Kays Translations

Chapter 61 Plum Job – Part 1: What You Need for Making Plum Wine

The plum fruits on the Hanakami tree are ripe and hanging in abundance.

There are a lot of them, so I want to do something about this.

Is it okay to eat the fruits of a sacred tree?  

I have doubts about this, but it would be a shame to let it go to waste.

If it’s for personal consumption, it’s probably fine.

I asked Kirara tentatively,  

“Is it okay to eat these?”  

And she replied,  

“Of course, it is!”  

So, it seems it’s alright to eat them.

For now, I want to harvest the green plums and turn them into plum wine and plum juice. I really want to do that.  

I absolutely love plum juice.  

After steeping, I also want to make plum jam from the leftover fruits.

I’d like to leave them until they are fully ripe and then use to make pickled plums also. 

I’ve bought red shiso seeds before.

Plum juice made from fully ripe plums tends to be cloudy, but it’s still sweet and delicious, and so is the jam.

As for harvesting the plums, I wonder if I should pick the green ones while they are still on the tree.  

I’ve always received them when the season came around, so I’ve never picked them myself.

While thinking that, Kirara asked,  

“How many do you need?”

For now,  

“Probably about a basket-full.”  

Kirara gracefully waved her arm, and a basket full of beautiful green plums was harvested.

“Amazing!”  

That’s incredibly helpful. It’s like magic! Well, I guess it is magic.

“I’m amazing! I’ll pick even more!”  

She said that, but I think this is enough for today.

I thoroughly washed some seemingly unused earthenware jars lying around the shed with dish soap that also disinfects, then lightly and evenly poured a generous amount of rubbing alcohol over them using one-thousand-yen repeat.

For now, one jar for plum wine, and one for plum juice- a total of two jars.

I’ll have to go and check out the containers at Gordon’s next time.  

I’d also like to look for sugar and some white liquor. I think I can find sugar at the Alchemy Guild, but where can I find alcohol? Maybe a bar? The ones with a high alcohol content might also be available at the Alchemy Guild.

Mimi and Kirara helped me remove the stems of the plums.

When delicate manual work is needed, Mimi also transforms into a human form to help. 

“Mimi, Kirara, here—stick a bamboo skewer between this groove and the stem and give it a little twist.”

“Like this?”  

Exactly, good job. Using the lever principle. If it doesn’t work the first time, try again from the other side. Be gentle so as not to damage the fruit.

“Got it!”  

The stem came off perfectly. Well done.

With the three of us holding skewers and poking around, it was done in no time.  

Whether or not you remove the stem is really up to you. I prefer to remove them.

I washed them thoroughly with water and wiped them dry. I checked to make sure there were no scratches, but the ones Kirara picked were beautiful green plums, with no bruises or insect damage.

But here’s the problem: white liquor is expensive.  

I want about 1.8 liters, but even at the cheapest, it was 927 yen for that amount, and this was probably during a sale.  

I also want sugar, but I’ll be over my 1,000-yen budget for repeat purchases…

In recent years, 1 kg of rock sugar costs over 400 yen, so anything in the 300-yen range is considerably cheap. 

However, I found a purchase history from a while ago with an unusually low price—

149 yen per kg of rock sugar.

I think I remember finding a stock of it at a home improvement store’s clearance sale, and I bought as much as I could.  

Since their store shows tax-inclusive prices, that was the actual price. Why is that? Rock sugar doesn’t even have an expiration date.

Come to think of it, I once found some at a home center’s wagon sale, got so surprised I just bought up the entire stock.

I wondered. I think they only stock it for plum-making season and kept it lined up alongside glass jars and white liquor. Maybe once the season ends, it becomes unnecessary and is stored away.

I checked casually afterward, but that was the only time It was ever that cheap.

I definitely want to make plum wine.  

I really, really want to.  

I’ve already removed the stems, so I want to start today.

No choice then but to go shopping.

Mimi and Kirara said they would come along as luggage carriers.  

I don’t plan to buy that much, but I think I might harvest over 10 kg of plums in total. Probably not 30 kg, but still a lot.  Considering the amount of sugar, alcohol and containers needed for the same amount of plums…

How should we handle the check when entering the town?  

Just as I was thinking that, Kirara cast a recognition-blocking spell on herself and Mimi, and we passed easily.

Is this really okay, the security in this town?

Well, I’m relieved.  

It’s probably a special skill of the Sacred Tree.

Elves’ villages are usually hidden within the Bewitching Forest, after all.

First, I went to the Alchemy Guild to ask.  They sell sugar, but it’s quite expensive—still affordable, but not cheap. They showed me some and it was a little brown. It leaves a tint.  Well, there’s also brown sugar plum wine, so it’s not a problem.

They had various types of alcohols, each with different alcohol contents.  Apparently, they’re used as base material in alchemy, they were distilled repeatedly to eliminate any harshness.

When I asked for something around 35 to 40 degrees, they brought me something in a ceramic container about the size of a one-liter bottle.

Since I was asking, I also inquired if they had any containers.  And they did have glass ones, but they were pricey.

For everyday use, ceramic containers seem to be the norm.  

What was interesting was the lid that came with the container they showed me, which looks like soft silicone and fits snugly—like a cap.  

“What about this lid?” When I asked about it,  

“It’s made from a slime’s gelatinous substance, processed to be airtight, and it can be reused after washing,” they said.  

Wow, slime-san is doing a lot of work.

Cheap lids are made of waxed cloth, but apparently, slime lids are more popular despite being pricier.  

Yeah, I want a slime lid too!

Hmm, I’m having trouble deciding what to buy and how much. It’s been so hard to decide. For now, I think I’ll buy enough to pickle the plums I picked today. While I’m thinking about it, Mimi and Kirara are quietly touring the Alchemy Guild. They seem to be having fun looking at the rows of tools—scales, alchemy furnaces, as well as all sorts of little things that look like potions and ointments.

The staff told me that non-guild members must present proof of identity and a signature when making purchases at the Alchemy Guild.  

Even members of the Guild must show ID and keep a record of what they buy. Apparently there are discounts for members.

I showed my Adventurer’s Guild card and wrote my name in the ledger they provided.  

The staff then said,  

“Saki-san, is that you? By any chance, did you recently receive a delivery request for Yogimogisasimo Artemisia Mochigusa?”

Ah, that was the name of that mugwort…  

I nodded, thinking that’s what I remembered.

“Please wait a moment,”  

the staff said, and went to the back.  

After a while, someone came out wearing something that made them look a bit like a wizard, or maybe just something really nice. A robe? A cloak? I don’t know how to describe it, but they were wearing a stylish, long-tailed coat!

They looked impressive, but not intimidating, with a kind, gentle face. Oh, and bedhead.

“I am Hakase, the vice guild leader. Saki-san, thank you for the great Yogimogi Sashimo last time. It’s been very helpful,”  

Most likely, this is the person who sent me something that looked like a nomination request, even though it wasn’t a nomination request.

Previous chapter | TOC | Next chapter