Maydare Volume 5 Side Story: Makia, Apple Curry is the Flavor of Youth.

 The last chapter of Volume 5! We are now officially caught up until Volume 6 comes out on the 15th. Though I probably won't translate it right away because I feel a little burnt out. Still, I'm glad that so many people are introduced to Maydare through my translations, thanks for supporting me!

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My name is Makia O’Drielle.

I’m a first-year at Lune Ruschia Magic School and the leader of Garnet Team 9.

Recently, I’ve been very into apple curry.

“Lady and gentlemen of Garnet 9. Have you ever eaten a precious dish named apple curry?”

“Huh?”

“I don’t think so, but now that I got the spices, I can make curry. We have rice as well. With the salt apples from back home and tomatoes grown in the sunlight of Miladriede, the curry will become extremely delicious. So, starting now, we’re all going to make curry!”

It was a holiday, and the team was gathered in the atelier, each member doing whatever they wanted. I was the only one who enthusiastically started talking about this, so Nero, Lapis, and Frey were looking at each other in confusion.

But you know, curry was also a dish that has been around in Maydare for a long time. 

Especially in the small countries in the southeast, spicy cuisine is popular.

I recently stocked up on curry spices at a "black market spice bazaar" held regularly by exchange students from those countries.

"I had a bad feeling this morning because my hair wouldn't stay in place. I bet Leader will say something weird again today, and we'll get dragged into it.”

Frey, the playboy of Garnet Team 9, was of course the first to complain.

“What’s with that attitude? Making curry with rice cooked outside is the essence of youth.”

“In what world exactly?”

Even Nero interjected with a puzzled look.

Well, that kind of youth was in my past life, though...

“Isn’t it fine, everyone? It’s coming from Makia after all.” 

“Thank you, Lapis. You're always on my side~~”

While using gentle words, Lapis was exerting some mysterious pressure on the two boys. I hugged her.

So, I (forcedly) invited my team members to make curry outdoors.

We opened the glass windows of the atelier and moved the tools to the terrace with a view of the sea.

We set up stones in a good spot in the garden, started a fire with fire magic, and put firewood on it. It was easy to start a fire with magic.

While I was doing that, Nero and Frey were cutting vegetables on the terrace table. Frey was crying because he was struggling to finely chop the onions. Nero seemed to be doing fine with his work goggles on.

"Oh, my eyes hurt. Why do I have to do this? Usually, we just have to eat the weird dishes made by Leader!”

"That's not something you should be saying, considering you come to the atelier even on holidays just for that.”

That was why he continued to be forced to chop onions.

"But Makia, I can't even imagine what this curry rice looks like. If you're talking about spice dishes that are eaten with flatbread, then I've had that before."

"Oh, really? So you’ve had naan and curry before. Did you like it?"

“Well…I never disliked spice dishes in the first place.”

“Then there’s no problem! It’ll definitely taste amazing!”

I gave Nero a big thumbs-up. Nero’s suspicion-filled eyes behind his goggles were like daggers in my heart…

That's right. In this world, the companion of curry was naan, and I had yet to lay my eyes on something called "curry rice". It might exist somewhere if I searched for it though.

“I’ve borrowed a large pot, Makia.”

“Oh, thank you, Lapis! With this, we can make lots of curry!”

Lapis borrowed a large pot from another atelier.

Lapis had a feminine demeanour, but she wasn’t good at peeling vegetables and was good at carrying heavy things. After all, she was the strongest arm-wrestler in Garnet Team 9. Not to mention me, both Nero and Frey were no match for her.

So, we got right into making the curry.

I melted a generous amount of butter in a heated pot and added grated ginger and garlic. Then I vigorously stir-fried the onions until they turned a caramel color. I added tomatoes, several types of curry spices, other vegetables and diced chicken, and salt, and stir-fried them again. Essentially, this is a butter chicken curry.

Now we took out the salt apples. We grated them and prepared them by dicing them into large cubes.

If everyone competed with each other and did this by magic, it would be good magic practice.

First place went to Nero. It was pretty much a rigged competition.

Alright. The cut apples and grated apples were added to the pot, along with their juices and a suitable amount of water, and then simmered for a while. At this point, the sweet aroma of apples and spices was wafting from the pot.

It was a secret that I decided make apple curry in a large pot in order to use up the excessive amount of apples that I received from my parents' house.

"Oh, I can smell the delicious aroma of the rice cooking. It's all thanks to the rice cooker that Nero made us, that we can eat rice whenever we feel like it. Since it's so easy to cook rice, I can come up with endless ideas for rice dishes that I want to eat."

Nero, on the other hand, stared at me, who overused the rice cooker he made on a daily basis, and let out a mysterious sigh.

“...I still wonder why you’re so obsessed with rice.”

“I’m sure that I ate a lot of rice in my previous life!”

I dared to tell the truth, but everyone looked at me like, “Makia’s saying strange things again…”

The apple curry was ready, and the rice was cooked.

Immediately, I put the rice on plates and poured the homemade curry roux over it.

“Please, enjoy.”

“...”

Everyone was overwhelmed by the brown color, but the appetizing smell and the hunger after working couldn’t be resisted. So, the brave Lapis was the first to take a bite.

“Oh my, it’s delicious! The sweetness of the apples really come through. But it’s not only sweet, but also spicy. …I see, it’s just as Makia said. This goes very well with rice.”

"See, see! My recommended point is the diced apple. It becomes a thick and satisfying ingredient when simmered well. It's like a substitute for potatoes in this case."

Also, curry with butter and apple was very mild and easy to eat.

After letting the girls taste it for a while, the cautious boys finally start eating the curry rice.

“Mm, it’s sweet.”

“But the spiciness comes later…”

Despite showing a strange reaction, the boys started eating the curry rice without stopping their hand holding the spoon. They brought the curry rice to their mouths, chomping away. They ate better than when they were given the umeboshi onigiri to eat…

“Well, it’s not bad to eat rice like this,” Frey said.

“A spiced dish with salt apples is just the kind of food for magicians. The magical matter content is probably incredible…” Nero said.

"If you still feel like eating, there's plenty of seconds, so go ahead~" 

Lapis and I were already getting seconds.

It was a delightful feeling to make curry outside and eat to our heart's content on a crisp and clear autumn day.

Curry was a mysterious food that tasted even better when you ate it with friends.

Was that because of the memories from my past life? In my case, I can't help but remember outdoor cooking during school trips and school lunches.

If I could tell my family and classmates over there, for example, that I am studying magic with my friends at a magic school in this life, no one would believe me…

Just as the taste reminded me of my previous life,

“The spices smell so good~”

“What are you guys eating?”

Lune Ruschia students in nearby ateliers came over, lured by the smell.

It might have been the right call to make a large amount of curry in a large cauldron.

Come on, let’s all eat apple curry.

And then, let’s work hard on studying magic again.

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