Volume II Snippet 1.3
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Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes
２. Aearis Goes to a Soba Store
「Father, Great Priest.」
「What is the matter, Aearis-sama?」
「I don’t believe you had anything to do today, Aearis.」
「Nothing official, no. I simply want you to grant me a slightly selfish desire.」
Aearis had begun the conversation with a rather earnest expression, which prompted the king and priest to exchange glances. Clearly they could not fathom what in the world she desired.
「And this desire of yours is？」
「I wish to take a vacation in the near future, if that is alright.」
「I don’t mind, but why exactly？」
「You see……」
The king and priest couldn’t help but give Aearis a weird look as she explained. They had somewhat anticipated her wanting to go out, but the reason was most certainly not something that most young girls desired when they were coming of age.
「A soba shop, you say……」
「But you eat soba all the time, do you not？」
「I don’t mean the kind I make, but the kind that’s sold.」
Aearis sent a gaze burning with passion their way. If this had been about anything but soba, it surely would have been a refined mannerism suitable for royalty, but this was just sinful.
「Honestly, it isn’t really suitable to just go out and eat……」
「But Father, if there is anything dangerous mixed in, Alfemina-sama will let me know.」
「……Never thought I would see the day when a believer gave such a reason……」
The high priest had a rather difficult expression on his face in response to this incredibly cheap oracle. Sure, it was no lie that her power as a priestess would prove credible in situations such as these, but just to eat soba? The stocks would plummet in more ways than one.
「……High Priest, I see no reason to deny her request. What say you?」
「Right……Besides, even if we refused, she could just as easily make her way to Azuma Workshop. We have seen her become rather rebellious as of late, have we not?」
「……We sure have.」
The reason they could not see a reason to refuse was chiefly because she was already coming and going to Azuma Workshop. Depending on the day, she would even go with the workshop members to relatively safe marketplaces. By this point, it was too late to feel worried.
Furthermore, when she was under the protection of Hiroshi’s group, she still wandered around here and there under a disguise (accompanied by someone however). If they were still worried despite that, this could still be resolved by giving Douga permission to accompany her on one of his free days.
Sure, some might think of this as unfair to Douga’s break time, but again, why bother caring at this point? After all, his grandchildren had already grown up fine and stopped playing with him, so having him accompany Aearis out to town would probably make him secretly have fun. Quite honestly, he was in the end a grandpa who doted on his grandchildren.
「……Alright. Ernest’s day off is three days from now. Was there anything planned for this day, High Priest？」
「No, not anything in particular that would restrain Aearis-sama.」
「Then I guess that can be the day.」
「Thank you very much！」
Aearis thanked them with a sparkly look in her eyes, bowing her head properly. It was almost as if she were wagging a tail. She thanked them once again before exiting the room and going back to the temple.
「I don’t know what she sees in that soba. Surely the kind I make is far superior…」
「Well, there’s nothing wrong with letting her do this every so often.」
After they saw Aearis leave, the king muttered his true feelings and the high priest comforted him. As all of this was happening, Aearis had at last gone on her way to the soba shop she was so hung up on.
「Is this it……！」
「It has quite the elegance, does it not?」
Three days later. Taking a break as planned, Aearis had arrived at the outskirts of the food district, led by Fum. The shop was structured like a wooden bungalow with a hint of refinement to it, something you would never see in Farlane. But this was to be expected, since the building itself was something that Hiroshi had created the blueprint for, entrusting it to the shopkeeper. It was only natural that Hiroshi’s blueprint had a Japanese method of construction. Thanks to that, the building looked as if it were both popping out and blending into its surroundings. It was a strange sight to be sure.
「Just so you know, Elle-sama, Grand-sama.」
「What is it？」
「What？」
「There’s no denying it’s delicious, but don’t go expecting anything incredible, okay？」
「Yes, I know.」
Replying to Fum’s warning, they went straight under the curtains at the entrance.
「Welcome. Three, I take it?」
A man who appeared to be the shopkeeper called out to them as he continued to pound the soba.
