Chapter 9: Cream Croquette

Chapter 9:
Cream Croquette

In one of the many small countries in the plains was a tiny village out in the middle of nowhere. Every day of the full moon, this village held an open market. It was there that a young boy was cheerfully humming to himself while cooking.

“Stew is delicious! Stew is the best!”

The boy was only about half as tall as the adults around him. He was barefoot with hair growing on the soles of his feet. The boy looked down into the pot simmering above the flames. While he looked like a child, nobody around him seemed to be particularly bothered by his presence.

The boy made sure the flames were just right so as to evenly cook the diced vegetables and meat in the large pot. This was the key to making a good stew. One had to boil the ingredients until they had reached the perfect level of tenderness so they would be at their most savory. He also had to be careful when removing the scum.

“All right! It’s all gone! And it’s boiling just right!”

After letting the pot stew for a time, the boy skimmed off the scum and dumped it on the ground. He then took a taste of the stew in order to confirm that the meat and vegetables had softened appropriately. He raised his voice.

“Pakke! Is the sauce ready?”

“Of course it is, Pikke!”

Approaching Pikke was a girl around his age holding a pot in both hands. She too was barefoot. The girl, Pakke, handed him a pot filled with white sauce.

“Perfect! Once we mix this in with some milk…”

Pikke poured the sauce and milk into his pot of stew and closed the lid. He then boiled it all together until the sauce settled.

“The knight stew is all done! Whew, this smells great!”

The boy removed the lid. The aroma coming from the warm stew was enough to stop any passersby in their tracks.

“Here you go, Pakke! Have some! It’s as delicious as ever!”

“Thanks, Pikke! Mm, it’s scrumptious!”

The pair each enjoyed their servings of stew on their wooden plates. Overcome by the deliciousness of it all, they held hands and began to dance. They were incredible light on their feet, befitting “halflings.”

Halflings were a race of beings that only ever grew to be about the size of a human child. They were known for having soft, curly hair on the soles of their feet. By nature, they were curious beings who were almost always filled with energy. They enjoyed bustling spots and rarely stayed in one place for too long. Once a halfling became an adult, they would leave their family to travel the world, one day meeting a halfling they got along with, and eventually getting married. After that, the two of them would travel together, mate, give birth to a child, travel with them, and then finally watch as they too became an adult and left. Back to being a pair again, the married couple would travel together until they eventually left this world.

In order to survive on their journey through the world, halflings often had one special skill passed down to them from their parents. For example, this could be a bard’s singing abilities, some kind of interesting trick, the ability to steal from a passerby on the road without them noticing, a hunting skill that let them take advantage of their small bodies to trick prey into thinking they were weak, or even the ability to judge the value in objects. It was different for every family.

Pikke and Pakke were a young halfling couple that possessed the ability to cook. Most halfling cooks did not have restaurants of their own. Rather, they wandered from market to market, cooking the ingredients they acquired and selling them to customers on the street. Since they lacked the money to afford high-quality ingredients such as spices or sugars, all they had to rely on were their own cooking skills and knowledge.

And so Pikke and Pakke had one secret recipe, passed down to them to help support their life on the road. On the Eastern Continent, far away from the small country they were in, was the prosperous “Kingdom.” It was there that some twenty years ago, a merchant developed a revolutionary new sauce made from cow milk and wheat that was so delicious, the then-prince and current king gave him the title of Knight.

Even humble farmers living in the sauce’s country of origin would break it out for special occasions and festivals. It had spread throughout the nation with incredible speed. That said, it had yet to really reach small countries out on the edges of the world. For most of the citizens who lived on the fringes of these places, the only way they could try the sauce was by going to the capital where the king lived. As a result, this made Pikke and Pakke’s stew a huge hit with locals.

“Come one, come all! We’ve got stew made with the ultra-famous knight sauce! That’s right, the famous sauce from the Kingdom far, far away! First come, first served!”

“Just two copper coins for one bowl! It’s super-duper delicious! Once we’re sold out, that’s all for today!”

The couple stood behind their stew, shouting into the crowds. It took everything they had not to drool because of the knight sauce’s sweet aroma.

It was that same aroma combined with the inviting shouts that managed to pull shoppers toward them.

“Hey, what’s this white stew?”

From the large crowd came a middle-aged man who stepped forward to ask Pikke the question everyone was thinking.

