Chapter 110:
Cold Pasta
AT THE USUAL TIME AND PLACE, the ringing of the restaurant’s bell filled the air.
Heinrich’s stomach had suddenly begun to hurt, making him grimace as he stepped through the door. He placed his hand on it.
“Ah, welcome!” cried the demon waitress. He wasn’t quite familiar with her yet.
“Hey,” he replied.
The waitress led Heinrich to his seat, where he sank down with an unpleasant expression. My stomach hurts.
One of Heinrich’s knights had brought him especially dangerous, important information—deep in the woods, there were signs of widespread mothman breeding.
The knight said that a wandering adventurer had received a request to look near the fortress for some nut or herb that had a medicinal use. According to the adventurer, during their search, they’d come upon a nest of the extremely poisonous flying monsters. They ran when one attacked them—something Heinrich had experienced years ago. The adventurer had brought the information to the knights, hoping to gain some coin.
Since Heinrich was in charge of the fortress, he wasn’t allowed to investigate the mothmen on his own. He’d put together a scouting squad and was preparing to send them to look into it. There was no proof of mass breeding yet; this could be some mistake, or it could be a just a small mothman nest. No, this information hasn’t been confirmed. Still, if it’s like last time…
That had been a harrowing battle Heinrich wouldn’t soon forget. The Duchy’s honorable knights and soldiers sent him off with an urgent message and holed up in the fortress, where they could only await reinforcements. If Heinrich had fallen, the fortress would’ve collapsed, and the Duchy would’ve sustained extraordinary damage.
Heinrich was worried that the very thing he’d prevented then was about to happen.
Mothmen spit poison and flew just out of range of swords and spears, so they were terribly difficult adversaries. To truly combat them, one needed a number of skilled archers and mages. The Duchy might’ve been one of the Eastern Continent’s greatest nations, but since the authorities didn’t give border fortresses like Heinrich’s many men, they stood no chance against an army of mothmen.
No. This situation is better than last time, Heinrich thought. That had been a true surprise attack, so things weren’t exactly the same. Even if his fortress couldn’t avoid engaging them, it wouldn’t be as devastating as before. If nothing else, we have time to prepare.
✦ ✦ ✦
The Duchy’s past rulers hadn’t had great ambitions to expand its territory. Unless something out of the ordinary happened, they didn’t invade other countries for control of land. However, since the Duchy had engaged in a long battle with the Ancient Kingdom after the latter became a nest of the undead, it was skilled at defense.
If Heinrich’s scouts confirmed the widespread presence of mothmen, the authorities would likely send reinforcements. Having tamped down his anxieties, Heinrich had decided to visit the restaurant on the Day of Satur as always.
“What would you like?” the waitress asked him. “Um, your usual fried shrimp…?”
“Yes, that’d…” Heinrich was on the verge of giving the new black-haired waitress his typical order but stopped himself. “Actually, no.”
Perhaps due to his concerns, he wasn’t particularly hungry. The combination of tender fried shripe and eggy tartar sauce was tantalizing; still, Heinrich just wasn’t in the mood.
When his stomach hurt, Heinrich could only handle soup or porridge. He was certain this restaurant would offer something like that, so he asked the waitress, “Do you have something a bit lighter that still contains shripe?”
She thought for a moment, then named a dish that fit the bill. “Hmm…what about cold pasta with shrimp and mentaiko?”
Heinrich had never even thought of that dish. “Cold pasta…? Huh.”
Just thinking about cold meals made Heinrich grimace. He was a knight who’d made his way through wastelands and battlefields, and fought enemy soldiers and monsters. Hot food on the battlefield was a privilege; he was used to eating meals that existed simply to fill the stomach. Still, this was Nekoya, a proper restaurant. He understood that he might not be able to eat hot food during a military campaign or operation, but to come to a restaurant and specifically order something cold…? Heinrich knew this mysterious place sold many cold menu items, but he thought those were mostly limited to desserts and drinks.
