Congee Part 1

“This is her home?”

The words that left Yuzuki’s lips were ones of incredulity – she couldn’t believe that Angelia was being housed in such squalor!

Kerron had explained to her who the child was and what her duties were and while the cook wanted to yell about child labor, she kept her mouth shut while they were travelling together to get the little elf girl home so she could properly rest. Her otherworld sensibilities could take a backseat for the moment in light of the emergency they needed to mitigate.

Kerron had carried the little girl, glaring at people as they passed by. People who had been greeting them in a friendly manner when they first arrived were now tight lipped. She could tell they all wanted to say something, but the Lord of Death was having none of it. There was a quiet fury in the man that demanded silence. It was awkward and Yuzuki couldn’t help the apologetic looks she shot at people on their way out of the treetop village.

The house was on the ground level, well more like a glorified shack. When Yuzuki thought of lords in general, she thought of these nobles who ruled on high from grand estates and living a lavish lifestyle. After seeing how Kerron lived like a shut-in and Angelia living in poverty, the cook felt like she had to reassess her perceptions.

There was a little bed with a thin pillow and a simple blanket. A table with a single, partially uneven wooden chair sat against a wall and on the opposite side there was a shelf with a single toy and a jar that had some water in it. A simple stove was installed into this home, but it looked filthy, as if it was allowed to collect dust; some cooking tools hung up above the stove, sort of out of reach for a child as small as Angelia. Even if she had time, she’d have trouble making herself something, if she couldn’t even reach the items she needed to cook. If these were the conditions Angelia lived in on top of the exhaustive work she did, it was no surprise she fainted just like that. And still, the adults around her demanded more.

Yuzuki appreciated all the more that her grandparents stepped up to raise her when her parents passed away. Thank you so much for your sacrifice, grandpa…

Following them all were the strange jelly-like creatures that were round with big, questioning eyes. They seemed like they were your run-of-the-mill slimes that you saw in a lot of fantasy media, though these seemed very tame. They got underfoot a bit, like needy cats and they even mewled plaintively up at Kerron and Angelia.

Back at the market, Kerron had asked for her help and that involved her cooking.

“The culprit behind her exhaustion could be attributed in part to overusing her magic in order to keep up with her duties. Your special cooking skill will help with that. The rest…we shall see.”

Yuzuki’s Holy affinity manifested as imbuing food she prepared, no matter how simple or complex, with the ability to replenish one’s magic. In this world where people could run out before they died if they weren’t careful, this was a more miraculous skill than at first glance.

So she bought some ingredients, not really heeding what she grabbed, just quickly picking things so they had something on hand to feed the girl in order to restore her.

But now she was looking at said ingredients and wondering what she could do.

Yuzuki had grabbed a small bag of grains, which upon inspection was something akin to fragrant rice, like jasmine. A quick whiff of the rice gave her that much of an impression. Other items were things like spring onions, some eggs, some stock bones, a bottle of milk, a small bottle of vinegar,a ginger-like root, a pot of honey, and some kind of strange dried plant. She seriously did not pay much attention to what she grabbed, huh?

Considering how weak she was, it shouldn’t be something too hard to eat. When she was young, her grandfather used to make plenty of good things for her to eat when she’d been sick in order for Yuzuki to regain her strength and fight against her illness. However, he usually started his good food treatment with the same meal every time. Maybe that would work?

Deciding on the meal she would be crafting, Yuzuki gathered her hair up and tied it away from her face, ready to set to work.

Of course, she was never one to leave a pair of capable hands idle.

“Lord Kerron, can I count on you to help me fill this pot with water?” she asked, surprising Kerron as she found a clay pot and pressing it into his hands.

He pointed at his face. “You mean…me?”

“Do you see any other Lord of Death standing around here?”

The Lord’s eyebrows raised up into his hairline at her audacity, but he nodded. Yuzuki was in cooking mode and would not be denied.

While Kerron got the water she needed, she got to work.

First, she cooked some of the grains. Traditionally, the dish she made did not require it, but it was a method of elevating the taste profile that was simple, yet effective. Toasting the rice would only add a few more minutes of work to make congee even more delicious, even if it was subtle.

When Kerron arrived with the water, she set aside the toasted rice and got to making the stock. Throwing in the bones she got into a pot of water, boiling them while spooning out any scum that came up. When she was satisfied the stock would come out clear in the end, she threw in some of the onions and slices of the ginger-like root. The scent wafting up was beginning to be quite nice, but what of the taste? A quick test said it was not bad, but it was missing a key component; she needed something salty.

Looking at the variety of items she haphazardly bought, there wasn’t anything that immediately jumped up to her. There was that mystery dried plant whose shape was not something she immediately recognized, but it had to be food as she got it from one of the food stall merchants. Well, the only way to know was to try it herself and see what the flavor profile was.

Getting a chip off was a bit of an effort, but he managed to take a small piece and chew it. At first it was a bit uncomfortable eating it, but once the plant gain some moisture, its true flavor exploded in her mouth and she realized what she was eating once the salty and mildly sweet flavor covered her tongue.

Oh, this is like kombu! I can use this! Excited, she tossed in whole pieces of the dried seaweed-like plant into the pot, followed up by the toasted rice so they could all cook together. It would take a little bit, but it would seem Angelia would be sleeping for a little while. As the pot simmered, near the end, she threw in a few eggs near the end of the cooking time. Some of the best congees she had involved toppings like boiled eggs, plus the extra protein would do the child some good. Yuzuki wasn’t sure about the growth stages of elves, but Angelia seemed altogether too small. Just how old was she supposed to be?

After some time, everything would be ready. Yuzuki finished things by preparing some fresher green onions, chopped into smaller pieces and extracting the eggs from the pot before they became hard boiled, hoping for a more soft boiled texture. The kombu-like plant was also taken out before it got too soggy, and sliced into thin strips for an additional topping.

She shared a bit of the congee between herself and Kerron, to give it a final taste test and despite the disorganized way she went about things, the dish turned out quite well. Plus, it had the intended effect as she saw the Lord of Death’s form subtly glow as the meal refilled his mana stores.

Now, all they had to do was wait for the true recipient of this meal to wake up…