Chapter 65
The huge pile of seeds before me.
I brought back a huge amount without knowing what would happen.
If this fails... that'll hurt~.
Well, it's important to try things, I suppose.
Oil... How is oil made, anyway?
Hmm, maybe I'll try squeezing them.
To squeeze them, I need to crush the seeds finely.
Well, let's give it a try.
First, I wash them thoroughly and remove the dirt.
Crush the seeds finely... finely... They're hard!
Magic!
Pulverized in an instant. Done.
How to squeeze them... I'll wrap the crushed seeds in cloth and try squeezing them.
The cloth became damp somehow, but... that's all.
Hmm, maybe I'm not squeezing hard enough.
I process some gold ore.
I make a table with a round hole and a tube that fits the hole, then place a piece of it fashioned into a mesh over the table's hole.
I place the tube over the table's hole and use magic to attach the mesh as well, completing the base of a makeshift press.
I put the cloth-wrapped seeds into the tube, then push in a piece of silver ore processed to fit the size of the hole.
Then I slowly apply pressure with magic.
The liquid from the seeds starts collecting little by little in a bowl prepared under the table.
Since I'm using magic, it isn't difficult, but the mesh breaks partway through.
Maybe I applied too much pressure?
Well, the press broke, but I managed to squeeze out a fair amount.
It's pale pink.
It's a somewhat unfamiliar color.
It has a faintly sweet smell; no problem.
Next, I taste it... Oh, it's oily.
It's thinner than the oil I'm familiar with, but similar.
Is it safe?
Now, how do I make sure?
I want a frying pan soon~.
I heat a rock and use it to heat the oily substance.
I let it cool a little, then taste it.
There doesn't seem to be any change in the taste, so it's fine.
I heat the oily substance to a high temperature.
There might be types of oil that catch fire easily even at low temperatures.
...Looks like it's fine.
It probably won't suddenly burst into flames while I'm cooking.
Since Shion comes over beside me, I ask whether it's edible.
Shion freezes... Maybe Shion doesn't know?
For now, the oil is a success... I'll improve the press and turn all the seeds I've harvested into oil.
I break five presses before calling it a day.
I manage to squeeze out quite a lot.
The press still has plenty of room for improvement.
I try deep-frying an eggplant-like fruit.
I pour fish sauce over it... Mmm, delicious.
I was worried about the sweet smell, but it's fine.
Chai and the others seem to like the deep-fried pumpkin-like vegetables.
Big Boss-san is wrestling with a freshly fried eggplant-like vegetable.
It's hot, after all.
If I leave the oil sitting for a day, it separates into two layers.
When I taste the top layer, it tastes oilier.
I skim off just the top layer and put it in another container.
I realize yesterday's batch was still only halfway done.
...
I examine the luggage I had with me when I was transported to this world.
As I look through the small items in my bag, I find it!
What I'd been looking for was a magnet.
Once I had oil, I couldn't help wanting an iron frying pan.
While thinking of various ways to get one, I remembered.
Iron is contained in iron ore, and a magnet sticks to iron ore.
Starting tomorrow, I'll try sticking the magnet to every rock and stone I find.
There has to be some... surely.