365 Castle Town Study Group ④ - Vulcan Arms

"This will be a juicy dish made with Gigi leaves"

Porcelain plates line up in front of us.

Poured there was a thick soup in the same shade of pitch black as the once Kimmus round grill.

"Wow, this is a shitty dish from the looks of it"

"This is how cooking with a lot of gigigi leaves can be shaded black. Make sure you taste it before you lose your fever."

As Varcus said, I just picked up the keys.

But this soup is snuggly to see, and I can't even ask you how it is inside at all. All I could tell was the intricate aromas of many different kinds of vanilla combined.

So I turn on the spoon and I get a better response than I expected.

It's as heavy as melted cheese. It could be more than the broth of that mime's caron milk.

(What the hell kind of food is that?)

I only tried to carry that black soup into my mouth, feeling my expectations unquestionably high.

Really, different flavors explode in your mouth.

I knew it would taste complicated.

Just like that whole Kimmus roast, the deep bitterness is the tone, whilst securely balancing the flavors. Sweet, spicy, sour, bitter. Instead of one of them jumping through, it was such a formula that you were supporting your guts.

What I find sweet is still the mellowness of the fruit.

Very fruity, and snug and sweet as honey.

The spicy was the spicy spicy spiciness of vanilla.

Would it be pepper based, not corn based? Maybe Pico leaves are also used. Then perhaps it was the potency of those Kerr roots that made him sober as well.

The sourness is also felt in the presence of fruits and vanilla as well as mammalian vinegar. Perhaps the fruit also complements the sweetness and the vanilla the spiciness. I couldn't imagine how many different kinds of fruits and vanilla I was using.

And this time they use more gigigi leaves than that Kimmus dish, which was clearly bitter.

This, after all, is a cocoa bitterness.

I can even feel the flavors of chocolate and cocoa that have been out of business for over seven months.

And of course, solid meat and vegetable stock is taken to prevent those flavors from being just on the top. The oil content is also quite strong, but is this even thrown in milk fat? Besides, I can't even feel the flavor of seafood.

And this is true in just one bite.

While I suppressed my inner audience, I explored the contents with a spoon to see what materials were used outside the soup.

The first thing we captured was apparently a fragment of the chatch.

Except the muscles of the flesh are tangled like nets.

Along with a bite of soup, I tried putting it in my mouth.

The chach was carefully simmered, and the complex flavour of the soup was well smudged and soft enough not to need to be chewed.

What was involved in it was apparently the muscle of Karon's flesh. It's as mellow as a beef suji, and this one is superbly soft.

The ingredients were also impeccably delicious.

I can honestly find it delicious, even though it is such a complex flavoring. My tongue seems to be a lot more immune to Varcus' cooking, too.

Other than that, it is about Nennon and Nanar that are used, and the rest of the ingredients are indistinguishable. I wonder if large quantities of vegetables are only used as stock or if they are simmered enough to lose their shape. There is no such thing as clear meat, it just feels like Karon's muscles are hanging out when it comes to beef sushi.

And this dish, I couldn't wait to swallow my throat.

I knew it was like melted cheese, twitching past your throat. It takes a lot of time to taste a bite because I can't leave feeling satisfied. That was the hallmark of this dish, like it wouldn't even be obnoxious.

What the hell is this thickness? Are you throwing the fuwano powder as it is with Timaro, or are you utilizing the stickiness of Guigo? It had an extraordinarily moist texture than the stew I make.

"... is this the Varcus dish..."

The first thing I raised was the voice of an amazed mime.

"This is so delicious. How many ingredients are used…"

"How discernible are you as to what ingredients are used?

Asked the other way around, Mim said, "Huh?," he opened his eyes.

"I am forbidden by my father to lay my hands on the ingredients. I've only got half the ingredients I can buy in the lodging town yet. All I can tell is that Aria and Chacchi and Nennon, and then Nanar and Guigo... and it seems that Shima and Ma Guigo, who gave Asta a taste before, are also used."

I wondered if Aria was blended in for a moment, but I couldn't feel anything at all, such as the presence of Shima and Ma Guigo when I was in Dycon.

"The meat is caron, I don't know the area. Because I have only dealt with foot meat....... Seasonings include salt, sugar, tau oil and pico leaves, followed by milk fat and red mammalian vinegar. Vanilla seems to contain some of the things Asta uses on him, but I'm not sure because I've never handled it either.... Oh, and I think it also uses the fruit of Lamampa crushed and the fruit of Hoboi and Kerr root that I just tasted"

"It's all hitting. How about with the fruit?

"Oh, the fruit seems to be used with all the seals, aloof and lamam. I felt something else sweet and sour that I don't remember."

"Enough. There will be only one or two people in Castle Town who can be so accurately described."

Varcus nodded satisfactorily.

