Liselotte herself was still eleven years old, yet she had a number of
different achievements under her belt. The skewer stall owner spoke of them
all with pride.
First, she had caused an agricultural revolution in the farmlands of Duke
Cretia's territory. Second, she continuously invented new foods and recipes.
Third, she also put consideration into the ability of the cityfolk to have leisure
and recreation-time. Fourth, she was also the leader of the largest trade
organization in the city, the Ricca Guild. And there were more achievements
in addition to those, still.
"And above all else—"
"— she's absolutely adorable!"
Just as an infatuated expression appeared on the skewer stall owner's
face, the pasta stall owner interrupted from his side. The two brothers' words
overlapped neatly.
"H-Huh..." Rio drew back a little at their creepy synchronization, but the
skewer stall owner paid no mind to Rio's reaction as he continued.
"She doesn't act arrogant when dealing with commoners like us, either.
Every now and then she'll come to inspect the market outside the city walls,
and last time, she even smiled at me!" he said with a grin, but the pasta stall
owner looked exasperated by his words.
"That was just you mistaking her line of sight. She was definitely smiling
at me back then."
"What?! 'Fraid I can't let a comment like that slide so easily, brother!"
Liselotte was basically the idol of this city. Truth be told, being the
daughter of nobility already put her far out of the reach of commoners.
Having a cute appearance — and a kind personality on top of that — made it
easy for misunderstandings to occur. Even so, this Liselotte was only eleven
years old, and the brothers before Rio were easily in their thirties. He
couldn't help but smile bitterly at that.
"I see you both have a lot of love for Lady Liselotte," Rio said in an
attempt to placate them.
"F-Fool! We're not good enough to love her!"
"T-That's right! We may be happy to lay down our lives for Lady
Liselotte, but that's beside the point!" Their love for Liselotte ran so deep,
Rio's face twitched in his attempt to keep smiling.
"Aaand... it's done! This is the renowned pasta soup of my stall. It's
hot... Be careful so you don't burn yourself," the pasta stand owner said, holding out a wooden bowl, fork, and spoon.
"It looks delicious. So this is pasta soup... I see..." Rio accepted the bowl
and peered carefully at its contents.
Inside was a type of pasta that Amakawa Haruto was undoubtedly
familiar with — Italian noodles that were called spaghetti. The soup was
clear, and most likely seasoned with nothing but salt. There were bacon and
vegetables in the soup, too, adding a delicious fragrance to the steam wafting
from it.
"Hehe, thanks. Oh, you're meant to eat men foods with a fork and spoon.
Do you know how to use those, boy?" A fair proportion of commoners didn't
have access to cutlery like forks and spoons, so the pasta stall owner asked,
just in case.
"Yes, I do."
"That's great. Must've been raised well, huh? Most adventurers find
them too bothersome and just slurp up the food by grabbing at it with their
hands. They get burned a lot."
"Haha, I'll have to pass on slurping like that," Rio gave a strained laugh
as he lowered himself into a seat next to the stall. He set the bowl down on
the makeshift table before him and picked up the fork and spoon.
As he enjoyed the smell of the soup, he moved the fork and spoon with
practiced hands and considered the texture first. From the tender, springy
texture, the pasta used was probably fresh, not dried or preserved. The flavor
was simple and salty; he could appreciate the taste of the vegetables and
bacon, too. Still, Rio would have preferred a spicier taste with garlic, chilli
peppers, and olive oil instead. But those things were probably hard to offer
here, due to their costs.
If there are dried noodles out there, I could take them as preserved food
on my journey, Rio thought to himself as the nostalgic taste of pasta relaxed
his expression. If there was fresh pasta being made, then dried noodles should
be more than accessible, too.
"Sir, can you tell me where I can buy this pasta?" Rio hastily asked the
owner about his stock.
"Oh? Have you fallen for pasta, too, boy? If you go to the Ricca Guild
shop inside the city walls, they'll sell you some. They sell other products
exclusive to the Guild, so it'd be well worth a visit. It's kinda pricey, but they
also sell meat 'manju' at their shop."
"Meat manju, you say?" "Yeah. They're round, and they kinda look like bread, but their texture is
fluffy and surprisingly soft. And the best part is, they're filled with juicy
minced meat. It's expensive, but worth trying once."
The pasta stall owner's explanation made something click in Rio's head.
The food he had described just now sounded very similar to 'nikumanju' —
which were meat buns that Amakawa Haruto had eaten before.
"Huh, that sounds nice. I'll try it out later." Rio pasted a smile on his face
as he expressed his interest, then he resumed his meal, silently, as he
processed his thoughts about this mysterious Liselotte.
Meat buns... right.
