The Other World Dining Hall

Feeling the biting cold going even through his thick overcoat, he opened the floating, black oak door.

(It seems like it’s winter over there too.)

Breathing in the warm air coming from it, Tatsugorou once again felt the coming of winter as he spat a white breath. Tatsugorou was quite partial to this restaurant, where pleasantly cool air leaked out of the door during summer and warm air leaked out during the winter. The Other World’s apparently called ‘Air Conditioning’ was an unusual but amazing feature. Summers were cool. Winters were warm. The Other World Dining Hall was something that inn and pubs couldn’t compare to. Even castles owned by royalty couldn’t compare to how comfortable this place was.

“Owner, I’ll be in your care.”

Tatsugorou, feeling ashamed of being an adult while still living at home, left his hometown located in the faraway western continent armed with a famous sword from his family’s house. Relying on nothing but his fencing skill that he honed in his hometown, Tatsugorou continued to cut down monsters and criminals alike for thirty years and in his home language that was starting to fade away, he said that one line as he pa.s.s through the door like he always did.

“Welcome.”

Tatsugorou greeted him and looked at the young man who became a middle-aged man that inherited the shop from the old man. At the man’s voice, Tatsugorou thought back to the days when he first starting coming to the restaurant, to the days with the previous owner who was older than he was.

“…I see. I grew old, haven’t I?”

With that, he let out a bitter laugh.

Thinking about it, it had been around ten years since the new owner took over the restaurant.

At that time, the new owner had a face that you could say had no trace of youth, and now that same face was full of dignity. A bold face. Over the past ten years, the various dishes that the previous owner would bring out no longer showed themselves. Instead, dishes that never showed up during the previous owner’s time were written down in the current menu. The people that used to show their faces in the restaurant one by one started to disappear as well. Instead, even now, faces never seen before would take their seats.

“Sorry, Miss. I’ll need to pa.s.s by you.”

It was a new face that seemed somewhat familiar to him. He pa.s.sed by a girl who seemed like an adventurer, who was smiling while she poured sauce over her minced cutlet and cabbage, and headed to his usual seat. At the very back of the restaurant, the seat closest to the kitchen. Setting down his trusty partner, his samurai sword, he flumped his rump into the seat. Sitting down in his usual seat, Tatsugorou let out a heartfelt breath.

“…It’s been about one month, ‘Teriyaki.’”

A customer sat down at his table as if it was the natural thing to do. This customer called out to Tatsugorou, a veteran of this restaurant. It was a skinny old man dressed in an old, musty robe. Even though the old man looked like he was withered to the point that he might break down at any second, stacked on the table in front of him were nicely chilled mugs of golden beer, the sound of fizz popping out them. It was one of this old man’s favorite things here.

“Aah, I was busy with work for a bit. You look the same as ever though, ‘Roast Cutlet.’”

Tatsugorou said back to this regular with who he had the longest a.s.sociation with in this restaurant. Inside of the restaurant, if you ever wanted to call someone, you had to call them by their favorite dish. He forgot when this tradition started, but by now, he had become accustomed to it.

“Hahhahhah! That’s because the day I stop eating cutlet and drinking beer would be the day I die!”

The old man then playfully bit into and chewed up his roast cutlet which was covered in plenty of mustard and sauce. He then washed it down with beer and let out a single burp. It was a spectacle that was extremely vulgar but at the same time showed how delicious the food was

(Seriously, I’m amazed that this person is supposed to be a sage filled with countless knowledge.)

At that thought, Tatsugorou internally let out a bitter laugh. Tatsugorou knew that the ‘Roast Cutlet’ in front of him one of the four heroes that brought victory to humans during the ‘Evil G.o.d War.’ He was a master of magic and a knowledgeable, legendary sage. His name was famous enough that even a kid living in a village in the middle of the woods would know it.

Roast Cutlet probably knew of Tatsugorou’s name due to the fact that in the past thirty years, he was known as a foreign master fencer who cut down countless monsters and saved countless people, villages, and towns. But, that doesn’t matter. Right now, in this place, they were just people who loved roast cutlet and teriyaki. A pair of drinking buddies.

“Have you decided on your order, sir?”

“Aah, just like always. Teriyaki chicken. Bring out the rice first. Along with pickles* too. And also… cold refined sake**.”

When the owner came by, Tatsugorou went and ordered things at his own discretion until he had the same order that he always had.

