The Other World Dining Hall

Choco Cornet

On Sat.u.r.day morning, she arrived at the station riding the first train, walked to Nekoya, and prepared the breakfast.

That was Saki’s routine as of last month.

(Another month, huh…)

While walking, Saki felt somewhat nostalgic.

After finishing her coming-of-age ceremony, she was accepted to work at her uncle’s restaurant, and a month had pa.s.sed since she was told about the secret of the restaurant.

(It has changed indeed, this restaurant.)

The main entrance of this restaurant was connected to a “different world” on Sat.u.r.days, becoming an “otherworld dining hall” that welcomed customers from there.

It was the secret of Western restaurant Nekoya for the last 30 years.

The only ones who knew other than Saki was the owner, her great-grandmother Koyomi, and the shop owners that the restaurant was a.s.sociated with for a long a time, it seemed that it was kept as a secret from the employees.

(It seems that Tanaka-san is vaguely aware of it…)

An old-timer chef who was working at the restaurant since the previous owner’s time (he was also the one that taught the basics of professional chef to Saki), the young master who was also with the previous owner, someone who wanted to get close during Sat.u.r.days of olden time, so Saki-chan had to be careful. Was what she heard.

…In Saki’s case, she was hired to work on Sat.u.r.days.

[Maa, oh well. I have to work hard… eh?]

When she came near, Saki who had arrived at the back door of Nekoya’s building noticed that there was someone there.

Standing there with somewhat reluctant air was a high school boy a bit younger than Saki. That boy also noticed Saki’s presence and bowed his head at her.

[A, h.e.l.lo. Good morning.]

The boy said so as he bowed his head. He wore an ap.r.o.n with the name of a shop printed on the chest.

She certainly remembered that there was a bakery at the shopping district which supplied bread for Nekoya, so Saki asked him.

[A, no, it’s not about work, it’s just…]

The boy stuttered while carrying a paper bag with the words Bakery Kimura written on it.

[…A, that’s right. Onee-san1, you just started to work at Nekoya right?]

After thinking for a while, the boy realized something and raised his head while presenting the paper bag.

[This, the blonde foreigner girl that always worked hard here at Sat.u.r.days ordered this by phone, that, can you please give this to her?]

[A, un. That’s fine.]

That’s a lie. Saki thought so while receiving it with a smile.

A foreigner girl that worked at Nekoya… there’s no way Aletta who was a genuine otherworlder could operate a phone. In fact, it’s highly probable that she’s not even aware of its existence.

For a moment, she could see that the boy’s cheeks were red, so she could easily guess why he lied.

[I see. That’s good. Then please tell her that this time I’m confident with this, so I would like to hear her impression after she eats it. Well then, I have to help the morning preparation!]

After saying so with a bright face, the boy ran away to escape from embarra.s.sment.

[…Youth, huh.]

While watching his back, Saki unintentionally said such words.

Saki then went down to Nekoya using the elevator near the back door.

[Ou, morning.]

[Good morning, Saki-san.]

In the restaurant, the owner and Aletta who had finished her shower and changing her clothes greeted Saki.

[Un. Good morning… ah, Aletta-chan. This is a gift from a boy working at Kimura-san’s place.]

Saying so, she gave Aletta the paper bag that she received from

the boy earlier.

[E? Is it a present from Shota-san?]

Hearing the strange words, Aletta looked into the paper bag.

Inside there was spiral bread similar to a horn with a sweet smell drifting from it.

[Hou, this is choco cornet… aa, that reminds me, Kimura-san is eager to defeat Flying Puppy this year so much…]

Similarly, the owner looked inside the paper bag and noticed that it was a cla.s.sic sweet bread, he then remembered what day that day was.

[…Isn’t it the opposite normally.]

Saki recalled the boy’s state and smiled a bit.

The boy gave her a chocolate bread, though it’s a reverse from norm.

[Maa, then, Aletta. You should eat that for breakfast. That choco cornet is delicious after all.]

[Yes. Well then, I’ll eat it later.]

Hearing the owner’s words, Aletta nodded and smiled happily.

The time was after the morning preparation, there were only a few early customers coming now, so it’s Nekoya’s break time.

It was time for employees’ breakfast.

Today’s menu were something called Saki’s pizza toast which was bread topped with various ingredients and then baked, a combination platter of fresh vegetables, and the owner’s corn potage.

Besides that, special only for Aletta was the choco cornet she received earlier.

[A, ano… is it okay for me alone to eat this?]

Aletta made a troubled face and asked them.

It seemed weird for her to eat better than the owner and the owner’s niece.

[No, I don’t mind. If the one giving this to Aletta is Kimura-san’s Shouta, then you should eat it deliciously.]

