Chapter 23: Cheese (2)

“It hurts, Mr. Knoll.”

I frowned at Mr. Knoll’s pats and took out the pizza I had brought along.

“I couldn’t come empty-handed, so I made some food. Would you all like to try it?”

Although it had cooled down a bit, the cheese was still stretchy and gooey—perfect for eating.

“What is this? I’ve never seen… such food before.”

Mr. Ment was the first to take a slice of pizza.

“A round shape with bread…? And what’s this white stuff?”

Mr. Knoll, standing nearby, also looked intrigued. The two women behind them approached as well, and Miltein grabbed a slice, looking at Mr. Ment.

“Senior, you have to eat first so I can eat! Hurry up!”

Miltein whined again.

“Yes, the main character must eat first. It’s not the spicy food you love, but the taste is guaranteed. Once you recover and visit the restaurant, I can make it spicy for you. Hehe.”

“Oh! Really? I’m looking forward to it.”

Mr. Ment momentarily set aside his worries and brought the pizza to his mouth.

“What is this? What’s this stretchy stuff?”

Mr. Knoll exclaimed in surprise, and Miltein started to fuss.

“Whoa! What is this?”

With pizza in his mouth, he pulled the cheese and waved it around.

“Oh! This is delicious. The texture of the bread and the red sauce go really well together, and the meat… And what is this white, stretchy stuff? It’s rich and salty, harmonizing with the toppings on the bread.”

Mr. Ment calmly expressed his thoughts. He was the only calm one. Everyone else was devouring the pizza as if enchanted. It was a pleasant reaction.

However, there was one woman who wasn’t enjoying herself. There was meat in the pizza, but one type was similar to pasta—just dough, cheese, and tomato sauce.

Since she was fine with pasta, she should be fine with this too.

She only avoided eating meat, after all.

“Miss Elena, try this one.”

I offered the Italian-style pizza to Elena.

She had been watching everyone eat with interest, and now she seemed curious. She hesitantly took a small bite of the pizza.

The cheese stretched as she bit into it. The sight of the blonde elf with the cheese was somehow fitting. Elena’s cheeks flushed.

“It’s delicious! How can you cook so well without using meat? Could you teach me?”

She exclaimed, then quickly turned away, embarrassed.

“I’m sorry!”

“No need to apologize.”

I could certainly teach her some simple dishes.

“But can you come to the restaurant?”

I asked with a slight smile, and the elf nearly fell backward.

“Uh, well… I’m not sure!”

She seemed genuinely scared of the dragon. She looked deeply troubled.

Anyway, Mr. Ment enjoyed the pizza. Whether he felt more energized or not, it was up to him to overcome his struggles. I hoped he would recover soon and return as a regular customer.

After the pizza party, everyone dispersed.

I also returned to the restaurant.

Rurin liked the pizza so much that she ate two whole pizzas by herself.

The mozzarella cheese package was entirely emptied, and only the empty bag remained in the kitchen.

Cheese is a processed product, so I can summon it, but it’s inconvenient. Using various cheeses, including mozzarella, has many benefits, but the quantity I can summon is limited.

A bottle of foreign liquor.

A package of cheese.

A case of Soju.

Anything packaged in a case can be summoned in that quantity, but it has to be within my weight limit. There are always limitations to summoning items.

Now that I know cheese and pizza suit the tastes of people here, I suddenly want to make cheese myself.

Having a cheese factory above the dragon lair would be a clever disguise. Of course, no ordinary person would ever suspect there’s a lair beneath the hill. Well, not an ordinary person.

Anyway, cheese is necessary.

Mozzarella cheese is typically made from buffalo milk. I remember learning about it in cooking school.

Should I make a ranch? A peaceful ranch is another one of my dreams—on my bucket list.

I’ve seen buffalo before. In fact, the basic ecosystem of this world is very similar to Earth’s.

Talking about it makes me want to start with gratin or even add cheese to ramen. Homemade cheese.

I feel a surge of motivation. A desire for culinary creation.

The lair construction has progressed to a stage where I can leave it to the dwarves. Only negotiations with them remain. There’s no problem turning my attention to cheese.

A ranch isn’t difficult. Capture some buffalo, confine them above the hill, set up water channels and enclosures, and ask Rurin to help tame them. The buffalo born there would be docile from the start.

Hiring someone to manage the ranch can be done through interviews. Once the system is in place, mozzarella cheese will be continuously available.

They say strike while the iron is hot. I rushed downstairs and grabbed Rurin.

