239 - - Episode 237. Betty's Struggle

The encounter was sudden. On that day, a colleague of mine in the guild of commerce told me about a new dish that he had never tasted before, and I went to the inn of Gouman Toruku.

Toruku's Inn is an inn for adventurers. The cooks are not bad, but the food is basically large in quantity and rich in flavor, and is mainly for adventurers who need to be physically strong. It was hard to believe that they could come up with something new.

But when I arrived at the inn with half a doubt, I was shocked. Tomatoes!　Yes, tomatoes were the sauce!

It is a vegetable that can be cut into pieces and added to salads or roasted and served alongside meat. The sludgy part of the fruit was unpopular, and although not bad tasting, the tomato was never popular. But once tomatoes became a sauce, the range of dishes became unbelievably wide.

After visiting Toruku's inn and conquering all the new items on the menu, I asked Martha, the proprietress, and Toruku, the chef, about their new dishes.

They told me that the person who introduced the dishes to them was apparently not from this country, nor was he a chef, so the recipes were hazy. It is a little disappointing, but there is great value in unknown dishes even if the recipe is vague. I would rather eat it.

Unfortunately, the person seemed to have left the labyrinth city and I could not talk to him directly. It is a lifelong mistake, Betty, to miss out on hearing about an exotic cuisine.

******

Ah, fried food...... it's a fascinating dish!　Crispy batter and juicy meat. Roughbirds and orc meat, you can eat as many pieces of this magical dish as you want!

Pahn!

"Ouch!"

"Come on Betty, we're working here, you've got to get a grip. And you're drooling. You can't be delusional until after work!"

I turned around with a sudden shock, and my colleague lectured me with or without my permission.

"Ummm, Aadha, you don't have to hit me. I'll do what you tell me to do!"

"I called out to him several times, but he didn't respond, so I hit him. You need to get your head on straight. You've been taking it easy for a while now, but lately you've been acting all dopey and goofy.

"Uh-oh."

Don't "Uh-oh" me!　You were thinking about cooking again anyway!　If you get any fatter, you'll be removed as a receptionist."

Ada's words pierced my heart. It's true that I'll have to buy a new uniform when it gets smaller and I gain a little more weight, but ...... recently I've been eating fried food once a week instead of every day, and I've been making the long drive home to exercise as much as I can. I should be fine.

I know. That's why I'm holding on to my fantasy."　　

"I'm asking you to do that fantasy outside of work hours. Look, we have a guest. Work, work."

Despite Ada's warnings, I finish my work, take the long way around, buy some groceries, and head home. In my head, fried food is urging me to eat, but I will not be defeated. If I get fired from my job, I won't be able to go out to eat.

Fried food. It is said that the man who taught Toruku the wonderfully tasty and devilishly fattening dish that made me fat is an exotic man named Yuta-san, who taught me tomato sauce.

I looked him up to see what kind of a person he was, and found that he had a very bad reputation. Toruku and Martha told me that he was polite and a kind man who took children from the slums as his apprentices and fed them.

However, I heard elsewhere that he was an arrogant spiritist, and there were rumors that he was a devilish person who fought with Guilmas of the Adventurers' Guild, and even made the Grand Master apologize after he scratched and clawed at him a lot, and got Guilmas fired and the Adventurers' Guild staff flown out.

In fact, Guilmouth was replaced, and some adventurers based in the labyrinth city left the area, apparently because they were threatened. This is certain, since it caused a great commotion in the commercial guilds. Our friends in the Culinary Guild were also troubled by the departure of adventurers who had been the mainstay of the meat supply.

I don't think Martha and Mr. Toruku are lying, but I can't imagine what kind of people they are, since there was a real commotion. I want to hear their stories, but I am afraid to meet them. He is a strange man.

But in the end, when I realized the possibility of knowing some unknown sweets in a foreign country, I couldn't resist and asked Martha to help me. She knows so much about good food, she must know about good sweets too...

**

"Betty, sis!"

"Oh, Mr. Kark. What's wrong?"

"Sis wanted to see you, Yuta said you could meet him."

Really?

"Yes."

"Wait a minute, Mr. Kark, please!"

"Oh, wait!　He said I could see you for a couple of days starting this afternoon. He told me to ask him when would be good for me, but he went to ......."

He makes a puzzled Mr. Kark wait and heads for his boss. My fear of meeting him disappeared the moment I ate the cheese chicken cutlet. The combination of such a delicious fried food and cheese is a devilish dish.

In a country where such a dish is made, it is unthinkable that there is no delicious sweet food. I'll do everything in my power to learn how to make a good pastry!

"Mr. Franco, I need a vacation now!"

