That Wonderful, Delicious Red One (3)

“Cacao? You girls use cacao? What for?”

Agata blinked in bewilderment.

It must have come as quite a surprise to her.

“I think the chef sometimes used cacao in salads served to His Majesty the King. But His Majesty is bedridden now, and the prince doesn’t eat cacao, so it should’ve just been going to waste. What would you maids possibly use something like that for?”

“Well, we use it to make this.”

With that, I held out the last piece of chocolate I had brought with me.

Agata took it, examined it closely, then cautiously put it into her mouth and cried out in surprise.

“…It’s sweet! And it’s delicious!? You’re kidding—this is that cacao!? What in the world did you girls do to it!?”

I could hardly blame her for being shocked.

In Agata’s mind, cacao was probably “a bitter, unpleasant but healthy ingredient meant for royalty and nobles.”

Emotionally speaking, it was like a stubborn, rebellious son.

If someone like that suddenly came home wearing such a sweet and friendly expression, of course you would be shocked.

You’ve… really grown up! Something like that.

“Ahh, but this really is cacao…. I can taste it in the aftertaste. I can’t believe you turned cacao into a snack like this. You couldn’t get this just by chopping it up and dumping in a lot of sugar. I’m impressed. Did you come up with this?”

“That’s what we’re going with.”

“What kind of answer is that?”

Agata immediately called me out on it.

Then Anne spoke with a strangely proud expression.

“Shirley is amazing. Truly, the way she thinks is so original. It takes a tremendous amount of work to make, but the prince always says it’s delicious and enjoys it so much. It’s something we’re very proud of.”

“You should be proud of it. If you could produce it cheaply in large quantities, it could probably become one of our kingdom’s specialty products. This is incredible, you two.”

Agata praised us without reservation.

But her expression soon clouded over.

“Still, it’s impossible. Cacao doesn’t normally grow in our country. And the cacao here on the farm probably won’t bear fruit for another few months.”

“What!? Really!?”

I cried out in surprise.

The next harvest was months away!? Anne and I looked at each other with despairing expressions.

“That’s right. What you girls already received was everything we had, and the next harvest is still a long way off. Cacao can be harvested several times a year, but it hasn’t been very long since the last harvest, and we only grow a small amount of it here. So you’ll be waiting quite a while.”

“Nooo…. Can’t you use your powers as a witch to, you know, make it grow all at once or something!?”

Anne asked tearfully, and Agata answered with a grimace.

“Ahh, lots of people get that wrong. Just because I’m a witch doesn’t mean I can perform miracles like that. Well, maybe the Great Witch of the Forest-sama could, but I wouldn’t know.”

The Great Witch of the Forest. Yet another term I had never heard before.

But that could wait. Agata continued.

“Someone at my level really can’t do much. I can manipulate the soil a little, and other than that, I can hear the voices of plants.”

“The voices of plants…? You mean grass and flowers actually talk?”

It was the sort of thing I had often seen in picture books in my previous life, but even if plants could speak, I doubted they had anything particularly profound to say.

Probably things like, I’m hungry~ or I’m thirsty~, at most.

Just as I thought that, Agata smirked.

“Yep, exactly what you’re imagining. All they ever say is basically, ‘I’m hungry’ or ‘I’m thirsty.’”

She read my mind. Hey, you said you couldn’t do anything impressive.

“Hehe, that wasn’t witchcraft. It was written all over your face. …In reality, it’s less like words and more that I can sense what they need. So I give them fertilizer, water them, and adjust their surroundings accordingly. People call me a witch, but that’s pretty much all I actually do.”

I see. But could that alone really produce such a magnificent farm?

She seemed to be cultivating crops that normally thrived in entirely different climates.

For that matter, cacao should only grow in much, much warmer regions.

Even in my previous world, it had only been cultivated in limited regions such as Ghana and Brazil.

This kingdom became fairly cold during winter, so it hardly seemed suitable for growing cacao.

I was just about to voice that question when Anne spoke first.

“So that means we can’t serve chocolate for several months…. Waaaaah!”

She covered her face and started crying again. Honestly, what a handful.

I pulled her into an embrace and gently patted her head, then asked Agata just in case.

“Um, what about imported cacao…?”

“Not right now. Apparently it normally grows in countries much farther south, where it’s considerably warmer. If you asked some sailors, they might have some… but I wouldn’t get your hopes up. Cacao is expensive, and hardly anyone wants to buy it, so I doubt ships bother carrying much of it.”

Agata added that someone would probably import it if we specifically requested it, but even then it would take several months. And since ships were at the mercy of the weather, there was no guarantee it would arrive at all.

I see. In my previous world, cacao could be transported in huge quantities aboard enormous cargo ships that were extremely unlikely to sink, but in this world, it was the product of voyages where people risked their lives.

Even if you wanted something, there was no guarantee you could obtain it.

“Originally, hardly anyone used cacao at all, so there was no reason to keep much of it around. Even when we grew it, it mostly went unused. So I’m sorry you came all this way, but I can’t prepare any for you right now. Sorry.”

“No, it isn’t your fault, Agata. I’m sorry for asking the impossible.”

I bowed my head to Agata as she apologized.

Then I gently released Anne, who had finally started calming down, thought for a moment, and spoke.

“Then we’ll have to think of something else to serve instead. Agata, would you mind showing us around the farm?”

“Sure, I’d love to. Have a good look around my pride and joy.”

With that, Agata smiled brightly.