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Gordon’s mind briefly froze.

Just for a moment.

A person’s head.

Specifically, the brain is complex and delicate, easily halting thought for a variety of factors and reasons.

The most common reason is when an unexpected event happens before one’s eyes.

But this is not limited to what one sees.

Even when confronted with bewildering information, the brain can freeze.

When an indescribable horrific texture is felt, it freezes too.

‘What in the world does this taste like?’

A bewildering combination of tastes tingled on his tongue.

The fruit Flora offered was far too unfamiliar.

First of all, the overall taste of the fruit was bitter.

When a person feels a bitter taste, they instinctively gag, shiver, or spit it out—whatever their reaction may be.

But the fruit he just ate was different.

It was unlike anything Gordon had ever eaten.

Well, if you broaden the scope to beverages, there was something similar.

“Isn’t this an Alraune’s… No, it doesn’t seem like it.”

“Pororong?”

“Huh? No. It’s not that it’s tasteless.”

Flora looked dejected, expressing a “So what?” kind of face. Gordon didn’t know how to respond to that. He still couldn’t define it clearly.

So, he took another big bite of the fruit.

Unlike the first time, he savored it this time, rolling it on his tongue.

It was definitely similar to the delight and flavor of Alraune and Brownie.

If it were made with butter, it would probably taste something like this.

It had its degrees of difference, though. The unique bitterness brushed against his tongue, leaving a tangy and astringent aftertaste.

Roasted beans’ nuttiness, alluring scent, bitterness, and zest.

The fruit clearly had differences from the two beverages in that aspect.

The bitter taste felt smoothly enveloped by the creamy, buttery texture that melted in his mouth.

As his tongue began to adapt to the bitterness, the pleasantly nutty flavor suited to a buttery texture soon flowed up gently.

However, it quickly melted away, leaving only a dullness behind.

In its place lingered a sweet flavor, subtly but persistently.

“Pororong?”

“Yeah?”

It was just a playful sound, but the meaning behind it was clear.

Flora was asking if it tasted good.

“No, personally, I think it’s not that great.”

“Porong!?”

Flora made a shocked expression, as if she couldn’t believe it.

“But I don’t know why it keeps pulling at my mouth.”

“Pororong?”

“No, I personally don’t prefer these flavors? But there’s something addictive about it, which is strange.”

“Porororong-!”

Flora, grinning brightly, seemed to imply that it must be delicious! as she clung to Gordon.

“No, wait. Hey! Ugh. It’s all over me—Oh? Karem.”

“Pororong?”

Dad? Flora turned her head.

Karem was trudging across the greenhouse.

*

*

*

Karem looked at the black heart-shaped fruit he held in his hand.

He took a bite, splitting it in half as instructed.

And truly… it was bewildering.

Karem honestly had the capacity to understand anything he saw.

It was crazy enough that he had been reincarnated into another world, but a Fire Witch’s Finger? A scandalous mint? White, black, and pale elves? A dwarf with a shaved head and beard?

A massive Ice Worm longer than a bus, a Snowrunner that looked similar to the fearsome bird that had long since perished in his previous life, a huge moving mushroom—it was nothing compared to a scene plucked directly from a zombie movie he had seen a while ago.

With magic, magical power, and magic tools all around, how could he not believe anything?

He had even tasted Mammoth before.

And that had been an Undead aging product.

“Well, still, a hairless dwarf is kind of bizarre.”

“What are you mumbling about?”

“Oh, nothing.”

“Mm?”

“By the way, did you happen to like it more than you thought?”

“No, how should I put it…”

Gordon lifted his head from the fruit he was dissecting.

His cheeks were stained with dark purple juice like mud.

“This alone doesn’t particularly taste good.”

“Pororong!?”

Flora was unable to believe it, gasping as she alternated glances between Gordon and the fruit, her eyes pleading toward Karem.

Karem took another bite of the fruit.

The seedless fruit was as soft as room temperature butter.

Bitter, astringent, alluring, and nutty, just like Alraune’s Tear.

Even without adding sugar, a faint sweetness danced within the fruit itself.

It tasted different from anything he had eaten before.

But if he included his previous life, there was indeed one thing almost identical to it.

“Chocolate.”

More precisely, it was chocolate close to 90% cacao content.

If that was the case, it made sense that Gordon kept eating the fruit while calling it tasteless.

The unique bitterness and nuttiness were addictive enough that even a person who didn’t drink coffee couldn’t overlook it.

Clearly, Gordon’s Swordmaster palate could recognize that exquisite harmony.

“Personally, I think it’s rather good.”

“What? This bitter, astringent, ambiguous—”

“Gordon. Over there. To the side.”

“Oh. Wait a moment.”

Gordon attempted to clarify, but it was already too late.

Flora, blinking, pouted her lips and dashed off toward the forest on the other side of the greenhouse.

“See? Right in front of you, and when you keep mumbling about it being bitter and strange and tasteless, she gets all sulky.”

“Heh, is that how you’re going to defend my daughter?”

“No, who’s siding with who—”

In that instant, Olivier’s words popped back into his mind.

“Ah, damn. These family dynamics are really a mess.”

“And I never said it was tasteless.”

“Didn’t you just say it was bitter, astringent, and strange?”

“If it tasted bad, I would’ve just said it outright.”

Gordon grumbled as he finished the last bit of the supposedly heart-shaped fruit and held up the other half.

“You called it ambiguous and strange, and yet you keep eating it. Quite contradictory.”

“No, this… um—”

Was he aware of the contradiction? Gordon averted his eyes and took out a handkerchief to wipe the remnants of the fruit from his beard and cheeks.

“I can’t explain it precisely, but it has a strange addictiveness, right? At least, the scent is delightful like Alraune’s Tear.”

