The Other World Dining Hall

When Adelheid, the imperial princess of the empire, was a child, she had the experience of eating a cloud.

Adelheid could only faintly remember that moment. After thinking about it, it was around the time that summer was reaching its peak, and Adelheid had left the imperial capital to go to her summer villa.

If she wasn’t mistaken, that year, the emperor, her father, and the empress, her mother, did not partic.i.p.ate in the yearly custom of heading to the summer villa. After, she heard from her history teacher that during that year the emperor was in the middle of preparing for a war that would swallow up a neighboring country, and to her father, who given the seat as the second-generation emperor by her grandfather, the previous emperor, around the time that Adelheid was born, it was the first chance for him to show off his power. With the chance to gain a port that the empire did not have at the time, he poured his heart and soul into the war, and it was impossible for him to be at the villa.

Also, at that time, her mother was carrying her younger brother in her stomach and could not move from the imperial capital’s inner palace, and her playmate, who she knew since she was young, also served as an official aide and remained at the imperial capital since they could not go all the way to the villa.

And like that, the four-year-old Adelheid, all by herself, was left at the villa that was quite the distance away from the imperial capital. Being surrounded by a large number of servants and her grandfather, her daily life at the cool, relaxing villa was comfortable, but it was also a very lonesome place for the young Adelheid. She longed for the imperial capital, and she recalled herself crying at that time. It was at that time.

Her grandfather… who spent fifty years raising up the empire that was like a small country that was abandoned by its va.s.sal states into the empire it was today, her grandfather that gave up the throne took Adelheid’s hand and led her to a ‘secret room.’

Her grandfather who order the construction of the villa that would be his dwelling after he left the throne knew more about it than anyone else. That grandfather led her to an absolute secret, this room.

—Listen well Adelheid. Everything about this place is a secret to everyone. Because I would lose some of my share.

The entrance to the secret room… In front of a black oaken door with the picture of a cat drawn on it, her grandfather smiled at her, and with his large hand, he patted her and said that. She remembered that his hand was wrinkled and pleasantly cool. After that, with his cool hand, her grandfather pulled Adelheid’s hand and opened the door. The bell attached to the door let out a beautiful sound as the door opened, and just like that, Adelheid entered the secret room.

As to what kind of place the secret room was… she couldn’t remember the specifics. But she believed that there were a lot of tables and chairs, and it was very bright.

Her grandfather talked about something with the old man who was in that room. It was something that was difficult to understand, and the young Adelheid couldn’t understand it at all.

—Oh, sorry there, young lady. Something like this old man’s gossip must be boring to you. That’s right, I should get something sweet for you, young lady.

The old man, who noticed Adelheid with good manners sitting patiently in a chair looking bored, smiled at her and said this to the man near him.

—Hey! You stupid grandson! If I remember correctly, when you were in college, you said something about you and some cake shop’s son did some part-time work in a tea house’s kitchen right? You know… that, can you make that? Just in case, we have the gla.s.ses for them but I’m not cut out for that kind of stuff.

—Stupid is uncalled for, grandpa! To begin with I don’t know what that is… Aah. I got it. I see what you mean.

As if he understood with just that, the man nodded… and for bit, she waited for that.

—Thanks for waiting. This is that old man’s treat. Don’t worry about it and have some.

As to what it was, Adelheid didn’t know. Only, she thought it was a waste to eat something so pretty, and she vividly remembered that feeling disappeared with one bite. When she first ate it, it was pure white with some black in the middle and it was soft and fluffy and sweet and cold… anyway, all she could remember that it was that was more delicious than anything ever ate.

—Good for you. Adelheid.

Without thinking, she forgot herself and immodestly let her mouth become sticky as she ate with everything she had, and while Adelheid felt this food that was different in some way, her grandfather patted her.

—Grandfather! This, what is it!?

She faintly remembered asking that. And at that time, her grandfather laughed as though he were slightly troubled and answered.

—That’s is… ah~un… it’s that. It’s a cloud.

—This is a cloud?

—That’s right. Filled with plenty of snow, a winter cloud. It’s cold and delicious, right?

—Right!

Now that she was thinking about it, Adelheid remembered that day was the first time she laughed during that year’s summer. …And that was memory of the day that ‘clouds’ became Adelheid’s favorite food.

Of course, Adelheid who was sixteen-years-old this year knew. That was probably a dream or something of that nature.

