TSWER 08

Chapter 8

Allicin.

It is a compound found in garlic—more precisely, it is formed when garlic is chopped or crushed.

All of garlic’s smell comes from allicin. But garlic in this world was different—so different that even before peeling, its sharp scent already filled the kitchen.

And the moment the kitchen knife pressed down—

WHOOSH—

The allicin released its full force, exploding into the air in a wave of garlic aroma.

‘At this rate… I won’t even need a full handful. A quarter clove should be enough.’

Its scent was roughly three times stronger than in my previous life.

Unless you were a descendant of the legendary bear-woman, even a single clove might be enough to make someone cry and run away.

I cut a clove in half, then carefully minced one of the halves.

Next, I took out butter I had bought from the market. It was still hard and solid.

‘I got scammed after reincarnating, but at least this part is amazing.’

I placed my hand beneath the bowl and focused my mana.

“Fire.”

Heat flowed from my hand. I adjusted the mana carefully so it only produced a mild warmth. The butter slowly began to melt.

I had now become a proper isekai resident who could casually chant spells without hesitation!

‘Back at the academy, I almost died of embarrassment every time I did this…’

Lost in nostalgic memories, I added garlic into the melted butter, then another ingredient.

Honey.

‘It’s not sugar, but honey is good enough…!’

Tears of gratitude welled up inside me.

‘System, you’re the best! Amazing! I’ll devote my life to this Amuir-whatever Church!’

I suddenly switched my attitude, praising the system with tears in my eyes. Of course, I had a reason for this dramatic change.

I recalled what had happened earlier.

[Saint Awakening Bonus: 100 Saint Points have been granted. Would you like to use them?

Recommended: Random Ingredient Draw Ticket]

“Nice try. You think I’ll fall for ‘recommended’ again? …But gacha is irresistible.”

[Random Ingredient Draw Ticket used. 100 Saint Points consumed. Due to first-time bonus, the ticket has evolved into a Limited Edition Draw Ticket.]

[Result: “Acacia Honey x3” obtained. Auxiliary summon unit “Bees” confirmed… acquisition complete. Sealed Authority ‘Fertility’ unlocked. Skill…]

“……!”

It had been just one draw ticket—but suddenly it evolved into a limited edition draw, and messages kept pouring in.

Honey? Summon unit? Authority?

I didn’t fully understand, but the words alone were insane. Especially the word honey made my heart race.

After closing the message window, I checked my status screen again.

[Status Window]

…(truncated)…

• Authority: “Fertility”
  — Crops or plants cultivated or pollinated using saintly power or auxiliary summons yield double harvests and higher-quality materials. Probability increases through skill upgrades and leveling.
• Exclusive Skill: “Sacred Crop”
  — You can summon and use Amuir, the representative plant of the Amuir Church, anytime. The summoned Amuir contains divine power. No additional divine energy is consumed.

“What is this…”

While I was busy complaining about the ridiculous church name, I had somehow gained the ability to endlessly use garlic.

In this world, garlic wasn’t even used as food.

It was mainly used for monster repellent.

‘What is this, vampire hunting gear?’

Even garlic farmers were rare. I used to curse the Iris Church for that reason—but now I had an absurdly powerful blessing.

And honey too!

In this world, honey was considered toxic and only used medicinally—not for eating.

Inside my inventory, I found the three jars of acacia honey I had obtained from the draw.

When I took one out, it was a glass jar filled with golden honey. The taste was exactly like the acacia honey I remembered from my past life.

‘And according to the skill description, I can keep producing this through summoned bees…’

My heart pounded.

Unlimited garlic? Honey production?

“System, long live! Amuir Church forever…!”

I decided to embrace the ridiculous god name in my heart, even if it was clearly nonsense.

I believed it, so it was real. Kind of felt like a cult, but whatever.

[…]

The system seemed to display something, but I ignored it—completely absorbed in cooking.

I mixed garlic, butter, honey, and parsley.

A rich, sweet-salty aroma filled the kitchen, and I swallowed unconsciously.

“U-um… my lady…?”

“……”

“Why are you in the kitchen…? And what exactly are you doing…?”

“Don’t interrupt me. This is an important moment.”

It truly was important.

I spread the completed garlic sauce onto sliced baguettes.

Of course, I had “borrowed” them from the servants’ storage. They were too hard to eat as they were, but once coated and baked, they would become crispy outside and soft inside.

At this point, anyone would know what I was making.

Garlic bread.

If I had garlic and honey, then garlic bread was the only logical outcome.

“Hehe… hehehehe…”

“L-Lady?”

“No oven, so I’ll use a frying pan… Seriously, no oven? Is this world even real?”

Someone kept calling me from the side, but I ignored them and focused.

I placed the prepared bread in the pan and turned on the heat—carefully controlling it with mana.

Fortunately, there was a magic tool similar to a stove. The downside was that precise temperature control was difficult, so I had to use fire magic manually for fine adjustments.

‘They couldn’t even build an oven? Seriously?’

Clearly, this world’s food culture was hopeless. Magic was too valuable to waste on cooking.

Of course.

Damn Iris God.

But now I was a recognized saint of the Amuir Church.

“So?”

“…Yes, my lady?”

“Why were you calling me?”

I turned toward the person who had been nervously standing beside me.

“Hamilton.”

Hamilton, the duke’s head chef, stood there holding his chef’s hat, looking extremely anxious.

‘Useless guy.’

In my personal ranking, he was the most useless person in the entire household.

All he could do was slice vegetables and make salads, grill steak, and serve fruit for dessert.

That was it.

Literally it.

‘How am I supposed to not be angry?’

I glared at him sharply.

He flinched.

“L-Lady…”

“What?”

“I deeply apologize… but someone of your status should not be in the kitchen…”

“……”

The only reason I hadn’t thrown him out yet was because—

“….”

“…W-what did I do wrong… I’m sorry…”

He looked kind of pathetic.

I sighed.

Just that small sigh made Hamilton tremble.

“It’s fine. It’s not your fault.”

“P-Pardon? What did I do wrong…?”

“No, it’s fine. More importantly, why don’t you try this?”

Truthfully, Hamilton wasn’t at fault.

The real problem was this world’s stagnant food culture—or rather, the Iris God.

Even though chefs should have pride in their craft, Hamilton barely showed any of it.

In the empire, being a chef was a low-status, dead-end job.

That was inevitable.

There was no real food here.

Even someone like Hamilton, who was only hired because he could grill steak properly, was considered relatively skilled. Most people avoided cooking entirely.

Being a cook in this world was not a respectable profession at all.

“You… made this, my lady…?”

I pulled the finished garlic bread out of the pan. Steam rose gently.

The sweet, rich aroma filled the kitchen as Hamilton looked at it nervously.