Chapter 60: Croquettes

Chapter 60:
Croquettes

Long ago, there were four heroes on the Eastern Continent.

There was Leonard, the venerated saint of the Shrine of Light, one who was loved by the Lord of Light more than any other on the Continent, and thus blessed.

There was the genius sage Altorius, the most talented human magic user in the Kingdom—nay, the entire world.

There was Alexander, god of the blade, a half-elf who spent over half his life on the battlefield and who had brought down the demon king in one-on-one combat with only his sword.

And then there was the one who possessed the magic skills to rival Altorius, who could go head to head with Alexander as a samurai, and who was as beloved by the Goddess of Darkness as Leonard was by the Lord of Light.

Using all of her powerful attributes, she put an end to the great war against the demons that some thought would be endless. In exchange for her life, she defeated the dark lord dragged forth into the real world from the depths of chaos by the demon king.

Her name was Yomi, and she was a true hero.

Thanks to collective actions of these four heroes, the dreaded demon kings and the dark lord they called their god were defeated. The demons were robbed of their powers, and an era of peace dawned for the humans of the Eastern Continent.

This all happened nearly seventy years ago.

***

Apart from Yomi, who sacrificed herself in the final battle to defeat the dark lord, the heroes all managed to survive the war. In the aftermath, Leonard, Altorius, and Alexander all walked their separate paths, parting ways in life.

As he had shown he was capable of accomplishing feats no other could, Leonard became the pope of the Shrine of Light. He guided students in the teachings of the Lord of Light, strengthening the Lord’s authority.

Altorius, with his great intellect, became a renowned sage whose name will be remembered throughout history. He pursued the magic arts and truth of the world in the Kingdom.

Alexander wandered endlessly from battlefield to battlefield, continuing his journey as a legendary mercenary. After a time, his whereabouts were lost to the wind.

Much like a halfling, the warrior journeyed widely and freely. He had beautiful looks that could make any man or woman blush, and he created scandalous rumors wherever he went. He also used his legendary swordsmanship to battle monsters and bandits for money.

The swordsman had gone on countless epic adventures worthy to be sung of by the bards. Yet on one fine winter day, he decided to visit an old friend of his in the royal capital, someone he had not seen in quite some time.

Since he was a half-elf, Alexander possessed a considerable amount of magical power. But he cared little for the magic arts and didn’t have the skills to use them to begin with. And so it was somewhat of an irony that he was paying a visit to the royal city’s proud headquarters of the magical arts.

“Yo. I got some biz with Al,” Alexander said as he arrived. “You’re his students, right? Could you go call him for me?”

It went without saying that, before the great sage Altorius could be summoned to greet his old friend for the first time in years, chaos unfolded.

***

“Alex, I never thought I’d see you here… I see you’re still as rambunctious as ever.”

Although he jested with him, the great sage Altorius was genuinely happy to see his old friend Alexander. It had been some ten years.

The old companions convened in Altorius’s personal chambers, a place that the average mage would never in their life have the chance to enter.

The space was filled with the smell of dusty paper and strange potions. Bizarre instruments lined the walls.

Alexander laughed.

“Yeah, glad to see you’re uh… Well, to be quite honest, you got damn old. You’re literally an old fart now!”

Alexander didn’t hold back with his old friend, the legendary sage Altorius.

Seventy long years had passed since the final battle. An entire human lifetime. Yet here stood the genius great sage, thin and fragile-looking in his aged body. To think that during the war, he had been nearly as handsome as Alexander himself.

Altorius chuckled. “You really never change, do you?”

Alexander hadn’t. At the time of the final battle, Alex had technically been older than Altorius. And yet here he stood, looking entirely unchanged.

The great sage recalled how when they were young, he and Leon would always get into arguments with Alexander about his attitude.

Alex didn’t seem to have a care in the world. He was irresponsible and took nothing seriously. Altorius had magic on the mind forty-six hours a day and couldn’t help but take interest in the smallest details of his craft. Meanwhile, Leon himself had been quite the ruffian, constantly smoking tobacco despite being a high priest of the Lord of Light. Yet he retained a strangely serious side. It was no wonder that the sage and the high priest didn’t get along with Alex at times.