Adelheid’s grandfather, who was the first emperor of the great empire that brought glory to the eastern continent, Wilhelm had pa.s.sed away during that year’s winter. Inside of a private room in the villa, he pa.s.sed away with a satisfied smile. The young Adelheid still didn’t fully understand what death was, but she remembered that she cried sorrowfully when she heard that she couldn’t meet her grandfather anymore. Her grandfather, the only one who knew about the ‘clouds,’ could no longer prove if Adelheid’s memories were correct.

After that, Adelheid, as the elder sister of the crown prince that was born shortly before the death of her grandfather, lived as a member of royalty without inconveniences…. And a short time before her sixteenth birthday, she caught a lung disease that wasn’t common for young people and was sent to the villa that no longer had a master to recuperate.

“Well then, your imperial highness… Make sure to take care of yourself.”

“Of course. I’ll be fi… Goho! Goho!”

To welcome Adelheid, a bedroom that could match the luxuries of a private room in the imperial capital was prepared… When she was led to bedroom in the villa that was used the most by late emperor, Adelheid let out a sigh, and she started to have a coughing fit.

“Are, are you alright, your imperial highness!?”

“I’m fine. I am just a bit tired from the journey here. Please don’t worry so much.”

The person who started to panic and rushed over to Adelheid when she did that was the personal attendant a.s.signed by her father to compliment her treatment. Adelheid held back the personal attentent who was a lower priest of the G.o.d of earth and was wearing a copper holy symbol that would be used to handle the healing techniques that would stop Adelheid’s fits, and she explained that it wasn’t something that grave.

“I see, that’s a relief…”

While saying that, the attendant took one step back from Adelheid to increase the distance between them, which hurt her a little.

(Isn’t that a bit heartless? I’m not sick because I wanted to be.)

She understood the reasoning. Never mind the apprentice priest in front of her, an upper priest wearing a silver holy symbol or even a high priest wearing a golden holy symbol using healing magic wouldn’t be able to heal this disease that could only be healed by recuperation for a few number of years, which is why it was called the ‘commoner killer.’ Luckily, it could rarely be pa.s.sed on, but there was still a feeling of fear whether if you were royalty, a commonor, or not. But she couldn’t put up with it anymore.

Only just one month ago, she was healthily living in the imperial capital admiring b.u.t.terflies and flowers, but now that she was sick, separated from her family in the imperial capital, and supposed to live in a villa without any acquaintances, she felt even worse.

(At the worst, I must live here for two years…)

Once again, thinking about the meaning of that, Adelheid began to shake.

This villa, which was rarely used after Wilhelm pa.s.sed away, had only enough servants that could be counted since long ago. Of course, there were some new hires to welcome Adelheid this time, but they were people from the city who came to put the land around the villa in order. Right now, this place was the exact opposite of the gorgeous imperial court. Here, Adelheid would, by herself, have to peacefully live here like a decorative plant until the day her illness is cured. From now on, it would be a depressing story.

“Well then, if you ever need anything, please call upon me…”

Saying just that, the personal attendant softly left the room as if to give his master, Adelheid, time to peacefully rest.

“Uu…”

After the attendant left, Adelheid collapsed into the luxurious bed and quietly wept. As a single person in regards to her own fate. From today and now on, she had nothing she could enjoy in this room which was like an extravagant prison, and her quiet, gloomy days would begin… right, Adelheid thought that would happen.

What led Adelheid’s lifestyle changing came in just three days since then. That day, a gentle wind flowed over to Adelheid, who was killing time by reading books by herself. Seeing as it might be harmful to her ill body, she saw that the window was still closed regardless of that. Wondering what was going on, when Adelheid turned to the direction of the wind, her eyes widened.

(Eh? Was there supposed to be there over there?)

Thinking it to be her eyes playing tricks on her, Adelheid rubbed her eyes and confirmed once again that the door was still there. She had been living there for three days yet she had not noticed it in the slightest… no, she was sure that it didn’t exist yesterday, that black door with the picture of a cat drawn on it. Although it was obvious that it had a different quality than the surrounding walls, it was stuck on the bedroom’s wall.

(What is it, I wonder? I feel like I’ve seen it before…)

Standing in front of that door and while stroking the door’s glossy surface, Adelheid looked at it inquisitively. It was something mysterious, but Adelheid recognized that door. She couldn’t remember where she saw it, but she certainly had a feeling that she saw it in the past. With a gulp, she swallowed the saliva that started to acc.u.mulate in her mouth, and then Adelheid raised her hand to the door.

(Where exactly does it lead to, I wonder?)

