"Sherry! You may regret it now, but once the brown sugar is ready, I guarantee you won't say that anymore!"
There was no concept of sugar in this world, so Sherry naturally had no idea what it was.
But Nalant knew. In his previous life, there had been some creepy old men who used lollipops to lure little girls, and he didn't believe that little Sherry could resist the temptation of brown sugar.
Besides, once brown sugar was available, he figured he could change the way people in this world ate bread.
Nalant had loved brown sugar steamed buns in his previous life. Once they had brown sugar, he could have Rose, the head chef, give them a try.
And once they had brown sugar, white sugar wouldn't be far behind.
With white sugar, jam and the like wouldn't be far off either!
As he thought about it, even Nalant's mouth began to water.
"My lord, the liquid in the last pot seems to have turned sticky. Could you check if it's ready?"
About half an hour later, Vivian, who had been supervising the guards as they boiled the brown sugar, suddenly spoke up.
"Oh? Let me see!" At her words, Nalant immediately rose from his reclining chair and strode over to the eighth pot.
"Mm, it's about ready. Sherry, quickly bring that wooden box over!" The sugarcane juice in the eighth pot had thickened, looking much like the cough syrup from his previous life. Nalant immediately called out to Sherry.
After Sherry huffed and puffed her way over with the wooden box, which was about a meter square and shaped like a drawer, Nalant had the guards ladle the syrup into it.
Once they had ladled out the syrup, they spread it evenly across the box with a small spatula. All that remained was to wait for it to cool and harden.
As time passed, Nalant stayed by the box with Vivian and Sherry.
"My lord, is it ready yet? And the brown sugar looks like it's turned yellow. It isn't red at all!"
Sherry had long since forgotten her earlier regret. The irresistible aroma rising from the box made her mouth water.
Although brown sugar was called "brown," sugar made from sugarcane wasn't actually a deep red. It was more of a reddish yellow.
"It should be about ready!"
Nalant pressed on it with his hand and confirmed that the brown sugar had finally hardened completely. Then he used a spatula to cut it into small pieces shaped like gold bars.
"Here, Vivian, Sherry. One piece each!" Nalant scooped up two pieces of brown sugar and placed one in each girl's hand.
"Thank you for your generous gift, my lord!" Vivian and Sherry had eyes only for the small pieces of brown sugar. As soon as they took them, they thanked him.
Once the two girls had theirs, Nalant picked up a piece himself and immediately took a bite.
"Oh, yeah, that's the taste! Haha, my brown sugar's a success!" Brown sugar made from pure sugarcane juice was nothing like the adulterated industrial brown sugar from his previous life.
The moment it touched his tongue, Nalant was transported back to his childhood. It was rich, fragrant, and sweet.
Seeing how much Nalant was enjoying it, Vivian and Sherry swallowed as they held their pieces of brown sugar.
"You two should try it, too!" Neither of them had dared to eat until Nalant did, so he urged them on.
"Yes, my lord!" With his permission, the two girls immediately followed his example and put the brown sugar in their mouths.
"Wow!" The instant the brown sugar touched their tongues, Vivian and Sherry shuddered all over, then stared wide-eyed, frozen in place. "M-my lord, this... this is so delicious!" Sherry's reaction was the most exaggerated. Her already huge eyes were as wide as snail shells, while Vivian kept savoring the sweetness with little pursed lips.
"Sherry, which tastes better now, the brown sugar or the sugarcane?" Nalant wasn't surprised. He smiled and asked her.
"The brown sugar, my lord! Sherry likes brown sugar!" Sherry answered without hesitation.
"Haha, the best is yet to come. Sherry, go fetch your mother!"
"All right, my lord!" Hearing that even tastier things were on the way, Sherry hurried off toward the inner castle.
After Sherry left, Nalant turned his gaze to Vivian.
"Vivian, help me draft an order. Let all the villagers in Storm Territory know that they can spend their free time searching the woods in Storm Territory for sugarcane!"
"Once they find some, have them cut it down and bring it to the castle. I'll pay one copper coin for every three stalks!"
"Oh, and to make sure the villagers know what sugarcane looks like, take a few stalks so they can compare."
The sugarcane was nearly ripe, and they had successfully made brown sugar. Now it was time to reap a great harvest.
Storm Territory had a small population and little farmland. As someone who had come from another world, Nalant knew that farming could provide enough to fill their stomachs, but it couldn't make them rich quickly.
To truly make the territory prosperous, they had to export goods through trade and earn money from the other nobles' lands.
He was sure that brown sugar would become one of Tulip Territory's pillar industries.
"Yes, my lord!"
After giving Vivian her orders, Rose, the particularly alluring head chef, arrived in front of Nalant.
Although Nalant had cooked for himself when he lived alone in his previous life, he didn't know much about Western-style baked bread.
Still, all he had to do was explain the idea, and Rose quickly understood.
"My lord, do you mean I should brush this brown sugar onto the bread, the way I do with honey?" Rose held a piece of brown sugar in her hand, looking at her lord with wonder in her eyes.
"That's right, Rose. And today, don't just add it to my white bread. Add it to the black bread for the servants and guards, too!" Nalant nodded.
He had only gotten to taste honey bread in the past few days. It was made with honey from the bees Sherry had tamed.
Experts in his previous life advised people to eat fewer sweets because too much sugar could lead to obesity and raise the risk of various illnesses.
But there was no need to worry about that in this world. Most people couldn't even eat their fill, let alone get fat.
Besides, sugar had another benefit: eating it could make people happier. So Nalant planned to treat his subordinates to such delicacies from time to time.
"Yes, my lord. I'll go try it right away. Praise your wisdom and generosity!" Rose immediately took a few pieces of brown sugar and headed into the castle.
She had already tasted the brown sugar, and as a chef, she was astonished that her lord had invented something even sweeter than honey.
She couldn't wait to try making bread with it. After tasting such sweetness, she had all kinds of new ideas for delicious dishes.
While the castle was filled with a cheerful atmosphere, Nalant's orders stirred up the villagers throughout Storm Territory.
Most villagers had seen sugarcane before. In the past, few had paid much attention to these short, slender "little trees." At most, some villagers from Misfortune Village knew that sugarcane was a tasty wild fruit.
But things were different now. Their lord had named these "little trees" sugarcane and was offering one copper coin for every three stalks.
Searching for sugarcane was nothing like chopping wood or farming, which required strenuous labor. Even children could be useful.
In no time, everyone with free time in the territory was making their way through the weeds in the woods.