The next day dawned.
As we grabbed breakfast at a pub, I announced, "We're going to stop
by the Shirone Kingdom."
Ruijerd and Eris both tilted their heads but still nodded. "Okay. Fine."
"Understood."
Neither one of them asked why or for what purpose. I actually
appreciated that. I had already decided that I would avoid talking about the
Man-God as much as possible, but still fretted over how to explain my
actions without bringing him up.
Ruijerd probably had his own theories after seeing me last night. He'd
probably already realized that I was hiding something—though it was
entirely possible he just thought I was hiding some kind of illness. Not
entirely incorrect, given that the Man-God was like a plague bearer.
"Shirone—you mean that place where your master's at, right?"
As Eris said it, the image of a certain young girl came to mind: Roxy
Migurdia. That was right. She was supposed to be in Shirone. The Man-God
had said to send a letter to my acquaintance. He must have meant for me to
plead with Roxy for her assistance.
"That's right. Someone I really respect. My…teacher." I'd almost said
the word "master," but caught myself in time. Come to think of it, Roxy
forbade me from calling her my master. Though "master" was exactly the
term I'd used when telling everyone how wonderful she was lately… Oh,
well.
"We should stop by and meet them. They might be able to help us
somehow." Eris nodded to herself in satisfaction.
Someone as incredible as Roxy would surely be of great help to us. I
was certain of it. She was also, however, a magician at the royal palace, and
had to be busy. I didn't want to trouble her too much—she'd already done so much for me.
Regardless of the Displacement Incident or the search for my family, I
still wanted to see her. I also wanted to thank her for her Dictionary of
Demonkind. If she hadn't given me that book, I might still be on the Demon
Continent right now. I regretted losing it in the incident—it deserved to be
copied and sold worldwide.
"I want to see your teacher," Eris said.
"Hm. I'm interested in meeting them, too."
Both Eris and Ruijerd seemed intrigued, probably because I invoked
Roxy's name with praise every now and then. I was so proud to call her my
teacher, and so I mentioned her everywhere I went. That was a given.
"All right, then. When we get to Shirone Kingdom, I'll introduce you."
As I made that promise, the three of us set off.
***
First, we proceeded along the highway which took us straight through
Wyvern, the capital of the King Dragon Realm. From there, the route veered
around the King Dragon Mountains and split off. One path stretched straight
up north, and another led out west. We selected the northern route that led to
Shirone.
We wound up unexpectedly spending seven whole days in the capital
city of Wyvern. Our initial plan was to leave after three days, but there was
an issue with our carriage and the repairs took some time. I could've done the
adjustments myself had the carriage been made from stone or steel, but there
was nothing magic could do to fix something made of wood.
We paid extra to rush the repairs. It still took seven days for them to be
completed, but there was no reason to be hasty. In the vision that the Man-
God showed me, Aisha was surrounded by two men. I was worried, but the
god had said I would be there when it happened. In that case, perhaps our
carriage troubles were the work of fate. If fate was involved, then no matter
how quickly I rushed to Shirone, I wouldn't meet her before it was time. I had to stay as calm as possible. With that in mind, I made my way
around Wyvern.
The King Dragon Realm was the third biggest country in this world,
and the largest in the southern part of the Central Continent, with four vassal
states under it. Once, this country had been just one of many in the south.
That changed after it attacked the King Dragon Mountains in the northwest
and slew their ruler, Kajakt the Monarch of the King Dragons. This gave his
conquerors access to a huge vein of minerals, instantaneously boosting their
country's resources and power. It was also the origin of forty-eight magical
swords that were now scattered about the world, as well as one of the places
mentioned in a line of the Epic of the North God.
Despite this storied past, the country didn't seem like it put too much
emphasis on tradition. Instead it felt like America—like a mix of different
elements. There were many smithies and sword training halls, and the styles
were diverse, but most of the techniques I saw belonged to the North God
Style or Water God Style. I tried peeking into one of the training halls, but
most of the people being taught were children. Even the masters of those
halls were mostly only Advanced-tier swordfighters, so Eris took one look at
them and said, with a snort of laughter, "They're nothing special." Even
Ruijerd expressed disapproval.
At any rate, I decided to gather information on missing persons. I
found one of Paul's underlings in the Adventurers' Guild who told me there
was no information to be found in this country. It wasn't going to be easy to
find anyone who was still missing after all this time.
