Cooking with Wild Game (LN) - Volume 15 - Chapter 3.2

2

After that, the plan was to circle around to the other inns in order of distance. And that meant first up was The Great Southern Tree, which was along the main highway.

“Hrmm, so you say you made this dish with herbs from Sym?” As someone with mixed blood from the south, it was no real surprise that Naudis’s reaction to that news wasn’t especially positive.

It went without saying that Jagar and Sym were enemy nations. But as folks from Sym tended to be rather aloof by nature, they had neither a strong interest in nor aversion to the culture of Jagar, which meant they readily accepted dishes using ingredients like tau oil and sugar. But folks from Jagar tended to turn a cold shoulder toward easterners. As a richly expressive people, they absolutely couldn’t stand how aloof the people of Sym were.

And so, there was a definite tendency among southerners to shirk Sym culture in general. Even though he was officially a citizen of the west, Naudis’s father was from Jagar, and so it seemed he wouldn’t accept the idea of a dish using herbs from Sym quite so easily.

“Asuta, I really don’t think I need to remind you at this point, but...”

“The majority of your customers at The Great Southern Tree are from Jagar, right? So would serving a dish using herbs from Sym make them angry?”

“That’s right. Or more than that, I’d imagine I hardly have any customers who would order a dish from Sym in the first place. It’s just like how northern cuisine wouldn’t really be welcomed here in the west.”

“Right. But Polarth of the house of Daleim said he wants Genos to be known as a town renowned for its delicious cuisine, didn’t he? I don’t know how realistic that plan actually is, but for now, you can at least easily get ahold of ingredients that used to be only available in the castle town. And I think that’s a wonderful thing.”

It wasn’t as if I was trying to lecture Naudis or anything. I just figured I would try pointing out a different way of looking at things.

“Besides, from what I hear, they’ve been making use of tau oil and sugar over at The Sledgehammer. There aren’t many towns out there where you can find ingredients from both Sym and Jagar, so you could make even more customers happy by using that fact to create dishes unique to Genos...or at least, that’s what the owner Nail said.”

“Hrmm...”

“I’d imagine other inns frequented by easterners are probably thinking the same way too. Tau oil and sugar are easy to use to begin with, so they seem to get a lot more buyers than reten oil or mamaria vinegar.”

“That’s for sure. Tau oil and sugar are both wonderful ingredients, after all,” Naudis replied with a puff of his chest. It seemed he really did have a strong pride in his father’s homeland.

“I’m certain the quality of cooking on offer at those inns is going to improve by leaps and bounds. But that’s only natural when they have access to ingredients from Sym, Jagar, and Selva. And the owners of those inns with ties to easterners can learn from their customers how to use any unfamiliar herbs from Sym.”

“Hrmm...”

“That’s why it feels like a waste to me for someone in a position like yours to avoid ingredients from Sym. You’ve been one step ahead of other inn owners when it comes to learning how to skillfully handle ingredients from Jagar, so normally that would give you at least the same level of advantage as Nail, who’s knowledgeable when it comes to herbs.”

“Hrmm!” Naudis muttered as he pondered the matter.

Of the countless innkeepers out there, Naudis was the very first one to approach me about handling my giba cooking at his place. In addition to the foresight he possessed, I also figured he was just as dedicated a businessman as Diel’s father.

Having only been in this world for a few months now, I didn’t exactly have a firm grasp on the state of affairs in each nation or the sentiments of their citizens. But I did at least think that Naudis here could arrive at a proper path forward if he weighed his animosity toward Sym against the potential profits to be earned.

“It’s true... If the inns serving customers from Sym ended up with the best cooking in Genos, that would really get my blood boiling.”

“Yeah, I can certainly see that.”

