Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 317: The Road to the Takoyaki Party
Rest, having decided to host a takopa (takoyaki party), immediately began gathering ingredients.
Fortunately, he knew how to make takoyaki — he had made it in his previous life.
Of course, Rest wasn’t blessed with a warm family that held takoyaki parties at home. His only experience was making and selling it during a school festival.
“The ingredients are octopus, flour, dashi stock, and… well, no way I’m getting red pickled ginger here.”
He gathered whatever ingredients he could and stood in front of the griddle, psyching himself up with a firm “Alright!”
Even if he had the octopus and other ingredients, there was one absolutely essential thing needed to make takoyaki:
A takoyaki pan — a griddle with round indentations.
This wasn’t something he could easily obtain. While the technical challenge wasn’t too high, even a skilled blacksmith would need a few days to make one.
(But… I want to have a takoyaki party now. I want to eat takoyaki right away!)
Yakisoba, okonomiyaki, and takoyaki — why is it that these sauce-covered flour-based dishes are so irresistible?
Once he started craving them, there was no stopping it.
“First, get a large griddle. Then… reshape it to create the indentations for the takoyaki.”
He had gotten the griddle from the royal dowager. She apparently used it by the seaside to grill seafood.
While shaking his head at the late Shoko Sanada’s luxurious lifestyle, Rest stood before the griddle and gathered his magic.
Then, he cast a fire spell in his usual way.
“【Fireball】!”
He produced a ball of fire, then used the spell 【Compression】 to shrink it down to the size of a takoyaki.
“Alright, let’s heat this up…”
He brought the fireball close to the griddle.
The griddle began to heat up… but as expected, heat alone wasn’t enough to reshape it.
“Metal changes shape when heated. The problem is the temperature…”
Rest had no experience in metalworking.
He had no idea what temperature was ideal for reshaping the griddle.
Which meant he had no choice but to experiment. He gradually increased the heat of the fireball.
“Oh? The color changed.”
As the temperature rose, the griddle turned white-hot.
He didn’t panic and raise the temperature too quickly. Overheating it would cause it to melt. He stayed cautious and slow.
“It’s hot… Glad I’m near the ocean.”
Luckily, the sea breeze kept him from getting heatstroke, even though it also threatened to cool the griddle.
“This is looking good now. The problem comes next…”
He thought the griddle would naturally take on a takoyaki shape once it was heated properly — but things didn’t go so smoothly.
Even though the metal softened, it didn’t form the right shape on its own.
“It’s fine… I expected this. I just need to hammer it now while it’s soft.”
If he applied strong force while the metal was soft, he should be able to reshape it.
Of course, he wouldn’t hit it with his bare hands — he used wind magic.
“【Wind Control】”
He struck the griddle with compressed wind. As expected, the shape changed.
But… not into a takoyaki mold. It just bent awkwardly.
“Whoa… this is harder than I thought. Let’s try narrowing the wind range… huh?”
He tried again, but still couldn’t make the indentations he needed.
“Maybe if I hit it from the other side—whoa! It’s deformed!”
He had expected it to be easy, but the griddle refused to take shape. Rest struggled, sweating and flustered.
He kept repeating the cycle of heating and striking until sunset — and finally managed to shape the griddle successfully.
What he learned from today’s experience was simple:
Craftsmen are amazing.
He had a newfound respect for blacksmiths, who could shape metal freely. Truly, they were remarkable people.