Chapter 84: Teriyaki Burger

Chapter 84:
Teriyaki Burger

 

Tatsugorou didn’t take his eyes off the wraith as it hissed and collapsed to the ground, eventually vanishing into thin air.

“It’s finally over,” he sighed. He cleaned his katana with a leather rag and sheathed it.

Wraiths were made of magical power and the grudges of those who’d passed on, so they didn’t possess physical bodies. That meant that normal blades had no effect on them. Beginner adventurers and mercenaries were wise to avoid crossing paths with wraiths, since a sword without magical enhancements wasn’t capable of cutting them.

However, among those who practiced the blade were masters capable of infusing their swords with killing intent. That allowed them to cut through even the grudges of the dead.

Tatsugorou, who’d spent decades refining his sword skills, was one such master. After a sigh of relief, the master samurai turned to confirm that the three young adventurers behind him were unharmed.

“Are you okay, young ones?”

The first to respond was a young warrior who looked to have only just come of age. The warrior wore leather armor that was less than ideal, and his hand held a thick sword that reminded Tatsugorou more of a hatchet.

“You really saved our bacon, pops!” he said energetically. “For some reason, we couldn’t even cut that dang thing—and when it touched us, we couldn’t move anymore! I seriously thought we were done for.”

Given his tone of voice, the warrior was clearly a clever young man, but the veteran samurai could tell that he was trembling ever so slightly. As inexperienced as the young warrior was, even he could tell that he’d dodged a fatal encounter.

The next to speak up was a young man clad in tough robes designed for a long journey. He held a leather book in one hand and a staff in the other, looking something like a mage.

He offered words of gratitude to the samurai. “We got lucky. Thank you so much. I honestly didn’t think that the necromancer was skilled enough to summon a wraith.”

The last young man to speak looked slightly older than the other two. He wore a high-quality steel breastplate over his well-crafted cloth armor, and in his hand was a steel sword clearly made by a talented blacksmith. He appeared to be a young knight.

“We’re grateful for your assistance. Judging by your appearance, the strange blade you wield, and the fact that you cut through a wraith without infusing your weapon with magic, are you…?”

It seemed as though he’d caught on to who Tatsugorou was.

Let’s see, Tatsugorou thought. One of them is a former tough guy, another is a noble who learned the way of the sword, and one is a mage-in-training… Wait.

The samurai tilted his head, suddenly realizing that he’d met these young men before. That served as a painful reminder that a person’s memory was one of the first things to go with age. Tatsugorou focused his energy into trying to remember where he’d encountered the three travelers.

“Mmm…my blade exists to help those in need. I apologize for not introducing myself sooner. I’m Tatsugorou, a wandering swordsman.”

The liveliest young man immediately reacted to Tatsugorou’s name, his eyes sparkling wildly. “Oh man, I knew it!” Apparently, he was familiar with Tatsugorou and his exploits.

Come to think of it, that one fried shripe fellow… Ah!

As Tatsugorou recalled a knight he’d met several years ago—a regular at the restaurant—he immediately realized where he’d seen the trio in question. “I remember now! You kids used to visit the Restaurant to Another World, right?”

The three young men looked at each other with surprise and then turned to the samurai.

“Pops—er, Tatsugorou!—you know about the Restaurant to Another World?!” It appeared that the young warrior was the leader of the three.

“Jack, don’t be rude! He’s…” The eldest young man tried to get his friend, apparently named Jack, to take it down a notch.

“No worries. I’m but a simple mercenary. No more, no less.” Tatsugorou said. He recalled his original objective. “Today’s the Day of Satur, so I was on my way to a certain restaurant. Would you all care to accompany me? I’d be happy to treat three young men such as yourselves.”

Immediately, the trio looked at Tatsugorou and nodded in tandem.

The young adventurers made Tatsugorou think back on his own youth, when he’d left his homeland, no wife or child to speak of. It warmed his heart.

They are indeed young. If I had a son—no, a grandson—would he have been like them?

 

***

 

A sense of nostalgia overcame Tatsugorou as the sound of bells ringing filled the air.

“Welcome!” said Aletta. “Huh? Tatsugorou, you’re with Jack and the others today?”

Tatsugorou and the three young adventurers—the leader was the warrior Jack, the mage was Cane, and the well-dressed one was Terry—immediately returned Aletta’s greeting.

“Indeed,” said Tatsugorou. “Call it a twist of fate.”

“It’s been a while, Miss Aletta!”

“I’m glad that you look to be in good health!”

“Ever since we became adventurers, we haven’t been able to drop by! I’m glad that things have been going well here!”

Seeing the trio interact with Aletta reminded Tatsugorou that it’d been some time since his last visit.

