685 Forestside Visit ③ - A Rare Night

And it is night.

We were surrounded by dinner at Fa's house, as planned.

Ey-fa, me and Tia line up in the upper seat, and Fermes, Gemd and Melfried line up in the lower seat. In the earth, Brave, Durmour and Zilbe were twitching Gibba's legs, and Girl was rounding her body looking comfortable.

Ai-Fa's approval has been obtained, so dishes of dishes are also arranged before Melfried and Gemd. Before Fermes, I was allowed to put only warm Gigi tea.

"... well, this vial is caron's milk, and this one is sugar"

Fermes, sitting neatly on his knees, said so with a graceful smile.

"Even in the Wang capital, few people enjoy Gigi tea with milk and sugar. Is such a practice also established in Genos?

"I don't know how Genos works. I'm just doing my hometown thing..."

"I see. There are ingredients in Asta's hometown that resemble Gigi leaves."

Grinding and roasting Gigi leaves gives them a deep, coffee flavor. I am originally a person who has no obsession with coffee, so it was up to me to prepare for Fermes today.

"... I am so honored to welcome the Nobles of the King's Capital and Genos to dinner. I hope you enjoy building Asta's heart."

With an unbeatable and resolute look, Ey-Fa said so. Because falsehood is a sin, I guess the word is not a lie either. I just wonder if it's a different issue, something like that, whether I feel honored or not.

As Ai-Fa had declared in the morning, he had cut off his giva hunting job in a half-hour, but he didn't have much time to exchange words with the Fermes. Only on a day like this did we catch three big Gibbs, so we were supposed to go back and forth between the house and the woods. After that, he worked on skin peeling and gut treatment, and by the time it was over, the sunset was already current.

Therefore, it is from now on that Ai-Fa will be exchanging disappointing words with Fermes and others.

With such a riddled face that he was likely to be unexpectedly seen, Ai-Fa did not even seem to dissipate the temper that he was about to begin even in comparison to the power of the fighting.

"Well, I'm going to start dinner"

I = fa twinkle the wording in my mouth and I get to be it too. After completing those rituals, I laid my hands on a wooden dish for splitting.

"Please wait while I dine. This is the culinary product I was just studying, so if you like, try to compare the flavors."

On the spot, three new 'giva curries' were prepared. These are items that have struggled to get closer to a real Indian curry, considering their compatibility with baked poitains.

"... are they all, like, new gibberishes?

I make him nod, "Yeah," because Ey-Fa's been asking me about it.

"There's still room for research, so it's a tough finish to say... but I don't think it tastes any better than the previous" Giva Curry "

I'm not that familiar with Indian curry, so it's a prototype that I did with half my guess. Ai-Fa was an alert face sometime, peeking into my hand.

"It seems to emit a really spicy scent... but I guess we haven't forgotten to add or subtract it?

"Yeah, sure. Whether it's by the woods or in the lodging town, it's about the people in the east who want that much spicy flavoring. The spiciness should be almost the same as the previous Gibba Curry."

"... you have a shade that I don't even think of as him."

"Oh, this is using nanals. It's a mixture of vanilla and nanal colors."

Nanar is an ingredient for horseradish. What Ai-Fa was watching closely was a dish inspired by the so-called sag curry. The shade is deep green.

The curry next door has the same hue as before, but is simmered with plenty of tau beans. In my hometown, they would have called it a bean curry or a dal curry.

And the last item is - I refer to butter chicken curry, but of course I use giva meat, so it's hard to give it a name. In addition to the milk fat, Tarapa is also used carefully, so the shade was slightly orange.

What is common to these three curries was that no fuwano flour was used to thicken them.

My unrestrained memory suggests that in real India, they didn't use flour. Still, the three carefully simmered curries were quite thick, and nothing powdery should have happened at all.

Furthermore, the use of ingredients that remind me of coconut milk has been stopped for the first time. As Raina-Lou said, the sweet aroma and spicy taste was due to the fact that people in Castle Town felt it was a dish they might prefer. In order to carry out the research in a separate frame, this time, I saw a taste that would delight me in the woodland supper and the stalls of the lodging town.

