For some reason, there were no customers since yesterday.
“It’s a customer business, so there are days like this. Don’t worry about it.”
Lynn comforts me by saying that.
“Instead of that, let’s focus on making the banquet menu for now.”
“Alright. I want to give Paul-oniisan something he will surely remember.”
“Father, I’m back!”
Char returned, carrying a large pail over her head. Oysters are piled up inside like a pile in a tub.
“Welcome back, Char. What’s going on with that many oyster?”
“I’ve caught it with Lulu. Char is a master oyster catcher!”
Once she used her dragon claw, she can pull oysters without tools.
“This is a gift to Father.”
“Thank you, Char. Lynn has made some lemon cake for us, please help yourself on that.”
“Oouuuh! I love lemon cake!”
She quickly sat down in the chair beside me and then she started to chew on the lemon cake.
I examined the oysters with Lynn.
“These are the best rock oyster I’ve seen. You don’t get to catch something of this quality very often.”
“Then let’s serve these oysters at Paul-oniisan’s banquet as well.”
I decided so because the gentlemen of this world love raw oysters.
Oysters are especially popular in winter. Freshly picked oysters poured into the stomach with a glass of dry white wine is considered the best treat of the season. We even have lemons that are out of season so it should be perfect.
The only people who can use lemons in the cold winter are the rich who can afford to import them from another region. There is no doubt that raw oysters with lemon will be much appreciated.
What’s more, what we will be serving aren’t just oysters and lemons. They are fresh oysters and ripe lemons from the mysterious island of Gandalcia. No matter how it is done, it’s bound to be delicious.
“Still, these are really fine oysters.”
Lynn, who opened the rock oyster with a knife, is impressed. The content is large and it actually looked plump and juicy.
“Shall we try a taste?”
“Fufu, what a great side benefit.”
Lynn and I put a rock oyster meat in our mouths at the same time.
“Uh!”
There is no peculiar smell of oysters at all!
The first thing I feel is the creamy umami taste. What follows is the mineral of the sea and the refreshing lemon scent that colors it.
“This is also delicious.”
“Excuse me for a moment….…”
Lynn poured a glass of well-chilled wine.
Then, she shouts to the front desk.
“Upa, come here for a minute!”
She must have felt a bit hesitant about enjoying wine in the middle of the day. She is going to make Upa an accomplice to reduce her guilt.
I just giggled and refrained from making any comments.
“What’s wrong? Oh, it’s oyster!”
Upa probably likes raw oysters too. He hopped into the kitchen with a smile on his face.
“It will be one of the menus at the upcoming banquet. I thought I’d let you taste it as well.”
“I’m grateful for that. I’ll have one then.”
With his accustomed hands, Upa opens the oyster shell. Then, he puts his mouth on the shell and slurped its content up.
“Oh~, delicious! I’ve eaten quite a few oysters, but I’ve never tasted them this good.”
“Look at how it goes with wine.”
“Hoho, you don’t have to tell me.”
Upa lifts the glass and empties its contents.
“Un, it feels great. This wine is good……”
They both look very happy. Adults love oysters and dry white wine. I’m more like Char and I prefer lemon cake.
“Eat more oysters if you like, but don’t drink too much.”
Right after I reminded them, Mary came in to inform me.
“Cedie-sama, Eugenie-sama is here.”
“I’ll be right there in a moment. Mary, can you get us some tea? And the lemon cake there as well.”
“Understood. I’ll bring it to you right away.”
I left the rest to Mary and then I went to the restaurant. At the restaurant, Eugenie and Nowald-sensei, who had just met, were chatting.
“Hello, Sensei, Eugenie. Are you having lunch?”
“I missed lunch time because I was so focused on reading, is it okay?”
“Yes. We don’t have any other customer at the moment so it’s fine. We also have delicious oysters today. It seems to go well with white wine.”
“Oh! I’d like to have some. And some white wine of course. A glass….no, I’ll have half a decanter.”
The teacher is fidgeting with his hands rubbed together. As expected, Sensei also loves oysters with white wine.
