The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 3 - Chapter 149

Chapter 149:

Bazmati...Ryce?

“BAZMATI…?” I double-checked the name, and sure enough, “bazmati” was written on the bag. But it was quite different from the white rice I’d imagined. What I saw on the shelf was more like whole grains of wheat with the husk still attached, except it was all white. Maybe I hadn’t done a good job describing what I was looking for. I’d made the mistake of saying it resembled wheat. But I had no idea that all-white wheat was an actual thing here.

There was another interesting product next to it. This had to be another type of livestock feed, since that was the only thing this store sold. It wasn’t like the white rice I was thinking of, but it was rice with its husks on. It was light brown in color, and get this…it was called “ryce.”

“Bazmati and ryce…” They both really caught my interest. I wondered who came up with those names.

“Is something wrong, kid?” asked the concerned shopkeeper from across the room. The way I was obsessively studying the grains probably seemed really weird. I wanted to explain the passionate feelings that were surging inside me…but there was no way I could.

“No, I’m fine, thanks.”

“You sure? I’m surprised to see a kid like you so interested in livestock feed.”

Oh, gosh…how can I explain myself in a way that won’t look suspicious? Um…yeah, I can’t. I’m drawing a blank. Well, whatever. I don’t care how weird people think I am—I just have to have some rice!

“Excuse me, but could you please polish this ryce for me?”

“Polish? Do you mean de-husk? Well, I suppose I could do that. But why are you so finicky about your livestock feed?”

“Oh, um, it’s not for livestock…I wanted to try eating it myself.”

“You want to…eat it?”

Argh…now this shopkeeper definitely thinks I’m a weirdo. But I’ll let it go. It’s all for you, rice! I don’t care what people think of me. I just wanna eat you!

“Yes, I do.”

“Are you sure you don’t mean borley?”

“Yes.”

Wait…huh? “Borley?” I walked around the store looking for borley. Found it. And this is barley? This is just so confusing! Wait, these shelves contain human food, right? Oh! There’s some “weet” next to it. Come to think of it, since they do have pasta here, it would make sense for them to have wheat.

Still, between the ryce, bazmati, borley, and weet, there’s no mistaking it. Somebody else with memories of a past life like mine has influenced this world, right? Though I’m not sure why the words got skewed in such minor ways like that… Still, this is giving me a headache. I’ll have to be careful not to call anything the wrong name when I buy it.

“Well, I don’t suppose it’s inedible, but are you seriously going to eat ryce?”

“Yes.”

Oh! But I’m also interested in this bazmati grain, too. Though I’m not sure I’m brave enough to buy both. Okay, I’ll try out the ryce for today. Next time, I’ll try the bazmati.

“About how much do you need?”

“Just a little bag, please.”

I wasn’t sure how much was in a little bag, but based on its size, it looked like I could get about three servings of rice out of it. I was a little nervous that I might have miscalculated, but if it wasn’t enough, I could always come back and buy more later.

“Okay, sit tight. I’ll just de-husk…er, polish…the ryce for you.”

“Thank you very much.”

Aha. If I just act confident, I can actually get away with a lot around here. Well, I’ll probably get a reputation for being that kid who does weird things. Come to think of it, how do you even polish rice? I was too curious to just stand and wait, so I followed the shopkeeper into the next room. The rice went into a boxy sort of thing, which he then shook from side to side. Huh? What’s he doing?

“Hm? Something wrong, kid?”

“Oh, no. I was just wondering how polishing worked.”

“This box I’m using is a magic item. It’s great for borley, since it doesn’t produce heat and therefore doesn’t take away any of its flavor. Now for ryce…I’m not sure if it will work.”

If this was anything like the rice I was imagining, this was a pretty ideal polishing method. At least that’s what Past Me was thinking. Anyway, I figured there would be no problems.

“Sorry for the wait. Here ya go.”

“Thank you very much.” Uh-oh. I bought it without even asking the price. What’ll I do if it’s really expensive?

“That’ll be twenty-five dal.”

“Huh? Oh, um, sure! Here you go.” I was startled by how cheap it was. Maybe that meant it tasted really bad? I was starting to get a little nervous.

“Ummm…” The shopkeeper looked unsure of what to say.

“Yes?” I just stared for a while as his mouth opened and closed.

