Chapter 310 - America~n?
This is an epilogue to "Chapter 151: Challenge of Automation".
Under the pleasant spring weather, Mika had been squatting in the garden since morning.
"...Leave a little space here... The airflow is good... but heat moves like this, so..."
Drawing a diagram on the ground with a stick, he visualized the rough structure.
"...Is it dangerous if I just assemble it normally? Maybe add some protrusions and recesses so they interlock."
Tossing the stick aside, he brushed his hands together.
"Well, let's try it out."
Muttering that, he first created the foundation.
"Stone Bullet."
A stone the size of blocks used for block walls materialized in Mika's hand.
Stone that had been cut out, without the hollows of a block.
"Y-yes... h-here..."
He created stones one after another and lined them up on the ground without gaps.
In just one or two minutes, a 1.5-meter square foundation was complete.
Mika stepped onto the foundation and stomped lightly.
Stabilizing it so it wouldn't wobble.
"Is this enough?"
Just as he was about to make more stones, he froze.
"What are the materials for Fireproof Bricks?"
Or rather, what are the materials for bricks?
Is there a difference in materials between fireproof bricks and regular bricks?
"...Actually, do they even have to be bricks?"
He felt like regular stone would be fine.
Thinking that, he decided to make stones the size of bricks.
What Mika was doing was building a stone oven.
The other day, he had taken Kistil and Nerisfeene to a restaurant Gaeras had told him about.
Since the two didn't eat out often, they were initially confused by the shop's atmosphere.
Kistil's cooking skills were already professional level from Mika's perspective.
Nerisfeene, who was learning various things from such Kistil, was also quite impressive.
So, regarding the cooking itself, they probably wouldn't be that surprised.
But the restaurant's greatest pride was white bread.
Mika wanted to let the two of them eat this bread, which had no impurities and even a faint sweetness.
Seeing the white bread served at the table, the two blinked their eyes.
They stared intently at the bread Mika held in his hand.
Seeing the fluffy texture and the steaming hot bread, they were truly surprised.
"The bread here is really delicious, so please try it."
When Mika said that, the two reached out hesitantly.
"It... is soft."
"It's so light, even though it's this big..."
Watching Mika tear the bread apart, the two tried it too.
The chewy inside stretched far more than usual bread ever could.
Prompted by Mika's eyes, the two brought it to their mouths together.
"...................."
"...................."
Kistil stood frozen, forgetting to chew.
Nerisfeene even started praying to the gods.
Hey, stop that in the shop.
"You're surprised, right?"
Smiling brightly, Mika spoke to the two.
To Mika,
"It's amazing that bread like what you'd find in a bakery from my original world can be eaten in this world."
was the surprise, but the two were different.
For the two of them,
"I never thought such food existed."
"I can't believe this is from this world."
was the surprise.
He thought it was unavoidable that they would freeze up or start praying to the gods.
In this way, just as Mika had planned, Kistil and Nerisfeene were surprised.
Well, they were a bit more surprised than he expected.
However, this is the main point.
The purpose of bringing the two to this restaurant wasn't just to "let them eat."
While the two ate the bread with rapturous expressions, Mika whispered to them secretly.
"...Maybe we can make this at home too."
Saying that, Kistil's face turned panicked, and she frantically shook her head.
"N-no way. It's impossible to imagine how they make such amazing bread."
It seemed Kistil had misunderstood and thought Mika was saying "make the same bread at home."
Mika gave a bitter smile at Kistil's misunderstanding.
"Sorry, did I say that badly? If I said I knew how to make it, what would the two of you do?"
"Eh...?"
"...What do you mean, Mika-sama?"
Not understanding what Mika meant, the two looked at each other.
He explained simply there, then talked about the specific items needed when they got home.
In the simplest terms, it was a 'kiln' and 'yeast'.
Kilns are shared throughout the town, but they cost money.
Anyone can use them, so if you're baking strange bread, it might cause a bit of trouble.
And yeast can be made by anyone if they know how.
However, Mika only knew it as knowledge; he had never done it himself.
So he put up a defensive line that trial and error might be necessary.
Even so, after hearing Mika's story, the two immediately said they wanted to try.
And so, instead of Sunday DIY, it was a sunny day DIY.
They were busy with what is commonly known as DIY.
He made "Stone Bullets" the size of bricks, but slightly larger.
Also, not perfect cubes, but with protrusions on the bottom and recesses on the top.
These protrusions and recesses would interlock to prevent collapse.
If he wanted to, he could make the "Stone Bullets" into the shape of a kiln from the start.
Well, whether they could still be called "Stone Bullets" was debatable.
However, since he had never built a kiln, he wasn't confident he could construct the structure properly.
If he assembled them brick-sized, it would be easier and less worrying.
He considered the height for ease of use so he could work while standing.
The structure included a combustion chamber and a baking chamber, with vents in the combustion chamber.
The combustion chamber and baking chamber were connected at the back of the kiln, and the baking chamber had a slightly higher ceiling.
He also made a smoke exhaust port at the top of the baking chamber.
He tried to design it so heat would stay trapped, but smoke wouldn't.
...That was the intention.
If it failed, he could just take it apart and rebuild it.
"Well, this should do."
After assembling it for about thirty minutes, he tested the strength.
If it collapsed from a slight bump, Kistil or Nerisfeene could get seriously hurt.
If that happened during cooking, it would be a disaster.
"Does it look safe?"
He pushed it and tapped it, but it didn't seem to wobble at all.
"Eventually, I didn't do any insulation or anything, so is it okay?"
A stone kiln built only with "Stone Bullets," without thinking about fire resistance or anything else.
"Let's try it out a bit."
Mika went inside the house and brought back armfuls of firewood.