"After all, you seem to have an unparalleled sense of taste acumen. That's why it's so hard to cook with so little ingredients."

"No, I and others really haven't. And I understood very well that my father admired you so much by then."

That said, Mim narrowed her eyes slightly blindfolded.

"As my father said, you were a cook beyond my father, too. I am so sorry to be reminded of it."

"That must be because Lord Michel has pulled himself away. If Lord Michelle had continued to brush his arms as a cook, he would have made more delicious dishes than he did back then."

Varcus also has his eyes narrowed as if he could put his thoughts to a distant past.

"Lord Michel seemed to have a very good taste, even though he was older than me. Humans are supposed to lose an increasingly acute taste after serving, but that's astonishing. So if you're passing on that taste from Lord Michelle, you may grow older and remain as sharp as you are now."

"I don't know, but I want to thank Selva again and again for being able to mouth your dish today. … and to Asta."

"Yes, even though Lord Asta himself is irreplaceable to me, I am also sincerely grateful to be drawn to beings like you"

Unexpectedly, they shot me in thanksgiving, and I was devoured.

"No, Varcus and Michelle were originally deeply connected, so it must have been God's guidance that you two were to meet in this way. It's a strange thing about fate that I'm supposed to be the guide."

Speaking of which, Michelle was the one who was cut off by Cycleus as a cook, and Varcus was the one who was able to gain further training thanks to Cycleus' eyes.

I casually uttered it, but it was really strange of fate and perhaps the guidance of Western God that Michelle's son Mime and Varcus were to encounter.

"Varcus, I'd like to have one for you..."

And it was Sheila-Lou who raised his voice to Hime there.

"Which vanilla was the gigigi leaf used in this dish? When Asta made him, she must have tasted Sim's vanilla all the time, but I don't remember anything of this colour and flavor."

"Oh, using Gigi leaves as they are won't do much good,"

After saying so, Vulcus looked more at Tartumai.

"Tartumai, bring Gigi leaves here"

"... Are you sure?

"I don't mind. Those in this room are free to use whatever ingredients they want."

If around Timaro had stayed, he would have been outraged why Varcus had to be questioned about his credentials.

All in all, Turtumai brought me one small piece of vanilla from the pantry.

It is a dark brown, circular leaf about 5 cm in diameter. It is small in shape but thick in flesh and should be dried but not so numb.

This vanilla looked familiar. It is a vanilla that I ruled out because it does have a lot of bitterness and seems to be usable for the spices of the curry.

"Is this the Gigi leaf? The colours and aromas seem very different."

"Yes. This is what we call tea leaves. Zozo and Chacchi tea is preferred in Selva, but Sim says they make this gigigi into tea"

"Oh, I hear the chatch skin is made into a tea ingredient. Just recently I had the opportunity to get that tea at Dalaim.... So, do Gigi leaves have a special way of frying them?

"Right. You put a lid on a pan stuffed with gigigi leaves and add heat at which low heat it's not burning. The colour then changes to black, creating a unique bitterness and aroma of Gigi leaves. The people of the east will melt it in water and turn it into tea."

"I see. You can't put water or anything when you add heat, can you?

"Yeah, it's more about adding heat to skip moisture. Because you can't skip the moisture completely just by drying it in the day."

Is that the equivalent of so-called roasting?

It's quite interesting that such a cocoa-like flavor and flavor is brought from the leaves, not the beans.

"Do the Astas also use Gigi leaves? Suffering can be quite difficult to deal with."

"Right. Tour-din something might work."

I inadvertently uttered the words that came to my mind, and I was supposed to badly panic my dear compatriots.

"Wow, what am I? I can't believe I'm dealing with such a difficult vanilla..."

"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought this might be more useful in making sweets. You've spoken of good things."

I swear, it wasn't on purpose. But Tour-Din hid on my back so I could escape everyone's gaze.

"Do you mean to use Gigi leaves with confectionery? Bitterness is supposed to be the least deserving flavor for confectionery."

To Vulcan's words, I nod, "Yes."

"In my hometown, you were frequently used. Just like acidity, I think it feels like it attracts sweetness with bitterness."

"It's a very interesting story. At least I've never even dreamed of using Gigi leaves in confectionery."

"Really? In the meantime, let me bring back this gigigi leaf and I'll give it a try. … so you had to get consent from Polearths"

"Yeah, of course you can bring it back as much as you want. As previously arranged, we'll pay for the copper coins we bring back for research."

Laughing delightfully, Polearth follows Tour-Din with his gaze.

"If that ever makes a delicious treat, make sure Princess Odifia eats it for you. Thank you. If I don't invite you to the tea party at the top of the month, the young princess is going to have a seizure."

"... Yes"

Thur-din was grabbing the clothes on my back all the time, saying it in a voice that was going to disappear.