Today, on the Day of Satur, Tatsugorou had been near a door. He always treated the restaurant as someplace he swung by if he happened to be in the area. That meant that, if his luck was bad, he’d go months without visiting. That was the kind of place the Restaurant to Another World was to Tatsugorou.

“In that case, let me take you to your usual table!” said Aletta.

She guided the four of them into the restaurant. The young adventurers looked around nostalgically, happily noticing things that had changed since their last visit.

“Huh? Is it just me, or is there another waitress now?”

“You’re right! Um…is she an elf?”

“Looks like it. I’ve never seen one before.”

Tatsugorou watched the adventurers from the corner of his eye and felt a bit of nostalgia himself. That’s right. I was just like them when I first began my journey.

As a young man, Tatsugorou had lived his life in his room, shamed by the knowledge that he would not succeed his father as the head of the house. One day, he heard a story from a traveling bard. It was the tale of a hero who’d traveled east and fought demons—a hero who’d killed one of the demon kings the Shrine of Darkness was so proud of.

Tatsugorou had wanted to be like the hero, so he’d taken his sword in hand, left his home without any money, and made his way to the ocean. There, he’d found work on a boat’s crew and sailed across the open seas. He’d made his way to this continent some decades ago.

Yet, despite his age, Tatsugorou remembered that first adventure well.

Heh! I suspect that these youngsters will grow to be fine adventurers. Hmm…?

As the samurai reflected on his past and the trio’s future, he absentmindedly flipped through the menu—only to see a dish he didn’t recognize. Its name was somehow incredibly tantalizing.

“What is this?” he asked the young adventurers. “A ‘teriyaki burger’?”

The trio had also stumbled upon the new dish and were currently discussing it.

“Sounds a lot like a hamburger to me. What kind of food is it?”

“Who knows? It’s impossible to tell what a dish here is based on the name alone.”

If they didn’t know what the “teriyaki burger” was, the answer was simple—just ask. Tatsugorou called over the passing Aletta. “Excuse me, young waitress. Might I have your time?”

“Of course! What is it?”

“What sort of dish is this teriyaki burger? Judging by its name, I’d surmise it’s something similar to teriyaki chicken.”

Aletta took a moment to think, recalling the words the master had told her during one of their recent taste tests.

“Um…the teriyaki burger is a new addition to the menu, courtesy of the master. It’s a hamburger steak with teriyaki sauce, complete with vegetables and mayo, squeezed between two halves of a bun.”

All four men at the table reacted to her answer. It was a brand-new dish that included all their favorite foods. How could they not be interested?

“Is that so? That sounds tantalizing indeed,” Tatsugorou said. “In that case, I’ll take one. I’d also like a cold tea to go with that.”

After Aletta’s explanation, the young men wasted no time copying Tatsugorou’s order.

“Me, too! Me, too! Just hearing you describe it makes me want one!”

“Same here, please. Oh, and I’d like a cola with that, thank you.”

“Likewise!”

“No problem! I’ll be right out with your food,” Aletta responded, heading to the kitchen.

I can’t wait to see what comes out, Tatsugorou thought. A wave of anticipation for the unknown food washed over him.

While waiting for the teriyaki burgers, Tatsugorou and the trio of young adventurers engaged in pleasant conversation.

“Wait, you’re the Tatsugorou?!”

Jack—who looked as though he’d been probably something of a troublemaker as a child—couldn’t help but raise his voice in surprise at discovering that Tatsugorou was the very man he’d heard about in bards’ tales his whole life.

“Yes, although I’d advise you not to take the tales about me too seriously. I still remember the day I heard that I’d supposedly taken down dozens of trolls all by myself. I wanted to shout ‘Complete crap!’ into the sky.”

Tatsugorou wore a pained smile after responding to the young man. The mercenary had only taken down eight trolls that day. It was embarrassing enough to hear about himself in song, but it was even more embarrassing to have his victories exaggerated. That had happened more than once or twice.

“I heard rumors that the only swordsmen who could take down a wraith without using prayer or magic were Alexander the Blade God and you. I can’t believe it’s true,” Cain said, staring down at the sheathed sword at Tatsugorou’s waist with great interest. He was the thinnest adventurer of the bunch, and his eyes glistened with the light of knowledge, just like a true mage’s.

“That’s not true,” Tatsugorou said. “A long time ago, an elf acquaintance of mine infused this sword with magical energy so that it could cut through otherworldly beings. That’s why I can attack wraiths and spirits and the like. Anyone could do that with this sword, with a bit of training.”

“I see.” Cain nodded, satisfied with the serious answer Tatsugorou supplied.

