Stewed Hamburger Steak (Part 1)Even during Aiteria’s rainy autumn season, there still was the occasional clear and sunny day.
It could rain at any moment, but it was still a welcome change.
Around here, such days were called “winter preparation days”, and people would go out to collect firewood and mend roofs.
Eva was more enthusiastic than usual, as there was no need to clean up the store.
Even though it was such a nice day, in Izakaya n.o.bu, there was a drunk customer who had been grumbling away with a beer mug in hand since morning.
It was Arnoux.
He had been muttering the same complaints over and over, while holding a bundle of parchment paper in his hands.
「Arnoux-san, isn’t that enough for now?」
「s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san, this is just the first cup. Only the first cup.」
Even though he said that, s.h.i.+n.o.bu was already knew.
Although he protested strongly, Arnoux was a lightweight, and he had already gotten drunk after three gulps from that first mug of beer.
When she saw him pitifully trudging along Inns & Stables Street, she had called out to him and invited him in, but she hadn’t realized that he was in such a terrible condition.
The cause was the letter that he had received from the minstrel, Crowvinkel.
「I was told that different people have different talents.」
Although she hadn’t listened to Arnoux’s grumbling completely, the minstrel’s impressions had apparently been written out quite bluntly.
n.o.buyuki stayed silent, cooking his sauce in a saucepan, but he seemed troubled.
s.h.i.+n.o.bu and n.o.buyuki, who were j.a.panese, could not understand Arnoux’s lackadaisical verses.
However, the verses from the old minstrel called Crowvinkel, who liked the das.h.i.+maki tamago, were beautiful and made an impression on them.
Compared to that, Arnoux’s verses seemed somewhat lacking.
「What did Crowvinkel-san say?」
When s.h.i.+n.o.bu couldn’t put up with it any longer and called out to him, Arnoux gave a slight nod.
Seeing him this depressed made the Arnoux who had beat up the thugs seem like an illusion.
「”You know your language well. Your choice of phonemes is also not bad. Your depth of knowledge on the format of old songs is also surprisingly good. However, it lacks the essential flair, the fundamental part of a poem, which comes from the realm of talents, and is hard to overcome with effort,” was what he said.」
「How did you respond, Arnoux-san?」
「I said, “From now on, I will live my life while banging my head into the wall.”」
After she heard that, s.h.i.+n.o.bu barely stopped herself from bursting out into laughter.
「It’s not a laughing matter, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-san. I really want to become a minstrel.」
「Even though you were told it was difficult?」
「According to teacher Crowvinkel, my poetry is a form of escape. He can see that I run to my writing whenever I turn my eyes away from whatever I have to do. That great teacher seems to have seen through this habit of mine. He truly is a wonderful teacher.」
That old minstrel sure had a dreadful character.
With only two mouthfuls of a dish, he had been able to see through n.o.buyuki’s hesitation.
Ever since that incident, n.o.buyuki had stopped serving the dishes that he had invented in the store.
Even dishes that looked eccentric were prepared carefully, and he did not serve it to people until he was satisfied with the taste.
The final verdict was left to s.h.i.+n.o.bu.
It seemed that n.o.buyuki had decided that, in order for Izakaya n.o.bu to keep existing in Aiteria, he had to place more emphasis on honing his skills, rather than his curiosity as a chef.
One of the reasons was undoubtedly that old man, though something else might have happened without s.h.i.+n.o.bu’s knowledge.
「So, what are you going to do now?」
Rather than words, Arnoux replied with the sound of beer was.h.i.+ng down his throat.
It was said that there are days when you just want to drown in alcohol.
s.h.i.+n.o.bu made a small shrug. Isaac would probably come to pick him up later.
When the fragrance from n.o.buyuki’s pot began to drift through the air, the gla.s.s door was timidly opened.
Two cute customers peeked in.
「I-is this Big Sis Eva’s store?!」
「Izzit?!」
「Yes, that’s right. Welcome.」
「…’elcome.」
「Welcome!」
Eva joined in on today’s usual greetings.
As expected, these two customers were Eva’s younger brother and sister. Their names were Adolf and Angelica.
Like Eva, both of them had red hair, and they were dressed up for today.
n.o.buyuki and s.h.i.+n.o.bu had heard from two mercenaries that Eva had bought clothes with her wages.
These two hadn’t come to play.
They probably wanted to show grat.i.tude for the presents their older sister had given them. Even though s.h.i.+n.o.bu thought he was mature for a child who only looked to be around the age of ten, it was possible that this was common in this world.
The six-year-old Angelica was still carrying a stuffed toy, but her big eyes sparkled with curiosity. She would definitely grow up to be smart, just like Eva.
「This is a little something from… no, this is our grat.i.tude for helping our elder sister. Please eat it.」
「Pwease!」
Adolf said as he handed over a sack containing a somewhat small apple and some potatoes.
Even though the potatoes, which still had some soil on it, were smaller than the ones in j.a.pan, they still had some weight to them.
「Thank you very much. I will gratefully receive this.」
s.h.i.+n.o.bu didn’t speak to them like they were children, but as if they were adults instead.
When they handed over the sack of potatoes, n.o.buyuki leaked out a voice of admiration.
「I see you’ve properly put in an apple.」
Putting potatoes and apples together in a sack improved preservation.
It seemed like this kind of knowledge was common in both Aiteria and j.a.pan.
「Now then, please come here, dear guests.」
Eva was the one to guide them.
Was it because she wanted to show her workplace to her siblings? Eva was even more enthusiastic than usual. Since the counter chairs were tall, it was evident that the other customers were watching to see if Angelica would need any help to sit on it.
「Ah, but we only came to say thank you.」
Eva forced the panicking Adolf to sit down.
「There is no way I’m letting you go without rewarding you after you came to say thank you.」
s.h.i.+n.o.bu left serving the customers to Big Sis Eva and went to check on the potatoes that she had received.
Its shape was closer to the May Queen variety, rather than the Baron variety. While the Baron was soft and flaky, the May Queen didn’t crumble easily, even after it was boiled. She wouldn’t know which variety they were closer too until they were cooked.
(TL note: The Baron/Danshaku potato is also known as the Irish cobbler potato)
「Taisho, can you make something with these potatoes that we’ve been gifted?」
s.h.i.+n.o.bu asked n.o.buyuki while covering the dead drunk Arnoux with a towel blanket, but it seemed like he was thinking the same thing.
「That’s right. Since it is a special occasion, how about we use it as a garnish?」