Pasta, noodles, and meat buns — all of these foods existed on Earth, with
the exact same names and ingredients. What were the chances that this world
and Earth would, coincidentally, have words that sounded the same and have
the same meaning?
He couldn't go as far as to say it was absolutely impossible, but...
While one word might have been believable, having a second and third
word in the same instance made the possibility much lower, especially
because they were all foods invented by a single person. As a result, Rio's
suspicions seemed more and more conclusive.
Perhaps this Liselotte girl was in the same position as him, Rio
suspected. In other words... perhaps someone who was living on Earth had
died, only to be reborn as Liselotte Cretia in this world. That person was most
likely Japanese.
Of course, it was also possible that Liselotte was simply a facade. A
third-party of Japanese origin may be acting as her brain instead — but there
was no proof of that, either.
At any rate, Liselotte definitely had access to Earth knowledge —
knowledge she was most likely using to revolutionize Amande, Rio deduced.
But that was as far as his thoughts went before they came to a screeching
halt. He had no intention of aggressively pursuing his curiosity any further
than that. Even if Liselotte really was experiencing the same circumstance as
him, he didn't have the slightest desire to meet her and discuss it.
Because the human named Amakawa Haruto had died full of regrets.
Meeting her wouldn't change anything, only remind him of his bitter
memories and unwanted lingering attachments — that thought alone
prevented Rio from acting.
Amakawa Haruto was dead.
Right now, Rio was Rio, not Amakawa Haruto. That was the undeniable
truth.
Sure, Amakawa Haruto's memories and personality might have been
residing within Rio's body, but they were blended in.
No... he wasn't even sure if they were real or not.
On top of that, even if he were to return to Earth like this, he wouldn't be
able to live as Amakawa Haruto anymore. It would be impossible, because
Amakawa Haruto had his burdens, while Rio had his...
At any rate, this Liselotte situation opened the possibility of others being
placed in similar circumstances to himself. Rio considered himself fortunate
enough to learn that much. And while he was postponing the matter for now,
if he was lucky, it might not even end up being an issue at all.
In any case, there was no way they'd let someone of unknown origins
meet a daughter of high-class nobility anyway. For now, just being able to
smack his lips at the nostalgic taste of this cooking was enough.
"Thank you. The pasta soup was delicious. I'm going to go check out the
Ricca Guild now... I'll stock up on pasta and try out the meat manju," Rio
said after polishing the last spoonful of soup from his bowl, then left the stalls
behind.
"Later, boy," both owners said warmly to see him off.
Rio headed straight for the city gates, where he entered the city itself and
made his way towards the Ricca Guild to buy pasta.
◇◇◇
The main road of Amande, lined with shops and inns, stretched from the
east to the west of the city. At its center, in a square that could only be
described as the city's prime location, was the main branch of the Ricca
Guild.
So this is the Ricca Guild headquarters...
Rio looked up at the stylish building made of wood and brick. Towering
over the surrounding buildings at five stories tall, its high class aura was
almost awe-inspiring. At the front of the Ricca Guild was a small counter,
where the rumored meat buns were being sold. They were moderately pricey
at two large coppers each, but a line had formed regardless.
Rio joined the line, deciding to purchase them before he went inside. He
handed over the coins and took the meat bun from the shop attendant; it was fairly large, and its steaming hot texture was soft and tender. It looked quite
similar in appearance to a Chinese steamed bun. Rio moved himself to a
corner of the square and eagerly prepared himself to taste the meat bun. He
chomped down into it and felt the scalding hot soup squirt onto his tongue,
nearly burning his mouth. As for the taste...
It's good, but...
He was taken aback. The taste was nothing like what Rio expected from
something that looked like a Chinese steamed bun. If he had to guess, he'd
say that the meat inside was flavored with salt, pepper, and a lot of onion. Rio
guessed that the ginger, oyster sauce and sesame oil needed to make that
signature meat bun flavor probably wasn't available here.
For the record, while it was impossible to find foods with the exact
pronunciation as Earth words like the Japanese men and manju, the produce
and livestock eaten on Earth existed in this world, too. For example, wheat
and other condiments like salt were available here.
However, there were some ingredients that couldn't be obtained in Strahl
for climate reasons, so recreating the same recipes and flavors from Earth
was difficult. Once Rio made it through the Wilderness and arrived at the
Yagumo region, he'd probably be able to get his hands on some new
ingredients that were unavailable in Strahl. If he did, he might be able to use
Amakawa Haruto's knowledge to recreate some Earth dishes.
As Rio's imagination ran wild in his head, he finished eating the meat
bun. "Thank you for the meal," he murmured in Japanese, the taste of the
pasta and the meat bun making him feel a bit nostalgic.
