The timeline is probably after the assembly is over.
The perspective is from Kadomi.
We will make that thing.
“Is there anything you want to eat?”
Maito said that, and it caused a big problem.
“…Even if you say that. I’m fine with anything that comes up.”
Yeah. This is one of those things that gets you in trouble when your mother says it.
“Yeah, I understand that, but since it’s a different world, I thought maybe there’s something special.”
…Even if you say it’s a different world… I’ve already eaten quite a few different world-like things. Like dragon meat. Or cockatrice eggs. The cockatrice egg pudding was delicious.
“You can’t indulge in luxury all the time, right? So, wouldn’t you want to have a life without any regrets? Whether it’s indulging to the extreme or taking on extreme challenges.”
I get the luxury part, but challenges…?
“I see, a spirit of challenge. That sounds interesting.”
“President, eating poison is not called a challenge. If you want to commit suicide, do it alone.”
Yeah. I kind of understand what President is thinking. I want him to stop.
“Oh? I don’t think only poison is a challenge. There are many other foods that could be challenging without being harmful to the body.”
“Oh, by the way, even if we do weird foods, it will be on a small scale! Because probably Suzumoto and Hagasaki-kun won’t eat it!”
“You understand well. If it’s weird food, I’m out.”
“I’m out too.”
I want to be out too… I’ll eat it if it’s really delicious though.
“…Oh. I just thought of something!”
In times like these, I’m envious of Hariu who thinks quickly.
“What is it!? What is it!? Go ahead and say it!”
“A giant castella! One with a diameter that exceeds our height!”
…Ah. Like in picture books.
“I get it. That’s a dream.”
“That looks delicious…”
If it’s a size that exceeds our height, yeah, it’s true, we can only do it in a different world…
“I see! Understood!”
Maito nodded happily, thinking about something… then started making a lot of orders.
“Wait half a day to bake it! Also, President! Make an oven with earth magic right now!”
“Is it that big of a scale?”
“Toriumi, make a huge frying pan! As thick as possible, made of cast iron! In a size that Hariu can dry roast in!”
“Yeah, okay.”
“I’m scared! Am I going to be dry roasted!? No way!”
“And everyone, go get some giant eggs!”
…Huh. Oh.
I see, the eggs too… faithful to the original…
“That’s right.”
“The scary thing about this world is how easily you can find things.”
There it was. We found a giant egg.
Hariu found an egg that looked like it could fit about five people inside.
“And there’s a giant chicken too.”
There was also a chicken that looked like ten people could ride on it.
“Hmm, is that really a chicken…? It kind of feels like a different creature…”
When it’s this big, it feels off. Chickens are supposed to be the size you can hold in your arms.
“There’s a game where if you bully a chicken, it attacks you, but if there was a chicken this size in that game, it would be really scary.”
Yeah. I think so too.
“…Should we hunt it?”
“Can’t we just take the egg back?”
Yeah, I’d prefer that. I can’t even tell where the feathers end and the meat begins on that chicken…
Oh.
“U-uh, the chicken is coming this way!?”
“It can’t be helped. It seems we can’t take just the egg back, so let’s fight it.”
…I thought if we could capture it alive, we’d have unlimited access to giant eggs… but unlimited giant chicken meat is fine too.
“We’re back!”
“Welcome back, this is huge. What is this? Huge. And you all are so fluffy…”
“You were the one who wanted a giant egg. This is the result.”
When we got back, we were covered in feathers. That chicken just had a crazy amount of feathers flying everywhere when it attacked…
After that, it was good that we could clean up quickly with a feather duster. Picking off all those feathers from our clothes and hair one by one would have been such a hassle…
“So, let’s get started right away! Making the giant castella!”
“I’m already regretting my suggestion a little…”
…A castella taller than me means making it will be that big too. It’s going to be a lot of work. I can already see it.
“Well, let’s consider this a different world experience! Okay! So, let’s start by cutting this egg! Suzumoto, you’re up! Thanks!”
“Wait, aren’t we just going to crack it?”
“Do you think we can crack an egg this size? The shell is probably as thick as a wall.”
I understand.
“…It can’t be helped.”
Suzumoto sighed and got his sword ready.
“Oh, I want the whites and yolks separated.”
But Maito was making an impossible request. …Cutting an egg and separating the whites and yolk… That’s impossible.
“Don’t say impossible things.”
“That’s where Hagasaki-kun comes in.”
“Don’t involve me in this.”
“Just accept it. Okay, after Suzumoto cuts it, can you half-freeze it? Toriumi will catch it in a bowl.”
