271-243 Cleverly (2)

Aiyo!　Hey, guys!

Whoa!　Here it comes!

Fortunately, she brought the otalka, and I threw the subject on the shelf.

Yuki looked a little unhappy with me, but when she saw the otalka on the table, she rolled her eyes in surprise.

"Wow, it's really sizzling!

"Oh, that smells delicious. ......

"Oh, it smells delicious.

The red liquid making a gurgling sound in the bowl and the white sauce dripping on top of it.

At first glance, it looked spicy, but from the smell, it was definitely tomatoes.

And it was probably fresh tomatoes.

There are chopped fruits floating around.

And that distinctive smell that hits your nose is garlic!

Garlic on a date.

If we were a couple just starting out, this would be an unlikely combination, but Yuki and I aren't close enough to worry about that, and we're not even dating.

So I'm just happy to smell this violent scent that stimulates my appetite.

When I glanced at Yuki, her eyes were sparkling and she was quickly picking up a spoon.

"It's hot, so eat with care!

She smiled happily at us and left the table with a warning.

Catching it out of the corner of my eye, I also picked up a spoon and dipped it into the bowl.

"Wow, I thought it would be heavier, but it's more like a stew, isn't it?

"Yes. When I first heard about it, I thought it would be like a potato and bacon sandwich with sauce on top.

I thought it would be a bowl filled with potatoes and meat, but it wasn't.

It was more like a tomato-flavored pork stew.

I was told that there were potatoes in the stew, but not much of them remained, and the sauce was a little sloppy, as if they had melted.

As for the shredded meat, there were only a spoonful or two of it, not a whole lot.

I see. I see. I could have eaten a medium sized portion with this.

"Right. But this is enough for me.

"The more potatoes that melt, the more likely they are to get stuck in your stomach. Which is .......

Take a spoonful.

The first thing that hits you is the smell of garlic.

Then the sourness of tomatoes and a hint of sweetness.

There's a slight green tinge to it, but I guess the garlic is there to mask it.

The meat was well seasoned beforehand, so it was not at all bland.

Well, the meat is cooked separately and added later. If you cook the meat with the sauce and potatoes, it will become dry and lose its flavor.

The sauce itself is pretty good too, right?

Yes. The tomatoes, the sweetness of the onions, the saltiness, the bay leafy stuff, the rosemary stuff.　And the garlic. It's exquisite.

That's the man with the cooking skills.

You're more precise than I am.

"Mix them together, put them in a bowl, and bake them in the oven. You can serve it hot to the guests and not overcook it like a big pot. It costs a lot of money for fuel, but if you only serve otalka and you get this many customers, you'll do well. It's well thought out.

"The cheese part's good, too.　It's not very cheesy.

It's like fresh cheese, it's almost like cream stew, but it's good enough.

However, I'm not sure how well tomatoes and cheese go together, so if I ever have it again, I'll order it by itself.

With these thoughts in mind, Yuki and I continued to eat without stopping, and we finished the entire dish in one sitting.

At first, I thought it was a little bit too little, but the potatoes were used more than I expected, and it filled me up more than I expected, and I felt very satisfied.

I have to say, I'm impressed!　I'm wondering if the food here is particularly good, or if it's just normal food at this level.

"Yeah. I can't eat here anymore, though.

Neither can I. I don't think I can eat anymore.　--Well, let's get out of here.

We couldn't occupy the table for too long in such a crowded restaurant, so we got up as soon as we finished eating, thanked the lady, and left the restaurant.

The total bill for the two of us was three large silver coins.

The price of lunch at Aella's restaurant was one large silver coin, so it was 1.5 times the price.

Considering the number of items, .......

It's a bit expensive, isn't it?　Considering that we ate a 'small' meal.

Oh, I see. The regular size is .......

Two large silver coins. That's a bit expensive for lunch.

Yeah. It's hard to make a simple comparison, but ...... pinning was pretty expensive too, right?

Yeah, I guess so. If you just compare the taste, the Otarka here is much better.

I think there's a difference in distribution, though.

If the food I just ate was offered at the same price in Laffan, it would be quite cheap.

But that's because it doesn't take into account the availability of the ingredients.

Fresh tomatoes, which are hard to find in Laffan, may be easy to find here.

In this light, it is difficult to compare prices.

Services are a little easier to compare, but the same service is also difficult to compare.

Well, if you walk around, you'll see a lot, I guess. Let's go!

We should be back at the inn by dinner.

We should be back at the inn by dinner time." Yuki took my hand and we followed her to look around the stores.

My impression was that there were many stores.

Not only restaurants, but also many other stores selling goods lined the sides of the streets.

