“Al, can I have a few apples from the home garden?”
“Yes, I manage it, but all the fruits and vegetables in the garden belong to Master, so you can harvest as much as you like.”
“Thank you.”
Several days passed, and the academy had a day off. Marie’s Bakery was also closed, so Kent spent the morning relaxing at home. The previous day, during the academy’s lunch break, it was decided to research natural yeast, as suggested by Caro. Kent had asked Al, who managed the home garden, if he could harvest apples to use as experimental materials.
“Apples are sweet and delicious, aren’t they? I love them too. Here’s your breakfast.”
“Thank you, Catherine.”
Catherine, who was preparing Kent’s breakfast, chimed in. As she had a natural sweet tooth, apples were one of her favorite foods.
“Hmph, they are indeed delicious, but when I bite into them, my gums bleed!”
Fuuko, who was sitting next to Kent, also seemed to like apples and agreed they were delicious.
“Your gums bleed when you bite into an apple? Are you okay? Let me see your mouth.”
“Huh? Master, I can’t show you my insides, it’s too embarrassing!”
“Just show me.”
“Aah! You’re forcing my mouth open!”
Kent reached into Fuuko’s mouth and forcibly opened it.
“Hmm, your gums don’t look swollen…”
“Fairies don’t get sick!”
Kent, not being a doctor, made a layman’s judgment, but Fuuko’s gums did not appear swollen. Fuuko was surprised to have her mouth examined so suddenly, but she retorted to Kent, hiding her pleasure at his concern, her face blushing.
“Oh, my, what are you two doing so happily?”
“Oh, Marie is up unusually early.”
“Good morning, Marie.”
“Morning, Mom.”
Marie came out of her room. She saw Kent with his hand in Fuuko’s mouth and mistook it for them playing happily.
“I see, bleeding gums when biting an apple is a sign of illness. That’s an interesting diagnostic method. I’m learning something new.”
“I just remembered something I heard before.”
Kent had recalled something he had heard somewhere in his previous world and looked into Fuuko’s mouth. When he told Marie about it, she listened with interest.
“Ah, that’s right. Catherine, may I have breakfast too?”
“Sure. I’ll prepare it right away, so please sit and wait.”
Marie remembered that she had come out for breakfast and asked Catherine, who was preparing it, to make an extra serving.
“Marie, do you have any plans today?”
“Yes, I have a Flour Union meeting. They want to have a sudden discussion about the future.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It’s not your fault, Kent. We all relied on you too much. We’ll discuss that, among other things.”
When the stock of instant dry yeast ran out and the townsfolk were informed that the sale of fluffy bread at Marie’s Bakery would end, a minor commotion ensued, and many customers flocked to other shops that continued to sell it. As a result, the inventory of other stores quickly disappeared. Currently, there are no shops selling fluffy bread in Tiol town, and the owners belonging to the Flour Union were scheduled to gather for a discussion on how to overcome this critical situation.
“I have Saintess work today, too. Lately, they’ve been using me quite a bit. Sigh.”
“Catherine, you have it tough too.”
After Marie stated her plans, Catherine also told Kent about her schedule for the day. She seemed as busy as ever and hadn’t been able to visit the shop much recently. Even on the shop’s holiday, her work as a Saintess continued as usual.
“Well, you two, do your best. I got my allowance, so I’m going to hang around town!”
Fuuko works at Marie’s Bakery and received her wages from Marie. She planned to go around town with that money.
“What about you, Al?”
“Me? For the time being, I plan to tend to the home garden. I’ll think about what to do after that.”
“I see. In that case, could you help me harvest apples later?”
“Understood, Roger that.”
Al planned to tend to the home garden, and Kent also intended to harvest apples later, so she readily agreed when he asked for her help.
“Ugh, I don’t want to go to work.”
“Yes, yes, we’ll hear your complaints at the temple, so let’s go.”
“I’m off. Mom, Kent.”
After breakfast, as the family was spending time together, Yuria, Catherine’s maid, visited. Catherine usually went to the temple alone, but she was a little late today, so Yuria came to the house out of concern. Still wanting to relax, Catherine left for the temple with Yuria, looking very displeased.
“Marie, I’m going now too, as I have the Flour Union meeting.”
“Have a good day, Marie.”
A short while after Catherine left the house, Marie decided to leave for the Flour Union meeting. Kent saw her off as she departed with her bag containing documents for the meeting.
“Well, I’m going to wander around town too. I’ll be back for dinner.”
“Ah, don’t go too far.”
“I’m not a child! I’m off!”
Fuuko also left the house to go for a stroll in town.
“Now, I should harvest the apples first. Al, I’m counting on you.”
“Sure.”
Kent decided to harvest the apples for use as ingredients before Josette and the others arrived. After speaking to Al, he moved to the home garden in the backyard.
“Um, where was the apple tree?”
“Master, this way.”
Kent, equipped with harvesting gear, asked Al to show him the apple tree. In the time Kent wasn’t looking, the home garden had been greatly expanded and had become like a small farm. Various types of vegetables and fruits were being cultivated, so even Kent, the owner, couldn’t keep track of where specific plants were. Therefore, when he asked Al to locate the apple tree, she led him to where it was planted, navigating the familiar path.
“These are the three apple trees. One is a green apple tree, and the other two are red apples. Which would you like, Master?”
“Hmm, I don’t really know the difference, but I’ll take the red ones.”
As they walked through the home garden, three apple trees were planted. One had yellowish-green fruit, while the other two had red fruit, indicating they were different varieties based on appearance alone. Besides color, green and red apples differ in texture and flavor, but Kent decided to choose the more common red variety for making natural yeast.
“Master, I’ll harvest them quickly, so how many do you need?”
“Hmm, about this bucketful might be enough for today. Can you do it?”
“Understood, Roger that.”
Kent handed the harvesting bucket he was holding to Al. She summoned vines and began to harvest apples, filling the bucket in no time.
“Is this enough?”
“Thank you. I think this much will be enough. If not, I’ll come back for more.”
“Understood. I’m going to start tending to the home garden now, so please don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything while I’m working.”
“I’m counting on you.”
Kent patted Al’s head to show his appreciation and then took the bucket full of harvested red apples into the house.
