Chapter 61: Almond Chocolates

Chapter 61:
Almond Chocolates

It was the second week of February.

A customer arrived at Nekoya early, before Aletta and Kuro had even come in to work.

“Yo! I’m counting on you this year, too,” said the master’s childhood friend. He was a pâtissier at the Flying Puppy, the cake shop above Nekoya. He’d brought plenty of beautifully wrapped, unsold confections. “I made a little extra.”

“Much obliged,” said the master, taking the sweets from his old friend.

***

When it came to sales, Valentine’s Day was one of the most important times of year for Japan’s pâtissiers. The holiday obviously meant a great deal at the Flying Puppy, too.

Leading up to Valentine’s Day, the master’s old friend made all kinds of chocolate goods. Three days before the holiday, he opened a special baking classroom for hopeful girls (and even some boys).

Then, the pâtissier advertised and sold tons of chocolate. Valentine’s Day was second only to Christmas for huge, multi-day sales.

Of course, to avoid selling out completely, the Flying Puppy made enough stock to guarantee leftovers every single year.

***

To sell those leftovers, the master’s childhood friend dropped by Nekoya on Saturdays during the Valentine’s season, when the restaurant was in the midst of its Valentine’s Fair.

Every year, the pâtissier’s childhood friend bought the inevitable leftover Valentine’s Day treats. This helped the pâtissier avoid filling his shelves with confections he couldn’t sell once the holiday passed, so it was a win-win for the Flying Puppy.

“It’s all good,” the pâtissier said, smiling. “We don’t do the half-off thing when it comes to leftovers, so if you’re willing to buy these at the regular price, I’ve got no complaints.”

“Folks look forward to this stuff every year. I can’t let them down, you know?” the master replied with a grin.

The master first decided to try selling sweets at Nekoya when his childhood friend approached him with the request. Now, however, the folks on the other side seemed to think that Valentine’s Day was some special festival with unique confections they couldn’t get their hands on in their world. Thus, multiple regulars looked forward to this time of year.

The master never went out of his way to explain what Valentine’s Day was about, which meant that he couldn’t afford to stop selling sweets. Nekoya ended up having its fair share of limited-time, season-exclusive items.

The master was hanging a “Valentine’s Fair Today!” sign in Japanese in the corner of the room when he realized something.

Oh, that’s right.

He stopped working and walked into the kitchen, pulling the item he’d remembered from a pile of blue boxes illustrated with winged dogs. The master placed the item beside the pile.

“He requested it, after all,” he whispered sadly. “I hope he comes this year.”

The master’s old regular placed this particular item on hold every single year, but it had been ages since the master had actually seen him.

Having taken over the restaurant about a decade ago, the master knew full well what the old regular’s absence meant. Still, he continued putting the item on hold.

***

Junior climbed the mountain quietly beneath the blue, cloudless sky, his head aching.

It’s so cold.

Although it was the middle of summer, the weather was so frigid that Junior needed to bundle up. He was climbing the region’s tallest mountain, headed for its peak.

“C’mon, get to it! Just a little bit more! You can do it, Master!”

Next to him, Junior’s brown-skinned disciple, Mariabell, shouldered his bags and offered encouragement. In contrast to his exhaustion, she showed no sign of slowing down.

As a veteran treasure hunter, Junior was fairly confident in his stamina. However, he stood no chance compared to Mariabell. She was a resident of this continent that worshiped the Lord of Red and had received their blessing of flame.

Dammit. Why’s it gotta be this mountaintop, of all places?

Growing jealous of his disciple, Junior quickly reminded himself that there was no point in envy. Ruins containing anything of value were always found in places that were easy to protect. After hearing about a location’s buried cache, treasure hunters like Junior couldn’t help wanting to check things out.

***

Junior’s real name was William Gold.

It wasn’t happenstance that he had the same name as the legendary treasure hunter who’d once traveled the entire world. Junior inherited the name from his great-grandfather.

Junior’s parents might have wanted him to join the Gold Firm, but Junior opted to follow in his great-grandfather’s footsteps. He believed he had a talent for treasure hunting and a real chance at doing well.

