How-not to be an Olympian God!

Chapter 51: The cult of Alex(1)

When Alex woke up from his sleep, it was already noon.

He cleaned his room, rubbing the spear he made vigorously even though there was no way any dust could have accumulated on it after just one day.

After appreciating his craftsmanship for a bit, he left his room.

'Hermes' room is locked...' Alex looked on to the opposite end of the corridor and wondered if the latter came back or not.

Alex then performed his daily hygienic rituals.

*Grrrrrrr*

Alex giggled at this sound and realized it was his own stomach protesting for food. He just noticed he felt more hungry than usual and wanted to make a hearty breakfast.

Making his way to the kitchen, he thought about recipes he could make and ultimately decided on preparing a breakfast sandwich.

There were eggs, pork, and beef.

Unfortunately, the lack of processed cheese restricted this dish from awakening its full potential.

Advertisements

Alex gloated.

Whenever Hermes went out on any trip, he would bring large amounts of dough with him. Alex took out a round ball of bread dough from the icebox, and the funky smell of yeast invaded his nostrils.

He portioned the ball into two equally-sized dough balls and ignited the oven.

To replace pickles, which were an essential part of any sandwich in his opinion, Alex would make use of what was available to make pickled onions.

Coincidentally, some wine that was placed in the cellar had 'spoiled' and vinegar was exactly that, 'spoiled wine', so he could use that.

He added salt and sugar to the acidic solution and thinly cut some onions, that he proceeded to place in the brine for a quick pickle.

The bread went in the oven to puff up and turn into enticing slices of toasted bread.

As the nostalgic fragrance of freshly-baked bread enveloped his senses, he grabbed a stone plate, which he would cook the eggs and the beef patty on.

There were no metal skillets or cooking vessels in this era, so Alex decided to put them on his to-forge list for the future.

For his purposes, nonetheless, stone tools would work fine, albeit they reached cooking temperatures much slower because of their lower thermal conductivity.

'Whatever.' Alex shrugged and started cutting the meat in the meantime. He minced the meat very finely and kneaded it until it was reminiscent of ground beef and reached his desired texture.

The bread was fully baked by now so he left it to rest on the side as he put two eggs to poach in a pot of boiling and salted vinegar water.

The stone plate reached his desired temperature so he shaped the ground beef into a circular thick patty and put it on the hot plate.

*Szzzzzzzzzz*

The raw beef immediately produced sizzling sounds as it came into contact with the hot surface.

The entire room now smelled of American breakfast.

When one side of the patty was at serious risk of burning, he flipped it, using his hands that were mostly immune to cooking temperatures.

Alex only then realized he lacked a very important element to a sandwich.

'The sauce'

He had to work fast, so he concocted a quick vinaigrette with yogurt, olive oil, salt, and lemon juice.

All of the rest of the components were ready. The beef patty had developed a brown crust and it seemed extremely juicy.

Alex drooled as he assembled the burger.

He spread his sauce on the bread, then put the patty on top. He then added the poached egg on top and the pickled onions and finally, put on the last slice of bread, marking the burger complete.

It looked extremely appetizing and Alex couldn't wait to dig in.

"Here goes nothing," Alex spoke out loud and took the first bite.

The bread was wonderfully soft and the sauce protected it from becoming soggy. The meat juices entered his mouth, and he finally came to the realization he could never be vegan.

The egg whites were cooked, but the yolk inside was still runny and added a layer of depth to the dish. Without the pickled onions, the entire dish would have been too heavy and rich, but the acidity, sweetness, and texture of the onions countered the rest of the dish and took it a level further.

'Who needs Elysium when you've got modern food...' Alex missed the diverse array of foods from Earth.

"Alexei-boy, are you here?"

As he was eating, he saw Hermes entering the kitchen. His wings were folded and he had a smile on his face.

"Oh, hey, Hermes. Do you want some?" Alex wanted to avoid bringing up the reasons why Hermes left yesterday on such short notice and instead brought his attention to the food.

"I can't lie, that does look very appetizing. Did Hephaestus' and Athena's Essences even improve your cooking?" Hermes praised.

"Probably." Alex cut the hearty burger in half and gave Hermes the other half.

The god took a bite and his face instantly brightened.

"The people of your world really knew how to enjoy themselves..." Hermes commented as he was eating the burger.

Alex nodded.

'Burgers won the heart of the human population, and now the god population.'

After finishing his fill, Hermes asked, "Alexei-boy, you have now got quite a bit of skill, isn't it time for you to start building a following in the mortal world?"

Alex fell into thought.

He should start gaining Faith Energy, but he had to find ways to rapidly spread his doctrine.

"Bingo! Hermes, Thank you!" Alex suddenly had a realization.

He would finally use his cheat for the first time, that of being from a more technologically advanced era.

Hermes looked confused, but there was no time for confusion.

"Hermes, get me all of the iron we've got." Alex requested passionately.

Hermes nodded.

Alex left the mansion running and went to Athena's tower.

She was studying a scroll on architecture, but she greeted him, "Hello, Alex."