Translator: Dj2203
Editor: Dj2203
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I had planned to eat it with Maon-san, but now there are eight of us sitting around the table. They all seemed very interested in trying egg sandwiches for the first time in their lives.
“You’ll only eat half of it now, okay? Big Bro.”
Najina-san confirmed again, and I replied yes.
So… shall we eat… they all said, and as if by agreement, they all took a bite at the same time.
“Whooooooooooooo!!”
Najina arched his upper body backwards and trembled all over, letting out an excited cry like a perverted masked man who had accidentally put on some women’s underwear.
“This is… amazing. These eggs are so smooth and rich…”
“Yes, it melts on your tongue…”
“But that’s not all! Is this elasticity due to the boiled white part? The contrast in texture is interesting.”
“More importantly, this bread… have they cut off the outside and only used the white part? What a luxurious food… this ‘Sandoichi’ thing…”
“Eggs are dangerous if they’re not cooked thoroughly, so they’re hard-boiled, but that makes them dry… but this yolk isn’t dry at all… why?”
The six people tasting the food let out cries of surprise and praise. Mia Alice-san’s cat ears were already popping out. It’s likely that her tail had also popped out.
Mia Alice said, “Cook the eggs thoroughly,” but in fact, eggs could be difficult to handle in some areas of Earth. This was not just because they are fragile and could break easily, but also because of hygiene issues.
This may not be so obvious to Japanese people who eat raw eggs, but in most parts of the world today, eggs are cooked thoroughly. Raw eggs are not often eaten around the world.
This was due to the presence of various bacteria, including Salmonella. Eggs sold in Japanese supermarkets were subject to world-class hygiene management and could be eaten raw in dishes such as eggs on rice with raw egg or tsukimi udon[1] noodles. However, if you try to do this overseas, you must be prepared to contract infections such as the aforementioned Salmonella.
Even so, it’s not so bad if you live in an area with a well-established medical system, but in areas without it, it can be fatal. Even if you survive, there’s no need to go through the pain. If there’s no medical insurance system in place, you’ll have to pay high medical costs.
Moreover, this was a different world, so it was “assuming” that the social security and medical systems were in place. Isn’t it common knowledge here that eggs should be cooked thoroughly?
“Just like Mia Alice-chan said, the yolk is thoroughly cooked, but it’s not powdery at all… Genta, what kind of magic did you use to make it?”
Maon-san asks while eating with satisfaction.
“Oh, that’s…”
When I try to explain,
“Th-this is… well, it’s ‘Mayo’, right…? Big Bro!! This smoothness must be ‘Mayo’ right!?”
Najina-san barked as if to say, “I’ve figured out the true nature of this flavor!”
“Huh?”
Everyone turned to look at Najina as if they had been repelled.
“Y-yes, sir! What exactly do you mean by ‘Mayo’…?”
Manny asked, seemingly unable to resist.
“I see… so the girls with a sweet tooth only ate sweet breads like Jam Bread… I just ate your Mayoinnaa Bread a while ago… so that’s why I was able to notice…”
“Huh?! No way! Genta, by “mayo” do you mean the whitish substance that was on top of yesterday’s “korokke bread” along with the black sauce-like substance?”
I remembered the shape of the croquette bread I had served at the tasting yesterday.
“Yes, that’s right. An egg sandwich is made by taking the yolk from a boiled egg, mixing it with mayonnaise, and then finely chopping the egg white and putting the mixture between two pieces of bread.”
Then I explain to the receptionists and Mia Alice the origins of “mayo” (mayonnaise) and egg sandwiches.
“The yolk of a cooked egg, which would normally be hard and dry, is made smooth… and flavorful… Eggs are already expensive, but they use so much of them… and they even use ‘Mayo’… and they make it so delicious… even the great officials of the royal capital wouldn’t be able to eat something like this… But even so, the deliciousness of ‘Mayo’ is incredible.”
Everyone laughed.
“By the way, Genta, why did you tell me to leave half?”
“Well, you see…”
I answered Wozma’s question while rummaging around in my backpack and pulling out something.
….
“I like to put this on my egg sandwiches…”
With that, I took out the bottle of coarse grinds.
I especially like to sprinkle coarsely ground pepper on my egg sandwiches when I eat them at home. Last night, I remembered that I had run out of pepper when I went to a supermarket that sells bulk food products, so I bought some pepper along with a few other condiments.
By the way, each bottle was priced at 78 yen (excluding tax), which was a pleasant discovery as it was cheaper than the supermarket where I usually buy them.
He opened the lid of the pepper jar and sprinkled the coarsely ground pepper on the filling of the egg sandwich, as well as on Maon’s sandwich.
“I’d like everyone to try it and compare it…”
“Whatever Big Brother makes is bound to be delicious!”
First, Najina brought out the sandwich.
Wozma followed, followed by Mia Alice and the receptionists, but Sylphy said that only a small amount would be enough.
