kscans

Chapter 311 - An Acquired Taste? A Strange Taste? Mand (Part 3)

Mand was thinking. What could he, as an adult, do to help this brave child who was living all alone in the frontier? What could he do? He was a chef, so he could probably help with cooking or ingredients.

So Mand thought again. What could he, living in the merchant city of Laurenzen, do to help Yuri, who lived in the remote Salt-Sour Mountain...

"Things that are lacking in the Salt-Sour Mountain? That would definitely be seafood."

"Seafood, huh..."

Incidentally, Mand was assuming he meant fish, but Yuri was thinking of, in addition to marine fish, things like kelp, bonito flakes, dried squid, dried octopus, shrimp, crab, and shellfish. For Yuri, who was Japanese in his previous life, their importance, especially as a base for broth, could not be ignored. Thus, there was a discrepancy in their images, but since the situation of 'lacking seafood' itself was the same, neither of them noticed the inconsistency. It was the usual state of affairs.

"That's not exactly common here either. Well, it's a different story compared to the Salt-Sour Mountain."

The merchant city of Laurenzen was not located by the sea. They relied on imports from coastal regions for seafood, but with the snow becoming heavier around this time of year, transportation was starting to be delayed.

"Until transportation resumes in earnest next March, the situation here is pretty similar."

"I see. March, huh..."

At that moment, the "Spring Grand Market" held in Laurenzen briefly crossed Mand's mind.

(...Wait a minute? Speakin' of the Spring Grand Market... this might be...)

Mand seemed to have found some food for thought, but he decided that this was beyond his own discretion and resolved to consult with his master, Adon. He should keep his mouth shut until then.

"...Mand-san?"

"Hm? Oh, sorry about that. ...Aside from seafood, what else is there?"

"That would be vegetables, fruits... and seasonings. The quantity is one thing, but the variety is lacking for all of them."

"I see..."

Needless to say... Yuri's talk about 'lacking variety' was based entirely on the standards of 21st-century Japan. For Yuri, who had spent his previous life in Japan, a land of plenty, a situation where he could not get his hands on ingredients from all over the world as he pleased was nothing short of a 'deficiency'... but to say it again, that was not the standard in this world. Yuri was vaguely aware of this and had half given up on it as something that could not be helped, so at this moment, he had only intended to complain a little... but there was no way Mand could have understood such behind the scenes circumstances.

(...Come to think of it, he's never complained about a lack of meat before. Makes sense if he's huntin' monsters in the Salt-Sour Mountain. But vegetables and fruit, huh... Eto did say he bought a ton at the market.)

Even so, Mand thought further. Yuri had bought various things at the market, but... had he really been able to get many different kinds?

As he had just discussed with Yuri, surprisingly, fresh leafy vegetables like lettuce were not sold at the market. Even if a merchant went to the trouble of transporting them, they would wilt right away, making them unsellable. What was usually sold at the market were grains, beans, and root vegetables that could be expected to last. The buyers knew this too, so it was common for them to grow enough for their families themselves. The same went for herbs, and many households grew their own herbs for home consumption. Considering Yuri's situation, he wanted to give him seedlings or seeds so he could grow them in the Salt-Sour Mountain... but unfortunately, seedlings and seeds for both vegetables and herbs were only sold around the time of the grand markets.

What Mand could do in this situation was...

"Hey Yuri, I have a proposition for you."