episode_0034

The Siren’s wings were warm, but not as warm as Zul’s embrace.

There was no down to begin with, so the wind was blowing through.

Should I say that the wings have a unique wind path?

Thanks to this, I had trouble sleeping a few times.

I ended up waking up faster than others.

To make matters worse, dawn was just beginning to rise again.

I wanted to steal the wings and cover them up, but this isn’t a blanket, it’s a person.

If that were to happen, the two sisters would have trouble sleeping.

‘It’s not good for me to close my eyes.’

I stood up carefully.

Preparing breakfast first would be a slave’s job.

We made embers and lit a bonfire from afar in case Juul woke up.

‘Do sirens like hwasik?’

He lit a fire and started grilling the deer meat on a straight tree trunk.

What happened next was Jules.

It opens its mouth wide and yawns, then looks around and looks at me.

“Did you sleep well?”

“No. I’m still tired because of those things.”

It looks like the siren was crying because he had trouble sleeping.

“There’s nothing you can do. Because I’m still young.”

“You’re younger, right?”

That’s right. I have nothing to say.

I ignored the suspicious looks.

Since there were no clocks, waking up time was set at dawn.

As dawn broke and the surroundings became brighter, the two sisters also woke up.

Deborah was the first to wake up.

Her messy face was filled with sleepiness, and her braid was slightly undone.

I looked around half-asleep, and when I saw Jules and I, I thought, ‘Ah.’ I come to my senses.

“······Good morning.”

Jules didn’t answer.

I was embarrassed so I opened my mouth first.

“Did Deborah sleep well?”

“Yes. I slept well.”

“Why are you grilling it this morning?”

“Why? I’m trying to stop you from eating raw food in the morning.”

“It’s pointless meddling.”

I love hearing people yell at me.

Eating meat for breakfast is heavy, but grilled meat is less heavy than raw meat.

‘Oops!’

The meat was overcooked.

Juul likes slightly undercooked meat, so we should take it out at this point.

“Could you please lend me a knife?”

Jules took out a dagger from his waist and held it out.

I cut off about half of the meat with the knife, stuck it in the knife, and held it out to Jules.

“It’s hot, so let it cool before eating.”

The rest of the meat was cooked a little longer.

I guess he was woken up by someone else, but before I knew it, Debord had also woken up and was looking at me.

“Do sirens like cassowary?”

“Uh… Yes.”

I’m glad we have similar tastes.

Spices and crushed salt were sprinkled gently over the meat.

The meat is so heavy that my arms go numb.

“Why don’t I add spices?”

what? Jules was making a sulky expression.

“You don’t like this.”

When I held up the spice container, Jules wrinkled his eyebrows.

“Wow… the spicy smell… makes my nose itch just by smelling it.”

Jules shakes his head.

Then why did you ask? ···Well, if I have to criticize it, I should criticize it.

“Can you do it again?”

“That’s it.”

Spices are not that expensive in the South.

Because this is its place of origin.

It was ironic.

Where I used to live, this pepper caused massacres and wars, but the locals treated it like cheap pepper.

‘···Just in case, I’ll let you taste it.’

Jules, who was chomping after eating his portion, took the knife again and cut off some more meat. Deborah, Deborah’s share, and mine were cut equally.

There was no plate in front of me, so I had no choice but to take out my chopsticks and put the meat in it.

“Eat with caution.”

“Thank you.”

“I’ll eat well.”

“Seolrang, please try it too.”

I cut the meat with a knife and presented it to Jules.

I’m nervous. Would you like me to eat it deliciously? I hope so.

But Jules frowned.

“The scent is too strong. I think it would be better if it was a little lighter.”

“I’m sorry. Next time, I’ll play a little bit.”

After eating as much as humans eat, I don’t think I really like it.

Although I complained, I still ate it.

“I like it. It looks like they sprinkled some strange spices on it.”

“Yes. Isn’t it delicious?”

“It was my first time eating it, and even though it was meat that had been eaten with blood, it still had a lot of flavor. This is good! I think it would be good to spray it on smelly areas such as the legs or buttocks of animals. What’s your name?”