Following that, I did my usual market research. Specialty goods from
both the Millis Continent and the Central Continent were sold here. It was
among the wide variety of food being sold in the marketplace that I made a
discovery: rice. Its color was a bit yellow, but it was definitely rice.
Of course, I already knew there was rice in this country. I'd eaten
white rice when I was in East Port. I had really been looking forward to
eating this country's cuisine, but unfortunately the only things their pubs
served were easy-made soups, paella, and rice porridge. A bit different from
what I was looking for. I wanted to eat pure white rice.
The moment I saw the rice for sale, an electric shock ran through me. If
I couldn't buy cooked white rice, then I just needed to make it myself. I bought the rice instantly.
A few hours later, I was in the inn's garden, preparing my food. I had
4.5 grams of rice, cooking utensils I'd carefully prepared with earth magic, an
outdoor stove, a recipe that a pub owner taught me, eggs, and salt. I held the
recipe in one hand while I washed the rice and started the fire in the stove.
The heat of the fire was key to cooking rice properly.
"What are you doing?"
I had my game face on as Eris came over. "An experiment," I said.
"Hmm?" She huffed in disinterest and started swinging her arms.
Judging by the way she kept stealing glances at me, she was actually more
curious than she let on.
I turned over the hourglass I'd borrowed from the pub owner and
powered up the fire. The pub owner said that the trick to cooking rice was
slowly turning up the heat, so I was following his advice. After turning over
the hourglass three times, I lowered the heat. Then I turned it over two more
times. Finally, I extinguished the flames and turned it over another two times.
"It's done," I said.
"Really?" Eris stopped swinging her arms and stooped beside me. Her
scent wafted toward me, but my hunger was currently stronger than my sex
drive.
She looked at the pot in anticipation. I was also filled with excitement
as I lifted the lid. The wave of heat carried the smell of freshly cooked rice
right to my nose.
"It smells really good. Good job, Rudeus."
"No, I need to taste it first," I said, pinching a bit of rice between my
fingers and popping it into my mouth. "Hmm…I'd give it a forty-five out of
one hundred."
It was nowhere near as good as the two types of Japanese rice that
stood out in my memory: Koshihikari and Sasanishiki. Even if I compared it
to all the modern types of Japanese rice, it wouldn't even be C-ranked. It was
dry, had a kind of bitterness to it, and was still faintly yellow in color. My
poor cooking methods were partly to blame, but the ingredients themselves were inferior too, perhaps because rice wasn't a staple in this country. You
couldn't even call this white rice.
In truth I should have given it only thirty points, which would have
been a failing grade. But tasting rice at all evoked such nostalgia that I
couldn't. With a bit of seasoning, it could earn fifteen more points. Ah, I
really am too kind, I mused inwardly.
"We ate this before, right? What kind of experiment was this?"
"This is just the beginning."
I heaped the rice into an earthen bowl I'd made. Then I took a
scrambled raw egg, which I'd cast detoxification magic on just in case, and
created a hole in the middle of the rice before pouring in the mixture. I
sprinkled salt all over the top, took the chopsticks I'd also made with my
magic, and put both hands together.
"Here we go."
"Huh? But, Rudeus, that egg is…raw…!"
I opened my mouth wide and took a huge bite of the now brightly
yellow-colored rice. Hmm…it smelled questionable. The salt I'd added to it
didn't seem to do anything.
Now that I was trying it, I noticed the flavor of the egg was different,
too. It was a far cry from the fresh ones sold in Japan for raw consumption. I
should probably cast detoxification again on myself afterward just to be safe.
Also, it definitely needed soy sauce, without which the raw taste was all too
apparent.
I wondered if soy sauce existed in this world as well. If it didn't, then
maybe I could find some kind of substitute?
"Does it taste good?"
Since Eris had asked, I used my earth magic to make another bowl. I
spooned in some rice, added some salt and offered it to her. I also passed her
a spoon I'd made—this would be beginner-friendly, no chopsticks.
"Hey…is this really all there is to it?"
Gulp!
I nodded quietly. Though I wasn't proud of it, there had been a point in my former life when I subsisted solely on rice for meals and rice balls for
snacks.
"Hmm…" Eris chewed slowly, mixed emotions on her face. Her tastes
were still that of a child. Once I broke an egg over it, she did say, "This is
better than before," and filled her cheeks with rice as she ate it all.
