Chapter 106: Scallops with Soy Sauce
「Just when, and where did you get this!? 」
「Please calm down Alfried-sama! It’s hard to talk when you grabbed my collar and slouching forward like that!」
It looks like it’s a bit painful for Tori when I get closer to him so I release him for now.
Meanwhile, I slightly opened the lid of the small jar on top of the table.
Then, the fragrant and salty smell unique to soy sauce wafted out, when I looked into the jar, I could see a blackish liquid inside.
Ahー, this is it. The seasoning that Japanese people love to use. Soy sauce.
If I have this, I can even make sashimi, yakitori, and grilled onigiri. I have already made tamago kake gohan, but now I can serve it with negi and eat it with soy sauce.
Aah, such a wonderful soy sauce. Just by adding you as a seasoning, I will have much more on my cooking repertoire.
「Then, where did you get this?」
「This morning, it just arrived as an export from Kagura, y’see. ‘cause soy sauce is from Kagura, right?」
「Huh? Tori has been to Kagura before, right? How come you have only found out about soy sauce now? 」
When I threw him such an obvious question, Tori nervously asked me.
「If I say it, you won’t be angry, yeah?」
「…………of course」
「Just now, there’s a long pause before you answer, isn’t it?」
「Ahー, I won’t be angry, okay………probably」
There is no such thing in this world. You wouldn’t know about it until you listen to the details of the story.
『I won’t be angry, so just say it』 it was the kind of remark used by women since ancient times toward promises not being kept.
After hearing such remarks from me, Tori opened his mouth anxiously.
「Last time you only asked for rice, and at that time I don’t know anything about soy sauce, y’see. And after I came back from Kagura, I heard about soy sauce from Alfried-sama. And while collecting information about it I thought, ‘is it that’ー? 」
「Then, it’s fine if you go back and purchase it at Kagura, right?」
「At that time, the Reversi sales are going well and I don’t have the time to go to Kagura, y’see. I’m sorry that I keep silent about it, but it was also an important stage for us……」
Tori has an apologetic look on his face.
Darn it, then I shouldn’t have made Reversi. That way, I could make Tori do a round trip and send him back to Kagura.
If he doesn't have any money, then the Slowlett house can finance them…wait, huh? I can only do that because of the Reversi, right? That means, if I didn’t make Reversi, then I couldn’t send Tori to Kagura?
…well, he went back to a distant country and bought the rice, and also took me together this time. I’m not in the position to complain about it, I guess.
I didn’t live only for soy sauce, there are other foods besides that.
For the past year, I’ve been using ingredients from Koryatt village with Bartolo, making food using trial and error methods.
Those days were not wasted, we made delicious dishes. Rather, if I got my hands on something like soy sauce and rice earlier, then I would probably try to reproduce the foods from my previous life sooner. Pursuing my previous life’s food even though I’ve been reincarnated in a different world at great pains, that’s sad. Given the choice, I would like to try and taste the ingredients in this world.
But well, I would like to eat food from my previous life once in a while.
「Hmm, it’s fine. You’re taking me along with you to Kagura right now. 」
When I answered like that, Tori’s eyes widened as he sighed in relief then he patted his chest.
「Ah noー, I’m so glad to hear you said that. My heart was pounding, thinking that Alfried-sama would get angry, y’see.」
Fuu, I’m not that kind of small-minded man.
「By the way, what’s the reason you took it out now?」
「It’s just that, when we finally arrive at Kagura and suddenly find out about soy sauce, then I thought that you will send me flying. 」
I see. When we arrived at Kagura and I found out about soy sauce, then I would definitely send Tori flying.
I have already answered in such a cool manner just now, so at this stage, I can’t say that.
Let’s just nod and forgive him now, to show him the dignity of this Alfried, a big-hearted noble, bigger than the sea.
Or rather, the flow of conversation is probably being guided in such a way, right? For some reason, I feel like it is like that.
「By the way, are there miso and soybean?」
Since there’s soy sauce, then the raw material - soybean - should also exist, right. Besides, I would be thankful if there is also miso soup.
「When I investigate it, it seems that there are miso and soybean in Kagura.」
「Really!?」
Uhー, when I heard about that I became increasingly eager for our arrival in Kagura.
