Episode 59

The Iceland Horizon.

Obsidianberry had a luxury inn equipped with the facilities and prestige to host its few high-ranking nobles, offering a variety of services to its guests.

From indoor activities like ballads by bards, stories by narrators, and performances by theater troupes, to outdoor activities like city tours, fishing, and more.

For guests who enjoyed cooking, some accommodations had private kitchens, and the place where Catherine was staying had just such a kitchen.

Karem’s quarters, on the other hand, was a small servant’s room attached to the accommodation.

Although this differential treatment might have bothered some, Karem didn’t mind at all.

After all, what mattered to him now was the kelp.

Calling kelp a mere weed? For a moment, Karem nearly lost his cool.

But that surge of anger quickly subsided.

After all, even in his previous life, only a few cultures, mainly in East Asia, utilized and consumed kelp and seaweed.

Even in countries that consumed cephalopods, which were often viewed as devilish in most of the West, seaweed was all lumped together as “seaweed,” a trend that continued into modern times.

But in the East, seaweed was far from being considered a mere weed.

It was dried, roasted, boiled, fermented, and pickled—in every conceivable way, seaweed was incorporated into the diet, and this was something Karem naturally understood from his past life.

No matter how much someone disliked seaweed, everyone had at least eaten a bowl of seaweed soup on their birthday, or dried seaweed as a topping in ramen.

And among all seaweed, kelp was special.

Karem carefully wiped the dried kelp that the bewildered shopkeeper had given him with a muslin cloth, deep in thought.

‘Can you carry this yourself?’

‘Well, it might be a bit of a burden—’

‘We can deliver it as well.’

‘Karem! It’s not too much at all!’

No, not that.

Anyway, it was kelp.

Pickled, wrapped, mixed, deep-fried, or just eaten raw with vinegar dipping sauce.

Like other seaweeds, kelp had countless culinary uses.

Above all, if the method and seasoning were right, kelp made a traditional base broth that could be used in almost any dish except desserts.

In short, it was natural MSG.

“Karem, what kind of strange thing are you trying to do this time?”

“Strange? Mary, what are you talking about?”

“Well, it is strange.”

Mary, who had taken over a spot in the kitchen, raised her knife.

Then, with a loud thud, she chopped off the head of the codfish on the cutting board in one clean stroke.

“First, you start eating northern poisonous herbs and make them popular, and now you’re using seaweed?”

“But that herb isn’t even considered poisonous anymore, at least not in Colden.”

“Now that the weather is warmer, it’ll likely spread to other regions. So, what are you planning to do with it? You called it kelp, right? I’ve never heard of it before.”

“I’m going to make broth with it.”

“Broth?”

Mary asked skeptically, but Karem ignored her and first picked up the dried anchovies, having removed their guts.

Although these anchovies were four times larger than the ones he used in his past life, since their guts were already removed, they were perfect for making broth.

In a large pot, the oil from the anchovies started to react.

A sizzling sound filled the air as a small plume of smoke rose.

As the anchovies crisped up from the heat and began to break apart, he added water and threw in pieces of kelp, each about the size of his palm.

“Weren’t you going to make broth?”

“Yes, I’m doing that right now.”

“But you just turned off the heat.”

“We’re going to let it steep for a while.”

Mary had seen Karem take over some of her tasks before, but she still found him unpredictable. Meanwhile, her hands were busy fileting the fish with precision.

“Don’t we need to purge the mussels and clams?”

“They were already purged when we bought them. I’ve already scrubbed their shells with a brush.”

“When did you…”

“While you were fussing over that dried seaweed.”

Then Mary opened a box on the side of the kitchen and took out the Treasure Crab.

What happened next was swift.

Crack! Thud. Snap! Thud! Thud!

Mary, with her bare hands, cracked open the Treasure Crab’s huge carapace, expertly drained the blood, and then divided the body into eight parts, separating the claws and legs.

Karem’s jaw dropped involuntarily.

Of course, one might be shocked by the sheer strength coming from Mary’s delicate frame, but Karem had long since grown used to that over the winter. That wasn’t what surprised him.

It was the Treasure Crab.

The flesh inside was far more abundant than in the snow crabs, king crabs, or lobsters he had rarely eaten in his past life!

The body, which was bigger than an average adult’s head, was packed with meat.

The legs and claws, revealed as Mary cut through the shell, were just the same.

And above all, when the shell was split open, the subtle aroma from the roe and innards filled the kitchen.

The soft yellowish flesh, the rich orange roe, and the innards.

It was a stark contrast to the rotten wood-like shell and the barnacles growing on it.

“So this is why they compare it to a treasure chest.”

“Indeed—hmm? Oh. So just that was enough to make broth.”

“Yes. Ah.”

As she said, enough time had passed, and the pot containing the anchovies and the now several-times-enlarged kelp had taken on a pale barley tea-like color.

It could be steeped longer, but there was no guarantee it wouldn’t spoil.

Karem reignited the fire under the pot and removed all the kelp as soon as the broth began to boil.

At some point, Mary had stopped chopping, and her expressionless eyes were filled with curiosity.

“The smell is quite decent, and the color looks appetizing.”

“It would probably taste good as it is.”

“The taste… I can’t quite imagine.”

The smooth and subtle sea aroma softly tickled Mary’s nose.

The broth was ready just in time.

After straining out the much-expanded anchovies and their fragments, Karem poured the broth into a small bowl and handed it to the curious Mary.

