#736 The Grand Challenge

It’s me again.

I was spooked.

We had to summon Hades due to some minor business, and he appeared to us looking all final boss-like.

For a second, I thought it was his alternate form.

I thought he had finally decided to obliterate the surface world like a true god, but it turned out the recent God Figure fiasco just influenced him.

He was peeking at it...?!

I thought looking at the Cambrian Explosion-esque various grotesque Hades figures would baffle him. 

But we didn’t offer those forms out of a desire for Hades to transform. Rather, they were the result of pursuing functionality and strategy, so we’d appreciate it if he didn’t take it too literally.

Hades can stay as Hades, you know?

Having wings might be okay, though. 

And I think it’s fine to carry that beam rifle.

Next time, maybe I’ll craft a God Figure that suits Hades’ formal mode. 

After all, the fun of figures isn’t just about battles.

***

But now, we move on to a completely different story.

I know this is out of nowhere, but Platy has her own herb garden on the farm.

She is my wife and the second-in-command, so she has a certain amount of freedom, and as a top-notch potion compounder, she needs to have a certain amount of medicine in stock.

Having a herb garden to use whenever needed sounds typical of a witch.

I heard she has more than a hundred types of herbs planted, so when I’m feeling sick—like when my body feels heavy or when I have a hangover— I ask Platy to brew some herbal medicine for me.

Whenever she gets the chance, she adds a new herb, and as the months and years go by, the garden becomes more diverse.

I wondered how much more she would add, but apparently, she had a purpose in increasing the variety.

One day, she told me about it.

“With this many types of herbs, I should have enough now...!”

“Huh? Enough for what?”

“The first step towards my ambition has finally been taken!”

When Platy starts talking about ambition, it always feels ominous.

After all, this is Platy we’re talking about.

She’s the kind of woman who might whimsically conquer the world. It was probably a stroke of luck for the world that she decided to settle down by marrying me.

But now, after having two kids with me, her grand ambition is starting to take shape?

“Right now, there are 666 types of herbs planted in my garden.”

“That many?”

There were more than I thought.

“If I utilize all of them, my long-held dream will come true. I’ve yearned for it since the day I heard the legend...!”

What could be the legend that a woman like Platy has been yearning for all this while?

The grandiosity is palpable, but is this okay? It’s not like the fate of the world is hinging on fulfilling this wish, right?

“It’s curry!”

“Huh?”

“I’m going to make curry!!!”

Is it just me, or did the conversation take an abrupt turn?

“Weren’t you talking about a legend you’ve been obsessing over for years?”

“Like I said, it’s that legendary curry!”

“Curry is legendary?!”

Shocker. Curry is legendary.

But curry had always been synonymous with everyday life. When did it become something grand enough to be a legend?

Was it since coming here?

Curry was just an everyday dish in my world, but I haven’t had it once since coming to this other world.

Why? Because I don’t know how to make it.

How to make curry:

Add curry roux.

But there’s no curry roux here.

So, logically, the first step would be to whip up some curry roux. However, without the necessary ingredients or any idea of how it’s done, I was at a dead-end. Making curry was essentially out of the question.

As a result, in this realm, curry had turned into an elusive, legendary dish that was out of reach...

“Why do you know about curry, Platy?”

One can’t know about something that doesn’t exist here.

So, how did she come to know of it?

Did Platy somehow gain access to the Akashic Records?

“What are you talking about? You were the one who taught me.”

“Me?”

“Yeah, you once told me about a delicious dish called curry from another world. But since the ingredients weren’t available here, we couldn’t make it...”

Turns out, I was the Akashic Records.

I’ve been carelessly sprinkling knowledge of another world.

“Being told we can’t eat something only makes us want it more...! So, I’ve been slowly preparing, relying on the hints I got from you...!”

“Hints?”

“Curry is made from herbs, right?”

Well, it’s more like spices.

But spices are essentially plant-derived, typically leaves or roots with a unique flavor, so she wasn’t entirely off base.

I don’t claim to know everything, even with my knowledge from another world.

Although I know curry is delicious, making it is foreign to me.

Sure, I know that curry roux is a key ingredient, but I’m stumped as for crafting that from scratch.

My knowledge pretty much ends there, except for the fact that curry is made from a blend of spices.

You know, the authentic stuff from India.

But that was just vague knowledge from books or the internet, and I vaguely remember teaching Platy out of desperation. 

She was just so persistent about it.

So Platy’s telling me she’s been dying to eat curry ever since...?!

“Don’t tell me, you’ve been growing all these herbs because of that...?”

“If I prepare a variety of herbs, surely some can be used to make curry, right? I’ll find them and create curry in this world!”

That’s some serious determination.

Who would have thought she’d go to such lengths, pouring so much effort into making curry—could this be the reason behind Platy’s reputation as the top genius in the mermaid realm?!

“I’m going to use herbs from our garden as ingredients to concoct various curry-like samples. I want you, Dear, to judge how close they are to the real thing using your knowledge!”

“A process of trial and error, huh...?”

Again, things are getting absurdly complex.

Just gathering hundreds of herb types had already taken a significant amount of time, and who knew how long it would take to find the perfect spice blend.

But Platy wasn’t one to back down.

She won’t stop pursuing until she creates this magical dish called curry.

Her unwavering determination keeps her going, fueled by the wish in her heart. Perhaps that’s what makes Platy a genius.

If there’s any way I can support her as her husband, I would be more than willing.

Very well, I’ll help her as much as she needs!

Combining my power with Platy’s dedication, we’ll recreate curry in this other world!

“Thank you! I knew you’d say that, Dear! Now, please taste my first trial dish.”

Wait, you’ve already prepared one?

The dish that the ever-prepared Platy presented to me seemed to have been tailored based on what she thought were curry’s characteristics.

It was probably made from several herbs harvested from her garden, but the dish was...

“...Blue.”

Like, ocean-blue.

Incredibly, vividly blue.

“I tried making it using 384 out of the total 666 types of herbs in our garden!”

“You used that many?!”

I doubt even authentic curry has such a diverse medley.

“Now, Dear, dig in! Let me know how far it is from real curry!”

Well, without even tasting it, I can already tell that there’s a considerable gap...!

For the time being, I spoke to Platy with a pleading look.

“Platy, before anything else, I just want to confirm...”

“What is it?”

“There’s no poison in this, right?”

Because the line between medicine and poison can be blurry, depending on how you use it.

If it contained hundreds of different types, the fear of the potential effects on my body would make me hesitant to even try it.

Platy’s long-held dream of making curry.

The road to it seems endless.