“Hey there, sir! This is a stew made with knight sauce! You know, that legendary sauce created in a faraway country! How about it? Care to grab a bite?”

“You seem like a real man’s man, sir. And since you’re our first customer, we’ll treat you to an extra-large serving! How about it?”

The pair cheerfully smiled at the man as they continued to tempt him.

“You know what? Why the heck not. I’ll have a bowl.”

Almost pressured into it, the man handed Pakke two copper coins.

“That’s what I’m talking about! Here you go!”

“It’s hot, so be careful!”

The man’s face changed colors after sipping the stew. It was so delicious that he nearly cried out in shock. The large, soft, square pieces of greasy pork meat melted in his mouth. The warm and fluffy tubers, soaked in the savory stew, crumbled into pieces with each bite. The oranie had been boiled after being stir-fried with butter, lending it a delicious sweetness. Meanwhile, the sweet, orange karoots were properly soft after being put over fire. This stew was on another level from the average salted stuff that the man often made himself.

The man was enjoying this hot stew in the best of conditions on a frigid day. But even without that very specific set of conditions, this was an amazing feast.

“This is amazing! Another bowl, please!” The man immediately thrust his empty bowl and some more copper coins at Pikke.

“Thank ya very much! Eat as much as you’d like!”

“The stew goes great with bread, by the way! See, you dip the bread into the stew and let it soak in the juices! It gets nice and soft, and when you bite into it, all the stew juices come flowing out into your mouth!” Pakke explained to the man and the crowd with a smile on her face, all the while pouring the man a new bowl of stew. She glanced at the stall next to them selling rye bread. Pakke could hear the sounds of people in the crowd gulping in anticipation.

“Hey, let me get a bowl!”

“Me too! Me too!”

“Hey, don’t forget about me!”

“C’mon, everyone! We’ve got delicious rye bread here! Goes great with that stew you got over there!”

“Seconds! I want seconds!”

Just like that, the large crowd of onlookers turned into a massive herd of customers, each ordering a bowl of stew for themselves. After getting their hands on some, they then went to the stall next door and bought a small piece of rye bread to go with their stew. The sounds of satisfied sighs filled the air, and some of the customers even came back for seconds.

“All right, folks! First come, first served! We’ve only made this much for today!”

“Once it’s gone, it’s gone! Grab some stew while you still can!”

By midday, the stew was all gone. Pikke and Pakke had acquired more than enough funds to get to the next town.

***

“Today’s the super fun Day of Satur!”

“Yay!”

Pikke and Pakke left their belongings at the inn and sang their out-of-tune song while walking through some woods on the outskirts of town. On occasion, they could hear the growling of beasts or monsters of some sort, but the couple paid them no mind. Most wild animals were cowards and wouldn’t dare to come near if they heard loud noises like the pair were making. Even if they did try to attack, few creatures could keep up with halflings who were running as fast as they could.

“What should I get today?”

“Um, um… We didn’t have any leftovers today, so knight sauce sounds great to me!”

“Good call! Let’s do it! We got money, too!”

The halfling couple happily chatted amongst themselves, for today was a good day. The man running the bread stall next to them ended up selling out at the same time they did. Grateful for their help, the man expressed his thanks to the pair. They even got some unexpected extra funds! As luck would have it, the first customer of the day was also the man who ran the town’s inn. He paid the pair 115 silver coins and seven copper coins to teach him the knight sauce recipe. Thanks to him, they were loaded.

This was the perfect day to visit the Restaurant to Another World.

“Just a little further! It’s the clearing right over there!” Pikke happily explained to Pakke.

In Pikke’s hand was a parchment with a variety of different things scribbled on it, including a mark that looked like a cat. This was the secret known amongst halflings; the mark that signified the “Door of Nekoya.”

Halfling maps were special. This race of people was rather curious and often acted on impulse, so they tended to travel far and wide across the world. Each of them had knowledge of a variety of different areas, so when halflings came across one another, they would take out their maps and exchange information. The unspoken rule was to be honest with each other.

No secrets.

As a race that survived by going on one journey to the next, knowing the land they were headed to was increasingly important. One well-known landmark of sorts was the “Door of Nekoya.”

Once every seven days, on the Day of Satur, black doors with cat signs on them appeared all over the world. This door was linked to “Nekoya,” a Restaurant to Another World. It was there that they could eat foods from a world not their own.

