Chapter 111
Ujikintoki
In a small island floating in blue empty s.p.a.ce, Ilsgant yawned deeply.
[…Aa, I’m free.]
He sighed as he looked at the blue sky that stretched on forever and the paradise carefully cared by the golems.
Everything was here.
The island where Ilsgant lived was abundant with fruits, everything necessary for living was cared for by the golems, the temperature was neither hot nor cold, no dangerous creatures that could attack Ilsgant, it was an island that floated in the sky.
A large amount of knowledge pa.s.sed down orally from the parents was all Ilsgant had known in the past 250 years.
There was one problem for Ilsgant who lived alone in the island that was also a legacy of his parents.
As there’s nothing for him to do, he was free.
[To be honest, I’m tired of researching.]
At the end of their lifespan, his weakening parents requested him to continue the research they had worked on for a thousand years.
After their death, he repeatedly researched in various ways due to his curiosity, but he couldn’t find any meaningful purpose to it, so recently he had been living idly.
According to his parents who died 200 years ago, Ilsgant seemed to be an elf.
It was a tribe who had the right to rule over the entire world, the masters of magic, and was once the champion of the world.
However, the elves had declined. It was due to an occurrence of a serious illness when his parents were just born several hundred years ago.
Perhaps the source was from the dark continent where the barbaric followers of the dragons lived, or perhaps it’s from a different world that was being frequently visited at that time.
Anyway, it was a disease that had spread to such an extent that it drove the elves, the world’s champion and the elites with great intelligence, into the brink of extinction.
Just in 20 years, more than half of the species had died.
A lot of great magicians who were the masters of wonderful magic that couldn’t be imitated by others had died, and a number of magical techniques studied and inherited in families were lost.
The fear of that disease built up, there were those that tried to use magic that changed one’s self into a ghost that kept their knowledge and personality intact, those who prayed to the hated dragon G.o.ddesses regarded as “the Chaos G.o.d that ruled over life” in order to survive, but the end result was that they became existences that were not similar to elves.
His parents said that the survivors were “country b.u.mpkin savages that chose to live non-civilized life in the depths of the forest” while the rest of civilized elves died out.
[Maa, I know that they chose to escape to the
sky so that I could be born and live like this…]
Ilsgant was a civilized elf according to his parents.
Two healthy young elves that were not afflicted by the disease, the two civilized elves with their great intelligence created this floating island as their research facility; they then lived there until the end of their lives.
Then they proceeded with their own research endlessly in this paradise… until they noticed it. When nearly 1,000 years had pa.s.sed since their birth and their deaths were imminent.
There was no way to transcend life beyond the lifespan, and his parents who knew that there was not enough time to research a new method had chosen a very primitive method, to give birth to Ilsgant and entrust their research to him.
[Well then, what shall I do today…]
His knowledge was sufficient. Unlike his parents, Islgant who had no pa.s.sion for research spent his life idly.
It was when he was pondering on how he would spend the whole day for the time being, even remembering the fear that such days would continue for the next 700 years.
[…Un. There’s something wrong with the flow of magical power?]
Ilsgant muttered while his ears trembled.
This island was the place where he was born, raised and taught. In the past 200 years, all of the golems in that place were created by Ilsgant and there’s nothing that he didn’t know about the island. That’s just the way it was.
But now Ilsgant was feeling the flow of magical power that was not his own in this place.
[Oh well. Maybe this can somewhat kill my time.]
Due to the instability of the flow of magical power, it would disappear in a day, so Ilsgant decided to head there at once.
[Golem. Carry me to my destination.]
He ordered a golem who was engaged in a work nearby and ordered it to the direct position by connecting it with his mind.
Just by that, the golem gently held Islgant and carried him to the place of interest.
Just above the magical equipment in the bas.e.m.e.nt that caused the island to float, the most enchanted place on the surface of the island, a place where his dead parents were buried.
There was an accident there.
[Hou, this is… a transferal magic, it leads to another world.]