Normally thinking, it would lead to a neighboring room, but in this room that used to be Wilhelm’s bedroom, there were no neighboring rooms. In that case, where exactly does this room lead? She did not know, but for some reason, Adelheid’s heart started to become anxious. Maybe it had something that could distract her from this boredom, and so she started to hope for the ‘something’ on the other side. That’s right, Adelheid unconsciously had hope. While she still couldn’t remember what was on the other side.

As the ringing of a bell sounded out, the door opened.

“Oh, welco… un?”

Looking at middle-aged man who was wearing finely tailored clothes and a waistcloth that were not gaudy but finely st.i.tched, Adelheid tilted her head.

“Um… Sorry. Where exactly is this place?”

There were small tables and chairs lined up in a row. Even though there were no windows, the room was bright as though it was daytime. This was obviously different than the villa. But she faintly recognized this place. While she was bewildered by this feeling, Adelheid asked this to the inhabitant of this room.

“A, aah. This is a restaurant called the ‘Cathouse.’ ‘People on the other side’ like you, young lady, say Other World Dining Hall… Aah.”

Meanwhile, the owner was supposed to be meeting her for the first time, but at last, he remembered the truth about this customer that he certainly recognized.

“I remember. Young lady, aren’t you cro… Mister Wilhelm’s grandchild?”

Because she was a customer that was younger than the high school students that were close to the Other World Dining Hall, not to mention a very young girl that was a resident of the other world which rarely came, he remembered her. It’s been around ten years since the regular that was an old man brought along his granddaughter. Time moved on, and she had become extremely beautiful but there was certainly a resemblance. That time as well, she was making such a strange face.

“Oh, my! Are you an acquaintance of grandfather!?”

At those words, Adelheid opened her eyes. As a rule, it was natural that the empire’s subjects knew her grandfather, the great, wise emperor, Wilhelm’s face and name, but in reality, his acquaintances were few. Not to mention someone who called Wilhelm the emperor who managed the empire ‘Mister,’ the people who Wilhelm recognized as family or friends were only a small handful.

Who exactly was this man who could do that?

“Well, yes. We had the pleasure of him being quite partial to us, in a lot of ways. …How about it? Today, I’ll let you have it on the house, so why don’t you try some of our cooking?”

It had been over ten years since he inherited the restaurant, and with the owner seeing a nostalgic face that he would’ve forgotten if they had never met again, he said these kind words to Adelheid.

Now that he thought about it, the previous owner’s croquettes were a favorite of that old man, and the old man never actually ate his cooking. In that case, it would be fine if he at least he could feed this girl who was his grandchild in his place. That is what he thought.

“Cooking… Ah.”

Meanwhile, Adelheid also, at the moment that she heard the owner’s words, suddenly remembered. The sweet memory over ten years ago around the time when her grandfather was still alive. That’s right, here she…

“In that case… that… could I eat a ‘cloud?’”

Ate something very delicious.

“Cloud? …Aah, now that you mention it.”

At that word, he remembered the last time this girl came to the restaurant, and he nodded. The owner once again remembered. Over ten years ago, the dish that he brought out to that adorable customer.

“Understood. Please wait a moment. I’ll bring it out right away.”

Saying that, the owner went back to the kitchen and started to prepare it. During the time of the previous owner, who didn’t have any decent confectionaries when he was young and had a hard time making them, there was a hidden menu filled with all kinds of dishes that would later be listed under the ‘dessert’ menu during his reign.

After a little while, at last, the owner brought out Adelheid’s ‘cloud.’

“Thank you for waiting. The cloud you ordered… Your ‘chocolate parfait.’”

Gently, he placed it in front of Adelheid.

“Oh my…”

That appearance… that gorgeous appearance that was unlike food caused Adelheid to leak out those words.

“Well then, enjoy.”

The owner gave a single call to Adelheid who gazed upon the parfait as though she was entranced before he headed to the back of the restaurant. And so, all that was left at the Other World Dining Hall’s table was only Adelheid and her chocolate parfait.

(Rather than food, it’s more like a brilliant craftwork.)

When she first ate it, she only found it extremely beautiful because she was young. That was what she thought, but this cloud… this chocolate parfait was still too brilliant to be considered food. First, the vessel holding it was extremely clear, a transparent cup. Its shape was made perfectly without a single piece of unevenness, and the way the vessel’s rim rippled out like a flower was beautiful.

And the things that it were decorating did not lose in terms of beauty. The first thing that came into view was the mountain of clouds that was as white as the snowy mountains that could be seen from the northern part of the imperial capital. Covering the top of the sharp, pin-like peak of the cloud was something black which gently flowed like a river drawing out a graceful pattern.