After listening to Tori’s story, it seems that Japanese culture is quite thorough in Kagura, isn’t it? The townscape is surely going to be beautiful, elegant, and calming, right?
If I’m pleased with Kagura, then it wouldn’t be a bad idea to build My Home and visit Kagura once in a while.
Just when I was dreaming about the land of Kagura that I haven’t seen yet, Roomba showed his face right in front of me.
The gorgeous Japanese-style landscape that I imagined in my mind, shattered into pieces because of Roomba’s dirty face.
「Is this thing that delicious?」
After pouring liquor into his tankard, Roomba peeks into the small jar and sniff at it *sunsun*.
「Don’t drink it. That’s a seasoning, alright?」
But if it’s Roomba, I don’t think that he would do something reckless and made the mistake of trying to drink that.
Although I will be able to get my hands on this if we continue our journey toward Kagura, I wanted to avoid the tragedy of not being able to eat fresh seafood without soy sauce when I have them in front of me.
So I thought, but it seems to be just a groundless fear because Roomba started to have a coughing fit without even tasting it.
「Cough! Agh! What the heck is this? The smell stung my nose y’know?」
Soy sauce smells very strong after all. That would happen if you take a deep breath of it.
「Does it smell that strong? Let me sniff it too.」
Maybe they got curious after seeing Roomba gagging, Irvine and Mort huddled together to sniff the soy sauce.
「This certainly stings your nose.」
「But the smell is not harsh or irritating, it feels kinda salty. Or rather, the color is closer to black, but is this alright?」
The two of them scrunched up their face as their face got closer to the jar.
It seems that they don't know about soy sauce.
Then Tori answered, maybe he understood what I‘m thinking.
「This is also the first time for the member of 『Silver Wind』 party to go to Kagura, y’see. So it’s understandable that they don't know about it, yeah. But naturally, they have experienced sea travel many times」
「So you’ve never been to Kagura before, huh. So for us, this request is also a pleasure you know.」
「Because of that, everyone’s tension is high.」
Aleutia and Ilya who sit diagonally from us said as if to add some explanation.
I see, maybe it’s in adventurer’s nature to try adventuring toward a place they haven’t been to yet?
I feel like Torr, who has never left Koryatt village at all, would say something like that proudly. If it were me, I’m fine with the sightseeing, but I would like to refuse the adventure part, I guess.
Especially when a fight with monsters starts to break out, it’s too dangerous. No matter how many lives I have, it wouldn’t be enough if I fought with those guys.
「This is, it’s salty!」
「Uheー, it tastes too strong. 」
Opposite me, Irvine and Mort scoop up some soy sauce with a spoon and lick it, and go on an adventure toward the unknown.
「That’s because soy sauce is not something that you can taste with nothing else. That will sure be going to be spicy.」
「Then, what’s this seasoning used for?」
「Just the smell alone is this strong, I think this is going to be difficult to use as seasoning………」
The two of them returned the soy sauce jar to me and muttered.
「As for the way to use it, it’s right in front of you, you know.」
「「「Which one?」」」
Roomba and those two leaned forward and said in unison. It would be faster to show them rather than tell them how.
I thought, and sprinkle a decent amount of soy sauce on the scallops that were being grilled on the net.
The scallops that were placed on the shells are soaked in soy sauce, making a *juuー* sound.
「Aaah! If you sprinkle that thing on the scallops then……! ……it smells really good.」
Irvine was surprised to see the scallops sprinkled with soy sauce, but he sat down again immediately after making a *sunsun* sound with his nose.
The large and tender scallops were grilled in flames on top of the net, letting out a thick, rich umami smell. The dashi of the scallops is also mixed with the butter extract as it boils and forms bubbles as they burst and spread the smells of seafood to the surroundings.
――And when a small amount of soy sauce is sprinkled there, a fragrant smell wafts out as it mixes with the scallops.
Maybe it’s because of the irresistible smell from the scallops, Irvine, and the others - who had been making some noise until a short while ago -, they are staring at it while swallowing their saliva.
If you stoop down like that just before the grilled scallops……
Pakinn!
「Gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! The scallop! The scallop juice!」
Because of the scallop juice that hit his face, Irvine moved violently on the narrow bench.
When Roomba and Mort - who also stared at the scallop - looked at the casualty (Irvine), they quickly sat upright, maybe because they didn't want to suffer the same fate.