The meals one could find at the Restaurant to Another World were extremely strange but amazingly delicious. It was recommended that on the Day of Satur, should a black door be nearby, one should go to grab a scrumptious bite. Pikke and Pakke were both very familiar with the door and the restaurant that existed beyond it. It only made sense that two halflings who were gifted cooks would be that much more interested in anything cooking-related than your average person. They were also known for being quite the gourmands in general.

Both of them had visited the restaurant multiple times while they were still traveling with their respective families. That’s why the two of them made it a point to drop in on the Day of Satur if there was a door in the area.

“Annnnd, we’re here! Awesome, it’s there!” said Pakke.

“Annnnd, nobody else is here!” said Pikke.

After spotting the black door in the center of the forest, just off the beaten path, the two halflings searched the area to make sure nobody else was near.

The Door of Nekoya could only be used once on a given Day of Satur, and as such, people who lived near a door would often try to keep it to themselves. One famous example of this amongst the halflings were the lizardmen. They had an altar where the door appeared and would more than likely attack anybody from outside the tribe who tried to use it. There was also another customer who appeared late at night. She was known among halflings as the “Midnight Mistress” and wore a bright red dress whenever she popped up. Every time she visited the restaurant, the woman would order beef stew, the most expensive item on the menu. It was more than likely that if anybody ever got near the door she used, they’d be burned to ashes.

Thus, the halflings considered it good manners to search the area around a Door of Nekoya before using it.

“Doesn’t seem like anybody’s used it for a while.”

“Then let’s go!” cried Pikke.

“Yup, yup!” said Pakke.

After confirming that nobody had been near the door any time recently, the halflings held hands. As Pikke pushed open the door, the familiar sound of ringing bells filled the air.

“Welcome! Oho, well if it isn’t Pikke and Pakke! It’s been a while.” The master took a moment to look away from the busy interior of the restaurant and greet the couple.

“Sure has! When was the last time we dropped in?”

“Um, I think it was around the end of summer!”

The pair, having been to the restaurant multiple times, smiled and responded. The small people that looked like children to the master were in fact full-grown halfling adults. Because the race didn’t live in any one place, they weren’t “regulars” who could visit the restaurant every week. He got plenty of halfling customers who just happened to be in the vicinity of a door, but he rarely saw the same people twice.

“More importantly, could you give us a menu, sir?”

“Oh, oh! And what’s today’s daily special?”

“All right, all right,” the master said. “Hold on just a second. Let’s see, today’s daily special is cream croquette.” The master couldn’t help but smile at the pair, as excitable as always.

“Cream croquette?!”

“That’s the one with the knight sauce and the fried bread crumbs!”

Maybe it was fated. The halflings turned to each other and smiled.

“Can we get two orders of cream croquettes to start with, sir? Oh, and I’d like some rice, too!”

“I’ll have bread! Oh, oh, and can you bring a menu with you, too? We’re gonna eat a whole bunch today!”

Pikke and Pakke placed their orders before even sitting down, eventually finding a spot and waving their legs excitedly from atop their chairs.

“Yup, you got it! You small people are always bundles of energy, eh?” The master once again chuckled to himself before retreating to the back to start frying the croquettes.

“Wow, there are all sorts of people here today, Pikke!”

“You’re right! Wowee, Pakke!”

As the two halflings waited for their food, they began to people-watch. The Restaurant to Another World was packed with a variety of different races that day. There was a young woman enthusiastically eating a plate of minced meat cutlet covered in sauce. Elsewhere, another young woman in beautiful clothes happily enjoyed an ice-cold, sweet “parfait.” Meanwhile, a young man who looked like some sort of merchant was furiously scribbling down notes as he devoured a dish of spaghetti Neapolitan.

Next to him was a lizardman eating “omelet rice.” The creature wore a blank expression on its face, making it impossible to tell what it was thinking. Nearby was an elven man with a thin, magic sword sheathed at his waist. He was indulging in a plate of “natto spaghetti” made with fermented beans of some kind. Pikke had yet to give this menu item a try.

There was even a table of about 100 tiny people wearing the same clothes, all about the size of the palm of Pikke’s hand, eating a single plate of “pancakes.” It was very rare to see this many different races gathered together in one spot in their world, but the food at this restaurant broke down the barriers between them all. Everyone came here with the same goal and purpose: to eat delicious food. The Restaurant to Another World truly was a special place.

