The Artist Who Paints Dungeon-Chapter 89

"Even though it's not water from that region, it expels the mud."

"That's right. As long as the salinity is adjusted, it seems to do it willingly."

"Perhaps the clams here have a weaker sense of self than those from Edron."

"Let's not give a sense of self to clams that are about to be eaten."

The large basin filled with club snails was soon covered with a black cloth.

"Now, we just need to leave them until the stew is ready."

The club snail, a pride of Edron Village, was famous for its quick desalting process.

Due to its body being more like flesh than internal organs, the mud it had swallowed didn't take long to expel. They only had to wait for at least 30 minutes, or at most an hour, for the process to complete.

"It would be better to change the water midway..."

"I’ll take care of that. Would once every ten minutes work?"

"Mm, yes, that should be fine. Thank you."

Though changing the water every ten minutes might be a little excessive, there was no harm in being thorough.

‘Nothing angers me more than when sand gets stuck in my teeth while eating.’

Wasn't Gio a self-proclaimed food connoisseur and glutton? He was a firm believer in preparing food with no distractions, insisting that any meal that caused discomfort was unworthy of being called a dish.

"Now, for the stew..."

Simply put, the stew was a Western-style soup.

"You just put anything in and see what happens."

"I know the recipe, but..."

"So, did you make it yourself?"

"......"

"Listen quietly to my lesson."

Sometimes people asked about the difference between stew and soup. The main difference was that the protagonist of stew was its solid ingredients, while the protagonist of soup was the liquid itself. In short, stew was a dish where liquid was added to cook the ingredients.

"Would you like to follow me?"

"Eh? Where to...?"

"To the garden."

So, Iser followed Gio to his garden.

"Tada."

"...A garden?"

"Yes, what's wrong?"

"Well, a garden..."

"It's a garden."

"...Alright."

Iser nodded in understanding.

"You never seem to do anything normally when it comes to farming."

"What did you say?"

"You're the smiling tyrant of the sea village, after all..."

"Tyrant?"

"I didn’t say anything. What did you hear?"

"Now you even know how to talk back. How impressive."

Iser was finally convinced.

"Look, there's a cherry tomato in there..."

"All I see is a pumpkin trying to mimic a tomato."

"Your eyesight must have gotten worse. Don’t be complacent just because you’re a mermaid. Get your glasses adjusted."

"I’m not sure if it’s a problem with my eyesight."

Unable to hold back, Iser asked.

"Why exactly is this a garden?"

"It’s small and quaint, so it’s a garden."

"The size of the crops {N•o•v•e•l•i•g•h•t} makes it look small, but none of them are quaint."

"I’d appreciate it if you could be careful with your words, as our Elizabeth the 32nd might be hurt by them."

"Who is Elizabeth the 32nd..."

Crrr—.

At Gio's words, a tomato leaf the size of a pumpkin rustled, almost as if it was making a fist, causing Iser to lose his smile.

"...You’re going to eat this?"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, he became as serious as when he was watching his sister’s research process.

"This?"

"The kids may be a bit too individualistic, but they’re all self-sacrificing and good children."

"They won't get stuck in their throats and choke while eating, I suppose."

"They’re not that rebellious. They’re actually very tame."

"That..."

Iser nodded.

"I understand."

"Did you get it?"

"Maybe..."

"Then follow me."

"If I die, the sea would be the best place."

"Stop saying strange things."

As Gio spoke, he greeted the crops in his garden, which had become familiar through their conversations, and approached his target. The tomatoes, glowing with a vibrant red, looked ripe, but their stems were still firmly attached.

"I’ll bring the cherry tomatoes aboard the basket~"

At Gio's words, some tomatoes, hanging on their stems, wobbled slightly, expressing their intention. Gio held the basket beneath them, and soon, a small watermelon-sized tomato landed in it with a thud.

"......"

"Wow, done. That was easy, huh?"

"...Yes."

In no time, Gio had harvested a whole basket of tomatoes.

"Personally, I like tomato stew the best. It might be because it’s what I always ate in Edron Village, but it’s much gentler on the stomach than cream stew."

"Ah... right, you always liked it because it didn’t upset your stomach even when you ate a lot."

