29 - Chapter 25: Welcome! The Steamy Elf Village, Ferdina
Ginzan Onsen is a lovely place. Well, I only stopped by there for my truck job, though.
For years, I thought about wanting to go back whenever I had some free time. But my life has been a cycle of working and working, yet never finding ease.
The party arrived at the elf village around sunset.
The river flowing through the center had reinforced banks, and several large bridges were built to make it easy to move between the two shores. Lining both sides were wooden buildings that exuded a sense of age, the contrast between the black beams and white walls being truly beautiful. Furthermore, perhaps because it was early evening, the scenery was illuminated by the light of lanterns, making it almost fantastical.
"Welcome to the elf village... Ferdina."
The Three Idiots nodded as Latia turned back at the village entrance and opened her arms in welcome.
"This is a hot spring town...!"
They let out cries of joy.
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It was different from the elf village they had imagined, one that would be integrated with the forest, but the Three Idiots, thinking this was the ultimate resort, were led by Latia to the furthest depths of the village, to the village chief's house.
However, it was larger in stature, resembling a mansion more than a house, and furthermore...
"Hmm. What a tasteful ryokan..."
"It looks like it could be the setting for a Friday Night Drama or a morning soap opera..."
"The village scenery was like that too, but it reminds me of Ginzan in Yamagata Prefecture, where I used to stop during long-distance hauls a long time ago... I remember eating soba and snacking on dango that would get hard by the next day... Ah, I'm getting hungry."
A five-story wooden building, complete with everything from gardens to a courtyard, this mansion was so grand that it wouldn't be wrong to call it a luxury ryokan. Apparently, it had grown this large because it served as both the village chief's residence and the village meeting hall, but even so, it had a strong Japanese taste.
When Geoglyph asked Latia why, it seemed the elves here were originally refugees who had drifted into the Kingdom of Gao, and the King at the time... in other words, Kensuke Kadra Saitoon, feeling pity for them, had entrusted this entire land to the elves under the guise of managing his own resort.
The elves, feeling a sense of gratitude, cherished the culture of that era, which is why it remained intact. Since it was already a certainty for the Three Idiots that Kensuke Kadra Saitoon was a reincarnated person, to put it simply, the source of the elf culture in this region was Japan. Incidentally, they heard that elves in other regions mostly fit the image of elves the Three Idiots had imagined.
It goes without saying that the Three Idiots gave a big smile and a thumbs-up toward the night sky, thinking, "That guy again, GJ."
"Kasa-su? Ren-zoku terebi shousetsu?"
"Yamagata-ken? Ginzan?"
As Latia and Kazuha tilted their heads, picking up the Three Idiots' nostalgic words, someone came out from the back to greet them, having sensed guests.
"Ah, Mother."
"My, my. Latia, welcome home. Are these guests? Welcome to Ferdina. I am Ludina, Latia's mother."
She was an elf woman. As Latia's mother, she had her long blonde hair tied up and was characterized by a gentle atmosphere, but the Three Idiots were not focused on that when they saw her appearance... specifically, her clothes.
A tomesode with a flowing water pattern komon, a taishimaji obi, and white tabi... no matter how you looked at it, it was a kimono, and combined with her graceful aura, only one thought came to mind.
"She's an okami...!"
Captivated by the blend of an elf in a kimono, the Three Idiots were as excited as characters in a Gaijin Yonkoma.
"Where is Father?"
"In the kitchen. Thanks to the river level dropping, we were able to catch plenty of river fish. I'll go call him, so please guide the guests to the hall."
Afterward, the party was led to the hall and met with the village chief, Latia's father.
"Welcome, guests. I am the village chief, Laback Fa Swin."
And as expected, his attire consisted of a navy blue chef's uniform, and until just before he greeted them, he was wearing a Japanese chef's hat. Though his frame was slender, the Three Idiots felt a quiet intensity from him and became excited once again.
"He's an itamae...!"
These Three Idiots now recognized the elf village completely and solely as a hot spring resort.
"The Serious Breakers and Kazuha-dono, was it? I have heard about you from Latia. My daughter was in your care during the Earth Dragon commotion. I thank you."
After introducing themselves to one another while sitting in seiza with their backs straight, Geoglyph spoke up.
"Speaking of which, I heard there was a large catch of river fish."
"Yes. Overfishing is not good, but it is also a problem to leave those that have been washed up on the shore."
"Monsters and animals will come to eat them and claim the territory, and if they rot, they become a source of plague..."
"How are they being processed?"
"Those already spoiled were made into fish fertilizer, but there are still many fish that can be eaten. For the time being, the village meals will be nothing but grilled fish."
