Volume 3 Chapter 6.1
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Translator: Larkin
Editor: Weasalopes
「I’m hungry…」
Once they all started down the stairs, Mio said that with a sigh. She had been in high spirits and entirely focused on the exploration at hand that she hadn’t found the time to have a proper lunch.
「Now that you mention it I’m hungry too.」
「We should have lunch up ahead. 」
Because of Mio’s complaint everyone present was lured into acknowledging their empty stomachs. Unable to rebel against their bodies’ complaints they decided to have a proper meal.
「In the meantime let’s eat at the salon space down below. 」
「Right. After we move forward we don’t know if we’ll have the opportunity to eat again. 」
After they made their decision the preparations for their meal were carried out much faster than expected. 5 minutes after they finished talking the salon space was adorned with bentos and beverages.
「What’s for lunch? 」
「I tried my hand at Darl dishes. I think it was Inebula and Jatte. 」
Haruna glanced at Primula and Judith’s direction with a look that said ‘did I get it right?’
The two of them looked down at the bento’s contents and nodded in agreement. Inebula was the first dish everyone had eaten when they had arrived in Darl. It was a spicy stew-like mass and the name was an old Darlish word for poultry stew.
If the poultry meat were switched with seafood it’d be called Banenula. And if it were beef it’d be Donebula. Therefore, what Hiroshi and the others had eaten was Inebula.
Jatte was the general term for scorched ingredients consisting of sheep milk mixed with spices and vinegar. If one were to cook it with fowl it’d be called Inejatte. If it was seafood it’d be Banejatte. If it were beef it’d be Donejatte. However, because Jatte was a dish originally imported from Farlane it was more common to say Poultry Jatte.
「Ehe. It looks spicy…」
Tatsuya unconsciously let out a sigh as he gazed down at the bentos. It didn’t look as spicy as Korean dishes but even so both cultures were known to use a large amount of capsium in their food. Just looking at the bento’s contents made his mouth burn.
「Well, I made a few adjustments so it won’t be so spicy. 」
「However, it may not be to Primula and Judith’s liking. 」
A culture’s cuisine generally is influenced by the ingredients and seasonings available in the area as well as the changing tastes of its inhabitants.
Compared to Farlane, Darl had a wider range of spices and consequently dishes that didn’t involve spices were a rarity. The dishes were so spicy that they did nothing but make Tatsuya’s tongue burn, but even so it was the food that the majority enjoyed.
Because the dishes had been adjusted to appeal to Japanese tastes there was a high probability that it wouldn’t appeal to Darl born people like Primula and Judith. On top of that Japanese seasoning isn’t all-mighty but rather bland and the Japanese palate wasn’t something that could easily be accepted unanimously.
「This Inebula, while it’s true that this is Inebula, it’s the first time I’ve tried Inebula that tastes like this. 」
「This Inebula, although it’s still spicy, there seems to be a refreshing aftertaste. 」
Haruna had made an Inebula with seasoning that still made one’s body flare up but at the same time had an aftertaste that lingered pleasantly. That seasoning made it Inebula, without a doubt, but this was no ordinary Inebula.
「I had some fish sauce so I thought it be perfect to use it. Afterwards, because I was making Jatte, I thought I’d go easy on the meat and instead add more vegetables. Because of the aftertaste ended up being more refreshing than I thought.」
「Onechan, I like this one better. 」
「You’re right. If you don’t drink sake while eating Inebula you’re throat will get dry but that’s not the case with this version.」
While two Darlians unexpectedly praised her dish Haruna struck a pose of triumph. Moreover she was happy that they had enjoyed her favorite seasoning.
「I’m glad you liked it. What about the Jatte?」
「What kind of meat is this? 」
「It’s bloody wolf. Slashed jaguar would have been good too but I used it to make curry rice so I thought bloody wolf would be best for Jatte. 」
Both were powerful monsters that one were guaranteed to find in the deep regions at the southern part of the large forest. At hearing that, the sisters seemed to give up and shake their heads while chewing their food. Incidentally, from Darl’s point of view the great southern forest is actually situated in the north however the term “the great southern forest” had stuck and everyone understood what it really meant.
