Canapé
A stone mountain hut that he found when he visited the town a year ago.
Seeing as the dwarves were the inhabitant of the town, the door was only as tall as Johan’s chest, so when he entered the hut and saw that the door was not there, he bitterly smiled.
(Indeed, it’s a countermeasure against those who are rude enough to arbitrarily “use” it.)
Before Johan’s eyes, the steel door was thick enough that an ogre was unlikely to break through it even if they used the power of their whole body.
Though there were a desk and beds, it’s just a mountain hut that’s not furnished enough to be called a normal cabin.
As he had visited here before, Johan knew that most people who would just tilted their head while wondering “why”, he narrowed his eyes nostalgically.
(No, at that time I didn’t feel alive.)
Considering such, Johan who was a merchant that followed the flow thought about the wonderful alcohol he drank a year ago.
The start was one rumour.
Dwarves that lived in a distant city that would take a few months journey to arrive said that they developed a new strong alcohol.
It was a liquor with complicated flavor that made a line of distinction as the alcoholic drink was favoured by dwarves since it burned one’s throat, and it was also praised and coveted even by human nobles.
But the problem was, the liquor was always on short supply as the dwarves always drank it so much that the merchants were not satisfied with the amount left.
Therefore, in order to obtain the liquor at a reasonable price, one must travel to the dwarven city.
From that rumour, Johan smelled profit.
For rich people, they had a weakness of rare items.
In particular, the “umeshu” which was said to be made by dwarves of Western Continent was particularly prized as one of the alcoholic drinks that the royalties of Eastern Continent drank.
In addition, Johan himself was a drinker that drank enough to hear about the special alcohol of that city.
He had heard that it’s almost out of circulation, but he had decided to visit the dwarven city even though it took him a month to reach there.
Johan finally reached the top of the mountain where he could see the towns located at the foot of the mountain.
[Fuu… finally here.]
He looked at the stone cabin and the smoke rising from its chimney, Johan realized that his destination was close.
Dwarves who were generally craftsmen built towns in mountains where minerals could be mined.
Therefore, there were many difficulties for people that wanted to visit.
[Well, I do want to take a short rest… oo.]
He felt that journeying down the mountain would be hard labour, but he noticed it when he looked around.
Before Johan’s eyes was a small mountain cabin made of stone.
[…Un, it’s apparently not locked.]
Johan thought that it was probably made by a dwarf as a resting place for people who came to the top of mountain, as evidenced by the height of the door that was fitted for a dwarf, so he bended down in order to grasp the lowly attached door handle.
Fortunately, it was not locked, so there was no problem in using it for a little rest.
[Alright, thank you for letting me use this.]
Johan entered the cabin and looked inside after tying his horse loaded with his baggage to an appropriate rocky spire.
There was a low table tailored to the height of a dwarf and two beds lined up side by side, it was a small hut but it was built firmly.
[Un, I wonder what’s that at the back?]
After looking around, he noticed a door at the back, so he thought that it probably led to a ba
ck room and opened it.
‘Chirinchirin’, that sound echoed in the small cabin.
[…Why is the back of a dwarven hut like this?]
Johan, who opened the door and looked inside, murmured to himself.
A room at the back of a dwarven mountain hut.
It was bright and bigger than the hut itself.
Despite the time being sunset, there were many people in the room that was as bright as daytime… eating various meals.
(Oi,oi, there are ogres and sirens, and that one… no way, is that a lamia?)
When he looked around the room, he noticed that there were obvious monsters among familiar races of humans, elves and other races, so Johan was unintentionally petrified.
Fortunately, they did not even glance at Johan, just continuing to eat unknown food.
[What the heck is this place…]
[Ano, welcome. Is this your first time? Welcome to Western restaurant Nekoya.]
Seeing as he didn’t seem to recognize the place, a demon waitress spoke to Johan after she came out from the back and finished serving food to other customers.
[Western? Nekoya? What the heck is this place?]
He turned to the direction of the voice and asked her.
[Yes, this place is the otherworld dining hall; it’s a different world from the one we lived in!]
To Johan, who was obviously a first-timer, the waitress proudly said so.
After a while.
(Otherworld, a different world…)
While still processing over what he was told, he looked at the “menu” book where the list of foods was written.