“When did you get back? Hey, what’s the rush?”

“We need to go somewhere.”

“Where?”

Rurin tilted her head, questioning.

“To catch some treasure.”

Rurin’s eyes sparkled at the mention of treasure. Her dragon instincts were stirring. Dragons can’t resist treasure. She never takes off the gold bracelet I gave her for her 799th birthday.

“Oh? Treasure?”

I opened the map and started explaining the location.

Our destination was far from Greike’s city. During the monster war ten years ago, I didn’t even know Rurin existed back then.

This was a time when I was a novice wizard.

In the southeast outskirts of the empire, near the mouth of the Berint River. I remembered seeing something similar to buffalo there. Back then, nobles wanted to make bows from their horns, so the memory was vivid.

Buffalo. Known as “Berinerik,” its meat wasn’t tasty, but its horns were highly prized among nobles. Making bows from buffalo horns was a symbol of strength.

Greike’s city is in the southwest of the empire, so it’s a long journey. One teleportation would suffice, but catching buffalo would take over a year without it.

But with a dragon, it’s quick.

A restaurant and a ranch.

A restaurant with a ranch.

There are many simple Uka ranches in Greike’s mountains, but buffalo are unique and profitable. My own ranch.

It sounds wonderful.

—

We arrived at the mouth of the Berint River, in front of the vast sea of the empire.

The blue waters of the Berint River flowed directly into the sea. Going up this river, we would find the buffalo’s habitat. We couldn’t go directly to the habitat due to teleportation limitations.

Rurin can’t teleport to a place she hasn’t been or seen.

We had to teleport to a nearby dragon lair and walk to the mouth of the Berint River.

From here, we would go upstream to find the buffalo.

It took some time to get here, but once we found the buffalo, the game would be over. Returning would be easy.

Of course, Rurin was exhausted and drooping.

But seeing the sea after so long felt refreshing. The horizon on the river side, the horizon on the sea side.

I led Rurin to the shore. We took in the sight of the sea. The smell of the sea filled our nostrils. The wide sky looked even bluer here.

“This river is huge! Is it a lake?”

“What did you say, dragon lady?”

“Why, why are you…?”

Rurin looked confused, not understanding what she had said wrong.

“A dragon, the highest intellect, doesn’t know the sea?”

“No! I know the sea. I’ve heard of it!”

“Fool. This is the sea.”

Eight hundred years spent in the central part of the continent, near the black dragon’s sanctuary, never coming to the sea. She must have only been caught up in the monster war and never even experienced leisure.

A dragon that never had any fun.

“Oh! This is the sea? Not a river? No wonder I thought it was too big! Haha.”

Her pure smile was dazzling.

The sky was bright. The sea was bright. The dragon in front of me was bright.

The weather was good.

Swish!

The sound of waves was pleasantly hitting my ears.

Forget the ranch; I just wanted to play.

The emerald sea was so bright it hurt my eyes. The clear coral reefs. The empty beach.

I never had a vacation in my life.

Rurin, seeing the sea for the first time.

It would be a waste to just pass by.

So, I picked up Rurin. Princess carry. Though not a princess, but a dragon.

“Huh?”

I sprinted into the seawater, splashing as I went. Then I threw Rurin into the water.

Splash!

The dragon fell into the seawater, stood up, and glared at me. The water came up to her thighs.

“Ew! Why is it so salty?”

“Seawater is naturally salty.”

“Why did you suddenly come into the water…!”

I started splashing seawater on Rurin’s face before she could finish her sentence.

“This is how humans play.”

Rurin, drenched, shook her head wildly to dry her hair, glaring at me. Her eyes shone with a competitive spirit.

“Is that so! Then I can’t lose either!”

Rurin began using magic. A wave rose behind her, creating a tidal wave. Something that couldn’t happen naturally.

“Hey, what are you doing!”

“Hahaha! Take this! Revenge!”

A tidal wave the height of my body crashed over me. Luckily, it wasn’t a 9th class magic. If Rurin or I wanted, we could create a huge tsunami.

I dived under the small wave and swam deeper into the sea.

“Did he really disappear from just this? He can’t be that weak! I couldn’t even kill him when I tried!”

What time are you talking about?

I swam far underwater, then emerged, summoning rocks in front of Rurin. A counterattack.

Splash!

The falling rocks created a storm of seawater on Rurin’s body. Water splashed all over her face.

“Ack! It’s salty and cold!”

Rurin sensed my mana and started swimming towards me.