But now, far removed from their days of adventuring, Altorius couldn’t help but think back fondly on those days. There was no anger left. Perhaps that’s what it meant to “grow old.”

Altorius focused back on his friend and finally posed the question that had been on his mind.

“And so? What business brings you here? I can’t imagine you coming to see an old friend without something in mind.”

When they still traveled together, the man before him had once boasted about how he “laid with a real princess” once. When it came to earning money for his pastimes or seducing a beautiful woman, Altorius knew that Alex was willing to put in some measure of effort. There was no way that the Alex he knew would have come here without a purpose.

And there was little doubt in the great sage’s mind that his friend hadn’t changed in seventy years.

“…I’m glad you get me. That will make this easy.”

Though his friend had aged, Alexander could see Altorius’s mind was still in tip-top shape. He went on to explain why he’d come to the capital.

“Actually…I’d like to drop by that restaurant in another world place. There’s a dish I wanna try.”

Alexander was a pretty famous fellow; he knew all manner of folk around the world. He’d heard the rumors from halflings and other adventurers about the mysterious restaurant that only appeared once every seven days and the delicious otherworldly foods you could get there.

He’d also heard that if you went there, there was a good chance you’d run into a frail-looking grandpa of a mage. The one said to be the living legend himself, the great sage.

“…I see.”

Altorius immediately understood what Alexander was getting at. Looking back on it, over the last thirty years, he’d never actually run into his friend at the Restaurant to Another World.

Alexander had never actually been there before.

“If that’s the case, I’d gladly take you there myself. Tomorrow evening, actually.”

This was a request from an old friend, a man he had once trusted to watch his back on the most horrific of battlefields. How could he possibly turn him down?

“Tomorrow night? Why the wait?” Alexander tilted his head in confusion.

“Mm… There are certain customers there that I’d prefer for you not to run into. It’d be a mess. We’ll wait until they go home.”

Two specific regulars came to Altorius’s mind.

Given how much of a skirt-chaser Alexander was, he might try to make a move on the imperial princess and get himself embroiled in a duel to the death with the prince from another nation. And then there was the demon warrior with the lion head, a regular who Altorius had known for quite some time now. He’d heard that the reason he was forced to become a gladiator was because he lost to Alexander in combat.

If those two got into a brawl, it’d be a gigantic problem. The restaurant was an extremely important place to Altorius, and he didn’t want to cause trouble for the master.

***

The following evening, using the magic circle engraved in Altorius’s research room, the pair stepped through the large black door. The sound of ringing bells filled the air as they arrived in the other world.

“Welcome… Oh? I didn’t think you’d be dropping by today.”

The master regarded Altorius with surprise. The oldest customer among his regulars usually dropped in around lunchtime, or else didn’t come at all.

It was rare for him to show up at this time in the evening.

“Well, today I’ve got someone with me.”

Altorius coughed, prompting Alexander to introduce himself. The half-elf smelled of women’s perfume. Just where had he been all day long?

“Yo! So you’re that otherworldly chef guy, eh? I’m… Uh, I’m not one to introduce myself to other men. Anyway, nice to meet ya!”

“Y-yeah, likewise.”

The master lightly nodded his head, unsure of what to make of this flaky introduction.

“…He’s not a bad guy, I promise you that much,” Altorius said. But Alexander’s tone was making him nervous.

“No worries,” the master said. “I know how young folks are! Oh, what do you want to do about your order?”

The master didn’t even consider that the young-looking man before him far outstripped Altorius in years. The middle-aged man asked about his order, something he normally skipped altogether.

Altorius always ordered pork loin cutlet and a beer.

But this time, he had a friend with him. As far as the master could tell, he was another otherworlder. He had no way of knowing what this guy’s tastes were.

“Ah, I’ll be having the usual, but…” Altorius, too, was unsure of what to order for his companion.

“Get me a croquette. Oh, and I’ll have the same drink as the gramps here,” Alexander stated with certainty.

