Veal Stock And Winter Truffle Hunting

Making veal stock began with retrieving the beef bones and tendons stored in my basement.

If I did it myself, it would take two trips carrying as much as I could in both arms.

However, the black-haired man said, “I’ll do it,” and carried everything upstairs in a single trip.

First, I washed the beef bones, then cut them with a saw to expose the marrow.

Sawing through the bones of such a large animal was hard physical labor. I normally had to enhance my physical strength with what little magical power I had left, but the black-haired man simply said, “This much is nothing,” and effortlessly worked the saw.

I roasted the cut bones in the oven until they were lightly browned.

I also thoroughly washed the beef tendons and sautéed them in a frying pan.

Next came the aromatic vegetables. I used onions and carrots from my stores, along with fennel in place of celery, since it was winter. I cut everything into bite-sized pieces and sautéed the vegetables carefully to prevent them from burning.

I placed the beef bones, tendons, aromatic vegetables, garlic, rehydrated sun-dried tomatoes, bay leaves, and other herbs in a pot, added water, and brought everything to a boil over high heat.

“Once it comes to a boil, we turn the heat down and let it simmer for at least twelve hours, skimming off the scum as it rises.”

“I see. It certainly is physical labor.”

The black-haired man sighed, but cutting the beef bones was the hardest part, so he’d already been an enormous help.

“You’ve been a tremendous help. Thank you very much. Please make yourself comfortable for the rest of your stay.”

“Yes, I think I will. I’ve gotten myself covered in cow’s blood, so I’d better change.”

The black-haired man had been remarkably efficient at cutting the bones, but he’d still ended up splattered with blood here and there. Incidentally, whenever I did it myself, the surrounding area became a disaster zone, with bone fragments flying everywhere.

The black-haired man left the kitchen, and Noah appeared in his place.

“Lydia-san, why don’t you go and change, too? I’ll keep an eye on the fire.”

He kindly offered to take over.

Gratefully, I took the opportunity to change my clothes.

Once I’d changed and returned to the kitchen, it was time to prepare dinner.

Tonight, I decided to make beef braised in red wine, or brasato.

It had been two days since I’d marinated beef shanks, rubbed with salt and pepper, along with onions, carrots, and other aromatic vegetables in red wine. They were now perfectly ready to cook.

I removed the meat from the marinade and seared it in a hot frying pan. I browned the vegetables as well, then combined everything with the red wine from the marinade and let it simmer gently over low heat.

It would be ready in two or three hours.

This dish also produced scum that needed skimming, so I had to keep an eye on both the brasato and the veal stock simultaneously.

It was work that required patience, but I didn’t dislike it.

The pots bubbled away quietly, filling the kitchen with wonderfully appetizing aromas that made me excited for the meal ahead.

Now, it was time to prepare a side dish for the braised beef.

When it came to brasato, the traditional accompaniment was polenta, made from ground cornmeal.

Today, I decided to make polenta using buckwheat flour and cornmeal.

Polenta was an extremely simple dish that involved nothing more than adding flour to boiling water and cooking it. However, it needed to simmer for over an hour.

I added a little salt to boiling water, then gradually sprinkled in the cornmeal, taking care to prevent lumps from forming. After that, all I had to do was keep stirring it continuously over low heat.

“What are you making now?”

At some point, the black-haired man had returned. He watched my work with great interest.

“Beef braised in red wine.”

“That sounds delicious. Is there anything I can help with?”

He asked, but I couldn’t think of anything in particular.

“No, thank you.”

When I answered, he asked,

“Would it be all right if I stayed here?”

“There’s no reason you can’t, but won’t you get bored?”

The black-haired man shook his head.

“No, not at all.”

In the end, he watched me work with undiminished interest until dinner was ready.

On a clear winter day, Noah and I went into the mountains to gather mushrooms.

Noah wanted to go alone, insisting that it was perfectly safe because “the scariest bears are hibernating.” However, even if the bears were asleep, there were still wild boars and deer in the mountains.

There might also be traps set by hunters, not to mention dangerous people.

I wanted him to stop going into the mountains alone, but Noah seemed determined to make himself useful by gathering mushrooms, nuts, and other forest produce for me.

I was genuinely grateful for his eagerness to help.

Eventually, Noah and I reached an agreement that whenever we ventured deep into the mountains, neither of us would go alone. We would always go together.

With the bountiful autumn harvest behind us, the winter mountains looked bleak and cold. Nevertheless, certain wild plants and mushrooms actually came into season during winter.

Rose hips, for example, as well as mushrooms such as oyster mushrooms and enoki mushrooms, could all be gathered during the colder months.

That said, finding enough to fit in the palm of one’s hand was considered a reasonably successful outing. There simply wasn’t much available.

