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Volume 2 Chapter 9
Today I went to buy a lot of ingredients. I bought vegetables and fruits from the grocery, beef from the butcher, and from a slightly high class store I bought pepper. Lastly, I went to the liquor store to buy alcohol.
Since it's a rare occasion, I thought I'd splurge a bit on the wine. I told the clerk that I had 3 small gold coins and would like to purchase enough wine for 30 people. Hearing that she recommend to me the wine called, Jamis Spring. 3 small gold coins of that would get me a barrel of it, enough for 1 or 2 drinks per person, so I decided to buy it just as she had recommended me to.
After that I went to the store and did the preparations that I could do for the meal tomorrow.
Tomorrow's menu includes salad, meat sauce spaghetti, and steak. And for dessert I'll be serving apple pie.
I was troubled over what to serve but since there was pasta and steak in this world, I went with that. It's better to choose something safe so as to not unnecessarily cause trouble for myself. Unfortunately though this kind of food doesn't really feel that suited to parties.
When I think of a party, what generally comes to my mind is pizza. But that food doesn't exist in this world.
As for drinks, there is water and wine, along with 2 types of fruit juices that I prepared.
Alchemy was quite convenient for this. I pounded the noodles of the spaghetti, and used alchemy to remove its water, turning it into dried noodles quickly. With this I can store it and all I'll need to do tomorrow is to boil it. As for the juice I crushed the fruits, and then separated the juice from the dregs, making a 100% genuine fruit juice.
This is really convenient, but if I'm not careful, it might end badly for me. It's good that I can extract the water and quickly dehydrate things, but since the magic formation doesn't discriminate what's on top of it, if I were to accidentally put my hand on top, my hand will be mummified. During the time I lived in the forest, I would often turn the rabbit meat I caught into dried meat to preserve it. If I'm not careful I'll end up like that.
Going back to the topic.
I'm going to make a meat sauce, but I don't have any consommé. So instead of the consommé, I decided to use chicken and vegetable soup. Tomorrow I'll cut the meat I bought from the butcher today, then mix it and the tomato with this. Afterwards, I'll add the soup and splash some water.
Next, I made a refrigerator with a box, by coating it in the hardening liquid, and using anti-cold barrier along with ice magic on it. Then I place the food I prepared inside that.
The anti-cold barrier when used, will normally keep me from being attacked by the cold weather in my surroundings. However, when applied in a small space, it instead prevents the cold inside from going outside. Also, since I can use 'Identify' to check whether or not the food inside is spoiled or not, I can use this convenient refrigerator with a peace of mind.
I was quite surprised before when I used 'Identify' for the first time on this refrigerator. When I used 'Identify' it actually included a list of the things inside, the freshness of the objects, and even what was decaying. Perhaps it's not far off to say that this refrigerator is even more convenient than the ones back at earth.
When I finished preparing, it was already evening. If I were to go to the guild now it would be quite late, but then again it's still too early to go home...
Walking aimlessly around the town, I ended up passing by the church.
Good timing. I haven't been able to pray recently, so I might as well take this opportunity to pray.
Thinking that, I went to the church. This time what greeted me wasn't the woman from before, but instead it was a young girl perhaps around the age of 10.
"Welcome. How may I help you?" [Girl]
"I've managed to make some time, so I thought I'd go offer my prayers." [Ryouma]
"Then in that case, this way please." [Girl]
The girl brought me over to a wide room with many chairs in front of the altar.
"Please take your time." [Girl]
Said the girl as she left the room. It seems I can use this room to pray as I wish.
When she left the room, I took a nearby chair and sat on it. Then I put my hands together and closed my eyes. For some reason it suddenly felt like something was coming loose. The next moment, I opened my eyes. But when I did so, what greeted me was that white room I'd seen twice before.
"Oh, you came again..." [Kufo]
"Yeah, looks like I ended up coming again." [Ryouma]
When I turned to face the voice that came at me from behind, I saw Kufo.
"Kufo, we meet again." [Ryouma]
"Well it hasn't really been that long though. It hasn't even been a month since we last met." [Kufo]
"Are Gayn and Rurutia out today?' [Ryouma]
"Yeah, they went out for a bit." [Kufo]
"So gods also go out?" [Ryouma]
"Yeah, although it's really rare, " [Kufo]
"Where did they go off to?" [Ryouma]
The moment I said that, Kufo made a face that looked like he just made a blunder.
"Ah... umm.... Actually, they went to your previous world." [Kufo]
"To Earth!? Why? Are they going to call another person?" [Ryouma]
"Oh, no, no! They didn't go for that. This time they're..." [Kufo]
As Kufo was about to explain, he hesitated.