He looked at the door that seemed to naturally appear there, a joyful light dwelled in Ilsgant’s eyes after he guessed its true colour, it seemed to be a good time-killer.
[Well then, let’s go.]
It may be dangerous.
Without thinking about it even for a fraction of time, Ilsgant just thought of it as something that changed his idle everyday life, he then placed his hand on the bra.s.s handle and opened the door.
‘Chirinchirin’, as the ringing sound of bell echoed,
echoed, the door opened.
Ilsgant gleefully glanced through the door.
[Hohou. This place, I’ve never seen it before.]
It was still early in the morning.
Ilsgant who illuminated the dark room with light magic looked around in interest.
Countless numbers of tables and chairs, magic equipment on the ceiling which he did not understand well and a variety of containers lined up on the tables.
A bit of light leaked from the back, there seemed to be someone.
And the other person seemed to notice Ilsgant’s presence too. A figure appeared from the back.
[Un. Who are you? Your ears are short, your magical power seemed to be quite weak and your hair is dark coloured.]
To the man, Ilsgant frankly asked his questions.
He was bipedal, since he did not have any wings or horns, he must be an elf, but his figure was not quite similar to the figures of his parents in his memory.
[I’m the owner of this store… are you a customer?]
The owner asked the person who showed up even earlier than Aletta.
[Store? The place where money is offered to pay for goods?]
Apparently the customer in front of him was extremely ignorant about the ways of the world.
The owner shrugged and replied.
[Ee, maa. This is a restaurant. I receive money in exchange for my cooking.]
[Hou. Cooking.]
Ilsgant showed interest in the owner’s answer.
He knew of the existence of cooking. Food that he couldn’t eat with water was grilled or boiled in order to make it eatable.
There was no fruit in the island that needed to be cooked, but he had knowledge of it.
…Both his father and mother never did so since elves could remain healthy as long as they consumed necessary nutrition.
[Well, give me that cooking. Something unusual if possible.]
[Unusual… actually, I have not finished my preparations, so maybe something light? Like a dessert.]
[Aa, I don’t care. Bring it to me soon.]
He nodded to the owner’s question and sat down on a chair.
[Well then, please wait a moment.]
The owner had dealt with residents of otherworld for more than 10 years.
Ilsgant’s att.i.tude was not particularly troublesome, so he headed back and prepared the food… something he prepared for summer.
Then a short time had pa.s.sed.
[Uumu. Since this is cooking, it needs time to be completed… un?]
When he was gazing at the strange light on the ceiling even though the owner did not use magic, ‘chirinchirin’, the sound rang.
[Good morning… a, wel, welcome.]
When he looked over there, there was a girl with blonde hair and black horns.
She greeted casually… then she greeted him in a hurry, noticing that there was a customer already.
[Hou. The descendant of those that prayed to the G.o.d of Chaos that controls life. This is the first time I see one.]
He didn’t mind the girl’s words and
words and said what he thought.
[E…? Life…? Chaos…?]
Apparently the knowledge on the G.o.d of Chaos that governed life had been lost on the surface of earth for a long time, the girl was confused.
Although Islgant didn’t know the details that well.
[Thank you for waiting. I brought your food… ou, good morning Aletta. Please wash your body and change your clothes. Your breakfast will take a while before it’s done since I made the customer’s order first.]
[Ye, yes… well then, please enjoy.]
The girl called Aletta said so and went to the kitchen at the back.
[Well then… sorry to keep you waiting. I brought your dessert.]
He brought a gla.s.s cup.
[What is this?]
This was the first time Ilsgant saw this cuisine.
[Ee, the dessert representing summer, a shaved ice, ujikintoki.]
The owner answered while a smile was on his bearded face.
[Well then, please enjoy.]
The owner said so before retreating.
[Hou… this is, cooking.]
Ilsgant who was no longer interested in the owner observed the dish in front of him.
A lot of white thing was served on a large cup of gla.s.s.
