467 - - Episode 465: There's a surprise.

We arrived at Tork's renovated inn. Martha showed me around the newly renovated inn, and I found it to have a relaxing atmosphere, with both public-friendly structures and old-fashioned, rugged rooms.

"Oh, I forgot to give Mr. Toruku my congratulations!"

As I lay on the bed in my room to catch the charging belles, I suddenly remembered something important.

As an adult, it would be unthinkable for me not to congratulate Mr. Toruku and the others who have been so kind to me.

"Oiwai. Belle, I love you!"

Bell, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly became very excited. Probably, she is thinking that celebration = banquet = feast. It's my fault, but she's grown up to be a little girl who loves to eat. Her appearance hasn't changed at all.

Belle looks at me expectantly, but unfortunately it's not the celebration she's expecting ...... No, we're going to eat in the private room at night, so Belle and the others can enjoy the food without any problem if we're alone.

We can manage by having Sylphy warn us if someone comes into the private room, and we were right to suggest the private room when Mr. Toruku asked us about the extension.

"We're having a feast tonight."

"feast", "cue", "fun", "coo", "kuze!" ......"

The belles are happy to hear my words, and they fly around the room. I'm probably not thinking about the time before dinner.

"Don't you have to give them congratulations right away?"

While I was being soothed by watching the flying bells, Sylphy came over to talk to me. She was right, but there was a reason why I wanted to give it to them first if possible.

"The celebration is about the food, but if we give it to them now, it will probably be reflected in tonight's dishes. Like that pasta. ......"

The last time I gave Mr. Toruku a souvenir from the Kingdom of Rosophia, he made me a rather tasty mushroom pasta.

It was a simple dish, but with Mr. Toruku's unique twist.

I am going to give him the mushrooms as a congratulatory gift and at the same time, I am going to request him to make that mushroom pasta.

"Oh, that pasta. I'd like to have that one too. Shouldn't we ask him to make more?

Sylphy liked it so much that she asked me something that I don't usually ask.

"I'm going to ask you eventually, but only after the inn is settled."

Toruku seemed to be quite busy with the inn's renewal and the innkeeper's business, so it was difficult to make requests for food.

He did not close the inn until the very last minute, and even ran wildly according to his own desires even though he was busy, so I think Toruku was as busy as a company animal.

It will take time for him to get used to it even after the opening of the restaurant, and he will probably cause trouble if we do not ask him to stop cooking for us yet. Therefore, I would like to make the most of this opportunity.

"So, I'm going out for a while.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

No, I'm fine by myself in the inn."

The Belles are getting into the ...... chase. I think they have forgotten why they were flying around the room. Well, they seem to be having a good time, so I guess it's safe to leave them here.

We head for the kitchen, taking a quick look around the inn. The smell of a new building is a little exciting.

A traditional inn is nice, but the building is new only for a limited time, so let's enjoy this rare time.

I thought of ......, but I arrived at the kitchen without much to see. There is not much to see in the aisles and stairs.

"Is this going to be okay for tonight's meal?

When I peeked into the kitchen, it was noisy like a battlefield inside, and there were three unfamiliar people in cook's uniforms. Three unfamiliar people in cook's uniforms are working on a large shelf.

Next to them, Mr. Torque is carrying a shelf of the same size by himself, but I am sure that the three people carrying the shelf are more human than him.

"Oh, Yuta?"

Mr. Torque, who has placed the shelf in the desired location, walks toward us with a thud. I think I'm better than him, but why don't I feel like I can beat him?

"Yuta, what's wrong?"

"No, uh, I wanted to give you a gift to celebrate the opening of your new restaurant, but you seem busy, so I'll see you later."

I'm sorry, but it's going to be difficult to ask for your request in this situation.

"Ingredients?"

I guess he didn't hear my "later" comment. I guess Mr. Torque has a formula in his mind that my gift = foodstuffs. What's that?　I think I had the same thought about Bell earlier.

"Well, ingredients, but under the circumstances ......"

The three new cooks are looking at me with sad eyes, right?

"No, don't worry. They'll take care of it. Yuta, this way. You guys take care of this!

Mr. Toruku pulls me to the back of the kitchen. The three cooks who were asked to take over for the three cooks changed their eyes from sad to dead fish. Perhaps they were in despair.

"Yuta, what do you think!　This is my own kitchen, filled with my dreams!　It's a little cramped, but it's not bad!"

He sounds happy like a child showing off his treasures, but it's not cute at all.

And yes, it seems a little small, but that's because of the various cooking utensils, which seem to take up a lot of space.

It seems to be the fruit of selfishness rather than Toruku's dream. Martha must have had her head in the sand.

"...... Well, it looks like you have a lot of tools to make cooking easier, doesn't it?"

"Of course. We can study secret recipes and stuff to hone our cooking skills. If you have an interesting recipe or a dish you want to try, let me know. I'll make you the best dish!　You'll be cooking here tonight, too!"