"We have prepared these curries for you to enjoy as a pastime only. Enjoy if you like."

In addition to the curry, he prepares many dishes to keep, including "Giva Cutlet" and raw vegetable salad, as well as "Marinated Giva Tan and Tarapa" and "Miso Tailored Moto Pot". The stimulation may be strong, but the three types of curry were tempered appetizers.

"Speaking of which, Mel Fried shouldn't have been very familiar with the flavor of the dish called curry, should he? Have you ever been bad at anything?

"Stick, there's nothing I'm not good at. I used to have the same flavor of buns at every ball.... I thought it tasted strange."

With no expression, Melfried drew a small bowl of sag curry. When you grab the baked Poitan that was placed on a large plate, hit it in a small bowl and carry it to your mouth without fear.

"Hmmm... it still tastes strange"

"How about compared to the dishes with seafood the other day?

It wasn't me who asked, it was Fermes.

Melfried thinks "Right......" while narrowing his grey eyes.

"I cannot feel so slight a difference. Just..."

And, when Melfried took the wooden spoon, he shrugged the giva meat out of the small bowl. It is a carefully simmered shoulder meat.

Chew it, swallow it, and then Melfried nods "um".

"After all, I haven't been able to eat anything called seafood, so this one seems better suited to my mouth"

"Hmm. Is Lord Melfried so familiar with Giva meat in his tongue?

"No. I guess the meat of the beast is more tame to the tongue than giva meat. Even if this were Caron's meat, it would have been equally comfortable."

After stating that, Melfried turned his eyes to me when the moonlight was coming.

"... would it have been disrespectful to a cook by the woods to state that Gibba and Karon are no different, etc?

"No, not at all. Even carons are fine meat, so if that's the equivalent, isn't it rather an honor to talk about them?"

That's what I said, and I made him smile back.

"I'm so glad to hear your honest thoughts. Try other curries if you like"

Ey-fa, Gemd, etc. just eat silently, and today Tia doesn't try to utter a word about whether she cares about Fermes and others. In the meantime, the three types of curry decreased as far as they could see.

"Um... What do you think of I-Fa?

"I think this redneck fits my mouth best. … but how is it that every single one of them is so chopped up with veggies?

"Oh, that's what curry's all about, too. After all, do I feel like I'm missing something?

"Hmm. I'm not dissatisfied with the use of vegetables in other dishes, but this guy alone might make me feel like I'm eating a broth with only meat in it"

That was a point that I cared about, too. Until now, the Japanese curry method has greatly cut the vegetables, so if it is lost, the customers in the stalls will feel insufficient - there was a fear.

"Yeah. I think the Indian curry thing in my memory was this kind of finish, because there's no point in sticking to its reproduction. I'm going to try to work with larger materials in the future."

Besides, they thought it might be the "butter" that mattered.

Yogurt would be an important element in pursuing an Indian-style curry. Caron milk butter may not be yogurt itself, but it certainly has a very similar taste. Michelle was talking about never rubbing her own butter, so she wanted Jan and Varcus to talk to her sooner or later.

but now I have to think about my guests more than cooking.

It was a difficult story to ask Ai-Fa for love and affection, so I decided to turn my water to the silent Gemd all the way to fulfilling my stubbornness as Fa's family.

"You weren't even spoken of cooking at the meeting the other day, were you? I apologize for suddenly serving bizarre dishes"

Gemd just responded "no" with a deep voice.

With that on the side, Fermes is laughing at the dullness.

"Gemd has an extremely silent temper. But you said something called Giva cooking for the first time, so can I show you some more affection?

It was the first time I had ever heard Fermez speak so loudly.

Gemd says, "I'm sorry," while still facing your son. but I still didn't try to utter any more words.

It's not as ruthless as Merfrid, nor as vague as Varcus. Nor does he look as careless as Larvis, nor does he feel as cool as Sin-Lu - he was even, oligarchically faceless. It is as if, as a people of the east, who have been constant in not giving emotions from an early age, it appears to be the nature of it.

