Chapter 106

A radish puree soaked in ponzu sauce.

Placing it on top of the tofu steak and taking a bite, Ed felt a shock that made goosebumps rise all over his body.

At 700 years old, even for an elf who naturally lives longer than other human races, he was considered quite elderly.

Having lived that long, Ed had long forgotten the feeling of excitement in his life.

It wasn’t that it was a bad thing.

Though he no longer felt the youthful excitement of a young elf, the comfort and stability of living with his fellow forest keepers and family had firmly supported his heart.

Thus, while Ed hadn’t felt that youthful excitement for a long time, he didn’t particularly mind it.

But now, after eating the tofu steak with ponzu sauce.

Ed felt his heart pounding with excitement.

It was as if the tofu steak was saying, “Remember the excitement!” and forcibly injecting thrill into his chest.

The first taste of the radish puree wasn’t the taste of radish.

It was the intense sourness of lemon.

A sharp tang that couldn’t be described simply as “sour” forced his salivary glands to work, making his mouth water uncontrollably.

Next came the refreshing sweetness of apple fructose.

The sweet flavor of the apple, arriving on a tongue already stimulated by the lemon’s sourness, made the sweetness even more vivid.

And then, the aroma of plum grapes, carrying the scents of both grapes and plums.

The sweet and sour flavors mixed with the lemon and apple, sublimating into a single taste in his mouth.

It was already a concentrated liquid fruit basket.

And the radish, grated and turned into puree, carried this fruit basket.

The radish wasn’t just a carrier of the fruit juice’s flavor; its unique spicy and cool raw juice harmonized the various tastes and provided a refreshing aftertaste.

Then there was the mysterious dark brown sauce, which added an umami and salty flavor he had never tasted before.

This brown sauce held the center of the puree’s flavor firmly.

As the intense flavor of the radish puree swept through his mouth, the mild taste of the tofu arrived.

It neutralized the shocking and stimulating flavor to a manageable level.

Munch munch.

Munch munch.

After eating the second piece of tofu steak as if entranced, Ed finally understood the meaning of the dish on the plate.

“Ah. Tofu steak alone would be too bland. But this dish is only complete when paired with the puree!”

But not knowing that and eating the tofu steak without the puree, thinking it was flavorful enough?

That was the product of ignorance, spoken without knowing better.

A completely different impression from when he first tasted the tofu steak.

His sudden change in attitude might seem shallow, but it showed just how deeply shocked he was.

And what he felt was a desire for new challenges and excitement, something he had forgotten as he aged.

“If I had ignored Mari’s words, I would have lived my whole life without knowing this taste.”

Though it was just one dish, it reminded him of the youthful heart he had forgotten.

Even though elves live ten times longer than other human races and age extremely slowly, that’s only physically.

Even if an elf’s body is young, their mind isn’t necessarily so.

As they age, the emotions they felt daily in their youth gradually fade, and many elves accept this as the natural flow of time.

But now.

Munch munch.

After eating the radish puree and tofu steak together, Ed, continuously moving his fork, no longer looked like an old man but like a young elf full of vigor.

.

.

.

Ed, the forest keeper captain, forgot his position and devoured the tofu steak.

The plate in front of him was empty, not even a piece of vegetable or mushroom left.

With a satisfied expression, Ed finally exhaled deeply, as if he had forgotten to breathe.

“Hoo. It’s been decades since I’ve had such a moving meal. No, maybe centuries.”

Ed praised the meal.

And he wasn’t the only one who felt this way.

“How on earth is this tofu made!? I’ve never tasted anything like it!”

“I’m intrigued by the tofu, but this ponzu sauce is even more fascinating! What kind of sauce is this?”

The elves, having finished their meal, bombarded Kurt with questions, which he answered one by one.

They were seriously asking about the recipe, proving how much they enjoyed the tofu steak.

Thus, the satisfying meal came to an end.

.

.

.

After the meal, Kurt patiently answered the elves’ barrage of questions.

Despite everything, Kurt enjoyed talking about cooking, so he answered each question.

“…that’s how it’s made. Hmm. It’s a pity. If I had come to this village for another reason, I could have taught the recipe more leisurely.”

“Indeed. It’s quite complex, but not impossible to make.”

“Hmm. It’s a type of dish I’ve never made before, so it might be tricky, but I think I could recreate it in about a hundred years.”

“But the problem is that cooking inevitably requires fire.”

The elves began seriously planning how to make the tofu steak.

“Wait! Are you all planning to use fire in the elf village?”

Seeing this, Ed, who had been smiling contentedly just moments ago, was startled and intervened.

Though he had regained his adventurous spirit, using fire in the village was a separate issue.

Elves avoid using fire not because they don’t need it, but because their way of life depends on the World Tree, making it necessary to keep fire at a distance.

If the World Tree were to catch fire due to mismanagement, the village elves would lose their means of proper nutrition and face starvation.

Thus, even though Ed had regained his youthful mindset, as the forest keeper captain, he had to firmly restrain the elves.

Even if it meant losing the chance to taste tofu steak again.

“A forest keeper sacrificing themselves to protect the village’s peace, yet you’re planning to use fire, which could endanger the village! Are you still forest keepers!?”

“W-well……”

“No, we’re just saying. When did we say we’d actually do it?”

“Right. We’re forest keepers……”

“Exactly. We’re not like those city elves who take the World Tree lightly. A forest keeper losing caution with fire means inviting danger to the village…!”

At Ed’s stern words, the elves, who had been lightly excited after eating the tofu steak, quickly sobered up and bowed their heads solemnly.

The heavy atmosphere made it unclear whether they were ashamed of forgetting their duties as forest keepers or saddened by the thought of never recreating the tofu steak.

But one thing was certain: the elves who tasted Kurt’s tofu steak would never be satisfied with their previous diet again.

At that moment, Mari, who had been watching the silent elves, spoke up.

“Come to think of it, do we really need to use fire?”

“…What do you mean?”

“Well, Kurt didn’t use fire to make the tofu steak today, right? Because cooking with fire indoors isn’t proper in an elf village, right?”

“Of course.”

“…?”

At Mari’s words, Ed looked as if a question mark had appeared above his head.

“You’re saying you can grill without fire? Is this a riddle?”

“No, I mean it literally. You can grill without fire. And not just grilling, other cooking methods too.”

Kurt then brought out the iron plate he had used in the kitchen.

It was one of the many cooking tools he had received as a gift from the Dwarven Village.

It was a modified version inspired by Nail’s greatsword, adapted for cooking.

The young dwarf’s new invention was somewhat flawed as a weapon but had greater value as a household item.

It was an iron plate that could be heated without fire by using a glass bottle containing a fire stone.

Though using fire stones was several times more expensive than regular firewood, it allowed for safe grilling without fire.

And if there was any concern about fire, they could ask the dwarves to limit the heat output from the start.

Moreover, though Kurt didn’t have it, the same mechanism could be applied to make a pot for boiling soybeans without fire, necessary for making soy sauce or tofu.

After Kurt finished explaining the dwarven cooking tools, Ed declared to all the forest keeper elves in a serious voice.

“I’ll go to the Dwarven Village as our representative.”

It was a complete reversal from his earlier stern declaration.

And at Ed’s shameless behavior……

A small commotion broke out at Aisia’s house as the forest keepers argued over who would go to the Dwarven Village.