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In the heart of what used to be a storage room, a long-winded excuse echoed through the kitchen, stating that they hadn’t yet decided on a menu.

“But we can’t just carelessly use such noble ingredients when we can’t even procure any reserves right now! We need various opinions—”

“I think I’ll take my leave now.”

“Wha- Wait a moment! Hey, Karem!”

Without hesitation, Karem turned his back. Zigmeser’s eyes went wide, and after a moment of panic, he shouted.

The recipe bundle was about to leave.

Naturally, it had to be stopped.

But that wasn’t possible.

Crash—!

“Ahhh—! A pillar of fire from the pot!”

“Wait, what on earth did you put in the sauce for it to taste like that?”

“Um, wait. This meat looks strange.”

Simultaneously, mishaps began to unfold.

Karem had anticipated that such accidents would happen eventually.

The hints were all provided by Zigmeser.

Time was running short.

An unfamiliar kitchen—storage room.

Unfamiliar expensive ingredients and tools.

Three elements that could make even a veteran chef mess up. And with more than one person involved, even being careful wouldn’t prevent accidents from happening.

In fact, if Alfred had indulged in just a bit more of a duke’s luxury, this might not have happened at all.

‘It wouldn’t lead to a truly great disaster, would it?’

Feeling a bit uneasy, Karem trusted their skills.

Unlike someone who lacked the basics in cooking, the chefs from Winterhome, including Zigmeser, were real professionals. If Karem interfered with their teamwork, that would be the real obstruction.

‘Incoherent colleagues? That’s like pouring oil on a burning house.’

It was like telling someone who suddenly grew an extra arm to get used to it quickly.

However, he hadn’t come out just to ignore Zigmeser’s request. It was noisy, and having an outsider around would be a distraction, so he thought he’d take a moment to think things through since nothing was coming to mind.

Three days remained.

If he allowed enough time for cooking, there were two days left.

That was plenty to come up with a dish.

However, there were still problems.

“What to make with that?”

King Frost was such a vague ingredient for utilization.

Actually, there was a rather simple method.

Smash it to use as cooking material.

Anyway, there are plenty of dishes that use ice.

Ice cream. Sorbet. Just by varying those, there could be dozens of options.

‘But that wouldn’t be in line with the purpose.’

Zigmeser mentioned it was to be used as a decorative dish. That implied a focus on style over taste, and if he dismantled the item to create the dish, that would be the end.

‘Unless, there’s a way to maintain its original form…’

One idea just popped into his head.

A Canadian treat that utilizes the properties of ice and snow.

“Maple Taffy.”

The method of making it was refreshingly simple for a dessert.

You boil maple syrup, pour it over snow, and it’s done.

Some might say it’s just a clump of cold syrup, but the term “taffy” in English refers to soft and chewy candies. Even pumpkin candy falls under that category in English.

Of course, he couldn’t replicate it exactly.

At a high noble’s banquet, using Maple Taffy as a decorative dish would be far too simplistic and modest—and to be frank, downright unimpressive.

So, he would utilize King Frost.

“Pouring syrup on that giant snowman should make for a visual treat.”

Karem briefly closed his eyes and imagined it.

The syrup, dripping from King Frost’s head, would slide down its smooth surface, losing warmth and starting to harden. If he wound that chewy syrup around a stick, that would be it.

A visual delight, and they could savor the chewy candy too.

“Well, I’ll have to use a different syrup since I don’t have maple syrup.”

Naturally, he didn’t have a sugar maple to create that syrup, but it didn’t matter as it wasn’t available anyway.

Deep in thought about which syrup to use, he slowly made his way from the open space to the Wizard’s Tower.

“Karem!”

Thump-thump-thump—

A wild cub, no, Alicia, who was shambling weakly down the hallway, came running toward him.

*

*

*

The tyrant of Winterhome, the fleeing wind, a cub born as a human, the youngest princess of Felwinter, Alicia the Baby Ogre, who easily held the most nicknames in Coldon.

