Chapter 42: Abandoned Dog’s Pasta I

【70th day】

I,

After an unexpected turn of events, was sent to an alternate world and am spending my days as an adventurer.

There were fun times, but there were also painful times.

I contracted with a beautiful god.

I also got (pretend) married.

I got a younger sister.

I met trustworthy party members. And then, parted with them.

After many twists and turns,

As I met and parted with people repeatedly, I grew just a little.

However, as an adventurer, I’m still a greenhorn.

Moreover, my personal evaluation is only getting worse due to the fact that my infamy had spread.

I must work hard. To clear my bad name, it would take several times as much fame. And as a party leader, I have to put my party members first.

From now on, I won’t let the party members in this party die no matter the reason.

This is one thing that I’ll definitely fulfill.

Should there be a next time that someone is to be sacrificed, then it’ll be me. I haven't said anything about this to the other party members, but it's my atonement for letting my friend die and the fate that I had decided for myself.

This is one thing that I’ll definitely fulfill. It’s my pride and my duty.

With fresh determination, we explored the dungeon.

It was tough after all. There were no easy paths. It was a cycle of moving forward and going back, but little by little, we turned it to food and advanced. It wasn’t as if I had time to spare. But I didn’t let myself get impatient, and moved cautiously at walking speed.

That is our adventure.

Putting that aside, I’m boiling pasta right now.

For some reason, I’m boiling pasta.

It all started five days ago.

Nine cargo ships owned by Libera・Araruledo, a wealthy merchant from the center continent, arrived at the port near the Kingdom of Lemuria. Rather than say they arrived, it might be more accurate to say that they somehow limped into port on the verge of shipwreck.

Having plunged into a storm in order to escape from pirates, the fleet was half-destroyed, and the masts of all of the remaining ships had broken, leaving them to be swept by the currents towards the right continent………………It was a story like that.

The cargo onboard the ships was wheat from the left continent.

There was a large amount of it.

Putting it simply, if it was all made into bread, it would be equivalent to three years of the kingdom's consumption of it.

The wheat, which was originally supposed to be bound for the center continent, was sold by Araruledo to the Kingdom of Lemuria at a low price. It might be better to call it a giveaway price.

I’m going to go off on a small tangent here.

There is a Japanese term called “staple food”.

It’s a concept that isn't very prevalent in Western countries and so on. That's because the food called rice has a good balance of nutrients. If two dishes are also added to it, it’s a perfect food that’s enough for a person to live on everyday.

In that respect, there are many people who eat the food called wheat in the sense that “it’s the food they mainly eat”, but I don’t hear much about things like it’s taste, nutritional balance, or eating a wheat-only diet every day.

Here, the dietary habits of the Kingdom of Lemuria were Western.

Wheat, potatoes, meat, and beans were the dominant portion of their diet, and they filled their stomachs with various other ingredients.

In this situation, even though it was cheap, there was no place for wheat from other continents.

And even though it was cheap, it had to priced higher than whole wheat flour, which was unrefined wheat. Circulating strange price-disrupting products would cause confusion in the market. As it was sold to the kingdom directly, it couldn’t be priced in a way that had adverse effects on merchants.

In addition, wheat from the left continent was more yellowish compared to wheat from the right continent. From the perspective of a person unfamiliar with such things, it looked like it had gone bad.

Also, it wasn’t very suitable for making bread.

It was the type that was hard, chewy on the inside and had a uniquely coarse texture.

As a trial run, I had a baker in the kingdom bake it for sale, but it was very unpopular.

To me, it didn’t have a particularly bad taste or texture, but it didn’t surpass the taste of the bread that was currently in circulation. In the first place, to defeat an existing food, it needed to be tastier, cheaper or more convenient.

The wheat from the left continent didn’t meet any of those requirements.

And the clincher was,

Araruledo, who had sold the wheat, had fled the right continent. He had run away without saying anything about the original cooking method of the left continent.

I’ll touch on the reason for that later, but what remained was a large amount of wheat. There were people from the left continent in the kingdom, but none of them had a solid background in cooking.

For that reason, I received an order from the king.