"This time what? You know if it's difficult to say, I won't insist." [Ryouma]
"Nah... if it's Ryouma, then I think it's fine. They went sightseeing." [Kufo]
"Huh?"[Ryouma]
Sightseeing?
"Rurutia went around in your world to treat herself to some desserts. And Gayn seems to have taken quite a liking to your idol groups in Japan." [Kufo]
"What's with that reason? Well, no... Actually it doesn't really matter, but can you really go to another world with that kind of reason?" [Ryouma]
"We gods generally don't interfere with each other's worlds. But in our case we've been bringing people over from Earth for a long time now... and besides, this world doesn't really have a lot of options for entertainment. Even the sweets Rurutia wants to eat are few here. Also in terms of taste, you can't even compare the sweets in this world to yours, right?" [Kufo]
"Well, that's true but..." [Ryouma]
"I also went around Earth before too, you know? As the god of life, I'm very much interested in organisms that are able to survive in harsh environments. So with that in mind I went to see the secluded regions of Earth. Like the Amazon, the Sahara Desert, the Atlantis, or even the deep sea..." [Kufo]
"Wait a moment, isn't one of those kind of out of place!?" [Ryouma]
"Keep this a secret from other humans, ok? Otherwise our dignity as gods will be tarnished." [Kufo]
"I won't do something like that. Besides, even if I did spread it around, no one will believe me anyway." [Ryouma]
"Well I guess that's true." [Kufo]
"Gayn's hobby aside, wouldn't it be better if you guys made the desserts Rurutia like popular? There's plenty of otherworlders in this world, right?" [Ryouma]
"Well that's true, only, it's difficult to spread the recipe. It's hard to get a hold of sugar and spices. Not to mention it's also expensive. Also, you're aware that any food with plenty of spices is considered a luxury, right?" [Kufo]
"Well, yeah..." [Ryouma]
"The only exception to that is the royal family or the nobles who have several luxurious goods. To the masses though, those kind of ingredients are impossible. That's why even if otherworlders try to make the dishes from earth, the people who are able to make it are limited. And in the end they won't be able to pass it on. Even if they do though, it will gradually be forgotten. For example, you've recently met a person that goes by the name of Pioro Saionji, right?" [Kufo]
"I thought of it when I first heard his last name, but as expected, he's the descendant of an otherworlders, right?" [Ryouma]
"That's right. That guy's lineage comes from a guy who was born to a family with an okonomiyaki shop. And he even went to a culinary school in his student days.
When that guy came to this world he tried to make okonomiyaki, but unfortunately he couldn't make the sauce and couldn't get the seafood to make the dish. So he decided to go all over the world to gather the ingredients. Only, in order to travel and buy those ingredients he needed money. So he became a peddler and worked a cart along the way. Through that he was able to make a killing and in the end, he was able to make his okonomiyaki. However, it didn't spread.
After that, he used the connections and knowledge of food he gained in order to make his okonomiyaki, and started a firm that grew to play a leading role in handling food ingredients. That's where the current Saionji Firm came from.
Though in the end he was able to make his okonomiyaki, you could also say that the ingredients were so hard to get during the era he was born in that unless someone did what he did, it wouldn't have been possible to make it. Nowadays there's the Saionji Firm and other similar companies who imitated them, so it has become slightly easier to get the ingredients. Only slightly though..." [Kufo]
Something like that actually happened?
"That kind of thing isn't limited only to food. Like craft or technology for example.
Well to begin with, the otherworlders aren't all as passionate as he is. And even when they are, there's still the question of knowledge and luck. Many have failed because they lacked one or the other. There were also things that was lost because of war or because of other adventurers." [Kufo]
"When you put it that way, I think I can understand. But what do you mean when you say that some of the other adventurers a better technique or something?" [Ryouma]
"Although I don't have any way to say it other than bad luck, in the past there was a med student who came to this world who spread his knowledge in the field of medicine. But right now, there aren't any traces of such knowledge, right?" [Kufo]
"Ah, now that you mention it, yeah. And the guild master didn't seem to have any knowledge regarding epidemics either." [Ryouma]
"Actually, in the past there was a girl who came into this world. That girl said that she wanted to become a saint." [Kufo]
"Saint? You mean like that thing that seems to be a really high position in the church or something?" [Ryouma]
"Yes, that. A person who holds a mysterious skill and heals people, something like that. Anyway, when that girl came here, she made a fuss saying that she wanted to live like that. Oh, but she wasn't a bad girl or anything. Though she did give off that feeling that said, "I want to be spoiled!" her desire to save people was the real thing.