「Yes.」
「Oh, Fum! Thanks for coming again.」
「Ah, yeah. I was requested by these two.」
「Alright, looks like I gotta keep my work ship-shape then.」
He said as he continued pounding the noodles with seasoned hands. The noodles in question were buckwheat, and the 28th variety. Apparently, the shopkeeper hadn’t been able to skillfully make the 100% variety. That being said, coming from someone like Aearis who also happened to make the same food, this shopkeeper had quite the ability.
「I can certainly see why you’re in business. Just look at that technique.」
「So, young lady. I anticipated that you all would be related to Fum in some way, but if you understand the gists of soba pounding, I assume you’re an acquaintance of Hiroshi’s?」
「Yes.」
「Oh boy, now I really can’t screw up here……」
As he spoke, he finished the pounding and immediately proceeded to boil it. Once the soba had boiled to a good degree, he moved it to a donburi, pouring an ample amount of pre-prepared warm dashi juice before quickly cutting onions and setting them on the plate.
「Well if you know Hiroshi, then we gotta go with kakesoba, eh?」
Without so much as hearing their orders, he had prepared everything necessary and said that as an excuse. However, all three of them had already intended on ordering kakesoba, so naturally, there were no complaints.
「It’s nothing compared to what they can fix up for you, so don’t be too harsh on me, mkay?」
As he said that as a safeguard, the shopkeeper brought out the dashi-scented soba to them. Not skipping a beat, they thrust their chopsticks into the noodles, slurping up the first mouthful without making much noise.
「……I see.」
「Elle-sama？」
「No, I was just surprised by how delicious a broth you can make even without using enough soy sauce.」
「Ah, so you do know about soy sauce……」
The shopkeeper couldn’t help but show disappointment at Aearis’s observation. They began sipping the next mouthful with a wry smile on their faces as they noticed that. After slowly savoring the taste,
「I feel that the extraction of wheat flour was a bit rough. Also, perhaps you were a little bit quick with the water？」
「Yeah, couldn’t quite find any good-quality wheat flour. I do what I can in regards to the water flow, but it just doesn’t settle down enough.」
Aearis smiled warmly at the shopkeeper as he laughed at his shortcomings. She continued speaking.
「Still, this is the most delicious soba I’ve eaten other than what Hiroshi-sama has made. Your business success speaks for itself.」
「Hey Boss, it’s even better than the last time I ate it. Have some confidence.」
「……Thanks, man.」
The shopkeeper slightly smiled at Aearis and Fum’s consideration. As they conversed, several customers entered.
「Oh？」
「It seems you have more customers now.」
「Yeah, this shop is pretty lively. It’s even got tempura and some rare stuff.」
「In that case, I would be adverse to staying too long.」
「Nah, feel free to take it easy. Besides, if you all know the guy, then there are some things I’d like to test out.」
He quickly fried the tempura and piled it on as he said that. He also prepared a few buckwheat dumplings and some buckwheat rice gruel, presenting it to them.
「I’ll treat ya, so once I’m finished helping them, let me know what you think.」
「Thank you very much.」
Finishing the buckwheat noodle soup before the noodles went stale, they got to eating the soba gruel and soba dumplings. Before Hiroshi had brought up the idea of eating ramen dumplings, soba dumplings like this were the main way it went. As a result, this was not rare in and of itself. The only noticeable difference was the delicate dashi seasoning.
「Y’know, it’s not half bad eating it with this seasoning either.」
「Right? It’s amazing.」
「When I eat this, I truly remember that soba is an assorted grain.」
As Douga heartily slurped soba gruel while making that comment, the two girls made understanding expressions on their faces. Last of all, they ate tempura and exchanged their thoughts.
「Yep, fried food is best when freshly cooked.」
「Fried and crispy, just the way I like it.」
The shopkeeper’s cuisine appeared to have quite the rave review at first glance. It was just that the group ended up finding fault in the smallest places.
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