The next day.
In the morning, I got the miso, the soy sauce, and other seasonings from Pioro-san
I was feeling good, so I decided to hand in the herbs I collected as well as the tusks of the smash boar to the guild. The clerk at the front desk told me that they would immediately prepare the reward. It seems the male clerk had properly informed them yesterday.
I thought of all sorts of reasons to prove that it really was just a coincidence, but it seems it wasn’t necessary… Well, I’m just saying that now because things turned out like this. But normally they would have pursued the matter to some extent. It’s just that Ken-san and Co. were around that I don’t have to deal with that anymore.
While I was thinking that, the clerk came back with my reward and thanked me personally. When I asked him why he was thanking me, apparently, those three were his friends. I asked him about the other two adventurers, and it turns out that they’ve already been apprehended.
The E Rank adventurers were having a party at the bar after work last night, and the guild got word that those two adventurers were there, so they swiftly went into action and caught them. The two admitted to their crimes and it was also found out that their guild cards were fake. They were involved with other crimes too, so the guild decided to expel them from the guild. After a through investigation, it was decided that they would either end up working in the mines for 5 years minimum or be slaves for an indefinite period of time.
“You can fake the guild card?” [Ryouma]
“Well, the guild itself does add and remove information to the card, so it’s not impossible. But you’ll need a special magic tool to do the job, so it’s not something that a mere adventurer could do. In this case, the method they used was much simpler, and they simply used ‘another person’s’ card.
They picked up another person’s card and left one side as is while destroying the other side, then they connected that to the important part of another card. It’s not unusual for the guild cards to end up damaged due to poor handling, but – and not that it’s something praiseworthy – but they managed to make the combination of the two cards appear natural. It seems they learned from some workshop as apprentices, though they were also expelled from there due to again causing some trouble.” [Clerk]
So they forged a card by combining two genuine products, huh? Their character aside, it seems they’re rather skilled.
“It seems I need take better care of my card.” [Ryouma]
“Fu fu. Please do.” [Clerk]
“Thank you for the information.” [Ryouma]
I thanked the clerk for the information and left the guild.
Now then… What to do? I’ve already finished what I came here to do. I should go back to Pioro-san’s store for now.
“Takebayashi-sama, the president was looking for you just now.” [Employee]
When I got back, an employee told me that. I told him that I could meet him now and was brought to his office.
I wonder what could possibly be so urgent.
Pioro-san and I talked over tea.
“Ryouma, can you think of any dish that uses smash boar meat and ingredients like soy sauce or miso?” [Pioro]
“A dish?” [Ryouma]
If you want to make Japanese cuisine using pork, then there’s Pork Miso Soup, Pork Shabu (Shabu-Shabu with pork instead of beef), Butadon (rice with pork and veggies), and pork fried with ginger.
“I know a few.” [Ryouma]
“Could you teach me? grilled fish and miso soup taste good, but it’s tiresome eating the same thing over and over. I’ve always believed that ingredients like miso and soy sauce would sell more if there were more ways to sell them.” [Pioro]
I see. It would be great for me too if Japanese cuisine became more accessible, so I guess I’ll teach him.
“Alright, how about pork fried with gin— I mean smash boar meat fried with jija?” [Ryouma]
There’s meat, soy sauce, and mirin, and as for the ginger, it can be bought from a pharmacy, so we can make a real pork fried with ginger!
“I know it’s not right to ask this from a guest, but can you cook me that dish? You can use as much ingredients as you want.” [Pioro]
“You sure?” [Ryouma]
“If anything, I’ll be profiting since I get to learn a new dish.” [Pioro]
Like that I ended up making our lunch. Surprisingly, though, Kuransan and Miyabi-san were going to be cooking with me. I thought I would be teaching a servant, I told them, and they laughed.
“Mom often says that cooking is something that women should be interested in. I don’t hate cooking myself, but not being able to cook when we sell food ingredients just ain’t right.” [Miyabi]
“I’m looking forward to seeing the new dish and your skills, Ryoumhan.” [Kurana]
As the two of them looked at me, I got the ingredients and tools prepared beforehand and started cooking.
First was to wash the rice and cook it over fire. I never did cook rice on a stove back in my previous life, so this is a new experience for me.
I have to make some pork miso soup too to eat alongside the pork fried with ginger, so I made dashi (stock soup) using kelp-like seaweed and some small fishes, then I added onions, great burdock, mushrooms, and smash boar meat with all sorts of vegetables to the soup. Ever since going out to town, I’ve noticed that there’s a lot of vegetables with the same name or similar to those from Earth. This might be another one of the otherworlders influence.
While I was making the pork miso soup, Miyabi-san was mostly taking care of the rice, she looked how I was doing.
When I was about done with the pork miso soup, I made a little more than would be needed, so I took out a vial from my Item Box, and filled it with the excess stock soup. I then tuned its taste with a combination of soy sauce, mirin and vinegar.