"All right, so the tasting is over, too? We had a really good time. And then we'll see the live gamma over there, and then we'll be disbanded. Copper coins for rewards are in the separate room!

The vessel was left intact, so we moved to the back door. After that, dinner for the guests is made by the other cooks. I'm sure even the smaller chef is in the process of doing the work, but the time must already be around the five moments, so I'm sure the cooks will be waiting for this chef as well.

That's how they move. Besides, there was someone calling me "hey".

But it wasn't me who was called, it was Raina-Lou, and yet it was Roy who was calling.

"Don't be so hard today. Valcus praised you for your skill, and you said you weren't here?

Occasionally Raina-Lou frowns and glances up the top of Roy's Buddha from below.

"What is it? I don't think you have any difficulty with that."

"Let me tell you about one of the sarcasms. I can't believe I haven't even been able to get Varcus to eat my own food yet."

As he walked, Roy said bluffing.

Rudd-Lou leaned in subtle place of his sister, but he overlaps words at the same pace without worrying about that.

"There's nothing unusual about my cooking, so there's only one thing that doesn't interest Varcus. You're just interested in Varcus because you're Asta's best friend, so don't forget that, okay?

"... that's a lot of rap today. Does your mouth turn often only when you denigrate people?

"I'm not disparaging you, I'm advising you. If we can keep cooking as good as ever, we can get Varcus to remember his name."

That's how Roy stared back at Raina-Lou with his eyes that enhanced the light a lot.

"... I used to work under Michelle. I already know what kind of cooking he's doing. Aside from what I can't do. I can't go over his daughter just now."

"What does that mean?

"I don't know what you've been asking. I don't know why you got under Varcus, not Michelle."

With Rayna-Lew's face staring, Roy discards.

"At least what I need right now is the power of Varcus, not Michelle. Otherwise, all the stuff I've been piling up in this mansion will be in vain. I don't give a shit about being an apprentice to Michelle in this state."

Rayna-Lew is frowning in confusion.

After a while, Roy turned away.

"I got my last remaining self-esteem smashed to pieces by wood dust because of you. I'm gonna make you a better cook than you."

…………

"The dish earlier was delicious to death, too. Damn."

That's how Roy quickened his gait and chased him to the Bozzles.

Rayna-Lew has been staring at me, with the same look on his face.

"A, Asta, what should I do?

"Huh? I don't know what I need to do. I don't think Roy is really hostile to Rayna-Lew just because he has a bad mouth, do you?

"Nothing. I'm not worried about that either. But wasn't it like he was just saying that life was bent because of me, not Asta or Mime?

Kind of made Raina-Lou look like he was a dick sometime.

In doing so, he stands younger than his age, Raina-Lou. It makes me childish at once.

"So that didn't mean life was bent, it was excited thanks to Rayna-Lew, right? That's what you said at the tasting party."

"No, but..."

"Long ago, Raina-Lou said you felt like Sheila-Lou was going ahead of you, and you're going to regret that. I guess Roy started to feel the same way, and then he asked Varcus to be his disciple."

It's just my imagination, but I don't think it's that far off target. Roy is a short-tempered and clumsy character, but he hates losing more than anything, and he has a strong passion for cooking in his chest, no less than we do.

"In short, I guess that means Roy's going to work hard to be Roy, too, and he wanted to tell Raina-Lou how he felt. I don't like losing. I'm sure he exposes himself that way because that's all Rayna-Lew is in him."

"Ha..."

Still, after all, Rayna-Lew's expression never cleared up.

But he doesn't look angry or offended at all. It just feels like I'm confused.

"... after all, when I speak with that Roy, I seem to be disturbed by a grudge"

Saying so, Raina-Lou took a small breath.

With that smooth curved shoulder, Rudd-Lou winks with a slight laugh. Somehow I didn't even grasp the intent, but, well, I didn't feel like tearing up their fate with such a relief, so I just kept my shoulders shrugged.

Afterwards, I was able to visit the beast named Gama for a long time.

In a goat-like face, a long jawbeard as an old man. All the fine horns of Buffalo had been folded, but the gamma of milky females was treasured even in Sim's own country, so it was all males brought here.

The stripping of the head seen in the "Xuanrong Pavilion" had black fur, but some had white or brown fur, and the torso was just over a metre long. Rimi-Lou and the others were amazed that their black eyes were horizontal, just like the goats, but a beast with a rather loving face. What surprised me more than that was that all those gammas had six legs.

Either way, our work today in Castle Town finally came to an end.

But behind that, we're going to find out that a hell of a story was going on when we got home to the settlement.

The Forestside Chiefs, who met with Melfried, had been officially asked to do two jobs by Castle Genos.

One of them was a story involving "One Seat of Gamleys," and the other was a story brought about by Sim's big business group, which became "Black Wind Cut Feathers."