CH 12

I am the strongest [Saint] in the Silver Class, also known as the Flour [Saint].

However, even the Flour [Saint] has weaknesses. I can’t start a fire alone.

Sacred 2: Fallen Angel - Character ...

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen a normal kitchen. . .”

I muttered with my arms on my hips in front of the village chief’s kitchen.

Recently, I had been using Lala-san’s very convenient magic kitchen, so this type of kitchen was like in the monastery before I joined the party.

The village chief and other onlookers watched me from a non-interfering distance. I turned to the village chief.

“You use magic to start the fire here, right?”

“Yes. But since there are only commoners in this village, we just use magic to ignite it. You can use the well water as you like since it’s abundant.”

“I see. So, we need firewood. . .”

I put my hand on my mouth and thought.

I want to feed the villagers my homemade dishes as soon as possible.

To activate my saint ability more strongly, I need dishes that can be thoroughly kneaded. 

And to show that they can be made with almost zero ingredients cost, it would be best if they can be made with just the minimum amount of flour and seasonings.

Okonomiyaki is easy to make as long as you have the ingredients.

Even without using cabbage, it’s delicious enough to just roll thinly cooked flour into a ball.

However, it’s not very time-efficient to cook them one by one in a frying pan.

On the other hand, most dishes that can fill you up with just flour require a certain level of heat. 

If I make bread, pancakes, or pizza without a magic kitchen, it will consume the village’s valuable firewood and magic. It’s unreasonable to ask for more when I’m just borrowing the kitchen.”

――Anyway, first I have to offer a prayer to the earth.

I took off the scarf on my head and knelt in front of the stove, clasping my fingers together and bowing my head. Then I chanted a small prayer to the god of the earth.

“It’s so saint-like. . .”

“She really is a saint. . .”

I heard impressed voices from behind. I ignored them and asked the earth in my heart.

Earth, please tell me. What should I make. . .?

At the moment my mind went blank, suddenly words bubbled up from within me.

[In my village, we served something with soft and chewy noodles. Many people who crossed the steep mountain pass were tired, so we served noodles that would soothe their tired bodies. . .]

“Udon!!!!!!!!!”

“Eek.”

The onlookers flinched at my scream. Some of them were surprised and fell over.

Thank you, Earth. I clenched my fist.

It was made mostly of wheat flour, could be eaten quickly, could be made all at once, and was easy to incorporate my saintly ability.

“What’s udon?”

One of the women in the crowd asked me. I turned around and answered.

“My friend, Synovidos, taught me. When I told him I was a wheat flour saint, he said there was a good recipe in his hometown. . .” 

When I think of Synovidos, I feel a little lonely, but I’ll indulge in sentimentality later. Right now, I’m a saint of floured goods!

I rolled up my sleeves and tightened the scarf on my head.

I felt motivated.

“Can I use this table? I’m going to make noodles!”

“Noodles. . .?!”

I focused on the halo and held my palms over the bowl. The halo shone softly, and flour like snowflakes fell from my palms.

“Wow. . .”

The people around me were amazed at my flour. I could freely change the stickiness and quality of the flour. Even without sifting, if I moved my hands slightly, the flour would naturally fall in small grains. It was the result of years of trial and error.

One person in the crowd spoke to me.

“Saint-sama, would you like me to fetch some well water?”

“Thank you, that would be helpful.”

Thanks to their help, plenty of well water was prepared while I was making the flour. I took a sip of water to check. It was a mild soft water. This would work, I could make delicious sweet udon.

I took out natural salt from my magic bag.

“I’ll use this coarse salt. It’s made by boiling seawater from the Torch Inner Sea coast.”

I made a saltwater solution with well water and salt, and mixed it with the flour several times. The amount of water to mix with the flour varies depending on the season and humidity, but since I was making it near the Demon King’s Castle where I always make it, I knew exactly how much water to add to get the right hardness. 

Knead the dough while crumbling it little by little so that it mixes evenly with the water, and let it rest for a while until it becomes a lump.

Then, while letting the dough rest, draw plenty of well water from the well and make soup with dried fish.

By the time the aroma began to waft, the place gradually became restless and hungry.

“Well, it’s about time to knead the dough.”

I turned my attention to the dough that had been wrapped in a magic cooking cloth.

Usually, I would step on the dough with my feet while it was wrapped in the magic cooking cloth, but. . .

“It’s a bit resistant to eat something that was stepped on by feet, even if it’s wrapped in a magic cooking cloth, especially since it’s the first time they’re trying it. . .”

I had no choice but to knead it by hand. With my thin arms as a saint, I had to knead it by hand.

I made a muscle and put my spirit into it, and started kneading the dough.

Knead. . .knead. . .

“Even though her arms are so thin, she’s so strong. . .”

“What are you talking about? Those are clearly the arms of someone who’s used to cooking. Look at those muscles.”

Knead. . .knead. . .

As I closed my eyes and became absent-minded, the voices of the place became distant.

In my mind, I could only think of Kasdar’s insults and that face.

[Ha? is it already done? I’m not in the mood for it today, so just throw it away. Alright? We can waste as much flour as we want anyway.]

Knead. . .knead. . .knead. . .knead. . .

[Don’t go out with that crying face. It was your fault that you got hit, but if you keep crying, I’ll be the bad guy. If you’re really sorry, stop crying already, you piece of shit.]

[You’ve been eating wheat flour all this time, but your breasts haven’t grown at all? Don’t you feel sorry for your fiancé?]

Tashh. . .Tashh. . .Dashh. . .Dashh. . .

[I only got engaged to you to drag you out as a saint. . .huh? ‘Take responsibility’? Who knows, idiot. Once we’ve made some progress in defeating the Demon King, you’ll be kicked out. That’s what a white marriage is, hahaha. Whether it’s white or not is up to self-declaration.]

Bash!!!! Bash!!!! Bash!!!!!

[I’m breaking off the engagement because you’re lame. Get off the carriage quickly.]

Bashibashibashibashibashibashibashibashibashibashibashibashi!!!! Bashibashibashibashibashi!

“Mama! I’m scared!!”

“Saint-sama. . .you’re so powerful. . .!”

“That’s a lie, she’s just a girl, right?! That power to knead that dough, she’s not ordinary. . .!”

“Saint-sama, with that intense expression while kneading. . .we can eat your serious noodles. . .!!!”

As the texture of the dough changed, I came back to my senses.

Before I knew it, the people around me were all staring at me in amazement. Some were even crying.

“Saint-sama!! Is there anything else we can help you with?!” 

“Ah, um. . .yes, when boiling noodles, it would be helpful to have someone to help drain them.”

After that, we worked together to prepare the udon and successfully served it to all the villagers. 

The place, who had been like onlookers, all came into the house one after another, lured by the smell, including dogs and cats.

The village chief’s house had become a full-fledged soup kitchen.

Everyone brought their own bowls and ate the udon that I continued to boil.

“It’s delicious and warming.”

“If you chop the noodles, they become soft and fluffy, so even grandmothers with missing teeth can eat them. It’s helpful.”

“Saints-san, can I have seconds?”

“Saints-san, I brought more water!”

The village chief, who had a confused expression like a fox caught in a trap while eating my noodles, had emptied the soup and was staring at his knee with his one eye wide open.

“My leg. . .the pain in my leg has stopped. . .”

I smiled at the village chief while wiping my sweat in the kitchen.

Well, that’s because I’m a silver-class flour saint. If everyone eats my udon, they’ll be full of energy.