TSBSFVW 98

Chapter 98 

Fourteen Breads. Life Is a Series of Tests (4)

A celebrity once said this:

“If you stay away from meat and flour, you can live a long life.
But then, what’s the point of living long?”

Ellie agreed wholeheartedly.
What’s the point of living if you can’t enjoy it?

After arriving in this world, she hadn’t particularly enjoyed meat.
Here, most of the meat that circulated came from wild animals and monsters rather than livestock, which made her feel uneasy. Even after learning that only certain kinds of monsters were classified as edible and that they were processed under strict safety measures, she still couldn’t quite bring herself to eat it freely.

“Still, protein is important, so when I needed it, I focused on fish and chicken.”

Chickens were often raised in small numbers within villages, while cows and horses were raised on large farms. Horses were needed for transport, and cows for producing milk.

She wanted to question why large-scale livestock farming was possible, yet agriculture hadn’t advanced. But what could she do? That was just how this world worked.

Livestock farming only required preparing for the monsters’ periodic attacks, but agriculture demanded guarding vast fields day and night for months on end while crops grew.
Except for certain fertile regions, large-scale agriculture was nearly impossible.

Still, Ellie tried to maintain a healthy balance—avoiding too much meat while enjoying other sources of protein, and, of course, eating plenty of bread.

But people allergic to both meat and flour?

“How do they even find joy in life…?”

“Is your joy in life really found in meat and bread?”

“Yes. I can’t live without bread.”

“How very resolute of you.”

“When I’m in a bad mood, it’s usually because I’m hungry.”

“Not everyone is like you.”

Ellie glanced at Damian.

Damian had a tall, lean frame—like a model, if this were her past life. He was the kind of person who ate just enough to survive, not for pleasure. Naturally, someone like him would never understand someone like Ellie, who lived to eat.

“Lord Damian, when you’re feeling down, you drink, don’t you?”

“I have no reason to feel down. My life’s been solid since birth, unlike yours.”

“…I mean when you’re upset or irritated.”

“I’ve never really thought about it, but I suppose I’d drink.”

“When that happens, drinking might help—but first, try something sweet.
You’ll feel much better afterward.”

When you’re in a good mood, fighting with others starts to feel like a waste of energy.
Then, maybe, you’d stop invading other people’s countries and focus on protecting what you already have.

“What does your nephew even eat…?”

“…It feels oddly uncomfortable to see you genuinely pitying him like that.”

“Just thinking about it makes me want to cry…”

“For something this trivial?”

Damian looked genuinely dumbfounded.

This woman hadn’t even flinched when her own father tormented her relentlessly—yet now, she was teary-eyed over a mere food allergy.
And even when she had cried before, it was only out of guilt for causing trouble to others.

But Ellie was serious.

“How can you call it trivial? Flour was the pillar and backbone of my life! I was already upset that people in this world treat flour-based food like something inferior—but to think someone can’t even eat it at all, that’s just…”

“…All right, I get it. I can see how passionate you are about bread.”

And to not even be able to eat meat on top of that—what kind of curse was that supposed to be?

“So what can he eat, then?”

“He can eat fruit, fish, vegetables, eggs, and milk. And sugar, too. So he doesn’t seem to mind much.”

Ellie was heartbroken for him—imagine not knowing the joy of good bread!
But the boy himself didn’t seem to suffer from it. The biggest inconvenience, apparently, was not being able to eat soup thickened with flour.

The real issue was meat—he found it hard to get enough nutrition without it.

“The problem started with the bread you made. My nephew saw your night bread and wanted to try it.”

“Ah…”

“He wanted it so badly he dreamed about it. Recently, he even said he’d eat it despite the allergic reaction—and my brother scolded him harshly.”

“Hah… what a sinful talent I have…”

Ellie muttered unconsciously, then quickly shut her mouth. Damian chuckled.

“So, you’re not as deflated as I thought. I figured you’d lost all your confidence after that scolding.”

“I never lost confidence in that. My bread has always been delicious.”

Even if the whole world pointed fingers, Ellie firmly believed in the taste of her bread—because it was delicious.

Then Damian said,

“Make a ‘bread’ that my nephew can eat. Do that, and I’ll grant you one small wish.”

*

Finally, she was allowed into the palace kitchen.

“You may use any ingredients you wish. If you need something, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“Ah, yes!”

The chefs of the Mirror Palace bowed and stepped back.
Of course, they were probably more wary of Richard standing guard behind Ellie than of Ellie herself—but she didn’t care.

After a month away, she was simply overjoyed to breathe in the air of a kitchen again.

The Mirror Palace kitchen was stocked with everything imaginable—fresh fish and seafood, various meats, preserved foods, and even rare ingredients imported from across the continent. Her heart raced in excitement.

Ellie was happiest when she was in a kitchen.

“Oh? You have an oven here?”

“Yes. His Highness Damian ordered it to be installed for you, Lady Ellie.
We’ve also prepared other tools you might need, so feel free to use them.”

For once, Ellie felt genuinely grateful to Damian.

There was even the thermometer she and Edmund had designed together for ovens and kilns, and a whipping tool they’d created themselves. There were custom molds made to fit her bread recipes.
It was as if her old bakery’s kitchen had been transplanted here.

Today, she’d be making rice wine bread.

She couldn’t replicate the chewy texture of real loaf bread, but this was the best option available now. She’d just have to make it taste as good as possible.

“Do you have rice by any chance?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Awesome! Then… do you perhaps have any kind of rice-based liquor?”

“I’m not certain if it’s exactly what you’re looking for, but among the tribute wines, there’s one made from rice. I’ll fetch it immediately.”

Every request was answered instantly.
The Imperial Palace of Yan Empire truly had everything. Ellie was so moved she nearly teared up.

In the Rosso Kingdom, rice was almost impossible to find.
Some restaurants near the ports served it, but it wasn’t common, nor was it popular. Ingredients not easily obtained within the country rarely became widespread.

She’d always wanted to try baking with rice flour one day, but with wheat bread not yet fully popularized, using something as expensive and rare as rice was unrealistic.

“Wheat allergy is caused by sensitivity to proteins like gluten, if I remember right…”

Even though Ellie had never suffered from allergies—neither in her previous life nor this one—she understood how dangerous they could be.
Anyone working with food needed to know that.

Sure, she’d only been a part-time worker at a big franchise bakery back on Earth—but still.

“If I replace the wheat flour with rice flour… I don’t have yeast or starter culture right now, but maybe I can use rice wine for fermentation instead. That could make rice wine bread possible!”

Once her bakery in Rosso was stabilized, she’d planned to visit a brewery to research yeast. Historically, bread had been made using beer yeast—so maybe she could find a clue there too.

Surely, somewhere in this world, there were people already baking fermented bread—just not known to her yet.

But then again, even on Earth, serious research into microorganisms didn’t happen until the late 19th century.
Expecting such convenience in this world might be too much to hope for.

“I was going to request help from the Magic Tower someday…”

She shook off the creeping gloom.

Now wasn’t the time for daydreaming.
Now was the time to focus.