When I woke up, the first thing I did was head to the lake so I could wash my face. I always made sure to take the mysterious box that the master had given me. He called it a “plastic container.”
That slightly rough—but pretty—box was amazing! It apparently wasn’t made from wood, metal, stone, or even bone. It was so tough that when I dropped it, it was totally fine. Plus, it was light! And however hard I pulled the lid, it didn’t come undone. I had to turn the lid to open it, so the plastic box was perfect for water.
In my other hand, I carried a small, smooth barrel with no handle that I’d gotten from the master. I kept my self-care goods inside it. Those were all super important to me, so I made sure to go to a lake pretty far from the capital so that others didn’t see them. It took a little time to get there, but it was worth it.
After looking at my breakfast, which I’d hidden in the straw, I went to freshen up.
The lake water was nice and clear. Since I’d washed yesterday, I just had to clean my hands, face, and hair. Wetting my blonde locks slightly, I looked at my face in the water’s reflection and combed my bedhead away.
My hair was curly and kind of tough. Since I’d washed it twice at the restaurant, though, it was nice and soft, and my curls were plenty smooth. It never took long to care for my hair on the Day of Sun.
I moved on to my teeth. The master had given me a brush to use, so I put some medicine mixed with pepelmint on it and began to brush them.
I really disliked the minty flavor, but the master told me that if I skipped cleaning my teeth after eating, they’d get holes and it’d super-duper hurt. Now, I always made sure to brush.
Eventually, the medicine got bubbly and filled my mouth with the taste of mint. I did my best to endure the sensation.
Once I finished brushing, I drank some of the water I’d poured into my old wooden cup, rinsed my mouth, and spat it all out. I didn’t enjoy the mint medicine, but I really liked the feeling when I finished brushing my teeth.
After that, I filled my smooth barrel with water and washed my hands and face.
The soap that the master had given me smelled like peaches, not oil. He was happy to have received it as a gift, but because it was scented, he couldn’t use it. So, he gave me lots. I made bubbles by rubbing the soap between my hands, closed my eyes, and scrubbed them over my face. The soap’s sweet scent spread everywhere.
I already knew full well that the soap didn’t actually taste very good, so I made sure not to open my mouth while lathering my face. Afterward, I used water from my barrel to wash all the soap off. The end!
According to the master, I should take extra care to wash my hands before eating. Otherwise, I was likelier to get sick.
To be honest, if someone as poor as me got sick, they couldn’t really turn to doctors or priests for help. So, I’d just end up dead. That was why I made sure to do as the master said, washing my hands properly before every meal.
“All done! Time to head back.”
With my morning preparations finished, I headed back to the ruins, where breakfast was waiting.
Breakfast on Day of Sun mornings was the one time, besides the Day of Satur, when I got to eat the other world’s precious food.
I pulled the box out from where I hid it in the straw. The box itself was made from pretty, sturdy paper; the master called it a “lunch box.” Inside it was my breakfast, wrapped in a paper bag.
Its contents were the same as always—an assortment of sandwiches. An absolute feast.
As I opened the box, I spotted the usual white bread. Between the slices were the sandwiches’ yellow, brown, and pink insides. I couldn’t help but gulp in anticipation.
“Oh, great demon lord—and master—I thank you for this bountiful feast.” I wanted to eat, but I did my best to hold back as I gave thanks to God.
Finally, the time came.
I started with the square sandwich with yellow insides on the far right. It was cut in half, showing its yellow filling with white dots, which were actually smashed boiled eggs. I always made a point of eating this sandwich first.
As I bit into it, I tasted the bread’s gentle sweetness, the slightly spicy butter spread on it, and boiled eggs mixed with mayo.
As I chewed the white dots peppered through the smashed eggs, I felt them get even more smooshed.
Sandwiches came in all shapes and sizes, but I liked the egg sandwich best of all.
Of course, I liked the other flavors, too. After finishing the egg sandwich, I moved on to the tuna mayo sandwich next to it.
Biting into the sandwich, I tasted a sharp heat different from the eggs. Fresh chopped oranie were mixed into the tuna. There was also pepper in it, so even though it had mayo as the same basic seasoning, the tuna mayo sandwich tasted completely different from the egg sandwich.
I ate the tuna mayo sandwich second because of that seasoning. If I’d eaten it first, it would’ve been shocking so early in the day.
Unlike eggs, tuna had a strong, meaty flavor, so it tasted better when seasoned more heavily. Or, at least, that was what the master said. I didn’t really understand the particulars, but I did know that this tuna mayo sandwich was mouthwatering.
Every time I bit into the ocean meat, its flavor-filled oils poured out. The tuna had a delicious, unique taste; it blended well with the hot oranie and pepper.
The third sandwich I ate was made with smoked meat, cheese, and cucumber. Between the buttered bread slices were several pieces of cheese and pink smoked meat.
Smoked meat and cheese both existed in this world, so I was familiar with how they tasted. Because I came from a poor family, though, we only ever ate cobbler’s tubers, so I never had much of a chance to eat meat.
I opened wide and dug into the sandwich, biting through the numerous meat slices.
Otherworldly smoked meat wasn’t particularly salty, so I could eat a ton at once, and it was super delicious. Oh, and the cheese slices were different from the hard stuff I was familiar with! They were really soft and easy to eat.
But it wasn’t just that the whole sandwich was soft; there was cucumber in it. Cucumber didn’t have much taste on its own, but the master had cut it into diagonal pieces and slipped them between the meat slices.
The sandwich’s texture changed completely based on whether there was cucumber in a bite or not, which was apparently why the master had put it in.
I didn’t really understand completely, but I did feel like the soft sandwich was tastier when I chewed the last bit and heard the snapping noises mixed with the faint taste of vegetables.
Eventually, I finished off all but the last sandwich: the dessert. Nobles apparently had some kind of sweet fruit or pastry at the end of every meal. That may have been why the master always included a sweet, pastry-like sandwich in the assorted sandwich set.
The final sandwich was full of orange-colored marmalade. It was sweet and tasted totally different from the other sandwiches, so I always ended up eating it last.
A long time ago, I used to eat fruit I’d found in the forest. Other than that, though, I’d never really had much in the way of sweets. At least, not until I started going to the Restaurant to Another World.
Cookies, for example, were so sweet and delicious that they felt as if they’d melt in your mouth.
Sweets here were super expensive, unlike in the other world. So, even though I got paid a lot now, I still didn’t buy any.
That was why this last sandwich was super important to me. I only got to eat it once a week, just like the cookies I got during my break.
I took a sip of water, cleared my mouth, and reached for the final sandwich. I could see transparent orange marmalade between the two white bread slices; it was super-duper pretty and delicious-looking.
I once again gulped and took a bite. The slightly bitter, slightly sour, super-sweet marmalade flavor filled my mouth, causing me to smile.
The marmalade sandwich was so delicious that it was kind of too bad there was only one in the set. But the master had said that part of the reason it was so delicious was because there was only one, and he was probably right.
After finishing all four sandwiches, I drank some water and let out a slow, satisfied sigh. When I was full like this, I couldn’t help feeling happy, like I could power my way through the whole day.
“All right!”
I stood up, ready to go. It was too late to look for work today, so I was taking a day off from that.
Fortunately, I had money, so I was going to do some shopping to get what I’d need for the next six days.
I brushed the straw off the hems of my clothes, shouldered my stuff, and headed to the marketplace.