===
Bam!
A man dived into the inn, the sound of the door being blown up pervaded through the dining hall.
"I've arrived," The man announced. "Oh? Ririka and Aika, you're here as well? It's nice that it's so lively. Wait. Who is this man? I won't hand over Carla to you, you know?"
That sudden entrance; those actions… I was surely surprised. Wait. Haven't I seen this person somewhere before?
"You're just like always, eh? your highness?" Ririka commented.
Aika came up and said, "Highness ~ Huug~."
The man they called 'his highness' laughed, "Oh? Okay, okay. Aika, you're really are a spoiled child, aren't you? ~ . If Carla and I have a child, I would like you to be their friend, okay?" He said as he hugged Aika.
...
...…. eh?
Whispers pervaded the room,
(His Highness?! Now that I look closely, isn't that King Kail?! Why is he here? And did he just say he wanted to make a kid with Carla-dono…..are they lovers?!)
As a man who had been in shock multiple times, I was left in a state of denial. But right now, being in denial was a good thing.
"What dumb things are you saying, Kail?" Carla yelled. "Forget that plan, we aren't even dating."
"Tch, no hope today either, huh?.. Well, that's okay. Make me a meal today, Carla ~ Oh, and while you're on it, marry me."
"NO! And I don't want to have to clean up another table so you can take the same table and eat together with that customer over there."
(What is with this married couple manzai?! Who would believe it if they said they weren't married?! Or rather, sitting with the king?! No way, this is..! – )
As I stood up to protest, someone held me back.
(… Ririka-dono.)
"Relax" Ririka whispered. "We won't get another chance to eat the food that Carla-chan makes. Just bear with it."
Well, just sitting with the king has already made me nervous, you know?
[JFB: And yet, you were about to openly reject eating with him., Smh.]
For us adventurers, the king is someone who we yearn to follow after. The man was a former adventurer. Adventurers had been treated as scum for a long time, but ever since the creation of the guild, they were finally given the chance to have a life almost the equivalent to that of a normal citizen. That was King Kail's work. A genius who could accomplish such a feat, and now an indispensable pillar to the Ook-lan Kingdom which has kept growing even until now.
To be able to eat with such a person at the same table; it could be said that I was so full of emotion I wanted to run from there immediately.
"Don't you want to eat?" Kail spoke up as he walked over. "If you don't listen to what Carla says, you will be kicked out."
Why does it seem that His Majesty has experienced getting kicked out of here before…?
As I was sandwiched between the aura of His Majesty who sat beside me, and the cuteness of Aika-chan, who sat beside His Majesty, I gazed over at Carla in the kitchen cooking.
—
Third POV.
Carla chopped a lot of vegetables.
Bok choy with onions, cabbage...bamboo shoots and carrots. One could also see a frilly-like black thing on the table (wood ear mushroom). She minced it all of it with a nice chopping sound.
Then a huge frypan (China pot) was taken out and placed over the fire. After it had been heated, she added a bit of sesame oil to give the food a nice fragrance. She then put a piece of a nicely chopped ginger and some garlic into the frypan. The ginger added with the garlic exuded a lovely fragrance as it was sautéed – a smell that aroused everyone's appetite as it disseminated throughout the inn.
As the smell hit her nose, Carla gave a nod of satisfaction, and tossed in bite-sized pork, squid, and shrimp.
When she confirmed the meat had heated, she threw in the vegetables.
The tricky part wasn't finding what to put in the pan, but placing them at the right moment and for a particular length of time so they cooked thoroughly, but also, did not overcook.
Last, she added several quail eggs, sauteed them, and poured in the broth made from chicken bones, oyster sauce, sake, soy sauce, and salt and pepper, and let it simmer. When the cabbage became tender, she popped the snow peas into the pan.
When it was done, she poured out the soup into a small dish, taking a sip to taste it.
With that, of all the males in the room, their gazes focused upon her supple lips as the pressed against the spoon.
To be sipped by a beautiful woman like carla.. They envied that dish.
Carla nodded in satisfaction, and the focused atmosphere around her seemed to lighten.
She slowly stirred in a potato starch and water mixture into the broth soup, and within moments, the watery mixture in the frypan became thick.
In this country, inside a world where cookery hadn't developed all that much, such a thing looked like magic.
"What in the world? What kind of magic was that?" Far across the room, an adventurer jumped up in surprise. But there was no response, the cooking continued.
When Carla was satisfied with the thick paste, she took out a plate.
Placing a pristine rice, it's appearance akin to a fine jewel, into a bowl, and adding the broth-like paste on top. She did this five times, and brought the bowls to the King's table.
—-
First POV
"There you go, Chuukadon, at your service."
"Oh, I've been waiting," one of them said.
"No matter how many time I see it, it always looks delicious." Another spoke up.
"Waa~ iii"
".... ( steamy ~ )"
I was dumbfounded as I had looked upon such skill.
"What is this? Could it be the meal you spoke about with this 'rice'?" I heard someone ask.
"…. eh ? So this is rice? Ah ! What's that frilly black thing ?" Another began.
"That the frill like black thing?.. That's wood ear mushroom, and 'rice' is the thing white thing that's under it."
Was it perhaps that white-jewel like substance… was that rice?!!! Seeing it, I couldn't wait to eat it.
