Chapter 648

Meals at the Inn
After unpacking our travel gear and relaxing for a while, the chef really did arrive.
It seemed he would be preparing freshly made dishes right here in the room’s kitchen.
I wondered what today’s menu would be.

“For today, as you must be weary from your travels, I have prepared a simple lunch menu.”

Well, since we rode here in a Parfe wagon, we weren’t actually tired.
But if we had come by normal wagon, we would surely have been exhausted.
There was no helping the misunderstanding there, so I had him prepare the recommended dishes.

Today’s lunch menu was fried fish sandwich bread and a seafood soup.
Calling it “simple,” yet serving fried food—this must be a port town, I thought, though it didn’t really matter to us.
I was still plenty young, and everyone else was an adventurer.
Of course we should eat a proper meal.
In fact, it was probably rare for us to get such a good lunch in the first place.

The chef bowed and entered the kitchen, and staff carrying ingredients followed after him.
Before long, the sizzling sound of something being fried drifted out.
A savory aroma filled the air and stirred my appetite.
Judging from the sounds, the seafood soup must have been mostly pre-prepared, needing only finishing touches or reheating.
If he started making the soup from scratch, it would take too long.
Well, that couldn’t be helped.

“Thank you for waiting. Fried Ellizzi sandwich bread and Cazara prawn soup. Please be careful, as they are quite hot.”

What came out was a sandwich stuffed with a very thick slab of fried fish, and a golden-amber soup with prawns the size of an Ise-ebi lobster.
The sandwich had been cut into bite-sized pieces, and the prawns had been shelled, making them easy to eat.
Even in such details, consideration had been shown.

“Well then… ah—! This sandwich bread has such a crisp coating, but the fish inside is so tender.”

“When Ellizzi is fried at the proper temperature, it becomes tender and free of smell. By adding a sauce made from aged vegetables and placing it inside bread, its flavor is drawn out to the fullest.”

This tasted more like a hamburger than a sandwich.
But the fish had a richness far beyond the cheap fish burgers I remembered from childhood.
Combined with the sauce, it was simply delicious.
There was something special about the bread, too.
I couldn’t tell what, but it didn’t seem like ordinary bread.

Next, I took a spoonful of the soup.
It had a light seasoning, yet the lingering flavor was wonderful.
A taste I could keep drinking forever.
They had clearly used proper stock.
It seemed the stock culture I introduced had reached Catastie as well.
A good thing indeed.

Then I cut into one of the Cazara prawns and brought it to my mouth.
This had a different kind of richness compared to the Ellizzi.
The prawn’s naturally springy texture and slight sweetness were irresistible.

Before I realized it, I had finished everything.
Goodness, it was delicious.

“I am delighted to hear the dishes suited your taste.”

“Thank you very much. I can look forward to dinner as well, right?”

“But of course. I shall serve you dishes made with all my skill.”

That made me excited for dinner.
He also asked whether we drank alcohol, but I declined.
I was old enough to drink, but I simply didn’t feel inclined.
The guards also refrained, saying that since I wasn’t drinking and they were on duty, they would avoid alcohol too.
The chef said he would prepare dishes suited to a group that didn’t drink.

Truly, I was looking forward to it.
Another thing to enjoy during our stay in Catastie.

What do you think about this chapter?