Chapter 25: Karubidon

Chapter 25:
Karubidon

Just before the sun rose in the southern hemisphere, Fairey was in her private quarters deep within the Ocean Nation’s palace, preparing to go out. Her servants were normally in charge of dressing her, but she had made sure to pick a time when they’d be gone. Fairey began dressing herself.

She was changing into a standard court lady uniform, the cheapest of all the clothes she had access to. It didn’t have a single spell cast on it by any diviners, lacking the protection normally provided for those of royal blood. As it was forbidden for anyone not of Fairey’s family to use certain strong perfumes, she picked something several measures weaker. She forsook her favorite earrings, as black as her own hair, and the sapphire hair piece, the same color as her mother’s eyes. Fairey’s mother was originally a princess of the Kingdom in the Eastern Continent before moving to the Ocean Nation to be wed. Such jewelry would cause her to stick out too much. None of it was needed where she was going, and more importantly, they would not fit the costume she was trying for.

All right. This should be good enough, she thought.

After getting dressed, she looked in her long mirror built from a single piece of silver by the palace’s craftsman. Reflected back at Fairey was a young, fourteen-year-old girl with the mixed blood of a foreign-born mother. The palace jesters and bards had less than kind words for how they described Fairey’s unique beauty, but there was little she could do about that. Still, everything else about her outfit was impeccable.

Perfect. Now nobody should be able to tell who I am. I look just like a commoner girl.

Fairey was pleased by her flawless disguise. As far as she was concerned, this was exactly what a commoner girl looked like. Of course, she’d also never seen a commoner girl in her entire life, but that was a small detail.

I should be on my way.

With her preparations finished, Fairey made sure to not get caught by her annoying attendants as she made her way outside. Her destination was the flower garden in the center of the palace yard. It was there that flowers bloomed across all four seasons and also where she would find the “path” to her objective.

The flower garden was filled with all kinds of mingling scents. Fairey made her way into a grove off to the side. As she stepped into the grove, she noticed the spell that was always cast there, designed to make one grow lost and confused, was gone. Her steps grew lighter.

…So, she was telling the truth. That fox of a man is at a party today.

The rumor the young girl had heard from one of the gossip-loving attendants she was close to in the palace was true.

While the palace diviner was undoubtedly extremely capable in the magical arts and quite smart, something about him was suspicious. He reminded Fairey of a devious fox. On this day, he was away from the palace, attending a party hosted by the prime minister who handled foreign affairs. Whenever the diviner had to leave the palace for a party or some sort of public affairs business, the shrewd man released the spell he normally cast to prevent people from getting near the place.

Days like that overlapped with the Day of Satur rarely, once every few months at best. Fortunately for Fairey, today was her lucky day.

***

And so, the young girl came face to face with her objective.

…It’s been three long months.

Fairey stared at the large black door with the cat illustration on its front. This was what she disguised herself as a commoner for. This was why she had to avoid the diviner’s ever watchful eyes. Just thinking about the food waiting for her made her mouth water. She wrapped her hand around the door’s handle and turned it.

***

The sound of bells ringing greeted Fairey as she stood in place just beyond the entrance.

“Oh? Welcome! It’s been a while.”

“Yes, it has. You have done well to greet… Er, may I have the usual?” Fairey smiled at the master.

One fateful day two years ago, Fairey had shown mercy to a mouse-like halfling who had snuck into the palace garden, letting her go without alerting the guards. In exchange, the small person had led her to this place, where she would eat it for the first time. Since then, she only ever ordered the same dish.

“Aye, you got it. Hang on just a moment.” The master accepted her order as usual and left for the back.

This was the Restaurant to Another World, the one and only place in the world where Fairey could eat that dish.

I see this place is as bustling as ever, she thought with a smile.

The young lady sat down at an open seat and surveyed the hustle and bustle of the restaurant while she waited for her food to arrive. People from completely different backgrounds shared the space, eating their respective meals. Among them were even high-class customers like Fairey.

For example, there was the Witch Princess. Fairey had seen her once when she was a child. The great sage’s student had bluish silver hair and light, sky-blue colored eyes. Her pointy ears were proof she was a half-elf, and she was as beautiful as a doll. She was indulging in some sort of soft, yellow treat.

Then there were the siblings from the Desert Nation, just like her father’s concubine, who indulged in some sort of black coffee with white ice cream atop of it. They also had beautiful, green-colored drinks with soft cream sitting on top. The pair wore flashy clothes over their stunning bronze skin. They had black eyes and smooth black hair as well.