Furthermore, on top of that were brilliant colorful beads scattered all over it, complementing the black and white color scheme. At the edge of the mountain were multicolored fruits and baked sweets. One side of the well-baked, light brown sweets was painted in the same black-colored stuff that the mountain was, and that contrast was lovely.

And then there pure-colored fruits such as red berries that were cut in half and sliced green fruits that had black grains dispersed inside of them which were used to decorate the base of the mountain with their bright colors. The bottom… the base of the mountain was white and brown and then a layer of light brown. The fact that the transparent gla.s.s allowed her to see those three beautiful layers was also enjoyable.

Being face with such brilliant dish with such a varied palette of colors was rare even for Adelheid, who was an imperial princess of the empire who had experienced all the luxuries in the world. To be honest, it was to the degree that it was almost too good to be eaten.

(…It’s about time that I should partake.)

Although she thought that, she couldn’t just look at it forever. Adelheid kept her silence, took the handle of her long, polished spoon, and started to eat the parfait.

The first thing she ate was the summit of the mountain… the white mountain flowing with black substance. She slipped her spoon into it. The parfait gave no resistance as though it were a cloud when the spoon entered it. A small triangular mountain was piled on the spoon. A sweet fragrance wafted from the mountain covered in black substance, and modestly, she brought it to her mouth.

(…Oh my.)

The feeling of cold metal and the sweet, melting, short-lived flavor that came along with it made Adelheid swallow her breath. It was more short-lived than any food in Adelheid’s memory.

(It’s sweet… but not sweet at all.)

The sweet substance with a faint bitterness to it quickly melted and disappeared over her tongue when she bit into it. What was left on her tongue after a mixture of sweetness that had a unique fragrance to it and bitterness was the rich flavor of milk and sweetness. At that flavor, along with a favorable impression, Adelheid held a seed of contradiction. The chocolate parfait was sweet but absolutely not too sweet, and to Adelheid, it had an unknown flavor to it.

When Adelheid was in the empire, the ‘extravagant confectionaries’ that she normally tasted were generally sweet. The things called confectionaries normally used high-priced sugar to a high degree to give it a luxuriously good flavor, and any country in the eastern continent where sugar was a valuable commodity thought that same. It was the same for the empire, and therefore, the sweets that Adelheid, who could be literally be counted as the number one most high-cla.s.s woman in the empire, were terrifyingly sweet.

(But, there’s no doubt that it’s more delicious this way!)

Adelheid, who normally felt that the confections given to her were too sweet to her liking, became engrossed more than she usually would and started to steadily eat spoonful by spoonful. In the blink of an eye, the silver spoon cut into the mountain and carried it to Adelheid’s tongue. Its white and black mixed, and as the chocolate parfait decorated with fruit melted on her tongue, Adelheid relaxed her cheeks and absentmindedly closed her eyes. She thoroughly felt that the chocolate parfait had a flavor that wasn’t sweet to hold back the sweetness. The white that had the flavor of milk and the bitter black that accentuated it. These melted and disappeared in her mouth and what was left was a dream-like flavor.

(The sweet tartness of the fruit is also extremely good!)

She scooped and raised up the red and green fruits that were cut to be bite-sized on her spoon. The beautiful hue of these two kinds of fruits meant that they were used while they weren’t that ripe. The sweetness was there, but the fruits were also filled with a firm tartness to them. But that allowed her tongue that was used to the sweetness to rest, and in turn, it complimented the sweetness and deliciousness of the white and black cloud.

(These baked sweets and fruits too…)

The baked sweets couldn’t be scooped by the spoon, so while being aware that it was improper, she pinched it with her two slender fingers and bit into it. The baked confectionary that was dyed black and brown and coated in the white substance had a suppressed sweetness to it as expected and had a crisp savoriness to it. The last thing, the pure-colored fruits were unlike the cloud in that their sweetness had a fruitiness to it.

(Just exactly how many flavors are… Kyaa!?”

While staying silent, Adelheid enjoyed the symphony of countless sweet flavors spreading in her mouth when she then unintentionally raised her voice. The white substance that she had been eating had… suddenly turned as cold as snow.

(This is… something different than what was on top!?)

An unexpected surprise attack. Hidden beneath the soft clouds was something that looked similar to it, but as though it was different, a snowy cloud filled with the coldness of winter. It was smooth, lasted longer in her mouth than the clouds on top, and cold as snow.

(…A confection such as this exists!?)

The short-lived cloud that melted on Adelheid’s warm tongue was as smooth as silk and spread sweetness in her. At the palace, she once had a confection made from magically conjured ice that was finely broken up and filled with a mountain of honey and sugar and covered in fruit juices, but this had a flavor of different quality. To Adelheid, this was her second experience in a lifetime.

