The Other World Dining Hall

Chapter 10

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Cream Croquette

In one of the many countless prairies located in a certain small country’s remote countryside, there is a small town. During the day of a full moon, in a corner of the open market in that town, a single boy was humming while he cooked.

“Stew~♪ Stew♪~ Delicious Stew~♪”

The boy’s height was slightly taller than an adult’s waist. He wore no shoes but instead had soft, curly hair growing from the back of his bare feet. That boy continued peeked into the pot that was bubbling from the heat of the fire. At first glance, he appeared to be a child but those around him did not react or say anything about that. To make sure that they were all cooked evenly, he put the vegetables and pieces of meat that were cut small enough so that they would cook quickly into a pot so that they could boil gently and cooked together. Boiling everything together gently was the heart of stew. Boiling the ingredients until they were all completely soft and drawing out all the flavor was something that had to be done, and he couldn’t be negligent in diligently getting rid of the sc.u.m.

“Alright! Sc.u.m cleaning complete! Stewing is also… Okay!”

After a short period of throwing the sc.u.m to the ground, he took a taste test to see if the meat and vegetables were soft, the boy raised his voice.

“Pakke! Is the sauce done?”

“Of course! Here, Pikke!”

At those words, carrying a large pot that required both hands while she pitter-pattered as she drew close was, as expected, a barefoot girl that was about the same age… Pakke. She gave the boy who was immersed in cooking, Pikke, a small saucepan filled with plenty of white sauce.

“Alllright! All that’s left is to put that in and stir it in with some milk…”

He added the sauce and freshly-squeezed milk that they had bought into the pot and closed it with a lid. And like that, they would stew together until the sauce familiarized itself…

“Knight’s stew is ready! Nn~, smells good!”

He took off the lid. The smell of warm stew softly spilled out around him and the people walking around the market stopped their feet.

“Here! Have some, Pakke! Yep! Tasty as always!”

“Thanks, Pikke! Nn~! Delicious~!”

The two of them had a sample of a cup’s worth of stew in their wooden bowls, and afterwards, they took each other’s hands and began to dance in joy from its overwhelming deliciousness. Their steps were nimble. Their movements were befitting of their race… ‘Halflings.’

Halflings were a race that had the same height of a human child and soft curly hair growing from the back of their feet. Their nature was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with curiosity and they liked busy places without a shred of calmness. They also had a culture that made it so they did not stay in a one place for long.

When they became adults, they would leave their families and wander on a journey here and there, and in time, they would become acquainted with the opposite s.e.x and become married with the halfling that suited them. After that, they would continue to travel while making kids and wandering here and there together with their newly born child until their child would become an adult. Then they would see their child off and continue to wander as a couple until the day they would die.

Because they were such a race, halfling parents normally would pa.s.s on one technique to earn provisions for their wandering lifestyle to their child as a family inheritance. The things that they inherited were things like bard songs, things like interesting and strange street performances, things like thief techniques to borrow things without permission from people walking down the road, things like techniques to freely use traps to hunt due to their small build which made pulling a bow or swinging a sward too weak for them to live as a hunter, or things such as techniques to see through sold goods to peddle them. All of these varied from family to family.

And Pikke and Pakke. The technique that this pair of young husband and wife had was the ability to ‘cook.’ Generally, halfling cooks did not own their own restaurants and aimlessly stopped at a town’s marketplace to prepare their ingredients and sell their dishes to pa.s.sing customers. Herbs that they could find in forests or on the roadside were fine but spices, sugar, and other stupidly expensive seasonings were things that they couldn’t get a hold of since they didn’t have the money, and since there weren’t many rare ingredients that they could use, all they could rely on was their own knowledge of food preparation and their own skill. It was that kind of craft.

And Pikke and Pakke had one secret recipe that they were taught by their parents to support them on their journey. Invented twenty years ago by a merchant in a ‘kingdom’ which was the most prosperous country in the eastern continent and quite the distance away from this small country, its revolutionary good flavor caused the sauce, which used cow’s milk and wheat, to be granted the t.i.tle of ‘knight’ at the time by the crown prince, who is now the current king.

In the kingdom where it first appeared, it was now spread to the point that modest farming villages would bring it out as a delicacy on the day of festivals, but in this remote country, it was only spread to the point that only the king could eat it. Because of that, the stew that Pikka and Pakke made was immensely popular.

“Come, come, everyone! A stew that uses the knight sauce, a specialty of the far, faaaar kingdom! Victory comes to the fast!”

“One bowl is two copper coins! It’s delicious! Once we sell out, there’s no more for today!”

In front of the finished stew, the two of them raised their voices. They swallowed their saliva while a savory, sweet smell overflowed from the knight sauce.