“Now I’m the one getting an impossible task…”
At this point, it’s a bit funny.
We discussed it, but no better idea came up, so we did what Maito said.
“I never thought I’d end up doing something like this…”
When Suzumoto swung his sword, the egg shell split right down the middle, and the whites flooded out like a river.
“Alright, alright… Is this okay?”
The overflowing egg whites turned into something like sherbet.
“Whew, close call.”
The overflowing egg whites went into the huge bowl Toriumi was holding (Maito had made it from marble with “Cleaning” magic), and the yolk remained in the shell.
…Huh?
“By the way, Hariu used shadow binding to hold the yolk in place.”
“Praise me!”
Oh, so that’s how it is…
“…This really is something we can only do in another world.”
Yeah, truly.
We’ve had a lot of trouble so far, but we’ve only cracked the egg. This is just the beginning of the cooking process.
“How did those two in the fairy tale cook such a giant egg…?”
“Those two are probably really muscular. If they took off those overall-like clothes, they’d probably have abs like chocolate bars.”
I don’t want to imagine those two like that.
“Alright, now it’s time for the skills. Katori-kun.”
“Me?”
“Use wind magic to whip these egg whites.”
“Oh, that’s how you want to use it… okay, sure.”
Katori began whipping the enormous amount of egg whites. The egg whites, being mixed, started to look like some kind of living creature. Like a slime… it feels like there could be a monster like this.
“Meanwhile, we’ll handle the yolk. First, we need to transfer it from the shell…”
“Maito-san can’t lift this eggshell. I’ll do it.”
Toriumi lifted the eggshell with the yolk in the bottom half and transferred it to another bowl.
…The circumference of the egg is bigger than Toriumi’s outstretched arms. The cross-section of the eggshell is as thick as a wall. How many kilos does that weigh…?
“Ugh… frustrating. I’m frustrated that I can’t do this…”
“Don’t be frustrated over that. What do you think when you see Toriumi doing this? He’s a monster.”
“No, but Hagasaki-kun, you could probably do the same thing if you tried… ugh…”
“Why are you getting frustrated over this?”
Maito is frustrated, but there’s no need to be.
“Now, we’ll add luxury ingredients to the yolk: heavy cream, melted butter, sugar, and honey.”
“Wow. I didn’t know castella uses heavy cream. This is my first time hearing that.”
“Some recipes don’t use it, and even the ones that do usually use milk. But, since it’s a different world, I want to use high-quality ingredients…”
Yeah.
“That’s being frugal.”
“Shut up.”
Well, it’s another world… Maito often said heavy cream is expensive even in our original world…
“The melted butter is made by a fairy that looks like a tiger spinning around to melt it. The sugar is personally refined from sugar cane by me. The honey is luxurious red apple bee honey! The heavy cream is made from the milk everyone squeezed from a minotaur the other day!”
“Oh, right, that happened.”
“Do you understand the shock I felt when you all came back covered in milk saying ‘We did some milking play’ with smiles? Do you get it? Do you?”
I’m sorry for that. But it was fun. Also, I thought Maito would be happy if we brought back milk from a strange cow…
“Alright, the yolk mixture is ready, so we’ll add flour. …Let’s sift it carefully.”
A huge sieve appeared. It had flour inside. Maito’s eyes looked dead.
“…Wait, you want me to sift this?”
“Sift it.”
“Really… Can’t you do something about it with your ‘Cleaning’ skill?”
“Nope. I’ve tried it several times, but while removing lumps is important, incorporating air into the flour is also crucial, so ‘Cleaning’ can’t substitute for sifting.”
Oh, I see.
“Another physical task… Oh well, it can’t be helped. Maito can’t handle this.”
“Oh, thank you, Suzumoto. I’ll put extra cream on your castella.”
“Yeah, yeah, great. President, if you’re free, grab the other side.”
“Sifting flour with two people is a new one.”
Suzumoto and President each took an end of the sieve and began shaking it. The flour fell from the sieve into the yolk mixture. …There’s a cloud of flour dust forming…
“By the way, I nicely milled this flour from some otherworldly wheat. Achoo.”
Maito sneezed from the flour dust…
“Why didn’t you guys sneeze earlier?”
“Because you’re weak.”
“Is there an otherworldly adjustment that even affects sneezing? No way, tell me it’s not true, Hagasaki-kun!”
I just held back my sneeze with effort. I don’t think it’s an adjustment. Probably.
“Well, anyway… Now, we’re finally going to combine Katori-kun’s whipped meringue with the yolk mixture. Mixing this gently… is going to be another heavy task…”
“Okay, I’ll do it. Any tips?”
