Chapter 39: Seafood Pilaf

Chapter 39:
Seafood Pilaf

Alfred walked through the city district of the imperial capital with his beautiful young mistress. While she was a noble from the Western Continent, Alfred himself was originally from the Empire.

“…And you’re sure about this?” asked Aisha, the young noblewomen who hailed from the Desert Nation, her long black hair flowing over her light brown skin.

“Yes, quite sure in fact.” Alfred nodded his head in response.

He had a secret plan in place to make his mistress happy. She already longed to return home, and he felt this to be the perfect remedy to that problem.

The imperial capital was still quite young. In fact, it had only begun to prosper when the great Wilhelm first came to call this country the “Empire.” A paltry fifty years had passed since then. Progress took time.

There was once another nation that called itself the Empire. While it wasn’t quite as massive as the Kingdom on the Eastern Continent, and didn’t have the historical connections to the old kingdom said to be the first nation of man that the Duchy had, it was still apparently a prosperous country. But one day, the old Empire met its end. It was simply a matter of bad luck.

In the final stages of the great war, after humans and demons had engaged one another in countless battles, the area around the old Empire had become the final battleground. This battle was as fierce as it was terrible, ultimately engulfing many cities and towns in the flames of war. It was then that Altina, a demon general with incredible power and hundreds of demonic beasts at her beck and call, decided that she wanted the human city for herself. Leading her army of beasts and demon warriors who chose to serve at her side, she waged an assault on the imperial capital.

Needless to say, it was a slaughter. The demons of that era were ferociously powerful creatures, each a more than capable warrior in their own right. It didn’t take long for the old capital to fall. Outside of a branch princess and her young son who were saved by the four legendary heroes, the entire royal family was murdered.

As luck would turn out, the branch princess who survived was none other than Lady Adelheid herself, with the prince in question being the boy who would eventually become the great Emperor Wilhelm. That would prove to be the beginning of the Empire as the world knew it.

All was not necessarily well from the outset: The Empire was quite the poor nation for some time. The citizens were left to survive off what few resources they had to their name. This all changed when Wilhelm discovered cobbler’s tubers and spread them throughout the nation. This was precisely why the imperial capital still lacked in high-class shops and restaurants; there simply weren’t enough people of great wealth in the nation.

And because it was located smack dab in the center of the Eastern Continent, the ocean was far, far away. It was a land that lacked the fine dishes that Aisha so desired.

“Honestly, I can hardly believe it. You’re telling me there’s a restaurant here that serves rice dishes with seafood?”

Aisha was born in the Desert Nation on the Western Continent. Rice was the most common of crops there, and seafood was fairly easy to come by in the port city she lived in. Both foods were woefully difficult to acquire in the Empire on the Eastern Continent. And when it came to the specifics meals that Aisha wanted, regardless of price, unless she borrowed the magical abilities of a mage and had them bring it specifically to her, there was no way she’d get to eat what she desired. So when Alfred proclaimed to know a restaurant that had what she was looking for, she couldn’t believe his words.

“There are barely any shops around here. My word…”

The fact that the area Alfred led her to was barely populated only led credence to her belief that he was full of it. They were currently walking through a section of the city lined with mansions that wealthy noblemen and women from abroad used. These sorts typically had merchants directly bring them the things they wanted. Common sense dictated that there wouldn’t be any restaurants around here.

“Well you see, I discovered that there is in fact one. It only recently appeared.”

Alfred chuckled as he answered his mistress. Seven days ago, he spotted a halfling in this very area. What business could a halfling have in a noble district? Out of pure curiosity, he asked the small person what their business was, which led Alfred to make a startling discovery: the one place in the imperial capital that the “restaurant” appeared.

“See? We’ve arrived.” Alfred pointed to an alleyway between two different mansions.

“…And pray tell, why is there a door there?”

Normally, nobody would even think to look for one in a place like this to begin with. Yet the fact remained that in the thin alleyway was a sturdy, black door. Aisha tilted her head.