Now that he was finished with his meal, he directed his gaze at a corner
of the square, where the Ricca Guild building impressively stood. The
entrance to the building was wide open, welcoming anyone inside, like a
peddler who had just walked in. Rio decided to head inside too.
Immediately after stepping through the doors, he was met with several
female store attendants waiting to serve the customers. There was also a
security guard on standby, positioned where most customers wouldn't notice
his presence.
"Welcome to the Ricca Guild."
Upon noticing Rio's arrival, the store attendants all gave a polite bow as
they greeted him. Their clearly practiced movements caught Rio by surprise.
Then, a young girl with beautiful, wavy hair stepped towards Rio.
"Sir, we apologize for the inconvenience, but weapons are forbidden in the store. If you have any on you, we will gladly hold onto them for you until
you leave." The beautiful girl gave a gentle but friendly smile.
She looked to be around Rio's age, if not a bit younger; young enough to
be a store attendant in training. But there was something oddly mature about
the way the girl held herself. She was wearing the same uniform apron dress
as the other attendants, yet she was overflowing with the elegance that would
rival a noble daughter.
"...I understand."
Taken aback at first, Rio then readily agreed and began to remove his
weapons: the sword at his waist, two hidden daggers, and several throwing
knives. A second attendant came to take Rio's weapons away.
She asked Rio his name for administrative purposes, to which he
confidently responded: "It's Haruto."
Rio was still wearing his robe with the hood up over his head; while he
knew it wasn't a good look to have his face hidden, it was a typical look for
adventurers, and the shop didn't seem to have any complaints, as long as he
removed his weapons.
"Would you mind if we performed a body check?"
"No, go right ahead." Rio lifted his arms with a nod.
"Excuse me," the female attendant said as she gently began to check
Rio's body. The investigation was over in seconds, and the girl deemed Rio
completely disarmed with a nod to the other attendant.
"Thank you for your cooperation, sir. I will now lead you inside —
please follow me."
At the store attendant's guidance, Rio went into another room, looking
around the shop as he walked three steps diagonally behind her. The first
floor was a wide open space with several sectioned-off conference rooms for
the store attendants to discuss business with potential customers. Rio was led
to one such room. The rooms were sectioned off with partitions, so the
discussions would be kept private as long as they kept their voices low.
"Please, take a seat here." The girl offered Rio a seat on a soft couch in
the room, which he took with a word of thanks. She then sat down on the
opposite seat, facing him.
"Once again, welcome to the Ricca Guild. My name is Lotte, and I shall
be assisting you today. Pleased to make your acquaintance, sir." Lotte bowed
her head politely.
Based on her age, Rio had assumed she was only an attendant in training and expected someone else to come and meet him instead, so he was caught
slightly off guard. He wasn't foolish enough to let his discomposure show on
his face, though. Seeing Lotte's mature manners, which rivaled that of a
noble daughter, made Rio sure that she was more than adequate to see to him.
Could she be...? Nah.
A ridiculous thought flashed through the back of Rio's mind for an
instant, but he immediately dismissed it as highly unlikely. Judging by
Lotte's lack of awkwardness, which was typical for a newbie, her capabilities
were probably legitimate. Rio braced himself and greeted her respectfully.
"Thank you for your hospitality. My name is Haruto. I am traveling alone
due to certain circumstances, so please forgive me for leaving my hood up
like this." Rio's greeting was carefully calculated; Lotte wasn't disrespectful
enough to ask a customer remove his hood, but if he worded it this way,
she'd come to her own conclusion about his circumstances. That being said,
she could see a glimpse of Rio's face under the hood from where she sat
directly opposite him. The refined features of his appearance that peeked out
made her eyes widen a little in surprise.
"That should be just fine, sir, as it causes no inconvenience on our behalf.
Now, would it be alright if we moved on to business?"
Faint flames of curiosity ignited in Lotte's eyes, but her customer service
smile did not wane. She had no intention of intruding on her customer's
privacy, so she got straight to the point.
"Yes, I have come today to inquire about purchasing pasta. If they can be
preserved to last longer in storage, I would like to purchase some in bulk. I'd
like some other ingredients and spices, too."
"I see. We do have a dried type of pasta available for purchase. As long
as it's not left in a hot and humid environment, we can guarantee that it will
last at least a year in storage."
"May I ask what the price is?"
"Certainly. We charge one large copper and five small coppers for every
500 grams."
"Thank you. And how much do you charge for barley?" Rio asked,
placing a hand against his mouth in mock thought.
"One large copper for one kilogram, sir."
"Then... could I ask you to prepare fifteen kilograms of pasta and ten
kilograms of barley for me?"
Lotte's eyes widened slightly at the figures Rio put out.