The day before the academy’s new school year began.
Ever since the day we’d run into Olivia at the clothing store and toured the royal capital together, she had come to visit the Blue Ring mansion almost every day.
It reminded me of the summer holiday, when she had come for tea parties and Mother’s training every day.
Sure enough, Mother, Ashera, Marl, Olivia, Faristea, Instructor Anna, and Yuri were all in the guest room today, seven of them in total, each passing the time however she liked—practicing magic, having tea, and so on.
Recently, three topics dominated their conversations: Marl’s engagement, her transfer into the commerce department, and the time Ashera and I had once broken off our engagement.
Marl’s smooth-sailing romance was apparently wonderful, but a tragic love story like a broken engagement seemed just as appealing. The way they chattered excitedly about it was the very picture of maidens in love.
El, Louis, and I erased our presences and slipped out of the mansion before we could get dragged into it.
“Aldo, Elphas, it’s been a while.”
“Yeah. Have you been doing well?”
“Louis, it’s good to see you again.”
“Elphas, I heard you got engaged. Congratulations.”
“Thank you.”
Louis had actually come to the Blue Ring mansion with Olivia today.
Apparently, his mother had put him through the wringer throughout the winter holiday. He had built up muscle, and even his face seemed more rugged now.
“Looks like you trained quite a bit during the holiday.”
“Compared to a Dragon Slayer, it’s the same as doing nothing.”
“I nearly died, though…”
“An Earth Dragon… Was it really that strong?”
“Well, you know…”
We told Louis the story of our battle with the Earth Dragon in the most entertaining way we could, hiding only the matter of the Apostles.
“I see. Someday, I want to defeat a dragon and become a Dragon Slayer too.”
“You could do it, Louis.”
Louis suddenly looked at me with a serious expression.
“Do you really think I can become a Dragon Slayer?”
“If you keep training, you can… probably.”
“What kind of answer is that?!”
“Hahaha. Your basic abilities are better than ours, Louis. You can do it. I’m sure of it.”
“I see… Hearing you say it makes me feel like I really can.”
“I understand that feeling. When Brother says something, it starts to feel as if it truly will happen.”
“Exactly! You understand, Elphas.”
Even El was joining in… Just what part of me possessed that sort of foresight?
Incidentally, we’d come to the guild’s training ground today to see the results of Louis’s training. I needed to stay sharp myself!
El and I had actually risen to E-rank after subjugating the Earth Dragon.
Only E-rank for defeating an Earth Dragon? That might sound strange, but after Grandpa, Mother, and Naga discussed it, they decided to report to the guild that the Ice Witch and the Healer of Fresh Green had played the leading roles in the subjugation.
They were keeping public attention away from us, while Grandpa had apparently made a separate report to the king. In that report, our achievements were listed as the defeat of the goblin army and the subjugation of the Earth Dragon. In other words, he’d told the king everything without concealing a thing.
According to Grandpa, our martial strength was exceptional even within the Fosterk Kingdom. If monsters appeared in another territory that the local forces couldn’t handle, there was a chance we might be called in.
Royal family or not, we were the heirs of noble houses, so if they truly wanted to send us somewhere, it would have to take the form of a request.
Grandpa had even negotiated for us to be sent under concealed names and with our faces covered as the “Royal Shadows” if the need ever arose.
Eventually, there would come a time when we had to reveal our names and faces so that our strength could serve as a deterrent when Blue Ring became independent. For now, though, I was grateful for the consideration.
This was Grandpa’s way of showing kindness. I intended to lean on that kindness just a little longer.
For the moment, I was still nothing more than an E-rank adventurer.
El, Louis, and I opened the guild doors and stepped inside.
The place fell silent for an instant when everyone saw our faces, but the clamor quickly returned.
“Hey. Did you lot do something?”
Louis was surprised that the guild hadn’t remained deathly silent as usual.
“Joe helped us out a little.”
