Right after leaving the docks, we spent some time wandering through the home appliance section of the commercial district.
However, no matter how many shops we checked, I couldn't find a single mixer or food processor—the kind of "cooking appliances" I was actually looking for. All they had were synthetic food servers and heaters for retort pouches.
"Nothing, huh?"
"That is correct. I have cross-referenced the colony's distribution data, and the availability of 'food processing equipment' for individual consumers is non-existent."
Lucia announced the cold, hard facts.
In this era, when people thought of a meal, the Tasty Cube—a general-purpose synthetic food—was the undisputed mainstream choice. Even the rare retort or frozen foods in circulation were packaged to be edible with nothing more than a quick reheat.
"There is a demand for 'heating appliances' such as ovens and microwaves... no, that is not entirely accurate. Even the steam convection oven that Master owns is considered a Rare Asset that cannot be obtained in this colony. The only items available here are single-function heaters designed solely to warm up retort pouches."
It seemed that being able to buy an oven back at Freeport had been a stroke of incredible luck, possible only because that place was a frontier and one of the galaxy's premier trading hubs. In a typical colony, efficiency-oriented designs were the norm; as long as the device could heat something up, it was considered sufficient.
"Since even the act of grilling ingredients is considered a high hurdle, processes like crushing or processing food are deemed unnecessary for the general household. Solids are chewed as they are, and anything soft is supplied as a paste from the very beginning."
"It’s a bleak world we live in..."
Just as my shoulders began to slump in disappointment, Mina gave my sleeve a firm tug.
"Mhn. It's too early to give up."
"I'll build the strongest one for you," she declared, pointing decisively across the street.
At the end of her finger stood a dim junk shop where spaceship scrap and industrial machinery parts were piled in haphazard mounds. Scorched thrusters and massive metal slabs that looked like discarded armor plating were stacked like mountains at the storefront.
Mina took my hand and led me toward the shop with unhesitating steps.
As soon as we stepped inside, the sharp scent of burnt insulation and metal stung my nostrils. The interior was a labyrinth of towering piles of electronic components and drive units. Pale blue light from the ceiling panels flickered over the cluttered shelves.
To me, it looked like nothing more than a heap of industrial waste, but to Mina, it was clearly a treasure trove. Her round rat ears twitched like radar dishes, and her eyes busily scanned the shelves.
"Found it! Akito, look at this! It's a Variable Magnetic Bearing Motor from a large-scale cooling pump!"
Mina pulled a heavy-looking, grease-stained part from a shelf and shouted, her eyes sparkling. Her face glowed with the same intensity I usually reserved for finding the highest grade of marbled beef.
"The precision on this is on a completely different level compared to modern consumer products. If I rewrite the control chip, I can control the rotation speed with extreme precision, from low all the way to ultra-high!"
"O-Oh. That sounds impressive."
To my eyes, it was just a heavy lump of iron, but her engineer’s soul had clearly been set ablaze. She pushed deeper into the shop and unearthed a plate-like material that gave off a dull, metallic luster.
"And over here is a scrap piece of Titanium-Ceramic Composite Material! Incredible... if I machine this, I can make a blade that'll crush hard ore like it’s tofu."
"Wait, Mina. What exactly are you planning to build with those? A mining drill or something?"
"Eh? No. I'm making the blades for your food processor! We talked about this, didn't we?" Mina said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
A food processor? Out of an industrial motor and composite armor plating?
"I mean, we don't know what kind of ingredients you're going to find next, right, Akito?"
She stroked the "materials" affectionately, a serious look entering her eyes.
"If we have to process a creature with a really hard shell or thick bones, it would be a disaster if the machine broke because it lacked power."
"Well... I guess you have a point. There's no telling what we'll run into on an unknown planet."
"That's why I'm going to assemble the strongest one for you. With this, it won't lose to any ingredient, no matter how mysterious it is."
She was certainly dependable. It seemed she had been thinking about my cooking and our future travels in her own way. A food processor capable of crushing rocks... well, considering we truly didn't know what might qualify as an "ingredient" on the frontier, having performance that bordered on overkill was probably for the best.
"I talked to the old man who owns the place. Since it's all technically junk... he said he'd give me the motor and the blades as a set for about 10,000 credits."
10,000 credits...
It wasn't exactly pocket change, but considering she was going to build a "ultimate processor" from scratch that didn't even exist on the market, it was actually quite a bargain. If I remembered correctly, high-end commercial mixers usually cost several times that much.
"Alright, buy them. I'll leave the negotiating to you."
"Got it! Leave it to me, Captain!"
Mina headed toward the counter with a spring in her step, where a stubborn-looking shopkeeper was currently dozing off.
After loading the parts for Mina’s "cooking appliance" onto a delivery drone, we left the shop behind.
"Now then, I guess it’s Emulgand’s turn next."
"Y-Yes! I look forward to your help, Akito-san."
Emulgand gave a small, polite nod. Her shopping list was just as important for the crew as Mina's.
Together, we headed toward the area located deep within the commercial district.