Volume 5, Chapter 5 – Yukawa Hot Spring (1)

After enjoying our shopping, we finally departed from Miyako three days later.

We set our course straight south, heading for a place called Yukawa, which was located near the tip of the Nan’i Peninsula.

Apparently, Yukawa is a hot spring resort known only to those who know about it.

It is a small town situated on a peninsula with rugged terrain, where geysers erupt here and there, and—believe it or not—a warm river flows through it.

Deciding that we simply had to see this for ourselves, we continued our journey southward.

Eh? What about Lu-chan’s search for her sister?

Now, now, I’ve given that proper thought.

Right next to Yukawa is a port called Misaki, and from there, there are boats that go to Sakimori.

In other words, we’re just taking a slight detour; it’s not as if we’re heading in the completely wrong direction.

Furthermore, since both Yukawa and Misaki are port towns, I figured we could buy plenty of fresh seafood and dried fish there.

We decided that a route via Yukawa would be far more pleasant than the mountain-crossing route that takes us through that unpleasant Matsuhata Juku.

◇ ◇ ◇

After leaving Miyako, it took us about ten days to arrive at the hot spring town of Yukawa.

The journey was perfectly safe, and so far, it seemed there were no ill effects from my restoration of the Water Dragon King’s seal.

“Onee-sama! Look! Steam is actually rising from the river! And there’s smoke coming up from all over the place—it’s just like Silverfield!”

At Lu-chan’s voice, I looked toward the river and saw white mist faintly rising from the water’s surface.

“Haha, Yukawa is famous for its warm river. The geysers are also quite famous.”

“Geysers? What are those?”

“A geyser is when hot spring water occasionally erupts upward.”

“Hmm?”

Lu-chan didn’t seem to really understand. She tilted her head to the side curiously.

Since I’ve never seen a real geyser either, I was actually looking forward to it.

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It was then that it happened.

With a tremendous whoosh , a plume of steam shot up from the grounds of a nearby building.

“What! A monster attack!?”

“What was that!? Mashiro!”

Chris-san drew her sword, and Lu-chan hurriedly summoned Mashiro-chan and grabbed her bow.

“Ah, no, wait… you two?”

“”Eh?””

Chris-san and Lu-chan both looked at me with bewildered expressions.

“Hahaha, Chris-dono, Lumia-dono, that was just a geyser erupting.”

“”Eeeeeeeh?””

The two of them cried out in unison at Shizuku-san’s explanation.

It was my first time seeing a geyser too, but the sound was quite formidable.

A moment later, the steam from the hot spring drifted toward us.

“It’s my first time seeing one too, but it’s impressive. Can we see them from closer up?”

“This town has geysers all over the place. There should be some spots where you can get closer.”

“I look forward to it.”

As I said this, I glanced over at the steaming river.

Right then…

Hm? I thought I saw something strange just now.

I looked back at the river intently. However, I couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

Hmm? Was it just my imagination?

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“Fiene-sama, is something wrong?”

“No, I thought I saw something in the river, but it must have been my imagination. Let’s have lunch first.”

“Yay! I want to eat fish!”

“Right. Let’s look for an eatery first.”

And so, we began walking toward the center of town.

◇ ◇ ◇

Takaiso-tei.

It is a famous ryokan built on a cliff along the coast, said to offer one of the most beautiful ocean views in Yukawa.

While searching for an eatery, for some reason, we ended up at a ryokan.

I know this sounds strange, but I’m not saying I don’t understand what I’m saying, nor am I losing my mind.

Just to be clear, I’m not under hypnosis, nor am I moving at super-speed.

The reason is simple: there were no eateries in town that triggered Lu-chan’s sensor.

So, trusting Lu-chan’s sensor, we walked until we reached the restaurant attached to this ryokan, located slightly away from the town.

“I’ll have the seared horse mackerel bowl, the raw whitebait bowl, the simmered golden eye snapper set, and the salt-grilled isaki ¹ In Japanese, Isaki (いさき / イサキ) most commonly refers to the chicken grunt (or threeline grunt), a prized species of white-fleshed fish often used in Edomae-style sushi. ! Oh, and also, also! The assorted sashimi platter, please!”

It seems Lu-chan was considerably hungry. I feel like she’s ordering more dishes than usual.

“I’ll have… let’s see. The Takaiso set, with a small portion of rice, please.”

“I shall have the sashimi set.”

“How about you, Chris-san?”

“U-uh, right. I’ll… have the tempura set.”

Chris-san is still refusing to eat raw fish.

“Come to think of it, Chris-san, you still can’t do raw fish, huh?”

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“Yes. Eating things without cooking them is just a bit…”

“Ehh? It’s a waste to be such a picky eater!”

On this point, I also think Chris-san is losing out, but since it’s a matter of personal preference, it can’t be helped.

While we were talking, the food arrived.

As always, only Lu-chan’s portion was abnormal.

“Itadakimasu.”

We savored the dishes brought to us. My Takaiso set included seared horse mackerel, golden eye snapper, sardine, bigfin reef squid, and turban shell sashimi, salt-grilled isaki, shrimp tempura, salted squid guts, simmered hijiki, and came with aosa ² In Japanese, Aosa (あおさ / アオサ) refers to edible green sea lettuce (Ulva species). It translates literally to “green algae,” combining the words ao (青 – blue/green) and sa (藻 – algae/seaweed). seaweed miso soup and rice.

The price was an unbelievable two small silver coins, roughly 2,000 yen.

“This is delicious.”

“It’s yummy!”

“As expected, fish eaten in a place like this is fresh.”

“…Kuh, these chopsticks really are…”

Chris-san alone seemed to be struggling with the chopsticks, but her face softened as she stuffed a piece of tempura into her mouth.

Thank goodness. Even if she can’t do sashimi, she seems to be enjoying the taste of fresh seafood tempura.

Following her lead, I ate a piece of shrimp tempura.

From beneath the crispy batter, the plump texture of the shrimp, along with its savory umami and sweetness, spread through my mouth.

This is the best! Maybe I should have gone with the tempura set too.

As I continued passing the food I couldn’t finish over to Lu-chan, a waitress arrived carrying something.

“Here you go. This is on the house. One piece for each person. Please enjoy. Now, if you’ll excuse me.”

Looking at what had been brought, it looked like fried chicken.

“Yay! Thank you very much!”

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With that, Lu-chan immediately popped one into her mouth.

“Mmm? Chicken? Breast meat? It’s light and delicious!”

Hearing that, I tried it too.

Yes, it certainly had the light, lean taste of chicken breast.

“It definitely tastes like chicken breast. It’s delicious.”

Hearing our impressions, Chris-san and Shizuku-san also put the fried chicken-like meat into their mouths.

“Mu, it is light and tasty.”

“It really is. If this meat were served as a poché in the White Moon Kingdom, it wouldn’t be out of place.”

Hm? What’s a poché?

Just as I was about to ask, the waitress returned.

“Here is your dessert.”

What she brought were bananas, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces.

“Huh? Why are there bananas in a climate like this?”

“Onee-sama! This fruit is sweet and delicious!”

Before I knew it, Lu-chan—who had polished off all that food—was happily munching away on a banana.

After finishing the rest of my meal, I tried the banana. A rich sweetness and mellow aroma spread through my mouth.

Yes, this is bliss!

Author Note

Poché refers to a “poaching” cooking method in French cuisine. It is a method of simmering food slowly at a low temperature, adjusting the heat so it doesn’t boil or utilizing residual heat.

This allows the broth to become a flavor-rich soup and results in the ingredients being soft and moist.