Potato Chips
One of the regulars of otherworld dining hall, “Croquette”, met that boy when the owner was away to finish a minor business.
[Umu. Today is this.]
To finish his meal, he wiped the remaining sauce with white bread and ate it.
Croquette had a very healthy appetite ever since he was young, and today he ate three servings of food.
His belly was full of comfortable heat and satisfaction after a delicious meal.
[Well, now that I’m alone… maa, I’ll return after I rest for a bit.]
The restaurant was empty.
Originally, this restaurant was not very popular.
Still, when Croquette just came, there was Roast Cutlet and an old adventurer called Minced Cutlet, but they went home as soon as they finished their business here.
Also, the owner went out saying that he would go shopping for a bit because he was out of ingredients.
Since he had paid for his food earlier, he could just leave, but whatever, returning from this restaurant would be a bit of a hassle.
He only found out this place since he had a hobby of going out to faraway places since he was young, even from the nearest private residence, a horse was needed to reach the entrance.
[If I abdicate, I could build a place of residence here.]
It was when he was relaxing while he was thinking such things.
[O-i, grandpa, are you here?]
One boy came out of the kitchen.
[That’s weird. Grandma said grandpa’s in the restaurant… eh? A customer?]
While looking around, he noticed Croquette and was surprised.
[Isn’t the restaurant closed on Saturdays? Oh well, welcome.]
Surprisingly, he remembered the words his grandmother, who was living together with him now, said to greet customers that came to the restaurant. He also lowered his head towards the strangely dressed man.
(Fumu, the owner’s grandson?)
Croquette also recognized the boy’s identity immediately.
The boy was dirty with mud, but he wore quite the strange clothes.
Short sleeved shirt with mysterious patterns weaved into it and short pants showing his hairless thin legs.
White shoes made of strange materials different from leather and socks dirty with mud.
To Croquette, his clothes were different even from commoners or aristocrats.
Therefore, if he was a person of another world, that was this world, he would be related to the owner.
[Umu. It’s unfortunate, but the owner is out for a bit. I was told that he was out to buy something.]
To that extent, Croquette answered the boy’s question.
[A, is that so? What a bummer, I even bring this with me.]
Hearing that, the boy lightly frowned and looked at what he brought.
[Fumu, what is that?]
He was bringing a sack made of transparent leather that was dirtied with mud.
It contained several things that varied in sizes from small to large.
It was something that Croquette had never seen before.
[What, it’s the potatoes we raised for Home Economics class. I’ve dug all of them today. Sensei told me that the potatoes originate from Hokkaido.]
He had to answer the customer properly for the time being.
The boy thought and answered the question.
Harvesting potatoes planted in school fields during early spring.
He lived with his grandparents ever since his parents died, so he decided to bring his grandfather delicious potatoes that he harvested during class on Saturday morning, but he was out.
[Potatoes? Fumu, so it’s a crop?]
Croquette understood the boy’s explanation to an extent.
Though he didn’t understand what Home Economics meant, he said that he brought the potatoes that he grew as
part of his academic studies.
He then brought them to the owner.
It must be a crop that served as a cooking ingredient.
[E? Why are you asking such thing? So strange.]
[Umu, I’m hopeless with this kind of thing. Then what kind of food made from this that you like?]
To the boy who thought it was strange, Croquette nodded heavily.
This potato crop was not found in Croquette’s world.
He did not know what kind of dishes this crop could be made into.
Croquette obediently asked the boy for his teaching.
And the boy thought a little while listing dishes using potatoes.
[E? There’s a lot. Today I brought it for potato chips, but it’s also included in curry and stew, it can also be used for tempura. Potato salad and fried potatoes are also good. Then there are meat and potatoes, croquettes…]
[E? Croquette!? Croquettes are made from these potatoes!?]
With his eyes wide open, Croquette asked the boy.
Croquette. Just like his nickname, it was the dish that he believed to be the most delicious food of otherworld cuisine.
It was natural for him to be surprised of its ingredient.