After the first William Gold retired, due to inevitable old age, he gathered information on ruins around the world.

Junior felt responsible for searching those ruins.

One ruin contained a magical device specifically crafted by elves to invade the Southern Continent, where the “overlords” were worshiped as gods. The contraption had sent Junior to the southernmost land instantaneously. For some reason, however, it never worked a second time. Perhaps it was broken, or perhaps it had finally used all its remaining power. Either way, Junior had miscalculated gravely and was stranded.

For ten years, he had found himself traveling the Southern Continent as a treasure hunter, desperately trying to learn the tongue as quickly as possible.

***

Since he was a treasure hunter, and there was treasure to be found, Junior was climbing a taller mountain than he’d ever attempted.

“We’re here!” said Mariabell. “According to Pop’s journal, the ‘door’ should be… Whoa! It’s seriously here? For real?!”

She raised her voice, stunned, as she stepped onto the peak a few moments before Junior. The sun was beginning to fall in the west.

“Hmm. So, this is the door, eh? Looks like your father’s story was the real deal,” Junior replied.

The abnormal sight before Junior stunned him as well.

At the center of a snow-covered series of stones on the mountaintop stood a door, clearly out of place.

“I thought it all sounded pretty fishy. But I guess he was telling the truth. Nekoya’s Door really does exist,” Mariabell said.

Mariabell’s father, a skilled warrior and priest, had devoted his life to the Lord of Red. Three years ago, in a great battle between followers of the Lord of Red and the Lord of White, he’d lost his life to a powerful priest from the other side. However, he’d left his journal behind.

The journal claimed that, once every seven days, a mysterious door leading to a restaurant from another world would appear at the mountain’s peak.

The journal also spoke of an annual festival, during which one could obtain special confections made from kalao beans.

“Shall we?”

“Aye, aye, sir!”

After staring at the door for a while, Junior turned the handle.

The door opened to the sound of bells ringing, and the pair made their way into the other world.

***

Nekoya’s assortment of surprises stretched out before Junior and Mariabell.

“Wowie! So, this is the world of Nekoya, huh?”

Mariabell glanced around the interior, breathing in rich, otherworldly air, altogether different from the mountaintop’s.

Just as her father had written in the journal, Nekoya was brightly lit, although there wasn’t a single window in the room. The Lord of Red’s powers flowed freely here, and all sorts of customers were enjoying their meals.

“Hmmm. There sure are lots of white-skinned folks like you here, Master.” Mariabell had learned that strong observational skills were necessary in treasure hunting.

Numerous humans filled the restaurant. However, they weren’t brown-skinned, like Mariabell was used to. Most were white like her master.

Hmm? Master?

Mariabell noticed her master staring at a single point, unmoving. She followed his line of sight and spotted a young lady.

The woman was approximately the same age as Mariabell, her white skin somewhat sunburned. She appeared to be enjoying some kind of meat dish—a brown something-or-other covered in black sauce.

The girl stared back at William, also frozen.

“What’s wrong? Love at first sight?”

Mariabell attempted to joke with her master, but he gave no response. It soon became clear why.

“Sarah…? N-no, it can’t be. But… Sarah, is it really you?!” Junior cried.

Before him sat his cousin, the very woman who should’ve been living in the capital as the proprietress of the family business.

The last time Junior had seen her was some ten years ago, back when he was still an active treasure hunter on the Eastern Continent—primarily around the capital. Yet somehow, his senses told him that this was her.

The Sarah that Junior had known was but a child. However, the woman in front of him showed traces of that same little girl. More importantly, she was dressed not as the young lady of a noble family but in a treasure hunter’s practical clothes.

“Junior?!”

As chance would have it, Junior’s guess was right on the mark. The young lady—Sarah—called to him, seemingly as confused as he was. She remembered Junior as being much younger, but she would never mistake him for someone else.

Standing before Sarah was the cousin she thought had perished ten years ago.

***

A little while later, Sarah, Junior, and Mariabell sat together at a table, their meals finished.

