The Other World Dining Hall - Chapter 123

Chapter 123 – Cold Pasta

At the usual time, in the usual place.

While listening to the squealing sound of the closing door, Heinrich frowned at the sudden pain in his stomach and put his hand on it.

“Welcome!”

“Oh!”

The familiar demon waitress guided him to his seat, but his face wasn’t happy.

(My stomach hurts.)

Just a little while ago, a subordinate knight had brought him information that was extremely dangerous and important news.

There are signs of large-scale Mothman breeding in the depths of the forest.

This information was brought by an adventurer who was searching the nearby forest in search of some medicinal herbs and nuts he was requested to bring, and he was asking for a reward..

In the depths of the forest, there is a nest of flying demons that emit intense poison, and he escaped after being attacked by a winged monster.

……It was an event that Heinrich had『experienced』years ago.

It is a large Mothman breeding spree.

(No, It hasn’t been confirmed yet…but…)

Heinrich, who is in charge of the fort, was prevented from going, and he is preparing to send a scouting party out of the soldiers in the fort to go investigate.

There is no proof yet. he hoped that it was wrong or it’s just a small flock.

(But if it is true, it would be like that time.)

It was a terrible battle that Heinrich could never forget. The knights and soldiers of the Duchy had no choice but to send Heinrich, who was still young, as a messenger to the fort and wait for help.

If Heinrich was exhausted and collapsed at that time, the fort would have fallen and the Duchy would have been seriously damaged.

The same thing was about to happen again.

Flying in the sky where swords and spears can’t reach while scattering poison, the Mothman is a very troublesome opponent.

If you want to fight them properly, you have to bring a large number of good archers or sorcerers.

Even though the Duchy is one of the most powerful nations in the eastern continent, it does not have a great amount of forces at its remote forts.

It was impossible to counter the large Mothman army.

(No, it’s better than that time… at least I have time to prepare before being attacked.)

Fortunately, there is some time to prepare, unlike that time when they were completely surprised.

Even if the fight is unavoidable, it won’t be as bad as the last time.

The recent dukes were not territorially ambitious and did not invade territory out of greed unless there was a great need to do so, but they had fought for a long time against the Ancient Kingdom, which had become a den of undead, and they were sensitive about defense.

If the results of this investigation truly confirmed a large outbreak of Mothmen, by reporting the fact, they would understand the importance of the situation and would dispatch an army.

Because of that conclusion, Heinrich dared to go about this Day of Satur as usual.

“May I take your order, please? …Um, fried shrimp, is that correct?”

“Oh, no… no.”

He reconsidered ordering fried shrimp as usual from a new black-haired waitress I’m not familiar with.

Maybe it’s because he’s feeling anxious, but he doesn’t have much of an appetite.

The combination of that soft shripe and crispy fried batter and tartar sauce, which has a strong egg taste is very tempting, but he’s not in the mood.

“Is there any dish with shripe that is light and easy to eat?”

His stomach hurts a little, but not so much that he could only eat soup or porridge.

He was confident that there would probably be such a dish at this restaurant.

Besides, this black-haired waitress is like a human from a different world, and she is as knowledgeable about cooking as the owner.

He waited for a while for her to say the name of the dish that met the required conditions.

“If so… how about cold shrimp and mentaiko1 pasta?”

It was an unexpected dish for Heinrich.

“Cold pasta? …It’s cold?”

Cold meal. After hearing that, Heinrich frowned a little.

Heinrich is a knight who runs through the wilderness, sneaks into the battlefield, and fights demons and enemy soldiers on the battlefield.

He knows that warm meals can be a luxury on the battlefield, and he’s used to eating foods that only consider filling the stomach and preservation rather than the taste.

However, this is a otherworld restaurant.

He knows that this strange restaurant serves cold food, but most of them are beverages or sweets.

He understand that sometimes he can’t eat warm food during a march or operation, but he wasn’t aware that it was served at a restaurant. In addition,

“Pasta is a noodle dish that is often eaten in the kingdom. Is it delicious when chilled?”