It was a broad order that said, "Make something with this wheat."

As an adventurer who was more or less affiliated with the Kingdom of Lemuria, I couldn’t very well refuse.

For some reason, the king had confused me for a foreigner chef. I mean, the food that I served the king was instant ramen, and it was cooking that was at the level that would get me beaten black and blue by my deceased grandfather if I confessed to him that I had served royalty something like instant ramen, but for some reason, and in a very troublesome way, I had been mistaken as someone who’s good at cooking.

To be honest, I've already exceeded the limit in terms of recipes, I tell you.

In any case, I had the A.I. that I had brought over to this world analyze it first.

The wheat from the left continent was very similar to modern world’s Semolina flour.

In short, it was wheat suitable for pasta.

Thus, I ended up boiling pasta.

「Well then, first is to boil it. As for the amount of water, you should have enough for the pasta to be moderately immersed. There should be 2 percent salt in the water」

「Excuse me-nya. How much is that 2 percent that you mentioned-nya?」

An adorable blonde-haired cat beastkin asked me after raising her hand.

「I see. There’s no concept of percentages here, huh」

「Nya?」

Other than her, there were about 30 people of all kinds who were involved with eateries in front of me. Further behind them, a steady flow of adventurers, who were passing by, came and went as they came to see what was going on.

I was in front of the main store of the Zavua merchant company, which was located on the main street of the Kingdom of Lemuria.

Cooking utensils had been laid out on a long table, signboards had been put up and people were being invited to take a look.

Written on the signboards was 『New dishes, cooking methods, explanatory sessions. Free, take note, it’s free!』 in the alternate world language. I had also borrowed people from the merchant company to call out to those who were illiterate.

「For a pot of water like this, add this amount of salt」

The capacity of the stock pot was about 6 liters. I measured out the appropriate amount of salt by eye and added it in. I also put the pasta in.

「I see-nya」

The blonde-haired beastkin, Tyutyu, noted it down.

The pasta that I had just put in was dried pasta.

It was produced by the materials collection section・butchering department of the Adventurers’ Guild.

It was something that I had made after renting the smoking room on the 3rd floor of the dungeon.

It was the first time I had made dried pasta, so its shape was a little bad. It had warped subtly. Also, the smell of bacon had seeped into it.

「The time needed for the pasta to become soft is until the sand in this hourglass that comes with every purchase runs out」

That would take about 10 minutes.

「By the way, how much does one of those bags of pasta cost-nya?」

Bags containing dried pasta had been lined up next to the cooking stand.

At Tyutyu’s question, the people behind her also perked up their ears.

「Each bag of this dried pasta that’s produced directly under the Adventurers' Guild contains 5 ruths of pasta and costs 9 copper coins. As a special offer for right now, it comes with an hourglass that can be used to tell the boiling time」

『………………』

I had expected it, but the reaction was bad.

「It’s expensive-nya」

「Expensive, isn’t it?」

「No way. I’m leaving」

「Let’s go」

About three beastkin turned to leave.

By the way, with regards to the prices in the Kingdom of Lemuria, one loaf of bread cost one copper coin. It was a loaf bigger than a person's face and still, it cost one copper coin.

This was the city of adventurers. Most adventurers ate well.

If I converted one meal of an average adventurer into its equivalent amount in pasta, it would be 300g. Thinking simply, that would mean that each bag was 8 servings. As something to sell to others, that made it a bit tricky to set the price. Especially in stores operated by beastkin and such, simple calculation showed that it wouldn’t be profitable.

「Now now, please wait」

I took out the flour made from the wheat from the left continent.

「”Specially” for the people here, I'll teach the method of making the pasta from this flour」

「Seriously-nya?!」

Starting with Tyutyu, everyone’s attitude changed. The beastkin who had been about to leave also came back.

「Well then, first, put two handfuls of flour onto the cutting board」

I made a mountain of wheat flour.

「Eggs go right here」

I dug a hole in the middle and broke two chicken eggs into it.

「Today, I’m using eggs from the Zavua merchant company, but there are no problems with using the egg liquid of the large egg as well」

I took out a fork and mixed the egg and wheat.

