The next day.
Pioro-san gave me some miso and soy sauce in the morning. Afterwards I thanked him, and I threw the lot into my ‘Item Box’.
Then I went to the guild to submit the fang of the smash boar and the herbs I gathered yesterday. And immediately, I was able to receive the compensation for both. Looks like the male employee had properly informed them just as he said he would.
I went out of the way to make it look like a coincidence, even going as far as to equip the wrong equipment, but apparently it wasn’t necessary… Then again, I’m just saying that because of how things turned out. Normally it wouldn’t have been strange if they pursued the matter a bit, but I did save Ken-san and the others, so let’s just consider it a good thing that they’re not pursuing the issue.
While I was thinking that, the employee in charge came back with the compensation, and along with it, a word of gratitude. Apparently he’s a friend of those three yesterday. Taking the opportunity, I asked about what happened to the two adventurers, and apparently they’ve already been caught.
From what I’m told they were overheard at the bar by some guild employees who were there drinking after work. Those employees informed the guild, and the two adventurers were quickly apprehended. After that, the investigation found out that they were in fact guilty, and that their guild cards were masked. Being guilty of other crimes, the guild decided to excommunicate them. And having committed the crime of masking their guild card, they will be serving over five years of forced labor in the mines, or work indefinitely as a slave.
When I heard about masking the guild card, I asked about whether something like that was really possible. And apparently it is possible to remove the punishments and information written on one’s card, however it takes a special magic tool to do it, so a normal adventurer can’t do it. Of course, the employee couldn’t talk about how to aquire the means to mask one’s card, so I wasn’t able to get any more information other than that. Not that I want to mask my guild card or anything, but I should be careful.
After I thanked the employee for the reward, I left the guild. Now, what should I do? I’ve already finished everything that I needed to do here.
While I thought what to do from here on out, I walked to Pioro-san’s store. There, I was informed that Pioro-san was looking for me, and was brought to Pioro-san’s office. At Pioro-san’s office, I drank the tea I was served while I listened to Pioro-san.
“Ryouma, would ya happen ta know any good dish with the smash boar’s meat, miso and soy sauce as ingredients?” [Pioro]
“Dish, you say?” [Ryouma]
If you’re talking about Japanese cuisine, then there’s Tonjiru, Butashabu, Butadon, and pork fried with ginger.
“Well… I do know a few.” [Ryouma]
“Could I have ya teach me? I mean don’t get me wrong, fried fish and miso soup’s plenty delicious, but it gets pretty tiring after a while, ya know? So I’ve always been thinkin’ that I could sell miso and soy sauce more if there were more way ta use it.” [Pioro]
So that’s what it was. Well, it’ll be convenient for me too if I could get Japanese food easier, so I guess I could teach him.
“Then how about some Por- I mean, how about some Smash Boar Fried with Jija?” [Ryouma]
There’s pork, there’s soy sauce, and there’s even mirin. And I can get the ginger from a chemist! With this I won’t be making the ginger-tasting meat I’ve been eating this past three years… but the real, unadulterated, one true pork fried with ginger dish!
“Ah, if ya don’t mind, could I have ya cook this fried jija of yours? Ya can use as much of our ingredients as ya want.” [Pioro]
“Is that ok?” [Ryouma]
“Of course, of course… after all, we’re benefitting a lot from ya teaching us a new dish.” [Pioro]
Like this it was decided that I’ll be cooking lunch. But what surprised me was that Kurana-san and Miyabi-san will apparently also be cooking alongside me. “I thought I’d be teaching some servants,” I said, to which to they laughed and said this,
“From time ta time, mom would drill in ta me how cooking is a woman’s taste. So yeah… and besides it’s not like I hate cooking or anythin’, and it’s not cool for the daughter of a company that sells food ta suck at cookin’ either.” [Miyabi]
“I’m looking forward ta Ryouma-han’s skill and that new dish of yours.” [Kurana]
Under the scrutiny of the two, I took the tools and ingredients that were prepared beforehand, and I began to cook.
First, comes grinding the rice and cooking it. Though, to be honest, I’ve never really gotten the opportunity to do this with a kilt back in my previous life.
To be eaten with the pork fried with ginger is Tonjiru, so I need to make that too to serve as a complement for the main dish. Then comes the dashi which I made from seaweed that’s similar to Kombu and small fish. And for garnish are onions, great burdocks, mushrooms, and other various vegetables on smash boar meat. Ever since entering the towns, I’ve come to realize just how many vegetables being sold are similar to the ones in Earth, both in name and taste. It’s highly possible that this too is a result of the otherworlders' influence.
While making the Tonjiru, Miyabi-san took charge of watching over the rice. And after I finished making the Tonjiru, I got a pot from my ‘Item Box’ and filled it with the excess Dashi. Then I added soy sauce, mirin, and vinegar into it. When Kurana-san saw that, she walked over and asked me a question.
“Ryouma-han, what is that?” [Kurana]
“It’s seasoning made from soy sauce, mirin, dashi, and vinegar. If you leave it for a few days, the sour taste will mellow out, and it’ll become quite delicious. And if you add the juice of Ramon to it, it’ll become even more delicious. It can be used as dressing for salads, as well as seasoning for meat or fish.” [Ryouma]
“Ta think was somethin’ like that…” [Kurana]
Said Kurana-san as she looked into the pot. Not long after though, she immediately went back to the Tonjiru
After a while, the Tonjiru was almost ready… so I guess I should start working on the pork fried with ginger now.
I cut the smash boar’s meat into thin slices, and then fried it on a frying pan. During that time, I grated some jija, and mixed it with an appropriate amount of soy sauce and mirin, mixing it into a sauce.
Adding that to the fried pork, and after a little mixing, the fired pork with ginger was done! It’s simple and easy to make, but it’s definitely delicious.
The pork fried with ginger can be made in many ways like marinating it with the sauce instead of doing what I did, but this is the method I prefer the most. After all, fast and delicious is the way to go.
Then for garnish, I cut some cabbage into thin strips, and then cut a tomato with a strange size that’s bigger than a cherry tomato but smaller than a normal one into four pieces. Good. Next is the rice which should be finished around now…
As I was about to go over to the rice, I noticed a man with black hair at the corner of my eyes.
“Pioro-san? Since when have you been there?” [Ryouma]
Pioro-san came out from the shadow of the kitchen’s entrance. It was quite awkward.
“Ah~, well the thing is, something delicious found its way ta my nose, and before I knew it I found myself here.” [Pioro]
Ahh, of course. I mean with the rice’s scent and the pork fried with ginger being cooked, anyone’s appetite would be whetted, right?