Chapter 83: Oden

Chapter 83:
Oden

 

Deep within the mountains, in a huge forest blanketed in white, was a frozen lake that no human or beast dared approach. Near the lake was a small hut with a rather high ceiling, inhabited by a pair of ogres named Tatsuji and Otora.

The sun had finally risen over the mountain to the east, its light reflecting off the snow, visible to the ogre couple wearing fur clothing.

“Ah—it’s cold. Here.” Tatsuji knelt, shivering from the biting cold outside.

“Thanks a lot.” Otora clung to his back. He lifted her up as though she weighed nothing at all and began to walk.

Tatsuji and Otora were of an especially strong ogre breed. That meant that even the fiercest forest beast stood no chance against the pair.

As it happened, the most dangerous foe of any ogre with a family was winter itself, when food on the mountain dried up, beasts thinned and lost their flavor, and even the lake froze over.

Lone ogres usually lived on the mountainside, picking off travelers and samurai and surviving off food they stole from weak humans. However, since the roads were closed in the winter, it wasn’t especially rare to find those ogres’ corpses in the woods come spring, collapsed from cold or hunger.

This year was particularly rough, since Otora wasn’t in the greatest health. During the fall, the two ogres hadn’t been able to properly prepare for the coming winter, so life had gotten a bit difficult. The one thing they looked forward to every seven days drove them forward.

The couple made their way to the usual door, leaving behind footprints in their wake.

“We’re here. Hop down.”

“Aye.”

Tatsuji let Otora down about three steps from the door and then turned the knob.

The sound of bells ringing echoed as the door opened. A gust of warm air and a delicious aroma blasted the pair. The ogres quickly entered the restaurant.

As they passed through the door, they met Aletta and her usual smile, as well as the black-haired waitress who’d suddenly appeared at the restaurant one day.

“Welcome!”

Welcome.

“Sorry we’re here so early,” Tatsuji apologized. “We just wanted to warm up a wee bit.”

In the summer, the Restaurant to Another World was delightfully cool, and in the winter, it was warm and cozy. The ogres hadn’t the slightest idea of how or why that was, but the restaurant was almost always tremendously comfortable. Add in the fact that the food was constantly delicious, and the ogres had something to look forward to during winter months when they barely dared to venture outside.

“Aye, we’ll have the usual. Roast chicken and…” Usually Tatsuji indulged in some liquor, but after glancing at his wife, he decided to stick to food this time. “Actually, no booze today. I wanna eat instead. Can we get some rice, too?”

Lately, Otora had become quite kind in her dealings with others. She met the two waitresses’ eyes and flashed them smiles before sitting at the usual table. “We’ll be stickin’ around a while, but we won’t cause you any trouble.”

“You got it! Hold on for just a bit.”

Aletta went back to the kitchen, as always, and left the ogre couple hungry and waiting. After a brief pause, she reappeared with a large plate of rice balls and roasted chicken.

“Sorry for the wait! Here’s your order of roast chicken and rice!”

“Aye. Many thanks.”

“Thanks, dear. Shall we get to eatin’, then?”

Before digging in, the couple couldn’t help but smile at the food sitting in front of them. Despite the winter cold, the chicken was still plump and fatty. The ogres bit into it, bones and all, then shoveled the still-warm rice balls into their mouths. The fat on the perfectly cooked roast chicken still had a dash of saltiness that went perfectly with the sweet rice balls.

Normally, they’d wash the roast chicken and rice down with some shochu. Today was different. When it came to eating enough for three, Tatsuji and Otora preferred to swap alcohol for rice.

As Tatsuji enjoyed his warm meal inside the cozy restaurant, he looked toward a regular who was once again enjoying golden ale.

Didn’t that old mage say something once? Tatsuji thought.

He remembered a story the old man had told him. “There’s a customer here who buys food by the pot and brings it home…”

After filling his stomach with roast chicken and rice, Tatsuji called Aletta over to make a new order.

“Huh?” Aletta repeated the order back. “You want to buy a whole pot of food?”

Tatsuji nodded. “Aye. If I pay y’all, and return the pot next time I come, you can do that, right? If so, could you have the master back there prepare something that’ll be delicious even after reheatin’ it?”

“Um, all right! Let me just check with the master.”

Aletta could tell from the serious expression on Tatsuji’s face that he wasn’t joking. She quickly left for the kitchen.

Soon after, the master himself came out. “I’ll have to start making it now, so it’ll take a while. Is that all right?”

“No problem,” answered Tatsuji.

“It’s nice and warm here,” added Otora. “I’d be glad to relax for a bit.”

They nodded at the master.

“Understood.” After giving it some thought, the master realized that this was the first time anyone had ever ordered a whole pot of anything other than beef stew. “In that case, oden would be perfect for this time of year.”

“Aye. We’ll leave it to you.”

“And you needn’t hurry. We’d like to take our time and wait, if that’s all right.”

If the ogres went home now, they’d just have to suffer through the frigid weather. All they had in their hut was cold food on the verge of freezing.

“Of course. Take your time.” After they ordered, the master returned to the kitchen. He started his work on their food while handling other orders.

Once they get home, they’re probably not going to dig in immediately, so I need to think about reheating.

As he simultaneously prepared the ogre couple’s food and other orders, the master wondered whether the pair would even like oden.

 

***

 

“Well, thank you very much!” Aletta and the new waitress saw the couple off to the sound of bells ringing.

“Aye, we’ll be back.”

“See you later.”

Just like that, Tatsuji and Otora were back in the snow-covered forest.

“Ugh. It really is cold.”

“We’re gonna freeze to death out here. Let’s hurry up and get home.”

It wasn’t as frosty as it had been hours before, since the sun had already risen far into the sky. Still, compared to the warm room the ogres had just been in, this felt extra chilly. The couple hurried home.

