Chapter 2[แก้ไข]
--- [Underwood] Harvest Festival, Kitchen VII
Beside the plaza allocated for holding the opening ceremony, a mountain of ingredients was forming from the generous amount of game and other donated ingredients. Those that wished to put their culinary skills to good use bustled around the pile, and were free to take what they needed to flaunt the harmony of flavors from their own recipes.
Having left the Great Tree, Izayoi and Kuro Usagi could smell the aromas of the cuisines that wafted in the air, making them a little drunk in the scent and start wandering around the laid out tables.
“Wow…… That’s quite a lot of food stalls. My original plan was to take over all the stalls in the area but this is a little overwhelming. And to make them all submissive to myself through sheer violence would be an unforgivable humiliation…...!”
“Erm….. You needn’t force yourself to eat them all.”
“No! That would be so wrong. If I’m so easily defeated by the stalls of this world, I would be disappointing the people who used to call me by the name of ‘Matsuri Tornado’. [1] Though it’s such a waste to give up on my one day plan, I will show you that it can be done in three!”
A challenging glint was in his eyes as he gazed around at the crowd of stalls around him.
Just then, Lily’s voice could be heard coming from the number seventh Kitchen at the plaza’s corner.
“This voice…… Lily?”
Thinking about it, Kirino did mention about the senior group helping out with the Harvest Festival preparations. Setting aside their conversation, Kuro Usagi and Izayoi moved towards the source of the voice.
Lily should be in the kitchen preparing the feast and the fragrance of her meticulously prepared dishes wafted towards them. As they neared the kitchen, a happy but slightly off tune song could also be heard coming from there.
“Stewed Vege~ Stewed Vege~ Flavorful Stewed Vege♪ Combining them and Stirring them ~ The better it will be~ Such a joy it is♪”
“Yep.”
“Ya!” Lily gave a little gasp in surprise as she turned to look behind her.
It was Izayoi and Kuro Usagi who were behind her. A mischievous grin hung on Izayoi’s face while Kuro Usagi just smiled as she stood beside him.
Swishing her two tails in embarrassment, with her face blushing and spreading up to the tips of her fox ears, part of her embarrassment turned into anger.
“That’s… That’s horrid! Eavesdropping on others is not good!”
“Yep. That is why we just have to do it openly.”
“Yes ~♪”
Lily could only pout as they teased her.
Curious about the dish that Lily was stirring earlier, Izayoi helped himself with it on a small sauce plate.
“……Quite a unique taste. What spices did you add in it?”
“Eh? Ah…. This is the meat obtained from the Hunting event. To remove the strong smell of the meat that might put some people off, I added Vanilla. Since I heard that it is very similar to venison, I decided to use it in a stew where the meat can be boiled to a suitable tenderness before mixing other vegetables in as a vegetable stew for everyone. I also heard that deers are seen to be sacred animals in the South and that it will bless the person that consumes it.”
“Oh…deers huh?….”
“YES! ♪ The South has a tradition in the Harvest Festival that sees all horned beasts as sacred. Besides the Harvest festival, goats, water buffaloes, and deers are just as valuable in other Matsuri s.” Kuro Usagi gave a thumbs up as she added.
A second later, the sounds of an orchestra performance started up from the plaza.
The piece that has its main focus on the stringed instruments was accompanied by the beat of drums and harmonized with the flute as it slowly built up in volume. Noticing the variation of the piece, he pieced two and two together and nodded his head in sudden understanding.
“The tradition to see horned animals as sacred and this particular type of music variation…...I get it now. In other words, the South has been largely influenced by Irish culture.”
“YES! Though it still depends on the region, it is right to say that [Underwood] and the [Draco Greif] Alliance is very much influenced as seen from their views of judging strength based on the presence of horns.”
“There’s a Harvest Festival hosted by Inari Okami[2] in the East too. A letter of invitation would always arrive for my Oka-san[3].”
“Oh? The South doesn’t hold that festival?”
“Nn….. That’s right. Since the staple food in the South is not rice but corn and other grains. The method of worship is also different. Even if it was held here, no one would attend it.”
“Oh, I see...” Izayoi nodded as he understood.
---In the realm of grains, the most commonly cultivated are rice, wheat and corn.
As the climate determines the amount of harvest for each type of grain, the grain that grows best in each region would then determine the type of deity that the people would devote themselves to. If a festival were to be held in a region that had less devotees, it would just result in embarrassing that deity on another’s home ground.
“Come to think about it, Little Garden is quite filled with drama isn’t it? After enjoying this Harvest Festival, I would also look forward to joining the Matsuri of Inari Okami.” Izayoi laughed heartily though his reason for looking forward to the event wasn’t for personal entertainment but for the promise that he had made with Lily.
As his gaze shifted to the heap of dishes prepared and waiting on the table, Izayoi seemed to remember about something.
“Oh right. The ingredients over there, can I take them even if it’s uncooked?”
“Eh?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“I just thought of the idiot who got himself so injured in the previous battle that he can’t join in the fun at the Harvest Festival. So I’m thinking of consoling him with one of those game.” Izayoi laughed lightly.
However, Kuro Usagi’s reaction was quite the opposite as she shifted her gaze downwards.
“That person you are talking about…. Is it about Gry-san?”
“Yep. He said that he liked the taste of venison and horse. So I will make him regret having skipped out on this Harvest Festival.” And with that, Izayoi started walking over to the pile of ingredients.