Chapter 8.4 (1/2)

Chapter 8.4

Nodding in agreement, Douga and the president still ate their food before Layotte could get his hands on his. They both had a considerable carrier in adventuring, and as such, had developed some degree of resistance. In addition, with something this simple (with a straightforward flavor) they could have detected most any poison on the spot from experience.

「Speaking of…」

「My Lord?」

「You tell me Aearis has been dining on some rare delicacies. Could she stand to return to the bland meals served at the Temple?」

Layotte asked, as he is washed down what could only be described as meagre. Neither Douga nor Rayna had stopped to ask that question. Douga froze.

「…I must speak with the chef at the Temple. While the dishes are rare, they are not extravagant.」

「I see. So, do they make good food?」

「It may depend on one’s palette, for many of their dishes. Aearis-sama and I have both enjoyed them all.」

「Interesting.」

Layotte cracked (in some sort) an evil grin. As soon as Douga saw this, he regretted mentioning anything about food. Aearis wasn’t the only one unhappy about the dining situation at the castle and Temple.

「Let’s see… We’re going there anyway, can you ask them to cook us one of this strange delicacies?」

「…I will ask him, My Lord.」

Douga wallowed in his mistake of including food in his report, but what he didn’t know, is that it didn’t really matter whether he kept this from his report or not. After a quick discussion about the near future, Douga was left to describe the dishes he had eaten to Layotte with the time leftover. Then, a black-haired man in his mid-twenties entered. In contrast to Layotte’s skinny stature, this man was cool-blooded and handsome.

「Julius Felnork, reporting for duty.」

「You’re here. Faster than I’ve thought. Did you eat?」

「Military rations on the way.」

「Ernest.」

「Yes, My Lord.」

Douga activated the Transportation Stones to Layotte’s cue. All of a sudden, Hiroshi and the rest of the part were looking to get involved with the royal court of Farlane.

***

Burning a hole into yet another steel plate (in a different shape this time) Aearis was daydreaming the possibilities of the dishes about to appear in front of her.

「Jeesh… I was wondering what you’ve been doing, sneaking around…」

「C’mon, what’s the harm?」

「There’s no harm, but…」

Makoto could not have sounded more exasperated looking at the equipment Hiroshi had produced for an afternoon snack. The steel plate in front of Hiroshi looked peculiar to Aearis and Rayna, with a grid of 8 by 12 half-spherical indents in it. It had been processed in all sorts of convoluted ways, radiating enough magic to tip off to most observers that the equipment was magic-powered. Of course, any Japanese person could instantly recognize it.

「Hold on, do we have octopus?」

「Who do ya think you’re talkin’ to?」

With that Hiroshi expertly started pouring oil into the indents. Once the heat was high enough, he filled the indents with some dough (similar but different from the dough earlier) and swiftly threw in the ingredients (including octopus, of course).

「Now, watch this.」

Hiroshi declared with a poker in hand, once he observed that the edge of the dough in each indent began to crisp. Weaving the poker like a swirling torrent, detaching the dough pouring out onto the spaces inbetween the indents. Pushing back the detached dough back into the indents before twirling the poker along the edge of the indent to flip over the ball with obvious expertise.

「Wow wow wow!」

Giving Aearis a glance, who kept uttering in a mix of awe and joy, Hiroshi kept flipping over the octopus balls. His technique was comparable to any professional vendor on the streets of Osaka.

「Amazing.」

「I don’t know if I should be surprised or not…」

「Anyone from Osaka can do this much, even a little kid.」

Hiroshi continued, flipping over the balls repeatedly to cook them evenly. His movements were completely free of hesitation or erroneous movement. He continued that for a while, and once he saw that all of them were cooked well, he placed upon a leaf, which he had turned into a makeshift tray, 8 octopus balls. Then, with expertise, topped them with steak sauce and mayonnaise, along with nori and bonito flakes before sticking a toothpick into one and serving it to Aearis.

「It’s hot, so be careful.」

Hiroshi warned Aearis, who had remained seated with excellent posture, staring at the cooking process with gaping eyes. If she had a tail, it would be wagging back and forth in joy. Before she reached for one, she did her usual glance at Hiroshi’s expression, but it seemed that today she couldn’t restrain herself for long, as she picked up one of the octopus balls. She apparently still heard Hiroshi’s warning, however, as she blew on the piping octopus ball in her hand before carefully putting it in her mouth.

「Hmm!」

The dish did seem rather confusing for the resident of another world. Aearis just rolled it back and forth in her mouth, looking perplexed. Chuckling at this sight, Hiroshi placed some more onto another tray.

「Mmm! This is so good!」

「You learned it in the Mecca of octopus balls, after all.」

The gang rolled the octopus balls back and forth in their mouths as they savored them, finished to a crisp exterior and a gooey filling. By this time, Aearis had recovered from the initial surprise, and began throwing them into her mouth.

「Try ‘em with soy sauce or ponzu. It’s pretty good.」

「Really? I want to try.」

「Here ya go.」

And so, Hiroshi threw the next batch into a couple of bowls, and topped one with soy sauce and the other with green onion and ponzu. He did not hold back.

「This is delicious, too!」

「I remember this from the last time. Ponzu, is it? I love the crisp acidity.」

As Haruna and Aearis cheered him on, Hiroshi started on his portion with a smug expression. Makoto and Tatsuya had already asked Hiroshi “You made the ponzu yourself, too?” and “How did you get the malt you need for soy sauce and miso?” etc., so now they simply ate in silence.

「…Does everything from your nation taste this good?」