“…That’s right. You did say there was something you wanted to try here.”

Alexander’s quick response reminded Altorius of their conversation yesterday.

***

Croquettes.

A certain Nekoya regular, now sadly deceased, had made a habit of telling everyone he knew that croquettes were the absolute most delicious fried item on the restaurant’s menu.

According to the rumors, croquettes has been brought over to the Empire when this regular devised the recipe on the other side.

I see. So he was pining for an otherworldly croquette, eh?

It all made sense to Altorius now. Alexander was such a curious person that he sometimes questioned whether he really had been born of an elf; he had the inquisitiveness of a halfling. It was that curiosity drawing him to sample the otherworldly croquette, a food he had never even seen before.

“You got it. A croquette and an order of pork loin cutlet. Those’ll be right out.” The master repeated their orders back to them and retreated to the kitchen with a nod.

“Now then, follow me.”

Altorius guided Alexander to his usual spot.

“Sure…” The half-elf followed Altorius, his guard suddenly raised by something he’d spotted in the restaurant.

“What’s wrong? Something on your mind?”

Alexander realized that Altorius hadn’t even noticed it yet. The warrior strengthened his guard.

“…So that elf girl carrying food? She’s a real problem.”

Altorius followed Alexander’s line of sight.

“Wh-what?! She’s here again?”

Alexander had his eyes trained on an elf girl clad in otherworldly black clothes. She was carrying food to the various tables. When she’d first slipped into the dining room, her presence had been so innocuous that even the professional warrior, “Curry Rice,” didn’t notice her.

It was likely that no one but Alexander was able to sense her presence.

The girl said nothing, simply transporting food and drink to and fro like some kind of ancient magical automaton.

And judging by the fact that the customers accepted the food that appeared at their tables without a word, the waitress was probably taking their orders by reading their minds.

“Yeah, she’s a problem. You definitely don’t want to make an enemy out of her…”

As someone who spent over a hundred years fighting across countless battlefields, Alexander had strong instincts. And right now, his instincts were blanketing him in cold sweat.

He was right to be concerned. The elf girl before him—the waitress in question—was a force that he could never hope to triumph over.

“I figured as much,” Altorius said.

He agreed with his friend. He knew what she—what it—was capable of. He’d seen the consequences not long ago.

This was the sort of being that they had to avoid making an enemy of at all costs. It was more powerful than the dark lord they risked their lives to defeat all those years ago.

If only they hadn’t noticed its presence in the room. A heavy silence set over the pair until their food arrived.

“Sorry for the wait. Here’s your croquette and your pork loin cutlet, plus two beers.” The master broke this tense atmosphere, setting down their plates.

On the tray were a pork loin cutlet over green vegetables, a croquette, and two golden beers.

“G-great. Shall we eat?”

“Y-yeah, sure. Wow, this looks good.”

With the delicious-looking food before them, the pair deigned to forget the presence of that “thing” in the restaurant.

There was no need for them to make any stupid moves. If left alone, it would simply continue to work. It didn’t seem to even remotely care about them.

Realistically, the only people in the restaurant who even knew that waitress was present were the master, the other waitress girl, Alexander, and Altorius.

***

And so at long last, Alexander came face-to-face with the food he had longed to sample.

“Huh, so this is what a real croquette looks like?”

He regarded the brown, oblong croquette before him. As far as he could tell, it was still freshly cooked, the warm scent of oil wafting off it. Alexander could still hear it faintly sizzling.

“Let’s see what you’re made of…”

Gulping, Alexander took fork and knife in hand and cut a piece off of the edge of the croquette.

The knife slid satisfyingly through the croquette, revealing the mashed cobbler’s tubers and small brown bits inside, the glistening white and brown substance leading Alexander to gulp once again.

Then he took his first bite.

The subtly sweet flavor of the salted, seasoned, and buttered cobbler’s tubers filled the half-elf’s mouth, along with the taste of the high-quality fried breading. As it turns out, the brown bits were actually meat, and their fattiness helped bring the flavor of the croquette to a new level.

