The Weakest Tamer Began a Journey to Pick up Trash - Volume 5 - Chapter 267

Chapter 267:

Rice for Dinner?

After a while, Alloui returned to the counter and apolo-  gized for slipping away. I told her not to worry about it, but then Toluca butted in with another quip and their sibling fight resumed… Well, I guess it was more like a play-fight. As I watched from the sidelines, Cultur occasionally intervened.

“They’re a great trio,” Druid said.

I smiled and nodded. It looked like their playful quarrel was still going strong, so we said goodbye to Cultur on our way out.

“Sorry about them.”

“Oh, it’s okay. They seem to love it.”

“Don’t tell them that—they’ll yell at you. And in perfect unison, too.”

The three of us had a good laugh over that. We stepped out of the shop to find a big cart toppled over and blocking our path. The winds were pretty strong.

“Let’s hurry back,” Druid said.

“Okay.”

When we got back to the inn, Dola told us we were the last guests to come home that day.

“We’re going to lock up for the night. If you need to go outside, please tell one of us.”

“Will do, sir. Did something good happen today?” Druid asked.

Dola beamed radiantly. “Yes. We got a message around noontime from both the village watch and the adventurer guild.”

The message said that the guild and the watch would distribute red magic stones. But since supplies were limited, the rations for houses and inns would be different. The message also spelled out several more details. Dola was very happy with it because he knew it would give the villagers some peace of mind.

“Ivy, there you are! Could you please tell me how to make, um…gyuu-don? I want to serve it at dinner tonight.”

What?! She’s going to serve rice to her guests? I, um, uh…will everything go okay?

“Um, there’s a little problem… Well, it’s not exactly a problem, but…”

“Don’t worry, I have all the ingredients here! I even got some ryce.”

“That’s not what I meant. If you serve rice to your guests, won’t they complain?”

That was what I was worried about. Most people thought of rice as animal feed, so if someone gave it to them for dinner, they would probably complain. I would hate for Salifa to get yelled at or chastised on my account.

“Don’t worry about it. This inn is known for serving quirky cuisine sometimes.”

“What?!” Druid and I exclaimed together. I’d never heard anything about them serving unusual food.

“Oh, didn’t you know? We’re famous for it.”

Well, now I know. So maybe the guests will be okay with rice? Gee, now I’m starting to wonder about what kind of quirky cuisine she cooks. I’ll have to ask later.

“Thank you in advance, master.”

The word “master” threw me off guard. I had no idea who she was talking to. As I stared dumbly up at Salifa, she gave me a confused look in return.

“The master is you, Ivy,” Druid said.

My eyes opened wide in surprise. Me? A master?

“Well, aren’t you a master? You’re going to teach me how to make gyuu-don, a dish that only you know about. Anyway, let’s get cookin’!”

I didn’t think gyuu-don was really worth getting so fired up over, but I figured I might as well do my job. “Uh, sure thing!” 

“Mr. Druid, I just got some unusual wine. Would you like to have a cup?”

“Huh? Oh, no, thank you.”

Druid hadn’t touched a drop of liquor since we left on our journey. Even back in Oll, the only time I’d ever seen him drinking was right after we met. Maybe he quit because of me?

“Mr. Druid, don’t you want to try the unusual wine? You should.”

“Huh? Well…”

“This is an inn. All you have to do after supper is go upstairs to bed, so it’s okay if you drink.”

From what I’d heard from people who’d known him for a long time, Druid enjoyed drinking. I didn’t like the idea of him giving it up for my sake. When we were on the road, he wouldn’t have had a drink even if I’d told him it was okay. But we were at an inn now, and I’d gotten settled enough to be confident in telling him it was okay to drink. I just wanted him to enjoy what he loved.

“Ivy…are you sure you’re okay with it?”

Gee, my dad’s a worrywart. “I’m okay with it.”

“Okay… Then I guess I will have a little wine.”

“Have fun.”

“Ha ha ha, I’m waiting until after supper. May I have some then, Dola?”

“Certainly. Where would you like to drink? Shall I bring it up to your room?”

“No, I’ll have it in the dining hall.” There was a big smile on Druid’s face. He really did like liquor. And since we’d be spending the whole winter at this inn, I wanted him to take it easy and enjoy himself.

“Ivy, do you want me to help with dinner?” Druid asked.

I shook my head. Gyuu-don wasn’t particularly difficult to make, so I knew I could handle it by myself. I parted ways with Druid and headed to the kitchen with Salifa. When I saw the assortment of ingredients on the counter, I was quite surprised.

“That’s a lot.”

“I always use this much, you know? No, actually, I may have a bit less tonight.”

There were piles of groceries before my eyes. Was this really a bit less than usual? Cooking for everyone at the inn sure was quite an undertaking. But I didn’t have time to waste marveling over it, so I started by getting the rice ready. During the time it took to soak and cook the rice, I could prepare all the other ­ingredients. The vegetables—more than I’d ever cut before—were an epic struggle. I was deeply impressed by the way Salifa merrily hummed as she cut them.

Once everything was prepped, I poured the soaked rice into the pot, filled it with water, and lit a fire under it. Meanwhile, I warmed a pot of water next to it and added the meat, vegetables, and seasonings. Then all I had to do was stir in a little of Hatow’s mother sauce and some ponzu… Oh, it’s yummy!

“All done, ma’am. All you have to do is put rice in a bowl and top it with the stewed meat and veggies.”

“Wow, I’m impressed, Ivy. You know, ryce takes some time and care, but it’s surprisingly easy to make.”

“Yes, and all you have to do with the meat and vegetables is braise them. Oh, could you see how you like the seasoning? I used Hatow’s mother sauce as is, since it was working.”

“Yes, I was wondering how it would taste… Oooh, it’s really good!”

Thank goodness. I tasted it as I seasoned it, but I was pretty worried about it. The sweet sauces of Hatow actually come in handy when you make dishes like gyuu-don. Which sauce did I use again? Ah, right, it was the third-sweetest of the four. I’ll have to remember that.

While we waited for the rice to aerate, we made a vegetable salad and some braised radishes. By the time the radishes became tender, our dinner would be ready. I checked on the consistency of the rice kernels and they were fine, too.

“Okay, all you need to do to serve this is pour the meat and vegetable braise over the rice.”

“Thanks. I think I can take things from here. Oh dear, it’s just about time for everyone to come down to supper with their empty stomachs.”

I looked at the clock, and it was indeed dinnertime.

“Ivy?” Druid popped his head into the kitchen.

“Yes?”

“Come relax and have dinner.”

“But…” I’d been planning to stay and help Salifa finish up.

“Oh, I’m fine now! Go be with your dad. He must be worried about you.”

Worried? Even though I’m safe in the inn? I looked at Druid, who smiled awkwardly back at me. Okay, I’d better go out there.

“Um, all right. I’m coming out.”

“Thanks for all the help, Ivy. If you know any other dishes that use ryce, I’d love for you to teach them to me. That okay?”

“Yes, I’d love to.” I bowed to Salifa and made my way with Druid into the dining hall, which was already filling up with guests. My heart started to race. How would everyone react to the rice dinner?

Dola began to serve the bowls of gyuu-don to the guests. At first, they looked bewildered and fascinated by the food. Then, when they found out it was rice, they responded in many different ways. The elderly were the most reluctant to eat it, but the kids eagerly took the first bites and said it was delicious. And, encouraged by their positive reactions, the hesitant adults started to eat the gyuu-don. Even the meal’s staunchest opponents ended up sheepishly asking Dola for seconds, which made me laugh.

It seemed the gyuu-don was a big hit.