Before Mordred and Kuch took off on their little journey to the west, there was an unexpected arrival in the city of Gabion. A merchant had arrived, one whom was apparently selling grain at a rumored great price. That was convenient, as I did want to get my hands onto some of the local produce myself but the local market price was simply offensive to me.

  No way was I going to ask Mordred to fork over half all her earnings for just a single sack!

  Speaking of, I'd finally learned why food prices were so high in Gabion despite the lackluster quality, or at least regarding that of bread. Investigating and asking around revealed that the Duchy of Gabion was actually quite small- outside their city, they only had very few farms that were part of their territory. The reason of which was apparently something of a history that nobody could quite agree on, so I'm guessing I'll need to find an actual learned individual who could enlighten me so on the topic. For now, the important to note was that local supply was thus limited hard by this lack of space. It was nowhere near enough to feed a city of this size.

  So they had to then import from their neighbors to make up for the shortfall, whom apparently all controlled far more. Because these regions knew how much Gabion depended on these imports, they then collaborated to setup nasty taxes to any being shipped to the region, literally bleeding out the supposed defenders of the wall for more coin. Urgh, talk about an exploitative tariff! Hence why sellers had no choice but to accordingly increase the bread as such to account for the difference.

  However, it sounded like this merchant had struck some sort of deal with one of the neighboring regions, Viszal, to buy and transport grain without the tax. The result then was cheaper grain for a little short while, something that had the locals singing praise for the apparent generosity. I was also a little chaffed at this coincidence- I had been considering going out to these farms to buy the grain at a slightly reduced markup myself, but that would have been a trip in itself and still rather costly. Having it instead brought to the city and at a good price was quite a time saver.

  Kuch bought a few bags that Mordred paid for with her earnings so far. Okay, it was more like a dozen or so that had the elf merchant thanking us profusely for the business. It did earn the two adventurers some odd looks to be carrying all that out into the woods, but Kuch reasoned that they were going to go deeper than most, and thus needed more rations. That, combined with our 'adventurer' and the trust of the locals seemed to sate the curiosity.

  Mordred did though mention that she wanted repayment for the coin she ponied up. Oh, trust me, I'll make you something good with these that you've probably never tasted before, neither dragon or human form. And also to prove all bakers in the city wrong about something quite offensive they said.

  "[Ferment]? Why would anybody working here have such a useless skill?"

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  "You know, I don't hate the city and I don't mind working with the Eber Marauders- but it's so nice to be just be out here with just you here, Kuch," Mordred remarked in a chipper mood, not at all bothered by the half dozen sacks she carried over one shoulder. "You don't ask stupid questions that I have to ignore, like 'where did you come from,' 'who taught you how to fight,' or 'are you single.'"

  Kuch frowned beneath the helmet. "Have the mercenaries been bothering you with such questions?" they asked, almost in a growl. Maybe sensing the growing antagonism, the dragon hastily waved off the implied threat.

  "Ah, no, not really! It was just one gal whom got pretty ripped into by Gunther when he overheard. Something about separating business and personal relationships. It's funny, but I just don't have time to consider finding a partner or whatever. I was too young in dragon years." Her grip then tightened around the rope attached to all the sacks. "And I'm just way too focused on killing that bastard first to think about romance or whatever," Mordred growled heatedly.

  "I suppose revenge wouldn't make for a good date topic anyhow," Frie commented from behind them.

  "Probably not- woah!" She almost leapt up into the air a full distance from the surprise doll appearance. "What the- where did you come from?! And...what are you wearing?"

  "Oh, I just used [Flash Step] when you were close enough. It lets me appear in front of or behind targets. And this?" Frie proudly tugged at the little vest. "This is a butler uniform. As I'm 'welcoming guests,' is it not appropriate to dress so?"

  "Oh, I do look quite dashing. But those leather gloves take away from it, and you absolutely need a ribbon or tie to complete the look."

  "Yes, but hemp isn't quite smooth for that. But after the hunt, I'll finally be able to address that."

  "Hmph, I'm jealous. I need a wardrobe of my own too!"

