My Farming Domain Is Broken

Carlos did not contact the Unknown Lord again until Mira told him she was ready.

She spent most of the morning in the kitchen with both Hearthkeepers. Carlos could hear pots moving and Mira telling someone not to add salt yet. He stayed outside because he knew better than to get in the way when she was working.

By midday, Mira came out with flour on one cheek and a serious look on her face.

"I can try something," she said. "But I need ingredients that are better than what we grow right now."

Carlos had expected that answer.

"Tell me exactly what you need."

Mira crossed her arms and thought for a moment.

"I need a strong main ingredient. Something that can hold mana or energy without falling apart while I cook it, normal ingredients won’t ever go above high grade, they need to have mana. Then I need seasoning that does more than make food taste good."

Carlos blinked. "That sounds hard to find."

"It is Ultra-high-quality food, Carlos. It is not supposed to be easy."

That was fair.

He opened the message panel and wrote to the Unknown Lord.

--

[Carlos Goldwin] - My cook needs to inspect the ingredients before she promises anything. Send a system listing first.

--

The reply came quickly.

--

[Unknown Lord] - I will send what I have right away.

--

A trade request appeared in front of Carlos a few seconds later.

--

[Trade Offer]

[Emberhorn Beast Meat x1]

[Hellfire Pepper x3]

[For: No immediate payment]

[Sender requests one cooking attempt]

--

Carlos read the offer twice.

"No immediate payment," he said quietly.

Mira looked over his shoulder. Her expression changed as soon as she saw the ingredients.

"Accept it."

Carlos looked at her. "You know what those are?"

"Not everything. But that meat is full of heat. The peppers are not ordinary either. I can tell that much."

"Can you make something from them?"

Mira took a slow breath. "I can try."

Carlos did not accept immediately. He opened the message panel again.

--

[Carlos Goldwin] - One attempt means one attempt. It does not mean I owe you a finished meal, and it does not give you access to my territory or my cook.

[Unknown Lord] - Agreed. I only need proof that your cook can work with these ingredients.

--

Carlos showed the answer to Mira.

"That is fair," she said. "If I fail, we tell him I failed. I am not wasting Ironroot’s food to pretend otherwise."

"You are not failing before you start."

Mira gave him a quick look. "Carlos, I am allowed to know it might go wrong. That is how I avoid making it go wrong."

Carlos nodded. "Fine. Do it your way."

Carlos accepted the trade.

The ingredients appeared on the kitchen table. The meat was dark red and heavy enough that it made the wood creak when Mira set it down. Thin heat rose from it, but it did not burn the table. The three peppers were smaller than Carlos expected, almost black around the edges, with red lines glowing faintly along their skin.

The two Hearthkeepers stopped moving for a moment.

Mira did not touch anything right away.

"Wash your hands," she told them. "Then bring the clean pan, not the large one."

One Hearthkeeper ran to do it. The other moved the normal food away from the cooking fire.

Mira looked toward the pots where Ironroot’s normal meal was still simmering. "Do not mix any of this with the territory food. If it burns, only this small portion burns."

"Understood," the older Hearthkeeper said.

Carlos noticed that Mira had not called them by names. Rowan had not met either of the newest workers yet, and Carlos was not going to start naming people after everyone had made fun of him for Blue, One and Two.

He almost said it out loud, but Kaia would probably hear about it somehow.

Carlos watched Mira pick up one Hellfire Pepper with the end of a spoon.

"Is it dangerous?"

"Probably."

"That does not make me feel better."

"You asked."

Carlos could not argue with that either.

Mira cut only a small piece from the meat. The rest stayed wrapped on the table. She used half of one pepper, then placed the small pan over a lower flame than the one used for the normal meal pots.

"Why not use all of it?" Carlos asked.

"Because I do not know how the heat will react," Mira said. "If I use everything and it turns into ash, then we learn nothing."

Carlos looked at the dark meat again. It had come from a Hellbound reward, which meant the Unknown Lord had probably been saving it for a long time. Wasting it would not only lose a trade. It would make it harder for Mira to try again.

"Take your time," he said.

Mira nodded, but her hands did not slow down. She scraped a small amount of pepper into the pan, added a pinch of ordinary salt, then used the back of the spoon to press the meat flat before covering it.

The smell that rose from it was nothing like Ironroot’s usual food. It was sharp enough to make Carlos’s eyes sting, then suddenly warm enough that he felt hungry all over again.

The two Hearthkeepers stood close behind Mira, watching every movement.

"Do not crowd me," Mira said without turning around.

They moved back immediately.

Carlos laughed once, but Mira did not. Her face was completely focused now.

Outside the kitchen, the Territory kept moving. Kaia called the new Militia through their first shield steps. The new Bearkin dragged a stack of wood toward the western side. Somebody near the Farmer’s Lodge shouted when the Living Scarecrow turned its head again.

But inside the kitchen, nobody cared about any of it.

She added a little water, then covered the pan. For several minutes, nobody spoke. Even the kitchen seemed quieter.

A faint light began gathering above the pan and Carlos straightened.

"Mira."

"I can see it. Do not touch anything."

The light grew brighter and for a moment, Carlos thought the kitchen would explode. He reached toward his inventory without thinking, ready to pull out anything that might help.

Then the light sank into the pan and a system panel appeared.

--

[Advanced cooking attempt detected]

[Ingredient compatibility: partial]

[Preparation in progress]

--

Mira stared at the words and Carlos stared at her instead.

For the first time outside battle, Carlos felt jitters below his chest.

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