“I see,” said Sarah. “So, if you’re on the Southern Continent, you must be far past the Dragon God Sea, right?”

Junior’s tale surprised Sarah, but it also helped her put together the pieces of a greater puzzle.

Brown-skinned customers and monsters were common at the Restaurant to Another World. If they’d been from the Western Continent’s Sand Nation, it would have been easy to recognize them by their attire. Moreover, they wouldn’t have been accompanied by monsters.

Sarah had put a lot of thought into figuring out who the mysterious brown-skinned visitors—often accompanied by monsters—were. However, she never arrived at a proper answer.

“Exactly. Over there, up north, is what they call the Sea of the Blue Lord. I’m pretty sure we know it as the Dragon God Sea,” Junior explained.

He pulled out his worn journal and told Sarah everything he knew. He described how he’d found himself lost underneath a night sky filled with stars he couldn’t read. How he’d struggled with not knowing the land’s language. How surprised he was to find that monsters were intelligent, just like humans—building their own towns, developing their own cultures and lives.

He told Sarah that he couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw goblins bring crops they’d raised to the marketplace to sell to ogres.

***

At first, Junior asked Sarah how his family was doing and about the current state of the capital. However, the pair soon shifted into a passionate discussion about ruins and the Southern Continent.

“Elf ruins, eh? Are others still active?”

“No clue. I’ve yet to find any active ones on the Southern Continent.”

Sarah couldn’t have been more curious. Dragons worshiped as deities, intelligent monsters living beside humans—to her, it was a completely unknown land.

If she’d gotten through Junior’s story without feeling anything, she would have been incapable of calling herself a treasure hunter.

An idea struck Junior. “Oh, I know! Think you could hold on to this journal for me?”

“Are you sure?!”

Treasure hunters considered their journals, in which they collected information, as important as life itself. Veteran hunters’ journals could sell for dozens of gold coins. Sarah couldn’t help questioning her cousin’s suggestion.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. Details on the ruins the old man researched, and stuff I haven’t even gotten around to yet, are written in here. Some places this journal describes might still have untouched treasure, but I’ll never be able to look into them all. And maybe if Mom and Dad see this, they’ll feel a little at ease.”

“I get it.”

Junior’s explanation made sense to Sarah. He’d gone missing ten years ago and had long been thought dead. If she was going to convince his family that he was still alive, she’d need considerable proof.

A journal of entries penned by Junior in fresh ink was the best option available.

“All right. In that case, I’ll take this. Oh, by the way…”

When the conversation reached its natural end point, Sarah turned her attention to the girl chowing down on her second order of minced meat cutlet.

“Is she your special someone?”

Both Mariabell and Junior answered Sarah’s question quickly.

“Nompe, mmm!”

“No, no. She’s my disciple. That said, I do have a child of my own! This one’s older sister is my wife, actually.”

“Huh. Wow.” Regaining her composure, Sarah realized something.

“By the way, Junior, did you come here with some purpose in mind? It doesn’t seem like you ended up here by accident.”

Judging by Junior’s tough leather armor and cold-resistant equipment—not to mention the sword hanging from his waist—he was in the middle of exploring someplace rough. The door he’d found was obviously in a more trying location than the one Sarah often used.

It didn’t seem to Sarah that Junior was just in Nekoya for a meal.

“Oh, I almost forgot.”

Junior called the demon waitress so he could order—the very reason he’d gone through the trouble of climbing an entire mountain.

“Excuse me, could I place an order?”

“Okaaay!”

Junior watched the demon waitress nod exuberantly.

“I heard that you guys are in the middle of a Valentine’s Fair. Is that true?”

“Absolutely! Will you be ordering chocolate?”

“Yes, actually. Um, do you have almond chocolates? I’d like a box of those to go. I’ll have a box to eat here as well, please.”

“Oh! Oh! Could we also get enough warm milk for the three of us? Almond chocolates and milk are the way to go, lemme tell ya!”

This wasn’t just Mariabell’s favorite combination of foods; it was also a sweet memory. She’d shared almond chocolates and milk with her father.

***

Later, a middle-aged man—likely the restaurant’s master—came out with a deep dish full of the sweets.