[You really don’t know anything, huh, uncle? That’s right. Grandpa said that croquettes are made from potatoes.]
Although the man was as old as his grandpa, he laughingly answered to the man who did not know about it.
[I see… so those potatoes are used to make croquettes…]
Croquette decided and told the boy.
[Boy, if you don’t mind, can you give those potatoes to me? Of course, not for free.]
He took something from his pocket and handed it to the boy.
Normally, other than cooked food… the owner wouldn’t sell food ingredients and seasonings that had wonderful different taste of otherworld.
If he thought about it, this was the opportunity to obtain croquettes even in his world.
[What is that? Some foreign money? It’s rather fishy.]
The boy saw it and said in doubt.
The old man took out a coin made of gold to pay for the potatoes.
Even if it’s round, it’s somewhat more distorted compared to the usual 10 yen or 100 yen coin, and the surface was engraved with a picture of an old man similar to the person in front of him.
To the boy who thought that it was strange, the man nodded and spun his words.
[Umu. This is the gold coin of my country the Empire. In value, it’s lower than Kingdom’s gold coin and old elf gold coin, but no matter how cheap the currency exchange, it has a value of 1,000.]
The man pulled out another one that was familiar to the boy this time.
It was a piece of copper.
A different world copper. Perhaps it was engraved with a number or something on the face side, with a precise engraving of a temple that would be difficult to make even by skilled craftsman on the back side.
It was the “currency” that was exchange for the cooking of this restaurant.
It was a design that was too stiff for coppers, and he carried it around because he had no opportunity to use gold coins other than for this restaurant, but it was a copper coin.
If it’s a copper coin, even a kid should know about it.
[Fu-n, 1,000 times of 10 yen is… e!? That’s 10,000 yen!?]
Indeed, the boy knew its value.
He was surprised that the boy was able to find out its value so easily and precisely like the owner.
[Umu. That’s right. It has the value of 10,000 yen. I would like to exchange this with the potatoes. Isn’t it a nice deal?]
[Maa… un, I understand. This is the same thing if I return home. Un, I’ll do it.]
With childlike arrogance, the boy accepted.
He received the gold coin and handed the bag of potatoes after putting the coin in his pocket.
[Trade is established.]
[Un. That’s right.]
They made a good deal with each other.
They smiled and laughed at each other.
[Well, I’m going home. Tell the owner my best regards.]
The man stood up and left the restaurant.
The place where the man was located was just wilderness.
A fine black horse that was his favourite was tied to a nearby tree, waiting for its master.
[The fruit of potato… I just got the ingredient for croquette.]
The man laughed seeing the potatoes covered in soil inside the transparent bag.
[…Yoshi, cultivate it first.]
He loaded the potatoes on his horse while straddling his horse and made some calculations.
A court magician that was a priest of the Earth Goddess managed the administration of the court gardens and had succeeded in cultivating numerous medicinal herbs that was said to be impossible to be grown.
Even if it’s an unknown crop, it would not be impossible for him to grow otherworld crop.
[When there’s more, I’ll secure enough to eat. I’ll manage it.]
He did not know what sort of crop was needed to make otherworld cuisine, but if a child was able to raise it, it should be easy enough to cultivate, just a little… just enough for him to eat.
It would not be a great deal of trouble if the Empire’s expert cultivated it in a large courtyard garden. If he failed, that’s that.
For a man who fought only for the purpose of enlarging his country for many years, it was just for his selfishness before retirement, just a hobby.
[Anyway, it seems that the fruit grows in soil. At least I don’t have to worry about it being eaten by birds.]
It would not be bothersome to divide it to other people if the number was sufficient.
Thinking about that, he galloped his horse.
…Croquette, the Empire’s first emperor, Wilheilm, did not know yet.
That “hobby” was a great influence even for the existence of the Empire; it was counted as one of his greatest accomplishments in his life.