「The large amount of spices you used sure makes this stinky carnivore meat taste good. 」
「Yeah. Also, it isn’t as spicy as I thought it would be. 」
「The sheep milk unexpectedly made it quite mild.」
「Well, I also tampered a bit with the spices, ground up the vegetables for some subtle flavoring, and added tare sauce. I actually experimented a lot. 」
The Norton sisters went speechless at hearing how much care had been put into making the dish. This was due to the fact that Inebula and Jatte didn’t actually require that much preparation. Usually, Inebula was made by randomly mixing a wide variety of spices with a bit of water, some hastily mixed meat, and scorched without so much as an afterthought. It was widely known as a quick and easy dish.
Besides the royal palace and high class restaurants, ordinary households and foodstands didn’t put a lot of effort into making these two dishes. At most a chef who was particular about spices would perhaps give the dish more thought enough to fashion up a unique mixture but that was it.
These were the type of dishes where even if you made a mistake they could easily be fixed with a spell.
「Say, this bread is very filling and crunchy but did you actually use wheat?」
「It’s sand wheat. I thought I might as well play around and experiment.」
At Makoto’s question Haruna subtly displayed a face of triumph. While she had also taken care not to make so many rice-based dishes for the sake of the Norton sisters this fact had also enabled her to cook freely without worry.
「Haru, you’re making a face like you’re worrying about the value system of those two.」
「Does it look that strange?」
「I’m not saying you look weird but ever since we got to this country you’ve done a great job recreating the country’s dishes haven’t you?”
「That’s because I’m a Japanese person who uses all of her strength when it comes to cooking.」
「Even if I were to speak of Haruna as a Japanese person it feels a bit funny.」
Primula couldn’t help shake her head back and forth as she witnessed the trivial conversation unfold before her. Even though she thought it was meaningless to be surprised by food or anything concerning Hiroshi and Haruna she was still taken aback by the alteration made to Darl’s cuisine, and she felt shameful about it.
「Wow, not only are you able to make something new but you succeed every time.」
「Don’t you think all this time and experiments are a waste just to make something delicious?」
「I understand what you mean but I’m always enthusiastic about trying something new.」
「I think that’s something that can only be said about Haru and Hiro.」
At Mio’s curveball Haruna and Hiroshi unconsciously looked away. It was true, to a certain extent, that Mio was always a guinea pig when it came to their gourmand antics.
At any rate she seemed to always get dragged along whenever they attempted something new.
They would argue about not knowing the difference between two practically identical dishes, then they’d refine it and demand her to sample it and provide feedback. Even if she got to eat delicious food she’d sometimes get fed up with their obsession.
Moreover, the first time she had prepared Wyvern the result had been disastrous. Even if she gave as much effort as Aearis did, she wouldn’t be praised as much as her. If anything Hiroshi was far more suited for the role of capturing the hearts of others with his cooking skills. Even Haruna had limits to her abilities and obstacles she couldn’t overcome. On top of that, since the two of them didn’t have much life experience they had difficulty with coming up with new ideas and were often at their wit’s end when it came to creative cookery. So while Mio enjoyed sampling the delicious food she just couldn’t get on with idea of terrona and udon being tossed together and being involved in deciding what ingredients in the dashi soup stock would affect the hardness of the udon, nor the adjustments that would follow in order to achieve the perfect texture. Nope.
If one had to go that far just so that her cooking would make her romantically appealing she wanted out.
「Well, to tell you the truth I don’t really have anything else to do so I find myself getting really immersed in the details.」
「What about singing?」
「Well, I don’t really practice singing. Do you mean singing not at a bar but while running errands or something?」
「Well yeah, isn’t that what you usually do?」
Haruna was the type of person who sang in falsetto and vibrato, something that a professional singer would have mastered, effortlessly as if she were simply humming in intervals while working and cooking. It was probably a habit that had become ingrained into her.
「Oh by the way, Hiroshi-kun.」
「Hm?」
「If you have time to spare, I’d be really glad if you could make me a guitar. 」
「Sure, do you plan on playing it while singing?」
「Yes, up until now I’ve only been singing a capella.」
At any rate Haruna hadn’t had many opportunities to sing in front of an audience.
It hadn’t been the case like backs in Wulls but ever since she arrived in Darl, food stands had become her stage and the occasions she sang had become more frequent.