In places like Laffan, even along the main street, there are some stores that are not stores, but here, there are basically all stores.

There are some stores that don't look like they are open for business, but they are built as stores, not houses.

And since there are boulevards other than the one we walked on, we can say that Crevilly is a complete commercial city.

At least, we didn't see any fields around the gate where we entered, so all the food must have been brought in from elsewhere.

In addition to the river that runs from Mijara, there is also a river that flows from the north, and a river that flows from the northwest a little to the east, making it quite advantageous in terms of water transportation.

Oh!　Nao, over there. There's an alchemy store. Can I come in?

I don't mind. I'm just curious.

Oh, you've never been in one before, have you?　I don't think I can live up to your expectations.

I followed Yuki into the store with a wry smile on my face. ...... This was a bit of a disappointment.

I was expecting to see a lot of weird stuff in there.

But in fact, there is nothing suspicious about it, it's just an ordinary store.

The only thing that caught my attention was a pair of tusks as big as I was tall, and a pair of black furs about the size of two tatami mats hanging on the wall.

Instead of suspicious items, there were a lot of wooden boards hanging on the wall.

"Sugasta of Shaverstar"?　"Scales of Dradocerus?　"Melphiria powder?"

I don't even know what they are.

"Most of it's not in the stores, you know. They're too expensive.

"Anti-theft.

"It's too expensive." "Anti-theft?" "It's the same in bookstores, but I guess you can't trust customers that much.

Oh, but expensive things are similar in Japan.

Some are just empty boxes, some are cards with the name of the product written on them, and some are in the show window so that you can't pick them up.

If you think of a book as a product that costs over 100,000 yen, it may be natural that you cannot pick it up.

However, I was a little disappointed because I was expecting to see something mysterious.

I had no choice but to take a look at the fangs on display.

It is a little longer than I am tall, a little curved, but not crooked like ivory.

The base is so thick that I can't even reach it with the fingers of my hands spread out, and it looks like I'd need another hand, so I'd say it's about ...... Yuki's waist.

That's pretty thick. I'm not talking about Yuki's waist, I'm talking about her fangs.

I'm not sure if there's a demon with fangs like this or if it's just a normal animal.

I don't want to face it.

"...... Behemoth fangs?　Are they real?

I couldn't help but let out a few words at the description hanging on the tusk.

I don't know if it's in the encyclopedia, Behemoth.

"It's real. Ten gold coins for a gram. How cheap is that?

The person who answered me, who must have had a quizzical expression on her face, was an old woman who looked like she belonged in an alchemy store.

Should I be surprised that the behemoth existed, or should I be surprised at the price of ten one-gram gold coins?

That's a lot more expensive than pure gold.

I wonder how much a bottle of this will cost. .......

I don't think I need it right now. But you have a very nice selection, don't you?

But the selection is very good, isn't it?" "Ho ho ho, isn't it?　At least, I'm proud to say it's the best in Crevilly.

The old woman smiled happily at Yuki's words.

The old woman smiles happily at Yuki's words. She looks like a suspicious alchemist, but her laugh is quite cheerful, and she seems to be easy to talk to.

Do they come from all over the place?

"Yeah?　No, not really. Very few of the materials are from around here.

So it's not so cheap, is it?

Well, it's not as cheap as where it comes from. But can't you go to the source and buy them one by one?

Yes, I know. Well, I don't have anything I want to make right now, so I guess I'll hold off.　I'm going to stay here for a few days, so I might come back and buy something before I leave.

"Really?　Well then, I guess it's no use.

I'll just write down what's on sale and go home. I'll just write down what they sell and go home, so I can consider it at the inn.

"Oh, suit yourself.

While Yuki chatted with the old woman and took notes, I looked around the store, but ...... it wasn't quite enough.

There's nothing interesting to look at, just some material names and big pelts (apparently this is a part of behemoth fur) that I can't even tell you what they are.

So, I waited for Yuki to finish her work and left the store when she was satisfied.

After that, Yuki and I went back and forth to many stores, and we found that there was a wide variety of products in general.

And there are several stores of the same kind.

In Rafan, for example, there are several blacksmith shops, but there are never more than one in a single street.

Except for the furniture workshop, which is a special product of the city, but that is a little different because it is not sold in Laffan, but made to be sold elsewhere.

This may be a sign that the business is thriving, but it seems to be quite difficult for the sellers.

In fact, some of the stores were deserted, and the ones that were closed were probably the end of such stores.

I'm wondering what will happen as a result of this, but there is no doubt that the city as a whole is quite prosperous. ...... As someone who has lived in a free economy and capitalist society, I find it difficult to deny.