On top of that… Heinrich had heard that, in the Kingdom, people kneaded and dried wheat dough to create pasta. He’d seen restaurant customers eat such things; however, those dishes had been normal hot meals. Sure, one could eat pasta after it cooled, but…
“Pasta’s one of those noodle dishes that’s often eaten in the Kingdom, right?” he asked the waitress. “Is that stuff really any good cold?”
“It’s not just hot food that’s cooled off. It’s chilled. There’s a difference. Cold pasta’s particularly good during summer,” the black-haired waitress replied with a smile. She appeared confident that the cold pasta was delicious.
“I see. I’ll have that, then.” This is the Restaurant to Another World, Heinrich reflected. It was a place that offered mysterious meals far beyond his imagination. Furthermore, he’d never eaten anything at Nekoya that wasn’t delicious.
“Excellent. That’ll be right out.” The black-haired waitress returned to the back.
Heinrich waited, pondering what kind of meal he’d receive. Finally, the blonde demon waitress appeared with his food in hand. “Thank you for waiting!”
Tiny, curled red-and-white shripe decorated the thin wheat noodles, which weren’t steaming, of course, since they were cold. The portion of pasta on the ceramic plate wasn’t exactly heaping, but it was perfect for Heinrich, who didn’t have much of an appetite to begin with.
He sipped his lemon water and took his fork in hand. Now then, I suppose it’s time to eat, he thought. Actually, I feel as if I’ve heard of “mentaiko.” If he remembered correctly, it was something made in the Kingdom using fish eggs. Still, he’d never eaten it.
I suppose there’s no point hesitating. Heinrich twirled the thin, threadlike noodles around his fork and brought them to his mouth.
The flavor of the pasta, which he was experiencing for the first time, was surprisingly gentle. The dish’s creamy richness cut by a dash of acid was similar to the tartar sauce on fried shrimp. Oh…this contains tartar sauce. No…it’s the mayonnaise used in tartar sauce. That creamy tang was the flavor of the mayo, according to other customers.
The cold pasta also had a spiciness that tartar sauce lacked. However, it was a heat familiar to Heinrich—the mentaiko apparently contained chili pepels. “Pepels, eh? Surprisingly, it works,” he said to himself, realizing that the seasoning paired well with tartar sauce.
Then there’s this salty flavor. I see…it’s the fish eggs.
Tiny, grain-like roe were producing the slightly gritty—but not unpleasant—texture of the pasta. Heinrich’s teeth and tongue crushed the eggs with ease, leaving his mouth awash with their briny flavor. The taste of the sea enveloped his tongue, going down his throat into his stomach. On its own, the flavor would’ve been too strong, but the tartar sauce and thin noodles’ mildness made the roe easy to consume.
“Mmm,” murmured Heinrich. The dish didn’t hit him like a brick; rather, it was smoothly appetizing, lightening the weight on his heart. At least, that was how he felt. “Now, the shripe’s next.”
Having enjoyed a single bite of mentaiko and noodles, Heinrich turned his attention to the true star of the show. Compared to fried shrimp, the shripe were smaller and cooked more lightly. Their striped patterns were beautiful. Heinrich swiped the shripe through the white sauce, bringing some to his mouth.
As the shripe’s delicate skin burst beneath his teeth, Heinrich noted that it tasted milder than the fried shrimp he was used to. However, each bite was bursting with umami that melded with the mentaiko’s rich saltiness and the slightly tangy mayo.
Heinrich continued eating, eventually realizing the cold pasta’s main drawback. Since it was so rich, the portion was small. However, it was delicious enough that a single plate wouldn’t be enough.
At this point, it was only a matter of time before he finished the cold pasta. There was only one way to solve this problem.
“I’d like to place an order!” Heinrich called. “Another cold pasta, please! And some fried shrimp as well!”
Things will be fine. This time, we’ve reacted to the situation quickly, he thought. The dark cloud over his heart had vanished along with his empty stomach.