He heard that there is food in the kingdom that is kneaded and dried pasta, and he has even seen some customers eating it at this store.

But it must have be freshly cooked and steaming hot.

It will be eaten even if it gets cold over time, but he doesn’t know if it’s delicious.

“It’s cold pasta, not chilled. It’s quite different. It’s delicious right now, in the summer.”

In response to Heinrich’s question, the black-haired waitress replied with a laugh.

These words don’t seem to be false, and he’s convinced that they are delicious.

“I see… so I’ll have some of that.”

Heinrich reconsidered.

This is an otherworld restaurant. Heinrich is very aware that Nekoya is a restaurant that produces mysterious dishes that do not follow common sense, and above all, he has never eaten a bad dish here.

“Yes. Please wait.”

After saying that, the black-haired waitress went into the back.

While waiting, he wondered what kind of food will come out.

“Sorry I made you wait!”

The blonde demon waitress brought the food to his table.

Thin noodles dyed in the color of a pale flower, topped with small round red and white shripe.

The pasta was cold, so there was no steam.

The amount of food on the ceramic plate wasn’t large, but it can be said that this amount is just right for Heinrich, who has no appetite at the moment.

Heinrich drank some water mixed with fruit juice, and he picked up the fork.

(Well, let’s eat… mentaiko is familiar.)

He remembered that it was a food made in the Kingdom.

He heard that it uses fish eggs, but he’s never eaten it.

(Well, I’ll see it when I try.)

He twirled up the thin noodles like hair and carried them to his mouth.

(Ho …this has the flavor of tartar sauce …or maybe it’s mayonnaise?)

This noodle dish, which was new to him, had a surprisingly soft taste.

A milky flavor and a slight sourness. This taste is similar to the tartar sauce that is also used in fried shrimp.

According to other customers, it may be the taste of mayonnaise seasoning used in making tartar sauce.

Furthermore, it contains a spiciness that tartar sauce does not have.

He has a special memory of this spicy taste.

(I see it’s surprisingly togaran.)

Apparently mentaiko uses togaran.

Heinrich knew for the first time that the spiciness of togaran surprisingly matched the flavor of tartar sauce.

(And the saltiness that spreads like this…I see, it’s a fish egg.)

There is a soft touch in the mouth. Very small, about the size of a grain of sand.

When it is pressed by his teeth or tongue, it is easily crushed and the taste trapped inside is released onto his tongue.

Salty and umami, the smell of the sea.

They spread all the way to the back of your throat.

The taste, which is too strong if it was a single item, is moderately easy to eat due to the soft tartar sauce and the thin noodles that are added with them.

If this is the case, this one plate will be enough to eat.

“Mmm… good”

It didn’t hit him hard, but it feels delicious as it soaks in.

Delicious foods make your mind lighter.

That’s how he felt.

“Okay, next is shripe.”

After enjoying a bite of mentaiko and noodles, he reached out to his favorite shripe.

The shripe, which is a little smaller than the one used for fried shrimp, is lightly cooked and has a beautiful striped pattern.

Then, put the flower-colored sauce tightly on it, bring it to your mouth, and put it there.

It’s bland unlike the usual fried shrimp, but the shripe firmly locks in the umami and the rich saltiness of the mentaiko mixed with the soft acidity of the mayonnaise.

Once he had tasted that much, the rest of the meal was a blur.

Heinrich ate more and more and realized the problems with this dish.

(It’s not enough…)

It may be because it is a dish with a strong seasoning, but it feels like there is not enough.

“I want to order! Can I have a refill? And also some fried shrimp, please.”

If so, there is only one solution.

(It will be manageable. This time I was able to respond quickly.)

The dark cloud that had been looming in his mind disappeared with his hunger.

Edit: Fixed some things.

TL: Caught up to raws!

1Mentaiko: Mentaiko is salted pollock/cod roe that is marinated in powdered chili and several spices. It is unlike Tarako which is plain salted pollock/cod roe.