Yeah, this is a whole different tier of delicious. For sure.

Alexander washed down the greasy food with a sip of golden beer, his cheeks lighting up. This was better than he could have ever anticipated.

The “croquettes” that Alexander was familiar with from the Empire were round balls of mashed cobbler’s tubers mixed with salt and fried in a water-flour dough.

It was the sort of food that you bought from a stall; a real commoner’s dish. There was something extra special about eating a freshly fried croquette on a cold day out beneath the winter sky.

I totally get why that guy was so crazy about them.

With each bite, the chunk of croquette in his mouth fell apart, and Alexander began to reflect on his past.

***

The reason Alexander had sought a croquette at the Restaurant to Another World in the first place was because of a story he’d heard from a middle-aged halfling in his acquaintance.

Once while they were drinking together and swapping stories, the halfling spoke of the long-gone customer who loved the croquettes at the Restaurant to Another World.

The halfling smiled as he recalled the tale.

“I know the world is vast and anything is possible, but Croquette’s probably the only guy who’s ever been crazy enough to go and build a whole castle around one of those doors when they appeared. Hahaha.”

His words hit Alexander like a ton of bricks. He must know the true identity of the man referred to as “Croquette.” That’s why the half-elf came traveling all the way to the Kingdom: so that he could ask his old friend for guidance on this urgent matter.

“C’mon, Alex. Croquettes are all about the sauce!”

Caught in his reverie, Alexander was pondering what to order next, when Altorius exclaimed in exasperation.

“Sauce?”

“Mm-hmm. Whenever you eat something fried here, you absolutely have to try it with this sauce.”

Alexander tilted his head in response to this unfamiliar word as Altorius passed him a small bottle.

“Try putting some of this on top. You can’t eat the fried food here without this flavor.” Altorius smiled, shaking his head.

There was one exception: tartar sauce, the rival condiment that paired perfectly with the fried seafood. But for everything else there was simply no other choice.

“Huh. Then let’s give it a try…”

Alexander nodded, taking the bottle from his friend. When he angled it down, a brownish black liquid poured out. It slowly fell from the mouth of the container and onto the brown coating of the croquette, staining it a darker color.

Alexander once again took a bite.

“I get it now. It tastes completely different with and without the sauce.”

The core flavor of the sauce was a vinegar-like sourness, but that wasn’t all. It was also intensely salty, with just a dash of spiciness, all the while being ever so slightly sweet. Overall, it imparted an incredibly complex taste.

By itself it’d be just a tad too intense. But when combined with the flavor of the croquette and breading, it was the perfect balance for the taste buds.

Alexander came to a conclusion as he munched on the darkened croquette.

I see… You can’t eat a croquette without this sauce. It’s the only way.

Admittedly, the fried treat was delicious on its own, but when combined with this sauce, it became a new dish entirely. As far as Alexander was concerned, he preferred the fusion of flavors.

“It’s too bad we don’t have this stuff on our side, eh?”

“Mm. Yomi said the exact same thing. She didn’t think this stuff was going to make it to our side anytime soon,” Altorius cheerfully replied. But his off-hand comment had revealed something important.

“Yomi…?”

The moment Alexander heard the old man say her name, his hands stopped moving.

Alexander stared at Altorius, his eyes filled with shock.

Why would he bring up the name of their friend who died so long ago? Why here and now? Altorius sensed his friend’s questions in his serious expression.

“Ah, yeah… Yomi survived.”

Altorius was comforted by Alex’s surprise. He was reminded of the chance meeting he’d had the first time he visited Nekoya some thirty years ago. The old mage explained further.

“Seventy years ago, after she managed to stop the dark lord’s rampage, Yomi didn’t actually die. She apparently got blown away to this other world. When I met her, she had already perfectly adjusted to living with the folks on this side. She even said she had a grandson over here.”

Altorius glanced over at the master, busily going in and out of the kitchen.

His old friend’s gesture was enough for Alexander to put the pieces together, but he posed the question anyway.