「You aren’t pouring water in-nya?」

「Don’t pour water in-nya」

「I see-nya」

Her way of speaking had rubbed off on me-nya.

I mixed it, and when it had become a lump to some extent,

「After kneading it well and letting it rest, it becomes like this」

I replaced it with the finished product casually.

『？！』

For some reason, everyone was surprised.

「Well, work the dough the same way as when you’re making bread, and when it’s about the same hardness as an earlobe, please let it rest in a cool place for half a day」

Next, I took out a rolling pin,

「Flatten it out as thinly as possible……and it becomes like this」

『？！』

I replaced it with an already flattened one.

「After that, cut it as thinly as possible……」

I placed the cutting board in a hidden space in the cooking stand, and in exchange,

「……and it becomes like this」

I took out the raw pasta that had already been cut into thin strips.

『Woahh!』

For some reason, cheers rang out.

Three minutes had passed so far.

「By the way, if you let this rest in a well-ventilated place, it’ll be more springy(koshi) and delicious」

「What is koshi-nya?」

「That chewy texture-nya」

「I see-nya」

I dropped the raw pasta into another stock pot.

「Compared to dry pasta, raw pasta is better because it requires less time to boil. With regards to the boiling time, please learn it by feel as it depends on the length and thickness. When its color starts to lighten, it's a suitable time to stop. By the way, one bag of the wheat flour from the left continent contains 20 ruths (20 kg) and costs 7 copper coins」

「Hmm~, it’s hard to decide-nya」

The same amount of whole wheat flour cost 3 copper coins, so it had been set at a rather difficult price.

「Well then, now for the most important cooking method」

From this point onward, it would be a battle against time. I signaled the salespeople of the Zavua merchant company and had them get things ready behind the scenes. I also took the opportunity to get one of them to use magic to provide fire.

I heated up a frying pan.

「A drizzle of olive oil and then throw in some chopped garlic and devil's little finger (red pepper). If you don't like spiciness, then remove the seeds」

I mixed the ingredients that I had prepared in the olive oil. Their smell slowly seeped into the oil. The red pepper seeds had been removed this time.

「Adjust the fire to the extent that it doesn’t burn the ingredients」

Lured by the smell of fried garlic, several adventurers stopped in their tracks.

I left it alone for a while, prepared the ingredients for another dish in the meantime, and then put them over the fire as well.

「Ohh, how’s it going?」

An eye-catching person, who was passing by, walked over and joined the crowd.

It was a man with a large build. I could tell that he was bulging with muscles even over his apron. He had a distinctive mohawk. The wrinkles on his face were deep, his eyes were sharp and he looked fierce, but he also had a friendly and knowledgeable side to him.

Rasta・Oru・Razva.

A senior adventurer with a “super” added to that title, and also the barkeeper of a bar run by the country.

「Huh, Master, what brings you here-nya? If it's the cooking method-nya, I’m properly taking notes-nya」

「Yes, but if you buy it, you can’t carry it all by yourself, right?」

「I’m not going to buy so much in one go-nya」

「Well…, I heard a little something through the grapevine, you see?」

He was having a conversation like that with Tyutyu.

The garlic was fried just right.

「Add the water used to boil the pasta to this」

Swoosh, went the water and oil as they mixed at high temperature and emulsified.

After they had mixed, I put out the fire for the frying pan. I removed the pasta using tongs, put it into the frying pan and further mixed it thoroughly. I taste-tested it. The taste of garlic and red pepper had soaked into oil. It needed a little salt, so I added some and then mixed it some more. Another taste-test. Getting the amount of salt right was difficult. I felt that it was a little lean, but it was more or less completed. As the finishing touch, I sprinkled a little bit of dried herb powder over it.

「First, keeping it simple, here’s olive oil pasta with garlic and devil's little finger. Please have a taste」

From inside the store, the merchant company’s salespeople brought out more servings of pasta than the number of people in the crowd.

They weren’t made by an amateur like me who had learned by imitation. They had been cooked by real chefs from this side who had practiced beforehand.

A commotion began as everyone started eating.