I see, a private kitchen can be used to keep secrets. I see. If it's just Mr. Toruku's selfishness, there's no way Martha would lose. I'm a little relieved that there is a good reason.

If that's the case, I'll make a request, even though you seem to be busy. Oops, let me congratulate you first.

I take the ingredients out of my magic bag and set them on the table. Most of the ingredients have already been given to Mr. Toruku, who gazes at them with sparkling eyes. He's probably thinking about what he's going to cook next.

"Is this ...... dragon meat? There is even meat from assault dragons, wyverns, and fire dragons."

There's also meat from light and dark dragons, but Mr. Torque would go 100% berserk, so no meat this time.

"Yes, you can cook all kinds of things."

"Yeah, but you can't use it for tonight's meal, can you?　As expected, there is not enough time to prepare it now."

I can feel that you are incredibly disappointed. He wants to get down to cooking right now.

"Dragon meat will be fine when you get a chance. But that mushroom pasta you made me the other night, can you make it for me tonight?

"Oh, Yuta liked that pasta?　It was a big hit with the other customers, Betty even came back several times. Well, it won't take too much time, so we'll have it ready in time for tonight's meal. I'll take care of it.

"Then, please. I'm looking forward to tonight's cooking.

"Oh!"

I quickly leave the kitchen, as any more talking will only disturb them. I pretend not to notice the three cooks who look at me as if they want to help.

But you know what? The mushroom pasta was a specialty of Mr. Toruku's, and his smile was all over the place when he requested it.

And Betty, the plump receptionist at the commercial guild, right?　If she came back to eat many times, maybe she's even more chubby?　I'd like to take a look.

I'm sure Mr. Torque has some other surprises in mind, and I'm looking forward to dinner tonight. When I get back to my room, I'll let Sylphy know that her request was successful. Well, I think she already knows. .......

*****

"Gochisou-manpuku-", "cukyuu", "tanashimi", "kukuu", "boin-boshoku-dakudasetsu!" ......"

Dinner time . The Bells are on their way to their private room, looking very happy and excited. Fukuchan and the others are also enjoying themselves around Gina and the others, and everyone seems to be looking forward to the feast.

I've been trying to give them food that can be called a feast, but I guess one of the reasons they are so excited is that this time they get to eat the inn's food in the dining room with everyone else. Private rooms, though.

But Flare, I won't allow you to eat and drink too much, will I?　I mean, where did you learn such a word?

When I arrived at the cafeteria, I was greeted by Mr. Torque and Ms. Martha, who were smiling at me.

"Don't be surprised to see me, Yuta.

Before greeting the guests, Mr. Toruku hinted at a surprise. I guess it's a prelude to a surprise.

I'm going to pretend to be surprised out of courtesy, even if it's not much, but as an expert in surprises, I'm going to make sure I'm not a good surprise. I'll make sure you're ready for it.

Mr. Torque opens the door to the private room with a smug look on his face, and I step into the room.

"Look at this, isn't it amazing? Yuta told me about it, but I had a hard time recreating it.

I'm speechless, and Mr. Torque is talking to me like he's proud of me. Yes, this was indeed a surprise.

"Well, I was just trying to make small talk, wasn't I?"

I'm sure it wasn't that serious. We were just talking about how some stores are like this, right?

"Right. I was just trying to make small talk, but it sounded like fun, so I gave it a shot. The carpenter was happy to see the new possibilities!"

"...... I see."

"Especially this one!　This red round swivel table...it's a two-tiered table and the upholsterer and I had a hard time figuring out how to turn the top board!　Look at this smooth movement. Oh, yeah. The furniture maker wants Yuta's permission. He wants to mass-produce it.　

"Oh, mass production. ...... would be good, wouldn't it?"

The lights are covered by paper lamp covers like lanterns, and the wall posts are painted vermilion. There are wooden dragon figurines and some kind of large vase. And to top it all off, a Chinese revolving table that would make a child very happy.

Yes, based on my ramblings, a private Chinese room had been completed.

I wish they had at least consulted with me. I feel so uncomfortable. I think the revolving table is great, but the dragon figurine is a western dragon. The vase is big, but it's slightly different. The patterns are far from Chinese.

...... No, is it great that they were able to reproduce it so well with just words?

My image is of an old-style Chinese restaurant in Japan, but even that may be full of discomfort for a Chinese person. It's like a Japanese person looking at a Japanese connoisseur's room abroad. .......

"Yuta, what do you think?"

"...... has taken my breath away."

In many ways, I've been struck by it. I feel so guilty, as if I've sold out the culture of this world with my patrimony.

"I see!"

Well, that ...... torque seems to be satisfied, so I'll just say it's for the best. There's something wonderful about the fusion of cultures. .......

I hope no Chinese will come to this inn.