「Got it. Oh, should I also make a shamisen? 」
「Oh, yes that would be great for singing enka and folk songs.」
Haruna nodded at Hiroshi’s suggestion. By the looks of it she also knew how to play the shamisen. She was skilled with even traditional Japanese musical instruments.
「…Umm the instruments that Hiro makes…」
「Hn?」
「If one were to swing down your guitar like a rock star, it would shatter a rock without so much as a scratch would it? 」
「Yup. Afterwards it’ll let out an incredible sound with shock waves. The audience might even think that it’s bardic music.」
「Hiro, you could make a violin the size of a child and a 500 kilo piano out of gold, then you could make a violin mithril and then a piano bomber for throwing, right?」
Makoto and the others were rapidly suggesting ideas based on musical instruments. What had simply started as a simple question from Mio had turned into something resembling a cross-examination. 」
「Well, based on the material they’ll be sturdy enough to function as a blunt weapon. But, I’m not gonna make all those things y’all just said.」
「Yeah but we’re talking about instruments other than the ones Haruna will use.」
「First of all, Mio and my instruments have to be colorful.」
「Hiro, that’s not fair.」
「You see, we need instruments that match our characters. We can’t just have regular instruments. 」
Mio refused to argue with Hiroshi’s blunt opinion and simply stared defiantly in silence. There was no point in arguing about something as trivial as the color of instruments.
「Um, back in your hometowns was there a violin the size of a child and a piano made of gold? 」
「Nope. Uh-uh.」
「That was just a joke.」
「For a joke that was really specific.」
At Judith’s question Mio and Tatsuya firmly shook their heads. However, there was no way of knowing if the intention to use a guitar as a weapon was truly a joke or not.
「Anyway, before coming here, I haven’t given a proper performance in three years so I’ve obviously got to practice and get back into the hang of things.」
「As usual, you must be spectacular at musical performances right? 」
「No way, no way. I am somewhat skilled but I’d say my skills are about 10%.」
Haruna’s musical instrument skills weren’t as good as her masterful singing. She had only learned to play instruments to the point that they didn’t detract from her singing. If she learned to play properly she would probably master them as well. However, the fact that she regarded music as no more than a hobby kept her from doing so.
「Well, if it’s not something ya need urgently then I’ll take my time with it.」
「Yeah don’t worry about it I’ll only be playing them in my free time.」
「Well, we’ve all finished our meals and the matter at hand seems to have been taken care of so how about we get going?」
「Yup.」
「I wonder what we’re going to run into next?」
The group had replenished their energy with a late afternoon meal and had decided to head for the hidden stairwell since there was a chance that it didn’t contain booby traps.
In a place where one wouldn’t expect to find hidden stairs, just ahead was what looked like an unfinished passageway. It was too narrow for three people to engage in combat side by side but there seemed to be enough for two people even if one of them carried a longer weapon.
「This place feels different from where we were before…」
「Onechan, this is like an adventure!」
「Judith, calm down.」
For the situation at hand to appear as a fun adventure to the untrained eye was dangerous in more ways than one. While the whole scenario did seem like an adventure up until now they had been barraged with a combination of harmless jokes but also booby traps that had endangered their lives. It would be careless to assume that there wouldn’t be more up ahead.
「This seems like an ancient pattern.」
「Yeah, it has that feeling.」
Hiroshi and Haruna voiced their opinions to each other as they examined around 10 feet of the surface and walls around them. The area seemed like it was right out of an Indiana Jones movie.
「For the time being let’s get in formation. Hiro and Mio will take the front, the Norton sisters and I will be in the center, and Makoto and Haruna will take the rear. 」
「Understood.」
At Tatsuya’s order, the group got into their respective positions. Mio, who possessed a high ability to detect traps, was suited for the front. Hiroshi would then act as a tank to soak up any potential damage. However, if there happened to be a problem afterwards, such as a trap activating from behind, they were worried for Haruna who wasn’t as technically skilled as the rest of the group.
They proceeded carefully in a dungeon formation that they hadn’t used that often until now. They might encounter traps that would be difficult to deal with regardless of their individual skills just like with the thiefs in the Elf Forest, but not doing anything at all was the same as purposefully placing oneself at a disadvantage.
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