“Sym and Jagar have been enemy nations for a long, long time. I really loved and respected my late father, so I’m not exactly fond of those easterners he saw as hated enemies. But in Selva territory, folks from Jagar and Sym are forbidden from feuding. And out of all the domains in Selva, Genos has more interaction between easterners and southerners than anywhere else, so I could certainly see it being an ideal place for inventing new sorts of dishes,” Naudis stated, nodding several times along the way. “Your words have definitely left a deep impression on me. But it’s not an issue I can give you an easy answer on... For now, though, could I try that dish using those herbs from Sym?”

“Thanks, of course I’d love for you to have some.”

And so for the second time, I heated up the pan. I had just heated it a little while ago at The Kimyuus’s Tail, so it didn’t take long for it to get hot.

The powerful aroma that soon arose caused Naudis’s face to wrinkle up even more than Milano Mas’s...but when he took a bite, his eyes lit up.

“This is delicious...”

“Really? The owner of The Kimyuus’s Tail called it an odd taste.”

“It’s incredibly good. I can’t help but acknowledge that fact.”

“Thank you. Still, it feels like it’s lacking something or other, so I was thinking I’d try adding tau oil and sugar.”

“I see. Then it would be a dish that openly embraced ingredients from the west, south, and east all at once.” At that, Naudis crossed his arms and thought. “Hmm...! Asuta, I predict that this dish will end up as something incredible. And if you intend to sell it to other inns, that’s not something I can just overlook.”

“I’m honored to hear you say that.”

“Jagar has more ingredients to its name than just tau oil, sugar, and panam honey. There are vegetables you don’t see often in Selva, and all sorts of rare ingredients as well. I’ve been hoping so much that they would start flowing into the post town too...and I’m certain there’s one in particular that would go well with this dish.” At that, Naudis gave a hearty, resolute nod. “Once you finish this dish, I would like to be able to have some as a sample for my shop. I’d need to have my customers from the south try it before I could figure out if they’d actually accept it, after all.”

◇

Next in line was The Sledgehammer. And at that inn, my curry received open praise.

“This is delicious. I’m sure every last one of my customers from the east will enjoy it. If you don’t mind, I would love to start offering it immediately.”

“I appreciate the sentiment, but I still haven’t perfected it just yet, so I ask that you hold off for a little while longer.”

“Of course. If you’ll offer up a dish even tastier than this, then I’m prepared to wait as long as it takes.”

As per the customs of the east, Nail tried not to let his emotions show, but I could see the expectation shining bright in his eyes.

“I’m sure the other inn owners won’t take this lying down. There are a number of inns out there that are frequented by easterners, and they’re all eager to offer your cooking, Asuta.”

“Really? I haven’t had any inns come to me with new job offers yet, though.”

“For now, everyone must be focusing on the idea that with all those ingredients flowing in from the castle town, they can make high-class dishes without relying on you or giba meat. But before long, they’ll realize that isn’t enough to compete.”

That was certainly some excessive praise.

But really, I had no choice but to stay competitive with all the other options out there, despite how expensive my giba cooking had become, so I needed to keep on striving my hardest without ever letting myself grow conceited.

“Ah, by the way, thanks for introducing me to that customer of yours the other day. It looks like I’ll be able to get ahold of the tools I need to make sausages.”

“I see. So you got a funnel?”

“Yeah. They use wooden ones in the post town, which is why I wasn’t able to find any from the metalworkers.”

The edges of Nail’s lips trembled, so it seemed he was holding back a smile. “I purchase my fruit wine in barrels, so I use a wooden funnel every day. But I mistakenly thought you needed a metal one, which is why I didn’t say anything.”

“I’m pretty embarrassed about the miscommunication. Wooden funnels can be made in a way that they’re real easy to use, so I definitely appreciate having one.”

“So now you’ll be able to make giba sausages, correct?” Nail asked calmly, but he was unable to hide his excitement as he leaned forward. “When I journeyed to Sym in the past, I had the chance to eat gyama sausages. They tasted so good that I’m certain they would be a fine addition to a proper meal rather than just something made for traveling. I’ll be very interested to see just what sort of sausages can be made with giba meat rather than gyama.”

