Now that I thought about it, spirits were representatives of nature’s power. Alk might have been a dragon, but he was still a living thing, and that meant he was bound by the laws of nature. However, spirits were once much more prolific. Was I detecting a case of what Teiren would call “power creep”?
I groaned inwardly. The more I thought about it, the more I felt I would be sucked into a whirlpool of rumination!
“Potatoes are as hard as rocks. I may as well eat stones,” Alk muttered, pulling me from my reverie.
“Oh... Say, Alk, have you only ever eaten potatoes raw?” I asked.
The realization that struck me then was enough to push all thoughts of spirits and their hierarchies from my mind! No wonder he wasn’t looking forward to the potatoes!
“Allow me to put your mind at ease! These potatoes have been properly cooked!” I told him. “I would never expect you to eat them raw!”
Was it pity that I felt when I considered Alk’s eating habits? It was almost unbearable like my heart was being crushed...
“Take a breather there, m’lady. I know Lord Alkerag doesn’t look it right now, but he is a dragon! It’s normal for him to eat everythin’ raw, meat or otherwise!” Salamander said.
Gnome gave his piece too. “Precisely. There is no need to get worked up, Fran. Wild animals have similar diets, yes? Although they can’t afford to be quite as fussy.”
I knew they were right. Animals didn’t use fire to cook their food. I was less sure about monsters, but I was confident that the same could be said for the majority of them, at least. So yes, I could see that it was “normal” for Alk to eat his food raw. But since he had me now, I wanted to ensure his meals were as delicious as could be.
“Those are the potatoes you just ordered, right? The smell is something else!” Undine exclaimed. She leaned forward in my direction, prompting Sylph to do the same.
“They may be fragrant, but they are still nothing more than potatoes. I would think that there is only so much you can do with them,” Sylph said.
“I guess. How good can they be, even if they come from Fran’s—from another world?”
They looked conflicted, and their expressions sat somewhere between anticipation and uncertainty. I supposed I couldn’t blame them. That said, these potatoes were special, and I was basing that on a combination of Teiren’s memories and my own experiences!
I only knew the potatoes I’d ordered from Teiren’s memories, but I had seen that she’d been awfully excited when she had tried one of these varieties for the first time. She had been born and raised in that world, living on foods that far surpassed what we had here. So if the potatoes had been enough to excite her...
The picnic basket was now empty, so I moved it to one side. I confidently placed the platter piled with potatoes where it had sat.
“You can have these with a simple sprinkling of salt if you like, but I also think they go well with butter,” I said, laying out the condiments and toppings that I had ordered to accompany the potatoes.
There was some fancy salt and fresh butter. The latter had been left out for a bit, so it should have been perfectly soft and spreadable by now! And that wasn’t all...
Undine opened one of the jars, and her eyes widened. “Hey, Fran? Is this some kinda fish paste? I’m guessing there’s squid in it or something?”
“That’s right. It’s called shiokara, and that variety is indeed made from squid.” I was impressed that she had been able to tell as much from sight and smell alone.
“‘Shiokara,’ hm? I do recall hearing of a similar condiment before, but can’t remember if it was garos or garum...” mused Alk. “Anyway, I suppose every world is in the habit of creating condiments from whatever the people are already familiar with.”
I was surprised to hear the dragon beside me speak of the legendary garos! As far as I was aware, such a condiment hadn’t existed for at least a thousand years. If I recalled correctly, a devastating natural disaster had put a sudden stop to its production, and it had been impossible to recreate it since.
Salamander scrunched up his face. The scent of the shiokara must have made its way over to him. “Whew. That’s some smell... Y’sure that’s edible?”
“It apparently makes for a delicious potato topping when mixed with butter!”
I understood his reaction to some extent. Shiokara was made by fermenting squid flesh in organ meat and salt, giving it a unique smell and appearance! Teiren’s memories had told me that it was delicious, but I probably would’ve found it just as daunting if I were encountering it for the first time. The opened jar was letting out a briny scent with a hint of fish. The viscous, pink-orange substance was filled with slices of something dyed the same color, and when you scooped some out, it was stringy, and bits stuck to your spoon.
Maybe I can understand why one might not think it’s edible...
Teiren was stamping her feet and insisting that shiokara went great with steaming hot rice, but I think she would have a hard time convincing someone who was new to the condiment. The first step was to show everyone that you could eat it if nothing else!
