Chapter 90: Deep-Fried Fish Cakes

Chapter 90:
Deep-Fried Fish Cakes

 

Long, long ago, when the Kingdom and Empire were at war, a group of merchants founded a small town near one of the many battlefields. The town was based around a fortress near the border, where the merchants hoped to sell goods to soldiers.

The soldiers were often up until late in the evening so that they’d be ready to defend against the Empire’s savage power at any time. It was an important job. Once their shifts were over, they gathered at pubs and bars that were open late to let loose a bit.

Weak lamps and torches lit the stoneless paths. Countless folks went to and fro, despite it being the middle of the night. They were going to get food, to drink, and to make merry. This town was that sort of place.

Thus, many soldiers at the fortress had fathered children in the town.

A large number of those children lived with their mothers, away from their fathers, who typically had their own rooms at the fortress for their work.

Most of the children cared little who their fathers were. They grew up and became soldiers at the fortress, dreamed of riches, and went to the capital as adventurers; or even became roadkill somewhere.

How could they be blamed? Many of their mothers were courtesans. It wasn’t particularly rare to have instances where multiple men went to and fro, meaning that—in the worst-case scenarios—there was no way of knowing who a child’s father was.

However, there were circumstances in which children had to live with their fathers, such as when their mother passed away and their father felt some measure of responsibility.

Reiner’s father, a soldier at the fortress, was off duty on this particular day. He held Reiner’s hand as they walked through the town.

“Dad, where are we going?” Reiner asked as he held his father’s hand tightly. He was a bit nervous.

Up until then, Reiner had lived with his mother. However, she’d passed away from an illness. With nowhere for Reiner to go, his father Paul had taken him in. Only a month had gone by since that had happened.

Reiner currently spent his days in the fortress. There, he was at least fed, although he still did chores despite being a child. In terms of living quarters, he stayed in a small room assigned to lower-rung guards. In fact, that was why Reiner was so happy to walk through the town outside, although he was already familiar with it. Nonetheless, he honestly didn’t know what to do now that he was one-on-one with his father. He didn’t know Paul at all.

“Dad, I’m hungry. Can I have one of those cobbler’s tubers?” Reiner pointed at a stall selling boiled cobbler’s tubers to the poor.

Paul shook his head. “No. Patience, child. Just a little farther.”

“You big liar.” Reiner couldn’t help but whisper his dissatisfaction. He’d been given tough bread and fairly thin soup for breakfast. They weren’t nearly enough to fill his stomach.

“Hey, lemme take you somewhere great,” Paul had said to Reiner after his meager breakfast. “You’ll get to eat your fill of delicious food, so c’mon.”

The thought of standing around hungry at midday while being forced to work at the fortress was unpleasant. Therefore, Reiner accepted his father’s offer, grabbing Paul’s hand and heading out.

“Just hold your horses, okay? We’re going to a restaurant, you see. No need to eat those rotten imperial cobbler’s tubers. You’d regret it if you did. C’mon, over here.” Paul picked Reiner up and put him on his shoulders. The pair entered a back alley and slipped through.

“Dad, what’s that?”

In the center of an empty lot in the middle of town was a door with a cat illustration.

“Hey, this is where I said I was gonna take you. I found it accidentally while doing the rounds once.”

Whistling, Paul took Reiner to the foot of the door. The thing looked enormous to the young lad. The wood practically shone, and there was a cat and a sign on the front. Something was written on the sign, but Reiner couldn’t read, so he had no clue what the writing stated.

“Dad, what does it say?”

“Ah…it says ‘Nekoya, Restaurant to Another World,’” Paul answered. He’d learned how to read as part of his soldier’s education.

Paul placed his hand on the cold doorknob and turned it. The sound of bells filled the air as the door opened.

The second Paul stepped through, he and his son found themselves in a startlingly well-lit room. The joint was about as packed as the average popular pub; numerous humans, demons, dwarves, and even monsters unknown to Reiner were indulging in unfamiliar meals.

From his position sitting atop his father’s shoulders, Reiner could see the entire restaurant. “Wh-what is this place?”

While he surveyed his surroundings, two women—likely waitresses—greeted Paul and his son.

“Welcome!”

Welcome.

The women looked younger than Reiner’s dead mother. One was a demon girl with golden-blonde hair and two black spiral horns; the other was a long-eared girl with black hair and slightly unique facial features.

The blonde demon girl flashed a bright smile at Paul. “Let me take you to your table.”

“Awesome.” Paul said. “All right, time to get down.” He let Reiner off his shoulders and followed the young lady to a table.

Despite having no windows, the restaurant was oddly bright. The chairs were extremely comfortable, and a series of different bottles sat atop the well-kept table. As Reiner inspected everything, fascinated by his new surroundings, Paul immediately made his order.

“I’ll have a beer. This little guy’ll have…let’s see…azal juice or something. Oh, and we’ll have the same food as last time. A large order of deep-fried fish cakes.”

