SWNOVELXO Chapter 359
In the midst of the chaotic situation, Liche desperately explained everything she had experienced to everyone, and thus managed to prevent the worst-case scenario of a battle breaking out in the middle of the Adventurer Guild.
“Alright. I roughly understand the situation. Judging by the Golem’s actions, it definitely seems friendly towards you.”
“Hoo. Finally, you understand?”
However, preventing the worst-case scenario was generally synonymous with avoiding the absolute worst.
“But even so, that Golem is dangerous. If possible, I’d recommend keeping your distance from it now.”
Kurt spoke while glaring at the Golem with a displeased expression, his eyes narrowed vertically.
For Kurt, he was only holding back because of Liche’s mediation and the fact that they were currently at the Adventurer Guild. The memory of the Golem that had attacked him and his party was still vivid, and he couldn’t bring himself to trust it.
Clank
And as if refusing to lose to Kurt, the Golem quietly lowered its stance.
The pure white Golem also had memories of allowing Kurt to invade the ruins it was supposed to protect and the humiliating defeat it had suffered at his hands, so it couldn’t view Kurt favorably either.
If the Golem had been in the form of a dog, it would probably be growling by now, showing such hostility.
“Enough!!”
Seeing the two of them looking like they were about to fight again after just calming down, Liche stepped in between them once more and spoke.
“Stop it! I understand that you’re uneasy, but it’s clear that this Golem is following me. It even saved me from danger. There’s no reason for it to swear false loyalty while saving me from danger. So, nothing as dangerous as you think will happen.”
“That Golem only follows you. That’s also a big problem. It might be tame in front of you now, but who knows what it might do the moment you’re gone. If you can’t take responsibility, you shouldn’t have picked up that Golem so carelessly.”
Kurt’s words were reasonable, aside from his personal dislike for the Golem.
From Liche’s perspective, the Golem’s obedience might make it seem not dangerous, but to others around, it was still incredibly dangerous.
Raising a wild Golem was that risky.
“W-well, I can just keep it with me at all times. And if you’re worried about it swinging its sword around, I can make a scabbard that prevents it from drawing its sword without my permission!”
But Liche couldn’t just turn her back on the Golem either.
Thus, their conversation remained at a standstill, with both of them glaring at each other, unwilling to back down.
…
The cold atmosphere persisted until their party members, unable to bear it any longer, forcibly lightened the mood by suggesting they have dinner.
Reluctantly, Liche entered the kitchen.
As soon as she stepped into the kitchen alone, she let out a tired sigh.
“Haa… Maybe he’s right after all…”
Though she had stood her ground against Kurt, deep down, she knew.
That trusting this Golem was still a reckless act.
This Golem had once tried to kill her and her companions, and at the same time, it possessed such formidable strength that she couldn’t even attempt to subdue it alone without Kurt.
Keeping such a Golem by her side like a pet was far too dangerous.
Yet, at the same time, it was hard to ignore the Golem that had saved her and Arisa’s lives in a crisis, sworn loyalty to her, and followed her so well.
If she turned her back on this Golem, it would return to the ruins, closed off as it had been before, and spend days, years, alone in silence.
Perhaps until the moment its magic ran out and it stopped moving.
Liche didn’t know much about the Golem, but when her thoughts reached that point, she couldn’t help but feel a strange connection to it, making it impossible for her to push it away.
“But is it dangerous to others? Did I make a mistake by accepting it? Maybe dangerous beings should stay alone, away from others’ eyes…”
However, no one answered Liche’s questions as she entered the kitchen, and she began cooking with a heavy heart.
…
Despite everything, people still need to eat, whether it’s a happy day or a sad one.
She quickly began preparing the meal with familiar movements.
The dish she was making could be called Ratatouille in Kurt’s past life terms.
Ratatouille is a home-cooked dish from southern France, made with a tomato sauce base and various vegetables, without any meat.
Her party member Arisa had improved a lot, but she still preferred vegetables over meat, so Liche often made vegetable dishes like this.