“Um, well, that’s just how it works, apparently.”

Alfred couldn’t help but chuckle as his mistress responded the exact same way he did seven days ago. He went on to describe what the halfling told him.

“It’s the door to a restaurant that only opens once every seven days. The door to the Restaurant to Another World.” He silently recalled the taste of the very dish Aisha so desired, the same amazing taste he experienced seven days ago.

The ringing of bells signified the opening of the door.

“Welcome to Western Cuisine Nekoya!” A waitress in a short skirt immediately turned around in response to the sound and greeted the two visitors.

“…A demon waitress? Just what sort of institution is this?”

After seeing the small horns growing out from the waitress’s head, Aisha turned to Alfred more puzzled than ever. While there were many demons who called the imperial capital their home, you would never find them working in establishments meant for nobility.

“So it would seem. But I must stress, Lady Aisha, you mustn’t let this surprise you. There does not appear to be any present today, but this restaurant even has monster customers.” Alfred attempted to prepare his mistress for the most surprising of scenarios.

“Monsters?! Surely you jest.”

The ringing of bells suddenly announced the arrival of a new visitor.

“Mm. In the way. Move.”

“Eeeeee?!”

Aisha turned around only to be faced with a massive lizardman covered in ripped muscles. She let out a tiny cry of fear.

“M-my apologies, we’ll be right out of your way.”

“Mm.”

Aisha was frozen rock solid with fear. Alfred grabbed his mistress and pulled her out of the way of the lizardman, who simply nodded once before sitting himself down at an empty table and ordering a meal. The waitress seemed altogether unmoved by all of this as she simply smiled and took his order.

“Wh-wh-wh-what’s wrong with this place?!”

Aisha’s eyes were beginning to fill with tears in response to all the sudden horrors she was being forced to come face to face with.

“Quite frankly, even I’m a bit stunned. When I last came here, it was evening so I didn’t really notice, but…”

The door to the restaurant opened again, this time welcoming a group of small faeries. Alfred chuckled once more. When he first came to Nekoya, he assumed all the stories he was told about it were naught but tall tales and fiction. It certainly didn’t help that halflings loved all manner of jokes.

“In any case, shall we sit down? Um…are these spots open?”

Alfred walked up to one of the open tables next to some seats occupied by a beautiful imperial girl he swore he’d seen before and another woman who appeared to be a noble from Aisha’s home country. The two of them were happily conversing with each other, lost in their own world. Alfred spoke to the man next to them, who wasn’t involved in their conversation.

“…Yes. Do as you please.” The man nodded with little to no interest.

Judging by his light brown skin, carefully treated shiny, black hair, and all the gold threads used on his attire, he was likely some sort of nobility from the Sand Nation.

“Is that so? Wonderful. Thank you very much. Come now, Lady Aisha. Over here.” Alfred, relieved that he received permission to sit down, gestured to his mistress to come forward.

“Are you sure this place is really okay?”

Aisha was already exhausted from all the surprises. At the same time, she kept trying to convince herself that it was merely happenstance that the “siblings” seated next to them looked familiar to her. They couldn’t possibly be who she suspected they were.

“Excuse me! We’re ready to order.”

Once he confirmed Aisha had taken a seat, Alfred called over to the waitress.

“Excellent! What will you be having?”

“Um, can we get two plates of seafood pilaf, please? Oh, and two cafas, er, coffees for after the meal?”

Alfred quickly placed their orders, the same things he ordered the last time he came in. This was the dish Aisha had longed for: “a rice dish with seafood.”

“Of course! Thank you for your order. Your food will be out momentarily!”

The waitress returned to the master to deliver their order.

Sometime later…

“Sorry for the wait! Here are your orders of seafood pilaf.”

The middle-aged master of the restaurant came out himself, two large plates of food in hand, and set them down in front of the pair.

On each plate was a pile of beautiful rice mixed with thinly sliced vegetables, curled red shripe, shucked shellfish, and white krakeen that had been skinned and cut into a grid with a kitchen knife. The pleasant, mouth-watering aroma of butter found its way into Aisha’s nose.