Mary brought us tea and lemon cake. I also asked her to serve Sensei his lunch before I turned to face Eugenie.
“Recently, I found a lemon tree in the depths of the island. Try it, it’s a lemon-flavored pound cake that Lynn made for me. There’s lemon juice in the dough and sugar coating.”
“It looks very good. I’ll have some.”
Eugenie lifted the cup with a graceful hand.
“By the way, have you heard about the Truff?”
Eugenie asked with a serious face.
“Truff? It is a monster like a wild boar, right?”
“That’s right. Apparently, there’s a big truff haunting the road and attacks travelers coming by. There have been a number of casualties.”
Was that why there were no customers since yesterday?
It seems that truff does not prey on humans but just goes around killing them. Compared to wild animals, it is more vicious in that area. Ordinary animals do not continue hunting any longer once their stomachs are satisfied. However, Truff kills humans at will.
Eugenie came to let me know about it.
“Father is in the process of forming a subjugation party. I’m sure Earl Dantes is one of them.”
It is the Lord’s job to keep the roads safe after all. Earl Simpson and Alexei-oniisan must be scrambling to get it killed.
“Is it such a troublesome monster that a subjugation party needs to be formed?”
“According to the eyewitnesses, it is over five meters long.”
Nowald-sensei, who is listening to our conversation at the next table, nodded while crossing his arms.
“Well, Truff is a hateful monster that is both agile and powerful. What’s more, it can even use earth magic.”
“Sensei, where do Truff come from? This is the first time I’ve heard of one appearing around here.”
“Truff is a monster that lives on a high mountain and doesn’t come down to the village easily. Do you know why?”
“Hmm…. the top of the mountain is the same as a cave, so the concentration of magic there is high. Powerful monsters use the magic energy in the air to function, so they don’t like to leave such places.”
The teacher nodded in satisfaction at my answer.
“That’s exactly right. But the concentration of magic in the air is not always constant. It may suddenly disappear one day. The cause has not been identified though.”
“Then, could it be that the concentration of magic in the territory became low, so the Truff has come down to the village?”
“That’s a strong possibility.”
Hmmm…. maybe it is looking for a new place to live.
But the trouble is, my brothers’ appointment is already three days away. If such a monster is roaming the main road, the banquet will have no choice but to be postponed.
It’s a waste of our preparation then…….
As I was looking blank, Upa came out of the kitchen and tapped me on the shoulder.
“Don’t worry about that. I’ll kill it when the time comes.”
“That’s dangerous!”
“Not really. I’ve done it before.”
“Eh!?”
“When I was in the army, a truff appeared in the wilderness. It was coming towards me, so I got rid of it. It was delicious.”
“It can be eaten?”
“The whole unit grilled and ate it. I have never eaten such delicious meat before or since then.”
Sensei vouched for Upa’s words.
“Since ancient times, gourmets have sought out the meat of Truff. Perhaps the reason why Lords organize subjugation teams is because they want to taste it.”
Hearing this, Upa was stunned. Then as if he suddenly got an inspiration, he shouted,
“Then we can’t afford to lose!”
“What do you mean we can’t lose?”
“Earl Dantès and Earl Simpson are moving, so will the Lord of Gandalcia, right?”
“No, no, that’s not going to happen. In the first place, just look at the population in the island. There’s no way we could organize an extermination force.”
“It’s enough if I’m there.”
“Char is going to help you too!”
After finishing the lemon cake, Char raised her hand cheerfully.
However, the overprotective Upa would not let her.
“It’s dangerous, so no. Children should stay at home and play.”
“Buu-, I want to join the subjugation team as well.”
I’m sure it will be okay if it’s Char, but it’s not really a good idea to let a child do it.
“Well, there aren’t any customers here anyway, so I guess I’ll just go and check out the highway.”
Right after I said that, the door of the restaurant was suddenly swung open in a hurry.
“Young master, it’s bad!”
“T-there is a monster!”
It was the brothers Dawsill and Cawsill who came.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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thx for the new chapter~ ^_^
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