On the other hand, I think I quite liked the two.

“It’s pepper.”

“Pepper? Was pepper such a fragrant spice…?”

That’s because it’s black pepper.

It’s humid in the south, the trees are high so there’s not enough sunlight, and it’s hot. This is the optimal environment for growing peppers.

It is so common that when you visit a colony, it is said that the trees themselves are being overturned.

This also seems to be a bit of a nuisance to the elves as the population around Ymir’s tomb is seriously high.

As a result, it was considered a low-grade spice compared to other spices.

“It’s made with unripe green pepper.”

“······If you eat that, your tongue hurts so much?”

“Didn’t you only eat it while playing punishment games?”

As the Sirens say.

It’s cheap and spicy.

Those with a sensitive sense of smell like Juul would not have tried it.

It was probably because of this pepper that I felt familiar with the human flesh skewers I ate at Ymir’s grave.

It is said that elves do not like spicy tastes, so they only use red and white pepper and do not use black pepper.

This is because if you eat green pepper, which is the ingredient of black pepper, Cheongyang pepper is ridiculously spicy.

‘I think that’s why I can’t eat it at all.’

Ripe red peppers can be picked and dried, but green peppers must be boiled and dried because they are spicy and toxic.

Maybe that’s why I didn’t notice the application method.

In other words, this black pepper was purely made by me, and it was a spice suited only to my taste.

“I will have to use it a lot from now on.”

Deborah nodded in agreement with Deborah’s favorable review.

From that look, I see a small possibility.

I’ve never been behind the Great Wall, so I don’t know the circumstances, but wouldn’t pepper be a pretty good product if it could be traded with humans?

It is too expensive to pickle meat with honey or salt.

However, pepper is a very good spice for use as a preservative and for flavoring.

Since it is not an unknown sea like India and the European continent, it is certain that it will be easy for trade.

‘······It’s a pointless idea.’

There is no way trade with an enemy country is possible.

After the meal, I mixed Deberg’s soap with salt and brushed my teeth.

“Would you like to clean it with this?”

“···We only clean with salt?”

Deberg’s soap must have looked strange.

‘It’s strange even to me.’

Deborah looked at me and brushed her teeth with only salt, while Deborah mixed salt with soap and brushed her teeth with me.

It was really cute watching him gulp down the bubbles.

Jules was wiping off the oil from his knife and chopsticks with a cloth.

As we finished eating and cleaning up, the sky turned blue, and it was time to leave.

“See you next time.”

“You must never be eaten! Got it?”

Because it’s not like that.

“Take some of this.”

I divided about half of the pepper and put it in a small seasoning container and gave it to the two of them.

Deborah hesitated, but Deborah took a step forward and accepted the spice container.

“Wow! Is it okay if I give you this much?”

A smile bloomed on Deborah’s face.

Deborah was looking at me with an embarrassed expression.

In the South, it’s just a weed scattered here and there, so there’s no need to worry about it…

‘Is it because I’m human?’

“If you don’t eat this quickly, the flavor will disappear. In that case, it’s better to share.”

“······Thank you.”

“I’ll eat well.”

Just be thankful.

It’s just a bit of a waste of time.

“Goodbye.”

After saying hello to Deborah and Deborah, I walked towards Jules.

After the two got far enough away from us, they flew up into the sky.

“Sihyeon. Pepper.”

“Yes.”

“The things elves make are white or red, but why is yours black? Plus, it was spicier and more intense.”

“The method of making it is different.”

Jules tilted his head.

“Different?”

“If you blanch an unripe pepper in water, dry it with the skin on, and grind it, it becomes black pepper.”

I vaguely thought everyone would like it, so I made a lot of it.

So much so that there is only one left in the village right now.

It would be a waste to throw it away since it has been carefully dried for over 15 days.

The result was disappointing, but I still don’t want to give up.

‘At this point, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to do business with Juul.’

“It removes the smell and prevents rotting when sprinkled on meat. Although not all, it also kills parasites.”