“I’ll tell ya what, though. It smells damn good,” said Tatsuji.

“You got that right.” Otora held the cloth-wrapped pot close to keep warm. The scent kept rising to her nose. “The old man said it might take the flavors a while to really set, but I’ll be damned if I don’t wanna dig in right now.”

“Wanna give it a little try?”

“Gotta be patient! We’re already full! Let’s wait till the sun sets.”

The pair eventually arrived at their hut and quickly went inside. They closed the door tightly to prevent the winter air from getting in, stoking the furnace in the center of the room.

“Right—how’s about a nap?”

“Sounds good to me. I’m tired after gettin’ up so early.”

Deciding to nap till sunset, the pair climbed under the tiger- and bear-fur covers. It wasn’t long before the sound of snoring began.

 

***

 

Tatsuji and Otora awoke later that evening, the food from earlier long gone from their stomachs. Realizing that, they wasted no time in preparing the oden they’d purchased.

They unwrapped the large cloth, revealing the big silver pot underneath. Careful not to tip it, they placed it over the furnace.

They placed charcoal around the pot to heat it. The oden didn’t take long to warm up, eventually spreading its appetizing aroma throughout the hut.

“Aye, let’s eat!” As soon as Tatsuji smelled the oden’s aroma, he was ready to dig in.

As he prepared his chopsticks and bowl, Otora was wise enough to stop him. “Hold yer horses. We gotta wait until it’s all nice and warm.”

“Aw, geez. How much longer?” Tatsuji whined, a smile forming on his face. That “oden” stuff was going to be delicious. Tatsuji could tell as much even before tasting it.

Confirming the boiling sound coming from within the pot, Otora took off the lid, their bowls ready. “Now we can get to eatin’!”

Warm air smelling of soy sauce and various ingredients blasted the ogre couple, immediately making Tatsuji’s stomach growl. “C-c’mon, now! Let me eat!”

“Aye.”

Otora couldn’t help thinking about how, when Tatsuji wasn’t locked in battle with beasts or samurai, he could be such a child. She picked a few items out of the pot and placed them in a bowl.

These translucent brown things must be a type of radish. These are boiled eggs. This is…some kind of meatball? But what the heck’s this gray thing? Oh, and the thing with the hole in it, too?

As was always the case with food from the Restaurant to Another World, there were ingredients that Otora didn’t recognize. Still, she loaded Tatsuji’s bowl with food until she finally placed the hot pepper that the master had given them on the bowl’s edge. She handed the finished bowl over to Tatsuji.

“Thanks! Let’s chow!”

Tatsuji took the bowl in one hand and immediately set his sights upon the meatball, thrusting his chopsticks into it. He placed the meat in his mouth and chewed, causing the chicken’s savory flavor and hot juices to flow out.

The juices made Tatsuji blow hot air from his mouth before shouting, “Hot! Hot! This is amazing!”

“You’re right,” Otora replied. “It’s got me feelin’ all nice and warm to boot! Now, this was a good buy!” She watched Tatsuji from the corner of her eye and sipped some of the broth, which was full of various ingredients’ juices.

This “oden” dish apparently consisted of all kinds of foods boiled together in one bowl. The whole meal had been carefully put together so that different flavors combined to form an incredible broth.

“Ah! This radish is just delish. It absorbed the broth.”

Radish was typically somewhat spicy when eaten raw. If boiled, it did its job filling one up but didn’t have much flavor beyond slight bitterness. However, the radish in this oden stuff was different. After soaking up the delicious broth, it crumbled apart in the mouth. The radish’s flavor was drawn out further by the hot pepper, becoming irresistible.

Tatsuji ate the mysterious, triangular gray food in his bowl before sampling the radish. “If you like that radish, you should check out this gray thing,” he suggested to his beloved. “It’s all jiggly and delicious.”

The strange, triangular gray object was bouncy and soft, but maintained its form. When bitten into, it provided little resistance. Small black dots visible inside made for a very bizarre texture. One thing was certain, however—the odd food was loaded with the savory broth.

Tatsuji had no clue what that thing was made from, or what it was, but he did know that it was damn delicious.

“Yeah, this is great, too,” he agreed. “Whoa. This thing with the hole in it ain’t half-bad, neither!”

The strange food with the hole was apparently one of the many ingredients that contributed to the magnificent broth’s creation. It had a rich flavor and a unique mouthfeel.

It was some sort of meat—one that the pair had never tasted before. However, it was delicious.

“These eggs are good, too. There ain’t many of them, though.”

Tatsuji sliced an egg in half with his chopsticks and brought it to his mouth. The white was soft, but the yolk was fluffy and fragile. The flavors melded nicely with the oden broth.

Some egg yolk crumbled and fell into the bowl of oden beneath, mixing with the broth. When Tatsuji sipped it, its whole flavor profile had changed, reflecting the egg’s taste.

“I can’t take it anymore!” No longer able to hold himself back, Tatsuji grabbed what was left of Otora’s murky homemade booze, downing it while he indulged in his oden.

“Yeah, I’d like that. Let me have some.”

Otora gently rubbed her stomach. A little moonshine would be all right.

The oden and booze enhanced one another, and both the food and drink quickly ended up in the couple’s stomachs.

“Whew! That didn’t last very long.”

“When the food’s that good? Of course not. That restaurant’s somethin’ special.”

The pair put their bowls down, having drunk them completely dry. They lay down together.

“Oooh, look how big you’re gettin’!” Tatsuji smiled and gently rubbed his hand over Otora’s stomach.

Reminded of something from long ago, Otora smiled back, explaining her situation to her husband. “You big oaf. I’ve still got a ways to go. That’s what my mother said, anyhow. After getting pregnant, it takes about a year.”