Terry—who seemed to be of slightly higher upbringing than his companions, and most closely resembled a knight—gazed around the bright room. “I never expected you of all people to be a regular here.”

“Mmm. I certainly didn’t expect you young rascals to suddenly disappear and become adventurers, either,” Tatsugorou replied. “Meeting the unexpected in unexpected places—this is why adventurers never fail to fascinate.”

As a long-standing Nekoya regular, Tatsugorou didn’t often run into the restaurant’s other regulars in the outside world. That was why this particular happy little accident was such a fascinating thing.

As the four continued to chat away, Aletta brought out their teriyaki burgers, tea, and colas. “Sorry for the wait! Here are your teriyaki burgers and drinks!”

“Mmm! Many thanks. Now then, gentlemen, today’s feast is on me,” Tatsugorou announced to the table as the scent of teriyaki sauce found its way to their noses. Not that he needed to say anything, since the young men’s eyes were already glued to the food in front of them. “Make sure to dig in before it gets cold.”

The adventurers nodded at Tatsugorou’s declaration, and their little feast began in earnest.

Sitting atop their pure-white plates were fries—no doubt the side dish—and the teriyaki burgers. Otherworldly vegetables and an off-white sauce were sandwiched between two pieces of light brown bread peppered with some kind of white seeds. Underneath the vegetables was the star of the burger: the slightly charred, disc-shaped patty.

The burger’s steam rose into the air. A small, soft napkin was set beneath it.

The seasoning appears to be the same as that used to make teriyaki chicken.

Tatsugorou grabbed the burger off his plate, the sauce dripping off the meat inside. The sweet scent of teriyaki immediately found its way to his nose.

As he enjoyed the aroma, he held the burger with the supplied napkin and took a single bite.

Oh, this is indeed something.

As Tatsugorou bit into the burger, the first thing he noticed was the seed bread’s gentle sweetness. Its toasted surface was crispy, and its insides’ gentle flavor made for a delightful mouthfeel.

Next, the fresh cabbage and oranie supplied a crunchy sensation as he bit into them. Otherworldly cabbage lacked any bitterness or rawness, instead providing a wonderful crunchiness to any dish. The fresh, thinly sliced oranie added spiciness that melded well with the cabbage.

Of course, the sweet teriyaki sauce, and the white sauce’s gentle sourness, brought out the vegetables’ flavor.

If I remember correctly, this white sauce is called mayo.

Mayo was a condiment that a certain group of Restaurant to Another World regulars swore by. Tatsugorou himself wasn’t particularly used to its taste, but even he recognized that it helped to bring out the meat’s flavor.

I knew it. The meat’s definitely the main attraction.

Since the three youngsters said that the teriyaki burger resembled the hamburger they so adored, it likely included the same kind of meat. After mincing the meat, the master had probably reshaped it into some sort of ball and flattened it before cooking it. Once meat was minced, it gained a certain tenderness; it was also moist.

This tender meat is just wonderful.

Occasionally, Tatsugorou’s teeth collided with something he imagined was probably a soft piece of bone, ground down and mixed into the meat. The bone pieces were crunchy and delicious.

This minced meat pairs amazingly well with the flavor of teriyaki.

The teriyaki sauce’s sweet, but rather strong, flavor didn’t overpower the moist cooked meat. Instead, the juxtaposition of the two flavors created the dish’s deliciousness. Add to that the two pieces of aromatic bread and the various vegetables sandwiched between them, and the teriyaki burger became a complete experience.

Mmm. This really is delicious.

For a while, Tatsugorou simply focused on eating his teriyaki burger and munching away at his fries, taking a sip of cold tea every now and then.

It was then that he had a thought. The teriyaki burger is indeed delicious, but…

“I’d love to try this with rice.”

The words simply fell out of Tatsugorou’s mouth. The burger was scrumptious with bread, and since crossing continents, he no longer had any problem eating the stuff. But at the end of the day, teriyaki paired especially well with rice as far as Tatsugorou was concerned.

“Yeah, I bet! This thing’s delicious, but I think I still prefer the regular old hamburger.”

“Really? I think this is way better. Yeah, I’ve got a new fave!”

“The meat alone is its own feast. Heck, I wouldn’t mind just having that!”

Finishing their respective meals at around the same time as Tatsugorou, the trio of adventurers gave their thoughts on the new menu item.

Sometimes it’s nice to have company.

Ready to make the next order, Tatsugorou called the waitress over.

This time, I’ll ask the master to make the burger with rice. I seem to recall something like that showing up as a daily special in the past.

Tatsugorou watched from the corner of his eye as his young companions prepared their orders, thinking about his own next dish all the while.