Raw egg mixed with rice really was the best meal ever—and perfectly
balanced, too. As we said that, we finished our food, gobbling down the last
of the crunchy, burnt rice on the bottom.
Ruijerd was the only one who didn't get to share the meal, but he made
no complaints. He's the real adult, I thought. Still, I did feel a little guilty.
Next time, I'd make sure he got a share.
***
We departed from the King Dragon Realm and took the highway up
north. There were two more countries between us and the Shirone Kingdom:
the Sanakia Kingdom and the Kikka Kingdom. They were both vassal states
to the King Dragon Realm.
Rice cultivation was booming in the Sanakia Kingdom. Its climate
must have been perfect for it, because the highway was lined with rice
paddies. There were lots of rivers in the area, so the topography was probably
similar to Japan and East Asia. The rice was the same as the kind I ate in the
King Dragon Realm, meaning it was probably exported from here. I decided
to call it Sanakia rice.
At the inns we stopped at, our meals consisted mainly of seafood and
rice. I'd learned to eat in moderation since coming to this world, but the
appeal of rice was just too irresistible, and I ate until my stomach was full to
bursting.
Eris kept looking over at me, wide-eyed, during mealtimes. Perhaps it
piqued her interest that I, normally so fussy about food, had lately been
shoveling it in.
"What's wrong?" I asked finally.
"I thought you were the type that didn't really eat much, Rudeus."
I'd never been a light eater in my previous life, where I always came
back for another helping as long as there was still food on the table. The only
reason I'd been practicing moderation since being reborn was because this
world's food didn't suit my palate. Leaving aside the tough meat that was a
staple of most of our meals on the Demon Continent, even the bread-heavy
meals of the Asura Kingdom felt a bit lacking to me. Zenith's cooking wasn't
bad, but I couldn't help my longing for rice.
Ahh, yes. Rice is so wonderful, I thought.
Food wasn't the only thing I spent my time on. I popped in at the
Adventurers' Guild, too. Unsuprisingly, given that this was the Central
Continent, invoking the name "Dead End" didn't elicit the least bit of shock. Just because someone was famous in America, for example, didn't mean their
popularity extended to Japan. Or how there were a lot of children who knew
about Superman, but didn't know who Captain America was.
They were adventurers, so they'd probably heard the name Dead End
before. But no one kicked up much of a fuss. Even if they knew what the
Superd were, the Superd's most recognizable trait was their hair color. Just
like a track team girl wasn't really a track team girl to a modern-day Japanese
otaku unless she had a black ponytail, Ruijerd wasn't really a Superd without
the green hair.
That said, A-ranked adventurers seemed to be more observant than the
rest.
"Hey, you guys. Never seen you before. You're A-ranked, right? Did
you just form a group recently?" The man who approached us had an aura
similar to Nokopara's. Considering how that had gone, I wasn't too keen on
getting friendly with him.
"We started two years ago," I replied.
"Ooh, that's not something you hear around here. Dead End, huh?
That's the name of some fiend from the Demon Continent, right?"
"Yes. And we've traveled all the way from the Demon Continent to get
here."
"Heh heh, saw that one coming. And let me guess, that guy over there
is the fiend?"
"Yes," I said, "but could you please refrain from calling him that?"
"Why? That's what you're trying to pass yourselves off as, right?" He
laughed as if we were pulling his leg, but I kept a serious expression on my
face. Eris looked slightly perturbed, and Ruijerd looked uncomfortable.
The man broke into a cold sweat when he saw our reactions. "Wait, are
you for real?"
"If you don't believe me, would you like him to show you the gem on
his forehead?"
"No. No, that's fine! I just didn't think he was the real thing. I guess
the Superd really do exist, then…"
The fact that we'd reached the A-rank on the Demon Continent lent
more credibility to our claims of Ruijerd being a Superd. Despite the harsh
treatment demons faced on the Central Continent, people didn't seem as
terrified of the Superd here, perhaps because the threat of them was so
foreign. After all, people who claimed brown bears were harmless were
generally people who had never encountered one in the mountains before.
The name Dead End had lost most of its value, but it would be easier to
restore Ruijerd's reputation when people weren't terrified of him. That said, I
still hadn't come up with a good plan for that. The Ruijerd figure I'd made
wouldn't be any good as long as we were in the domain of the Millis faith,
either.
As I was preoccupied with those thoughts, Eris glared at the man who
had spoken to us. "Eris, please don't start a fight," I said.
