CH 285

Words : 1080 Updated : Oct 1st, 2025

Various Familiar Food “But Mr. Ekenhart, if you do want Ms. Helena to be able to make it, then she will have to recreate that sauce.” “Hmm. Really?” “Yes. It’s the defining part… It’s all because of the sauce that it tastes like that.” “Then perhaps I better ask that man how to make it…” “Surely he will not want to give up such a secret so easily…” “Indeed… One might use their authority in such cases, but I do not want to do that.” “Yes.” If Mr. Ekenhart was serious, then he could use his position as a duke and make them tell him how to make the sauce. However, like Ms. Claire had said before, their family preferred to avoid using their authority in such ways. There was no need to find out by force. “Still, I underestimated these people… Now, let us look around and see if we can find anything else.” “Yes. There may be other great things to discover.” “Wuff!” While it wasn’t exactly the same, I had found something similar to Japanese food. So who knows what else we might find? It seemed like he had forgotten his reason for coming here, and was only interested in eating now… But I suppose it was fine. Both Leo and I were enjoying it anyway. And more than that, I doubted I could even stop Mr. Ekenhart once he started to have fun like this. “Phew… We walked quite a lot.” “Indeed.” “However, I learned a great deal about what this town has to offer.” “Yes. It really is a busy place, and there are many shops.” After eating the yakisoba, we walked around the streets with Mr. Ekenhart as he looked around the town. We were quite full now, and so we stopped by a cafe that was not too crowded and that was away from the main street. As it was an open cafe, we were able to sit outside near Leo. Apparently, it was run by the parents of one of the children who had played with Leo, and so they were very glad to see us. Thanks to this, they also understood that Leo wasn’t dangerous. “Wuff-guff-guff…” “Leo. Calm down when you drink, okay?” “Guff-guff…” I wasn’t sure if she heard me or was ignoring me… But she was now eagerly drinking milk from a bucket that had been prepared for her. I was grateful that they had been so kind to prepare it while Mr. Ekenhart and I enjoyed our tea and relaxed. It had been the case when eating as well, but the cloth that was supposed to be covering Mr. Ekenhart’s face was mostly just around his forehead and chin, so I wasn’t sure it was very effective. Well, it did cover his unkempt beard, and since what was visible was actually quite handsome, it would probably be fine. After all, the most striking thing about his appearance had always been his beard. “There really were a lot of interesting things…” “Yes.” As we drank our tea, I thought about the last thing that I had eaten. There were grilled dumplings and salted fish. Mr. Ekenhart had been muttering about wanting wine with his fish… There were also some thick noodles that reminded me of udon, especially since it was in a broth made from kelp. Ah, and there was also fried chicken. I was rather pleased to discover that there was a lot of familar food in this place. Well, sort of familiar…but not a total match. But since they were things I thought that I would never eat again… I was more than satisfied. Now, if only I could find some rice somewhere… As I had been raised on it, I couldn’t help but look for it. While I didn’t find any this time, I would look for it the next time I visited. My Weed Cultivation was not able to make any farm produce, so I wouldn’t be able to make rice… “Thank you, Takumi. It’s because of you that I was able to get a good look at the town.” “Not at all. I had fun as well, so it was nothing. Even though it was mostly just eating.” “Now that you mention it…” Aside from visiting Mr. Kalis’s store, we had spent most of the time at different food stalls. Well, since there was the most traffic on the main street, it was the best place to have people see Leo… That was a good enough reason. But perhaps we should have looked around more? Well, that could be done on another day. “Ah, that’s right, Mr. Takumi.” “Yes?” As I watched Leo and sipped my tea, Mr. Ekenhart turned to me again. What now… I wondered. “I intend to go to Range village soon. There is the matter of the wine, after all. Besides, I would like to assure the villagers that they are not to blame, and commend them for the way they dealt with the monsters.” “I see. I think it would be a very good thing if they were able to make wine there again.” “Mmm. I will have to talk to the chief about the wine, and about the acquisition of grapes as well.” “Indeed… But, uh, perhaps don’t make it too much about work?” “Huh? What do you mean?” “Well, the thing is…” I recalled what I had discussed with Mr. Haines before leaving Range village, and I relayed it to Mr. Ekenhart. About how they were too preoccupied with making wine, that they were not able to spend time with the children. “Hmm…indeed… Children out the treasures of the kingdom. It is not good to neglect them. Very well. I promise that I will not make them work to the point that it will affect the children.” “Thank you.” While I may have made the request to Mr. Ekenhart on the children’s behalf, it was probably related to my past as well. Though it is important to make money, the situation where you are only working and have no time for anything else…it is not good for humans. I didn’t want the villagers to experience the same thing, where they become exhausted both mentally and physically. Well, I doubted Mr. Ekenhart would have allowed that, and neither would the villagers.

CH 285

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