“Understood, the usual it is.”

The owner went along with his pace and quickly headed to the back before coming out with what he requested.

“Here you go. Your rice and pickles. And in today’s miso soup is tofu and seaweed.”

The owner placed those things and left. Pickles and a rice bowl filled with pure white rice. And finally miso soup. The reason why Tatsugorou loved this restaurant was lined up right in front of him. At the sight of them, he smiled broadly, and while breathing the warm steam, he bowed his head.

While in high spirits, he picked up the chopsticks, picked up the rice bowl, and while still plain, took one mouthful. The rice… the sweet grains’ aroma was gentle and spread out in his mouth. There was a clear difference between the dry and crumbling brown rice of his home town and the white steaming rice that Tatsugorou chewed thoroughly.

Every time you chewed it, the sweetness of the rice increased and spread throughout the mouth. Once he was satisfied with that sweetness, Tatsugorou swallowed the rice and bit into the pickles to change his palate.

With a loud crunch, the memories of winter and merchants in the shopping district with their humbly made yellow pickles*** came up. A strong saltiness took away the sweetness in his mouth.

Then, while his mouth was overflowing with saltiness, he took one more mouthful of rice. And while barely chewing, he poured the soup full of miso into his mouth. The white, soft tofu, the green ocean gra.s.s known as seaweed which couldn’t be found at his hometown which was surrounded by mountains, and the rice fell down to his stomach together with the hot soup.

“….Fuu.”

He then involuntarily let out a breath of satisfaction.

Unlike the bread that was made from ground-up wheat and was spread throughout the eastern continent, Tatsugorou felt that the rice grown in paddies had the mysterious flavor of his hometown where they ate it every day. The soft, sweet, white bread that can only be tasted in this restaurant was something he didn’t hate, but, as he thought, the reason why he felt rice was better was because it could make him remember his hometown which he left long ago and never returned to.

(This restaurant’s food might be too good though. I don’t think I could go back to my hometown when they don’t have soy sauce and miso.)

He continued to savor his rice as he came up with such pointless thoughts. White rice, miso soup, and pickles. It was Tatsugorou’s style to enjoy them as the opening act before the leading actor came.

“Thank you for waiting. Your teriyaki chicken and sake.”

And while he was enjoying the opening act, today’s leading actor finally showed itself. A large ma.s.s of chicken meat, covered in salty-sweet sauce and then grilled, teriyaki chicken. This taste that he knew for over twenty years is what made Tatsugorou fall in love with this restaurant.

(Umu, so it’s come.)

After being satisfied with rice and soup, he was perfectly ready to eat his fill of teriyaki. He picked up one piece of meat that was cut thinly as if to make it easier to eat with chopsticks. Heavy amounts of light-brown transparent sauce coated the chicken’s brown skin. The meat was so white, as if it was a maiden that knew no disgrace. The contrast was lovely.

First was to enjoy with the eyes… then bring it to the mouth. The skin was sticky with just the right amount of fat and the feeling of the soft meat spread in his mouth. With each bite, the fat from the skin along with the salty-sweet mix of soy sauce and sugar which covered the meat flowed out from the young chicken’s juicy meat.

(Aah, not good.)

Tatsugorou hurriedly shoveled rice into his mouth. Tatsugorou tossed the rice into his mouth knowing that the simple but slightly deep flavor of the teriyaki together with the rice became the perfect taste.

(…Umu.)

The sweet meaty juices of the teriyaki were absorbed by the rice. The aromatic steamy rice was suppressed by the meat which in turned it into a first-rate delicious sensation that made him bow his head. The salty-sweet flavoring of the fatty, soft teriyaki and the soft and warm sweetness of the white rice. Tatsugorou thought this combination was the most enjoyable way to eat rice.

While remembering the times in the past when he had fierce discussions with the other regulars about whether ‘curry rice’ or ‘omelette rice’ or ‘cutlet bowl’ was best which then turned into quite the serious brawls, Tatsugorou naturally started to smile as he stuffed his mouth with rice.

What was the most delicious thing in this restaurant? It was the most discussed topic amongst all the regulars, and because of the restaurant’s vast selection, a consensus still hasn’t been made.

And finally, the Other World’s liquor. On to the sake. Snack on teriyaki and drink alcohol. First, he filled the cup halfway full and then downed it. He then enjoyed the strength of the alcohol that burned his throat and the fragrance of fruit that filled his nose that came with it. From then on, he began to drink little by little to keep himself from getting drunk and to enjoy the flavor.

