Chocolate isn’t something I can get my hands on right now, but maybe there’s another dessert I could make.

Right now, I have flour, eggs, a versatile seasoning, and milk.

I could make pancakes, but since we ate a lot of meat, something that heavy might be too much.

In restaurant courses, ice cream is often served at the end…

Oh, that’s it! How about I make some ice cream?

I checked a recipe… Found one. This seems easy enough.

• Milk: 100cc
• Egg yolks: 2
• Sugar: 30g
• Vanilla essence: a little
• Fresh cream: 100g

I don’t have any vanilla essence, but I think I can try making it with just what I have.

Hmm, but just making it in the alchemy cauldron as-is feels a bit dull.

What if I perform a little show for the guests as I serve the ice cream? That’d be cool, right?

I once had ice cream made right in front of me at a popular cafe. Maybe I could try to recreate that?

“Hey, Ermine. Is there an ice magic spell in this world? Anyone who can use it?”

I kept my voice down, worried that my question might seem suspicious if it went against this world’s norms.

“I think there’s someone in this room who can use it~.”

So, it’s a common spell, huh? That’s a relief. Then I can ask for it casually.

I also need a metal bowl, but for experimenting, a pot should do.

“Also, can the alchemy cauldron be used to make it partway?”

“It can, but it’s tricky to control. You have to stop at the right moment, or you’ll mess up, and it’ll turn pitch black.”

If you mess up with potions or baskets, it just lowers the quality. But for some reason, when it comes to cooking, failed attempts in alchemy result in a mysterious black blob.

But they say failure is the stepping stone to success. Gotta keep that adventurous spirit!

I had the shop staff prepare the milk and cream. When I mentioned making dessert, they said they’d like to watch.

“I don’t mind, but using the alchemy cauldron skips some steps, so it might not be much of a reference.”

The chef, who’s been in the room since they brought the fruit, nodded with his tall chef’s hat.

“That alone is enough. Earlier, you showed us seasonings we didn’t know. While we can’t get everything, the ingredients for what you’re making now are within our reach, so I’d like to see with my own eyes what kind of dish it’ll turn out to be. Plus, knowing the ingredients means we can try to recreate it. We’d also like to purchase the recipe if possible.”

A recipe, huh.

Same with the mayonnaise recipe, but I didn’t come up with these recipes myself…

Zeke chimed in, seeming to sense my thoughts.

“Mei. For a chef, a recipe is a valuable asset. Don’t just give it away for free.”

Really?

Wouldn’t it make people happy to get it for free?

“A high-end restaurant’s reputation depends on exclusive, hard-to-find recipes. If they only served dishes with publicly available recipes, people would think it’s just home cooking.”

Ah, I see. So it’s like a brand, then.

Hmm…

Oh! I know.

“Then, I’ll sell the recipe to Victor, the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild, and in exchange, Victor can give me some delicious meat.”

“…What?”

Victor, caught off guard, widened his usually narrow eyes.

“The recipe I give to you, you can share with whomever you like.”

“While that would be a dream deal for the Merchant’s Guild, it doesn’t seem to benefit you, Mei. At the Merchant’s Guild, we believe in mutually beneficial deals between buyer and seller. This arrangement would be unfairly disadvantageous to you.”

Victor really is a fair person.

That’s probably why he’s the Guildmaster of the Merchant’s Guild.

He’s looking out so I don’t get the short end of the stick.

“Still, this recipe isn’t mine to begin with… It’s more like a collection of recipes from the Cross-World Witch.”

I showed them the page with the recipe, but everyone looked confused.

What’s wrong?

“Mei, that book can only be read by you. For those without alchemy talent, it’s unreadable. The fact that you can read it makes you the successor to the Cross-World Witch.”

Whaaaaat?

It was like that?!