(You're like a Fermes shadow. What does Fermes have to do with just being a husband and squire)

When I thought of it that way, Fermes turned his smiling gaze toward Tia.

"So let me tell you a little bit about what Gemd won't talk about.... Tier-Hamra-Namkal, what is the flavour of your dish?

"Delicious," Tia replied, snatching the leftover curry in the small bowl with baked Poitan dough.

"Tia likes this kind of dish because even in the mountains of Morga there were a lot of vanilla used in the meal"

"Really? I wonder how many red people are in total."

"A lot. I don't even know how many of them there are, Tia."

Ai-Fa stopped the hand of the meal and stared at Fermes.

Fermes keeps smiling, but he goes on and on with his words.

"You worship the great god Ameshorn as the only god, don't you?

"I don't know the name Ameshorn. God is the only being, this world itself."

"So how is the existence of the four great gods treated? Although we believe that the Father of the Four Gods is Ameshorn the Great."

"I don't. I just hear that people who live outside the sanctuary worship a god other than the Great God."

"Do you not hate the people who live outside the sanctuary?

"I don't hate you. I'm just not allowed to be friends or compatriots."

"I see…" said Fermez, once between them, Ai-Fa quickly said the words.

"Diplomat. Why would you want to know about the Red People like that?

"The Red People are a clan that lives so close to Genos. Is it weird that you want to know what kind of clan that is?

"What am I supposed to do? Can't we be friends or compatriots?

"Yes, and I also believe that we must never be hostile."

That said, Fermes smiled softly.

"If the people of the sanctuary and the people of the kingdom contend, this world will perish. … that's how it was written in the book I saw."

"... doom?

"Yes, the people of the kingdom are far from numbered, but the people of the sanctuary have extra power to make up for it, I hear. The struggle between the people of the kingdom and the people of the sanctuary, if I may say so, is tantamount to the struggle between the four great gods and the great god Ameshorn."

Hazel Eye of Fermes is directed from Eye = Fa to Tier.

"So I was very relieved to hear the word that the people of the sanctuary did not hate the people of the kingdom.... One more thing, may I confirm?

"Uhm. Let's answer anything"

"It wasn't the Red People who sent Asta to the woodland settlement, was it?

Tia, who was teasing the baked poiton, looked back at Fermes with a decent face.

"I don't know what words mean. Are you saying that Asta was originally a Red People?

"Yeah, you're right."

"It's the one who comes up with weird things. A man as tall as Asta would never be born in the mountains of Morga. Besides, all human beings born as red people are engraved with the testimony of the clan on their faces and hands and feet. No one can erase this sign, even if someone abandoned the mountain of Morga"

It was about a whirlpool pattern tattoo, carved into Tia's cheek, back of hand or back of foot.

Tia is lowering her brow butt a lot as she fingertips those cheeks.

"Besides, no human being as weak as Asta can survive in Morga. Probably the first day I went out into the mountains as a hunter, I'd be eaten by Madarama. In the mountains of Morga, men and women have to do their hunter's work when they're ten."

"Roger that. Now I can make sure I don't have to worry about it."

Fermes rinsed Gigi's tea with graceful hands before smiling again.

"It would have seemed sarcastically odd to me to ask a question about it, needless to say. But a word is important. Sometimes it's more useful for you to testify to yourself that Asta is not a Red People than for me to screw around with reason."

"I don't know, but if you've solved any strange suspicions about Asta, I'm glad"

That's what I said, Tia's been smiling uncontrollably at me.

Where I laughed back at you, the voice of Fermes echoes again.

"But… you seem to have a deep affection for yourselves. You're not friends or brothers, are you?

"Naturally. As I said, being human and friends and compatriots is a big contradiction."

After stating so, Tia narrowed her eyes and smiled.

"But Tia likes Asta. The people of Ai-Fa, the people of Luu and the people of this neighborhood all prefer it."

"Hmm... isn't that an act that touches contraindications?

