Chapter 144: Words I Wanted To Say
「……eh? Really?」
Kojirou suddenly said that he wants to quit his job, so I ask him since I was really surprised about it.
「Yeah, I’m going to quit being a swordsman and open a unadon restaurant!」
「Is that really fine?」
「You’re going to quit being a swordsman?」
「Yeah, I’ll quit being a swordsman! Then I will spread the deliciousness of this unadon to all of Kagura! I decided to live my life for the sword for more than twenty years. I thought that there is no other thing I wanted to do or I could do in my life, but I didn’t think that I will found something I wanted to do at this time! 」
Roomba and I ask again to make sure of what he said, but Kojirou sincerely declared with a cheerful expression on his face.
Ooh, don’t tell me, it was an eel dish that I taught him casually, but I didn’t think that it will light an inspiration inside Kojirou.
If this was said by a salaryman from my previous life, then it would be something they said after nearly an hour of intense work, but, this is a different world. Moreover, there are rice and soy sauce here in Kagura, and eel dishes have not been developed yet.
You can procure eels at cheap prices, you can also make tare sauce by yourself, and there is even rice here. You can obtain the ingredients locally without much difficulty, so opening an eel restaurant in Kagura doesn’t seem to be a bad idea.
Besides, it appears that Kojirou himself is also familiar with cooking looking at his thoroughness and skillful cooking of the salt-grilled fish, so there won’t be any problem, I guess.
Resigning his job, then used his savings to open a restaurant.
Cooking the food, then seeing the smile of the customers.
Spending the days peacefully while happily talking with the customers occasionally, that’s sounds good.
Back in my previous life, I also thought that it would be nice if I could open a stylish coffee shop in my old age, spending my life peacefully while making coffee or even light meals.
「That sounds nice, opening an eel restaurant after you quit being a swordsman. It sounds like you’re going to spend a fulfilled and pleasant life.」
「Right? Eels are this delicious. If I opened a restaurant then customers will come to my place of their own accord」
Kojirou and I muttered as we look up at the sky while imagining that kind of scene in our mind.
「At that time people will probably be surprised at the deliciousness of eels, won’t they」
「Aah, since everyone thought that it’s unpalatable after all. I’m looking forward to seeing my acquaintance’s surprised appearance」
Kojirou said while laughing innocently *kukuku*. He looks really happy perhaps he’s imagining his close acquaintance’s reaction.
Looking at the smiling Kojirou, Roomba approached me and asked.
「Hey, Al. We can also found eels in Koryatt village, right?」
「Un, there are. I see them in the river where I usually play sometimes.」
「Then, that’s great. So I can also eat eels even when we return to the village!」
I hadn’t had the soy sauce to make the tare sauce until now so I had been leaving them as is, but now that I’ve got my hands on soy sauce, I can eat as much unadon as I want.
Roomba laughed as he looks relieved, maybe he also realized it.
「Kojirou, if you’re going to open an eel restaurant, then I will teach you other menu and other simple, important things to note.」
Being easy to make, means that other people will also be able to easily imitate them. It will be insufferable for the unagi donburi that Kojirou painstakingly made to be imitated by others
「……Al, Roomba, you don’t make fun of me even when I said that I want to quit my job and open an eel restaurant.」
「It’s nothing to look down on, you know?」
「And I’m an adventurer after all. Whether someone wants to work or not, or they want to quit their job, I think that’s their own freedom to choose, right? 」
When I and Roomba tell him so, Kojirou looked as if he was dumbfounded.
「What is it?」
「……no, sorry. I’ve never heard someone said those kinds of words to me before. It feels strange somehow. People mainly said something like live to serve the lord or, to only live for the sword. Aside from hearing those things, I feel so happy that you’re cheering for me……」
Kojirou endures his tears while pinching the inner corner of his eyes.
O, oh, maybe the swordsman group Kojirou was affiliated with is so strict. For Kojirou - who wants to quit his job - those words would probably be nothing more than putting more weight on his shoulder.
I got close to Kojirou and tap on his back to encourage him *ponpon*. Roomba was also tapping his shoulder in the same way with a gentle look on his face.
「From now on you’re going to live for yourself, yeah?」
「Not for the sword, but live for the eels, alright! The next thing you’re holding is a kitchen knife, not a katana!」
As Roomba laughed while hitting his shoulder *gahaha*, Kojirou roughly wiped the corner of his eyes with his sleeve.
「……aaah! Yeah, just like that! I’m going to master eel dishes! Now then, Al! Teach me those other menus and the important things to take note of to do that!」
Seeing Kojirou’s smile that couldn’t be happier, I start teaching him about other eel dishes like hitsumabushi, umaki, and shirayaki.