"What are you talking about all of a sudden?　At least tell me why you want time off."

I shouldn't have. I've missed you so much, I can't stop myself.

"Yes, I did. I'm going to see someone called Mr. Yuta.

"...... You don't mean to tell me that this Yuta-san is a genie magician, do you?"

Yes, that's right. He's famous, isn't he?

Please don't do that. You know what happened at the Adventurers' Guild, don't you?　He has close relations with the Pollius Chamber of Commerce, so as a commercial guild, he is not someone to mess around with. Leave him alone."

"......, but I've already arranged to meet with him."

I know what you mean, but I can't give up. My first thought was to ask Martha to give me the recipe, but I'm afraid I'll offend her and the others if I use them for my own purposes. I feel that a direct request from me would definitely give a better result.

"............ Fu, what do you want to see him for?"

"He knows good food that we don't have in this country, so I think he knows good pastries too. I'm thinking of asking him to teach me about them."

"Is that why you're going to meet with the guy who picked a fight with the Adventurers' Guild?"

The landlady of Yuta's hotel says that he is a very nice person and that he is not in trouble with the Adventurers' Guild. I'm sure he'll be fine.

It makes me nervous to be so sure, but if it means I get to eat delicious snacks, I'll do my best.

"......If he gets into a bad mood, he'll be a pain in the ass. I'm sure you'll be fine, but just so you know. Don't ever do anything to show off the power of the guild. And never make unreasonable demands. If they refuse, come back immediately. If you get into a dispute with him, the guild will cut you off.　

......I don't want to get fired. But I also want to eat good pastries. If you ask them and they seem uncomfortable, apologize as best you can and go home.　　

I understand."

"Then I'll allow it. And please don't spoil my good mood. And report back to the guild when you're done.

"Yes, sir."

Don't be too long in replying. You're usually so laid-back and easygoing, but when it comes to food, you're just like this. You know, people trust your sense of smell when it comes to food. So don't overdo it.

"Yes, sir."

I'm not usually one to sit back and take it easy, and Franco is not a good judge of character. But I did manage to get permission. Let's ask Mr. Kark to wait a bit and hurry up and change into our clothes.

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Kark. Let's go."

"Betty, sis. I was told to come here for my schedule, but you're coming out of the blue?　You won't be back until after noon."

Did he say that?

"Well, you'll be back after noon. Well, I'll just say hello. You're not going to get mad at me out of the blue, are you?"

"Well, you seem to be afraid of me, but I'm quite gentle and I'll be fine. Mom says the inn is only profitable because of you."

Yes, of course. He said you were kind to children. As long as you're not rude. If we go now, we'll just say hello and leave right away if we don't make it.

**

We made it. I was afraid that I had made a mistake when I said hello to him, but we were able to have a normal conversation. The big guys are scared of you, but you seem like a normal person, don't you?

The adventurers who sometimes come to the commercial guild look much stronger. I know it's wrong to compare him to a swordsman or a fighter because he's a spiritualist, but he still had a normal atmosphere.

But it's strange that milk can be used to make dishes and desserts. I wonder what it tastes like?　I can't even imagine what kind of dessert it might be with the unusual name pudding....... But Yuta said it is a very popular dessert in his country, so it must be delicious. When I report back, I'll have to think of ways to secure milk somehow.

"I see, but can milk really be used for cooking or dessert?"

"I can't imagine it either, but I know that Franco once had a meal at Torque's inn. I heard that this dessert is very popular in the country where they made it, so I don't see why it can't be delicious.

"The food at that inn was certainly delicious. Maybe the land of the sorcerer has a well-developed cuisine. I guess we can count on that.

"Yes, it is!　So let's get a magician or a refrigerated carriage while we can!"

"Don't be absurd. Magicians and refrigerated wagons are used to deliver high-grade materials and wholesale to the nobility. We can't just predict what they'll be like. At least check the actual goods first.

"Yes, sir. Then please cooperate with us when you have a great dessert.

"...... depends on how it tastes. Commercial guilds don't do anything that doesn't make money."

A little good taste is not enough. But if it's a dessert, the wives of royalty and nobility will surely take notice. If it's good enough, the guilds will move on it. I'll have to work hard so that they'll always have delicious desserts!

"Okay. Okay, I'm going home."

"Well, wait a minute. I gave you a leave of absence, but you've done your job and you're back. Go on with your work."

"...... understand."

I'm glad you didn't go home. Martha came to me with a request for fine flour and told me that thanks to my processing we would have a prototype to eat tomorrow morning. Let's go talk to Mr. Franco and get him to give us tomorrow off. I'm sure he'll forgive us, since it could benefit the commercial guilds.