The sound of their loud voices and the aromatic smell of the stew lured in the customers in the marketplace as the sounds of their many footsteps came as they gathered.

“Hey. What exactly is this white stew?”

From that crowd of people, a single middle-aged man acted as their representative and called out to Pikke.

“Welcome, customer! This here is a stew that uses the knight sauce which was born in a faraway country! How about it? Want to have a bowl to taste?”

“You look like a good man, brother, so as the first customer, we’ll give you a big serving as a service! Right? Right?”

With cheerful laughter, Pikke and Pakke encouraged the man as though they were sweeping him up in a stream.

“Well, if it’s like that… I’ll take a bowl.”

As if being overwhelmed by their vigor, the man pa.s.sed on two copper coins to Pakke.

“Right, here it is! Enjoy!”

“It’s hot so be careful!”

They pa.s.sed a crudely-made bowl filled with plenty of stew along with a spoon to the man.

“Oh… Oooooh!?”

Taking that, the man brought the stew to his mouth and slurped as his complexion changed. He raised his voice in surprise because it was a stew that was so delicious unlike the stews he had ever eaten. The bite-sized, dice-shaped, finely-cut, pieces of pork that were still covered in fat melted in his mouth, nearly bringing him to tears. The baron’s fruits, which was filled with the flavor of the stew, were soft and fluffy and broke away as they crumbled in his mouth. The oranie which were well cooked together and stir-fried with b.u.t.ter dissolved away as they gave a sweet flavor, and the orange-colored caryute which carried sweetness were thoroughly cooked and soft. And finally, the soup made from milk and b.u.t.ter had a faint, sweet yet luxurious taste to it. This stew had a flavor that the stew that this man usually prepared using only salt as a seasoning couldn’t compare too.

Eating this in the current cold weather, or even piping hot weather which would be the most unfavorable condition to eat this stew, he could feel that this was something that could be considered a delicacy.

“This here’s delicious! Give me one more bowl!”

Without even thinking, the man pushed the now empty bowl along with some copper coins on to Pikke as he said that.

“Thanks for the business! Eat more and more!”

“You see this stew here~, if you eat it with bread, it’s tasty too! You take some bread and put it in the bowl like this, and then you eat it when it soaks up all the stew! And when you do that, the bread because soft, and when you bite it, plenty of the soaked-up stew gushes out into your mouth!”

While she began serving up stew, Pakke said that cheerfully. Occasionally she would glance over to the stall next to them that was selling black bread. Coming from the crowd of people, the sound of several people swallowing their saliva could be heard.

“Hey, give some over here!” “I want a bowl too!” “Hey, hand some over to me!” “Come, come, buy, buy! Delicious black bread! Eating with the stew over there is perfection!” “Give me seconds! One more bowl!”

And so, people from the crowd turned into customers as they ordered stew one by one. Then the customers who managed to get ahold of some stew went over to the next stall and bought small pieces of black bread cut into individual servings and ate it with the stew. Sighs could be heard here and there, and a number of customers once again presented their wooden bowls as they asked for seconds.

“Come, come! Victory comes to the fast! We only made this much for today!”

“It’s over when there’s no more! Eat as much as you can!”

Just like that, the stew was sold out before noon, and Pikke and Pakke managed to obtain enough funds to travel to the next city.

Early afternoon.

“Today is a~ fuuun~ Satur’s Day~♪”

“Yay!”

Pikke and Pakke deposited their luggage at the inn, and while singing an out of tune song, they lightly ran to the middle of the forest outside of the town. Sometimes they would hear the sounds of some beast wriggling about, but the two of them paid that no mind. Wild beasts were cowardly by nature and by making a ruckus like this, they wouldn’t attack, and even if they did, there were no beasts that could catch a halfling that was seriously running away.

“What should we eat today?”

“Leeet me think… Since there’s no more stew left for today, maybe a knight sauce dish!”

“That’s right! Let’s get that! We have plenty of money too!”

The two of them cheerfully talked. Today was a good day. The nearby stall selling black bread also sold out just like them and gave their thanks, and because of that, they had some unexpected income. Also, the first customer who ate their cooking, the man who owned the town’s inn, offered them 115 silver coins and 7 copper coins to teach him how to make knight sauce. Because of that, they had plenty of money.

It was the perfect weather for the Other World Dining Hall.

“Just a little bit more! It’s in the opening just ahead!”

As Pakke said that cheerfully, in the wrinkled parchment Pikke was holding on to were countless scribbles along with many countless spots of cat marks written down. Right, this was a secret known among the halflings… a mark showing where the ‘Cathouse’s door’ would appear.

