” Pikeh replied.

“Yeah, but he can’t eat a lot,” Thule followed.

“He freezes when the inns give him too much food.”

“Yeah, he does that a lot.”

Raul recalled the first day of Cyril’s stay, when he had gotten overly excited and made way too much food. Cyril had said, “Sorry… I don’t think I can finish this,” looking genuinely apologetic.

Though Raul felt a bit guilty, there were just so many vegetable dishes he wanted Cyril to eat. It was too hard to find a balance.

＊　＊　＊

Cyril, who woke up slightly after Raul, quickly groomed himself, conducted his daily magical training, and cleaned up the room. By the time he was finished, there was an enticing aroma wafting in from the dining room.

“Hey, Cyril! Breakfast is ready!”

“Coming.”

Cyril entered the dining hall to find not only Raul, but also Thule and Pikeh, who were carrying dishes in human form. They seemed to be helping out properly, which was reassuring.

Today’s breakfast consisted of roasted broad bean pods, bacon, freshly picked asparagus, bread, and the leftover vegetable soup from the previous day.

Raul’s soups were always packed, so Cyril honestly believed that the soup alone was sufficient for breakfast. However, he still intended to eat as much as possible to show his appreciation for Raul’s effort.

Once Cyril began eating, Pikeh pointed at the broad beans.

“I picked the shiny one.”

It was unclear which part of roasted broad beans she considered shiny, but she seemed to want Cyril to try it.

The pods were already split open, and the beans were emitting an alluring steam.

Cyril was about to take one of them with his fork, when Raul offered him a spoon from across the table.

“You can eat the inside of the pods too!”

“Really?”

Putting what he just learned into practice, Cyril scooped up the inside of the pod, along with the beans, and put the spoon in his mouth.

Indeed, the plump beans and the gooey sweetness was surprisingly tasty.

All three stared at Cyril, as if seeking his opinion.

“It’s surprisingly sweet. I like it.”

Raul and Thule smiled, and even the usually expressionless Pikeh seemed happy.

Emulating Cyril, Thule also scooped up the inside of the pod with a spoon.

“Tasty is happy.”

“…Yeah, you can say that again.”

Cyril nodded and took a sip of the herbal tea.

Raul had made herbal tea several times during Cyril’s stay, but the taste was different each day. In fact, today’s tea seemed particularly good.

“What kind of tea is this exactly?” Cyril asked. “It seems like a blend of several different herbs…”

“Huh? I just picked some random stuff from the yard.”

“…”

Cyril stared at his teacup in deep thought.

The garden of the Roseberg estate contained a variety of plants. Not just those for consumption, but also mana-infused ingredients and poisonous flowers.

“Don’t worry, I know which ones are safe to eat!” Raul explained. “I saw you staying up late yesterday, so I added the more refreshing herbs.”

As Cyril continued silently staring at the teacup, Raul remembered the question he wanted to ask.

“By the way, what were you writing last night? I thought we already finished the investigation report.”

“I was finishing the impression essay for submission to the Lorelei.”

Several days had passed since they listened to the Lorelei’s song.

Their investigation into the Forbidden Archives was mostly complete, so Cyril wanted to complete the impression essay as soon as possible. He had performed the finishing touches last night.

Meanwhile, Cyril’s response left Raul with a wry smile.

“Um… Just out of curiosity, what did you put in that essay? My only impression of the song was ‘a weird mix of satisfaction and disgust’. That’s pretty much all I can say.”

“That would be disrespectful to the Lorelei. To start, the song we heard while descending the stairs had a dignified melody, incorporating the classical style of the Ashard Dynasty. The way she deliberately shifted and layered the sounds, the modulation of her voice… Every aspect demonstrated an incredibly high level of skill.”

“…Hmm? Um, okay?”

“She sang the narrative part in the modern language to facilitate our understanding, but it was originally written in ancient Imperial language. The translation results in changes to the rhyme and rhythm, so if I get the chance, I’d like to hear it in the original language for greater immersion.”

Meanwhile, Thule and Pikeh were munching on broad beans, not showing the slightest hint of understanding Cyril’s explanation. Raul took after them and munched on the broad beans as well.

“Did you study that kind of stuff at Serendia Academy?” Raul asked.

“Of course. Anyone can do this much.”

…Is what Cyril claimed, but this was far from the truth. When Cyril was enrolled in the middle school division of Serendia Academy, Elliott had ridiculed him for his ignorance in music, prompting him to study everything about the field.

As the four continued their casual conversation over the meal, the Key of Knowledge glowed faintly on Cyril’s right middle finger.

“You certainly seem to be enjoying yourselves, not that I envy you or anything. By the way, my access to the Ascard Library gives me knowledge of every vegetable dish in existence. If you ask nicely, perhaps I can be convinced to teach you those recipes… It’s not that I’m sulking because I can’t participate in the conversation due to being unable to eat, you understand?”

Those words caused Cyril to realize a horrifying truth: Sophocles was an elderly man that had been rendered unable to eat for an eternity.

Cyril seriously pondered the issue. The ring had been deprived of worldly pleasures, but perhaps he could share the joy by conveying the deliciousness of the meal.

“Sophocles.”

“Yes?”

“Roasting the broad beans seems to enhance the aroma and give it a soft chewy texture. Also, the inside of the pod is gooey and slightly sweet, but adding a pinch of salt makes that sweetness more pronounced.”

“Hmm? What…?”

“The vegetables in this soup have maintained a satisfying crunchiness. Though the seasoning is simple, it does a perfect job in bringing out the flavor of the ingredients. In addition, letting it rest for a day seems to have melded…”

“The bread is fluffy and delicious,” Thule followed.

“And it’s fun to dip in the soup,” Pikeh added.

Cyril spared no effort in describing the dishes, with Thule and Pikeh joining in as well.

Around the time Cyril started discussing harmony between the bitterness of the asparagus and the saltiness of the bacon, Sophocles let out a wail.

“Curse you all! Stop, stop I say! You are only making me feel worse!!”

Sophocles started sobbing, but Raul broke into a beaming smile after all the praise for his cooking.

The young man’s detailed taste report hurt the sensitive ring.

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