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Vol 06 Chapter 190: Endothermic Reaction

Until now, I have been desperately trying to popularize the use of forks.

I was even willing to be considered an enlightened despot.

However…

It seems that forks are a bit too advanced for the Adernian Peninsula.

They just don’t get it.

‘I don’t understand the issue of eating with your hands.’

‘In fact, isn’t it more vulgar to use such tools to bring food, given to us by the gods, to your mouth?’

That’s what they think.

Yeah, fine. I was wrong.

It seems I was too early for you guys. Forcing your own culture onto others isn’t good.

I gave up.

So…

「I’m going to make pizza instead.」

「Pizza?」

Alice tilted her head.

This time, Alice is the only one helping me with the cooking.

Ankus and Fiona will be the taste testers.

That’s because Julia and Tetra are suffering from morning sickness and can’t stop vomiting.

They don’t want me near them right now.

And I finally got some time off…

But I don’t think it’s right to spend this time just lazing around.

So, I’ll take care of Ankus and Fiona.

And I’ll cook.

「Well, it’s not a big deal.」

There’s no pizza on the Adernian Peninsula.

But there’s the base for it—a round, flat bread.

They sometimes use it as a plate.

You only have to spread tomato sauce and butter on top of it, and add cheese and other toppings…

「Then just bake it.」

「That sounds a bit too easy…」

To make it authentically, there would be more steps involved.

But I don’t have the knowledge to make the base of the pizza. It can’t be helped.

Well, it should be more like pizza than pizza toast.

I’ll leave further development to Julia and Tetra once they have some free time.

「Well, wait. The main attraction this time is ice cream.」

「Ice cream?」

Yes, it’s a white and cold treat.

Actually, if it’s a simple one, making ice cream is relatively easy.

All you need is milk, eggs, and sugar.

Unfortunately, there’s no vanilla essence available, so I’m a little concerned that the smell may be too strong. However, the Adernians are accustomed to the smell of milk.

So, it should be fine.

「Fiona and Ankus will help too.」

「Yes!」

They responded energetically.

They’ve been sitting quietly and waiting since a while ago.

Good kids, they might be geniuses.

「First, separate the eggs into whites and yolks. Then, whip the egg whites. Alice, go!」

「Got it.」

Alice started whipping the egg whites with tremendous speed.

In just ten seconds, the egg whites were whipped.

What kind of muscles does she have?

Next, mix the yolks, sugar, milk, and whipped egg whites little by little while heating them over hot water.

「Fiona, Ankus. Can you two help mix it?」

「How long should we mix it?」

「Uh… until it thickens, I guess? Well, just do it until it feels right.」

I answered Fiona’s question vaguely.

I’ve only made this once before, and it was years ago, so I don’t remember the details. But cooking is all about feeling. As long as it’s made with heart, there shouldn’t be a problem!

「Mother said we shouldn’t trust people who say things like ‘just do it until it feels right,’ Father.」

Ankus tilted his head.

Hey, Tetra, stop feeding them unnecessary information.

I know you’re the type who gets upset when cookbooks say ‘salt… to taste’ and you want it specified down to the milligram, but don’t demand that level of precision from the kids.

「But Mother also said, ‘The dosage of medicine? Just eyeball it. My intuition is more accurate!’」

Fiona countered Ankus.

Hey, Julia…

Medicine can’t be administered by feel. It’s definitely something that shouldn’t be left to guesswork. You might be able to tell the right amount by looking at the patient’s complexion, but that explanation is going to lead Fiona to some serious misunderstandings.

「So, we should take a middle ground: medicine can be eyeballed, but cooking should be precise, right?」

Alice said with a smug look.

Stop complicating things!! Don’t take a middle ground!!

It’s the other way around, the other way around!! Just keep quiet, you fool!!

「Anyway, just mix it!!」

I urged the two.

I’ll have to have a long talk with Julia later, but for now, the ice cream comes first.

The two of them began to mix, taking turns harmoniously.

If you warm the ingredients with a water bath for too long, they will solidify, so as soon as they’re done mixing, we take the mixture off the heat.

