Chapter 100 The Sincere Dwarf Part Three
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The meeting ends quickly and smoothly, and I was led to my lodging by a girl named Diana.
”The lodging you will be staying at, there are still a few settlers using it, because there are not many houses in the settlement yet. Please understand that.”
”As long as it’s not on the ground, we don’t care where we stay――Hmm?”
As I followed behind Diana, I heard the familiar and rowdy voices of a group of people from a large building on the right. Then, I stopped in my tracks.
”What is that building?”
”That’s the restaurant. It seems like your companions are there.”
”As soon as I heard there was no work today, those guys…”
Although I was somewhat exasperated, I turned to Diana, who had guided me, and said.
You’ve done enough. I’ll ask the others about the location of the lodging.”
”Understood. Excuse me.”
After bowing, Diana left, and I entered the restaurant.
As I expected, my Sincere Dwarf companions were in the midst of a drinking party.
”Oh Ronim! You’re here!”
”What’s with you guys? You’re already drunk in such a short time. How much have you been drinking?”
”I don’t know, but the snacks are so delicious that the alcohol is going down even more than usual! Come on, Ronim, eat and drink!”
Saying that, one of my companions pushed a plate of food in front of me.
There were several types of fried foods with thick breading on the plate.
”Fritters? I’m not a big fan of fried foods.”
”Just shut up and try it!”
I reach for my fork and stick it into the fritters on my plate, a little wary of the insistence of my friends.
”Hmm?”
Immediately, I felt something off about the texture of the breading on my fork, and my companions smirked as they saw my reaction.
”This texture… this isn’t a fritter, is it?”
”Stop observing and eat it quickly before it gets cold.”
”Hmm…”
Although I was curious about their reaction, I felt like the conversation wouldn’t move forward unless I ate it, so I put the food in my mouth.
”Oh?”
The batter on these asparagus fritters is so light and crispy, it’s nothing like the heavy batter I get with eggs and milk. And when I take a bite, the perfectly cooked asparagus reveals itself, filling my mouth with a delightful mix of sweetness and subtle bitterness.
”This is delicious!”
”I told you!”
”Maybe it’s because the batter isn’t mixed with herbs or milk like in traditional fried foods, so I can taste the flavor of the ingredients better. And the crispy texture is different from the heavy batter that fills me up quickly. I could eat as much of this as I wanted!”
With this comment, I reach for the next fried dish.
While the previous one was asparagus, this one was a beautiful, circular-shaped fry – maybe a potato or something
”Hmm!?”
As I took a bite, a juicy filling overflowed from within the crispy batter, and I hurriedly used my hand to stop the juice from spilling out of my mouth while pushing the rest inside.
What popped out of the crispy batter was a fresh onion that emitted sweet juice every time I bit into it, and this sweetness and overflowing freshness were definitely Nous’ onion.
”Here, Ronim, have some alcohol.”
”Thank you.”
I received the offered alcohol and gulped it down in one breath, cleansing away the oil residue from my mouth.
”Phew…! What a clean oil!”
With bad oil, the oil is so greasy that it sticks in my mouth and leaves an aftertaste for a while, but this fried dish has none of that, thanks to the quality of the oil used.
The light texture, which is probably made possible by the crisp oil, makes it possible to eat as much as one likes with alcohol.
”How is it, Ronim? This dish is nothing compared to the fried foods we usually have at our regular tavern, right?”
”Yeah, not only the quality of the oil but also the taste of the ingredients is really brought out in this dish.”
At least, it was different from the fried food at the tavern where a lot of herbs were mixed into the batter to cover the smell of stale oil.
The seasoning was simply salt, but I was surprised at the seasoning which is possible because of the quality of all the ingredients.
”What is this dish called?”
”I don’t know, it just said ‘Tonight’s Appetizer Set’ on the menu.”
I see. The menu changes daily.
I was curious about the name of the menu, so I called out to a figure at the back of the restaurant.
”Hey! Could I ask you something?”
”Sure! Give me a minute!”
As he replies, we wait a moment and a man comes to our table from the back of the restaurant with an extra dish and a drink.
”Here you go, this is the extra appetizer set and ale. Do you want to order anything else?”
”Oh, no, I just wanted to know the name of this dish.”
”Oh, that’s tempura.”
”Tempura… I’ve never heard of it, but I like it.”