“Mix one-third of the meringue thoroughly first. After that, you can be fairly rough with the remaining two-thirds.”
“Got it.”
Toriumi started mixing with a huge spatula. …It’s starting to look like castella.
“Still, how did those two in the fairy tale bake a castella that size?”
“They were carrying a frying pan that size too…”
“Maybe they were really muscular!”
Muscular characters from the fairy tale is something I don’t want to imagine.
“Now, let’s put the castella into the oven.”
The batter was poured into a huge frying pan and then placed in the oven.
…Yeah.
A Gundam put the frying pan in the oven…
“Why did you bother bringing a mobile suit?”
“I thought it might be dangerous because of the fire.”
The weight was probably manageable for me or Toriumi, but the risk of burns was a concern. Kariya could heal us, but I don’t want to rely too much on recovery magic.
“…Wouldn’t it have been easier to use this from the start?”
“Don’t say that.”
Yeah. With the Gundam holding it, the frying pan doesn’t look that big.
“Wait!? It takes half a day to bake!? No way!”
“Well, considering the size…”
Apparently, it takes half a day to bake that castella after it goes in the oven. That’s quite a long time.
“Even with a normal-sized frying pan, it can take nearly an hour on a low gas flame. We’re doing things like steaming it with hot water in the pan, but it’s still going to take some time.”
I see… I thought we could eat it right away, but it looks like that’s not the case.
“…Did those two in the fairy tale… really spend half a day baking that size of a castella…!?”
“Maybe we should have just baked it in a normal size…”
I really think so. Why did they bake it that big…?
We waited half a day.
During that time, we made and ate roast chicken from the chicken we caught with the egg, played Daihinmin, and played Werewolf to pass the time.
…And then, in the evening, the castella was done.
“…It’s quite moving.”
“It’s huge.”
Huge. The diameter is bigger than my height. Really huge. I can’t think of anything to say other than it’s huge…
“I could sleep on top of it! Wow, it’s so fluffy! This is great, I want to sleep on it!”
“No! You can’t sleep on food! If you really want to sleep on it, ask President for a fairy shrinking potion and become 15 cm tall first!”
“Hariu-san, I have the potion if you need it.”
“Wow, President! Don’t sneak up on me like that! It really surprises me!”
I kind of understand why Hariu wants to sleep on it. It’s fluffy, smells good, and is warm. And it’s huge.
“The smell of freshly baked sweets makes you feel happy, doesn’t it?”
I get it.
“Indeed. Sometimes, I like the moment when the sweets are freshly baked more than eating them.”
That, I don’t understand.
“And right after that, the moment when you sneak a bite of the freshly baked treat is the best…!”
That, I understand.
“Wow, it’s so fluffy.”
When I tried it, it was fluffy. And sweet. It tasted a bit different from the castella I imagined, but it was pretty good.
Putting some thick whipped cream on it made it even better.
“Ripping pieces directly from the frying pan and eating them has its own charm. And today, the moon looks just like a castella.”
…Yeah. Since it’s a full moon, it does look like a castella.
“Isn’t that a bit too unpoetic towards the moon?”
“What? Hagasaki-kun, don’t you feel hungry when you look at the moon?”
“Huh? Do you?”
Come to think of it, Maito once made pudding while looking at the full moon. So, that’s what that was about…
“…Well, it was definitely something you could only do in another world.”
“Yeah. This was definitely a kind of cooking that you absolutely couldn’t do in the original world.”
It feels like we strayed from the original purpose, but… yeah, I think it was fun.
“In any case, we learned that those two from the fairy tale were probably really muscular macho men.”
I don’t like that idea.
The next day.
“In the end, this is what makes them so unique in their story.”
“I don’t think their vehicle was actually a car though…”
“Oh, come on.”
Katori had modified the eggshell into a car. The eggshell was moving on the ground.
“By the way, this eggshell is extremely tough. What kind of chick could break out of an eggshell like this?”
“The result of that is that giant chicken.”
“In our world, creatures that lay eggs can’t grow too large because of this issue. That’s what I learned.”
Yeah. I remember learning that too. Insects, for example, can’t grow too big because their exoskeletons would become too heavy, making it impossible for them to move, and they wouldn’t be able to survive.
“…This really is another world.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Wait…! I realized something! Could it be that those two from the fairy tale were actually from another world…!?”
“Considering they’re fictional, treating them as beings from another world is fair, isn’t it?”
Yeah… After trying this, I realized that making a giant castella is exhausting. It was tiring. This is definitely something that you couldn’t do outside of an alternate world.
So, well… I’m glad we managed to do it, I guess.