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Chapter 77
Twelve Breads. Bad Things Pile Up Mansion (3)
The best part about hiring bakery staff was that they could now take shifts.
They could adjust working hours from dawn to afternoon depending on fermentation times and when different kinds of bread came out. That was something Ellie could never do alone.
The bakery employees, who had come early in the morning to prepare, glared fiercely at Kyle. Ellie at least appreciated that he didn’t wet himself.
“Wow, this bastard is the one.”
“Malina, you’ve become so kind… letting him live…”
“Isn’t it because the boss is watching? If he’s still alive a week from now, then he’s really become kind.”
Malina, just what kind of life have you lived?
Ellie tried her best not to look at Malina’s clenched fist. Her warm, gentle smile made her even scarier.
Maybe I should have taken him to Goo instead?
Ellie was still staying at Goo.
The Mammoth Trading Company had offered to find her a place near the new shop, but she politely refused. The new bakery was nice, but she still felt more attached to her very first shop that she had built and cared for with her own hands. Though it was no longer in business, all the equipment was still there.
“I knew it. These slaves to money…! They don’t even know the basics of bread….”
Kyle muttered through clenched teeth, trembling with anger. Ellie and Malina unconsciously nodded along.
The bakery staff still couldn’t do anything on their own unless Ellie and Malina alternated giving them instructions.
“But after their shifts end, they stay for a couple of hours to practice and learn.”
“Hmph. What can they possibly learn from a kid like you?”
“I’ve been baking since I was eight years old, you know.”
“At least lie believably. What kind of parents would let their young daughter near a fire?”
Ellie accidentally burst out laughing. Morris pressed down firmly on her head, patting her, and she shook him off roughly.
Kyle actually seemed like a normal person.
Ellie went to the bakery and opened a preservation pouch—one of Edmund’s inventions, which came in refrigeration, freezing, and fermentation versions.
“This was supposed to be today’s staff meal….”
“Wait a second, Boss! That means that’s for us, right?!”
“There’s plenty. If it’s not enough, I’ll make something else for you too.”
The staff member who looked ready to riot instantly backed down like a mole disappearing underground. Morris glanced at the ingredients Ellie was pulling out and said knowingly:
“You’re planning to make pizza, aren’t you?”
“That’s right. You only ate it once, but you guessed it so easily.”
“I remember everything about you.”
“…Today, I’ll be making gorgonzola pizza and garlic baguettes.”
“Just ignoring me, huh.”
“We’ll use dough I already prepared, and the baguette as well. I made both.”
Kyle snorted.
“Sure you did.”
“If you don’t believe me, you can observe the whole time I’m working. Bread dough takes a long time to ferment, I can’t help that. You don’t want to be stuck here all day, do you?”
“…Fermenting bread dough? Bread isn’t yogurt or cheese….”
“You know what really frustrates me? People ferment yogurt and cheese but never thought to ferment flour dough?!”
It could only be explained by lack of interest.
What people notice depends entirely on whether they care or not.
If you care about vegetarian food, you might even figure out how to eat poisonous plants. But if you don’t, no matter how tasty it could be, it’s just poison. Like how sea cucumbers and seaweed aren’t eaten much in the West.
Plain bread dough was enough to serve as a side on the dining table, so nobody bothered to research beyond that.
At that point, Hob raised his hand lazily.
“Boss, do we get some too?”
“Wait until lunch break.”
“Yes, ma’am…”
Ellie began working with the ingredients.
First, she made the garlic sauce.
She sautéed minced garlic briefly in oil, then set it aside to cool. Then she took out the soft, well-fermented pizza dough, sprinkled flour on the workbench, and rolled it out thin, shaping it into a round.
She spread the garlic sauce on the thin dough, covered it with mozzarella cheese, and dotted it with pungent gorgonzola.
For texture, she sprinkled crushed nuts.
Next was the garlic baguette.
She sliced a long baguette diagonally. The nutty aroma, chewy inside, and crisp crust made it tempting to eat as-is, but since today’s goal was garlic baguette, she resisted.
Still, I should save one plain piece for the pure taste.
She rubbed butter onto the cut surfaces. Morris, freshly washed up, took over the buttering for her.
Ellie mixed minced garlic with sugar, condensed milk, and parsley. True to her garlic-loving heritage, she added heaps of it. The smell was already mouthwatering.
She spread the garlic mixture onto the sliced baguettes and placed them on a tray. Into the preheated oven they went. Kyle clicked his tongue.
“Bread should be baked in a stone oven, tch….”