My answer must have told him everything he needed to know, because his face filled with understanding and he began to nod.
I shrugged at him, and we made our way to the training ground.
It was still early in the morning, so only a scattering of people were there. Those accepting requests came to the guild at dawn, but the adventurers who trained at the practice ground probably arrived a little later.
“Th-thank you for the other day…”
I turned around to find a plain-looking woman of about twenty timidly speaking to me.
“Me?”
When I pointed to myself and asked, she bobbed her head up and down again and again.
Had I done anything that would earn someone’s thanks…? I went over the last few days in my head but couldn’t recall anything.
“Do you have me confused with someone else?”
When I asked again, she shook her head from side to side this time.
“Y-you saved me from being attacked by bandits the other day.”
Now that she mentioned it, we’d dealt with some bandits on our way back from the Labyrinth of Claws and Fangs. There had been two adventurers there.
“Ah, from that time…”
“Yes. If you hadn’t come, the bandits would either have used me for their amusement or killed me on the spot.”
“Used you for their amusement…”
“My father is also deeply grateful that you saved us.”
“No, it wasn’t anything that remarkable…”
As I answered, I looked around, wondering if her father was here as well.
“Ah, ever since that happened, Father has been saying he’ll retire from adventuring…”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. He and Mother had already been running a tavern that serves food from Father’s homeland alongside his adventurer work. Now, he’s concentrating entirely on the tavern.”
“I see.”
“If you’d be willing, could we treat you to lunch as thanks? Father said he wanted to thank you as well.”
“No, you don’t have to…”
While I was trying to work out how to refuse, Louis cut into the conversation.
“Why not? You saved their lives, didn’t you? It’s not like you’re trying to squeeze money out of them. If you won’t even let them buy you lunch, they’ll probably feel worse.”
Even El nodded along with him.
“Alright… In that case, I’ll accept lunch.”
“Really? I’ll tell Father right away. I’ll come and get you before lunchtime, so please wait here.”
“Alright.”
“His homeland’s food may be a little unusual, but it’s delicious. The fish dishes are especially wonderful.”
Fish dishes… Fish dishes for a former Japanese man?! I love them!
“I’m looking forward to lunch.”
The woman nodded once, then hurried away.
After that, we sparred with Louis and showed one another how far our mana control had progressed. Before we knew it, lunchtime was almost upon us.
“Thank you for waiting.”
The woman from that morning called out to us.
“Not at all. We just finished.”
“Perfect timing. If it isn’t an inconvenience, shall we go now?”
“Yes, that’s fine.”
The three of us followed her.
Should I at least ask her name?
Or would it be too forward to casually ask a woman…? I couldn’t decide.
While I was still worrying over it, we seemed to have reached our destination. The woman turned to us and spoke.
“We’re here. Please, come inside.”
At her invitation, the three of us entered the establishment.
It looked like an ordinary tavern… yet something felt out of place to me.
The interior looked completely normal… There was nothing strange about the customers either…
“Please sit here.”
El and Louis took the seats she’d indicated without a second thought.
I alone kept glancing around restlessly, acting suspicious.
When I finally sat down, El spoke to me.
“Brother, is something wrong?”
“Huh? No, it’s just… Something feels strange…”
“Strange? Is it dangerous?”
The moment Louis heard our conversation, he shifted into a combat-ready posture.
“N-no, it isn’t anything like that. It feels nostalgic somehow, or like there’s something here that shouldn’t be…”
El and Louis both looked confused by my behavior. I couldn’t blame them when even I didn’t understand what I meant.
As I sat there bewildered, the woman returned carrying enough fish fillets for everyone.
“Here you are. This is our specialty—teriyaki yellowtail. It’s only available at this time of year.”
The moment I saw teriyaki yellowtail again after so long, every trace of unease vanished.
This was teriyaki! The last time I’d eaten it had been when I took my junior, Nakanishi, to my regular izakaya.
