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C158: I SCREAM
I wanted everyone to have a taste of the natto I had taken the trouble to make, so I felt a little mischievous.
We give the earth spirits butter as thanks for keeping the house neat and tidy every day.
But when I substituted it with natto

They got super angry.
“Yuck! It’s so stinky!!!”
“Why do you harass us like so, Master?!”
“This is clearly a hostile act! We oppose such tyranny!!!”
“It’s part of our rights!!!”
Anddd they went on a strike.
Platy and Batemy then ganged up on me.
“How could you offer that to the spirits?! They were fuming mad!!!”
“Well, it’s because natto is a 100% product of the earth, so I thought it would make the earth spirits happy!”
But it was a complete miscalculation.
“I gave them an extra serving of butter today, but that still didn’t do the trick! Do something about this, Dear!”
“I observed that something buttery and delicious is the only thing that can make them happy! Haven’t you got the perfect idea for it, Lord Saint? Please don’t keep it to yourself and tell us!”
Hmm

So, the plan is to put the earth spirits in a good mood by serving them a new food item that would surely please them, right?
Since butter is their favorite food, it should be something with a similar shape, texture, and sweet taste children would like.
Well, I guess a dairy product is just the right thing for that.
And among them is

“
Ah-ha.”
A light bulb lit up in my head.
“We’re making ice cream.”
Ice cream, a magical food.
Ice cream, cold and melty.
Eh, I dunno really, not that I care much about it.
In my world, ice cream is trendy among people of all ages because it’s cold and sweet. It’s also semi-solid, creamy like butter, and is made from the same dairy product
 Probably.
The earth spirits upset by the natto will surely give in if I make ice cream for them!

But natto is delicious, too. Why can’t they see that?
Oh well.
Let’s get back on track and try our hand at making ice cream!
This time, I’ll be collaborating with Puffer from the mermaid team, also known as the Witch of the Bitter Cold!
“Yo.”
It’s ice cream, after all!
The environment is as important as the ingredients in making it. An environment with a temperature below zero is absolutely essential, and there is no one better than her to recreate that.
After all, she is the Witch of the Bitter Cold.
This isn’t often mentioned, but she specializes in potions that can freeze anything, and it’s what preserves our food.
The warehouse, initially built under Platy’s orders, has become something like a massive refrigerator because of the freezing potions lowering its temperature. With Puffer’s modifications perfecting cold air circulation, the temperature inside can be kept low constantly.
Now, Puffer not only controls the breweries but also our fridge.
Platy now has undivided attention in being my assistant, Lampeye often involves herself in hunting and security, and Garra Rufa, with her inherently timid personality, has practically become the chief executive of the food processing and preservation department.
“As expected of the future queen of the next mermaid king!”
“Shut! Up! 
So? Why did you call me today? If you understand the nature of my job, you should know that I’m hella busy.”
Yeah, tell me about it. Still

“Your help is indispensable this time! I want to make this, you see!”
“Mm-hm?”
I gave her an overview of the ice cream and told her that I would like the help of her skills to make it.
“I don’t like the idea of it. Besides, Prince Arowana doesn’t like sweets all that much
”
“Stop connecting every single thing to your love life!!!”
Anyway, in cooperation with Puffer, we began making ice cream.
“But why call me now when you’re just starting? From what I understood, doesn’t the freezing part come at the very last part of the process?”
“Yeah
 I don’t know the process in detail, so we’re going through trial and error again. But I think what we need first and foremost is fresh cream.”
“And do you have that ready with you? 
Hey, since fresh cream is made from milk, that means the milk comes from
”
“Don’t even complete your sentence! I’m trying not to think about it here!!!”
“Since it’s supposed to be hella sweet, I guess we’ll be adding a lot of sugar.”
“I think so too. I’ll try adding as much as I did with the cake
 Oh, ‘The Hand of Supremacy’ is activated?”
“You might as well have won this if it’s activated!!!”
“Maybe, but
 ‘The Hand of Supremacy’ guides me as I add fresh cream, eggs, and sugar
 Ah, it seems we have to mix it in while it’s being chilled. Let’s take turns, Puffer. My wrist is starting to get tired.”
“Hell no! I’ll only take over once you’re actually tired!”
“We’ll take turns after every hundred mixes, then.”
“Fine.”
“Mix, mix, mix
 Okay, one-hundred.”
“No, that was only ninety-eight.”
“What? One
 Two
 There you go, one hundred.”
“That was only ninety-six.”
“The number decreased?! If that’s how you’re going to play, fine. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten! It’s definitely more than a hundred this time!!!”
“Haven’t you pretty much finished it all by yourself from all that mixing?”
And so, we finished making ice cream.
Even though it’s my first time making it, the result is impeccable! Long live ‘The Hand of Supremacy!!!’
I immediately served it to the earth spirits to see if it would appease their anger.
At first, they puffed up their cheeks. Nevertheless, they looked keenly interested in the ice cream.
“What’s this?”
“Is it butter? But it’s a little different? It’s cold?”
“Is this another fake?! Is Master trying to trick us again? But it tastes delicious!”
“No! This isn’t butter! But it tastes great in its own way! Thank you, Master!”
“This has been nominated for our Delicious Food Award! And a strong candidate, at that!”
Thank goodness, it brightened up their mood.
The ice cream made up for the natto prank.
But natto is delicious, too

“It is what it is. A child’s palate will definitely appreciate the sweetness of ice cream more,” says Puffer while she keeps licking her ice cream.
“But it’s still delicious, even from my point of view. Should we make an exclusive room in the fridge for it?”
“Are you going to keep making them?”
Just as we were about to wrap things up in a friendly atmosphere after solving the problem, Platy showed up, having overheard the joyful cries of the spirits.
“
”
And as soon as she caught on to the situation, she took a deep breath and said, “GUYS! DEAR MADE SOMETHING TASTY AGAIN!!!”
“Why are you shouting that to everyone?!”
Still, the dam burst.
In response to Platy’s voice, most of the farm residents came rushing towards us and helped themselves to some ice cream.
“Sooooooooooooooooo good! Soooooooooooooo cold!!!”
“It’s sweet and cold! It’s the perfect treat for people like us who spend all day long in front of the hot kiln!!!”
“Lord Saint! You made this with our milk, didn’t you? This is unfair; you didn’t even tell us!!!”
Of course, it was a big hit.
And so, ice cream became a standard treat on our farm.
“
Hm.”
Naturally, Veil is also among those who gathered.
Looks like she thought of yet another baloney idea.
“I know! Since it’s cold, it’s better to eat it somewhere hot!”
“Ah-”
“I’m going to eat this in my dungeon’s Summer Area! Wahahahahaha! All of you should be envious of me for eating good food in a better place! Hahahahahaha! Catch you later, lowlifes!”
After blurting that out, Veil reverts to her dragon form and flies away with the ice cream cup in her claws.
“
”

But you see, Veil, it’s a reasonable distance from here to your mountain dungeon. It will still take a fair amount of travel time, even with your dragon wings.
If that much time passes, the ice cream will

“Master! My ice cream! My ice cream melted away!!!”
See? I told you.
I had to make ice cream again for Veil, who came home bawling.