Chapter 10

Crunch.

The flavor of fried potatoes that never gets old no matter how many times you eat them.

The crispy outer layer, fried in high-temperature oil, gives way to a soft, fluffy interior that melts in your mouth.

Lightly salted, it’s not bland, but also not overpowering—a stable, satisfying taste.

Even though it had been a few days since I last had fried potatoes, the taste was just as satisfying as ever.

Mari, who already loved fried potatoes to an obsessive degree, was especially beaming today as she ate them, likely due to the intense workout she had earlier.

There’s something about fried food after moving your body—it just feels like it seeps into your soul.

Personally, pairing it with a cool carbonated drink to wash away the lingering grease would reset the richness and balance the sweet and salty, making it infinitely eatable. But recreating that in this world’s environment would be tough.

…Maybe I’ll try making soda later if I have the time.

“Phew! Fried potatoes are still the best food ever!”

“Not necessarily… but you did work hard today.”

“You worked hard too, Kurt! Especially since you handled most of the beehive sales.”

“If I left it to you, who knows what would’ve happened.”

By the time we arrived in the village, it was early lunchtime, but after hunting monsters and doing this and that, it was already evening.

Hunting monsters took a fair amount of time, but what was even more troublesome was moving the Rainbow Army Honeybee’s beehive.

Since each bee was the size of a human head, the hive itself was proportionately massive.

Luckily, the hive was still relatively new, so it was just small enough for the two of us to carry. Any bigger, and we’d have had serious volume issues.

We sold the hive to the villagers at a reasonable price.

Thanks to that, we earned enough money to travel comfortably for a while.

Honey is not only used in cooking but also has antibacterial properties, making it useful for creating medicine.

Additionally, the hive itself held significant value. Since its main component is beeswax, it’s used for making candles and wax, making both the hive and honey highly valuable.

And considering this wasn’t just regular honey but a byproduct of monsters, its value was several times higher than that of ordinary animal byproducts.

Even though we didn’t sell all the honey, we still made a decent amount of money.

With the payment, we bought a large amount of cooking oil, borrowed the village inn’s kitchen, and fried up some potatoes without issue.

“Kurt, I can still eat more! Can’t we fry a few more potatoes?”

Mari, having devoured all the fried potatoes in front of her, looked like a puppy begging for more treats.

Of course, compared to the cost of cooking oil, potatoes are dirt cheap.

We had a decent sum of money now, so we could afford to indulge in fried potatoes for a day without worrying.

But I rejected Mari’s proposal.

“You’re too inexperienced.”

“What do you mean…?”

“Your way of enjoying food is too inexperienced, Mari. Last time, you ended your meal with just fried potatoes. Surely you’re not planning to do the same today?”

“W-well, is that not allowed? Fried potatoes are delicious.”

Mari stuttered, looking uneasy at my words.

“No. Last time, we were on the road, so having only one dish for a meal was unavoidable. But today, we’re in a village where we can buy various ingredients. It’s a waste to be stuck on fried potatoes.”

“But there’s no way any dish in this world could be more delicious than fried potatoes!”

“Is that so?”

I whispered to Mari in a sweet voice, like a devil offering a contract or a foreman offering beer to a tired worker.

“So… are you saying there’s another dish that’s even more delicious?”

“Whether it’s more delicious or not, you won’t know until you try it. But what I can say for sure is that frying isn’t limited to just potatoes.”

“W-what!? You can fry things other than potatoes!?”

I almost wanted to ask why she thought frying was limited to potatoes.

Originally, I wanted to buy meat and make cutlets, but unfortunately, this guest can’t eat meat dishes, so I had to approach it differently.

If it can’t be the main dish, then it’s dessert.

I pulled out a glass bottle and showed it to Mari.

“T-that is…!”

“Hehe. That’s right. It’s Rainbow Honey.”

Have you ever looked closely at a soap bubble?

At first glance, it seems colorless, but upon closer inspection, you can see it reflects a spectrum of colors.

The Rainbow Honey’s color reminded me of that soap bubble.

Mari couldn’t take her eyes off the Rainbow Honey, which shimmered like an aurora over clear syrup.