“Sorry about the wait. Here are your almond chocolates.”

He placed the plate in the middle of the table.

“Wow. Shia would lose her mind if she saw this,” Sarah remarked.

Sweets blanketed in colorful sugar filled the plate. They weren’t as brilliant as jewels, but they shone beautifully under the restaurant’s lights nonetheless.

“C’mon, Master! Eat up! If you don’t, I won’t get to have any!”

Junior chuckled at his disciple, who was clearly desperate to start eating. “My apologies. Let’s start with one, shall we?”

Junior reached out for a beautifully round, pebble-like chocolate. He popped it into his mouth.

Huh…? It just tastes like regular sugar.

The almond chocolate’s flavor wasn’t bad, but it certainly wasn’t worth climbing a mountain.

Well, I suppose these things happen… What the…?!

Junior’s disappointment vanished the moment he bit into the chocolate. The heat of his mouth melted it, and a second flavor spread across his tongue. It was different from the sugar’s sweetness and had just a dash of bitterness.

“Heh heh! Ya see, the surface is pretty much like an eggshell. Kalao bean chocolates melt real easy, so they’re wrapped in shells!”

Mariabell smiled at Junior. His surprised look filled her with nostalgia. It was the exact reaction she’d had when she was a little girl and her father brought home almond chocolates one hot summer day. Her whole family had been shocked that the bitter, medicinal ingredient could prove so delicious.

“I get it,” said Junior. “This flavor really is surprising.”

He enjoyed the chocolate first and then bit into the large, aromatic nut. Everything clicked.

The older adventurer understood why Mariabell’s father had been enthralled with almond chocolates and why his wife and daughter wanted more of them. The confections were delicious, but of course, unavailable on the Southern Continent—and also in the Kingdom’s capital, where Junior used to live.

“Next, I recommend eating one whole and washing it down with milk! Like this.”

After watching the brother-in-law and master she so respected try the chocolates, Mariabell grabbed one of her own and tossed it into her mouth. The sweet, nostalgic taste of sugar coated her tongue.

The moment she began chewing, she encountered the kalao bean’s bittersweet flavor fused with the almond’s aromatic taste.

The sensation of washing it all down with warm milk was unparalleled.

Junior followed his disciple’s lead and found himself agreeing with her. “You’re right. It tastes even better when you try it all at once.”

The kalao bean and aromatic almond, together with the milk’s rich flavor, were truly exquisite. The combination was so delicious that one couldn’t help but want more.

“Agreed,” said Sarah. “The minced meat cutlet here is amazing no matter how often I eat it, but these are fantastic, too.”

She had accompanied the pair on their flavor excursion and nodded her head in agreement after devouring a few chocolates. All manner of customers came to Nekoya primarily for its sweets, regardless of their race, status, or nation. Shia would undoubtedly love the desserts at the restaurant.

Up until then, Sarah had never really gone for “luxury goods” like confections, but the almond chocolates were so tasty that she decided to rethink that policy.

The three dug into the pile of almond chocolates, clearing the plate.

“I have a suggestion, Master.”

During times like this, Mariabell would glance adorably upward at her brother-in-law, who held the money-filled wallet.

“Wait.” Before Mariabell could even make her suggestion, Junior countered with his own. “If we’re going to do this, we should at least try all sorts of stuff, right?” After all, today was the Valentine’s Fair.

A quick glance around the dining hall revealed other customers eating different chocolates from the ones they’d just enjoyed. Junior couldn’t suppress his curiosity.

***

After filling their stomachs with various chocolates, Junior and Mariabell exited through the door and once again found themselves underneath the wide blue sky.

“All right, shall we head home?” asked Junior. “She’s probably looking forward to these.”

“Aye, aye, Master!”

The pair began making their way home enthusiastically, goods in hand.

I hope she enjoys them.

Imagining his beloved wife smiling, Junior hurried home with his disciple by his side. The journal he’d handed Sarah would later be copied and circulated throughout the Eastern and Western Continents, leading many to set course for the Southern Continent.

But that’s a story for another time.