Jules violently turns his head and looks down at me.

“It prevents meat from rotting?”

“Yes? Yes.”

“How much?”

“It should be stored at a low temperature in a place where the temperature is not high, but if stored properly, wouldn’t it last for a month?”

Before pepper was used for food, it was used as a preservative.

There is even a record of pepper being stuffed into the mummy’s nostrils.

‘I guess that’s roughly the extent of it.’

“···Let’s stop by Ymir’s tomb as soon as we finish work.”

I was embarrassed.

‘···Is there a need to change the destination?’

I’m not the only one who makes pepper.

Many elves make food with white or red pepper.

“I can keep making black pepper.”

“···You have no idea how amazing it is to be able to extend the shelf life of meat.”

“Awesome? Why?”

“Just two weeks is enough time to transport meat to the elf or ramrat village. The road to trade will open.”

However, antibacterial effect is a characteristic of all spices.

‘Of course, it would be advantageous if it were cheap.’

Anyway, trade.

Perhaps because I live in the same village as Deverg, a craftsman, it doesn’t really resonate with me.

The ogre’s nest was close to being complete.

“So, we will be able to trade meat?”

“That’s right. You have no idea how difficult it is to drag a live animal to the village to prevent its meat from rotting during the hunting festival.”

···I thought they brought it back by killing them all for no reason.

“You don’t need even a month. All you have to do is endure it for 15 days.”

I thought a month was too big, but 15 days was enough.

Didn’t they slaughter the beef right away and age it for 15 days at a low temperature?

“It’s not just that. If the preservation period is extended even by a few days, meat can be stored a little longer even in places farther away than rivers or caves.”

“If there is no cool place, you can just dig a tunnel, right?”

“You know how much it rains during the rainy season. It’s a hassle to have to take it all out every time, and the tunnels are extremely crowded with bugs and cockroaches.”

Now that I think about it, there were never any bugs in the mountains of meat that piled up several tons that were caught during the hunting festival.

‘Why?’

Of all the insects I know, this fly is the one with the best nose, and it lives here as if it were a given.

However, not a single fly was seen inside the cave.

“Then why are there no flies in our village?”

“Because I sprayed Lamia’s poison. In the first place, there is no way that a small village where digging tunnels and storing meat could afford to buy Lamia poison.”

It is a world without refrigerators or freezers.

I understand why Jules reacts this way.

But this knowledge I have is just bits and pieces of common sense I picked up.

It is not known how long the preservative effect of pepper actually lasts.

I don’t know whether the pulp or the seeds are better, and if not, whether black pepper, red pepper, or white pepper has a better preservative effect.

But what can you do?

If the master wants it, I have to do it.

‘Let me guess.’

In principle, the reason we have a sense of taste is to detect toxins.

Red pepper has a sweet taste, so it is perfect for attracting bacteria.

Considering that white pepper has a mild scent, its antibacterial effect is low.

The most popular pepper on Earth is black pepper.

Nevertheless, the perception that it is a preservative is widespread.

Considering that in the old days there were nicknames such as black gold and black pepper, most people would have used black pepper, with red pepper and white pepper being the exception.

If black pepper, which has the strongest scent, has an excellent preservative effect, its spicy scent must be an antibacterial agent.

The source of the spicy flavor from pepper is the seed.

‘Then it would be better to crush the unripe green peppers whole.’

They say it will last for a month if stored well at low temperature, but I don’t know if it will really last a month.

“Hosot hates pepper.”

“White pepper or red pepper are okay, but Negan… the scent is too strong. If it’s not for preservative use, most people won’t like it.”

“What do you think if I wipe it with water before cooking?”

“Then I think it’s worth eating.”

···I guess I’ll have to eat all the ground food in the village by myself.

I dried it to the point where I couldn’t eat it all for the rest of my life.

It’s a shame.

“I’ve never left meat until it spoiled, so I don’t know how long it can last. First, we have to experiment.”

“Okay. Let’s do that.”

Jules’ voice contained low excitement.

I was very worried that I would not be able to live up to those expectations.