“Today, we’ll use this to cook.”

“Gulp… Are you making honey fried…!?”

“No. Doughnuts.”

What even is honey fried?

I took out the dough I had prepared earlier, made from flour, salt, sugar, and yeast.

Adding milk and butter would make the dough softer and more flavorful, but unfortunately, the village was too small to source dairy.

Besides, milk and butter contain animal protein, which Mari, being an elf, couldn’t eat anyway.

I cut the dough into appropriate sizes, hollowed out the centers, and dropped them into the oil.

While the dough fried, I slowly simmered the Rainbow Honey with water in another pot to adjust its consistency.

Once the doughnuts were fried, I drained the oil and drizzled the Rainbow Honey glaze over them.

Rainbow Honey Glazed Doughnuts.

No, for dessert, this name feels more fitting.

Rainbow Honey Glazed Doughnuts.

.

.

.

Mari stared at the finished doughnuts as if admiring a beautiful piece of art.

The doughnuts themselves were ordinary.

No, to be honest, given the limited ingredients, they were rather crude. But the Rainbow Honey’s power literally covered up those flaws.

The Rainbow Honey formed a magical, shimmering layer over the plain brown doughnuts, reflecting red and green light depending on the angle.

In an instant, the crude doughnuts transformed into a luxurious dessert fit for a noble’s tea party.

This could even be served at a duke’s tea party.

Not that I’ve ever been to one, but it felt that way.

It was like Cinderella’s rags being replaced by a beautiful dress.

The Rainbow Honey was truly a mage.

“Wow… It’s so pretty. Is this really food!?”

“Yes, try it.”

As I said that, I also took a bite of the finished doughnut.

The first thing I felt was an overwhelming sweetness.

But what followed was a refreshing mix of various flavors.

Traditionally, glazed doughnuts use sugar, not honey, as sugar’s clean sweetness pairs better with the fried flour.

But the moment I tasted the Rainbow Honey, I was convinced it was a better match than sugar.

And that conviction was correct.

Among regular honeys, some change flavor depending on the flowers the bees pollinated.

And the Rainbow Honey was the pinnacle of such honeys.

The aroma of the countless plants pollinated by the monsters was concentrated in this Rainbow Honey, making its presence known.

But instead of making the honey’s flavor heavier, it made it lighter.

In my mouth, I first sensed the soft fragrance of lavender or jasmine, followed by the fruity sweetness reminiscent of fruit, not honey. Finally, a refreshing minty coolness cleansed my palate despite having eaten fried food.

It was like the Rainbow Honey’s ever-changing colors—its flavor shifted from the first bite to the last.

Typically, cramming too many flavors into one dish results in a chaotic mess, but the Rainbow Honey harmonized multiple flavors, creating a perfect synergy.

The Rainbow Honey wasn’t just about its appearance.

It truly became a rainbow in your mouth.

And I realized after eating it—using the crude flour doughnuts was a stroke of genius.

If I had added butter or milk to deepen the flavor, it might have disrupted the perfect harmony of the Rainbow Honey’s taste.

“So this is the taste of Rainbow Honey.”

Now I understand why connoisseurs call it a delicacy.

Lost in the aftertaste of one doughnut, I suddenly snapped back to reality and looked at Mari.

Oops, if I zone out, Mari might eat them all…

“…Mari?”

She was silently crying, a doughnut in her hand.

“I’m so pathetic.”

“What are you talking about?”

Why the sudden self-criticism in the middle of a meal?

You’re making this awkward.

“I left my conservative elf village because I hated the atmosphere, but not long after starting my journey, I became obsessed with fried potatoes, thinking they were the best, and didn’t even consider trying other dishes. I’m no different from the conservative elves I despised!”

“Ah, I see.”

I ignored Mari’s dramatic revelation and reached for another doughnut.

The Rainbow Honey’s refreshing flavor made the doughnuts endlessly eatable.

“Ah! Wait! I’m in the middle of something important here! This is where you’re supposed to cry! And I haven’t even finished one yet! Eating them all by yourself is cheating!”

Mari hurriedly stuffed the doughnut in her hand into her mouth.

What nonsense. The one spouting foolish words is at fault.