"There is no contraindication that you should not have affection for people in the outside world. I'm sure that's because there's no reason to grow up in love without being friends or compatriots."

With the same look on his face, Tia said so.

"But Tia was going to spend some time inside the outside world. In it, I can't stop feeling preferred. So I'm sure Tia will be punished a great deal"

"What are you talking about, punishment? Didn't you hear that?

Tia turned to me with her sparkling eyes like a garnet as I rushed to her mouth.

"Tia eventually returns to the mountains of Morga. At that time, you will suffer the pain of being separated from the Astas. That must be unimaginable suffering. … which is a great punishment for Tia, who has a passion for the outside world."

I lost my word and Ai-Fa also stared at Tia with a serious eye.

Tia stays smiling uncontrollably, overlapping words.

"Still, Tia is happy to have met the Astas and is thankful to the Great God. No matter how painful you feel later, Tia is happy now. I'm sure I'll cry like a child on the day I break up with Asta and the others, but I don't want you to worry about anything because it's the price I've been given for all this happiness"

"Tier......"

I'm getting hot in the back of my nose.

Ey-Fa looks back at Fermes with an angry look on his head with disappointment.

"Is it also my job as a diplomat to listen to such stories? Tia says sooner or later she's going back to Morga Mountain, and she'll never be a liar."

"Have the people of the woods broken the laws of the kingdom and exchanged deeds of friendship with the people of the sanctuary? It's the job of a clean diplomat to confirm that."

After stating so, Fermes smiled so that he could fool Ai-Fa.

"Nevertheless, there may be aspects where my own curiosity has been added and I have persevered in overlapping words. I apologize for that."

"Curiosity? Why should I have such an interest in being a friend or a compatriot?

"To me, the people of the sanctuary were the characters of myths and fairytales, seen only in books. You have given yourself the good fortune to face the people of that sanctuary, and you have daunted them without saying goodbye."

Then Melfried, who was silently eating, watched Fermes a lot.

"Is there a book left in the king's capital about the people of the sanctuary? Though Genos is so close to the sanctuary, it is left almost exclusively by oral tradition."

"That would be so. I've been in Genos for 200 years. Which history is the only one, and I guess I just heard about the sanctuary from the liberal pioneers of the day, so it's a deadly story. But there were many books about the sanctuary in the King's capital, and there were bachelors specializing in studying it. Although, since the reign of His Majesty Cairos, such research has been forced to decline."

Melfried frowned just a little.

"Lord Fermes, may such a statement be received by the royal family as rebellious?

"Rebellion is outrageous. It's just that I'm saddened that research into these events is going to decline."

I went on a roundabout, and I thought of the words.

"I heard that... Fermes was formerly a bachelor."

"Yeah. If that's the case, I wanted to spend my whole life as a bachelor. But because his first son, his brother, died, he was called back to his house from the Tower of the Wise, in the capital of Wang, and forced to take up his official duties."

As if she were a maiden ashamed of something, Fermes hid her mouth flat.

"But I still feel a great joy to learn, study, and observe. So you may still have been fortunate enough to take up the role of diplomat heading out to territories everywhere. Especially this land called Genos, it seems to fill my heart very much."

"Hmm. Was it for those reasons that you felt like you were floating from time to time"

That's what Melfried said, and Fermes looked at you sideways.

"Did you look like you were standing up? As long as you're ashamed."

"You had a lot of fun when you invited the Chiefs to Castle Town and when you arranged an inspection of this woodland. Isn't it the people by the woods, not Genos, who are filling your heart?

"But are forestside settlements also the territory of Genos? So I think I am greatly interested in the land of Genos itself, which has turned the forestside settlement upside down."

While stating so, Fermes turned his gaze toward Ai-Fa.

"As for the people of the woodland, there is no grasp at all even in the Wang capital, to the extent that the people of the woodland, who appeared long before eighty years ago, seem to be more mysterious than the people of the sanctuary, which has been studied for 600 years. So I can't help but be concerned about you."

"... we stick around, we're not hiding anything. There's just so much we don't even know."

