kscans

Chapter 155 - Interlude: A Dining Table Scene

(Now then... Adon, was it? This merchant.)

The guest did not have high expectations for this evening's dinner party. He had been introduced to someone with a connection to a Rosewood supplier, so establishing that connection was a given. But from the guest's perspective, the Adon Company was nothing more than an upstart. He even doubted whether they would serve a decent meal.

(Well, well, I wonder what kind of food I'll be subjected to...)

Such thoughts vanished as soon as he entered the dining room. The first thing that caught his eye was the flower adorning the table. At first, he had overlooked it without a second thought, but the moment he realized it was winter, he became curious as to how they had procured the flower. Upon approaching and examining it closely, he was surprised to find that the "flower" was...

(Is this... a napkin?)

What had looked like a carnation from a distance, he was astonished to realize upon closer inspection, was made of cloth. He felt a slight sense of incongruity at the flower being placed there alone, without leaves or a stem, but seeing it like this made sense.

(A napkin with the same colors as a real flower... How do you manipulate it to create such a shape?)

He had thought they might have used Wood Magic, but this was far more clever than magic.

(This man... may not be some vulgar upstart after all...)

It was immediately after this that the guest, overwhelmed by the Salt Crust Baking and other dishes that were served, would completely reverse his evaluation of Adon.

*

Meanwhile, in another place, End Village. During the pre-meal prayer, Dona's thoughts drifted to a certain boy.

(Yuri-kun... I wonder what he's eating right now...?)

He was a strange boy.

He used ingredients that, from Dona's perspective, were the height of luxury as if it were perfectly normal, and yet...

(...To be so happy over simple black bread...)

He had savored the black bread he ate in End Village as if it were a feast he had not had in years. He had also been delighted with the white bread and cheese he ate at Adon's mansion, but for all that, he had a strangely accustomed air about him, which was also odd.

When they were shopping at the market, he had bought up all the bread and cheese he could. It seemed he had not been able to get much milk, but he had still bought as much as he could. It seemed his regular diet consisted of luxurious things like monster meat and wood honey, but...

(...A diet without bread or cheese for five whole years... I don't know whether to be envious or not...)

*

Around the same time, as for what the boy in question, Yuri, was eating,

"Hehe... I wonder how many years it's been since I had seven-herb tempura. ...Ah... I'm tearing up..."

He was frying tempura with vegetable oil he had purchased in Laurenzen.

"With animal fat, I could never get rid of the smell... It's not tasty..."

He had been able to obtain vegetable oil at the market in Laurenzen, so he had bought up as many types as he could. He had been making stir-fries using animal fat, but when it came to something like tempura, the strong-smelling animal fat did not suit Yuri's taste.

"The soy sauce isn't ready yet, but the quality of the Fermented Meat has improved a lot recently, and I can make something like grated radish... and for wild edible tempura, it's pretty good with just salt."

It seemed he had taken the opportunity of wild herbs being available in the spring to make tempura.

"Mmm, delicious... If only I had white rice... I'll have to hope for the Spring Grand Market..."

The day of the Spring Grand Market to be held in the city of Laurenzen was approaching, one day at a time.