After that, it just needs to cool.

「Now, here we have some ice.」

It’s the beginning of July now. The temperature has risen quite a bit, and it’s getting hot.

This ice was cut from the Alva Mountains during winter and stored in an icehouse.

In the southern central part of the Adernian Peninsula, where King Rosais’ Country is located, it doesn’t snow even in winter. However, it’s a different story in some high mountains. The higher the altitude, the lower the temperature, so even in this region, water freezes in the mountains during winter.

We cut out the ice and store it underground, where the temperature is low, to use in the summer.

This makes it extremely rare and expensive.

Only royalty and a very few wealthy patrician families can afford to use it.

「We add salt to this and mix it. That will make the ice even colder.」

「Why is that?」

「I don’t know.」

The important thing is that it gets colder. The reason why it gets colder isn’t relevant to making ice cream.

「Do you want to touch it? Just a little bit.」

I held out the bowl of ice to Fiona and Ankus. Without hesitation, they plunged their hands in…

And then immediately pulled them out, clutching their hands in pain.

It’s below zero degrees, after all…

「Now we just cool it with this, and it’s done.」

I placed the bowl with the ice cream ingredients on top of the ice.

Now, we just leave it and it will be ready.

◇

「It’s cold!!」

「It’s delicious!!」

Fiona and Ankus devoured the ice cream while dirtying their mouths white. They had blissful smiles on their faces.

I’m a bit worried they might get stomachaches, though.

「Almus, hurry!」

「Alright, open wide.」

I scooped some ice cream and brought it to Tetra’s mouth.

Her eyes softened with happiness.

The ice cream finished at the same time as the two’s morning sickness subsided.

Actually, I made the ice cream to help with their morning sickness.

Even if they can’t eat bread or paspa right now, I figured ice cream would be easier to eat.

It might sound boastful, but I’m a considerate husband.

「Almus! Me too!!」

「Alright, alright.」

I brought some ice cream to Julia’s mouth as well.

Julia smiled.

「It’s delicious…」

Julia smiled.

The ice cream received raving reviews, but aside from my skill, the rarity of sweets themselves might have been the deciding factor.

Sugar is a product imported from the East, making it extremely expensive and scarce.

「Hey, Almus. Make this every day.」

「Every day… that’s going to be… tough.」

Sugar is not a problem we can import it. Buying enough sugar for two people to consume daily wouldn’t damage our national budget.

Our country isn’t that poor.

The problem is the ice. The amount of ice is limited, and its usage is allocated.

From here to here is the Rosais Family’s share, from here to here is the Pompeius Family’s share. And so on.

The nobles also want to enjoy cold things. Bartolo, in particular, is into chilling his drinks with ice.

If I asked them to give me some, they probably would, but straining our relationships with the nobles over something so trivial is foolish.

「Tetra, can’t you make ice? Or even better, can you make a cooling device?」

「I don’t really understand what ‘cold’ is… Fire is visible. Wind can be visualized indirectly. But ‘cold’…」

「’Cold’ and ‘hot’ are products of heat transfer. An endothermic reaction, which absorbs heat, feels ‘cold.’ An exothermic reaction, which releases heat, feels ‘hot.’」

When I explained that, Tetra grabbed my shoulder and brought her face close to mine.

「Tell me more!!」

「Uh… well, first of all, heat is…」

I explained what I knew about energy. If I remember correctly, heat is the result of the vibration of molecules…

I really should have paid more attention in high school chemistry lessons. I shouldn’t have slept through it just because I thought I wouldn’t need it…

「I see…」

Tetra had a somewhat satisfied look on her face.

Did you understand? Even though I don’t fully understand it myself?

Well, she probably filled in the gaps in her mind. Tetra has always been that kind of person…

「Wait a moment.」

Tetra stood up and brought a large sheet of paper, several small dishes, a knife, and some magic stones.

She cut her finger slightly with the knife and let the blood collect in one of the small dishes.