Cobbler’s fruit. It was the fruit that came from the Country of God given to the emperor after a God lamented that his devout believers of the Empire were suffering from starvation as there were few wheat growing lands at the Empire. (The magicians that did not worship Gods said that it must be a crop that was magically developed by elves, but the elves had never heard of such crop before it was given to the emperor.)
Now, for ordinary people of the Empire, boiled Cobbler’s fruit was the staple food instead of black bread made of wheat.
Currently, the Goddess with the most worshippers in the Empire was the Earth Goddess.
The Earth Goddess was the most powerful in fighting the undead, and at the same time, most of her followers remained in battle with the most wide-spread religion of the “Goddess Light” and blacksmiths that worshipped “Goddess of Fire”.
Compared to the “Goddess of Darkness” that governed death and darkness, they were not good at fighting.
On the other hand, she was deeply believed at the rural areas to revive the grace of earth, the sprouting and growing of plants, and had the power to heal the diseases of earth in order to refine their field work.
It was an unreasonable story that was thickly believed in the Empire after the pioneering villages were able to successfully reclaim the land with “Cobbler’s fruit”.
And the priests of Earth Goddess understood its meaning well.
In the temple of the Earth Goddess, they treated the “Cobbler’s fruit” as a source of their faith and the sacred food of the Empire, while deeply researching to discover the truth about it.
And one more thing, a new page was about to be engraved on the Empire’s history of Cobbler’s fruit.
In recent years, a new city of the Empire was created to be sought by the neighboring pioneer villages which were rapidly increasing in number.
Sophie, a righteous priestess of Earth Goddess that was appointed to the temple located in the city, had finished her duties and secretly went to a suburban forest to protect the secret of her destination.
(Aa, I’m so hungry… I have to reach there soon.)
About half of the trees had been chopped down and its stumps lined up side by side. There was a brand new wooden hut that seemed to be hurriedly constructed.
It was a place where no one came as the imperial officials had deemed chopping more trees to be forbidden as they forest would disappear otherwise.
All trees at a select location had been chopped town to create the gigantic city made mainly from stone that Sophie came from so she strolled in the surrounding forest… and found the door.
A black door with a picture of a cat.
With her chest swelling with expectation, Sophie opened the door.
[…Hello. I came again, Adelia.]
‘Chirinchirin’, while listening to the sound of bell, Sophie looked around the restaurant and found her “acquaintance” that’s waving her hand.
A foreign priestess who also worshipped the Earth Goddess.
To Sophie who was born at the Empire and had many demon acquaintances, it did not bother her that Adelia was a therianthrope with dog ears and tail.
She did not hesitate to call Adelia, a gentle priestess that withstood harsh training, as a friend.
[Un, hi.]
On the other hand, Adelia who was a veteran priestess greeted her while eating her favourite omelet that contained Cobbler’s fruit.
She recommended a chair with her gaze and swallowed the omelet after confirming that Sophie had sat obediently.
[My brother brought me some money. I finally got it. He’ll come again by the time the moon changes, so I’ll introduce you at that time.]
After swallowing the omelet in her mouth, Adelia explained her circumstances to her new foreign friend.
It’s rare for humans to serve the Green Goddess instead of the White Goddess that was the guardian of human race.
Adelia thought that the teachings were different as she did not know the technique of turning her body into a dragon, but on the other hand, her ability was not inferior and was good at managing the grace of the earth.
Priestesses of similar ages that worshiped the same Goddess.
It was no surprise that they got along.
[Welcome. Would you like to place an order?]
After sitting on the chair and chatting about recent events, Aletta came to ask Sophie.
[Un. As usual, potato chips with beer please! Season with salt, nori1 and cheese please!]
As soon as she heard it, Sophie gave her order.
[Yes! Please wait a moment!]
Aletta took the orders and returned to the kitchen.
It was shortly afterwards she came back with her orders.
While she was chatting idly with Adelia and got a bit of the omelet from her (after she asked for a trade), her order came.
[Thank you for waiting! Here are your potato chips with beer!]