“Right. If I can get them to work, I’d love to have you do a taste test.”

Mikel had already told us what preparations we needed to make for smoking meat. That included the amount of salt to use when pickling it and for how long, as well as what herbs to use in addition, and how to desalt and air-dry the meat. Now we were just waiting for him to visit the forest’s edge to give it a try for real.

“Well then, sorry for hurrying things, but we’ll be off. We’re trying to stop by The Westerly Wind too before work wraps up at the stalls, after all.”

“Right. I’ll look forward to working with you again tomorrow.”

And so, we exited The Sledgehammer with our pan.

We still had Dan Rutim’s birthday banquet waiting after all this, so it really was a hectic day. But, well, I’m the one who made the schedule myself, and besides, it was a good sort of hectic.

“The giba curry has earned a favorable reception at all the inns so far, hasn’t it? But there’s still a chance it could be most poorly suited to the tastes of westerners, I suppose.” Sheera Ruu meekly thought aloud.

“I doubt it,” I responded, tilting my head. “Considering the reaction it got from Milano Mas’s daughter, that shouldn’t be the case, but it’s really hard to make a judgment call at the moment.”

“I see. Well, if you just give it time, I’m certain everyone will recognize how delicious it is,” Sheera Ruu said with a smile. “Everyone back home has fallen in love with the taste in just a couple days, so I know it will work out. And it’s also a fact that it’s been getting tastier day by day too... I’m sure this dish will be greatly welcomed at the Rutim banquet too.”

“Right. I’ll be really happy if that’s the case.”

Around then, we arrived at our final destination for the day: The Westerly Wind, which was located along a somewhat lawless backstreet.

“Welcome. We’ve been waiting for you, Asuta,” Yumi called out with a bright smile from behind the reception desk. I had let her know in the morning that we would be stopping by. “Mom! Asuta’s here, so could you take over for me?”

“Yes, yes. You know, you don’t need to shout like that for me to hear you... Welcome, Asuta. My husband’s waiting for you.”

Yumi’s mother was a small woman, but one with a firm physique.

Her name was Sill, and just like Yumi she had dark brown hair. Her skin was a bit on the darker side, while Yumi’s was ivory white, so she must have gotten that from her father.

“Well then, pardon us.”

Still holding the pan, whose contents had grown quite a bit lighter, I stepped into the kitchen behind the reception desk. Yumi’s mom must have been cooking up till now, as there was a large pot atop a flame on one of the two stoves inside.

“Huh? Where’d dad get to? Hey, Asuta’s here!”

“Quiet, you. It’s not like I summoned him or anything, you know.”

At that, the door further into the kitchen opened and a large figure stepped inside. This was Yumi’s father and the owner of The Westerly Wind, Sams. The man had come here from another town at a young age. His hair was black and his skin pale, he had dark brown eyes and a brawny build, and he looked to be somewhere around forty. Apparently, he used to do some rather violent work for a living, as he had old white scars running along his neck and arms. He really was remarkably well built for a westerner, with an especially broad chest.

“My nose is feeling all itchy somehow. So that weird smelling thing is the dish you want us to try out?”

“That’s right. I hope it’s to your tastes.”

Keeping in mind how Sams wasn’t exactly fond of small talk, I hurriedly went ahead and borrowed a stove. And since there was so little of the giba curry left by this point, it soon started bubbling and giving off steam.

“This dish uses herbs from Sym, so I believe it should offer plenty of nourishment.”

“Never mind that. What really matters is first, the taste, and second, how well it pairs with wine. If it can’t pass those tests, then none of our customers will order it no matter how much you talk it up.”

“As you can probably tell from the smell, it’s a spicy dish, so I’m sure it would go well with alcohol.”

“Hmph, that isn’t exactly convincing coming from a guy who doesn’t drink.”

“Jeez! Why do you always have to be so mean to Asuta, dad?” Yumi said with a strained grin, giving her father’s large shoulders a shove.