“I shall have the first taste,” I offered. “That way, you can be sure that it isn’t poisonous!”
I’d ordered some cotton gloves for handling the hot potatoes. I had wondered why they’d been listed when they were neither food nor cookware, but it turned out that they had been part of a special selection of barbecue accessories. I supposed they must have just about made the cut as a cooking utensil of sorts.
“Wah! Ah, oh, that’s hot!”
Even with the gloves, the potato still felt flaming hot. I had a difficult time peeling off the foil and paper towels too! But I couldn’t afford to dawdle here. Everyone was waiting for my feedback with eyes alight with curiosity and anticipation!
“Are you all right, Fran? You haven’t met your match in the world of food, have you?”
“Th-This is nothing! Heat contributes to flavor!” I decided to take Alk’s concern as a source of encouragement. “Hmm... This one’s lovely and round. It must be one of the orange sweet potatoes from Okinawa!”
I finally got my hands on a potato. When I pricked it with my fork, it snapped open. It was then that I realized it might’ve been easier to have used the fork to remove the foil and paper from the potato earlier. Perhaps I had made a mistake...but then again, I wouldn’t have thought of that had I not experienced the intense heat for myself. Said heat had been a reflection of my enthusiasm, which had to be worth something!
“Goodness! It’s more golden than orange, and so warm and fluffy too...”
The insides began to flake as soon as I split it open. The description on the tablet had promised that these potatoes would practically fall apart due to their high starch content, but this was even better than I’d expected! You didn’t even have to taste it to see how soft and flaky they were! Furthermore, I had always thought that potatoes were white inside, but this one really was golden! All that was left was to drop a pat of butter onto it...
“Oh, would you look at that! It’s like water seeping into sand!”
The butter melted from the heat and sank into the grainy potato in the blink of an eye, immediately adding a glossy layer to the crumbly tuber. I didn’t know if I had ever laid eyes on anything quite so appetizing! But while it looked delicious enough as it was, it was missing an ingredient...
I gulped and steeled my resolve. “Here I go!”
Alk and the spirits nodded wordlessly. Five pairs of gorgeous eyes followed my every move...
Forcing my hands to behave before they could start trembling, I poured a helping of the thick shiokara over the buttery potato. The briny smell in the air immediately grew even more cloying, but I had to say that it wasn’t entirely unpleasant. The potato had been cut into bite-size portions, and now, it was loaded with butter and shiokara too.
“Here goes nothing!”
I put the whole thing in my mouth. Earthy and seaside flavors whooshed over my tongue. The outside was buttery and moist and the insides were still piping hot, but thanks to the shiokara, both had a rich umami flavor. There was no longer any hint of the briny smell from earlier—instead, it’d been replaced by the butter and the satisfying flavor of the potato. And it was indeed as soft and flaky as promised, breaking down easily from my tongue and the roof of my mouth!
Though I wanted to continue savoring the flavors, the potato slid down my throat and vanished all too soon. My hands were reaching out for another before I knew what I was doing!
“Judging from your behavior, Fran, I daresay it is rather delicious,” Alk said.
“So delicious that she ain’t even listenin’ to us!” added Salamander.
“Which is quite endearing in itself. Children deserve to smile as much as possible.” Gnome nodded.
Apparently, there had been a conversation going on during my taste test, but I hadn’t been paying attention to that at all! I didn’t come back to my senses until everyone had grabbed some potatoes for themselves and cleared their plates, which seemed to have happened over the course of just a few seconds!
Sylph picked up a potato with the claws at the end of her long leg. She skillfully used her beak to peel away the aluminum foil.
“I don’t believe it! Hey, Fran, this looks gross, but actually tastes really good!” For all her graceful mannerisms, Undine had finished her potato in a matter of seconds.
Sylph let out a refined chuckle. She, too, was pecking at her potato elegantly. “What a lovely, rich flavor! And here I was, believing that all potatoes taste the same. These, however, seem to be the exception.”
Salamander flicked his tail with exasperation. “You guys sure changed your tune the second Fran started eatin’ with so much gusto,” he muttered as he watched them.
As for me, I was finding joy in the fact that they were enjoying their meal! I wasn’t sure whether I’d heard it or read it somewhere, but apparently, when people were really enjoying what they were eating, they would go back for seconds without waiting for the host to offer it to them! The food on the table would gradually disappear as if by magic. That was why the sight before me was more than I could have hoped for. It was proof that they genuinely thought the food was delicious, even without my prompting.