  "I'm awesome enough already in that plate, aren't I? But I suppose there is also charm in seeing a knight out of armor, especially that moe gap appeal-"

  "Will you just quit it?" Mordred asked exasperatedly, tossing the bags of grain over to Frie. "Argh, I'm getting hungry now. Tell me we're close to the manor and food soon."

  Frie caught the guest gift and blinked, briefly confused. Then they remembered and turned about. A hand came up and they snapped their fingers together.

  And suddenly the manor was literally right in front of the shocked dragon.

  "Wha-! Hold on, that's an illusion trick, isn't it?" she asked, catching on quickly to what was obviously her mother's specialty. "Hiding it as trees to look like it was just another part of the forest, that's pretty smart. But that's gotta be annoying if you have people like me over."

  "Once you step inside, you should be immune to the illusion. I don't plan to keep it on all the time, mainly if I just don't want to be disturbed for whatever reason. Come on in."

  My real self was present to greet the dragon in the great hall, maybe a little dramatically as I descended down the grand stairs. "Welcome back, Mordred. How was your first taste of human society?"

  "It was pretty loud, everybody felt weaker than me, and everything tasted bad." Already she was heading over to that same guest room she had claimed during the winter. I suppose it was the dragon's own abode now. "I'm tired, I'm going to take a nap. Have something tasty for me when I wake up please, like that powdered snow."

  "I'll do you one better," I promised while my dolls took the bags over to the kitchen. She gave a lazy wave in response and I chuckled, dipping into my restored workshop for food. "Right. Let's get this bread."

  I first opened and examined the purchased grain itself, eyes narrowing as I took in the species and type. Hm, wheat. Looks like it thankfully hasn't changed or mutated much over time, so I should be able to use it in the same way it had worked in FLOW. Once I dosed them with [Infuse], Kuch and Frie took one of the bags and began to grind the husks down to turn it into that staple flour of so much cuisine.

  This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

  Wheat Flour (Item Quality: 23) (Infuse Quality: 122)

  It wasn't very good quality wheat, I grumbled. Likely because they were being produced with substandard means and quality control. Whatever, I didn't have a farm yet, I couldn't complain. But my skills should be able to make up for those faults. And it was a better result than what I noticed some of the bakers doing- their [Infuse] could only boost it to the low fifties at best. And that was a rarity, most didn't even have the skill.

  Those who did were considered 'luxurious' and 'artisan.' Without a certain critical skill, of all things. I sighed when both flour and water were mixed in a bowl by Frie, who then handed it over to me to cast the skill that should alone boost the quality even further. "[Ferment]." The mix then began to rise immediately and while my magic flowed, I considered just how perhaps the true use of the skill had been lost to the ages.

  Fermentation wasn't something that civilization should have easily lost. Indeed, I did notice that they still had beer and other alcohols, which obviously meant that knew of its existence for drinks. But then it led me to further think on the actual science behind it all. In the world of my old life, the usage of molds like yeast was something that had been well-documented and studied to a near molecular level. Experts could provide an exact breakdown of why letting a food sit there and develop mold was actually not just safe, but even beneficial.

  However, because FLOW had been a fantasy world, the developers didn't bother to include all that complicated and immersion-breaking data as part of the world's natural studies. They had just handwaved the [Ferment] skill as being a cheat skill that chefs would use to accelerate known processes. That had worked for players like Mikel who were borderline aware of the science but didn't need to know the specifics other than it being a handy quality of life skill to boost quality and enable some modern foods.

  So then, suppose this world of Shin was put through a few cataclysms in which a lot was lost, including the knowledge of how to use [Ferment] in the appropriate way. The skill could still exist but, assuming there was nobody to instruct on the hows or whys of the actual usage, then it might be considered just a terrible skill then. Given how it also would cause most foods to start rotting, my theory was that a stigma had thus developed, one which led to a drastic slump in quality of life about.

  Of course, I was just guessing and speculating. But I think I had a pretty good read of it after asking around a lot. It was almost funny in an ironic way- a skill the developers had implemented for general quality of life improvements meant that losing understanding of it would lead to an even greater loss of quality in so many things like of bread, or even beer.