”Hahaha, that’s good to hear. We’ve got more ingredients, so order more.”
”Then I’ll take two or three servings of tempura. And what kind of drinks do you have?”
”Unfortunately, this isn’t a tavern, so we only have ale and mead for now. We’ll be adding more soon though.”
”I see, then I’ll have an ale please.”
”Got it.”
While watching the man who took my order go towards the back of the shop, I checked the menu placed at the corner of the table.
The menu is wider than that of a tavern, of course, but not as wide as that of a regular restaurant.
Regarding the prices, vegetables are cheap, and alcohol and meat are a bit expensive, giving a glimpse of the supply situation in this settlement.
Although I prefer meat to vegetables as a snack for booze, the tempura I just had was very tasty both as a dish and as a snack for booze.
I was thinking about what to order after the Tempura, as it is a vegetable that has a good reputation in the city.
…
…
Several days have passed since I came to the settlement for work, and after finishing work that day, my companions and I made it a daily routine to eat and drink our fill at the restaurant to heal our tiredness.
”I’m tired, I’m tired, Narsht, what’s today’s snack set?”
”Thanks for your hard work. Today we have garlic butter stir-fried potatoes and mushrooms, flavor-infused daikon (a type of large white radish) steak, and a simmered dish of chicken and root vegetables.”
”Oh, it looks delicious again today. Then, as usual, please bring us the usual set.”
”Okay, I’ll prepare a snack set and ale for everyone. I’ll have them ready soon.”
The set of snacks that changes every day catches our stomachs and now we have decided that “usual” is a set of snacks with ale.
At first, everyone ate the snack set, and then it became customary to order their favorite dishes. Since then, I have tried various dishes at the cafeteria, but I still cannot forget the shock of the tempura I had first, and I usually order tempura after the set.
”Oh, you guys are here today too, you drinkers.”
”Gaadhir?”
While waiting for the food, Gaadhir, who was working as a night watchman in this settlement, called out to us.
Behind him were his wife and son, who bowed and greeted us.
”Are you still ordering the usual set of ale and snacks?”
”Yup, how about you join us, Gaadhir?”
”You idiot, you know I have work after this, right?”
Gaadhir’s retort makes some of the others laugh.
During our frequent visits to the restaurant, Gaadhir and I had become quite friendly, and we were now able to exchange such casual banter as this.
At first I was in a gloomy mood thinking that I would have to stay in such a remote place for several days, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.
As for the contact with the nobles, which I had feared, I did not know what they were doing, but they spent most of the daytime in a hut built beside the mansion, so I rarely saw them. Still, there were few complaints from my companions.
Speaking of complaints, Narsht and Gaadhir are very good-natured people, and I was surprised that they did not seem to have any complaints about being forced to work in such a place.
I asked Gaadhir about it, though it is natural to be dissatisfied when people work in a place like this.
”Hey, Gaadhir, what do you think of working in a frontier settlement?”
”What? Out of the blue, you want to pull me out?”
”No, I’m simply asking how you feel about working in a frontier place. It’s true that the food here is good and it motivates me to work hard, but that’s all, there’s nothing else.”
Just because the food is good doesn’t mean that the dangers and inconveniences that exist in a frontier town disappear.
I mean, overall, it would be more convenient to work in the city
And although I can understand if it is because of the contract, I have not seen anyone who works in this settlement who has no choice.
On the contrary, everyone seems positive and enthusiastic about their work.
”It’s not just you, but the people who work in the mansion or outside. Laborers in the frontier settlement are treated like slaves.”
”Like slaves―Pfft, hahaha!”
Gaadhir bursts out laughing. I am taken aback for a moment by the suddenness of it, but soon my face turns red with anger.
”What’s so funny?”
”Hahaha, I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I just remember when I first came to the settlement…”
”What’s that supposed to mean?”
I didn’t understand what he meant and I was torn between being angry or not.
”Most of the people working in the frontier settlement are slaves.”
”What!?”
“The only women in the mansion who don’t work as slaves are Diana and Lewya, as they serve Master Neil. As for the men, except for Narsht and myself, all of them are slaves. Well, it was surprising to me at first since they didn’t appear to be slaves.”
”I can’t believe it… they’re slaves?”
I pictured the faces of those who worked inside and outside the mansion, but I couldn’t see any anxiety or pessimism on their faces as if they had become slaves.