Thanks to Irvine, there are no more unnecessary casualties.
Then they watched over the scallops as they made a *puri* sound when the bubbles burst, and jump when the shell cracked.
Especially Irvine, he looked so scared because of the scallop juice that splashed onto his face just now.
The simmering scallops started to produce bubbles, so I turned them over to grill it a little bit.
「Yosh, i’s grilled!」
After I said that, Irvine, Mort, and Roomba, who have gotten tired of waiting snatch the scallops from the net.
Their way of snatching the scallops is sharper than Eric at the noble’s party.
It’s very hot and big if you want to eat them in one bite, but the three of them thrust their fork toward their mouth as if they don't care about it.
It was a little too hot for me, so cut it into small pieces with a knife and fork while blowing on it *fuーfuー* to cool it down.
A large adductor muscle (meat) with a rich umami flavor is on the fork.
At the same time as white steam rises from the scallop, an intense smell of the sea hangs in the air.
Mou, so irresistible!
I even forgot to let it cool down first, as I sent the scallop toward my mouth right away.
It’s so hot that it can scald me, but even with that, I thoroughly chew on it to enjoy the delicious taste of the scallop.
And then, the unique texture of the fleshy meat and the umami flavor of the scallop spread inside my mouth.
The sweetness of the scallop mixed with the mellow flavor of the butter and filled my mouth.
I firmly close my eyes to savor the taste that overflows each time I chew on it.
There is only one word to describe it. Delicious.
After savoring the scallop until it melted inside my mouth, I tried to reach for liquor to swallow them together, but there was only an orange juice in front of me.
「…I can’t taste this together with liquor……」
While I vented my frustration, Roomba, Irvine, and the others are gulping down their drink loudly *gokugoku*.
「「「Puhaaーー! Delish!」」」
And, they slammed their tankard on the table with a very satisfied look on their face.
E, enviable. They have such a nice expression that it makes me feels the same.
「Hahaha! It’s still too early for children y’know! Endure it for seven more years, okay!」
Maybe he noticed my wistful gaze, Irvine said that while showing off his tankard.
I wonder if this guy understands just who’s soy sauce this is?
「Since Irvine said something means, you’re forbidden from using the soy sauce」
「Wha, that’s ridiculous!」
Mort is making fun of Irvine’s shocked face while laughing 「Uhyahya」.
And as I laughed while looking at them, Aleutia - who sat diagonally from me - called out to me.
「Alfried-sama! Could we have some soy sauce?」
I suddenly realized that our table had been surrounded by the employees who got a whiff of the soy sauce.
It was also the same for Aleutia and Ilya. They turn their gaze full of expectation to me.
This is, I can’t refuse them.
「Everyone can use it. But don’t waste too much soy sauce, alright?」
「「Thank you very much!」」
When I accepted their request, Aleutia, Ilya, and the employees surrounding us said that in unison.
Such ridiculous coordination. Well, I don’t hate them since they responded like the villagers of Koryatt village.
I mean, it was something not found until we arrived at Kagura. In any case, even if the soy sauce runs out, I can get it again after a week.
It’s a dinner party for everyone to enjoy right now. So rather than thinking about such pointless things, it would be better to share it with everyone, isn’t it?
It’s more enjoyable that way.
The soy sauce jar in front of me was moved to the person next to me, and then the next person. And finally, as if leaving a mark of its existence, the soy sauce made a savory smell and a sizzling sound *ju―u*.
And along with the sound of cheers and applause from all of my companion tables, sounds of chatting and laughter between men and women filled the place.
「As one would expect from you, huh. Alfried-sama.」
When I was looking at the happy faces of Aleutia and the others, Tori - who sits next to me - got closer to me.
「Well, at any rate, there will be more when we go to Kagura.」
Honestly, it’s quite regrettable that I can’t use soy sauce with my seafood again. For such an amount of sauce in a small jar to be passed around with this number of people, there will be nothing left. And when there’s no more soy sauce, I will not be able to taste scallops with soy sauce again……
Right when I was thinking like that, Tori put his hand on top of my shoulder and said.
「It’s alright y’know, Alfried-sama. I bought two more jars of soy sauce as a precaution for a situation like this, after all!」
「Say that sooner, will ya…」
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