"Yeah, I know that already."
"Okay, good."
Lately, she'd stopped scrapping with the other adventurers. Her
demeanor had grown tougher this past year. She no longer had the look of a
novice about her. Just one glance was enough to tell a person she was
dangerous, so why would they bother approaching?
For her own part, Eris had also come to understand the adventurers'
style of humor. Even if someone said something offensive to her, she was
now calm enough to realize that she'd heard it before. She'd answer their
quip with an appropriate response, the other person would laugh, and then'd
she'd grin back at them. She really had become just like an adventurer.
That said, she was always still game if someone wanted to pick a fight
with her. Some people, most of them C-ranked and young themselves, would
deliberately approach her after seeing that she was A-ranked despite her
youth. They'd come up and say something like, "I bet you don't have any
skills yourself. You just had those guys in your party carry you the whole
way, right?"
This invariably resulted in a one-punch knockout. Somehow, morons
like this seemed to be in just about every Adventurers' Guild we went to.
As for me, I would just off-handedly respond, "That's right! The
master of our party is so incredible, we're living the high life!" I had no pride. Besides, it was true that we'd relied on Ruijerd a lot to advance to such
a high rank. Eris didn't seem to like my attitude, but there was no way we
could have gotten this far by ourselves. Let's at least show some modesty, I
thought.
The cultivation of a flower that resembled field mustard was
widespread in the Kikka Kingdom. From the highway, we saw endless fields
of white flowers in bloom. Definitely a flourishing industry, but also one the
kingdom had been compelled to invest in by the King Dragon Realm. The
abundant rice paddies in the Sanakia Kingdom had also been planted on the
Realm's command. Being a vassal state was rough.
Rice was a staple in this country's cuisine, too. Upon testing it, I
realized that the further north you went, the better the quality of the rice.
Perhaps the day when I would experience love at first bite with rice this
world wasn't far. Unfortunately, the northern part of the Central Continent
was currently split into a bunch of tiny countries engaged in continuous
minor conflicts. There was no way they could cultivate delicious rice under
those circumstances. Truly a pity.
There was a dish called Nanahoshiyaki that was popular all the way
from the King Dragon Realm to the Kikka Kingdom. It was meat covered in
rice flour and wheat flour, and fried in oil at a high temperature. In other
words, karaage—Japanese fried chicken. Apparently, the dish was developed
in the Asura Kingdom and gained huge popularity there before making it all
the way here. It required an abundance of cooking oil to make, but since a
neighboring country produced vast amounts of the dish, there were plenty of
opportunities to eat it in this region.
Unfortunately, this "fried chicken" didn't taste so good, either. The
meat used was mostly sheep, pig, or horse. There was no set temperature for
the frying, so sometimes the dish came out hard and other times it came out
gooey. It also wasn't properly seasoned, even though you could use salt,
dried herbs, or the sauce that was unique to the area to change the flavor. The
food we'd had in East Port suddenly didn't seem so bad by comparison.
Quite the opposite, in fact.
Being a bit of a gourmand, I understood that the cooks in this country
were trying their best. Still, what they delivered wasn't what I longed for. The
lack of soy sauce was impossible to overlook. If I only had soy sauce, garlic, and ginger for seasoning, then I could make something salty and sweet.
"Lately, you get this troubled look on your face whenever we eat,
Rudeus."
"He's picky about flavor," Ruijerd chimed in. "He's probably got some
opinions about it."
"I think it's pretty good," Eris responded.
We sat around a table, the two of them gulping down their food. They
weren't picky at all. I hadn't come all this way to be a food critic and pass
judgment on every meal, but I couldn't help but think how much better it
would be with just a little bit of soy sauce.
"But the texture of the food is amazing. It's crunchy, and then when
you bite into it the juice just fills your mouth."
"Yeah, it's good," Ruijerd agreed.
They both asked for seconds and cleaned their bowls in no time flat.
How fortunate they were. They could find this kind of food delicious because
it was the first time they'd ever had it. I, knowing there was better out there,
couldn't be content.
I couldn't help my cravings for white rice and fried chicken with soy
sauce, or for tofu and miso soup with seaweed in it. My insatiable quest for
good food continued alongside my search for missing persons, which, of
course, yielded absolutely no information.
That was how things went for four months. Then, finally, we reached
the Shirone Kingdom.