The first drink was pure. After that, he snaked on teriyaki in between. That was the way that Tatsugorou liked to enjoy his sake. He filled his gla.s.s cup with alcohol that was clear as water and smelled of sweet fruit. The sake was also as strong as the spirits that dwarves enjoyed. The strong, dry flavor of the sake that burned the tongue matched well with the sweet flavor of the teriyaki.

That liquor was also something unique to the Other World. In this Other World restaurant, there were familiar drinks such as beer and wine, but there were also drinks that could only be found in the Other World and all of them were delicious.

According to a rumor, every time this store’s Satur’s Day came, craftsman dwarves would come here to ‘drink’ in order to find some way to make the Other World’s liquor for the past number of years. Recently, they managed to find some links and made some alcohol that was said to be too delicious for this world and worthy of fame, but it wasn’t able to satisfy the people who knew the deliciousness of the Other World’s alcohol. In other words, unfortunately, it meant that in Tatsugorou’s lifetime, the only place where he could drink sake would be in the Other World Dining Hall.

“Muu…. Teriyaki chicken looks good too.”

Seeing how much Tatsugorou enjoyed it, Roast Cutlet muttered that and sighed.

“If you want, I’ll trade you for the middle part of your roast cutlet.”

For the sake of their friendship, he set up a proposal. Teriyaki was the ultimate combination with rice, but Tatsugorou knew that roast cutlet covered in plenty of sauce went well with rice too.

“…Can’t it be an end piece?”

“No way. If you don’t like my offer, order some yourself.”

This was a point he wouldn’t budge on.

From then on, he enjoyed his meal while having some loose conversation.

Drinking alcohol, enjoying the middle piece of roast cutlet that he traded some teriyaki for, and having a chat. Time pa.s.sed as he enjoyed himself…

“Well… if I don’t head back now, my disciples will get fussy.”

Roast Cutlet, who had many disciples like a legendary sage would, stood up from his seat, and Tatsugorou did so as well.

“Hey, Owner. I’ll leave the payment here.”

Tatsugorou took out several silver coins out of the coin purse tucked away in his breast pocket and laid them on the table. Every time, the amount increased a little. When he was young and didn’t have any money, the previous owner took care of the bill and lost out on money, so in a way, this was a form of repayment.

“Understood. Thank you very much each time.”

The owner was used to this so he obediently took the money and began to clean the table.

“I was in your care. I’ll come again.”

To the owner, Tatsugorou gave a single bow and walked to the exit with Roast Cutlet.

“….Fumu. So that’s ‘Minced Cutlet the Second’ huh?”

On the way there, Roast Cutlet muttered that. In his gaze was a single female adventurer… the new face that Tatsugorou saw earlier.

After finishing her meal, she started to relax while drinking some Other World tea called coffee.

“…What do you mean by that?”

At Roast Cutlet’s sudden remark, Tatsugorou tilted his head.

“I mean what I mean. Just look.”

While laughing, Roast Cutlet left the restaurant.

“I wonder what he means… that old man.”

As he thought that, he took one step outside the restaurant and found himself in the middle of the mountains, illuminated only by the moon. The exit to the restaurant was the same place where you entered. Traveling in the dark was dangerous so he carefully and slowly headed to a nearby shelter to sleep.

“…Aah, that’s right. The second, huh?”

Feeling slightly tipsy as he walked, he suddenly understood what Roast Cutlet meant.

“Now that I think about it, how many years has it been since I last seen him… that Minced Cutlet guy.”

From the rumors that he had heard, he had died of sickness. The man who loved minced cutlet more than anyone in that restaurant and would often fight with Croquette and Roast Cutlet over which dish was the tastiest.

And the girl that Roast Cutlet, who was a quarrel-friend, called Minced Cutlet the Second didn’t resemble Minced Cutlet at all but did resemble Minced Cutlet in the fact that she loved minced cutlet enough to get a nickname for it.

“I see now… the world keeps on turning, huh?”

Most likely, that girl is a blood relative of Minced Cutlet.

Their age seems to be quite the ways apart though but for a great-grandchild that was about right.

—-Maybe in time, I guess I should bring that promising guy to the Other World Dining Hall.

He suddenly had that thought. At this rate, it would be a waste if he died while being completely forgotten. Tatsugorou felt that.