He stacked the firewood in the combustion chamber and lit it with "Fire Breath."
The firewood crackled and burst, catching fire immediately.
"What about the door?"
Having a door to block the wind would improve thermal efficiency.
Should he put one on the combustion chamber and the baking chamber?
"Well, maybe it's fine without one. Ah... I forgot."
He had forgotten to place the baking floor.
It can be used without one, but if the baking floor is separate, it's easier to wash every time.
Mika made a flat stone and set it in the baking chamber where the heat was gathering.
"Mika-sama, is it already done?"
A voice came from the entrance, and he turned around.
Nerisfeene, who had brought a laundry basket, had arrived.
Nerisfeene was looking at the stone kiln with interest.
"I'm testing if it was built properly."
"Is that so?"
"It gets quite hot, so don't touch it while the fire is on."
"I understand."
With that, the two stood side by side watching the flames in the combustion chamber.
There, Nerisfeene clapped her hands.
"Since we're at it, why not use it for lunch today?"
She made such a proposal.
"Can you do that suddenly?"
"I don't think it's impossible. Let me consult with Kistil for a moment."
Saying that, Nerisfeene went back into the house.
Leaving the laundry basket behind.
"...................."
Mika stared fixedly at that basket.
It seemed the items inside were already washed.
Probably washed at the bathhouse.
And so, Mika turned his eyes to the clothes drying space in the garden.
It was the type with poles set up and ropes strung across.
"...................."
Even for Mika, whose life skills were completely destroyed, he sometimes thought, "Should I help hang the laundry?"
Now was exactly that time.
However, Mika did not reach out.
In this case, there were two problems.
One was the height of the clothesline.
Regrettably, it's better to have a certain height for hanging laundry.
And this house's clothesline also has a certain height.
Kistil could barely reach, while Nerisfeene had to stretch a bit to hang and take them down.
In other words, what I'm trying to say is, it's high and out of reach, damn it!
And then, the other one.
The ratio of men to women in this house is one to two.
I won't say any more than that. ...Please understand.
While Mika ignored the laundry basket beside him and silently watched the kiln's flames, Nerisfeene returned with Kistil.
Fee had also come along, riding on top of Kistil's head.
"It's true. It's ready to use now."
Kistil muttered with a slightly surprised look.
"Then, since we have the chance, let's cook something using the kiln."
Kistil went along with Nerisfeene's proposal.
At that moment, Mika came up with an idea.
"Since we're at it, let's eat outside?"
"Outside?"
"Outside, meaning the garden here?"
Mika nodded to Nerisfeene's confirmation.
"We'll put a table over there. Since we're at it, let's make another grilling area and try grilling too?"
It was a bit of a camping mood.
Making a grilling area was easy.
You just had to arrange stones similar to those used for the stone kiln in a 'U' shape.
"That sounds good."
"Let's do it."
In this way, they suddenly decided to have a barbecue in the garden.
Barbecue next to the laundry flapping in the wind.
Normally, that would be a crime against nature.
Because the smell of smoke would soak in and cause a huge mess.
However, that wouldn't happen here.
Mika expanded his magic to cover the space where the laundry was hung.
He manifested a weak "Blast" to guard against smoke and smell reaching the laundry.
With that, Kistil and Nerisfeene went to buy additional barbecue ingredients, and a fairly serious barbecue began.
"Hahaha, how is it, Mike? Isn't it wonderful?"
"Woah, amazing, Bob. What's up with this dish?"
"Hahaha, I just made a stone kiln and a grilling area in the garden. With this, you can eat unlimited barbecue and pizza anytime."
"Woah, amazing, Bob. You really splurged. It must have cost a lot, right?"
"Hahaha. You'd think so, right? But actually, this didn't cost much money at all."
"Woah. This is a surprise. How on earth did you do it---."
"......Excuse me, Mika-kun?"
Before the grilled barbecue and gratin that had just finished cooking, Kistil timidly spoke to Mika, who had started a little skit.
In front of the kiln, Nerisfeene was also looking at Mika with a complicated expression.
Yes, there is no pizza yet.
Because the yeast isn't ready.
So today, we grilled meat on the net and made gratin in the stone kiln.
For the barbecue meat, we deliberately chose large cuts.
Moreover, not high-grade cuts, but we deliberately bought cheaper meat.
The fun of barbecue is how deliciously you can make such meat.
Since we were going to do it, we aimed for authentic barbecue.
Hmm, American!
"Considering it's your first time, it went quite well."
Mika put the cut barbecue on a plate and took a bite.
He chewed the meat with good texture, savoring the meat and sauce thoroughly.
"Yeah! Delicious! You two should try it too."
When Mika said that, the two who were still cooking began to taste it too.
"Really, it's delicious."
"Hehe... it's nice to have this once in a while."
Kistil and Nerisfeene nodded at each other with smiles.
And so, they cut the meat as it finished cooking and served the gratin.
Standing and eating, chatting next to the stone kiln and grilling area, the three had lunch.
It was a very satisfying lunch, but the stone kiln and grilling area were to be dismantled.
Because while extinguishing the fire and cleaning up, they found a crack in one of the stones.
"Ah, dangerous. It's good it didn't break while we were using it."
He didn't know natural stone could split so easily, but "Stone Bullets" seemed surprisingly weak against heat.
If they put some effort into making them, it could probably be improved.
Mika dug a hole in the garden and buried the brick-sized stones.
The stones used for the foundation were fine, so it seemed dangerous to use stones that would directly touch the fire without testing their heat durability first.
"Next time, I'll test it properly. I don't want anything to happen."
It was a quite enjoyable lunch, but it would have to be postponed for a while.
Mika returned home while thinking about how to conduct a fire resistance test.
And so, the stone kiln was actually completed a few weeks later.