This was a restaurant that was a different world from the one where Johan lived, it seemed that a door would appear in Johan’s world once in 7 days.
(I see, it’s a different world.)
The dishes written were all unknown names, with the exceptions of croquettes and fried potatoes.
Under the name of the dishes, there were descriptions written neatly in Eastern Continent language, but there were still some dishes that he couldn’t imagine.
(Hou, there’s alcohol selection too… strong alcohol, huh?)
While flipping the pages, he found the alcohol selection.
There were some that Johan knew like ales, honey liquor and wine, but Johan then saw the whiskey description.
—A strong liquor. As it has a strong flavor, it is generally served either with ice “on the rocks” or with water “whiskey diluted with water”.
Johan decided to order the alcohol with that description.
(And some light food…)
With that in mind, he paid attention to the list of food on the next page of the alcohol selection.
[Waitress, sorry to bother you, may I order?]
[Yes, of course.]
He nodded and placed an order.
[This alcohol named whiskey on the rocks. And… this assortment of canapés.]
He felt that this light food would go well with the otherworld alcohol.
After that, he wiped his sweat with the hot towel and moistened his throat with the free water.
[Thank you for waiting. Here are your whiskey on the rocks and canapé platter.]
She placed down the plate and glass cup.
[Hou, this is beautiful…]
That was Johan’s first impression when he saw the food.
On the pure white plate, various colours were dancing. Brilliant green and pale yellow, pink meat, bright orange fish fillets, black raisins blended with white butter… they all were arranged on light brown baked hard bread.
Next to that, the glass cup was half filled with clear brown liquor with ice the size of a kid’s fist.
They appeared shining under the magical light falling down from the restaurant’s ceiling.
(First, the alcohol.)
He swallowed his spit and lifted the glass cup.
It was cooled due to the large ice, so it pleasantly cooled his palm that became hot due to his mountain climbing.
(Well then…)
He gently tilted the cup and drank the liquor.
(Oo…! This is really strong!)
It was hot on his tongue and burned his throat.
Indeed, this was a strong alcohol. It could make a human faint if they drank all of it in one gulp.
(And this is delicious.)
He sipped more and rolled it inside his mouth.
This otherworld whiskey was not just strong.
It had a unique scent and complicated flavor.
It was a taste distinct from the dwarven alcohol that only burned one’s throat.
(This… it’s a waste to drink it all at once.)
He put down the cup with such thought.
Of course, he could ask for another cup, but this liquor was really strong. He would be unable to taste properly if he drank too much.
He wanted to avoid it.
(Well, I’ll try this canapé then.)
After placing down the cup, he looked at the food.
Apparently it was a dish where various ingredients were arranged on hard wheat bread.
His eyes enjoyed the multicoloured food.
Which one should he eat first?
After being conflicted for a while, he picked one.
On top was a vivid green Cule.
It was stabbed with something pale yellow.
Johan picked it up with one hand.
(Hou, this is, an egg!)
He ate it and noticed instantly.
It was the slightly sour taste of eggs, and its freshness burst inside his mouth.
Apparently minced eggs were mixed in with the sauce.
(This egg, it’s delicious, it matches well with the Cule too.)
This taste of egg peeking from under Cule was exquisite.
Its light acidity, rich taste of eggs and the mellow taste mixed together.
While it was good enough on its own, it was even more wonderful when combined with the wheat bread and fresh Cule.
(It’s too bad that it’s too small.)
Yes, the cuisine was made for a side dish of alcohol, so this canapé dish was a small portion.
In just two bites, the wonderful egg canapé disappeared into his stomach.
(However, I can eat other combinations.)
Johan, who thought that he didn’t get to enjoy enough of that egg flavor, looked at the other canapés.
From the selection, there were two others which had the same combination. Of course, the rest which had different ingredients would have different flavours.
He did not know how tasty they are, but seeing as the first one was delicious, he did not feel anxious.
Rather, Johan reached for another with expectation.
The next thing he reached had orange fish fillets.
(This, it doesn’t seem to be cooked… is this fine?)
After lifting it up, he was uneasy when he saw that it was not cooked, but he reconsidered.
This restaurant was honest. It looked like the restaurant wouldn’t serve anything that was obviously unpleasant.
Thinking so, he carried the fish canapé to his mouth.
(Un… as I thought.)
It was tasty as he expected.