It’s surprising enough that laborers in the frontier settlement are working positively, but who would have thought they were slaves?
While I was surprised and stunned, Narsht came with some women to bring drinks and food.
”Here you go. Sorry for the wait―What’s wrong?”
Narsht asked me, noticing the delicate atmosphere between us, but my eyes were fixed not on Narsht but on the women he had brought with him.
If the other two women who work in the mansion are the servants of the nobleman, then these women who just brought the dishes from the kitchen must be the slaves.
As I was staring at them intently, one of the women made a suspicious face.
”Excuse me, is something the matter?”
”Oh, no, I’m sorry, it’s nothing.”
When I averted my eyes, thinking that I had been staring too long, the women looked at each other curiously, the mansion from the dining room’s back door.
Narsht looked away and then turned back to us.
”So, with the atmosphere just now and those meaningful glances, what was that all about? Don’t tell me you guys are s*xually frustrated from lack of women?”
”Don’t be stupid! Of course not!”
”Then what was it all about?”
”Well, actually――”
Gaadhir explained the situation to Narsht, and he nodded as if he understood.
”I see, that’s why you were looking at them so intently.”
”Yes, so I’m not frustrated as you say.”
”Sorry about that, but from an outsider’s perspective, it did look that way.”
”Ugh.”
Did I look like that?
That wouldn’t do, if someone misunderstood me like that…
As we chatted, the food and drinks were brought out.
”Narsht-san!”
”Hmm?”
I hear a voice calling Narsht from the back door of the restaurant, and when I look in that direction, I see the client, a nobleman, peeking out.
The appearance of the aristocrat made the people who had been drinking in a good mood earlier scowl.
On the other hand, Narsht rushed toward the back door when the nobleman called him, but he returned a little later with a bottle in each hand.
”Narsht, what’s this?”
”It’s a booze made by Master Neil. He brought it to me to taste, but I thought I’d like to hear the customers’ opinions as well.”
I never would have thought that a nobleman would be making booze every day in that shack.
”There are two bottles, so are they different types of sake?”
”Yeah, for now, try this one first.”
Narsht pours the contents of the bottles into a cup.
The first bottle looked at first like water, so clear that the grain of the wooden cup was clearly visible.
”Let’s see… Mmm!?”
I had been caught off guard by its watery appearance, but as soon as I took a sip of it, the spicy aroma that hit my nose, and as I swallowed it, my whole body became hot with the strong alcohol that burned my throat, a feeling I remember.
It was reminiscent of the medicinal alcohol I had tried out of curiosity in the past, but it didn’t have the same fragrance as that one.
”Ronim, what do you think?”
”Well, it is quite strong in alcohol, but it has a very nice, clear taste without any peculiarities. And the spice aroma is interesting, I like it.
”That’s good, let’s try this one next.”
The next booze he offered was a different one, dark purple almost black in color.
I brought the cup to my nose and smelled it, smelling the aroma of fresh grapes.
While wine was a well-known grape-based drink, this one had a more vivid color and aroma.
”Well, as for the taste…oh, this is also delicious.”
The strong, throat-burning alcohol content is the same, but unlike the earlier booze, which has a refreshing taste, this one had a rich weightiness, and the bitterness and sweetness of grapes were clearly discernible, much like wine.
So, what do you think about serving this as a new booze in the restaurant?”
”Well, for the cuisine in this restaurant, ale would be more suitable. But if we consider the drinks by themselves, they were both tasty. Especially the first one, I liked it so much that I wanted to buy a bottle of it.”
”Okay, then let’s add both types to the menu for now.”
”Hey Narsht, you won’t let us taste it?”
Even though my other companions were not particularly interested in the nobleman’s booze, the others became curious after seeing me enjoy it so much and asked Narsht if they could try it too.
”Oh, wait a minute! Master Neil, is it all right if they drink both bottles?”
”Oh, yes, it’s fine!”
”That’s what he says.”
I thought the nobleman had brought the booze and disappeared, but it seems that he has been watching us from the back of the restaurant all the time.
As the brewer, I can understand why he was so anxious about our impression.
In the end, even those who were unhappy with the appearance of the nobleman were weak to the taste of the delicious booze, and everyone wanted to taste it.
It seemed that they recognized that the unpleasant nobleman and the tasty sake were separate things.
Eventually everyone agreed and the two drinks were added to the restaurant menu and the next day we enjoyed our new drinks.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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