Chapter 200 Nostalgic Cooking
"――Mmm. It’s lukewarm, but it's still the best."
After changing clothes, I stepped out of the bathroom. Oh yeah, there are two beds here. Could this be a suite? Just as I thought that, a strange noise came from my stomach, 'gurgle.'
My phone on the table was vibrating periodically. I had it on silent mode, so it must have been the vibrator.
'I'm about to leave.'
"'Be careful on the way' - send."
It buzzed loudly.
'Thanks!'
I'm a little worried just about Maya-chan, but Berberiguru-san is here too. And Centrena is here. They won't push themselves too hard, right?
With that in mind, I put my phone in my inventory for now.
"First, let’s have some food."
I left the room and locked the door, planning to head downstairs. Looking around, it seemed like there were only four rooms on this floor where I was. Is this some kind of super fancy store? As I walked, I turned left. Huh? Oh, I get it now.
Rooms were comfortably arranged to the left and right, making it seem like there were only four rooms, but they formed a sort of horseshoe shape. Looks like there are actually twelve rooms on this floor.
Anyway, I headed to the first floor. Then, Liryardea-san, who had guided me earlier, greeted me. The first floor had an inner courtyard, with no snow piled up. Maybe there's a roof over it.
"The dining hall is this way, huh?"
"Oh? That's rare. How many years has it been since we've had human guests?"
A Dragonkin man popped out from the kitchen. He was probably much older than me.
"Hello, I'm here on the recommendation of His Excellency Nelgateik."
"Oh, my apologies. I'm Genarueid. Just a guy who runs the kitchen in this inn."
"Sure. Don't be too formal, it's bothersome."
"I appreciate that. I'm not good at entertaining guests. I leave all of that to my wife."
I kind of get it now. It's the opposite of Seteas-san. But Liryardea-san is capable too. She really gives off the vibe of an innkeeper.
"Do you dislike fried food?"
"Fried food?"
"Oil extracted from seeds is abundant. It has been used in cooking for a long time."
"I like fried food."
"I see, that's good."
By the way, they said that buying a large amount of grain from the Dragonkin country is in exchange for purification. Grains also contain oil, such as sesame and corn.
Since Rosalier-san made fried food, it must be assumed that there would be fried food. It might be one of the traditional cooking methods in the demon (mazoku) realm.
"Let's start with this. Liryardea, please help."
In front of me were a knife and fork, along with a big plate, but there was nothing on it. Then, they brought me a plate with two large fried items on it.
"Here you go. We have powdered rock salt for you to dip it in. Enjoy!"
It looked like some kind of fritter. I didn't expect tempura to come out. The batter was probably made of wheat or barley flour mixed with water. When Rosalier-san fried something, she also used a thin batter.
I sprinkled some salt on it and took a bite.
"Ouch, hot, hot, hot! Wow, this is tasty. Is this... green onions? No, it tastes familiar, but I can't recall the name."
"I don't know about green onions, but here, we call this root vegetable 'schlett.' It's spicy and has a distinct taste when eaten raw, but when cooked, it becomes slightly sweet."
I can't tell what the original form was, but it looks whitish, so if it's a root vegetable, it's probably an onion, but it tastes more like a green onion. Anyway, it's delicious. Eating it with salt is also great. But now I'm starting to crave some tempura dipping sauce.
There were two of them, and I ate them quickly. They won't say this is the end, right?
"Phew, this is seriously tasty."
I can't wait for the next dish to come out. If there's rice with this, I'll be completely satisfied.
"Thank you. Next up is this."
It's fried meat, kind of like pork cutlet. The coating around it isn't breadcrumbs but something dried from grains? What's this? It's thin and long, almost like... yeah. I'll just slip one into my inventory and show it to Maya-chan later.
After several fried dishes, I tear up some bread, eat soup, and drink.
"――Phew. That was delicious."
Feeling satisfied. Instead of rice and miso soup, I had bread and soup, but it felt like eating something close to Japanese food after a long time.
After that, I went back to my room and waited for someone to pick me up. When I checked my phone, there was a message.
'Big Brother, it's so cold out here. We're camping right now. But Centrena-tan is flying low, so it's okay for now.'
"'I see. Is everything okay?' - sent"
Buzz, a vibration.
'We've got a Magic Tool that warms up, so I'm fine. Plus, Ber-san and the others are doing various things, so no problem.'
Oh, that one used in the fireplace, right? Wait, can you carry that around?
"'Good to hear. Take care, okay?' - sent"
Buzz, another vibration.
"Got it. Well then, I'm going to sleep while pretending to be good."
"'Good night', - sent"
Wait a minute, who are you cuddling with? Could it be the male Berberiguru-san? Well, it's possible. Just like with Diemirena-san, Maya-chan doesn't mind cuddling with him.
* * *
When I woke up in the morning, I saw the 'Display Self-Status Mystery System' in front of me. It was just before 7 o'clock. I feel like I slept quite well. Since there's no internet here, I don't stay up late and unless I drink too much, I usually go to bed around 10 or 11.
I took out my phone to check for messages, but there weren't any yet. They might still be sleeping. If my phone's battery is about to drop below 10%, I put it in my inventory and take it out right away to charge it. So, except when I'm sleeping, I usually keep it outside.
I left the room and went to the dining hall. That's where the owner of inn was.
"Good morning."
"Good morning."
"Breakfast okay with you?"
"Yes, please."
Wow, what's this? I was surprised by what came out.
"What's this?"
"They call this barley, but it's not the kind for bread. We cooked it by simmering bird meat with bones in it, along with root vegetables."
Vegetables cut into dice-sized pieces. Wasn't this soup-like thing made by Rosalier-san? Maybe this chopping style is popular in the demon realm?
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