Cheese (6)

Mrs. Seral sighed deeply and stood up from her seat. Then she motioned for me to follow her.

She opened the side door. Inside, a boy who looked to be in his late teens was lying down.

“Is he your son…?”

A wet towel was placed on the boy’s head.

Judging by the situation, he seemed to be ill.

“He has a high fever. As you know, a high fever that affects the whole body can be cured if he takes the medicine properly. But his body doesn’t accept the medicine. It seems to be due to his constitution…. As soon as he tastes the medicine, he immediately vomits. So, because of this child, I can’t go anywhere. That’s why I quit my previous ranch. So, I’m sorry.”

Mrs. Seral knelt down and stroked her son’s face as she answered. If that’s the reason, there’s really no room for persuasion. But wouldn’t it be resolved if her son got better?

“Mrs. Rayne, should we ask Ms. Elena for help?”

“Yes. That sounds like a good idea.”

Mrs. Rayne, being well aware of Ms. Elena’s medical skills, agreed immediately.

“We have a very skilled doctor, would you like to give it a try?”

“Is that true? Then please, Rayne! And El! As long as my son can get better, anything will do!”

Mrs. Seral looked at me with desperate eyes when I mentioned a skilled doctor.

What mother wouldn’t do anything to save her son? I left Mrs. Rayne behind and quickly went to the clinic to bring Ms. Elena. However, after examining the boy’s illness, Ms. Elena soon had a troubled expression.

“The high fever you mentioned can be cured if he takes the medicine. But not being able to take the medicine is a serious problem. Is it similar to how I can’t eat meat? Since it’s not an external injury, major recovery and healing spells won’t work….”

If that were the case, there was no solution, according to Ms. Elena’s expression. After all, her constitution couldn’t be fixed either.

Hearing that answer, Mrs. Seral trembled and trailed off.

“As expected…”

“Moreover, if he could take the medicine, he would recover quickly, but if we don’t take any action, the fever will gradually damage his organs. It might even cost him his life…”

Ms. Elena’s eyebrows twitched with a sympathetic expression. Mrs. Seral then started to tear up and collapsed to the floor.

“I tried mixing it with water, and since he likes sweet things, I even tried mixing it with fruit juice, but the smell of the herbs is so strong that he can’t eat it. So, what am I supposed to do? He’s my only son…! It’s my fault for being such a useless mother… It’s my fault…”

Mrs. Seral started to sob while holding her son’s hand. Then the groaning boy woke up and held his mother’s hand.

Without syringes, such medical issues arise. Even in Earth’s history, syringes were developed only in the 1800s.

Given the level of civilization in this world, syringes are out of the question.

While it’s possible to summon a syringe itself, I can’t predict what problems might arise from using herbs with a syringe. It involves direct penetration into the bloodstream.

It’s not something to attempt without medical knowledge. However, if it’s about making the herbs consumable, there’s a way. I’m a chef, so I can rely on cooking. Unless it requires magic, of course.

“Ms. Elena, can you help me?”

“Yes?”

“Mrs. Seral, please wait a moment. There might be a way. You said your son likes sweet things, right?”

“Yes. He really likes fruits. But of course, if I mix it with the herbs, he immediately vomits…”

I nodded to Mrs. Seral and then looked at Ms. Elena.

“Can you combine the herbs that are suitable for this patient?”

“What? But he can’t eat them…”

“I have a way to try.”

“Really? I can help with combining the herbs as much as needed!”

After nodding, we returned to the clinic, received the herbs, and then I suggested meeting at Mrs. Seral’s house before returning to the restaurant.

The herbs she gave me didn’t smell as strong as I thought. In a world without the concept of powdered medicine, anyway. I just need to overpower this taste with a stronger flavor.

There aren’t any snacks with such a strong taste in this world, but modern times are different. Among sweet things, the strongest flavor.

I took some chocolate out.

I melted the chocolate and remade it, crushing the herbs to extract the juice and adding small amounts of it. It didn’t turn completely green like matcha chocolate, but the color was a bit odd. I tried it first myself.

Chocolate with a high cocoa content is very bitter, but this is milk chocolate with a strong taste of sugar. Because of its strong chemical flavor, you can’t even taste the herbs. The most important smell is even masked by the added almonds.

This should do. I put the chocolate in the magic refrigerator to harden it and, with nothing else to do, lay on the table and quietly watched the sleeping Rurin.

This girl doesn’t wake up. She’s in a deep sleep. She keeps tossing and turning, scratching her belly. Sometimes she mumbles and purrs, which is kind of cute.

Watching Rurin makes time fly by. I quickly headed to Mrs. Seral’s house with the hardened chocolate.

Mrs. Seral seemed to have high hopes from my words about a possibility and greeted me with a very nervous face. I first handed her the chocolate without the herbs.

“First, would you like to try feeding him this dark one? It’s a sweet-tasting dessert.”

“This?”

“If he finds this tasty, there’s a way. Enough to fool his body. So first, try feeding him. After all, there’s no other way, right?”

Mrs. Seral nodded. Her face was very desperate.

“Hey, do you want to try this?”

“What’s this?”

