L PORK CURRY
The restaurant Ai literally pulled my hand to get to has a big red and yellow sign out front …… It’s a curry place.
“Huh?! We came to a seafood market to have curry?”
I was sure she was bringing me to some place famous for bowls of fish on rice or a local seafood treat, so seeing this is a huge letdown. I wanted seabass ……
Ai, on the other hand, is as happy as can be as she nods.
“Yep! I wanted you to have real Kanazawa curry at least once, Master!”
“Well, I’d like to, sure, but …… This is a chain restaurant.”
“This is the place where Dad brought me to have lunch the first time I came with him to buy ingredients for the inn.”
“Ah ……”
Now I get it. Ai doesn’t just want me to have a delicious lunch.
She’s trying to share some memories with me.
“Great! I love curry! Local cuisine was all I got to eat during the match, and I’ve been wanting something different!”
“Right?! Did I do good?”
“You sure did, Ai.”
“He-he …… ♡”
She happily smiles and closes her eyes as I pat her on the head for a job well done. So darn cute ……
We take a quick picture in front of the restaurant before going inside.
The seats are surprisingly full, with about half the patrons being local fishermen and the other half being tourists.
“First, we need to place our orders by buying meal tickets at this vending machine.”
“Whoa …… I didn’t think they’d have so much. Let’s see: hotdog curry, shrimp curry …… What to pick?!”
“You’re having the L Pork Curry, Master.”
“I’m not even allowed to choose something off the menu?!”
She insists that I order the special: a large-sized curry with big slices of pork. Well, can’t complain ……
“I’m going to get the L Mayo!”
Apparently that’s the pork curry with mayonnaise.
We get in line and give our tickets to the cashier.
Meat starts sizzling on the grill almost right away. Then, chop, chop, chop! Rhythmical knifework echoes out of the kitchen as well. Maybe they’re cutting a fresh slab of pork?
And then–––I come face-to-face with real Kanazawa curry.
“Oooh! They really do use a fork ……”
Juicy strips of meat slathered in sauce. A pile of sliced and diced cabbage right next to it.
A deep, sparkling silver steel bowl filled up to the brim with thick curry.
Rice so …… Where’s the rice? I don’t see any rice ……
“Tee-heeh♡ My first is all yours.”
I sink my fork into the Kanazawa curry as my apprentice says something that, had we not been at this restaurant, could have been construed for something much different and slowly bring it to my mouth.
Gah?!! Wh-What is this ……?!
This explosion of curry flavor, this burst of pork juices …… Sweet, yet spicy ……
I don’t have the vocabulary to accurately describe this sensation washing over my tongue.
“Whoa! This is good!! Without a doubt, eating here instead of at market was the best move!!”
“Pffff, pffff …… Dewishous♡”
Ai blows on the curry before stuffing a big forkful in her mouth. Then she starts shoveling in the curry nonstop.
Autopilot takes over from there. We don’t talk at all. Now is for eating curry, nothing else ……
We clean our plates in no time flat.
“Phew ………… Even my full stomach has a full stomach ……”
I down a full glass of ice water in a few gulps. Even the ice is tasty. Whew ……
“Haaa …… That was so good♡”
Even Ai looks euphoric, her smile melting with pure joy. A food that makes grade schoolers make that face? Kanazawa curry is dangerous.
“I gotta say …… If this restaurant had a location close to the apartment, I’d go every day ……”
“I heard that this chain has opened more restaurants around the country. So you can have it whenever you want! You can even have the world’s most delicious curry at home!”
“For real?!”
Whoa! Shouldn’t they be monitored?
“But …… I still think that first curry you made for me had more impact. It literally knocked me out.”
This place’s curry is probably number one for Ai because it was the first thing she had with her father. Not only is it beyond delicious, it has the extra spice of nostalgia mixed in.
That would mean number one for me is–––.
“This is great curry, but …… yours was the best I’ve ever had.”
“!! ………… Master ……”
Ai’s eyes open wide.
They start glistening …… And she mumbles as if her mind is out to lunch.
“Too hot.”
“Hm? Was the curry too spicy? Would you like some water?”
“Please ……”
I refill her cup with ice water, and she chugs it down while looking off into space. “Gulp, gulp, gulp ……”
A little stream of water leaks down her chin.
“Ngh, ahhhh ……”
If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was drunk. What was in that curry? Secret ingredient?
“Too hot …… It’s too hot ……,” she repeats as if it’s scorching hot in here, unbuttons the top of her blouse and starts flapping it to get some cool air circulating through.
Sitting beside her, I’m dangerously close to getting flashes of …… Hold it!!
H-Hey! I’m not trying to peek! I just happened to see, okay?!
“Y- …… Yeah. They must have the heater on ……”
Glug. I take another swig of ice water to cool off. Not that anything was heating up, though.
Suddenly my apprentice’s gaze locks squarely onto my face–––.
“Ah, Master? You’ve got rice in your cheek.”
“I do? Where?”
“Here.”
Slurp.
Something soft and a bit moist …… slides against my cheek.
Huh?
D-Did Ai …… just …… lick me?
“Te-hee♡”
Ai shows me the grain of rice on the tip of her tongue and then–––swallows.
“Delish.”
Murmur ……!! People started whispering under their breath throughout the restaurant.
“Is… is that ……?”
“A lolicon ……?”
“Curry topped with a …… little girl?”
“Does the L in L Pork Curry stand for lolita ……?”
“That guy’s face looks familiar …… Was he in a magazine somewhere?”
“The cops should hear about this ……”
Crap, crap, crapcrapcrap, CRAP!!!
“L-Let’s get going, yeah?! There’s plenty of other places you want to take me, right?!”
Since my apprentice is about as responsive as a cat on catnip, I pretty much have to carry her out the door.
My first experience with real Kanazawa curry was rich, delicious …… and dangerous on so many levels.
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