The Abandoned White Magician’s Tea Life

Translator: Sunnyshies

Editor: Ryuubii

Chapter 26 : Amalia’s Secret (1)

The day after they climbed Dragon Mountain.

“Here, how about this?”

“…”

Amalia didn’t say anything and just stared at the object in front of her with wide open eyes.

It has a round body with a small lid that looks like a stylish hat. The handle is large enough to fit the fingers of a grown man.

It was made of white porcelain, but if you looked closely, you could see that the surface was slightly uneven. When she looked at it from a little distance, she could see that there were small roses drawn on the surface.

This morning, Amalia was excited to visit the general store because the merchant that Bruno was familiar with had arrived. Bruno seemed to be looking forward to Amalia’s arrival, and as soon as she greeted him, he gave her a big smile and showed her the wooden box with this pot in it.

‘A very beautiful white porcelain pot…’

She carried her own teapot with her while she was traveling. That one was made from a light, unbreakable material that could be sustained in a long journey.

That’s why this beautiful porcelain pot, which was rarely seen in Leandra, is so precious and beautiful that she was mesmerized. She opened the lid and checked the inside of the pot, which was solidly made and the spout was elaborately crafted.

‘If only I could brew tea with this… oh! I can’t wait to brew some!’

Bruno chuckled when he saw Amalia rendered speechless, and called out to Leonardo instead.

“It’s quite a beautiful piece, isn’t it? White porcelain is a bit rare around here, but apparently, the design was out-of-date. I found it cheaper than I expected, so I took it for Amalia.”

“It’s a beautiful pot… what do you think, Amalia-san?”

“Oh!”

“This is a very nice pot! I definitely want to buy it!”

“Of course, of course. I’ll add a little bit of extra to the price when I buy it from the merchant, so it will be about this much―”

The price Bruno quoted was a little higher than Amalia had expected, but Amalia thought that she wouldn’t see a cheaper tea set, so she hardly had any complaints about buying the good product with the said price.

‘Leonardo and Yugo both understand the reason why I’m buying a pot, and I’ve been saving a bit on my food expenses these days, so… it’s fine, right?’

Amalia then took the liberty of purchasing the pot, and returned home with a sense of excitement. “We don’t want anything to break accidentally.” Leonardo prompted, so she asked him to take the items directly to the kitchen when they got home.

“Okay, I’ll brew you a nice cup of tea right away!”

“Mom, do you want me to make a fire like usual?”

“Yes, please take care of it. And―I’m sorry, Leonardo. Could you give me a hand?”

“Of course.”

As the two gentlemen eagerly helped, Amalia enthusiastically rolled up her sleeves and headed for the pantry to find the ingredients.

The first thing she wanted to do when she got the pot was to make a pot of tea.

‘Herbs and honey. And the fruit I bought yesterday.’

She picked up what she needed and put them in the basket, then returned to the kitchen. Yugo, who seemed to have just started the fire, was instructed to boil the water in the pot as usual, and Amalia began peeling the fruit with Leonardo.

This time, she chose two fruits: one is called Fifi, which has a slightly rough surface on its skin, and the other is called Moreh, which is a light green fruit the size of a fist. Aside from the Fifi, the sour Moreh is a common fruit that is often used in households.

The Moreh was divided into two equal parts, and the fruit was scooped out with a spoon and wrapped in cloth. Amalia asked Leonardo, who had bigger hands and a stronger grip than her, to do the squeezing, and Amalia began to process the Fifi.

Fifi’s rough skin is peeled off and the inside is full of water, and in some areas it is eaten as a way to rehydrate during the summer.

Removing the seeds, she chopped the fruit and put them in the pot. Just as Leonardo finished squeezing the Moreh, Yugo’s water seemed to be boiling, so she put the juice of the Moreh and the chopped herbs into the pot before pouring in the water all at once.

This was her first time making homemade tea with herbs and fruits, as she had been using commercial tea leaves. Of course, Yugo, who loves new things, had his eyes sparkling, and Leonardo seemed to be interested as well, wiping his hands and staring at the pot.

“…when I think about it, it’s been a long time since I’ve had Amalia’s homemade tea, and it’s the first time I’ve seen or helped her make it.”

“Come to think of it, at the orphanage, they always just served the finished product.”

Amalia answered as she put the lid on the pot and tapped the table with her finger to count the time.

At the orphanage, children were basically forbidden to enter the kitchen, so even though she had served Leonardo and the other children homemade tea, she had never shown them how to make it or asked them to help.

‘Maybe these things are part of the changes that come with being an adult.’

Leonardo, who had just been squeezing the juice from the Moreh, seemed to be unfamiliar with the way to use his hands, but since he was now older than Amalia, there was no danger like when he was a child. She felt a bit of sadness, but she also realized that this was a change brought about by the passage of ten years.

She let it steep a little longer than usual, then opened the lid to see what was inside. Bruno said he got this pot cheaply because it was an out-of-date version, but the quality of the pot was perfect.

A sweet scent drifted into the air, and Yugo sniffed it.

Since today was a little warm for autumn, she decided to make cold tea. Normally, she would have to let it cool over time, but they have an all-purpose magician in the house.

She poured the tea from the pot into a large glass. All three ingredients are lightly pigmented, so today’s tea is pale yellow, and more transparent than usual.

Yugo wrapped his hands around it and roared, “Mmm!” The temperature in the kitchen dropped, and the steamy tea cooled down to a comfortable temperature in no time.

There were still some Moreh fruits left, so she sliced them into rounds, cut them into half-moon shapes, and put them into the glass. A scoop of honey was added to finish the herbal tea with Fifi and Moreh.

“Looks good!”

“Yeah, it smells really good.”

“I made a big pot, so please help yourself.”

After pouring the contents of the pot into their respective glasses, Leonardo and Yugo quickly brought them to their lips.

Perhaps it was because the herbal tea was cold this time, but Leonardo, who usually drank a little at a time, was drinking it all at once today, just like Yugo.

“…how is it?”

“It’s so good! The aroma is cool and refreshing, and the sweetness of the Fifi and the sourness of the Moreh are nice. Thank you very much.”

Leonardo then smiled broadly. Looking at his happy face, Amalia was also filled with happiness, even though she hadn’t had a cup of tea yet.

‘Oh, it’s so nice to see others’ happy faces.’

Whenever she healed someone with white magic or made a cup of tea, Amalia would be happy to see someone smile, saying “this is delicious”, or “thank you”. She can truly feel glad that she did it.

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Author’s note :

Botanical Dictionary (3)

Fifi (フィフィ /Fifi/) – Pear-like fruit. The surface of the skin is rough and the flesh is very watery.

Botanical Dictionary (4)

Moreh (モレ /More/) – It looks like a Lemon before ripening. It’s sour.

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