[True, true. Also, if we want to eat it, we can buy it for ourselves. That’s why Aletta-chan should eat it.]

To such Aletta, they answered while laughing.

[We, well then… O G.o.d of Demons, I receive the food you gave me today as well.]

[Ou. Well then, let’s eat.]

[Let’s eat.]

It would be rather rude to say too much.

Aletta ate it after she prayed.

First of all, she reached for the owner’s corn potage and scooped the yellow soup.

Aletta loved this soup which she ate when she first entered the restaurant; it was slightly sweet and tasted of vegetables.

(N… delicious.)

It was warm and the sweetness different from fruits spread in her mouth as always, she felt relieved.

All of the restaurant’s soups were delicious, but Aletta thought that this sweet soup was the most delicious after all.

Now that she had eaten half of the soup, next she picked up a fork and reached for the raw vegetables… the owner called it a salad.

The raw vegetables seasoned with sour sauce with complex taste were good enough to be called a dish.

(I wonder what kind of vegetables these are?)

Every time she ate salad, Aletta wondered about the vegetables which had different quality than the ones that Aletta knew. She was certain that they tasted better because of the sauce, but the vegetables of otherworld had only a bit of bitterness and had deliciously strong taste like sweetness and/or acidity instead. Therefore, they’re delicious enough to be eaten raw.

It’s strange for Aletta, were the vegetables different in otherworld, or was it cultivated differently?

Her hand did not stop while she thought such, she ate the red vegetable and thin green leafy vegetable, and the spicy and slightly bitter sliced raw Oranie complimented other vegetables.

(Next is…)

After eating the others, she reached for the pizza toast.

This baked dish with ingredients arranged on sliced bread called shokupan in the otherworld was similar to the pizza dish served in the restaurant as the name suggested.

TN: Shokupan means sliced bread in j.a.panese

First of all, the cuisine that the owner’s niece made was not served to customers yet, so she wanted to eat the main dish made by Saki as soon as possible.

On top of the sliced bread were Oranie, thinly cut sausages, slightly bitter green vegetable and cheese, it was then baked until the surface was slightly brown.

When she ate it, she tasted the bread with its crunchy baked texture, the soft feel of melted cheese and the sour taste of ketchup.

The Oranie’s vivid sharp taste when not cooked enough, the bitterness of the green vegetable, and the sliced sausages were further mixed in and the result was delicious.

(Are all of the master’s family brilliant chefs?)

While eating, Aletta unintentionally thought.

Saki had just become an adult, and she looked a bit younger than Aletta.

While she was not as good as the owner, she was still better than ordinary adult chefs.

Although she didn’t know about the owner’s grandmother that came before, Saki who was the owner’s blood relative also had knowledge and skill of a chef, and at the same time, she was steadily training to improve her skills.

While thinking such, she finished eating the pizza toast, the salad and the corn potage; she then decided to eat the bread that she left for last.

(This is surely delicious right?)

The tunamayo corn bread she received from Shota before was delicious. So perhaps this choco cornet was delicious too?

Thinking that way, she peeled of something transparent attached to the base of the bread (according to the owner, it was inedible and was placed to prevent the cream in the middle from oozing out).

Something dark brown had been inserted in the horn-like bread, she then ate a mouthful.

[E!? Sweet!?]

To that taste, Aletta said in surprise.

This bread was sweet. To be precise, the cream in the middle was sweet while the bread itself was not sweet at all.

The taste was different from what she expected, so she was surprised.

(A, I see! This choco is the sweet ingredient used in cakes!)

And then one lag behind, she noticed that there’s bitterness in the sweetness.

Choco was something often used in sweets made at the bakery on upper floor.

Apparently this bread was filled with it.

[E? A sweet choco cornet… isn’t that normal?]

[Aa, if I remember correctly she has never eaten sweet bread before. Certainly it’s different from what she knew.]

Hearing their reactions, Aletta blushed and continued to eat.

The horn-like bread was not sweet like normal bread. It neutralized the sweet milky cream well and she could eat it steadily.

The horn shape seemed to be made from winding long and slender bread into this shape.

As she ate it, the tip of the bread where there was no cream was the last uneaten part.

When she ate the tip that was a bit harder than other part of the bread, the choco cornet was finished.

(It’s delicious…)

It was a bit disappointing, but she smiled to that satisfying taste.

[…I think I understand a little bit why oji-san hired Aletta-chan.]

While she was feeling satisfied, she heard Saki saying so.

[E?]

She unintentionally replied.

[Aletta-chan eats food really deliciously. If you eat my cooking like that, as the chef I’m very happy after all.]

[…Maa, that’s true. There’s also that.]

The owner nodded and replied while laughing.

Hearing so, Aletta blushed from embarra.s.sment and looked downwards.