The pair seemed to be paying attention to another high-class visitor, a beautiful girl with white skin and light blonde hair, who carefully ate some sort of large and colorful confectionery in a glass cup.

Fairey laughed to herself. You’ve all got it quite wrong.

They were all eating things that were far from being Nekoya’s most delicious menu item, at least as far as Fairey was concerned. The young girl cradled that slight feeling of superiority in her chest as she waited for her food.

And then…

“Sorry to keep you waiting! I have your meal right here. Um… This is correct, right?”

“Yes, it is,” Fairey replied and nodded her head to the newly hired demon servant who seemed altogether puzzled.

The dish the servant held was undoubtedly her most beloved of foods. The aroma had already made its way to her nostrils, causing her mouth to water.

“Excellent!” Satisfied with her answer, the demon servant placed the dish of food down in front of Fairey, along with a bowl of miso-flavored soup and a glass of tea.

The meal consisted of a single large bowl. Across it were a series of white and blue stripes. The bowl itself was filled with white rice and a host of colorful vegetables. On top of that was carefully seasoned and cooked beef.

“Oh, how I have longed for this day! How I have longed to partake in a ‘karubidon’ from the other world!” Fairey couldn’t help but voice her delight aloud.

Three months had passed since she last had the opportunity to enjoy a karubidon. Even longer had passed (two years) since her chance encounter with the halfling who brought her to the door. To Fairey, karubidon was the greatest of all feasts.

“Please take your time and enjoy! I’ll bring out your dessert as soon as you’re finished.” With that, the demon servant hurriedly returned to waiting on the other customers. Fairey watched her leave and then turned her attention to the karubidon.

***

I must enjoy its delightful aroma before anything else.

The day Fairey first came to the restaurant, she had lacked any real worldly experience (not that she had any now). She barely trusted the mouse-like halfling who described to her the most delicious way of eating karubidon at the Restaurant to Another World. Regardless, even now Fairey followed the halfling’s instructions.

Fairey lifted the bowl. She could sense the heat of the bowl on her hands, and it was just heavy enough for Fairey’s slender arms to feel its weight. It was undoubtedly a meal meant for royalty. Her face near the karubidon, she was entranced.

There was so much food in the bowl that Fairey could barely make out the rice beneath it all. She could see the sweet, bright orange karoots and dark green boiled pieces of spinach. She spotted white elf bean sprouts and, of course, brown beef seasoned with some sort of juice and a dash of white powder.

Fairey kept the dish close to her face and breathed in deep. The aroma of the sweet rice and freshly cooked meat found their way into her finely shaped nose along with the stimulating scent of the juices. These three elements came together to make Fairey’s stomach grumble and rage for food.

Ooooh, I can wait no longer!

Anyone who grew up learning classic manners in the Ocean Nation would look at the Restaurant to Another World’s eating practices as rather barbaric, but Fairey cared little. She began digging into her food. She scooped up a piece of meat drenched in juices and took a small, almost bird-like bite of it.

Oh, this miraculous taste! How I have seen and felt it in my dreams!

The flavor of the meat and its juices danced across her tongue along with the taste of the fat and its light mouthfeel. The meat and fish served at the Ocean Nation’s palace were typically boiled for a long period of time to excise any “extraneous” elements from the meat. This beef was different, however, as its delicious juices spilled out into her mouth as one. Supporting that flavor was the juice used to season the meat in the first place. It helped elevate the meal to the realm of art.

The juice had a fruity sweetness to it, accompanied by the faint spice and salt of some unknown ingredient that reminded Fairey of fish sauce. Mixed into all of that was a sort of aromatic, greasy something or the other. While this complicated sauce was too strong to enjoy on its own, it went perfectly with the meat.

It tasted nothing like what was served in the palace, which was why it so easily captured Fairey’s heart and stomach.

But now it’s time for the main attraction!

Fairey couldn’t afford to let her guard down just yet. It wasn’t just the meat that made this dish so exquisite. No, the karubidon was not a complete dish with that alone. Now that Fairey had begun her journey through the wonderland of taste, there would be no stopping for detours. In her quest for further deliciousness, she stuck her chopsticks into the bowl.

By taking a piece of beef earlier, Fairey had uncovered a trove of white rice hidden beneath. She grabbed a small but comfortable amount of rice with her chopsticks and proceeded to eat it.