“Er, it’s nothing.”

“Are you sure?” I asked again. “Well, thank you.”

Step one was to just give it a try. If this grain tasted good, that would make me seriously happy. It would also lower my grocery bill… But if it tasted horrible, well, I guess I’d give up on ryce and give bazmati a try.

I returned to the plaza and started prep for tomorrow’s feast. For meat, I’d purchased a gurbar roast that I planned to braise. I chopped some vegetables and put them in a pot. Then I poured in some water and lit a fire. I seared the outside of the roast first to get it ready for braising.

Before putting the roast in the liquid, I cut off a little piece of the meat and ate it to see what it tasted like. The butcher was right; this meat was a little tough. But its flavor, unlike the monster from which it came, was very delicate. It was really savory, too, so I had high hopes for it. I lowered the roast into the pot. Oh my, this giant four-serving pot is so easy to use. All that remained at that point was to let it simmer slowly. I seasoned it with just a little salt. I would adjust the seasoning later after the meat and vegetables had added their flavors to the pot roast. Ooh, I can’t wait!

“Okay. Now for the rice.” Let’s see…Past Me remembers washing rice, then soaking it in water…and boiling it? No, you start it on high, then you put it on low…then you steam it? It seemed like I had a pretty epic struggle ahead of me. Well, I’ll wash the rice first, then I’ll soak it. How long am I supposed to soak it, I wonder? 

I soaked the rice for about an hour, hoping that would be enough. Next, I have to boil it. Okay, first it needs a strong flame… Am I supposed to put a lid on it? And for the water…I guess I’ll use just enough to submerge the rice. Well…it’ll probably work out. I think I’ll make today’s meal while the rice is cooking. Oh no! It’s boiling over. Should I have used a weaker flame? The lid…maybe I should leave it on? Since I already have rice, maybe all I need on the side is some sauteed meat trimmings and vegetables.

“Yeah…that’s a fail.” The pot was filled with some very mushy rice. I think I used too much water. Or maybe I soaked it too long? Anyway, I just wanted to taste it, so I guess it doesn’t matter. If it tastes okay, I’ll figure out how to steam it properly later. It’s probably something I’ll have to figure out through trial and error.

“Okay, let’s try this.” I’m a little nervous. I mean, this was alarmingly cheap.

I took a bite… Huh? It actually tastes good. It’s just much softer than it looks. I definitely added too much water. But still, it does resemble the flavor from my past-life memories. I…think it worked. Awww, man, I wanna eat onigiri! Rice bowls would be great, too! Urk! All these images are popping up in my head… I think tasting rice triggered something in Past Me, and now she’s running wild. I’m a little scared. This has never happened before… I guess I’ll just have to wait it out until it goes away.

“Whew, I think it passed. Thank goodness.” Wow, Past Me really loves rice. Well, I agree, it’s tasty. “My compliments to the chef.”

Gee, rice sure is nice. What was that image that popped into my mind earlier…onigiri? That might make a good lunch.

“Well, before I can make onigiri, I need to learn how to steam rice properly.” One thing I’d already learned from eating the rice was that the amount of water one added was pretty crucial. Up until then, I’d never needed to measure the water I put into things, so it was a bit of a surprise.

Rice sure is delicate! Maybe I should use a special cup to measure the water so I’ll be sure to get it right. I need to figure out the best ratio of rice to water, too. I’ll just have to try different ratios and go by feel. It might be a long, hard road to reach rice perfection. I think I’m going to be a regular at that livestock feed store.

“That reminds me, ryce, bazmati, borley, flauer… I wonder if I can find more things in this world that match with words from Past Me’s memory?”

Once I thought about it, the idea that someone else like me used to exist here wasn’t all that farfetched. After all, the fortune-teller hadn’t seemed that surprised when I told her who I was, though she told me I’d better keep it a secret.

Still, even if it were true, it didn’t concern me now. The fact that these names were well established implied this person lived in the distant past. Unless they were alive now, it wasn’t anything I could confirm.

Okay, I think I’ll go set some traps in the forest tomorrow. There was a good chance the gurbars would destroy them, but I felt really bad relying solely on Ciel to hunt for me. I caught myself praying that my traps would be full…but, well, I couldn’t blame myself for that.