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Iser, with a smile reminiscent of Giovanni, continued.

"You also said it was the best food to cook in bulk and eat for a long time."

"You remember all that?"

"How could I forget about you, teacher?"

"I didn’t realize I was such an easy person to read, but I’ll improve."

"Please don’t... How much more are you planning to improve here..."

"No one can stop me."

"Please, let me stop you."

"Even when I was just a normal priest, you couldn’t stop me."

"Teacher."

"Now, it’s only going to get worse."

Even though he was a teacher, Gio didn’t want to become a human who was slower to develop than his mermaid students. He was a bold adult who didn’t set limits for himself.

"Tomato stew is especially good with bacon or ham, which have a bit of a strong flavor. It also pairs well with hard, dried meat that’s hard to eat raw, and since you can add a variety of vegetables, it’s easy to season as well..."

Gio briefly looked at the tomatoes in the basket under the sunlight.

"Definitely different from Earth or Edron Village’s tomatoes."

"...I’m asking again, but are those tomatoes? They look very different from the ones I know from Edron or Earth..."

"I planted seeds from Earth, so they should be tomatoes."

The cherry tomatoes grown by Gio—or perhaps grown by themselves—were slightly different from Earth’s. They were large, about the size of a small watermelon, and shaped like small plum tomatoes, translucent enough for light to pass through. Their flavor was a balance of freshness and sweetness.

"I don’t really like sweet stews."

"Neither do I."

"But we’ll have to make do with what we have, so I’ll resolve it with other ingredients."

"Ah, maybe adding more salt?"

"We already have sausages that are salty and full of flavor. For now, we’ll use that, and... hmm, what else could we add..."

Gio blurted out the thought that had suddenly come to mind.

"It’d be fun to make bacon."

"Your homemade bacon is excellent."

Iser nodded.

"The village people used to flock around, expecting a piece each."

"That’s me. The genius priest of the sun who can do anything."

"Even after receiving the grace of such a person, all we’ve learned is how to do wicked things..."

"Calm down while eating tomatoes."

Perhaps because of the healthy self-awareness of the cherry tomatoes earlier, Iser hesitated a bit, but soon took a bite of the flesh.

"Wow..."

"Tastes good, right?"

"I’ve never had such delicious tomatoes before."

"I’m quite good at farming."

The tomato had a firm, slightly jelly-like texture, and its flesh crumbled in a way typical of tomatoes, but it also had a refreshing citrus-like tang, balanced by a subtle sweetness that followed.

"It’s actually soft and slime-like when touched."

"It’s not exactly slime, is it?"

"The texture is interesting."

Iser, who had briefly been disgusted, seemed to truly like the tomato. After all, after so many years of seeing strange things, it would be hard for him to actually dislike a moving tomato.

"So, what else should we harvest? I think it's strange to call this place a garden and use the word 'harvest,' but anyhow..."

"I’m planning to add a variety of things."

As expected, stew was about mixing everything together.

"Carrots are a very safe choice. Their mild sweetness and faintly bitter taste go really well with tomatoes."

"How about potatoes? I really liked the stew you made with potatoes in it, where the starch from the potatoes made it a bit thick. I still remember it."

"Then let’s add potatoes. The starch that naturally comes out of the ingredients isn’t too sticky or slippery, but it has a sweet flavor like broth, so it’s excellent."

"When it’s cooked tenderly, the potatoes absorb the tomato stew broth and break apart smoothly. It’s best to add potatoes, teacher."

With the basket of tomatoes in hand, Iser smiled faintly.

"Cabbage wouldn’t be a bad choice either. When cabbage is cooked in hot broth, it’s crunchy yet soft, and the texture is really good."

"Really good, right? When the warm cabbage juice fills your mouth, it’s absolutely heavenly in the winter. If you cook it until it’s completely soft and squish it with your tongue, that’s fun too..."

"......"

In this everyday, simple conversation, Iser couldn’t help but recall memories of the past.

"...It feels like we’ve come to the market."

"I think it’s quite similar."

"I see..."

He wondered if he was dreaming.

It was empty and frightening.

The Artist Who Paints Dungeon.