“…Are you telling me the master of this place is Yomi’s grandson? It sure doesn’t look like he can wield a sword. Or use magic, for that matter.”

The half-elf thought back on meeting the master earlier. After the croquette he just ate, it was undeniable that the man’s cooking skills were excellent. Yet his build wasn’t that of a warrior’s, and his magic powers must have been weak. He was an ordinary chef, no matter how you sliced it. How could someone like that be Yomi’s grandson? She was a genius of the sword and magical arts.

“Well, of course he can’t. In this world, swords and magic serve no purpose. What would be the point of her teaching him that stuff?”

Altorius smiled wryly, remembering Yomi’s words on that fateful day he ran into her. She’d uttered them with a completely serious expression on her face:

“On this side, swords and magic are useless… But I’d like for him to at least inherit my cooking skills.”

And those words came to fruition. Yomi’s grandson, the master of this restaurant, may have had zero swordsmanship or magic skills, but he was one helluva chef.

“Seems to me like Yomi had a grand old time on this side.”

Altorius recalled the incredibly natural smile on Yomi’s face, those thirty-odd years ago. No longer was she hollowed out like a dragon fang soldier. No longer was she the woman who could think of little but killing monsters. She was not the same person she had been when she journeyed with her comrades in arms.

It was as if she had simply become a “normal human.” Altorius couldn’t help but feel overwhelming joy for his old friend, tinged with loneliness.

“I see… So Yomi made the most of it, huh?”

Much like Altorius many years ago, Alexander felt at ease hearing about his old friend’s final years.

***

“I was made in order to destroy the demon kings.”

Yomi would always say this with a straight face. All she had ever known was killing demons.

After defeating the dark lord summoned by the demons, she just up and vanished from the world. No trace of her was left behind. At least that’s what Alexander thought had happened to his beloved friend.

But Yomi survived and found happiness in this other world. The half-elf was filled with warmth hearing this happy news.

“…You know what? Let’s drink! To Yomi’s survival.”

Altorius nodded in response to Alexander’s proposal.

“That’s a great idea. Our way of thanking this world for taking her in as one of its own, you know? Excuse me, Master,” Altorius called. “Could we get seconds on the pork loin cutlet and croquette?”

And so the pair of old friends ate and drank until the break of dawn.

***

The day after they visited the Restaurant to Another World, Alexander and Altorius parted ways.

“I appreciate everything you did for me, buddy. Thanks.”

“No need for that. Come by whenever you want. Hell, make it on a Day of Satur.”

Alexander had settled a matter he’d been curious about for years. And he’d gotten a bit of tremendously happy news on top of that, something he could never have anticipated. It was time for him to set out on his journey once more.

His destination? Well, that depended on where the wind was blowing. That’s how Alexander lived.

The half-elf gave it some thought, abruptly coming to a decision.

“Now then, I suppose I could swing by Addy and the boy’s grave. Now that I think about it, I’ve never actually been.”

His destination was the capital city of the Empire.

While the country was less than a hundred years old, its capital city was jam-packed with interesting things and places. Alexander had pretty much seen it all…except for two gravesites.

Alexander had always believed that the worlds they inhabited were too different. The beloved woman he was with for one night and the son she gave birth to… He used to think there was no point in going to see their graves.

He was sure his son would have been annoyed.

“I have no father,” the boy had said once when he was younger. “My mother Adelheid is the only parent I’ve ever had and the only one I’ve ever needed.”

Alexander decided that he’d apologize to Addy. She was an adorable young lady who knew little of the world and had likely gone through all manner of troubles thanks to his behavior. Today he would tell her that he was sorry for everything.

And perhaps he’d tell them both that he’d gone to eat the delicious croquettes from that restaurant his son loved.

I’m allowed that much, right? I mean, he’s the one who had to go and kick the bucket before his old man. Jerk.

And so Alexander set off on his next journey, his mind murmuring with these thoughts.

He hadn’t seen the woman and boy since he helped them flee from the old capital with his comrades, when it was attacked by the demon king.

Finally, Alexander was going to see his lover and his son.