“That’s why I’m baking the pizza that way.”
“What kind of bread is that? It’s just a cheese dish….”
“I didn’t ask you to decide whether it’s bread or not. Just tell me if it tastes good or not.”
“…Hmph.”
Kyle’s stubborn face screamed that no matter what, he wouldn’t say it tasted good.
Ellie put the pizza in the stone oven, watched it, and pulled it out when ready.
The garlic baguette from the oven was also finished.
She plated both on a pretty dish. Ellie’s philosophy was that even a single meal should be eaten beautifully.
Morris whispered:
“You’re not really planning to keep your promise to him, are you, Ellie?”
“A promise is a promise.”
“…Ellie, don’t go around saying you’ll do anything. If a bad person latches onto you, your life could be ruined.”
“Do you think I’d lose?”
“Winning or losing doesn’t matter. People can say anything. Not everyone in the world is good.”
Ellie stared up at him. Here’s one bad person, right in front of me.
“I know not everyone’s good. I choose who I say it to. When have I ever said something like that to you, Morris?”
“…If you had, we’d be in trouble.”
Morris muttered, wrinkling his nose. A fleeting look of regret crossed his brown eyes.
“He may be acting childish, but he stood up against a shop backed by noble capital. Sure, secretly dumping trash is cowardly, but he didn’t hurt anyone, and he insists that what you make isn’t bread. He might say it isn’t bread, but he can’t lie.”
“…You can’t always tell from appearances.”
“Even if I lose…”
Ellie didn’t finish her thought—calculating that Morris and Malina wouldn’t just sit still anyway.
“We have to serve it before it gets cold. Move aside.”
“…Ha.”
Morris sighed, his feelings complicated.
“Doesn’t matter what you serve! He can’t lie even if his mouth rips apart.”
“Yes, yes. Just don’t lie.”
On the plate Ellie set down were the golden garlic baguettes and the gorgonzola pizza. The baguette gleamed with sweet garlic sauce, promising to coat the mouth with honey-like flavor.
The garlic’s sharp bite had mellowed, leaving only its rich aroma to blend with condensed milk, butter, and sugar into pure bliss.
The pizza too—garlic sauce, pungent gorgonzola, stretchy mozzarella, and chewy dough—dipped in honey would feel like tasting heaven itself.
Ellie watched anxiously as Kyle reached out like a man determined not to give in to Satan’s temptation.
He cooled the steam with his breath, then bit deeply into the garlic baguette. His eyes bulged.
“…Hup…”
“If it’s too hot, you can spit it ou—”
“Hrrrgh…!”
He was going to burn the roof of his mouth…
Kyle clenched his teeth, eyes bloodshot, and savagely chewed the baguette, pounding the table with his fist. Ellie started to worry. Maybe it tasted bad.
After all, tastes differ, and garlic bread might not be to everyone’s liking. Maybe I chose the wrong menu… she fretted. But then Kyle suddenly grabbed the steaming pizza with his bare hands.
“You’ll burn yourself—”
“Aaaaargh!”
“…He’s insane. What do we do…”
“Hrrrghhh….”
He stuffed the hot pizza into his mouth, tears streaming down his face like a child’s. Ellie truly thought this time she’d be arrested by the guards.
Crime: Manufacturing narcotic baguettes.
But really, it was just garlic. No drugs, honestly.
“Hhhghhh… How… how do you win against this, hhhngh… It’s… delicious…”
Looked like she won the bet.
Kyle decided to open the first branch.
The deal was that he would come daily to learn baking from Ellie, while also teaching her about this world’s bread.
Malina regretted not being the one to open the first branch, but Ellie couldn’t let her go just yet.
Later, when Ban and Edmund heard about it, they stormed over, furious. But since everything was already settled, they could only scold. Ellie let their nagging go in one ear and out the other.
“I’m busy enough, why bother telling you everything?”
“You’re not busy,” Edmund said curtly.
“No matter how busy you are, you should’ve told us about something like this,” Ban added.
“Yeah! No matter how busy, dealing with those shitty old men isn’t more important than you!”
“Eddie might actually be busy. I heard he’s in trouble for offending the Council of Elders at the Magic Tower. But I’m free.”
“Don’t be ridiculous. Even if the knightly duties are quiet, your household is a mess. I hear you’re getting married soon, negotiations are already underway.”
“That’s my parents’ wish, but I…”
Ban glanced at Ellie. She smiled warmly and said:
“I’ll make your wedding cake, Ban.”
“…”
As a friend, she’d give him a 30% discount.