“Oh, that looks delicious. Let’s eat.”
I had to use a knife and fork, but the teriyaki tasted so wonderful after all these years that I nearly cried.
If possible, I would have liked to pick at it with chopsticks while drinking sake.
El and Louis seemed to like the teriyaki yellowtail as well, and both ate with smiles.
“Yellowtail really is best as teriyaki. Since it’s winter, this must be winter yellowtail. It’s nice and fatty. Ah, or maybe they can only transport it in winter without it spoiling… They don’t exactly have refrigerated trucks.”
El, Louis, and the woman stared blankly while I muttered to myself.
“B-Brother, have you eaten this dish before?”
El asked something strange. Of course a Japanese man had eaten teriyaki yellowt—
…Wait.
Why was there teriyaki yellowtail here?
Huh?
Teriyaki meant soy sauce and mirin, didn’t it?
What? Did they seriously have soy sauce here?!
I grew so excited that even I couldn’t make sense of myself… After taking a deep breath, I addressed the woman.
“Could you show me the seasoning you used on this fish?”
“The… seasoning?”
“Yes.”
“It’s from Father’s homeland. He makes it himself.”
“Please sell it to me!”
“What?”
“A silver coin… No, a gold coin, perhaps… Hmm. I’d go as high as a platinum coin…”
“P-please wait a moment…”
“I know! I’ll give you a divine-silver coin!”
“This man is terrifying! You two know him, don’t you?! Don’t just watch—help me!”
After El and Louis calmed me down, I regained my senses.
“I’m sorry. I got a little overexcited…”
“N-no…”
“Would you please sell me some of the seasoning?”
“I’ll ask Father, so please wait a moment.”
The woman retreated into the back as though fleeing.
A middle-aged man came out of the kitchen just as she disappeared.
“Thank you for saving us from those bandits the other day.”
“Not at all. I’m truly glad you’re alive!”
“I-is that so…? Th-thank you.”
For some reason, the man took two steps backward.
“I-I heard you wanted some hishio…”
“So it’s called hishio? I would very much like you to sell me some!”
“Y-yes. Of course I can do that much for the man who saved my life… but do you know of hishio?”
Only then did it finally occur to me that my behavior was bizarre.
El and Louis stood there openmouthed, astonished by my actions, while the owner had frozen with a troubled look on his face.
The final blow was his daughter, who had brought us here. She was peeking from behind a pillar, her eyes overflowing with wariness.
“P-please excuse me. This fish was so delicious that I completely lost control of myself.”
Everyone must have realized that I’d regained my senses, because relief finally appeared on their faces.
“M-my name is Aldo von Blue Ring… I’ll send someone from my household at a later date. I would be grateful if you could share some of your hishio with us.”
“Y-you’re a nobleman…? Forgive my rudeness…”
“Not at all. I’ve fallen in love with your cooking. I’ll take my leave for today, but please—save some hishio for me!”
“Y-yes…”
With everyone watching me, I decided it was time to leave. El and Louis followed.
“You two could’ve stayed and taken your time…”
“The meal was meant to thank you… It’d be strange for only us to stay and eat when you were gone.”
“I suppose so. Sorry.”
“It’s fine. More importantly, let me have some too…”
“Hm?”
“You’re going to make something with that seasoning, right? I don’t have to be the first, but let me eat some.”
It seemed Louis had taken a liking to soy sauce too.
“Sure. Once I’ve made something, I’ll treat you.”
“I-I want some too!”
Even El joined in.
“Of course. I’ll treat Nero, Faristea, and Instructor Anna too, even though they aren’t here.”
“Olivia as well.”
“And Marl, please.”
I could only shrug and agree.
It had been nearly fourteen years since I came to this world, and I’d finally found soy sauce.
All I needed now was rice… They had wheat here.
Surely rice existed too! I didn’t know where, but it had to!
First, I’d make all sorts of things with soy sauce.
My dreams were soy-expanding!
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