“Hmph,” Sams once again snorted. Even for a westerner, he had been especially scornful toward the people of the forest’s edge. When Yumi asked around to find out exactly why that was, when he wasn’t even born in Genos, she found out that, apparently, when he was young, his friend got into a fight with someone from the forest. That friend had gotten drunk and started badmouthing the people of the forest’s edge, only to be one-sidedly beaten to a pulp.

Naturally, the friend was at fault there, but thanks to having both arms broken he lost his job and ultimately ended up dying by the roadside, so Sams started hating the people of the forest’s edge. And since that incident had happened back when Cyclaeus was acting as representative for Genos, the man from the forest’s edge faced no punishment for the use of excessive violence, which only fanned the flames of Sams’s anger further.

And yet, Yumi had worked hard to convince him to offer my cooking at The Westerly Wind. And thanks to his daughter’s influence, Sams was now working together with the people of the forest’s edge despite having such a bad impression of them. My encounter with Yumi really was an irreplaceable event in my life.

“All right, it looks good and heated. Please go ahead and dip this baked poitan in and give it a try.”

“Wow, that sure is one heck of a smell! It definitely has the feel of Sym cooking, that’s for sure.” Naturally, Yumi was the first one to go for it. And when she dipped the baked poitan into the giba curry and timidly gave it a bite, she excitedly proclaimed, “Wow! It’s not as spicy as I was expecting. Considering the smell, I figured it would leave my tongue all numb.”

“Right. I prepared the portion for The Sledgehammer to be spicier, but I figured it was best to keep it around this level for everyone else.”

“Hmm? I figure it could stand to have more spice. I’ve honestly come to really like spicy food thanks to eating those dishes with chitt in them at The Sledgehammer.” As she had just reminded me, Yumi had experience eating my giba dishes from all the various inns.

And when he similarly took a bite of giba curry, Sams made a strange “Hrngg...” sound.

“Well? It’s not bad, right? I rather like it, myself.”

“That’s because you’re used to eating dishes from Sym.”

“That’s true, but still, doesn’t this smell make you feel all hungry?”

After scratching his head for a bit, Sams gave his daughter a rough slap on the back.

“Go trade places with Sill. Your impressions aren’t exactly helping.”

“Hey, if something’s tasty, then what’s wrong with coming out and saying so?” Yumi retorted with a slump of her shoulders, before leaving the kitchen. In her place, her mother soon appeared.

“Ha ha, this certainly has an incredible smell. I caught a whiff of it even from outside the room,” Sill chuckled, fearlessly snatching a baked poitan. Then when she dipped it in the giba curry and took a bite, her eyes opened wide in surprise. “Oh, my... It’s not half bad. Hmm, so this is a Sym-style dish, is it?”

“Yes. Or to be more precise, it’s a dish from my home country made using herbs from Sym.”

“I see. To be honest, we get plenty of customers from Sym here too. We don’t get many from Jagar, but, I mean, folks from Sym use some strange powers, so they don’t fear the ruffians around these parts. Thanks to that, a lot of solo travelers from Sym use cheap inns like ours.” At that, she crossed her plump arms and tilted her head, deep in thought. “Still, herbs from Sym are more expensive than myamuu and the like, aren’t they? Is this dish really going to be cheap enough for us to sell in the first place?”

“Well, it’s true that it may end up a bit more expensive compared to other dishes, but if you make it like a soup, I believe that should keep the cost down.”

“Like a soup? You mean cut this with hot water?”

“That’s right. If you portion out the giba stock and add a bit of seasoning, I don’t believe the taste would be affected. Once I perfect the baseline flavor, I was figuring I’d start experimenting with that. And as you can tell, it’s a dish with a strong flavor to it, so you could also go with a smaller amount for a cheaper price, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, you may be right. Still, you really think we can make an odd dish like this on our own?”

The Westerly Wind had been purchasing fresh giba meat rather than my dishes. Still, when it came to this giba curry, I was telling all of the inns the same thing.

