Chapter 91 – I Want to Eat Pizza (part 2): The Danger of Tomatine

I poured the olive oil I bought into a pot.

Kirara made a face like “Hmm?”

I added the chopped garlic and sautéed it slowly to infuse the oil with its flavor.

Kirara gave me another confused look.

Her head tilted curiously to the side.

“Kirara, is something wrong?”

I asked.

“That olive oil… it’s a little, you know…”

She said vaguely.

“it looks like proper olive oil,”

I said, handing her the container.

Kirara inspected it.

“This has miasma mixed in, too.”

She dropped that bombshell casually.

Um, miasma again? Does that mean this is the real cause?

Also—should I stop cooking with it?

I stared at the garlic, which was turning beautifully crispy and golden brown, wondering what to do.

It smelled amazing.

“Strangely enough, the miasma has disappeared from that side,”

Kirara said, sniffing the air and staring at the crispy garlic just like I was.

So sautéing it with garlic removed the miasma?

…Is that a thing?

“So this is safe now?” I asked.

“There shouldn’t be a problem.”

Since she said that, I decided to set the issue aside for now and continue making the tomato sauce.

I added the finely chopped onions and sautéed them thoroughly.

Then I tossed in the halved cherry tomatoes and started simmering.

I added basil, too.

When the sauce thickens enough that you can draw a line through it with a wooden spoon, it’s just right. Every time I do that test, I think, “Is this what Moses parting the Red Sea looked like?”

Finally, I seasoned with salt and pepper and removed the basil.

Yep, it came out pretty good despite being a bit rough around the edges.

Technically, I should peel the tomato skins for a smoother texture, but with cherry tomatoes, it’s too much trouble. It’s easier to peel them if you freeze them first.

People who don’t like the skins can just spit them out when eating.

“Alright, let’s have a taste.”

“I will!”

Mimi transformed into her human form to sample it. Apparently, she can eat in lizard form, but her taste buds are too reptilian, so it’s not very enjoyable.

Actually, there’s something I’d like to try while I’m at it.

Yes, a cracker party.

When I say crackers, I don’t mean the kind that goes pop! And of course, not a hacker, not a weapon, and definitely not a slur. I’m talking about the kind of crackers that you eat. Let’s party.

I brought out both the round crispy crackers, party essentials. and the simple, salty square ones. I had a purchase history for both at 78 yen each.

I put tomato sauce on the crackers, and since I was at it, I also add cheese, ham, and fruit.

It looks colorful and cute.

I’ve always wanted to try this for so long. It would be nice to add caviar, but I’ve never bought caviar before. Technically speaking, “caviar” refers to all fish eggs, so I guess cod roe count as caviar too. I once saw caviar sold at a commercial-food supermarket for about 300 yen, and it surprised me. When I looked closely, I realized it wasn’t sturgeon eggs, but salmon eggs.

“Putting it on a crunchy cracker makes it sooo tasty!”

Kirara immediately started eating the crackers with tomato sauce on them. 

Yup, it really did turn out great. The crackers are tasty enough on their own, so it’s only natural that they’d taste even better with the addition of delicious tomato sauce.

The ones topped with cheese were excellent too.

Mimi seemed to prefer the simple salty crackers and was eating mostly those.

Trying out a little bit of everything like this is so much fun.

Now that I’ve had a little food and calmed down, It’s time to think about what needs thinking.

“Kirara, there’s nothing wrong with this tomato sauce, right?”

“Of course not! It’s delicious! No problem at all!”

Okay, but I wasn’t asking about the taste…

“I mean there’s no miasma in it, right?”

I clarified.

“Mhm. It’s now at a level where it’s harmless.”

“Wait— Is there a level to which it’s not a problem?”

Can I really eat it…?

Kirara tilted her head upward slightly, as if accessing some downloaded knowledge, and nodded.

“Strictly speaking, miasma exists in basically everything!“

An absolutely shocking revelation.

“Seriously?”

Mimi was also surprised.

Yeah, I’m shocked too.

“Just like this.”

Kirara pointed to the cherry tomatoes that were used to make the tomato sauce.

“Have you heard of tomatine?”

“I think I’ve heard of it… something about eating green tomatoes being dangerous?”

I replied.

“Even red tomatoes—if you eat four tons of them, it could be lethal!”

“Really?! You can die from eating tomatoes?! Then maybe we shouldn’t eat this at all?”

Mimi panicked. But let’s be real—you’re going to die anyway if you eat four tons of tomatoes.

But now that you mention it, even salt can be dangerous if consumed in huge quantities.

So maybe miasma is similar—maybe it isn’t a problem if it’s in small amounts?

Based on the symptoms, it might be more hormonal than poisonous.

And maybe the issue is quantity.

Small amounts of miasma build up until they cross a threshold and trigger symptoms.

Like how hay fever works.

“The amount of miasma in this olive oil and that tonic from the other day is about the same as what’s in green tomatoes.”

That’s how she explained it.

I see, so it’s unlikely you’ll die, but it’s probably better not to take it.

But earlier she said it was gone.

“Did the miasma disappear when I added garlic and fried it?”

　That is to say,

“Yes. It thinned out so much I can barely feel it anymore.”

That’s what she says.

Interesting.

Now that I think about it, it was probably mugwort that worked on Grandpa Jill’s knee, and Dawn’s lower back and Milia’s knee were treated with painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs and other similar medicines.

The mysterious illness was cured by a life-nourishing herbal liquor and the fruit of Kirara’s fruit, so I assumed medicinal herbs might be effective.

But it was probably the black sesame crackers that helped Matilda recover.

If that’s true, then the black sesame actually neutralized the miasma?

I think I bought that black sesame with 1,000 yen repeat. Same as today’s garlic.

“Let’s run an experiment.”

Here’s the olive oil.

I divided it into small portions and added:

* Garlic

* Black sesame

“How’s that?”

“Both reduced the miasma significantly.”

Hmm…

Then, since olive oil is a fat, let’s try mixing in the canola oil we made the other day.

I added canola oil to the olive oil.

I checked with Kirara and she confirmed the miasma level was now safe.

I gradually reduce the amount I mix, but it seems even using very small amounts of canola oil diluted the miasma almost entirely.

I’m not entirely sure, but maybe… it’s that things from the 1000 yen repeat  purchase, which I believe have some medicinal or beneficial properties, Can neutralize miasma? I understand that canola oil, for instance, has a good fatty acid balance.

Also the reason those special vegetables were so popular is that they definitely helped some people actually feel better.

Thanks to the canola oil, this olive oil is now safe to use.

Which means—I can finally make the pizza dough with peace of mind.

Since I’ll be baking it tomorrow morning, I have two options: either get up early and make the dough fresh, or reduce the amount of yeast and leave it overnight.

Or maybe I’ll just do both?

In any case, I’ll prep everything tonight and get to bed early.

It looks like I’ll be busy from tomorrow morning

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