I Thought It Was a Healing Farming Game Chapter 26

My eyes sparkled with greed as I looked at all the things I wanted to dig up.

“Can I dig up anything I find here?”

“Yes. Any crops gathered from nature are considered the property of the person who harvests them.”

“That’s great!”

I could use whatever I gathered here to make dinner.

Excited, I grabbed my hand hoe and started digging around all over the place.

Oh! Shepherd’s purse!

I squatted down and eagerly dug up the shepherd’s purse with my hoe, tossing it into my basket.

Shepherd’s purse salad, shepherd’s purse fritters, shepherd’s purse soup…

A whole list of dishes Grandma used to make for me flashed through my mind.

As I filled my basket with various wild greens, I also gathered some mushrooms growing nearby.

“Oh, these are poisonous.”

Just as Grandma had taught me, I carefully selected mostly edible mushrooms I recognized and harvested a good amount.

“You seem quite skilled.”

Siad watched me with quiet admiration.

“I have a bit of experience with this sort of thing. Oh, there’s some over there, too!”

While happily rushing around to gather more greens, I bumped into someone behind me.

“Gasp! I’m sorry!”

I hurriedly turned around to apologize, and the other person turned to face me as well.

His fresh, green eyes recognized me and lit up with delight.

“Miel?”

“Priam!”

I called his name just as happily.

“When did you get here, Miel? You should’ve told me you were coming. We could’ve come together.”

“Ah, I came because Siad invited me…”

The moment I saw Priam’s lively face, a smile naturally spread across my lips.

“But isn’t it even more exciting to run into each other by chance like this?”

“You’re right. I guess it is.”

Priam answered with a bright smile of his own.

We chatted away as we gathered things together for a while. Before we knew it, our baskets were full.

“Shall we call it a day?”

“Sounds good. Great work, Priam!”

“Since we’ll need to prepare the herbs anyway, would you like to stop by my house? We could have a snack together.”

Siad casually invited Priam.

Since I wasn’t the homeowner, it felt awkward to speak up myself, so I simply gave Priam a look from behind, silently urging him to come with us.

When our eyes met, Priam suppressed a chuckle and nodded.

“I’d love to.”

 

***

 

Thump!

As soon as we arrived home, I set down the basket overflowing with shepherd’s purse on the kitchen counter.

Siad had probably planned to serve us some refreshments, but I’d already decided what to make.

“Let’s make shepherd’s purse fritters for a snack!”

“Fried? These?”

Priam tilted his head. Apparently, he’d never tried shepherd’s purse fritters before.

“We just need to trim and wash them a little before frying them. They have a strong aroma, so frying them until they’re crispy makes them nutty and delicious.”

At the mention of their strong aroma, Priam pressed his nose close to the basket and sniffed.

“Strong…?”

Leaving the puppy-like young man to his endless sniffing, Siad spoke first.

“You must be tired. I’ll do it. Just tell me how…”

“Oh, I can handle this much without a problem! I’ve done it plenty of times, so it’ll be faster if I make them myself!”

I firmly refused his help, then filled the basket with water and began trimming and washing the shepherd’s purse one by one.

“Siad, have you ever tried shepherd’s purse fritters either?”

“To begin with, it isn’t commonly used as a food ingredient. It is occasionally used in small quantities when preparing potions.”

“Oh, really? I thought everyone was familiar with it since they were all gathering it. It’s actually quite tasty. Fragrant and nutty, and it’s good for fatigue, too…”

Of course, everything I knew about it had come from Grandma.

I left Priam in charge of draining the washed shepherd’s purse while I prepared the batter.

All I had to do was combine finely sifted flour with starch and add water. That was it.

I immediately placed a pan filled with shimmering oil over the fire.

“Now, stay back and go sit at the table.”

“Why? Can’t I stay here with you?”

Priam gave me a disappointed look.

“Because it’s dangerous if the oil splatters. I’ll call you as soon as everything’s ready.”

“What about Miel? Are you going to be okay?”

“I’ve done this plenty of times, so I’ll be fine. Don’t worry.”

Only after I’d managed to send both of them to the table did I feel at ease enough to continue cooking.

First, I dropped a small bit of batter into the oil. With a bubbling sound, it floated to the surface.

As I listened to the batter popping and crackling, I opened the small kitchen window to ventilate the room.

How long has it been since I last had fried food?

A breeze blew in through the window, carrying the fragrant scent of shepherd’s purse throughout the kitchen.

This looks delicious. Even if the two of them don’t like it, I’ll just have to eat the leftovers myself.

It would be a shame to waste food.

I watched the shepherd’s purse fritters puff up and turn crispy before lifting them out with tongs. Even the slightest touch revealed how wonderfully crunchy their surfaces were.

I placed the fritters on a plate lined with paper to let them cool a little, then fell into thought.

“What kind of sauce should I make?”

I glanced around, and Priam, who had been sitting at the table, immediately came over as if he’d been waiting for me to ask.

“Need any help?”

“Help…? Oh! Could you take a few strawberries out of the basket for me?”

Seeing Priam reminded me of the basket of fruit he’d given me earlier.

“Strawberries? Sure. Just a moment.”

Priam took a handful of strawberries from the basket and cheerfully trotted over to offer them to me.

“Here!”

“Thanks.”

“But what are you going to use these for—”

Before Priam could finish his question, I dropped the bright red strawberries into a small bowl.

Then I mercilessly crushed them inside the glass bowl.

Priam stared down at the mashed strawberries with a horrified expression.

“I’m using them to make sauce!”

Seeing his expression, I hurriedly explained myself.

“Oh. Sauce?”

“Yep! Sauce. Since the shepherd’s purse fritters are rich and nutty, I thought a sweet-and-sour sauce would go well with them.”

Once the strawberries were thoroughly mashed, I added a few drops of lemon juice and seasoned the mixture lightly.

When I tasted the sauce, I was greeted by a delicious sweet-and-sour flavor with a lovely depth to it.

“Mmm! The strawberries are sweet enough that I don’t need to add sugar. Priam, want to try some?”

I dipped the tip of my little finger into the sauce and held it out. Priam blinked as he stared at my finger.

“My finger…?”

“The sauce. Ah, it’s dripping!”

Just as the sauce was about to drip off, Priam hurriedly lowered his head and caught it in his mouth.

“How is it? Is it sour? Should I add more sugar?”

I fired off questions one after another as I watched Priam with my finger in his mouth.

After tasting it, Priam smacked his lips before answering.

“…It’s sweet and sour. Delicious.”

“Then shall we eat it like this?”

“Mhm.”

Relieved that he seemed to like it, I carried the shepherd’s purse fritters over to the table.

“All right, they’re ready! Let’s eat together!”

Priam trotted after me, carrying the strawberry sauce.

“Thank you for your hard work.”

Siad, who was already seated, immediately thanked me for my efforts.

“They might be a little hot, so please eat slowly!”

“Understood.”

Siad picked up a fritter and examined it closely before offering a brief comment.

“They’re beautifully shaped. You have quite a talent for this.”

Priam set down the sauce and picked up a fritter as well, adding his own observation.

“Yeah, spread out like this, they look just like flowers.”

Since I’d coated them in a very thin layer of batter, the delicate shapes of the shepherd’s purse remained clearly visible.

Neither of them seemed put off by the unfamiliar dish. They both took a crisp bite.

“They’re so crunchy!”

Priam’s eyes sparkled with delight, and Siad seemed pleasantly surprised by how much he liked them, too.

“I should have tried eating them this way sooner. They have such a lovely fragrance.”

I watched the two of them enjoying the food with satisfaction before taking a bite of a fritter myself.