After it was decided that I would be staying at Pioro-san’s place, he brought me to the spice store of the Saionji firm. Apparently, the store and their house was connected.
“Welcome. Oh, it’s just dad.” [Miyabi]
“What do you mean it’s just dad? Besides, it’s not just me, you know? Ryouma’s here too.” [Pioro]
“Sorry to disturb.” [Ryouma]
“Ryouma-han, the guest room has been prepared. Make yourself at home.” [Miyabi]
Miyabi was tending to the store just like this afternoon.
But how did she know that I would be staying over? It was decided just now, wasn’t it?
“Oh, are you not staying over?” [Miyabi]
“No. Thank you for having me. I was just wondering how you found out when we decided it just a while ago.” [Ryouma]
“The guest room needs to always ready so that it can be used whenever necessary, so I’m always tending to it. Besides, it’s dad we’re talking about. I figured he’d offer you to spend the night at our place.” [Miyabi]
“I see. Thank you.” [Ryouma]
“Don’t mind it. Want me to show you to your room?” [Miyabi]
“Sure.” [Ryouma]
Pioro-san would be going back to work, so it was Miyabi-san who accompanied me to the guest room.
“Think of it as your own place.” [Miyabi]
The room she brought me to was big for one person and was furnished with high quality furniture. It had a warm feeling to it.
“I’ll be sure to cook you up a supper that won’t shame the Saionji name, so look forward to it!” [Miyabi]
“Thank you. I’ll look forward to it.” [Ryouma]
Miyabi-san nodded in response, apparently satisfied by my reply.
“I’ll be going then. You rest up until supper.” [Miyabi]
Miyabi quietly left the room.
…And now, I’m all alone. I wonder what the supper is going to be.
…I had nothing but those preserved food last night, so I’m a little hungry. I wonder if they’ll be serving meat. Or maybe fish? But this country doesn’t have a lot of seafood dishes. It’s an inland country, so it doesn’t have its own sea. And the only fish it’s able to procure are either those from the river or dried fishes. Fresh marine products are either expensive or just straight up impossible to purchase.
An exception to that would be the towns situated near a lake like Shikumu. Places that have marine products as their main industry tend to have more seafood dishes.
But when it comes to seafood, the first thing that really comes to mind is Japanese cuisine. But, dang… I haven’t eaten any since coming here..
I was thinking it would have spread to some extent considering how many otherworlders have been brought here, but I couldn’t find even a single Japanese dish in Gimuru. Maybe I should try asking Pioro-san if they sell soy sauce and miso around here. They deal with food products, so in the worst case, they might have something similar.
I rested in my room while thinking about food. After a while, a male servant told me that supper was ready.
“Ryouma, you came. Please. Have a seat.” [Pioro]
When I got to the dining room, Pioro-san, Miyabi, and another fox-tribe woman were all already seated. The fox woman looked like Miyabi-san, so she’s probably Pioro-san’s wife. She sure is pretty…
“Excuse me.” [Ryouma]
“You don’t have to be so formal. And I think you’ve noticed her already, but this here is my beloved wife and Miyabi’s mother, Kurana [1].” [Pioro]
“Kurana Saionji. It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance.” [Kurana]
“Ryouma Takebayashi. The pleasure is mine.” [Ryouma]
“I’ve heard the rumors. Word says you’re quite the promising young man.” [Kurana]
“Not at all. My luck just happened to be good. I’ve also been blessed with good people. All I’m doing is hiring talented people and relying on them.” [Ryouma]
No, really. If not for everyone, I probably wouldn’t even have a store.
The only reason I’m where I am today is because of the people I met.
“If you can say that from the bottom of your heart at that age, then you’re already a brilliant young man.” [Kurana]
“Indeed. When the young see some success, sometimes there are those who let it get to their heads. They stop seeing what’s around them and they start thinking there’s nothing they can’t do.” [Pioro]
“Business consists of the customer and the employees. Business exists because there are people. If a merchant were to ever forget those around him and act as if they don’t exist, then it’s the end of for that merchant. When you hit the bottom, regardless how much talent you have, you’ll be forced to turn to dubious means. The fact you understand that means you’re plenty brilliant yourself, Ryouma-han.” [Miyabi]
Is that how it is?