“That won’t be an issue. I should be able to make the base for the flavor on my end, and then you would just need to pair it with boiled vegetables and meat. It wouldn’t be tricky in the least.”

“I see. In that case, it could be worth giving a try,” Sill replied.

“Hey,” Sams interjected, looking displeased. “Should you really go saying something like that so lightly? It’s possible none of our customers will even try ordering something with such a stench to begin with.”

“If that happens, we can just stop buying it, right? But we’ll never know without giving it a shot.” Sill herself was the proper heir to The Westerly Wind, while Sams had married into the family. And as a dyed-in-wool businesswoman, Sill gave a dauntless grin and continued, “There’s value to trying it out, I’d say. After all, I’ve never eaten anything like it before. Now, because of that, I can’t say for certain if it’s good or not, but a dish as unusual as this one is sure to get folks talking. And all the dishes Asuta taught us up till now have made our customers happy, so I can’t see any reason to just reject the idea without even trying.”

With a frown, Sams once again scratched his head. “But when I ate it, my head started feeling weirdly itchy. Are you sure these herbs from Sym aren’t poison or anything?”

“Ah, that’s probably down to some sweating. But sweating is good for your body and lowers your body temperature, so I think a dish like this is well suited to a land as warm as Genos.”

“You’re not just knowledgeable, but a real good businessman too, Asuta,” Sill said with a grin, and then she leaned in close to whisper in my ear. “Honestly, I’d love to have you marry Yumi. Then our inn would have a nice peaceful future ahead of it.”

“Hey, don’t go cutting your husband out of the conversation like that.”

“Aw, don’t be so petty. Anyway, you can take what I just said as a joke, but I’m still really looking forward to seeing how this dish turns out, Asuta.”

“Right, thank you.”

With that, we went to exit The Westerly Wind. According to my internal clock, I figured we were getting pretty close to our time limit. After leaving the kitchen, we found a rather bored-looking Yumi resting her chin in her hands at the reception desk, only for her to break out into a smile when she saw us.

“Ah, you’re leaving already? I’d like to really take some time and chat with you eventually, Asuta!”

“Right. See you again tomorrow. And thanks for everything today.”

When we made it back out to the uncrowded main road, I gave a sigh. At least for now, our mission in the post town was complete.

“Work’s been really packed lately, hasn’t it?” Sheera Ruu asked after being silent for all that time we were at The Westerly Wind. “You’ve been experimenting not just on the curry, but on a dish using the giba’s head as well, right? And then on top of that, there’s the sausages and jerky, and preparing for the banquet in the castle town... And you’re even trying to make that new dish that mixes poitan and fuwano, aren’t you?”

“Yeah. I’ve been putting most of my efforts toward the giba curry lately, but I intend to go back to that soon.”

“That’s amazing. I can’t imagine ever handling that much work at once.”

“Really? It’s not any real burden, I’d say.”

Still, I may have been getting a little ahead of myself by having the giba curry taste tested before it was finished. Between the meeting with Myme and the whole thing with Varkas, who I still hadn’t met, I was definitely getting worked up.

The leading clan heads had already given their approval for the banquet in the castle town. And tomorrow, we were scheduled to visit the Turan manor in order to check out ingredients. Plus, from what I was told by a messenger, it seemed that Varkas would be stopping in as well.

In other words, I would finally be coming face to face with that chef whose skills even Mikel acknowledged. When you added the fact that I would eventually be manning the stove on the same day as him, I couldn’t help but get excited. My encounter with Myme had granted me strength. So just what would I get out of meeting Varkas?

In addition to all that, I was looking forward to Mikel teaching us how to smoke meat too. So no matter how hectic the days lately had become, it was a fact that I was really enjoying them too.

“Still, first up is Dan Rutim’s celebration. The stalls should be wrapping up business shortly, so we should all hurry back together, Sheera Ruu.”

“Right.” She nodded to me, and we set off walking.

After all, this long, long day was still only about halfway done.