The halfling’s map was a bit special. In any case, since all members of the race were fueled by curiosity and whimsy and since they were a race that traveled and scattered here and there, every one of them had a land that they were familiar. Because of that, whenever fellow halflings met, they would take out their maps and teach each other what they knew. Without reluctance or secrecy. Since they are a race that goes from journey to journey, everyone knew that it was very important that they knew about the lands that they might come across from here on. And amongst the halflings was the well-known ‘Cathouse’s door.’

You could visit it once every seven days on a Satur’s day. On this day, black doors with cats drawn on them would appear throughout this world. These doors would lead to the ‘Cathouse,’ an otherworldly restaurant, and there, you could eat the other world’s cooking.

The other world’s cooking was extremely different but very delicious. That’s why when it’s about Satur’s day and you’re close to a door, you should have a meal there. You will definitely be able to eat some extremely delicious cooking, is what they say.

At any rate, the two of them were halflings studying the art of cooking. Holding an interest in all things cooking would make them twice as better, and being glutton out of the gluttonous halflings would make them ever better at cooking.

The two of them also visited the Other World Dining Hall many times during the time they were traveling with their families. The Other World Dining Hall’s food was extremely different and extremely delicious. Because of that, whenever there was some excess in their purse and if a door was close, they would head to the Other World Dining hall without fail on Satur’s day.

“We maaade it~! Alright, it’s there!”

“Other people… un! Not here!”

After going off of the animal trail and into the heart of the forest to safely discover a lightly floating black door, they looked around restlessly as they surveyed the area to see if there were any other people close to them. You could only use the Cathouse’s door once per day, and it was reasonable to think that the residents living in the area would have a ‘monopoly’ on it. Among the halflings, there were famous stories about how if an outsider tried to use the door at the lizardmen’s altar, without a doubt, crowds of lizardmen would attack. There was also no doubt that they would be burned into nothing the moment that they would try to use the door of ‘Midnight Lady,’ who would appear at the restaurant late at night wearing a pure red dress and would eat the most expensive thing on the menu which was beef stew.

Because of such circ.u.mstances, it was manners among the halflings to search around the cathouse’s door whenever they were planning to use it, and it was also an ironclad rule.

“…Un. It looks like it hasn’t been used in some time.”

“Then, let’s go.”

“Un. Let’s go, let’s go!”

After investigating the area and seeing that there were no signs of any living creature that could open the door approaching, the two of them held hands, and Pakke opened the door. The sound of a bell rang out.

“Welcome. Oh, aren’t you Pikke and Pakke, right? It’s been a while.”

As he went to meet countless customers in the clamorous, congested restaurant and saw Pikke and Pakke, the owner said that.

“That’s right! How long ago was last time?”

“Let me see… I think it was when summer was ending!”

The two of them were used to this as they gave cheerful replies. The little people… Because halflings never stayed in one place, there were no ‘regulars’ among them who could visit the Other Worldly Dining Hall every week. Halfling could only visit if they were close to a door on Sat.u.r.day by chance, and while halflings themselves came in good number, they were rarely the same individuals.

“Never mind that, Mister! First bring us a menu!”

“And what’s today’s special?”

“Right, right. Please wait just a moment. And today’s special is cream croquettes.”

While bitterly laughing at the two’s always high spirits, the owner told them of today’s special.

“Cream croquettes!”

“White sauce with fried bread crumbs!”

It was as if it was G.o.d’s will. The two of them looked at each other and laughed with a smile.

“Mister! First give us two portions cream croquettes! I’ll have rice!”

“I’ll have bread! And make sure to bring it with the menu! We’re going to eat a lot today!”

Giving their order before they arrived at their seats, Pikke and Pakke excitedly sat in a chair at random while swinging their legs back and forth.

“Okay, okay. But you little people are cheerful as always.”

The owner gave a bitter laugh at the two of them while heading back to fry up the cream croquettes.

“There’s a bunch of different people today too, Pikke!”

“That’s right! It’s interesting, right Pakke!”

While they waited, Pikke and Pakke, who couldn’t bear having free time, looked around the restaurant. Today too, the Other World Dining Hall had many kinds of diverse customers gathered inside of it.

A young woman was savoring her ‘minced cutlet’ that was covered with plenty of sauce.

A young woman wearing a beautiful dress was blissfully eating a cold ‘parfait’ that looked so sweet that it would melt.

An elegant man who was said to be the young master of a mercantile house was enthusiastically tasting his ‘napolitan’ while writing down his impressions.

A lizardman next to him who had an expressionless face that made it so that you couldn’t know what he was thinking was moving his spoon in a hurry as he ate his ‘omelette rice.”

An elven man who had a magical thin sword hanging from his waist while he ate ‘natto spaghetti’ which used a sauce made from rotten beans, something even Pikke did not eat.

There was even a table where about one hundred small people about the size of Pikke’s palm were all wearing matching clothing as they gathered around and ate a single plate of ‘hotcakes.’