  Hm. I wonder if I could perhaps pen some of my knowledge and disguised them as 'ancient discoveries' to reintroduce proper usage into general society. It wasn't like I wanted to ever monopolize the knowledge at all. Even if I couldn't taste food, a true adventurer knew the satisfaction that came from eating a fresh loaf of tasty bread from a grateful child. Who knows, maybe it'll even make a lot of mercenaries less grumpier!

  Ah, the dough had sufficiently risen now. Now I took it out and began to knead, keenly aware I didn't have either eggs or salt which probably would have livened up the taste a fair bit. But I did have some berry wine-soaked spring berries that should add a delightful flavor with each morsel. So in they went and I continued to roll the sticky mix until it had firmly settled.

  Kuch had fired up the oven with some charcoal and I stuck the sectioned buns in. Now to let it bake, which would probably take a little bit. But I couldn't leave the kitchen unattended- fire safety, everybody! Hm, what else could I make with this grain flour? Noodles maybe? But plain spaghetti without any oil or sauce sounded just a little ghastly. Joan would've called it probably some sort of heresy.

  Ah, actually, while I was on the subject of fermentation, I had been thinking of beer. I could make that from wheat grains, and I had plenty of them now. Why not make a small cask of it? This time, the husks were tossed into a cauldron filled with water and [Brew] was cast to have it cleanly dissolve into. Boiling it down concentrated the flavor, and for good measure, I added some berry juice to liven up the flavor just a bit. One last cast of ferment [Ferment] would then would turn the mix from a mix of juices into actual beer.

  Tasty Beer (Final Grade: 181)

  I used [Palate] to gauge the taste and hummed. Were Ironfist here, he'd probably whine and complain of it being a very light and fruity; nothing like the heavy stuff he liked to chug down. But he'd drink it all the same, which was also telling in itself. He wasn't afraid to throw a mug of shoddy drink across the room and say so. This probably just barely earned not quite his approval, but more like tolerance.

  Well, unfortunately beer wouldn't grow better in age like the wine would. But the fact it was ready to be served already mattered a lot too. Let's save it for the celebration for if Mordred slays the spider. In the meantime, the bread was done and I pulled it out the oven with my hands.

  Tasty Berry Bread (Final Grade: 173)

  Yeesh, guess the system didn't like the fact I didn't use eggs or salt. But whatever, I wasn't serving it. I was going to serve a dragon instead and with good timing, Frie reported Mordred's nap was over. She was hungry, time to serve the first real meal made in this manor to a guest of sorts!

  "Huh- woah. That smells really good." The young woman openly drooled when I served the sliced loaf before her. "This...is bread? It's so different from what they had in Gabion!"

  "Proper skill usage matters a lot in crafting, just like how it could make the difference in battle," I told with an eager grin. I hadn't used [Palate] to sample beforehand, I wanted to see the blind reaction and surprise myself too. "Go ahead."

  Mordred didn't waste any time and took a slice from the plate, stuffing it in her mouth. When she froze, I blinked and almost panicked, thinking I made a mistake somewhere like a poisoned berry. But then, through her muffled mouth, I could hear it: a deep moan of unmistakable pleasure. Her mouth chewed once, then swallowed and she was left gasping afterwards. "Okay. What kind of magic was that!"

  "I told you, didn't I? The bakers in the city don't use [Ferment] for whatever reason, but it can make all the difference."

  "So you're telling me I could've been eating this tasty bread in the city too?!" she grumbled while inhaling another slice. "You better teach them how!"

  "I do, I'll write up some 'ancient writings' that you can take back after everything. Hey, slow down- try adding some of the smoked fish over the bread and eating it together. And enjoy it, why don't you?"

  "I am." She did eventually acquiesce to my suggestions and found it a much more filling meal given the plain delight on her face. Good, a full belly of good food could provide slight stat buffs that should make her fight against the giant spiders much smoother.

  Not that I had any doubt that she'd even struggle very much.

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