「Oh, I don't hate it-nya. It’s profitable if you’re okay with it not having much ingredients-nya」

「Yeah, you’re right. But the plate feels a little empty. If we serve it at our place…...maybe add thinly sliced raw ham? Hmmm, I’ve eaten something similar on the left continent, but I think it wasn’t thin like this」

Those were the impressions of Tyutyu and the barkeeper.

「It’s not bad, but it’s a poor dish to be served at our store, isn’t it?」

「That’s it. We’ll add ingredients just like Master」

「I found some strange species of vegetable recently. It might be good to add that」

「Speaking of which, salted fish is being sold at the Eruomea merchant company, isn’t it? How about adding that?」

「No no, when it comes to garlic, you have to add tomatoes」

Each of the many chefs shared their ideas.

It had gotten off to a pretty good start.

「Then, next is……」

I added pasta to the finely sliced salted pork that had been stir-fried in another frying pan. Then, I added a mixture of egg liquid and cheese to it and stirred everything quickly.

「The amount of seasoning to use for the stir-fried salted pork is up to you. As for the cheese, the dried and powdered ones should be fine. Be careful not to have the temperature too high or the eggs will become lumpy. Mix it quickly and it’s complete」

I sprinkled salt and coarsely ground pepper over it. I taste-tested it. The rich cheese and egg flavors added to the heavy pork flavor. Unless someone made a mistake with the amount of salt, there was no way it would taste bad.

「The second dish, Carbonara. Please enjoy」

Once again, the salespeople brought out the finished dishes from inside the store.

The one that I had made was stabbed with forks by Tyutyu and the barkeeper, who brought it to their mouths.

「It………………It’s delicious-nya. This is delicious-nya」

Tyutyu was trembling.

「That’s right………eggs and cheese. And salted pork. It was a blind spot. If it’s matched with delicious food, then it’s bound to be delicious. Why didn’t I realize that…...」

The barkeeper was depressed for some reason.

「Ohh, it’s simple, but it transforms depending on the ingredients. Shall we immediately try serving it at our store tonight? We have some aged pork cheek meat, don’t we? Should we try making it with that?」

The casual words of one chef brought a sharp glint to the eyes of the others.

「No no, I'll be serving it at my store too」

「In that case, I suppose I’ll also serve it at my store. Of course, the oil pasta as well. I’ll have to go to the farms and take a look at the vegetables」

「Wha…, then our store too」

It was very well-received.

「You there. I wonder if I could have a plate as well. To be sure, this is free, right?」

I had hooked a woman who was passing by.

She was a magician with blonde ringlets who had the air of a rich young lady. She was even accompanied by a maid who was standing behind her. Both of them had the containers of the regeneration point and various pouches for keeping items, which were the telltale signs of adventurers. She was a proper adventurer.

「Of course, adventurer-sama. However, there are three more dishes after this. More food will be given out, so please stay and take a look at those as well」

I signaled the salespeople.

「What’s this? Free food?」

After catching one person, a rich haul followed. Adventurers were coming over one after another.

Here’s my chance.

「Well then, the next dish is meat sauce. It’s minced meat, onions, carrots, root vegetables, garlic, tomatoes, and several kinds of herbs all chopped up and then boiled in red wine. It’s currently selling with rave reviews at the Zavua merchant company. Each bottle is enough for two servings and they cost 3 copper coins each」

Plates of pasta with meat sauce were laid out. While they were at it, bottles of the meat sauce were placed near me.

「Next is spicy tomato sauce. It’s made using mostly the same process as the meat sauce I mentioned earlier, but with white wine instead of red wine. It’s finished off by putting in a lot of devil's little fingers and slowly boiling it down」

The bottles of tomato sauce were lined up in a similar fashion. The price was also 3 copper coins. Similarly, the salespeople brought out plates of pasta with tomato sauce. Along with the chefs, the noisy crowd of adventurers who had gathered started eating the dishes with forks.

「Finally, a mixture of green vegetables, nuts, garlic, cheese and various spices. It’s Genovese sauce」

It was totally green, and the reactions it received were a little unfavorable.