Normally you couldn’t see these kinds of customers gathered in one place. A place where people came to eat food while overcoming the barriers of race. The Other World Dining Hall was indeed a strange place that was befitting of the Other World.

“Interesting, right Pikke!”

“That’s right! Even if we came every day, every day would be interesting, right Pakke!”

While they waited and had that exchange, the owner finally brought out the food.

“Thank you for waiting. Your cream croquettes.”

The owner’s hands lined up the piping hot dishes. On a plate with sliced raw, leafy vegetables and small red marmette fruits were three piping-hot, brown cream croquettes.

“”Ooh~””

The two of them raised their voices in harmony. While holding great expectations for the first dish of the day, they took up their knives and forks. With a crunch, a pleasant sound came out as knifes entered croquettes. With a glop, what came out was something red mixed in with the white knight sauce. With a puff, the good smell of the overflowing knight sauce made the two of them twitch their noses. And without reservations, with a bite, what filled and spread in their mouth was the unique rich taste of knight sauce filled with a simple sweetness mixed with the ocean taste of soft meat that was different from fish.

“”N~!””

The very similar husband and wife, Pikke and Pakke, raised their voices at the same time while they puffed out hot steam out of their mouths as they swallowed.

“Delicious~!”

“It has the taste of the ocean~!”

They then talked about the flavor of the thing they just ate with one another. Today, the Other World Dining Hall’s food was in perfect condition as well.

“Next is… I’ll have this one!”

“And I’ll have this one!”

Pikke and Pakke, as though they planned it out beforehand, took different cream croquettes in their hands and began to gulp them down. Although they had the differences of man and woman, the two halflings were like twins reflected in a mirror as they stuffed their cheeks with their second cream croquette, and as though they couldn’t hold themselves back anymore, they reached out with their hands and tossed rice and bread into their mouths.

The first-cla.s.s bread and rice went well with the cream croquette’s rich flavor and gave birth to a flavor that was different than when they ate it by itself. After the two of them uncharacteristically savored that flavor diligently, they told their trusty partner about the filling.

“This one had smoked meat and mushrooms!”

The cream croquette that Pikke had eaten was filled with smoked meat and mushrooms. The smoked meat that was finely minced, stir-fried, and perfectly seasoned with spices was filled with a moderate amount of fat, a saltiness that wouldn’t lose to the knight sauce’s sweetness, and the strong taste of meat that came from drying it. The thinly-cut, meaty mushrooms inhaled the flavor of the smoked meat and the knight sauce’s sweetness, and every time you chewed it, it added its own flavor to the sauce. The cream croquette sucked the flavor of smoked meat and mushrooms and spread it out inside of his mouth. It was a substantial flavor, and it was a flavor that went well with rice.

“This one has yellow grains! It’s sweet!”

On the other side, the cream croquette that Pakke had eaten was filled with yellow vegetable grains. It was something that was not in Pakke’s knowledge. The small yellow vegetables were very sweet as though they were fruit. Every time she bit into those grains, they would burst open with a sweet flavor which made the sweetness that the knight sauce had in the beginning to become even stronger, and made the croquette sweet as a confectionary. When eaten together with the bread that was made in this world using b.u.t.ter which gave it a slightly sweet flavor, it made it a very delicious dish.

“I see! Then I’ll have this too! Un! It’s sweet and delicious!”

“I’ll have this! Un! The flavor of the meat is so good!”

Pikke and Pakke took their last cream croquette in hand, and with that they finished eating one plate of cream croquettes.

“Un! That was delicious! Wait, what should we eat next?”

“Leeet me see…”

After that, the two of them put their faces together as they peeked at the menu. The two of them didn’t have nearly enough. The two of them were halflings that were the size of human children, but they had an appet.i.te that was many times that of a human. Their meal had only just begun.

“That was delicious, right Pikke?”

“Un. It’s been a while after all. Maybe we ate too much.”

Around the time that they each had ten servings worth of food and bought a bento for lunch tomorrow, it had become dark around them. As you would expect, both of their stomachs were filled to the brim and they each had faces of satisfaction.

“Let’s go home for today!”

“Un! Let’s go sleep in a fluffy bed!”

While they noisily talked, they hurried down the path to the inn.

“Where should we go next?”

“U~n, maybe it’s because the flavor of the ocean in that cream croquette but I feel like going to the ocean!”

Quickly, they decided their next destination. Always continuing their journey with a halfling-like quickness.

“I see! Then let’s get on a boat from here! I’m already this big and I haven’t got to ride one yet!”

“Ah, me too! That sounds good! Let’s do that!”

Affectionately talking with one another, the two laughing halflings were illuminated by the dazzling light of the full moon in the skies above.

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