“No need to just talk about it. Try it yourself.”

“Alright. Hmm. Hmm?”

She set down her knife, accepted the bowl, and took a cautious sip.

As soon as the golden-brown broth touched her tongue, an intense umami flavor, unlike anything she had experienced before, spread like water soaking into the earth, all the way to the back of her tongue.

Before she could even savor it, Mary’s mouth instinctively gulped down all the broth she had held in her mouth.

But the deep umami of the sea that swept over her senses remained, brushing her nose with every breath she took.

“How can just seaweed and anchovies produce such a flavor…?”

“Hmm, I guess they salted the kelp and anchovies while drying them? Seems there’s no need to season the broth, though I’ll need to adjust the seasoning when using it in dishes.”

Karem tasted the broth and found it impossible to control his expression.

After all, MSG brings peace to the household and the dining table.

If you can resist this, you’re not a true chef.

Holding her knife and staring blankly into space, Mary took a deep breath and shook her head to clear her thoughts.

“How could something like this produce such a…!?”

“It usually takes a lot of time to extract this level of umami from other ingredients, doesn’t it?”

“Of course it does!”

It’s normal for stock to take several hours to make.

And even then, the resulting quantity was often meager compared to the amount of ingredients used.

The silver lining was that stock could be made with leftover vegetables, bones, and scraps of meat.

But kelp broth was different.

All you needed was some kelp and a few types of dried fish.

The true merit of kelp broth, the cold infusion method, was much simpler than making stock.

While the quality might vary depending on the cook’s skill, anyone could prepare it by simply soaking the ingredients in cold water overnight.

“So, what are you planning to make with this kelp broth?”

“Huh?”

“Well, with such an impressive broth, surely you’re planning something extraordinary, right?”

Mary tapped the cutting board.

Her expression said it all—no words were necessary.

But.

“I haven’t decided on anything specific, actually.”

“What?”

“No, really.”

He got carried away by the sight of the seafood, lost his composure when he saw the Treasure Crab that was larger than any crustacean he’d seen in his past life, and then got excited again when he saw the kelp.

To be honest, Karem hadn’t planned anything specific at all.

Mary furrowed her brow as if to ask, “What are you talking about?” but soon realized he was telling the truth and let out a deep sigh.

“In that case, I’ll cook today.”

“Huh?”

“With this much broth and seafood, it would be more than enough for bouillabaisse—actually, it would be luxurious. Although it’s a fisherman’s dish.”

And before Karem could say anything else, Mary began preparing right away.

“Bouillabaisse?”

“Hmm? Ah. It makes sense that you wouldn’t know. It’s a fisherman’s family dish from the coast of Vercingetor. Originally, it was a seafood stew made from leftover fish.”

No, Karem did know what bouillabaisse was.

It sounded fancy as a French seafood stew, but to be blunt, it was just a French-style seafood soup, nothing more, nothing less.

Besides, without tomatoes, it might really end up being just a seafood soup, depending on the ingredients.

And its most notable characteristic.

Like all seafood dishes, the quality of the ingredients directly determined the quality of the dish.

Mary, who had taken full control of the kitchen for the first time in months, moved her knife with such speed and enthusiasm that it bordered on madness. Karem had no chance to intervene.

As her knife struck the cutting board, the carrots, onions, leeks, and garlic that were on it were quickly chopped and tossed into a large, oiled pot to sauté.

Once the vegetables were sautéed to her satisfaction, Mary added the Treasure Crab, clams, and fish to the pot in that order, then poured in the broth and added the spices that had been prepared in the kitchen.

“It feels like you’re layering the seafood in a specific order?”

“It’s partly because different ingredients have different cooking times, but mainly because the shell of the Treasure Crab releases more flavor the longer it cooks.”

Karem thought the explanation made sense.

After all, with both seafood and meat stews, the longer you cook them, the more the meat’s flavor diminishes, but the broth’s flavor intensifies.

But the idea that the flavor just keeps intensifying seemed almost like cheating, didn’t it?

However, as the pot began to boil and the aroma spread, Karem’s eyes glazed over for a moment.

Knock, knock, knock—

Someone knocked on the door of the lodging.

Mary was watching the stove in the kitchen, so Karem got up to answer.

If it were Catherine, she wouldn’t bother knocking since she owned the place, so could it be Olivier?

“Lady Athanitas is not in at the moment—”

“Hmm? Oh, it’s Karem. Do you remember me? It’s Victor.”

“Hmm? Sir Victor?”

Recognizing the familiar voice, Karem peeked through the door.

A dignified appearance with a graying black beard and hair.

When Karem opened the door, Victor, Godwin’s attendant whom he often saw at Winterham, greeted him warmly.

“It’s been a while, Sir. What brings you here…?”

“The first and second princes have been invited by Lady Athanitas and are on their way, but my goodness, this smell…”

As he was delivering the news, Victor paused, closed his eyes, and took a deep breath, as if trying to absorb Karem’s soul along with the aroma.

“It’s definitely Treasure Crab, but what is this deep scent that can’t be explained by that alone?”

“Uh, please come inside first.”

And Victor, who had only intended to deliver the message, shut his eyes tightly when he saw the bouillabaisse boiling in front of Mary.

“As expected, you continue to threaten Prince Godwin’s store of knowledge!”

“No, that’s entirely the prince’s fault. And besides, I didn’t even make that.”

This is slander, Karem protested firmly.

Bouillabaisse Recipe