However, the land surrounding the mountains was also part of my property, so taking a walk through the fresh mountain air while inspecting the grounds wasn’t a bad way to spend the day.

“Lydia-san, look over there…”

Noah was the first to spot it.

I followed the direction of his pointing finger and frowned.

“That thing again…”

A dark silhouette stood among the trees in the forest.

It was an enormous creature, although at first glance, it resembled an ordinary cow.

However, it had a third eye in the middle of its forehead, thick horns extending from either side of that eye, and a body covered entirely in pitch-black fur.

It was a magical beast that had recently started appearing in the area.

It had never attacked us, but it would stand at a distance and silently observe us.

Unfortunately, if it ever decided to charge, I no longer possessed enough strength to guarantee Noah’s safety.

“Let’s go home, Noah.”

I urged him to leave, but Noah didn’t move.

“But Lydia-san, that cow… What if…”

“What if? What is it?”

“What if it wants something from you, Lydia-san? It’s always looking at you…”

“A magical beast has business with me?”

“Yeah. I think so, anyway…”

Noah didn’t seem entirely confident in his theory, either.

“He wants Lydia to accept him.”

The voice that suddenly addressed us belonged to the banshee living in my house.

Ever since that incident, she’d become the fairy most willing to show herself in front of people.

Noah and Mirei apparently had the ability to see fairies, but I’d instructed them not to speak to any. Just as the old folktales warned, even if fairies meant no harm, interacting with them could lead to all manner of outrageous trouble.

“Me? Why?”

I asked her in surprise.

“Because Ul likes Kera. But Kera won’t let anyone into the cowshed unless Lydia invites them, so Ul wants Lydia to accept him,” the banshee explained.

Kera was the name of my cow.

“So that magical beast is called Ul?”

“He’s a forest spirit.”

Her explanation reminded me of something.

My cow belonged to a breed called the Milchy, which was somewhere between an ordinary cow and a magical beast. Members of the breed were notoriously aggressive and only grew attached to the masters who had tamed them.

Consequently, caring for the cows was a task reserved almost exclusively for me and the brownies.

The brownies absolutely adored Milchy milk, so they enthusiastically took care of the animals.

It was the morning after our first snowfall that I’d discovered unfamiliar animal tracks around the cowshed.

They were enormous hoofprints, practically monstrous in size.

However, Kera hadn’t mooed to summon me, nor had the creature attempted to force its way into the cowshed.

The brownies hadn’t alerted me to anything unusual, either, so I’d assumed some wild animal had simply wandered over out of curiosity. Even so, the enormous footprints had continued to appear around the cowshed from time to time.

Humans called benevolent supernatural beings spirits or fairies and malevolent ones monsters, but according to the brownies, there wasn’t much difference between them.

Just like humans, some were good and others were bad. Moreover, the same individual could act benevolently or maliciously depending on the circumstances.

“Still, wouldn’t Kera be bothered by some enormous, frightening-looking creature—whether it’s a cow, a magical beast, or a spirit—pursuing her?”

The banshee shook her head.

“No. Kera likes Ul, too. But without Lydia’s permission, she can’t invite him inside.”

Although spirits seemed to enjoy complete freedom, they had their own code of conduct. One of their rules was that they couldn’t enter a place unless they’d been invited.

Apparently, Kera was being courted by a somewhat suspicious-looking male, but surprisingly enough, she didn’t seem to mind his attention.

“Ah, well, if Kera’s happy with him, I have no objections. Ul, come here.”

As a precaution, I positioned myself in front of Noah to shield him, then beckoned Ul toward us.

Ul seemed to understand my words. He lumbered toward us.

“You’re welcome to enter the cowshed whenever you like. But you must never hurt me, my family, or, of course, Kera. You have to promise me that.”

Ul had a frightening but intelligent-looking face. He responded with a deep “Moo.”

Then he turned toward the banshee and mooed again.

“He says to follow him.”

“Ah…”

I couldn’t sense any malice from Ul, but it wasn’t unheard of for a creature to lull someone into a false sense of security before attacking.

Remaining somewhat wary, I followed him.

After walking through the forest for a while, Ul lowered his nose toward the roots of a large tree and mooed.

“He says it’s here.”

“Lydia-san, can I take a look?”

“Of course. But if anything happens, run away immediately.”

Once Ul had moved aside, Noah quickly crouched beside the tree roots and murmured,

“Huh? There’s nothing here.”

“Nothing?”

“I’ll try digging a little. Some mushrooms grow underground, you know.”

“Ah!”

Before long, Noah let out a delighted cry.

“This is a truffle!”

“A truffle?”

“It’s a mushroom that sells for a really high price. They’re incredibly rare. I’ve never actually seen one before!”

Ul mooed.

“He says it’s a gift for Lydia.”

“Oh, thank you.”

Apparently, in exchange for approving his courtship, I’d received a tribute.