That's why Rurutia, I, and Gayn, gave her our divine protection. She may not be able to resurrect the dead but with the ability we gave her, she was able to heal anyone no matter how injured they were and no matter what diseases they had. And as for her, herself, she was immune to poison, medicine, diseases and was immune from being physically hurt. She had a power to protect that couldn't' be bound by anyone. And because of that she lived her entire life as a saint, a holy woman. Only..." [Kufo]
"Only?" [Ryouma]
Did something happen?
"That girl was able to heal anything, but other people were only capable of normal healing magic, so they weren't able to heal diseases. The people who were infected with a disease that couldn't be healed by this world's medical knowledge died when they weren't able to be healed by her.
Seeing that, she thought, "Wouldn't the number of people who die from such things increase after I die?" and so until the very end, she spent her whole life healing people with the power of god while she wished that she would be able to eradicate all sickness from this world." [Kufo]
"Eradicate all sickness? Is that possible?" [Ryouma]
"Normally you can't. But she is an otherworlder who had directly received our blessings. Moreover, because of all her achievements, she was able to gather the faith of many people. That faith acted as a boost and amplified her power.
And on top of all of that, she herself literally exhausted everything she had for the sake of that wish. So much so that after she used her power, she lost her life. But it didn't end there. She gave up everything for the sake of that wish and in the process she even erased her own soul. Normally she should have entered the circle of transmigration right after she had died, but after exhausting her power so much, she vanished." [Kufo]
"Somehow, I feel like she's an amazing person..." [Ryouma]
"When that child first started, a lot of people came to be healed and she was actually quite troubled. But, having a sense of duty, and after several things happened, in the end she became a true saint.
It was because of her actions that for nearly 400 years almost no one caught any diseases. And it's because of that, that the knowledge regarding medicine, diseases, and prevention of it had all disappeared. As for healing magic, it was passed on since people still get wounded.
Nowadays though, because the effect of her power has disappeared, there are now people who are becoming sick. Unfortunately, the knowledge that was lost won't be coming back." [Kufo]
"I see..." [Ryouma]
Was a single human actually capable of something like that? She may have had a cheat ability... but still...
"Ah, speaking of which, as long as you're prepared to have your own soul extinguished, you can do the same thing." [Kufo]
"Eh, seriously!?" [Ryouma]
"The combination of god's power and the soul of man is quite powerful. It's also because of that, that it's possible to use the soul of people like you to take magic power from your world to our world.
And although I said that you could do the same thing. The most you'd be able to do is extinguish diseases for a few years at most. The reason she was able to remove disease for 400 years was because of the faith the people had in her, and because she specialized at healing. In your case though, on top of not having a specialization in healing, you also don't have any believers.
Ryouma-kun, you're individual abilities are weak compared to someone who specializes in one ability. To begin with, the path you chose wasn't to start off as a cheat but to grow by working hard and being creative. Because of that your growth has nearly no limits. Since your growing really quickly, then given time you might grow to become even stronger than someone who possess a special ability. And more than anything, watching you is interesting, so it's all good for us." [Kufo]
"In the end it's about that, huh?' [Ryouma]
"Well it can't be helped since here in the divine realm we don't have anything to do, so we're always bored." [Kufo]
After Kufo said that, all of the sudden everything started to glow. Ah, it's 'that'.
"We're out of time it seems." [Ryouma]
"Eh, already? Oh right! Since Gayn and Rurutia aren't here, only my power is being used to stop the time, so it's way shorter! Ryouma-kun!" [Kufo]
"What are you panicking for all of the sudden?" [Ryouma]
"Actually I called you here because I need to tell you something! And yet I wasted time chatting about pointless things! Anyway I'll just tell you the important stuff! When your body became younger it also influenced your mind! Because of that you've regressed a little bit to a child!
This is the same for the other otherworlders! You not being able to control yourself or keep up your poker face is because of that! It's fine that you want to retrain yourself, but don't push yourself!" [Kufo]
As soon as Kufo said that, my field of vision was completely wrapped in light and when it faded, I was back there in the room the girl had brought me to.
What does he mean by my mind being influenced by my young body? I don't understand well... but isn't that something really important?
I think I can somewhat understand the regressing part though... my poker face was so good in my previous life that I would often get asked what I was thinking about. However, nowadays, what I'm thinking easily shows on my face. Just like how it was when I was a kid before... Still, I won't change my plans. Kufo went through all the trouble of letting me know, so I might as well make sure I set myself straight.
After thinking for a bit, I give my thanks to Kufo inside my mind, and after donating a little, I left the church.
When I left the church it was already dark, so I decided to go back to my lodging.
Tomorrow, everyone will be coming to the store.
So I'll sleep early today, then tomorrow, I'll do my best!
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