!!!

There were no words left. No more ways to express what Fairey felt in that moment. The warm, fluffy rice spread throughout her mouth, its sweet taste and flavor in a completely different league than the rice served in the Ocean Nation. The meat that trampled throughout Fairey’s mouth then turned its attention to the rice, courting its favor and mixing together. The flavor that came out of that divine encounter was the true treasure that Fairey sought and desired most.

***

This was the flavor that captivated Fairey, turning her from a high-born princess of the Ocean Nation into a commoner girl.

Fairey let herself slowly enjoy the array of tastes in front of her. She indulged in the contrast of the colorful vegetables against the white rice and meat. She could feel the heat on her hands through the bowl.

First, she ate some meat, then some rice, carefully so as to not dirty her clothes. She then took bites of the thick, green spinooch, the faintly sweet karoots, and the crunchy elf bean sprouts. All of the vegetables were lightly seasoned with salt but otherwise barely had an actual flavor to speak of. This meant they worked perfectly as a palette cleanser between bites of rice and meat.

Next, it was time to eat the vegetables together with the meat and rice.

By adding vegetables to the complete flavor that was meat and rice, the karubidon once again revealed a brand-new character it kept hidden up its sleeves. The texture the vegetables provided to the taste and seasoning of the meat juices was irresistible. After taking several bites from the karubidon, Fairey then turned to the miso soup, a piece of seaweed floating across it, and sipped directly from the bowl. This new flavor let the tongue relax, energizing it so it could go back to the front lines of the karubidon at maximum capacity, ready to win.

There was no more room for words.

Fairey’s tongue was being used for tasting and nothing else.

***

But eventually, that performance came to an end.

“Phew.”

Fairey took longer than most customers to finish her dish, taking the time to enjoy her glass of cold tea and letting out sighs infused with the aroma of meat. All that remained was a tremendous feeling of satisfaction. No ordinary meal provided the same feeling of fulfillment and happiness that this one did. Fairey was quite possibly the happiest young lady on the planet in this moment.

Karubidon really is the other world’s most delicious food of all.

While Fairey lost herself in thought, the demon servant from before returned to her table.

“Um, I’m here with your soft cream! I’ll take your plates for you.”

“Much obliged.”

Fairey’s empty plates were replaced with a small container filled with white, soft cream.

“Ah… It’s so sweet.”

The cold, rich sweetness of the soft cream made for the perfect way to close out her climactic battle with the karubidon. Like with her main course, Fairey slowly partook in the desert, taking each spoonful slowly and meaningfully.

All good things must come to an end, and Fairey finished off her soft cream.

“Phew, I am rather satisfied. Well then, I’ll be taking my leave,” said the young girl to the servant, quietly leaving behind the payment on the table.

***

Truth be told, this was the only time and place in which Fairey had use for silver coins. She asked one of her female attendants for access to multiple coins, but the whole meal only cost a single coin. Indeed, the karubidon, tea, and soft cream all totaled up to naught but a single silver coin.

Is that really enough?

She couldn’t help but wonder this to herself every time she visited. Fairey knew for a fact the master refused to take more money than that, so she complied with a single silver coin. It was the one way she could express her gratitude to the restaurant. It didn’t feel like an equivalent exchange though.

Fairey watched the demon servant take the coin off the table and begin cleaning up, before leaving through the door she came in.

***

Karubidon should be eaten in one sitting and capped off with soft cream. Once the soft cream is finished, one must leave immediately.

These were the instructions the halfling had given Fairey two years ago when the halfling first led the young girl to the Restaurant to Another World. Fairey continued to follow those words as she returned to the grove in the palace garden.

I have no need for lunch today.

Fairey gently rubbed her stomach and returned to her quarters to change.

It was just about lunchtime, but she hardly felt the need to put anything else into her mouth at this point. She would simply explain that she felt ill.

Considering how full she felt, eating anything else would be rather boorish indeed.

As the sun shone bright in the sky above, Fairey gathered her determination for the day as a single crow looked down upon her.

This crow was, in fact, a familiar created by its master to specifically watch over the princess as she went on her little “adventures.”

“It’s important for the princess to be able to spread her wings every once in a while, lest she start to feel cramped,” Doushun whispered. He smiled to himself as he watched the princess from the eyes of his crow familiar, slowly rocking to and fro in the carriage on his way to the party.