"By the woods, they didn't convey the reading and writing of letters, did they? It's a shame that past events have driven us beyond our memories."

That being said, Fermes spilled his smile several times.

"Whatever it is, I'm not lying about your desire to understand. I also hope to encourage my duties as a diplomat, as Asta encourages culinary drilling with great pleasure."

"So we're like unknown ingredients."

On the top of the Buddha, Ai-Fa was shrugging his shoulders.

"Whatever it is, my hands on the meal had stopped following you. If the fever escapes, Asta's cooking will be ruined"

"Oh, I'm sorry about this. I am speaking alone, so please continue your supper."

"I didn't hold my hand."

Melfried looks back at me as I put the empty wooden dish back in the rug.

"I think this miso broth is delicious too. Is it also Giva meat that is used for this?

"Ah, yes. That's the organ dish. It's a dish called" Miso-tailored Hot Pot "that the Lew family sells on the street."

I was somewhat relieved and let him answer that.

"I see, it's a gut..." Melfried is crushing.

"Besides, this was a stupid dish. It's the dish I've always cared about since I heard from Dari-Sautti."

"Dari-Sautti and were they talking about that?

"Mm-hmm. Dari-Sautti insisted it tasted better when he talked about it in the woods."

Speaking of which, the people of Castle Town used to serve "Milanese-style cutlets with giva meat". They were also lavish finishes made with cheese, but because of the use of Leten oil and milk fat rather than Gibba lard, the assessment from the people by the woods was unique.

"Now I finally understand Dari-Sauti's mood. I do think this dish is extremely delicious. I suppose it would be inexplicable if I were to state that the food is not good or bad."

With a cold, faceless expression, Melfried grabbed one mouthful of that 'giva cutlet'.

That makes me emotional again.

"It's an honor to compliment you. I'm so glad to have Mel Fried over for dinner today."

"Delighted?

"Yes. When we first met, I couldn't imagine this ending."

When we first met, Melfried hid his face in a bandage and named him a phony name. And he made falsehoods and bruised all the people of the woods to bring forth the great sinners of the Sung family.

Then more than a year has passed, and this is how Melfried eats Giva food at Fa's house. This didn't make me emotional.

"... it was you, Camua-Josh, who united the Marquis of Genos with the people of the woods."

Then, Fermes enters the conversation.

"He also seems to be a very interesting personality. Marquis Genos was asked by Camua-Josh, the Guardian, to take part in the crowning ceremony three years ago when he left for King's Capital."

"Uhm. That's how I hear"

"So, if the former king hadn't left the throne in the devil before he was even forty, the encounter between the Marquis of Genos and Camua-Josh might not have been fulfilled either? When you think about it, you feel the strangeness of destiny."

I didn't think so, I almost stuck the grilled poiton in my throat.

"Oh, well, is that how young you are today, His Majesty the King of Selva?

"Your Majesty Cairos will be twenty years old. When he was crowned, he was only seventeen."

That was quite an amazing story.

Speaking of seventeen, he's the same age I met Ai-Fa. I wonder how much pressure it is to have to keep a king of a country at such a young age.

"If the encounter between the Marquis of Genos and Camuire-Josh were not fulfilled, Lord Melfried and Camuire-Josh might not have met, nor would the Marquis of Genos and the people of the woodland have established such a relationship as they do today. … and I'm sure I've never met a forest folk like this."

To my surprise, Fermes took the word for it that way.

"This is what Western God's is all about is teasing. I am truly delighted to have met you, Asta to Ai-Fa."

Ai-Fa responded "I'm here" on the top of the Buddha.

Tia keeps eating with strange faces and Melfried and Gemd are faceless.

Never a broken atmosphere.

However, there was a strange air flowing there.

Maybe this will be an unforgettable night for me, too.

The nobility of the king's capital, and the nobility of Genos, and the people by the woods, and the people of the sanctuary, surround supper in the same place. Even if one of them was just rinsing tea, it was supposed to be a rare night, hard enough for the brush tongue after all.