A hour later.
In the end, no soy sauce.
Maybe an hour wasn't enough time for a comprehensive search.
It's only to be expected, looking for ingredients right before cooking starts.
No soy sauce.
But.
At least.
Arumanfi did bring something else.
Fermented from soy beans, a tea-colored edible.
They call it "tofu" in this world.
But I call it "miso."
Because that's what it is.
Biheiriru Kingdom... from memory, it's a country on the north-eastern corner of the Central Continent.
Maybe, there, I can finally find soy sauce.
I should visit one day.
Ten years, twenty years, if an opportunity arises I will definitely visit there.
I'll leave that aside for now.
We have rice.
We have miso.
We even have fresh fish.
No ginger or radish, but there is lemon.
I want to have pickles too, but I might be pushing my luck. So that'll have to pass.
With the ingredients we have, I try instructing Sylvaril the best I can.
"Is this how you want it?"
After a while, it finally arrives.
Freshly cooked rice.
Hot miso scallop soup.
Also, grilled fish with lemons.
Order for two.
The other is for Nanahoshi.
And I got a raw egg on the side.
"It's nice to eat something like this every once in a while."
"... Well, I guess."
The dishes look fantastic, but Nanahoshi doesn't look particularly pleased.
As expected, just looking like Japanese food won't impress her.
Ah, oh well.
Regardless it won't come close to the taste of Japan.
But it's kind of fun to try.
"Give it a shot. Itadakimasu."
"...Itadakimasu."
Nanahoshi furrows her brow and begins eating with a spoon and fork.
Doesn't look like she's enjoying it.
She peels off some fish with a fork, squeezes a little lemon juice on it, and puts it in her mouth.
Then follows it up with some rice with her spoon and starts chewing.
And takes a sip of the miso soup directly from its porcelain bowl.
And she finally said.
"This soup doesn't even have any dashi in it..."[6]
Tears flow out of her eyes.
She didn't stop crying as she ate.
To be honest, the food doesn't taste particularly good.
The rice is dry, and the soup a tad salty.
The fish is delicious, but a bit fishy, and the lemon doesn't match.
The balance is off.
Not really tasty.
Japanese cuisine in our memory is much better than this.
But Nanahoshi's hands keep moving, and her tears keep dropping.
Eating quietly, and she soon finished.
"... Thank you for the meal."
With that, I am content.