At any rate, samples of all of the dishes were laid out and everyone was eating.

I had been anxious about it, but they were quite well-received.

「Whoa, yeah, it's delicious. Where can I eat this? Is it at this merchant company?」

One of the adventurers asked.

I had been waiting for that.

Most of the adventurers lived in inns. There were also those who lived in stables though. Aside from those, very few of them owned their own homes or lived in places that came with a kitchen. In that case,

「You can eat it at the bars, inns, and restaurants of the people who are here right now」

I said.

Yes, they would have to eat it at the eateries of the chefs or proprietors who were here right now.

『………………』

You set us up, didn’t you? said the eyes of the chefs and proprietors who hadn't wanted to buy.

Sorry, I’m just doing business here, I replied with my eyes.

「We’ll serve them at our bar tonight. All of the dishes here」

「That's great. I'll bring my party members and we’ll have them for dinner」

One of the adventurers was hooked by the barkeeper’s response.

To a man, all of the other chefs also started advertising their stores. It was nice and lively.

「Souya, for how long can the dried pasta be kept? And the bottled sauce too」

I answered the barkeeper’s questions without a moment’s delay

「If you take precautions against mold and it’s stored in a dry place, it can easily last for about a year. For the sauce, once you’ve opened it, two days, I suppose. In its sealed state, if it’s kept out of the sun, I believe it can last about 30 days」

「I see, I’ll buy 200 bags of dried pasta and 50 bottles each of all three types of sauce」

I was surprised when I made a sale all of a sudden.

「Master, wouldn’t it be bad if you bought this much and some remained unsold?」

「Why, I heard my cousin-dono grumble about asking someone who’s good at cooking to cook some wheat dishes, you see? It’s something like giving my relative a hand」

Well, he was part of the royal family after all.

「We have a purchase~!」

I had a salesperson wrap the merchandise and bring it here.

At first glance, it really didn’t seem to be a load that an ordinary person could carry, but after paying for it, Tyutyu and the barkeeper causally carried it away on their shoulders.

As expected from the residents of the alternate world.

「We’ll buy 30 bags of dried pasta and 2 bags of wheat flour. 3 bottles of each sauce please」

「I’ll have 20 bags of dried pasta and 2 bags of wheat flour. No need for the sauce」

「Let’s see, 5 bags of dried pasta, 3 bags of wheat flour and 4 bottles of each sauce」

「Alright. Please wait a moment」

It got busy all of a sudden, and along with the salespeople, I calculated the bills and handed out the merchandise.

It sold better than I had expected.

Business was thriving.

It’s just…..., well…..., half were fake customers, you see?

Hahaha, who saw that last line coming lol. Btw, the word used “サクラ” is the same word used in Talker’s War of Words chapters, which means fake buyer, shills, hired audience, and so on, and it’s pronounced “sakura”. Yes just like the cherry blossom.

Well, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? Souya cooking food, I meant. Though… it’s kinda more sleazy sales tactics rather than cooking? Author brought up 3 Minute Cooking last chapter, but I hadn’t expected her to make fun of the audience reactions in those cooking shows in this one. I had a huge smile throughout that entire portion and I could picture everyone randomly oohing and aahing for no reason lol.

More importantly though, it’s not the start of volume 3. This is the 1st of 2 short story arcs. A volume 2.5. It’s chronological though, as you can see, it’s 10 days after the end of volume 2. But to be honest, for a side story, the usual multitude of hidden story elements are still the same, so you can’t let your guard down just because it’s a side story! Then why is it a side story? You can tell the reason from its title, which is “The Foreigner/Japanese, Doesn’t Explore the Dungeon”.

Also, remember what I said about Souya changing after losing his memories of Yukikaze? Other than the actual story that the words are telling you, you’ll start to see those changes here. And, by that, I don’t mean that’ll you’ll read about it. You’ll simply see Souya do things just a bit different from how he used to. Don’t worry if you don’t catch it, at the end of this volume 2.5, the author will practically be screaming the answer. And she’ll just come right out and say it at the end of volume 3. And with regards to the changes, on the very second line of this chapter, he’s already glossing over his reason for coming to this world……