226-Fried fried clouds




 
 Rattled and rocked by the carriage, the Slaulet family headed for Silford territory.

 However, they have just left the village of Coriat now. It will be four days from now before they arrive. It will still take some time to reach Silford territory.

 There's still a long way to go, so let's just take it easy for now.

 I sit down and watch the scenery drift by in a daze.

 The weather today is clear. It was a perfect day for travel, with blue skies stretching endlessly and pure white clouds drifting effortlessly across the sky.

 There are vast grasslands and mountains surrounding it.

 There are no human figures at all, just a flock of birds that can be seen in the distance. It's a stunning piece of nature.

It must be so nice to lie down on that grassland.

I'd love to get some sunshine on the fluffy grass.

 I mumble vaguely, and Meena, who is also looking out the window at the view, mutters in a conciliatory voice.

 When it's said in concrete terms, I really want to do that.

''Well, let's all get out of the carriage now and take a nap in the meadow.

I like that!

What do you mean? We'll never get anywhere if we start out like that. You'll have to wait until the horses are at rest or lunch.

 Me and Meena and Meena were talking on the same page, and then Mother Erna warned me about it.

 Tsk.............................I thought I could do it now that I was in a better mood, but I guess I couldn't.

 Well, we knew this was going to happen.

 Me and Mina responded with a raw "'Yes'" and looked out again.

''Ah, Alfreet-sama! Doesn't that cloud look vaguely like fried food!

 Meena pecking my shoulder and making excited noises.

 I can understand if it's a heart or a soft-serve ice cream or some other animal-like shape, but what's a fried chicken?

'Where is that?'

There it is! That!

 I don't know if they call it that.

 As I looked around while asking Meena detailed questions, I found a cloud that looked like that.

''........I see, if you ask me, it looks fried.''

Of course!

 What's a cloudy, fried-shaped cloud? That's what I thought, but then I found a cloud that was really shaped like that.

 The shape itself was nothing special, just an irregular shape. However, it has a very unevenness to it.

 I don't know if it's the shade of the cloud or the light, but it's interesting. If I had a camera or a smart phone like I did in my previous life, I would have taken pictures for sure.

'What's up?' Are there any funny clouds in there?

 My brother Silvio, who is reading next to me, seems to be curious, too, and he snaps his book shut and leans toward the window.

 Meena and Meena casually shifted their bodies so that Silvio could see the scenery outside.

'There's a cloud over there in the shape of a fried chicken.

'Fried? Which one?

 As I pile on the same words as me, not long after, Brother Silvio finds a fried cloud.

''Ah! It's true! If you ask me, it's fried! I mean, it just looks like fried food.

 Brother Silvio was surprised by this and rolled his eyes. Then he laughed, more excited than usual.

''Ah, I'm starting to feel like eating fried food. Alfried-sama, can't you make it on the road?''

'There's nothing you can't do, but it's not going to be as good as the mansion, is it? We don't have a magic stove, and I don't think it's going to be crispy.

'Fried food without that texture is not fried food!

 Meena shouts at my words with a resolute look on her face.

 Oh yeah. That's good because that one uses a lot of oil and fries at high temperatures all at once.

 If you force it here, I think you'll just end up with a gooey, chewy, fried fish that has no teeth. Meena must know that too.

''But I want to eat fried food so fiercely that I want to twist it.......!

Well you ate a lot of food yesterday.

But still!

 There are fresh seafood dishes in Silford territory. Naturally, when you arrive over there, they will serve those specialties, and meat dishes will be an afterthought.

 You can't eat the elaborate dishes that you usually eat with preserved food or ready-made food during the four days you are traveling.

 It may be because of this that I have been eating a lot of food since the day before yesterday.

'I've eaten enough, I guess I'm okay?

Me too.

 We ate skewers, fried food, tempura, hamburgers, and various other things on consecutive days.

 It was certainly delicious, but from me and brother Silvio's point of view, eating in a row was enough.

 I'd rather eat seafood in Silford territory right now.

''No........! They're both dull! How about you, Lady Elinora!

 As if she wanted the approval of the same dark flavor faction, Meena asks Elinora sister who is facing her.

 Come to think of it, Elinora is awfully quiet, isn't she? What is she doing?

 When I looked at that, I saw that Elinora sister was tending to her sword. It wasn't a wooden sword either, but a serious one. She was carefully polishing the silvery blade.

 Elinora sister stopped moving her hand and shifted her gaze to Meena.

 Then she let out a roar as if she was thinking.

''Hmm, as expected, I'd like something refreshing to eat too. Like salted fish or miso soup.

'What? I can't believe Lady Elinora, who likes to cook with the same strong flavors I do, would say such a thing!

 Meena is surprised by her sister Elinora's words.

'I certainly like strong flavours, but not so much that I want to eat them every day, you know?

 Sister Elinora prefers darker flavors and is more of a meat person than a fish person.

 However, she doesn't eat the same thing to a picky eater like Meena does.

''I mean, I've been wondering since earlier, why are you polishing a sword?''

'What are you talking about? This isn't a colliat village anymore. We're trying to make sure that if a demon comes out, we can deal with it right away.

 When I ask, Elinora's sister lets out an exclamation of dismay.

 I see, it's certainly not a peaceful Coriat village now. It's a demon's habitat. It's never a bad thing to be prepared.

 As expected of an aspiring knight, you have a good sense of danger.

 I'm sure you'll be able to find out more about this, but I'm not sure if you're going to be able to find it.

 It's not a good idea to be able to have a good time. 

 I say to sister Elinora, worrying about the tip of the sharp blade.

'You don't have to be so uptight with Father Nord and Mother Erna, do you?'

'It's okay. It's good exercise when the demons come out.

 Sister Elinora says it as if she were jogging or playing a sport.

 The attack of a demon is something more dangerous than that.

I'd rather have them come out. It's boring to sit in a carriage all the time.

 You can't be attacked by a demon with such a sense of killing time. But it's beyond reliable to think that you have an escort like this.

''........It's as if the safety of this trip has been guaranteed.

''With Nord-sama, Erna-sama, and Elinora-sama, even if we have dragons to deal with, we might be able to afford it!

 Meena replies to my mumbling like a well-informed person with an innocent smile.

 But the scary part is that it might not be a joke or an exaggeration, but a fact.