64. The Secret Art of Soy Sauce Making

“Oh, where are my manners? I am Luranna. May I ask your names?”

“Eh? Oh, yes. I’m Tort!”

“I’m Halfa!”

“Wafu!”

“Oh, fufu...”

“And this little one is Shiroru,” I added.

We were speaking in a proper private room, a far cry from the open lounge area where we’d started. We had been whisked away in the blink of an eye by Ms. Luranna, who had shown an extraordinary interest in my soy sauce. Of course, it was with our consent, but I couldn't help feeling like I’d been sweet-talked into the move before I even realized what was happening.

“Master Tort, Miss Halfa. I have taken note of the registration for your mobile stall. I will handle the paperwork personally, so it will be ready for use by tomorrow. As for the usage fee, we have a request of our own to discuss, so we'll waive the fee for now.”

It seemed I had achieved my primary goal. Furthermore, the stall was now free of charge. They say nothing is more expensive than something offered for free, but since I had a general idea of what she was after, I wasn't particularly on guard.

“And so, regarding our request... would you be willing to sell the manufacturing process for this soy sauce to the guild?”

Luranna’s demand was exactly what I had expected. For my part, I didn’t mind teaching the method at all. However, if the Merchant Guild intended to monopolize the recipe, that would be a problem. My goal was to see soy sauce spread as far and wide as possible.

If it became common, research into how to produce and use it would naturally progress. My own culinary knowledge was limited, so I figured it would be better to let the collective ingenuity of the world develop it further.

After a bit of back-and-forth based on those priorities, we reached an agreement.

First, I would teach the manufacturing method to the Merchant Guild and leave its management entirely in their hands. The guild would then recruit interested members, select specific merchants to handle production, and teach them the secret. In exchange for the right to produce and sell the sauce, those merchants would pay a portion of their profits to both the Merchant Guild and me.

Naturally, this rule only applied to merchants who learned the method through the guild. It wouldn't apply to the Wingfolk who originally made their own version, nor would it apply to any merchant who managed to learn it directly from them. It would be easy to tell the methods apart anyway; my process was fundamentally different from the traditional one, as I used Decomposition magic to skip the long wait times.

The real question was whether anyone other than me could successfully ferment the ingredients using Decomposition. Since magic is largely a matter of mental imagery, I figured that if I gave them a live demonstration, they might be able to grasp it.

“R-Really... can soy sauce truly be created with—of all things—rot magic?”

When I reached that part of the explanation, Luranna visibly recoiled. I suppose without a prior concept of fermentation, the idea was hard to swallow.

“Shall we try making a batch?”

The best way to overturn her common sense was to show her the results. I pulled the unfermented raw materials from my Storage Ring—a mixture of beans, salt, and wheat. While I hoped people would eventually experiment with the ratios to create even better varieties, I taught her my specific measurements as the baseline.

“Now, I use Decomposition on this mixture, but the mental image is the most important part. You must discard the image of 'rotting' as much as possible. Instead, focus on the image of delicious soy sauce being born.”

Next, I produced a finished bottle of soy sauce from the ring and gave her a small taste. It’s impossible to form the right mental image if you don't know the destination, after all. While I was at it, I also had her sample one of the Sweet and Spicy Meat Skewers I planned to sell.

“This is soy sauce... it has such a unique umami. A flavor unlike anything I’ve ever encountered. With this, I’m certain it will be a sensation!”

Luranna’s excitement, which had dipped the moment she heard the words "rot magic," came surging back. Giving her a sample had been the right move. Now, as long as I performed the magic, she would be convinced.

“Here I go. Decomposition.”

I channeled the spell into the ingredients. Having done this many times now, I could produce a consistent batch of soy sauce with ease. The flavor was exactly where I wanted it, though Halfa mentioned it tasted slightly different from the soy sauce made in her forest home.

“Once you squeeze the liquid from this mass, you have your soy sauce.”

“Incredible. It really is the same as the sample from before!”

Luranna seemed to have lost all her aversion to the spell. She reached out to taste the fresh batch immediately, but I stopped her. We usually used Clean to sterilize everything, but since it's hard to visualize sterilization without knowing about bacteria, I decided I should recommend heat processing to the guild later.

“Thank you, Master Tort. I believe I’ve grasped the manufacturing process. However, there is a slight problem... Setting aside the rarity of Dark Magic in general, we don't currently have anyone in the guild who can use Decomposition. Would it be possible for you to instruct a candidate at a later date?”

“Oh, right. I suppose that's true. I understand.”

I’d forgotten. Decomposition was a deeply unpopular spell. It made sense that they wouldn't have a practitioner on hand. Producing soy sauce via magic might be a higher hurdle than I’d anticipated. That said, once someone could use it, the process was infinitely easier than the traditional method.

Luranna remained enthusiastic, perhaps even more so now. She noted that a certain level of difficulty was actually a good thing; it would make the process harder to reverse-engineer or steal, protecting the guild's investment from unlicensed imitators. I hadn't thought of it that way, but I suppose that’s a merchant’s logic for you.

“In any case, soy sauce is a magnificent seasoning. That sweet and spicy glaze was truly wonderful. With a flavor like that, you might even secure a high ranking if you enter the cooking contest.”

Luranna seemed to have taken a real shine to the glaze. As she praised the flavor, she brought up the topic of the contest. Apparently, a grand festival was due to take place in the Royal Capital soon. It featured various competitions, including cooking and blacksmithing, to determine the finest craftsmen. She mentioned that the prizes were substantial enough to draw a massive crowd of participants.

“Hey, Tort! We should try it!”

Halfa was practically beaming with excitement. She was right; entering the contest with soy-sauce-based dishes would be an excellent way to get the attention of any Wingfolk in the city. I didn't know if we could actually win, but it was certainly worth a shot.

“Fufu, the guild would certainly welcome your entry. The grand prize for the winner is Red Dragon Meat, so please, do your best.”

“Dragon meat!?” I exclaimed.

Dragons were the pinnacle of powerful monsters. While their strength varied by species, the strongest among them were said to be beyond human reckoning. I had heard that high-rank adventurers could hunt the lesser breeds, but even then, it was an exceptionally rare occurrence. Their parts almost never made it to the open market.

Beyond the rarity, dragon meat was legendary for its flavor. It was a delicacy that commoners could never hope to touch. It showed just how much weight the Merchant Guild was putting behind this festival.

However, I wasn't shocked by the extravagance of the prize itself. I was shocked because the final materials Lowell needed for Spira's medicine were dragon meat and scales! What are the odds of such a coincidence?

“Um... are there any dragon scales available as well?”

“The scales are the top prize for the blacksmithing division,” Luranna replied.

They actually had them...

I suddenly had a very pressing reason to win that cooking contest. While I couldn't do much about the blacksmithing side of things, if I could identify the winner, I might be able to negotiate for the scales. Spira’s medicine was suddenly feeling much more attainable than I had ever dared to hope.