These dishes are easy and don’t take too much time to make, but as expected, the most important thing you want to pay attention to if you open an eel restaurant is the tare sauce.
A lot of people would probably realize that eels can be delicious if you prepare them correctly when Kojirou opened the eel restaurant and served them unadon. At that point, it won’t be strange if there are people who opened an eel restaurant like Kojirou.
But even when you’re in such a situation, you have to make more delicious eel dishes than anywhere else to overcome them. There is a difference in the method to process the eels themselves, the method to handle the knife, and the level of skill to grill them, but the taste of the tare sauce is probably the easiest for ordinary people to understand.
So Kojirou’s establishment should make a secret tare sauce that people think will be the most delicious.
But still, I’m not a pro at making eel dishes, so I can’t teach him how to make it in detail.
At best I can teach him the recipe for the base of the tare sauce, and how to thoroughly boil the eel’s head and bone, and how to grill them.
「 That’s all I know about how to make the tare sauce. I’m sorry」
「No no, Al has done more than enough by teaching me. What’s next are challenges that I need to do on my own. I’ll do some research on a delicious sauce!」
Kojirou vows while clenching his fist.
Looking at him now, it looks like he will patiently experiment on the tare sauce.
「Then, why don’t we first catch more eels for practice? You also have to practice on how to handle the knife as well」
「That’s right! Yosh, I’ll catch more eels!」
「Ooh, shall we dive into the river then!」
Roomba and Kojirou immediately threw off their Kagura clothes as soon as I said that.
After that, they catch a lot of eels, then I made Kojirou handle the knife for processing the eels, and we ate a lot of eel dishes.
◆
When the three of us were having our fill of the eel dishes at around noontime, it seems that Kojirou has work today so it’s time for him to return.
「Fufu, I’ve never felt this much happiness when I go to work. No matter what, I’m quitting my job from today onward. Kukuku, I’m invincible today! I don’t feel like losing even if my mother and sister come!」
Kojirou stands up while laughing fearlessly.
So it’s the invincible mental time, huh? Well, I guess I understand a bit of how it feels when it comes to going to the actual place only to resign from your job.
「You’re seriously going to resign from your job, right?」
「Aah, I got this, Roomba!」
「You must not listen to them, even if your relatives, colleagues, or superior persuaded you, alright? If you took pity on your workplace and thinking something like, you’re not going to resign until at least your juniors became an able workforce, then you won’t be able to quit, so be careful, okay?」
「……a, aah. Somehow Al’s words are strangely realistic.」
Kojirou is feeling a bit uneasy as he heard my warning. However, that’s quite likely to happen.
Once you’re being swept by that kind of emotion and yield to them, you won’t be able to quit no matter how much time had passed.
「If they said something like ‘We will be troubled if you resign’, then you can just say ‘But you’ve been treating such important human resource like a tattered rag’.」
「That’s also a good one! To think that Al could come up with such a good remark!」
The former corporate slave - me - and the current corporate slave - Kojirou - are laughing together.
It’s the number one line I wanted to say in my previous life! I certainly would like Kojirou to say it as a substitute for me who couldn’t say it.
「You guys, it’s eerie since your eyes are not laughing and they look dead, y’know? 」
Looking at us who are laughing, Roomba pulled back a little but we didn’t care about him.
「I’m going to the restaurant when I’m completely satisfied with the dishes! You have to definitely come and visit at that time!」
「Okayー! I’ll come to Kagura again!」
「Let me eat a tasty unadon, alright!」
Roomba and I called out to him as we send Kojirou’s retreating figure off - while he ran dashingly - into the distance.
………resigning from his job……huh. It was something that the me from my previous life can’t possibly do.
Since there is no other method for me to earn money even if I resign from my company. I did have a vague hope of living a slow life in the countryside, but I didn’t have the money nor the courage to actually do so.
Naturally, Kojirou might also have had a rough time until he reaches this point, but he looks so enviable as he can live as he likes and feeling such a relief as he resigns from his job like that.
「……what’s the matter, Al? Did you find something interesting?」
When I was thinking about such things, Roomba called out from beside me. He didn’t ask something like 『What’s wrong? You look absent-minded』 since I always look absent-minded.
I was only envious as the 'me' from my past life, but not the current 'me' as I am. If you ask me why then that’s because I’m not going to lose to Kojirou as I will fully enjoy my current life as I like.
「I hope Kojirou can safely resign from his job」
「If he did, then we will be able to eat delicious unadon when we came here! I wonder when will his restaurant open?」
「I don’t know, but I think it will take some time. However, if we have some time again in the future, shall we go and eat at his place?」
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