The exact dish Paul had ordered wasn’t on the menu, but the last time he’d asked for it, the restaurant had prepared it for him. Fried fish was delicious, but he’d brought his son here specifically to try something else.

“Excellent,” said the waitress. “Your food will be right out.”

Reiner continued to look around at the rare sights the restaurant offered before asking his father about the dish he’d ordered. “Dad, what’re deep-fried fish cakes?”

“Oh…well, y’see, they’re kind of a weird fish dish. Delicious, though,” Paul answered, his chest puffed out.

“Fish? Bleh.”

Reiner could barely conceal the disappointment on his face as he heard his father’s words. Unlike Paul, who’d been raised in a town by the sea, Reiner had grown up in a border town nowhere near water. Thus, fish were basically nonexistent to him, and he had no desire to eat any.

One time, Paul had bought dried fish from a merchant and given Reiner some. The flavor was incredibly nostalgic to the older man, and he’d enjoyed his portion gladly. To Reiner, however, the dried fish had smelled weird, was hard, tasted overly salty, and just wasn’t very good.

“I don’t want any. Can I get something else instead?”

In response to Reiner’s childlike honesty, Paul simply smiled.

“Now, now. Hold your horses. Don’t knock it till you try it.”

After a little while, the blonde waitress from before returned, food and drink in hand. “Sorry for the wait! Here’s your beer and apple juice. I’ve also brought your large order of deep-fried fish cakes.”

Inside the white container were several light yellow and white objects. Each had yellow-green chopped vegetables and some kind of red spots mixed in. A bunch of round brown objects surrounded those. Judging by the sizzling noises, they were clearly still very hot.

The waitress placed the dish in the middle of the table and set a small, empty plate down with a bottle. “Feel free to use as much soy sauce as you’d like. Oh, and this seven-flavor mayo’s fairly spicy, so your boy might want to be careful. Take your time and enjoy.”

She smiled and left to take care of another order near where some dwarves sat, eyeing Paul’s food.

“Let’s eat while they’re still hot,” Paul said.

Reiner stared at the deep-fried fish cakes with great confusion and curiosity. First things first, he had to give them a try. He picked up his silver fork and stabbed it into the nearest fish cake.

I asked the master for something that wasn’t fishy, and this is what he brought us, Paul remembered.

When he’d last given his son dried fish, Reiner had thought it was gross. When Paul said as much to the master, this was the plate the restaurant’s owner had made for him. Apparently, the previous master had occasionally made it as well.

The first mouthful should be plain.

Paul opened his mouth and took a big bite. His teeth quickly sliced through the tender fish cake full of hot oil, bringing forth its juices.

Although the cake definitely tasted fishy, it lacked the sea creature’s unique scent. The browned bits mixed with the white stuff’s sweet, salty taste, spreading across his tongue.

Now, this is the good stuff.

Paul’s face broke into a smile as he took a swig of his beer. Its bitter flavor washed the deep-fried fish cake’s taste down his throat. After drinking his fill, Paul let out a satisfied sigh. He paid no mind to Reiner, who gulped loudly. Instead, he moved on to the next fish cake.

This time, he poured lots of white mayo mixed with red stuff over it. The thick sauce turned the fish cake white. Paul ate about half. Geez, this hits the spot!

The fish cake was still extremely hot, but the mayo’s gentle sourness and the spicy red stuff mixed in were both delicious.

After taking a last bite of fish cake, Paul turned his attention to the side vegetables arranged on the plate, pouring some black soy sauce onto them.

Soy sauce was intensely salty, so too much of it destroyed the balance of flavors. However, just a dash was enough to bring out the taste of the dish. Paul took another bite, enjoying the fish cake’s heat and the vegetables’ crunchy texture. Combined with the flavor of his beer, they formed a perfect trio.

Reiner couldn’t stand watching his father happily eat away. He grabbed a fork and reached for a fish cake.

“Ow! Hot…! But delish!”

He’d hesitated before the first bite but soon found himself fighting with Paul over the remaining fish cakes.

“See?! Delicious, right?!” Paul called to the waitress. “’Scuse me! Could we get another plate of fish cakes?”

He couldn’t help smiling massively as he made an additional order.

 

***

 

Lunchtime was just about over. The father and son returned to the empty lot and simultaneously let out satisfied sighs.

After the door vanished, Paul turned to his son. “Delicious, right?”

Reiner nodded. “I wouldn’t mind going with you again.”

“You got that right! Just leave it to me.”

Paul considered the future. He’d lived as a guard for many years, but that life was about to come to an end. Working as a guard while trying to raise a son in a town like this wasn’t realistic.

I suppose we could move back home and help my old man out. You’d be fine with that, right, Reiner? That way, Paul could feed his son fresh fish every day, not the half-rotten dried crap.

As Reiner rode his shoulders, Paul continued to think about their future as a family. His son was still so very light.