"Ah..."
Feeling something bitter at Laback's final words, the Three Idiots looked up at the sky. Even a favorite food becomes boring if it continues. That said, it would be a waste to throw them away. It might be fine to make them all into fertilizer, but since they didn't know how long the river's abnormality would last, they might not be able to eat fish for a while.
Apparently, the village was split between the faction that said to stock up while they could and the faction that said to just make them into fertilizer since they were bored of them.
Hearing that, the Three Idiots remembered the food situation of this world... or rather, the cooking situation, and pressed their foreheads together.
"Hey, Sensei. Do we have plenty of rations?"
"Yes. Reflecting on the last time, I increased them enough to move a first-string army. Of course, I've gathered everything up to luxury goods. I've secured enough to comfortably shut ourselves in for several years even if we get trapped somewhere."
"Geo's storage magic even comes with time suspension, doesn't it. Which means..."
After exchanging a few opinions, the Three Idiots turned back toward the village chief.
"Village Chief. We have a small request to discuss."
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Even in a different world, if civilization exists, the concept of cooking exists.
Even with simple things, boiling, grilling, stir-frying... if you apply heat, the range of things that can be eaten expands. Also, as long as heat is applied, most parasites and bacteria are killed, increasing safety. Therefore, cooking has always been close to human history as a food culture, and these two have an inseparable relationship.
That said, the civilization level of this world is medieval. There are no umami seasonings, and even a single cooking technique is not refined. At least from the knowledge and experience the Three Idiots possessed, the basic stance was that it was just better than being inedible. Even so, Geoglyph, being from a Margrave's house, was able to eat reasonably good things, and Later, thanks to his outdoor hobbies, was used to crude meals, so they didn't particularly mind.
The problem was Marianne.
Basically a modern girl who lived with her parents and was single, she had plenty of pocket money. She frequently went food-touring and dining out, and consequently, she had a refined palate. Her family in this life were also great millionaires, so she could eat good things, but human desire is limitless, and unable to be satisfied with that, she embarked on a food culture reform. That said, she didn't do anything difficult. Using the staggering amount of capital she had, she collected ingredients and seasonings to reproduce the dishes of her previous life. When she happened to teach those to her family's chefs, her family took a liking to them, and before she knew it, she ended up opening a restaurant.
That was about five years ago. Now, the previous-life cuisine she introduced is called Romanette cuisine and is creating a new movement in the Imperial Capital.
"So this is the rumored Romanette cuisine... You all are quite skilled at cooking as well..."
While helping the Three Idiots who were wielding knives in the kitchen, Kazuha let out voices of admiration at the number of unknown dishes being lined up one after another.
After that. In exchange for the various food items stored in Geoglyph's storage magic, they traded for the large catch of river fish, and because Later muttered, "Let's make some river fish dishes for the first time in a while," they were allowed to borrow the kitchen.
As they made dishes using the obtained river fish, such as fried rainbow trout, deep-fried young ayu, garlic meuniere, and kombu-maki, Later called out to Kazuha.
"Ah, that's right, Kazuha. Try a bit of this."
And on the small plate presented to her, there were two things shaped and colored like small rice bales.
"What is this?"
"Inari-zushi."
Wondering what it was, Kazuha picked up an inari-zushi with her chopsticks and brought it to her mouth.
"...! ~~~~♡"
"Oh, the fluff expanded...!!"
Her ears stood up straight, and her fluffy tail suddenly puffed up all at once. Placing her hands on her cheeks with a blissful smile, she seemed to like it, as she was munching and savoring it.
"La, Later-sama! This is!?"
"Well, since we're heading to Mahora, I made some fried tofu. I originally intended to make kitsune udon, but then I encountered rice. I thought this would be better for the filling. Is it tasty?"
"Yes! Yes! This, this is wonderful!"
"I see, I see. There's more, so eat as much as you like. Seconds are fine too."
The two idiots watching the scene while moving their hands.
"That man has finally started taming her with food."
"Well, let's watch over them as long as it's wholesome. If he starts sexual harassment by saying things like 'That's my inari-san,' I'll knock him flat. Now then, I'll go pester Latia too."
"The men are love-struck. At times like this, being single makes one feel out of place... What is this? I just felt a strange chill."
Feeling as if she heard an ominous scream of "Big Sister...!" from somewhere far away, Marianne shuddered.
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Meanwhile, at that time.
"The elf village... Big Sister is in the elf village...!"
Lilitia, who had charged into Mahora and narrowly missed, had changed her course toward the elf village.
To be continued tomorrow.