“You can learn how a merchant should conduct himself in the future. Right now, just being able to talk politely is already amazing. Just look at Miyabi. She doesn’t talk politely at all.” [Pioro]
“Dad! What are you comparing us like that for all the sudden!?” [Miyabi]
“Well, there was an easy comparison nearby, so…” [Pioro]
“Miyabi, you don’t have to force yourself, you know? You can just talk like you normally do.” [Kurana]
Oh, so she really was forcing herself?
“You noticed too, right, Ryouma? That Miyabi is forcefully changing the way she talks.” [Kurana]
“A little. I didn’t think much of it though since it’s normal to change the way you talk to customers.” [Ryouma]
“See? Even Ryouma, whom you just met, saw through you. Like this you’re just being a shrewd child who’s trying to talk in a dialect she doesn’t really know .” [Kurana]
“This is so mortifying…” [Miyabi]
Ah, she’s down… Still, is it really something to mortified about?
[1] – Had to retype this name so many times because I kept accidentally typing Kurama. Speaking of which, I knew someone who was convinced that Kurama (from Yu Yu Hakusho) was a girl. Couldn’t believe it when we told him he was a dude.
“Sorry about this, But you needn’t mind her.” [Kurana]
“Since young Miyabi has been imitating me and has held an interest in business. She even to offered to help at the store on her own. But once, in the past, when I showed her how to negotiate and stuff with a customer, she started becoming persistent. Apparently, a customer had told her that she’s not womanly.” [Pioro]
“I’m not trying to become more womanly or anything just because I was told that. I just…” [Miyabi]
“Just?” [Kurana]
“I just couldn’t stand that old man called me unwomanly! If I can’t properly change myself into a lady, I’ll feel like I lost!” [Miyabi]
That’s why!? Hmm… But then again, I suppose it’s better than becoming conscious of something weird.
“In other words, my just daughter can’t stand losing. As mentioned previously, you needn’t mind her, Ryouma-han.” [Kurana]
“Enough about that, let’s eat. I brought out some strange dishes today.” [Pioro]
Pioro-san signalled with his hands at the servant waiting by the corner of the room.
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What does he mean by strange dishes?
“You’re good at cooking, so without any prior preparations, it would probably be hard to surprise you with just the taste. So I took it upon myself to prepare something unique.” [Pioro]
“Would be great if it suited your tastes, though.” [Kurana]
When the smell of the food being brought over reached my nose…
This smell! It’s—
“This smell… is this miso soup?” [Ryouma]
When I muttered that, Pioro-san was surprised and dejected, while Kurana-san only laughed with interest.
“So you knew about miso soup. And here I thought I’d surprise you. I failed~” [Pioro]
Nah, you surprised me plenty!
“A-Actually I’m plenty surprised. Pioro-san, you have a way to procure miso?” [Ryouma]
“I do, but there’s not a lot of interest, so I don’t get too many. Want some?” [Pioro]
“Yes! Absolutely!” [Ryouma]
“It’s not that expensive, so I can share some with you, but if you come to like it and want more, do feel free to purchase from my store.” [Pioro]
“Thank you so much!” [Ryouma]
“It’s fine. But since you know about miso, do you know about soy sauce too?” [Pioro]
“You have soy sauce too!?” [Ryouma]
“We do.” [Pioro]
Like this the servant ended up bringing us a tray, upon which was miso, soy sauce, vinegar, and mirin. Pioro-san would be sharing them with me.
I can’t believe such seasonings exist in this world! According to Pioro-san, these are being produced in one part of the island that the dragonewt live at. It’s made at a village that culturally considers a simple life best, so they prioritize making their food delicious through the ingredients. Unfortunately, there’s not much demand for it, so it’s considered a luxury item that doesn’t get traded much. What a waste.
“Let’s eat first. We can talk while eating.” [Kurana]
“Right. Itadakimasu!” [Ryouma]
Chopsticks were brought along with the food, so I took my pair and took a mouthful of rice.
Yummm! It’s so good! I can’t believe it’s been 3 years since I last had rice. This country has bread as its staple food, and that’s nice and all, but rice is really nostalgic.
