I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace (WN)

Chapter 2446 - Requested Item ④

Once our business was done, Lanza-san took the water from me and waved cheerfully as she headed off. How should I put it…… she really was like a storm blowing through.

As for the 10,000 spearmush, I do need to think about how to use them all…… but for now, since I have the chance, I’d like to try eating one.

Matsutake rice or a clear soup would be good, but for now I’ll just grill it. And if I’m going to grill it, I’d really like to use a shichirin and charcoal……

[……Alice, do we have a shichirin and some charcoal for grilling?]

[Kaito-san, are you maybe confusing me with a convenient tool bag you can pull anything out of?]

[You say that, but you’re already holding a shichirin……]

I called out to Alice, deciding we’d eat together, and of course, her preparations were impeccable, shichirin already in hand. Since grilling matsutake in front of the entrance would be a bit much, we decided to move to the backyard.

[……You’re not supposed to wash them, right?]

[That washes away the aroma. You wipe the dirt lightly with a damp cloth like this, cut off just the tip of the stem…… then make a small slit and tear it by hand, and it comes apart nicely.]

[Ohh, it already looks delicious. Do I just grill it like this?]

[Lightly spray it with sake, sprinkle a little salt…… something like that. Once it’s done grilling, eating it with mixed soy sauce, or sudachi, or dashi ponzu is great.]

As expected of Alice, she explained while handling everything with practiced efficiency. Meanwhile, I took out two small camping chairs, lined them up, and set out a compact table.

[Let’s bring out some sake too……]

[Nice idea~~ Ah, once moisture starts rising to the surface, it’s ready to eat.]

Before long, small beads of moisture began forming on the matsutake grilling on the shichirin. I squeezed a bit of sudachi, added just a little soy sauce, and took a bite.

The unique fragrance of matsutake filled my nose, and the combination of freshness, crisp texture, and rich flavor spread in my mouth. Mm…… it’s been a while since I’ve had them, and it really is delicious.

[This is great. Actually, I feel like it’s been ages since I last ate matsutake.]

[Well, they basically don’t exist in this world. I’ll grill about five more……]

[You’re eating way too fast……]

Actually, if there are too many left over, maybe I could just have Alice eat them all? When trying to clear out the massive amount of food stored in the magic box, that might honestly be the most efficient method.

[……Are you maybe thinking of using me to dispose of leftover food?]

[……Ah, no…… hmm…… Alice, how about eating around a hundred more?]

[You gave up, didn’t you!? You tried to dodge it at first, but halfway through you gave up and switched completely to making me deal with them!!! I feel like you’re treating me a bit too casually here…… but well, spearmush are tasty, so I’ll eat them.]

Watching Alice eat spearmush at an impressive pace, looking slightly exasperated, I gave a wry smile. Still, I should also think about who to share them with.

Of course, I’ll share some with Kaori-san and the others I talked with about matsutake earlier, but the other Otherworlders might want some too.

I can check with Aoi-chan and Hina-chan, and with my parents right away. As for Akane-san, Seigi-kun, and Shigenobu-san, I’ll confirm with them and share some if they want.

What about Neun-san? Kuro mentioned she prefers shiitake to matsutake, but that doesn’t mean she dislikes matsutake. I’ll check, and if there’s no issue, I’ll share some.

And then…… wasn’t Miyabi-san staying at Epsilon-san’s place? I’ve never met her, but she gave me pickles for my birthday, so sending some to Epsilon-san to pass on to her might be a good idea.

But since these are extremely delicious and high-quality matsutake…… or rather, spearmush, maybe I should put them in a luxurious wooden box or something, it would really help set the mood.

[……Alice, do we have some kind of nice wooden box?]

[I feel like you’re using me way too conveniently…… Here, a wooden box suitable for holding spearmush, along with hida and hiba leaves for lining it.]

[And why did you bring out all that then……? And the front of the box even has “Matsutake” written on it……]

I’d tossed the question out casually, following the same mood as earlier, yet she really did produce a box perfectly suited for holding matsutake, complete with “Matsutake” written on it in elegant calligraphy. As always, her ability to anticipate things was impressive…… she must have predicted I’d ask for something like this and prepared it beforehand.

[……By the way, these leaves that are usually used for lining the box, they’re called hida or hiba? What are these?]

[Those got lots of names. Sometimes they’re called urajiro or hoda, but generally, you spread out some kind of fern and hiba…… hinoki leaves. They have antibacterial and insect-repelling properties.]

[Hehh, is that so……]

Listening to Alice’s explanation with interest, I placed a light layer of leaves inside the box she handed me and arranged the matsutake. In an instant, it gained a refined, high-class feel.

Looks good. I’ll deliver them to the people I know in this form.

<Afterword>

Serious-senpai : [I see, so that’s an option…… Just feed any leftover ingredients to Alice.]

??? : [Aren’t you guys treating Alice-chan a bit roughly?]

Serious-senpai : [Says the one who gets excessively embarrassed if you treat her too courteously……?]