「Almus, rub the magic stones together and make them into powder.」

「Alright, alright.」

I did as she said, rubbing the magic stones together over the dish. Magic stones can be surprisingly easy to find and can be mined here and there in King Rosais’ Country.

Though there are no big veins, they are a convenient resource available almost everywhere.

But what exactly are magic stones made of?

「Give it here.」

While I was pondering the origin of magic stones, Tetra took the dish from my side. She pinched the magic stone powder and mixed it with her blood.

Then she dipped a brush into the mixture of powder and blood.

「If my hypothesis is correct…」

Tetra began to cover the entire sheet of paper with numerous formulas, unfamiliar symbols, and overlapping circles and pentagrams.

I don’t really understand it, but one thing is clear—Tetra is amazing.

「Julia, I need your help. I think I don’t have enough magic power on my own.」

「Got it.」

Julia placed her hand on the completed magic circle and infused it with her magic power.

The magic power was converted into magical energy, coursing through the magic circle.

「Almus, try holding your hand over it.」

「Like this?」

I held my hand over the circle as instructed.

Then, I felt a faint chill.

「This is amazing.」

「Eh-heh!」

Tetra puffed out her chest with pride.

Though it is still inefficient since it was just made, she will likely refine it by removing unnecessary elements and optimizing it.

「Uh, am I done now?」

「Yeah, it’s all good.」

The moment Julia let go of her hand, the magic circle started to glow intensely.

What’s happening?

「Ah…」

Hey! Tetra! That’s the last thing a scientist or doctor should say!!

「I forgot to write how to manage the absorbed heat.」

At that moment, the magic circle flared up and turned to ash in an instant, leaving burn marks on the floor.

「When Julia let go, the magic circle went out of control, and the stored heat was liberated in an instant… Hmm, there’s still room for improvement…」

I smacked Tetra on the head.

「You idiot! That was dangerous!!」

「Tee-hee!」

She was cute, so I forgave her.

◇

In a certain manor belonging to a patrician of the Aris Family, another secret meeting was taking place.

「What should we do… While we were sitting idly by, more small and medium-sized patrician families have been absorbed into the central faction.」

The leader-like man sighed as he spoke. The ‘central faction’ referred to the political faction pushing for centralization. Currently, thanks to Raymond’s efforts to dismantle opposition, it had become the mainstream in King Rosais’ Country.

On the other hand, the anti-central faction, primarily composed of the Aris Family patricians with relatively large territories, called themselves the ‘traditional faction’.

「The small and medium-sized patricians must be pressed for funds.」

「How deplorable… Why can’t they see this will only jeopardize their future?」

The traditional faction patricians voiced their criticisms of the small and medium-sized patricians who had sided with the central faction.

The reason the traditional faction patricians stubbornly clung to their territories wasn’t merely because they didn’t want to let go of their ancestral lands. They were concerned with their future and the future of their descendants.

At the moment, many of the central positions were monopolized by the Rosais Family, led by Raymond Rosais. While the Aris Family held significant influence locally, their political power in the central government was weak.

Almus, being a king with a strong sense of balance, had prevented an over-reliance on the Rosais Family alone. However, if Julia’s child, a pure Rosais Family member, were to become king, things would change.

The Rosais Family’s influence would undoubtedly grow even stronger, and in the worst case, the entire Aris Family could face purges. It was not something to laugh off as impossible—there was already an example with the Dibel Family.

「In order for us to survive in the future, we must maintain influence by holding some territory in the provinces… or we must have Ankus-sama become king!」

「That’s right! That’s right!!」

「But how can we make Ankus-sama king?」

The conversation stopped there. No one could think of a way to make Ankus the king.

In conclusion, there was no way to make Ankus king other than praying to the heavens.

From Almus’s perspective, there was no other option than making Julia’s son the king. Unless, of course, a situation arose where Julia didn’t give birth to a male child.

「Excuse me during your meeting!!」

「What is it!!」

One of the patricians—the master of the house—responded to the call of a slave from the other side of the door.

「A Kirisian merchant is here to see you.」

「…Tell him I’ll be there shortly.」