Next up is the fished fish with soy sauce, and then the miso soup… Ah, so good… It’s just like the food back on Earth.
“What a nostalgic taste…” [Ryouma]
“Oh, Ryouma-han? Did you live in a dragonewt village?” [Miyabi]
“Huh? Oh, no. Not at all.” [Ryouma]
“Really? Your reaction reminds me of a dragonewt who hasn’t been able to return to his village for a long time, though.” [Miyabi]
“Really?” [Ryouma]
“Really. On top of that, you even know how to use chopsticks. It suits the cuisine, so it was brought over, but usually, only dragonewt customers use them.” [Pioro]
“Ryouma-han, where do you come from?” [Kurana]
At situations like this, there’s only one answer!
“From a small village in the forest. My grandmother often made miso soup for me. That’s how I got to learn how to use chopsticks. Grandma is a former adventurer, so she probably found out about it during one of her travels. As for the ingredients, she managed to make do with wood magic.” [Ryouma]
“Is that so?” [Kurana]
Did I fool them?
“By the way, Ryouma, what will you be doing tomorrow? Your employees won’t be coming until three days later, right?” [Pioro]
“I’m planning to build the furnitures and renovate the store until then. I’ll take the opportunity to do some adventurer work too.” [Ryouma]
Kurana-san asked me a question.
“Oh, my. Ryouma-han, you’re an adventurer?” [Kurana]
“Yes. Although right now it’s become a bit hazy whether I’m an adventurer first or a store owner first.” [Ryouma]
“What rank are you?” [Kurana]
“Right now I’m E Rank.” [Ryouma]
“E? You’re one year younger than me, right?” [Miyabi]
“I just got promoted to E Rank 2 months ago.” [Ryouma]
“Being an E Ranker at your age is an achievement. Do you have experience doing subjugation quests?” [Pioro]
After that I talked about my experience hunting monsters at the mine, then I asked them about the town.
Apparently, the otherworlder founder of the Saionji Firm made this town for business. Apparently, since a long time ago, there have been many among the store owners and employees, as well as the other people born and raised in Renauph, who spoke in the kansai dialect. Kurana-san was also born here.
I don’t think it was intentional, but when I think of how the otherworlder naturally left traces of their influence, I can’t help but feel strange. I wonder if I’m going to leave behind something too.
“Anything else you want to ask?” [Pioro]
“What about the guild? It’s my first time seeing such a huge building.” [Ryouma]
“But of course. There are entrances in every direction, but inside that huge building is the merchants guild, adventurers guild, artisan guild, and dragon guild.” [Pioro]
Dragon guild? That’s a new one.
As I thought that, Miyabi-san started explaining.
“In the past, they were a group of monster tamers with flying monsters that transported people and goods, but after the airport was completed, they branched off and became an independent guild that mainly dealt with air transport. The tamer guild uses monsters for hunting, fighting, anything really, but the dragon guild is just for monster tamers that transport people and things by air. They also specialize in keeping the flights secure.
It’s not easy having monsters ferry people and goods through the air, so the dragon guild raises up their own people. Also, although they branched off and became independent, it seems they still have some sort of connection with the tamers guild. Word says that monster tamers who are able to form a contract with a flying monster can receive training from the dragons guild.” [Miyabi]
Looks like there’s really a lot I don’t know about just yet.
“The adventurers guild gatherers all sort of stuff. The artisans guild uses those things to create goods. The merchant guilds treats those goods as products to be sold. And the dragon guild transports them to distant towns. Like this the four guilds are able to work together to develop the tow.n This too was because of the efforts of our ancestor.’ [Miyabi]
Miyabi-san puffed out her chest as she said that. Pioro-san seemed equally proud. This town, the airport, and their ancestor must be their pride.
I heard more about their town as I treated myself to some long awaited Japanese cuisine.
After that, without even returning to the room, I cleaned myself with the cleaner slime and quickly went to rest.
As I wondered to myself what to do tomorrow, the satisfaction from a good meal and the fatigue from a long trip lulled me to sleep. I could resist it, but tree wasn’t any point in doing so. Let’s just think tomorrow… I have time, after all…