“They say it’s a sweet-tasting food. Try it.”

“It’s not medicine, is it? I… throw the medicine up…”

“No, no.”

Mrs. Seral shook her head tearfully. Then the boy smelled the chocolate. That was the chocolate without herbs. I was a bit worried here. If the boy rejected the chocolate itself, it would be a failure.

“Nom nom.”

The boy swallowed the chocolate. But contrary to my worry, his face soon brightened.

“Mom, this is sweet! It’s really tasty!”

“Really? Is it?”

“Yes.”

Then Mrs. Seral immediately looked at me. With eyes that found a ray of hope. So this time, I handed her the chocolate with herbs.

“This time, try feeding him this one with herbs. Assure him it’s the same as before.”

“Yes… I’ll try!”

Mrs. Seral whispered softly and ran to her son. She stubbed her toe on the door sill but didn’t show any pain.

“If it’s tasty, eat more. This is food that the guests brought.”

“Okay, I want to eat more.”

The boy nodded. He looked weak, but it was clear that he liked sweet things.

The boy ate the herbal chocolate.

Everyone’s gaze was tense. Mrs. Seral’s hands were trembling. If he vomits here, everything will be for naught.

The chocolate went down the boy’s throat.

And a moment later.

“Mom, I want to eat more.”

The boy spoke again. He didn’t seem to suspect anything. With a very happy face, Mrs. Seral kept giving the chocolate to her son. Her hands were still trembling.

Ms. Elena, Mrs. Rayne, and I spread our hands. It was like a cheer for success.

We left the two of them and stepped outside for a moment.

“Did you put the medicine in this dark thing?”

Ms. Elena looked at the chocolate curiously, examining it closely.

“Yes. Try it. It’s plant-based, so it won’t be a problem for you, Ms. Elena.”

Since we confirmed she can eat milk, it should be fine. Ms. Elena and Mrs. Rayne split the chocolate and ate it. Their faces melted in delight. It was an expression of ecstasy.

“What is this melting-like taste… What is it?”

It’s chocolate filled with plenty of sugar. The more cocoa it has, the more bitter it will be, but what I brought was milk chocolate.

“Indeed, you’re amazing, El! To heal a patient like this…”

Ms. Elena clasped her hands together and jumped up in front of me with a big smile. Mrs. Rayne also opened her mouth in admiration.

Soon, Mrs. Seral came outside. Ms. Elena approached her in the same clasped-hand position and spoke with a bright face.

“If he takes the medicine like this for two to three days, he should recover well, Mrs. Seral.”

Then Mrs. Seral knelt before me.

“Will you teach me how to make this? I’ll pay you!”

“No, Mrs. Seral, did you forget the purpose of my visit?”

“What…?”

“I’ll deduct the cost of this chocolate from your first salary. So work to pay it back.”

In this world, being in one’s late teens means it’s time to work. If he recovers, she won’t need to take care of him. In other words, there won’t be any problem working at the ranch.

“I’ll go! I’ll go a hundred times. No, if needed, even for a lifetime! I will surely repay you. Really!”

Mrs. Seral bowed her head, shedding tears. She couldn’t even lift her face.

The grace of saving her son’s life.

This will surely give her a reason not to betray the ranch. In that case, haven’t I found a good talent?

I helped Mrs. Seral up and nodded to her.

After resolving everything, I returned to the restaurant with a light heart, only to find Rurin had fallen to the floor and was sleeping.

What a surprise.

“Hey, wake up! How can you still be sleeping after falling?”

“Hmm?”

Rurin opened her eyes groggily.

“Why am I on the floor?”

“Are you asking me that?”

I helped her up and started tidying the kitchen. Rurin staggered and sniffed around.

Like a puppy.

“There’s a delicious smell!”

It seems the dragon’s nose detected the smell of chocolate. But I had used up all the summoned chocolate.

No more summoning for today.

“There’s nothing for a dragon who just sleeps.”

“No way!”

She looked like the world had collapsed. Come to think of it, there was gum next to the chocolate bag. Chocolate-flavored gum.

For some reason, it was summoned together.

“Can’t be helped, have this instead.”

I unwrapped the gum and put it in Rurin’s mouth. Then I chewed some myself to demonstrate.

“By the way, you must never swallow this.”

“Why not! I swallowed it already?”

I stared at the dragon who had swallowed the gum at lightning speed. With her stomach, it shouldn’t be a problem, but oh dear.

“See, it’s like this. If you chew, sweet juice comes out. Then, when the juice is all gone, you can play with it like this.”

When I blew a bubble with the gum, Rurin looked very curious and opened her mouth.

“That’s amazing! Me too! Me too!”

Since she kept insisting, I gave her another piece of gum. She chewed it vigorously and started blowing. She was more focused on the bubbles than the taste.

A bubble rose from Rurin’s cute little lips.

But overindulgence led to disaster.

The bubble gum burst right onto Rurin’s face.

“You! This attacked me!”

Rurin’s face, covered in gum, uttered an absurd line.

She’s really a handful.

Ridiculously, the day ended with gum. And a dragon fighting with gum was a bonus.