I took the spoon-like utensil, it's bottom way deeper than a regular spoon (chinese spoon), and was prepared to dig in… only…
*Geee ——– *
I looked up to see everyone around me staring, an expression of pain and loss on their faces.
"You, you know~…," His Highness began, "there's this rule we have in this inn… so don't think that you can eat the food as you please, okay?"
I put down my spoon, realization hitting me.
"That's really dangerous, you know?" Ririka shifted and pointed to a list posted up.
1. Always say a prayer of gratitude before your meal.
2. Always say a prayer of gratitude after your meal
3. Always eat the meal peacefully alongside everyone
4. It's a taboo to fight during meals
5. A pleasant dispute is not of concern.
Those who don't adhere to the rules above, be prepared to be thrown out.
The rules of the dining hall of the inn were written so big it could make one sigh whenever they saw someone who didn't even take notice.
Eh…., I- I didn't realize the rules were written to big. That's really dangerous.
"It's fortunate that his majesty stopped you. You could have been kicked out before even having a single bite of that rice you were so quick to dig in, you know?"
"Hmph! It's not like I really care what happens to this guy."
Could it be? His majesty is… A tsundere?
Anyways, I wonder if the term tsundere is correct in this situation. One of the adventurers said that this was a typical situation in which it would apply though.
"Fuuh , If you had moved the spoon a tad bit closer to that mouth of yours, I'd have smacked you without warning.
Before I had posted these rules, everyone here eating was doing as they pleased. But now that this is up, things are much more peaceful. Well, even now there are one or two who didn't want to follow the rules, but, in the end, they always end up tossed out.
....
....
Anyways, since you stopped, it's alright. Let's restart and say thanks for the meal.l"
"Thanks for the meal~" They all said.
"Thanks for the meal?"
(Editor: Doesn't understand because it's I think they said it in Japanese.)
Though I didn't quite get it, since everyone joined in, I just followed along.
Was this the word of gratitude?
So if I didn't say it, I would have gotten kicked out, right? … That was dangerous!
And before their voices could fade out, His Highness and the others dug in. You could even hear Aika chomping furiously, savoring the taste as she ate.
It was really a cute scene.
(I musn't let my friends see this. If they saw her eating like this, they would, without any doubt, hustle to woo her. )
Lost in thought, I slowly brought the Chuukadon, as she called it, into my mouth.
My mouth was awashed by flavor. The paste was divine; the vegetable had a moderate crunch to it, not too soggy, not too hard; and the squid and shrimp were tender. That, combined with the sauce, and you had a unique flavour that rose the savory goodness of the squid and shrimp exponentially. And that's not all. The rice below it was exceptionally delicious. It had a slightly sweet flavour, and added with the salted paste and vegatables, it made the sensation with all lack of complaint.
The plate looked beautiful with the mix of red and green from the carrots and peas.
The food was soo good that it made me want to declare right then and there that I've never eaten something as good as this in my whole life!
"This. Is. Amaaaaziiing!!" A cry slipped passed my lips. It was unconscious action. Instinct. I just couldn't' hold myself back.
His majesty and Ririka, watched me with kind eyes as I downed my food.
(I feel embarrassed. Gotta calm down.) And with that thought, I looked at Aika's face.
I felt better. Warm even as I saw her eating her food so energetically, even now.
As we finished, and everyone said their thanks for the meal, it was a sign that dinner had officially ended.
( fuuh ~ , If I had only eaten 'rice', I'd have been satisfied already, but to thing she would have brought this out. )
As I headed towards the Delight Garden Pavilion, someone called out.
"Can I have a bit of your time? I have something for you."
It was Carla. She gave me the 『Far Distant Voice』.
"I will always await your next visit, but of course, make a reservation first."
"Tha-thank you very much. I will definitely come back."
"And I'll be waiting." And at that, Carla bowed ear head.
It was then that I made a vow in my heart that i would come again to this place.
—-
I left satisfied as I left the somehow noisy and bustling capital. I had not only finished my quest safely, but I was able to eat『Rice』.
( Yaa ~ h , that was great. The Delight Garden Pavilion was a good inn. The next time I come, I'm definitely staying at that inn again. And it was unexpected to become acquainted with his highness and Ririka…
Who exactly is Carla? That and with her beauty? There was no way she wasn't famous, right?
Hmm. Carla? Carla.. White hair, beautiful, a good figure… Carla… Carla…, nice body figure, carla , carla ...
.. !
..!
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah !
Carla, was she that『Mistelmagia- princess 』, Carla?! That person who is the class of someone who transcended into a legend?! But I heard that she died when she fighting with legendary wicked dragon…. )
So the inn was packed with so many amazing people.
It looks like the report I have to my friends just got a bit longer….
—-
The Capital.
Currently, there was a lot of controversy as one part of the commerce district suddenly vanished yesterday.
( Carla chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Didn't you said that you will hold baaaaaaack?)
Ririka, who was screaming in her heart, kept a smile on her face so that it wouldn't bother with her job.
Yes, thank you very much .
Carla …. I wonder if her second name is too chuunibyou-ish.
Well, shall I take out the material of that dearly missed person ?
Hmmm. I already wrote about it though.
Well, please treat me well to in the next chapter .