Then everyone put it in their mouths again.
“Th-this is… I never thought it would happen… but I thought so!”
Unusually, Wozma was the first to express surprise.
“Yes, there’s no doubt about it, this is…”
Sylphy-san followed.
“Mmm… It’s spicy… But I think I might get addicted to it.”
“Yeah, it’s a bit pungent on the nose, but I don’t dislike it.”
“It goes really well with eggs.”
“This has a different flavor, Genta. It’s delicious.”
It seems to be popular among women as well.
However, Najina-san, who would normally be the first to comment, seemed to be acting strangely.
“…”
After finishing his sample sandwich, he remained motionless like a stone statue. Wozma, who was sitting next to him, put his hand on Najina’s shoulder and called out to him.
“Phew! … Whew, I forgot to breathe! What a disaster! There’s more to this than just ‘Mayo’… Big Bro, who exactly are you?! You’re so limitless, you really are limitless!”
Najina, who had regained his breath, spoke in a cheerful and energetic mood.
“But still… what is this, bro? The already delicious ‘Egg Sandwich’ is given a nice finish by these black grains. The delicious ‘Egg Sandwich’ is given a nice tang. The aroma that reaches my nose awakens my dulled sense of smell. Then I can smell the sweet aroma of bread again, and the image of soft white bread that goes well with it comes to mind. Bread, eggs, and ‘Mayo’! Even though it’s wrapped up in everything, sometimes these grains cut into me, so sharply… They’re truly mysterious grains.”
“Everyone, please listen without being surprised.”
“Yeah, especially my partner. Don’t raise your voice.”
Sylphy-san and Wozma-san lowered their voices a little.
….
“Genta, these black particles are pepper… right?”
Because Sylphy-san spoke in a whisper, everyone naturally leaned their foreheads against the table. The face of the beautiful, bespectacled Sylphy-san was right in front of me. I felt my cheeks flush.
“What! S-s …
When Wozma turned his gaze to Najina, he seemed to be managing to hold back from raising his voice.
“But why do you have pepper?”
“Um… by chance?”
I answered honestly, but everyone looked at me with expressions of disbelief, however I continued without paying any attention to it.
“I think an egg sandwich with this on it would be delicious, and I wanted to eat it with Maon-san…”
“Genta…”
“But then you didn’t need to use it on us, right?”
“No, since I was going to eat the egg sandwich, I wanted everyone who has helped me to try it too. Well, I just thought it would taste even better if I did it this way.”
“That’s not true! The egg sandwich is delicious on its own! But if you add this, it takes on a whole new flavor. But, man… it’s really expensive.”
“Expensive…?”
Pepper for 78 yen (excluding tax)…?
“Genta… you know that is very expensive, right? Around here, when talking about something valuable, we say, ‘A grain of pepper is worth a grain of gold.’ It’s not quite as valuable as pure gold, but it’s still worth about that much.”
“Electrum…?”
I tilt my head at the unfamiliar words.
“Yes, because it is such a precious and expensive pepper, it is sometimes described as ‘black electrum’.”
Hmm, I wonder if this is similar to the nickname given to bluefin tuna, which is traded at high prices in Japan, as “black diamonds.”
“Younger people may not know this, but until about 1,000 years ago, there was no blacksmithing technique to remove the impurities and extract only pure gold.”
It felt strange to hear Sylphy, who looked young and beautiful, call me “young,” but I swallowed it and listened to what she had to say.
“Nowadays, you go into a mine, dig up rocks and get gold from them. But in ancient times, gold came from the rivers.”
“Huh? A river?”
“Yes. The river that flows out of the mountains takes a long time to erode the rocks as it travels downstream. As it does so, the parts of the rock that contain gold are scraped off and sink to the bottom of the river.”
“Then you collect them…”
“Yes, each of those tiny pieces is native gold, or what is known as gold dust. They were collected and circulated as currency. Eventually, they were melted down and solidified to make currency. Nowadays, gold and other things can be separated, so ancient gold coins are no longer made… that’s how it feels.”
“Genta, amber gold is also known as ‘gold and silver ore’. Apparently the gold dust found in rivers is often a mixture of gold and silver, and the color of that gold dust is similar to that of silver, so it’s called ‘amber gold’.”
“Wow, you know a lot, Granny. It’s not like you’re getting old for no reason!”
Najina-san seemed impressed as she shared her thoughts. However, he added an unnecessary comment.
“Don’t say anything about that!”
Maon-san raised her voice in protest. It seems that even in another world, it is taboo to mention a woman’s age.
….
According to Wozma, there was no set price, but the going rate was roughly the same as two silver coins. “Roughly” meant that the ratio of gold to silver in each coin is different. Therefore, this was decided so that the recipient would not lose out.
So that means… one grain of pepper is worth as much as gold or silver combined!? So, then, this bottle of pepper is worth tens of thousands of yen?
Thinking about this, I stared at the pepper jar.
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