“Please take your time.”

Leaving those words behind, the master returned from whence he came.

“…I suppose it looks fine,” Aisha remarked with a composed expression despite her watering mouth.

It was at that precise moment that her stomach also decided to respond in kind, letting out a noise that immediately turned her face bright red.

“Now, now. Let’s eat before it gets cold!” Alfred did a remarkably elegant job of pretending he didn’t hear a thing.

“F-fine!”

Still somewhat flustered, Aisha reached for a silver spoon and scooped up some of the rice and seafood from the plate.

…She took a bite.

Ah, this is lovely…

This was more than she could have ever hoped for. The moment Aisha began chewing, she was overwhelmed with a feeling of nostalgia so strong that it actually brought tears to her eyes.

The faint aroma of butter lingered over the soft rice, with all manner of spices (many of which were rather priceless in the Empire) used to season the dish. The rice absorbed the savory juices of the seafood, spreading them throughout Aisha’s mouth with each bite. The base rice grain was so high quality that every time she swallowed, it invited her to eat more.

The various seafoods atop the rice were equally as wonderful. Everything was so fresh that it was hard to believe it had all come from the ocean. There was no foul smell to speak of, the elasticity of the small shripe was just right, and the krakeen had been cut in such a way as to make it easier to consume. The delicious soup was filled with some sort of shellfish that Aisha had never seen before, and even the sliced vegetables were surprising in their own way, with bright orange, yellow, and green ones mixed throughout the dish.

And because the rice absorbed the soup exuding out of said vegetables, its own flavor was elevated that much higher.

It didn’t take long before the seafood pilaf had disappeared from Aisha’s plate. All that remained was a sense of satisfaction in her stomach.

She let out a sigh, almost as if she were releasing the cozy warmth that had built up inside her.

“How was it, Lady Aisha? Was it to your liking?”

“Well, I suppose it was all right.”

Aisha noticed Alfred’s smile and immediately tried composing herself, a rice grain sitting just below her lips.

“Absolutely wonderful. I’m pleased as punch that you enjoyed your meal.”

After confirming his mistress was more than satisfied, he began digging into his own plate of food. As expected, it was delicious.

I’m glad I was able to bring her here.

The food here was to his foreign mistress’s liking, fortunately. She normally had quite the small appetite, but she laid waste to the seafood pilaf with incredible speed.

Hrm?

But as Alfred continued eating, he noticed something: Aisha was staring directly at his dish.

“Um, excuse me. Could I get another order of seafood pilaf, please?” Alfred signaled to the waitress.

“Of course! Coming right up.”

“Huh…?! I-I didn’t ask for more! I’m fine with just one plate!” Aisha immediately objected to the additional order.

“Yes, I’m quite aware of that. But as you know, I am an adult man, so one plate simply isn’t enough to satisfy my hunger. However, this is quite the conundrum for me. I couldn’t possibly finish a whole other serving on my own. Do you think you could provide me with assistance, Lady Aisha?”

His mistress was adorably flustered as he offered her an olive branch to take hold of.

“F-fine, I guess I have no choice but to help out!”

Aisha nodded her head, a smile incidentally slipping out.

What a troublesome mistress I have. Though I suppose that’s part of her charm.

***

The moment they exited the restaurant, the door magically vanished into thin air.

“What a strange place.”

“Well, it is another world after all.”

The two exchanged words as they left the small alley behind them.

“Would you care to join me again some time, Lady Aisha?” Alfred presented his mistress with an offer he knew she couldn’t refuse.

“I suppose I could take precious time out of my busy schedule to accompany you once every three days or so.” Aisha did her best to hide the pure joy slipping out from beneath the cracks of her calm demeanor.

“Ah, about that. The door to Nekoya only appears once every seven days.”

“Huh?! Really?!”

Alfred watched as Aisha’s expression darkened with sorrow.

We’ll definitely have to come back in seven days.

He quietly planned out their next trip.