The ingredients to prepare were eggplant, zucchini, onion, tomato, garlic, and tomato sauce.
Along with a bit of butter, salt, and herbs to adjust the flavor and aroma.
First, the basic preparation of the vegetables.
After washing all the ingredients for the Ratatouille, she started by slicing the eggplant and zucchini.
There are two main ways to cut the vegetables.
First, the parts to be used for decorating the surface of the dish.
She sliced the eggplant and zucchini very thinly.
After slicing the zucchini and eggplant as needed, she diced the remaining eggplant and zucchini into bite-sized pieces.
Next, she diced the tomato and julienned the onion.
Even though they’re all vegetables, each ingredient has a different role in the dish, requiring different shapes and sizes.
“Ah…! The onion juice got in my eyes…! Ugh… Why did I make such a mistake…”
While cutting the vegetables, she accidentally got onion juice in her eyes due to lack of focus.
Her mood, already not great, sank even further with this mistake.
At that moment.
Clank
“W-why did you suddenly take the kitchen knife…?”
Swish
“Y-you’re not going to… use that knife to…?”
The Golem naturally took the knife from her hand.
The reason the Golem was in the kitchen was to keep its promise of never leaving her side, so it had followed her into the kitchen.
Just as she was about to panic, thinking the Golem might stab her with the knife.
Chop chop chop chop
The Golem began skillfully preparing the remaining vegetables with the knife it had taken from her.
It even cut them exactly the same way she had been doing.
“Are you… helping me?”
Nod
“…”
Chop chop chop chop
The Golem silently julienned the onion in front of Liche.
“…Understood. Then I’ll leave the vegetable preparation to you. Once you’re done with the onion, mince the garlic. Can you do that?”
Nod
After watching the Golem for a moment, Liche delegated the vegetable preparation to it and moved on to the next step.
She melted butter in a heated pan, then added the diced vegetables and sautéed them.
While sautéing, she seasoned with salt and herbs, and once the vegetables were cooked, she added the tomato and tomato sauce.
Adding the tomato and tomato sauce from the start would steam the vegetables instead of sautéing them in butter, so it was important to follow the order.
Once the vegetables were simmered to a stew-like consistency, the basic Ratatouille was complete.
The vegetables sautéed in butter, infused with the aroma of tomato sauce, would make a great meal on their own.
But Liche took it a step further to enhance the flavor and presentation.
The Ratatouille, often seen in media, with vegetables beautifully layered on the surface of the pot.
Confit Byaldi, to be precise.
The vegetables she had prepared earlier but hadn’t used yet.
The sliced eggplant and zucchini were for this purpose.
She layered the sliced zucchini and eggplant like a mille-feuille, alternating them.
“Ah. Are you helping?”
Nod
“Then can you arrange the layered vegetables in a circle on the pot?”
Nod
She repeated the layering and arranged the vegetables in a circle on the pot.
Once the pot was fully decorated with vegetables, she placed it in the oven to bake.
“Ugh…! It’s quite heavy.”
Swish
“Ah. Thank you.”
With the Golem’s help, Liche moved the pot full of Ratatouille into the oven.
Now, all that was left was to wait for the vegetables to cook in the oven.
“Hoo. Thanks to you, cooking was easier today.”
Clank
At that moment, the Golem made a gesture, as if asking if she was okay.
“Suddenly, what…?”
Confused by the Golem’s sudden concern, Liche looked at it.
Then, a thought suddenly crossed her mind.
“Ah! Is it because I seemed down earlier…?”
Nod
The Golem nodded in affirmation, and at the same time, Liche realized that her previously gloomy mood had lifted.
“Really… worrying about me when you should be worrying about yourself…”
Clank?
The Golem, unaware that her earlier gloom was due to contemplating sending it back to the ruins, kept checking her expression.
“Thank you.”
Seeing this, Liche felt a complex emotion welling up, and in that overwhelming feeling, she thought.
She would never abandon this Golem.
…
And in the meantime, the Ratatouille was completed.