Alicia was bored.

She understood that there was no helping it.

Normally, people who would play with her were busily cleaning, polishing, and decorating around the castle. Zigmeser, who she had sneakily approached earlier, was running around looking drained.

Her newly made friend, Flora, seemed to be having some sweet moments with Gordon, which made Alicia instinctively not want to disturb them. So, Flora was excluded from the equation.

Though it was as lively as Wintersend, Alfred rather enjoyed it, and even the usually strict Mrs. Poppins was so busy that she reportedly paused her lessons for a moment.

Children pick up on things more quickly than adults think.

Alicia also didn’t need to see what was happening around her to understand it. Her intuition told her that it was not a good time for (one-sided) tag.

So, she had been playing alone, but even that couldn’t hold her interest for long.

“So you ran over as soon as you saw me?”

“That’s right!”

Alicia shouted proudly, putting her hands on her hips.

Thanks to her thick furry coat, her arms awkwardly bent, which made her look adorable.

“Isn’t it class time now? Skipping?”

“Bad words! Alicia just takes a longer break!”

“Conveniently getting some fresh air and having a snack too?”

Alicia averted her gaze slightly.

“Papa, Mama, and Mrs. Poppins are all busy. So for the time being, we’re not having classes.”

“…It seems it really is free time.”

Considering just how busy Winterhome was compared to Wintersend, it made sense. She had no idea what the tutor could possibly be so busy with other than teaching, but they must be occupied with something.

In those circumstances, it was commendable that Alicia wasn’t just running around or hiding but was calmly playing alone, given her usual behavior.

“Hmm. I feel like you’re teasing me—”

Alicia narrowed her eyes and glared at Karem.

“Have you been to the greenhouse? You used to play well with Flora.”

“Um, well. A few days ago, it seemed like Gordon was busy getting cozy, so I didn’t want to intrude and just left.”

“Are you saying you didn’t even have a snack from Corvus?”

“If I summon Corvus, Flora would notice too.”

Indeed. Recently, Gordon had been going in and out of the greenhouse every morning and evening. Apparently, after a breakfast nap at the tower, he had deepened his relationship with Flora.

“I do have something Zigmeser asked me to do.”

“Hmm. Are you busy too, Karem?”

“There’s still two days left, so it should be fine. Besides, it’s just a snack.”

“Then!”

Alicia’s eyes sparkled as if she were emitting light.

“Is taffy okay?”

“What’s that?”

“Hmm?”

Karem didn’t know, but taffy was also a modern creation.

Though mixed up, taffy candies did not exist in the medieval-like setting of Europa.

The closest thing would be the gaz from the Kingdom of Adobice.

“It’s a candy made by pouring gooey syrup over cold snow and rolling it around with a stick.”

“A new snack!”

“Yes. It’s chewy.”

“Chewy, you say.”

Upon returning to the Wizard’s Tower, the scene looked just as it had when he left. The snow walls built by Mary appeared more imposing under the murky sky since it wasn’t snowing.

“Karem. What do you mean by chewy?”

“Um, do you know dried sand turtle dates?”

The dried sand turtle dates from the Adobice Mountains had a chewy texture, probably due to their sweetness.

“They’re probably five times chewier than that.”

“Oooh! That sounds exciting!”

A poof! Suddenly, Mary appeared as if she had cut and pasted from a computer, wielding a snow shovel.

“Oh, Karem junior. You’ve returned. Hello, Lady Alicia.”

“Good morning, Mary.”

“Did you come to have a snack?”

“Karem said he’d make some candy… um, taffy?”

“Oh! Taffy.”

Mary let out a small breath as she was about to scoop some snow.

“That idea never seems to run out. Is taffy that kind of thing?”

“Yes, it is.”

Karem nodded affirmatively at Mary’s hint about her previous life’s recipe. Alicia was the only one confused, tilting her head and asking, “Huh? What?”.

