Ch. 121 The scenery of Earth was clearly more vibrant under the sunlight

But compared to The Lands Between.

The scenery of Earth was clearly more vibrant under the sunlight.

These were hills lush with greenery in spring, worthy of respect, with flat rammed-earth roads occasionally dotted with a farmhouse or two on either side.

It was about time to enjoy lunch.

At the beginning of the journey, when supplies were plentiful, the meals were also very sumptuous.

Kay was frying sausages and eggs in a skillet, while Merlin had picked several handfuls of round white mushrooms from somewhere.

The aroma of butter wafted around the campfire.

Now this is what you call traveling!

Mia looked at the sizzling sausages in the pan with envy; unable to contain herself, she also brought out her own pot.

She thought back to her days in The Lands Between.

That wasn’t called traveling; it was called asceticism.

Bread? Biscuits? Of course, there were none.

Meat came from prey caught on the spot, and vegetables were wild greens and rowa fruit from the roadside.

As for high-carb staples?

Ah, sorry, there was no such thing.

At most, some wild spices were sprinkled on the roasted or stewed meat.

There were no villages in The Lands Between where one could buy supplies.

Looking at the abundant ingredients, Mia planned to go all out.

She put fresh green basil leaves into a stone mortar, along with peeled garlic and walnut kernels, and crushed them together.

She added salt and butter.

She vigorously crushed the chunks of butter, mixing them thoroughly with the other ingredients.

The Pesto of later generations was ready.

In modern terms, it could be considered a Roman flavor.

Then she cracked three eggs, beat them in a wooden bowl, and stirred in some cream until well mixed.

She heated the pan, added butter, and made a portion of creamy scrambled eggs.

After finishing, she plated them. The emptied pan didn’t need more oil; she laid out bacon with an even distribution of fat and lean in the hot skillet, frying it until it was fragrant and crispy.

Finally, she covered the pan with slices of white bread, toasting them with the remaining lard.

She assembled the white bread, bacon slices, scrambled eggs, and garlic Pesto together.

“Done!”

This was one serving.

She cut it down the middle with a knife; the white, green, and red layered together, forming an incredibly tempting color.

“It looks so delicious.”

Artoria, who had noticed Mia making some kind of new food earlier, was crouching nearby, waiting for the finished product to come out.

“Hehe—”

Mia held the pan proudly.

Although the assembly wasn’t very neat.

Even by later standards, this was a very delicious Sandwich.

Such a way of eating didn’t exist in this era.

The transmigrator’s encyclopedia contains more than just clever ideas!

Mia cut the entire two-palm-wide Sandwich into six equal portions.

“Come and try it!”

The first one to reach out was, of course, Artoria.

She carefully scooped up a piece with a spoon…

“Wait!” Mia suddenly cried out.

“Guh?” Artoria, whose mouth was already filled with saliva, looked over somewhat aggrievedly.

“A Sandwich is meant to be eaten with your hands, of course!”

Mia strongly condemned Artoria’s heretical behavior.

“Like this,” she said, picking up one of the six Sandwich pieces with her fingers as a demonstration.

“Mmm—”

It was just the right size for a single bite.

Following Mia’s lead, Artoria picked up the piece of sandwich and impatiently stuffed it into her mouth.

Bread with a crispy crust and a soft interior. Savory slices of salted meat, and tender fried eggs rich with a milky aroma.

The different flavors and textures combined in her mouth to create a synergistic effect greater than the sum of its parts.

The spicy, garlic-infused Pesto, in particular, elevated the tasting experience to an unprecedented level.

She hadn’t expected that such delicious food could be made without expensive dried spices.

“Delicious!”

“Merlin, Brother Kay!”

Then, at Artoria’s call, the remaining sandwiches were divvied up and devoured in an instant.

What caught Mia’s attention in particular was Melina’s expression.

Even she, while chewing on the delicacies Mia had made with her own hands…

…couldn’t help but widen her eyes in surprise.

And Wilden, carefully savoring the flavors spreading through his mouth, nodded repeatedly in appreciation.

Having spent so much time with Mia, it wasn’t just their appearances—even their various senses were beginning to recover.

Surely, Melina and Wilden, who hailed from The Lands Between, must have felt even more moved than Mia when they encountered such delicious food.

“Is this food called a sandwich?”

“Mhm,” Mia crossed her arms and nodded with satisfaction. “It’s said that in the southeast, there’s a small town called Sandwich. Its ruler, Earl Sandwich, loved tabletop games so much that he would forget to eat or sleep. So, his troubled chef created this food for him, allowing the Earl to enjoy it with one hand even while playing. Then, this delicacy became popular at the card tables in Sandwich, eventually spreading and being named’sandwich’ after the Earl.”

Mia didn’t have the distasteful habit of a ‘literary plagiarist,’ taking credit for things created by others in history to glorify herself.

“You sure know a lot, Miss Mia.”

Amidst the praise, Mia added, “The story of the sandwich is indeed like that, but the earliest sandwiches were just two slices of bread with meat in between. I’m the one who improved it into this!”

“Hmm…” Artoria listened intently and then asked:

“But didn’t you say before that you weren’t familiar with Britain, Miss Mia?”

While she found the story interesting, Artoria still spotted the loophole.

She knew almost nothing about common historical events, yet she knew a little anecdote like this?

“…Ahem!” Before Artoria could finish, Mia interrupted her with a loud, forced cough. “Don’t sweat the details!”

Having said that, she picked up another piece. “If you have the leisure to worry about that, does it mean you’re already full from that tiny piece just now?!”

Artoria shook her head like a rattle.

“If possible, please make some more!”

“Well…” Kay looked at his sister, who had been completely bought over by the food, with mixed feelings.

Still, the sandwiches really were delicious.

“Alright!” He stood up abruptly, full of fighting spirit. “According to Miss Mia, if you put meat between two slices of bread, it can be called a sandwich, right?”

“Pretty much.”

“Then I’ll help too! My sausages happen to be finished frying.”

And so…

What was supposed to be a normal lunch gradually turned into a competition between Kay and Mia to see who could feed Artoria more…

—

In northern Wales, there is an island called Anglesey.

Separating it from the mainland of Wales is a narrow strait about as wide as the River Thames that flows through the city of Londinium.

Thus, it is a large and well-populated island.

In the fjord, a fisherman stood upon a swaying boat, his rough, powerful hands pulling at a heavy, sturdy fishing net.

As the wind blew, the sea began to swell, and the net grew even heavier.

Knowing it was the school of fish resisting, the fisherman began to pull with even greater force.

Finally, he hauled in the net. A few fish flopped about on the deck, and the fisherman noticed a cluster of pure white fur that stood out remarkably amidst the tangled netting.

“What’s this…?” he muttered, untangling the net.

The little creature was soaking wet, its eyes tightly shut and its body curled into a ball.

It looked a bit like a cat and a bit like a dog, possessing a strange appearance.

The fisherman crouched down and cautiously poked the strange cat in the net with his finger.

The small white creature shuddered.

It’s actually still alive?

The fisherman blinked in surprise.

Might as well take it back.

A strange and non-threatening creature would make for some good conversation fodder.