TN: Ignore the ice cream and the green tea jelly.
And a lot of juice in the colour of dark gra.s.s was poured on the white thing, dyeing the white mountain into gra.s.s colour.
On the foot of mountain were black grains, something round in the colour of soft white, which was different from clear white.
They were all arranged into the shape of miniature mountain.
[Hou. This is, snow?]
He poked using his finger and noticed that the white thing was cold, so Ilsgant estimated its ident.i.ty.
It did not fall on his island, but there was a magic spell he learnt from his parents that conjured a snow storm against an opponent.
It closely resembled what he saw when he practiced it.
[But what is this dark green colour? It looks like herbal broth.]
It was not very clear, the dark green reminded him of the medicinal herbs growing on the island… and he remembered that they were very bitter.
[Is this really delicious I wonder…]
While feeling anxious due to the colour, he picked up a silver spoon and inserted it into the mountain.
‘Shakiri’, he scooped up the snow immersed in plenty of green juice from halfway of the mountain and brought it to his mouth.
Bitter. And… sweet.
The snow melting in his mouth was not just bitter, it was also sweet.
A bitter taste like boiled medicinal herbs and sweetness stronger than any fruits he had eaten.
The scent of the medicinal herbs, it was strong, but it was also refreshing when it spread in his mouth.
Bittersweet taste and the fragrance, the three went through his tongue and fell to the back of his throat.
[…What is this?]
After enjoying it, Ilsgant opened his eyes and observed it again.
Itobserved it again.
It had a strong bitter taste, but it was certainly delicious.
He silently ate the next mouthful, bringing the spoonful of the mountain to his mouth.
The bittersweet taste spread. It was pleasant.
He couldn’t stop scooping the snow with his spoon and bringing it to his mouth.
Just like his parents, Ilsgant only ate in order to survive, so he had never experienced this feeling before.
He then felt that his brain had frozen.
[…Kuu!?]
After he continuously ate, Ilsgant then reflexively held his head when it was attacked by a mysterious headache.
The pain felt like it directly penetrated his brain, though it fortunately disappeared after a while, but it was pretty intense.
[This… did I eat too much?]
He spoke to himself as was habit, then he regrouped after he was cured and looked at the black grains at the foot of the mountain.
[Un? …This is, beans.]
It was in the herb garden. His parents did not eat it as medicine since it needed to be cooked before eating.
Apparently these beans had been boiled, it was half-melting.
He scooped a little to his mouth and inspected it.
[This is… sweet.]
It was also sweet, but there’s no bitterness. It had different texture than the snow and it was soft.
[Then this one… I’ll taste it.]
Subsequently, he tried the round white ones.
Unlike the garnish of beans, the sweetness was almost nonexistent. It was soft, elastic and felt smooth, but that’s it.
Maybe because it’s placed beside the beans, so he could taste a bit of the beans.
[What does this mean…?]
Ilsgant thought a little… he then tried what he came up with.
He scooped the cooked beans and the white thing at the same time, and with the snow that had melted a little, he brought them all to his mouth.
[…Oo.]
Ilsgant recognized that this taste was the correct answer.
It was totally different as the sweetness of the beans and the elasticity of the white things were added to the sharp taste of the gra.s.s juice in the snow.
The bitterness was suppressed, the sweetness elevated and remained in his mouth for a long time, and the elastic texture of the white thing against his teeth.
[So this is cooking…]
To that flavor, Ilsgant devoured the rest of the mountain while feeling regrettable that his parents did not show interest towards it.
While holding his head due to pain again and again.
Before the sun reached its peak, Ilsgant returned to his island.
As soon as its duty was accomplished, the door vanished.
[Fuu…]
With the weight in his belly, Ilsgant decided on what to do next.
[The world outside, the otherworld seems to have changed quite a lot from what I’ve heard.]
Then, he’ll study it.
Ilsgant, who finally found his next time-killer, began thinking about what he would do from now on triumphantly.