The fried Cobbler’s fruit served in a large plate and golden bubbling alcohol were placed in front of Sophie.
[Please enjoy.]
[Un. I’ll call you again if I want to order more.]
After she said such, she prayed while grasping her silvery holy sign amulet.
[Yoshi… our Goddess who watches over the earth. Thank you for bringing fruits and food to us.]
After dedicating a prayer before meal to the Goddess of earth, Sophie reached for the food without using any utensils.
(Un. It’s different from fried after all.)
First, salt.
It was the simplest familiar taste.
She carried it to her mouth while feeling the same burning heat of fried potatoes from her fingertips.
The moment she chewed, the potato chip crumbled with a pleasant feel.
‘Crunch, crunch’, the flavor of high quality Cobbler’s fruit and oil was transmitted along with the crisp sound.
They mixed with the salt and resounded in her stomach.
(U~n, fried potatoes should be the “skin” after all.)
Sophie realized that her thoughts were increasingly true while gulping down the bubbly beer.
The real value of fried potatoes in the Empire was its skin.
That was Sophie’s belief.
Sofie’s parents ran a “fried potatoes” stall at the capital city.
The two types of fried potatoes were one that had moisture of oil and an “interior” that fleetingly collapsed while the other one was fried in oil until it had a crunchy “skin”. Although the Empire’s opinions were divided between the two, Sophie herself was part of the crunchy skin faction.
That’s why potato chips which became only the “skin” by thinly cutting the potatoes was very delicious to her with its slight ingenuity.
(It’s so delicious!)
In addition, if she asked for a large portion in this restaurant, she could have three different kinds of seasonings.
One was simply salt.
The other was a mixture of different world herb called nori which had a distinctive flavor that was compatible with salt.
At the end was a mixture of cheese grounded until it turned into fine powder, giving it the richness of dairy products.
She tasted them one after another while feeling its burning heat and drinking cold beer.
[Un. These potatoes are indeed deep-fried.]
Even for a foreign therianthrope, it was exceptional.
Then, Sophie chatted with Adelia while drinking beer.
The topics ranged from serious topic about faith, daily life small events, male preference and so on.
If they kept talking for a while, the potato chips would cool down, but that’s no problem.
Potato chips were delicious even if they’re cold.
Fried potatoes were made from cutting Cobbler’s fruit in slices and frying in oil, which were popular in the Empire, but the taste degenerated when they’re cold.
Particularly in the case of its skin; the moisture of Cobbler’s fruit leaked to the outside and softened the texture, and the taste degenerated at once.
However, the potato chips which were the new fried potatoes were different.
Although there’s a problem of losing its crispiness after a few days if it’s takeaway, the advantages were that she could eat it steadily without losing its texture even if it’s cold and there’s no need to worry about burns.
In such circumstances, Sophie talked with her friend until sunset while enjoying beer with potato chips.
Nightfall, Sophie who went back to the forest returned to the temple with a light gait.
(The food is delicious and recently my father said that the economy is good in his letters, it’s awesome!)
Initially, she was reluctant to leave the capital city to work in a start-up city for many years, but she could eat potato chips from different world and life even brought great luck, so Sophie considered.
Yes, after knowing a lot about potato chips, she told about it to her parents in a letter.
Simply frying thinly sliced Cobbler’s fruit, potato chips were a dish that no one in the Empire had ever seen before.
It had the same reputation as fried potatoes but it was a different dish, so it brought big profit for her parents.
Recently, there’s trouble as some other stalls tried to imitate the potato chips, but as a stall that produced the “first potato chips”, it still had sales that was not even comparable to before.
(Maa, the original seller was the otherworld dining hall…)
Sophie was pleased with her parents’ prosperity though she smiled wryly at the beginning.
A dish of different world, a new dish that also used the sacred Cobbler’s fruit.
That brought great luck to her parents.
After all, the Cobbler’s fruit was great.
Sophie further deepened her belief on the Goddess of Earth by that fact.
Nori – Seaweed