Chapter Twenty-six: The Way “Salad” is Said Sounds Quite Romantic, Right?
“So what should we do?”
“Well, assuming this black mugwort is the same as the mugwort I know, we’d first need to dry it out, then finely chop or crush it and sieve it to remove the fibers before drying it again.”
“The drying part can be done with the Folai , so I think we can all do that.”
“If chopping is needed, I can assist with that.”
“As for how finely to sieve it, we’ll leave that up to you, Rin, because you know what the real thing is like.”
As everyone tucks into the dishes and drinks that have arrived, they seem overly interested in moxa making for some reason. "Just eat up. Get to know the taste," they say, and so I am also partaking in the feast. What we’re currently eating is the specialty of Wildcat Pavilion, called "Random Fry." Apparently, they randomly fry up whatever ingredients they have on hand that day. On the large platter, there’s a mountain of various types of fried food: meat, fish, vegetables, and more are all stacked up.
I went for the “curse shrimps”, seemingly a shrimp-like crustacean, and the “bates”, a type of red turnip that has been deep-fried. These are eaten with Wildcat Pavilion’s special sauce, the juice of rumons—a lemon-like fruit—and grated rock salt sprinkled on top.
The curse shrimps is basically just deep-fried shrimps.
As I bite into the reddish-brown coating, the slightly rare and plump flesh of the shrimp oozes out a juicy shrimp broth instead of meat juice, and the fragrant aroma of the shrimp wafts through my nose.
The bates themselves are naturally sweet, with a delightful inside of molten softness encased in a crispy outside from perfect frying. The coating, firmly attached to ensure no flavor escapes, is still delicately thin, providing a crispy and crunchy texture with a light and refreshing bite.
Fried and grilled dishes tend to become greasy, but Wildcat Pavilion’s fry is thin and light, and thanks to the acidity and refreshing aroma of rumon, you don’t feel any greasiness. It seems like you could eat as much as you want.
And then, you know… when you gulp down that cold peach fruit water… it’s like… "This is what I’m living for!" It makes you forget all the trivialities of the world.
This tavern is famous not only for its fry but also for a salad called "Wildcat Salad," which is the owner’s whimsical creation. Although it’s said that the specialty of Wildcat Pavilion is both fried dishes and salad, I can’t help but have some reservations about that…
…Using perfume that smells like milk cream or vinegar and spraying it on someone as an ingredient? That’s not a thing, right? They don’t make a fried platter from a customer who dash out without paying or coleslaw from someone who got drunk and go wild, right? That doesn’t exist, right? …Nah, let’s just not think about it anymore. I’ll just enjoy this deep-fried “death fish”, sip my fruit water, and scrub those thoughts from my mind…
"But I really don’t know if it’ll work. It might be a different variety…”
"Then we’ll deal with that if it comes to it. Don’t give up before you’ve tried!”
Well, I did get overexcited when I spotted what looked like mugwort back then. But now that it’s been pointed out, I’m not so sure the black mugwort can actually be used for moxa… I think the white hairs on the undersides mean it could work, but not being able to say "It’ll definitely work!" is tough…
It did seem to be growing everywhere back in my world, but there also appeared to be various types. I have no way of knowing which specific type can be used for moxa…
Feeling guilty for involving everyone in something so uncertain, I hung my head, but Mr. Ville’s palm gently tapped my back, as if to encourage me. When I lifted my head, I saw his face, with one side of his lips lifted in a grin.
…I’m sure he doesn’t intend it, but when Mr. Ville makes that expression it comes across as almost menacing, like he’s about to devour me…
No, no. I do think he’s cool though!
But he’s right. If it doesn’t work, I’ll just look for another variety! Even if moxa doesn’t pan out, it should still work for herbal tea blends!
"That’s right. Let’s give it a try! Once we can make a moxa, we can just pack it into bags with some rock salt and other things.”
"Leave any fabric to me! I can make that right away!”
"Eh?! You can make it?!”
"I can make things with thread!”
Ms. Aria, seated beside me, puffs out her chest with a "Hmph!”
Ah… When someone with an ample bust does that kind of pose, it’s like… how should I put it? It’s like, her chest seems to bounce and sway more or jiggle more, you know? And because there’s no extra fabric around the chest area, even though it’s being slightly pressed by the fabric, her chest shape becomes even more pronounced… Um, please stop, I’m starting to get scared of Mr. Ed’s gaze toward the people around us.
But Aria seems to be quite skilled with fibers. Is it because she is from the spider race…?
“If that’s settled, let’s head outside the town! We can’t very well be using magic in the streets!”
“We still have time before nightfall. If we say it’s training for the newbie, the guards will understand.”
“Let’s go, Rin.”
Mr. Ed, after tossing the last fry into his mouth, stood up while offering his hand to Ms. Aria. Mr. Xenon, who had finished his drink in one gulp, followed suit. Ms. Aria extended her slender white hand to me as I momentarily froze up, and Mr. Ville, sighing heavily, reluctantly stood up too.
…Eh? We’re going now? Eh? Eh?
Swept along by everyone’s surprising proactiveness, I found myself venturing outside the main gates for the second time today.
…Ah!! Money! I need to pay the bill!
…In the end, Mr. Ville covered it for us. "You lot can pay me back later!" he growled, cramming his thoroughly depleted wallet back into his pocket and shooting glares at the other three.
I’ll pay my share later too… yes.
The lizardman gatekeeper saw us off with a warning to be careful since it was getting dark. As we move a short distance from the gate, I set up the camping car that Mr. Ville and I are the only ones able to see. Inside there was a hefty pile of black mugwort I had collected. I got a bit carried away and ended up gathering enough to fill two 45-liter garbage bags…
It was really fortunate that I had large garbage bags ready to prevent the fish from directly touching the cooler box! After all, back in my student days, when I made moxa, I harvested quite a bit of mugwort, but when it dried, it reduced significantly…
As I rack my brain trying to recall how much dried moxa I yielded from the fresh mugwort back then, a sound like a human voice drifts into my ears.
The strained, frantic voice belongs to someone who comes stumbling down the Large Highway, legs tangled, barely even walking at this point.
That person’s entire body is stained red.
“H-Help me… please! A fi… a fire bear came out…!”
“A fire bear?!”
This seems to be… an emergency…!
The translator’s corner
Rin’s thoughts on the salad were even more hellish than the botanical terms from chapter 24.
Oh! Here’s the plot point I was expecting earlier! Manga just moved stuff around a bit!
ReplyDeleteAlso Rin bisexual panic is so fun to read xD
Thanks for the chapter!