(A cloud filled with plenty of snow, a winter cloud… also)

While remembering her grandfather’s words, she continued to eat, and before long, she dug it up. A round lump with the color of the earth. Although at first glance it hardly had the appearance of a confectionary, Adelheid brought it to her mouth without hesitation.

(Sweet and bitter. This is the flavor of chocolate… un, this is something nice as well.)

Harder than the cloud above, it suppressed its own sweetness. Holding the same flavor as the black substance above, it was cold, brown, rock-like confectionary. It held a stiffness and bitterness to it that soaked into her tongue which thoroughly enjoyed plenty of soft sweetness, and made her feel pleasant.

(…Aah, and this is the end isn’t it?)

Finally, while eating the savory wheat-flavored baked confectionary which was not sweet itself but had absorbed the sweetness of the round ma.s.s and white snowy clouds above it, Adelheid remembered her loneliness. The fact that this magnificent orchestra of flavors signaled the end was truly disappointing.

But that time had ruthlessly come. After finishing up the last piece of the baked sweet, Adelheid put down her spoon.

“…Fuu.”

Her sigh was filled with a little bit of regret and lot of satisfaction.

(Now that I think about it, it’s been a while since I felt this way.)

Feeling this sense of satisfaction, Adelheid naturally smiled…and thinking about it, it was the first time she smiled since she caught her illness. Chocolate parfait had brought back Adelheid’s smile two times now.

“It looks like you’ve cheered up. That’s good. That’s good.”

Looking at how satisfied Adelheid was, the owner brought a cup filled with black tea on top of pure-white porcelain while laughing.

“Here you go. Hot coffee on the house. It’s bitter as is so please add as much sugar and milk to your liking. That blue pot is sugar and the silver one is milk.”

“Yes, thank you.”

Listening to the owner’s words, Adelheid, while naturally giving her thanks, received the unknown black tea that was coffee.

(…U. It’s bitter and a little hot.)

Because she had no idea what kind of tea it was, Adelheid first brought it to her mouth plain and narrowed her eyebrows from the bitterness. The fragrance wasn’t bad, but for her tongue that was chilled from the chocolate parfait, it was a bit too hot and on top of that sour and bitter. As it was, it was a bit too overpowering.

(If I’m right, Mister Owner said to put sugar and milk to my liking… Oh my.)

Adelheid followed the owner’s advice and added milk and sugar to her coffee. She took only one serving of sugar to not make it too sweet and plenty of milk. As they mixed, the pitch-black coffee turned into a dark brown color, and its flavor became softer.

(This is something nice as well. It’s warming me up.)

The flavor of the milk and the sweetness of the sugar filled the coffee’s bitterness and sourness and suited her tastes. Thanks to the milk, the coffee’s fragrance cooled down, but in return, it became easier to drink and warmed up her tongue that was chilled by the chocolate parfait. At the flavor of the coffee, Adelheid signed with a ‘hou.’ With the satisfaction that came from the chocolate parfait, the sigh carried the relief that came the warmness pushing into her body, and without a hint of sadness, it was a sigh filled with happiness.

“You can come to this restaurant once every seven days, so if you ever feel like it, make sure to come again. Well, next time I’ll charge you though.”

Seeing that the presence of sadness was gone from Adelheid, the owner said those words to her. Whenever he saw a customer eat something tasty and become happy, he somehow felt happy as well. Even more so if it was a young lady with a long life ahead of her.

“…Yes. I’ll come back no matter what.”

In regards to that, Adelheid replied with a smile on her face. After raising the hem of her dress as she curtsied, she left the restaurant with a light gait and once again returned to her room in the villa. The room was supposed to be no different than when she left, but now she no longer thought of it as a prison.

(Money… just exactly how many gold coins should I prepare to pay him, I wonder?)

Just exactly how many gold coins were necessary for that wonderful confection? While thinking ahead to the wonderful time that would come in seven days, Adelheid, being at ease that no one could see her, shamelessly rolled around on the bedroom’s bed. Whether it was because of her satisfied stomach or because of the mood, she soon became a.s.saulted by drowsiness and peacefully fell asleep just before noon in the bedroom while breathing softly.

It had been a long time since Adelheid had enjoyed a midday nap with a smile on her face and with a dream in her head.

A dream where she would return to the imperial capital and live happily there. While waiting for the time that bliss that would come after seven days.

She did not know. That after seven days, she would be conflicted over which of the various ‘parfaits’ listed in the menu to choose from. And the various encounters waiting for her there.