The fish was soft and unraveled in his mouth, its fat and salty taste entertained him.
The fish had a slight incense of wood. Apparently it was smoked.
(Indeed, if it’s smoked then there’s no need to cook it.)
As the fish had plenty moisture, it wouldn’t have a long shelf life, but it was delicious if it’s successfully made.
In addition, under this fish, there’s soft white sour cheese, and it was exquisite when it mixed with the taste of fish fillet.
(The next one is smoked meat… hou, the cheese below is also smoked!)
The moment he ate the meat one, he noticed the flavor.
Unlike the previous two, there’s sign that it was cooked, and when he bit into the still warm canapé, he could taste the combination of meat and cheese.
From the smoked meat with plenty fat, delicious meat juice and fat intertwined with the flavor of cheese, creating a feeling of satisfaction from meat unlike the previous two.
Drifting from these two was the faint smell of trees. It was very common to smoke meat, but it was unusual to smoke cheese.
But it matched well. Smoked meat and smoked cheese had good compatibility and they elevated each other’s aroma and taste.
(…Well, I’ll go back to the alcohol.)
When the plate was empty, he had filled his stomach with the canapés.
Johan drank his liquor after eating the canapé with sweet raisins and strong salty butter.
His belly was full, so he wanted to enjoy his liquor…
[Nn!? The taste is different from before!?]
He was surprised by the different taste.
The liquor was softer and easier to drink than before.
The whiskey previously burned his throat, but it smoothly slid down now.
[I see! It’s the melting ice!]
He thought a bit and noticed the reason.
Due to the melting ice, the whiskey was weaker than before.
That caused the difference in taste.
[However, to think that the taste changes this much just by adding a little water… what an interesting liquor.]
While looking at the empty cup, he thought about the considerable change in taste.
[Excuse me! I want another serving of whiskey, no, a whole bottle of it! Bring me water too! And another serving of canapés!]
It wasn’t a loss as long as it’s as delicious as this.
Fortunately, the other side of the door was a mountain hut with a space to sleep. It wouldn’t be a problem if he stayed overnight.
So Johan made additional order.
Johan was a drinker.
Therefore, there was no way he wouldn’t enjoy this wonderful drink in the first place.
Due to his drinking, he walked through the door with unsteady gait.
[Aa, it was delicious. It’s a pity though that there’s only one bottle available.]
After adequately enjoying his whiskey with canapés, he made a request.
He wanted to buy some liquor from there.
However, the owner shook his head and replied.
[I’m sorry, but we only sell one bottle of alcohol per person. This is a restaurant, not a liquor store.]
It seemed that the previous owner decided so long ago.
Only one bottle could be bought as a “souvenir” per customer, but no more than that.
It seemed that it was decided after merchants wanted to “stock” alcohol and seasonings in large quantity.
(Maa, it can’t be helped.)
Johan, whose reasoning had not diminished even with the alcohol in his blood, was convinced and backed down.
From Johan’s perspective, if the wrong person “stocked” this liquor, they could resell it in 10 times of the original price.
If they could, a merchant would buy as much as they wanted to resell it.
However, Johan knew that this theory was not amusing as that place was “a restaurant that serves delicious food”.
(Well, should I bring this or purchase dwarven liquor…)
While remembering such thing, Johan’s drunkenness disappeared at once.
[What do you think you’re doing!?]
[This liquor thief! Are you prepared to face the consequences!?]
With complete war preparation, the two angry dwarves prepared their huge axes.
He thought he would die that day.
(At that time, I gave away the liquor souvenir and was somehow forgiven.)
Johan thought that if he did not do so, he wouldn’t still be in this world right now.
While waiting for the next 7 days, he bought a new liquor (this too was delicious) made by the dwarves at their town and accompanied them to the otherworld dining hall to drink a lot of alcohol.
That one bottle of liquor he bought as a souvenir was greatly useful as a gift to a noble that was also a drinker, and Johan’s business spread further a little.
Today, he came to request it again.
Of course, Johan wouldn’t commit the same mistake as last time.
Johan would stay in the hut for a while. And then,
[Ou! What!? You’re here again!]
[It’s been a long time! Do you want to drink again?]
The two dwarves entered the hut loudly.
[Ee. May I join you again?]
Johan, a friend who came before, asked with a smile.