He understood roughly what was being said.

To put it bluntly, the crucial aspect of chocolate isn’t the cacao.

The quality of the sugar and milk that goes in is far more important.

The cacao plays a role akin to that of a spice.

In that sense, the flavor of this heart fruit was much closer to the raw ingredients of chocolate than to chocolate itself.

“Ah. By the way, if she keeps sulking like that, it’ll last a few more days. What a hassle. How am I going to cheer her up this time…?”

“I’ll help you.”

“Huh? You?”

“Yes.”

Karem fiddled with the untouched half of the heart fruit.

He had been thinking about a gift for someone, so it turned out well.

“But, what’s that? I think I’ll need to borrow Corvus’s kitchen. I’d also like to use this fruit.”

“Oh, use it as much as you want. Go ahead and use the fruit.”

“You say that even though you’re not the owner?”

“NO one’s likely to care, really.”

The scenery of Corvus’s nest was considerably different from the last time he had seen it.

The once lush green floor was now thoroughly dried, and a scent of well-dried straw wafted up.

Still, the distant warehouse and nest, along with the kitchen sitting nearby, remained the same.

“But where did Corvus go?”

“I think he’s busy planting seeds.”

“Seeds? At this time?”

“Didn’t he just pull a bunch up for that guest feast a while ago?”

“Ah, is that how it goes?”

But if that were the case, wasn’t Flora there as well?

The coming-of-age ceremony was just around the corner… no, wait. There was no feast at the coming-of-age ceremony.

At least, Karem hadn’t heard about one.

“My daughter’s being worked like a dog, and you seem fine with it.”

“Then you’re about to become my son-in-law.”

“What? Son-in-law? Who? You?”

Gordon, stretching as if yawning, froze with his arm still pointed toward the sky, his expression twisting with confusion.

“I gave you the seeds, and Corvus planted them, so that’s how it is. Besides, you were the one who first said she was your daughter.”

“Well, I might have said that, but… Ugh, I don’t know. I didn’t hear anything. So annoying.”

Gordon shook his head like reeds blowing in the wind.

“If your head is a mess, could you at least get some materials from the warehouse?”

“Yeah. But you make it sound like it’s perfectly normal to exploit other people.”

“Isn’t that faster than me trying to find things?”

“Now that you mention it, it does seem true.”

Karem effortlessly convinced Gordon, who then stared at the half of the heart fruit on the table.

To be honest, he wasn’t sure if sugar and milk could actually make chocolate.

It wasn’t like cocoa mass would solidify.

The texture of the heart fruit was similar to room temperature butter.

Well, it did matter somewhat.

Karem’s gaze momentarily lingered on his two hands.

‘If it comes to that, can I just freeze it?’

He possessed the divine power bestowed by the god.

Even so, if it had a buttery texture, it could surely solidify at low temperatures.

“Hey, where did that person go who was talking about exploiting people? What do you need?”

“Uh, um… lots of milk and sugar.”

“Hmm? Is that really enough?”

“For now. Just for now.”

Gordon seemed somewhat skeptical, asking if it was true multiple times, but Karem had nothing definitive to say.

As soon as the milk and sugar arrived, Karem immediately began to double-boil the heart fruit.

Thankfully, the buttery texture proved reliable.

As steam began rising from the pot, the dark fruit slowly melted away.

“So, what’s the next step?”

“Add sugar and cream, and keep double-boiling.”

“And?”

“Well, let’s see… maybe use a piping bag to shape it before cooling it?”

“Huh? Why do you sound uncertain while making it?”

“Because I honestly don’t know how to do it.”

Gordon stared at him as if he’d encountered the strangest character ever.

However, Karem really just went with the flow, working on instinct.

Thank goodness it melted similarly to what he’d seen in videos. He had no contingency plan for failure.

‘In my previous life, I didn’t even have Mary to do any baking or confectionery at home.’

Of course, strictly speaking, chocolate is an ingredient for confectionery, not confectionery itself. Nevertheless, it required plenty of tools to make and was a hassle to clean up afterward.

Anyway, before the melted mixture had lost its form, he poured sugar and cream into the melting heart fruit by eye and began to mix it with a spatula.

When the spatula’s tip moved too stiffly, he added a bit more cream.

If it seemed too runny, he added a touch more sugar.

“Hey, this amount seems to be inflating uncontrollably. Are you sure this is okay?”

“Why do you see me as some sort of expert?”

“Well, you’re really serious about cooking, so you must know something.”

“No, this time I really don’t know either.”

“What?”

And just then, thankfully before the pot overflowed.

The outcome emerged, roughly 1.5 times as much as the initial amount.

Chocolate brown.

A rich, creamy, sweet scent that felt addictive.

It was a success.

“Hoo…”

Gordon’s initial unease and surprise had vanished, replaced only by present curiosity and appetite.

“It smells more or less palatable.”

“I’m glad it worked out…! Really…!”

“So what’s next? Are we going to bring fruit or bread to dip in it?”

“That would probably taste pretty decent.”

“So?”

“But since the amount is still small right now, we can do it later.”

While Gordon lamented over not having more, Karem searched for a piping bag and tray.

“If we were in the tower’s kitchen, there’d probably be suitable molds around.”

Though it was bothersome to pipe everything by hand, there wasn’t much choice.

Since it had to be cooled before they could dip into it, they began to fill the piping bag with the melted mixture using a spatula, when a sudden curiosity hit.

“…What is this made of?”

The texture of the piping bag felt thinner than plastic, more like a soft, opaque material.

Until now, he had used parchment paper or a copper funnel, but this thing felt like a novel, vinyl piping bag from his previous life.

“Well, no use pondering it now since I won’t know anything immediately.”

Let’s just make the chocolate.

He could always ask Catherine later.

 

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