“There’s such a thing. Lady Alicia. So do you have anything to prepare?”

“Just some syrup will do. Aren’t you going to work now?”

“Hmm?”

Karem glanced at the snow shovel in Mary’s hand.

In response, Mary lightly stuck the shovel into the ground.

“It’s not snowing right now, so you can tidy it up later. By the way, all you need is syrup?”

“Oh, and I need some sticks too.”

“Sticks?”

“Can’t just eat it with your bare hands.”

“Oh.”

Mary opened her mouth slightly and looked down at Alicia’s small, gloved hands.

“Indeed, that would be necessary, Lady Alicia. What flavors do you desire?”

“Orange! Lemon! Butter caramel!”

“Though the last one isn’t syrup, it should be fine.”

*

*

*

Mary set aside the vertical snow shovel as she went inside. Feeling a bit dazed as if she had just spit out her monologue, Karem turned to Alicia, who also seemed dazed, and asked, “So, shall we make something with the snow?”

“Oh, that sounds fun!”

The supplies were snow and a shovel. The plan was to make snow blocks to serve as a simple chair and table—killing two birds with one stone as he could play with Alicia while also having a comfortable seat.

However, time was limited, and without any skill, he only managed to create a large snow block (table), but Alicia was delighted.

“Here are the requested orange, lemon syrup, and butter caramel.”

Carrying a tray filled with several kettles, Mary returned with a poof.

“But what’s this snow lump? A block?”

“Alicia made it together with Karem.”

“Is that so? Now that I look again, the proportions and the blunt angles seem pretty decent.”

“Yeah! It was a really satisfying playtime after a long while!”

Mary naturally praised the just-a-big-square snow block without hesitation.

“Whew, so. Are you going to make it right away?”

“Yes. Lady Alicia. Which flavor would you like to start with—”

With the answer of “Orange!” Karem took the kettle Mary offered and poured it directly onto the flat snow block in front of him.

The syrup, which looked a bit thick but gooey, dyed the surface of the snow block a soft orange as it melted before stopping at some point.

As he moved the kettle aside and repeated the process, the orange syrup gradually pooled into an elongated circle on the “table.”

“Now if we place the stick and roll it around—”

“I want to try it myself too!”

Alicia took the stick that Mary offered and put it in her mouth.

And she froze. The block was taller than Alicia herself.

Swoosh—Karem silently lifted Alicia. He was surprised by how light she was; how could she possibly fit all that food in such a body?

“Karem? Am I supposed to spin it like this?”

“Yes. Place the stick in the taffy and roll it till the end.”

Tilting her toward the table, Alicia placed the stick onto the syrup on the snow and began spinning it around.

The cold, firm syrup twisted into a lumpy, ugly orange blossom as it dried around the block of snow. Karem placed Alicia down after watching her chew a piece of taffy with snowflakes stuck to it.

“Just eat it before it hardens and becomes hard.”

“It’s chewy compared to a date, the texture is delightful, firm yet soft and so much fun!”

Alicia seemed to favor the chewy texture over the flavor, continuously chewing on the taffy stick.

“Hm, since it’s almost snack time for the contractor…”

“Even so, it seems a bit too simple to serve that as a snack…”

“Still, this looks so delicious with butter caramel—”

Creak—

A sound that should not have been heard.

Karem exchanged a brief glance with Mary, lowering his head.

“Hmm? Higan…?”

The sound of air hissing.

Alicia had a noticeable empty spot in her mouth.

“Ah! Mary. Karem. Something feels empty.”

Karem and Mary shifted their gaze to the side from that angle.

Something white as snow, not to be found anywhere, was lodged in a cute, solid little bite on the orange taffy stick.

“…A front tooth?”

“Please pass the kettle here.”

At the unspoken proposal of cooperation, Karem handed over the kettle and then scooped up Alicia, dashing into the Wizard’s Tower.

 

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