“This is so fun, Pikke!”

“You’re right! I bet we’d never grow tired of coming here every day if we could, Pakke!” The two continued their conversation as the master approached their table with food in hand.

“Here you are, folks. Two orders of cream croquettes.”

The master set down two hot plates. There were fresh greens, small red marmetts, and three light brown cream croquettes on each.

“Wowee!”

“Wowee!”

The two raised their voices in unison. Both halflings excitedly grabbed their utensils, looking forward to their first meal of the day. Their knives cut through the croquettes with great ease and an ever-so-satisfying sound. From the cut oozed white knight sauce mixed with some sort of red substance. The aroma from the sauce caused the halflings’ nostrils to flare. Unable to hold themselves back any longer, they both took bites of their respective croquettes.

A variety of flavors exploded in their mouths, the first of which was the knight sauce’s unique, sweet and rich flavor. However, mixed in with that was the flavor of the sea. It wasn’t fish meat but something else entirely.

“Mm!”

“Mm!”

Pikke and Pakke once again raised their voices simultaneously, letting the steam from the food in their mouths escape as they munched. They both swallowed, enjoying the sweet knight sauce that flowed forth with each bite into the croquette alongside the other ingredients’ savory quality.

“This is super-duper delish!” said Pikke.

“I can taste the ocean!” Pakke said. The two shared their thoughts on the bites they each took. The Restaurant to Another World had knocked it out of the park yet again.

“Let’s see…” Pakke said. “I’m gonna try this one next!”

“Then I’m trying this one!”

The halflings each reached for a different cream croquette, almost as if they’d planned it ahead of time.

The rice and bread mixed well with the rich flavor of the cream croquettes, producing an altogether different experience than that of the first one they devoured. They then took their time patiently explaining the innards of their respective croquettes to each other. That kind of patience was a rare virtue for halflings.

“This one is filled with smoked meat and mushrooms!” Pikke’s cream croquette was just as described. Inside of it was stir-fried, finely seasoned and flavored smoked meat. This meat had its fat stripped from it and was soaked in knight sauce. Meanwhile, the thinly sliced mushrooms were salted just right so as to carefully balance the sweetness of the sauce. They were dried beforehand, which allowed them to soak in the flavors of the meat and the sweetness of the knight sauce, producing an even more refined flavor with each bite. It was that cream mixed with the flavors of the smoked meat and mushrooms that spread throughout the mouth. The rice went well with the texture of the meat.

“This one has all kinds of yellow bits in it! It’s sweet!”

Meanwhile, Pakke’s croquette was filled with yellow vegetables of some kind. The small bits of yellow vegetables were incredibly sweet, almost like a fruit. She’d never seen anything like it before. Each bite into the yellow bits produced a sweet flavor that combined with the knight sauce’s own unique sweetness. It was so overwhelming that one couldn’t be faulted for thinking they were eating some kind of dessert. The sweet, otherworldly bread topped with butter made for an excellent side dish.

“Wow, cool! Let me have a bite! Whoa, it’s sooooo sweet and delish!”

“Then let me try yours! Wow! The meat tastes amazing!”

Pikke and Pakke each took bites out of the other’s cream croquettes, spelling the end of this first dish.

“Wowee, that was delicious! What should we have next?”

“Hm, let’s see…”

The two halflings mashed their faces together and looked down at the menu. They wanted more. While they might have only been as large as human children, the couple could eat many times more than most adults. Their meal had only just begun.

***

“That sure was scrumptious, Pikke.”

“Yup, yup! It’s been so long since the last time that I think I might’ve eaten too much!”

In front of the two were the remains of enough food for approximately 10 people. By the time they left the restaurant (though not before ordering sandwiches to go for the next day’s lunch), it had grown dark. The couple wore huge smiles on their faces.

“Let’s go home!”

“Sounds good! Can’t wait to sleep on a nice, soft bed!”

The halflings exchanged words and hurried down the path home.

“Where should we go next, Pikke?”

“Let’s see… That one cream croquette that tasted like the ocean was really good! I think I wanna go to the sea, Pakke!”

And just like that, the halflings decided the next destination on their journey.

“Oh, good idea! Then let’s grab a boat! I’ve never been on a big one before!”

“Me neither! That’s a super good idea! Let’s do it!”

The happy halfling couple chatted amongst themselves, their path forward lit by the full moon in the sky.