105-To seafood barbecue ground




 
'Oh! That's a scallop!

Oh? What is it? Are those shells awesome?

 As I was surprised to get the scallops, Roomba came up to me.

 The scallops, grilled on the net, with butter and soy sauce, are delicious.

 Oh, I regret that I don't have soy sauce just because of the scallops.

 Butter and salt alone is good enough, but I still want soy sauce.

 The smell of those scallops with soy sauce on top of them is unbelievable...!

'You know it well. Have you ever eaten in King's Landing? I know a lot of people don't like shellfish, but I love them!

 We walked around the fishmongers like this, asking questions about wakame seaweed and turban shells and other ingredients we knew and didn't know.

Well, it's about time for lunch, shall we go?

"Yes!

 We nodded along with Ilya's suggestion, not knowing anything about the area at all. I'm feeling like an elementary school field trip.

 Today we have only seen most of the foodstuffs, but it seems that we need to prepare for the boat ride, and we are planning to stay here for two days.

 If today is ruined, there is still tomorrow. Tomorrow we'll set our sights on foodstuffs and souvenirs for ourselves.


 


 Ilya took me on a walk for a few dozen minutes.

 The streets to the east of the harbor where the ship would be lodged were lined with many food stalls, creating a lively atmosphere.

 All sorts of people, from men and cloaked travelers to adventurers and ordinary people, are crowding in to satisfy their hunger.

 Vendors of stalls shout out to attract as many hungry customers as possible.

 The sounds and smells of roasting meat and fish are everywhere, making my stomach churn with excitement.

 As expected of a port town that catches a lot of fresh fish, the menu at the stall featured a variety of items such as salted fish, steak, grilled shrimp, and seafood soup, which I had never seen before in the royal capital.

 It smelled good. I wasn't very hungry until a while ago, but now that I'm here, I'm suddenly hungry. Especially the smell of seafood that had been drifting incessantly from earlier was unbearable.

 I was looking around the area, holding back drooling, when I heard a happy voice from Ilya.

''Ah, we're here. We're here!''

 If you look in the direction that Ilya was pointing at, there was a plaza that seemed to be adjacent to the street.

 Even though the square is called a square, it's not a glamorous place like in the royal capital, where there are plants, benches, and fountains, it's a miscellaneous one.

 In the center of the square stands an airy, well-built hut, with tables and chairs all around it. Moreover, most of them were filled with people and were very busy.

 There were shops and stalls lined up around the tables, and people were constantly crowding in.

 I felt as if I was at a B-gourmet restaurant.

It's like a festival in the capital. It's like a festival in the capital.

'Though it's so crowded in King's Landing that it seems like every day is a festival.

 Although such a festive atmosphere is not bad sometimes, the most relaxing place is still the village of Coriat. I'd rather not live in a noisy place like the capital every day.

By the way, where are Tori and the others? Though it's going to be hard to find if it's this crowded.

'The rest of you can already see it! Look, there it is!

 Ilya smiles and points to the building in the center.

 Following Ilya's fingertips, the familiar faces were gathered there.

''Ah, Alfried-sama is here!

"Hey, you guys are done practicing toasts! The next one is the real deal!

"Yeeeee!

 Tory invites us in by the hand, but Irvine, Malt, and the Chamber of Commerce employees seem already made up. Everyone has a slight blush on their faces and is holding up their wooden mugs.

 What's a toast practice?

 Well, whatever it was, they were getting ready for the place and all, but I guess they couldn't wait and started the drink first.

 We walked through the waves of people and tables to get to Tory and the others' place.

 The table was lined with nets and griddles, and many seafood ingredients were already sizzling and grilling on the table.

''See, Rumba-san and Alfried-sama, you're in front of us!

Ilya is next to me.

 Me and Roomba sit in front of Irvine and Malt, as Irvine urges us to.

 I would have preferred to be in front of the glamorous Ilya and Aleusha, but they're at an angle, so I'll have to put up with it. By the way, Tory is next to me, and Tory's secretary is next to her.

 It's not a good idea to have a crisp secretary in a barbecue-like place like this.

''Alfried-sama, orange juice!

 Irvine in front of me treats me like a child for this and pours a mug full of orange juice.

"Hey, you can play a prank on me like you did before and add fruit wine disguised as orange juice, okay?

 Seafood barbecue is the perfect accompaniment to a meal, but you can't drink.... It's the perfect time to be left out.

''Nonsense. If you do it that quickly, Aleusha will be angry with you. This time it's just orange juice like a normal kid.

 I guess he's going to try it again sooner or later. You never learn.

"Oh! There's a lot of ingredients I saw at the fish store earlier!

 Roomba, sitting next to me, looks at the food on the net with a gleam in his eye.

 On the net there are big scallops, clams, shrimps, turban shells, white fish, etc., and the smell of the tide is scattered all around. It is truly a seafood barbecue. The top of the net was covered with seafood, as if to say that the star of the show was the seafood.

Hey, Irvine, there are no vegetables.

It's a seafood barbecue, so why not?

 It's not like the men to have vegetables on the women's table, but not here. That's fine, but I'd like to eat a few vegetables as well, so I'll share them later.

''More importantly, look at this guy! That's awesome!

 Irvine pointed expertly at the thing that has been having a strong presence on the griddle for a while now.

 It's Kabuto-yaki.

 A thick fish steak is on top of the griddle, and in the center of the steak is a huge fish head facing the sky.

 Is this fish a tuna? It was too big for us to eat.

It's a big fish! This is going to be worth eating! You can eat heads too, right?

 I thought, but seeing the Roomba sitting next to me, I thought I could afford it.

 We chatted like that for a while. When we were all at the table, Tory stood up.

Well, folks! Our quest for Kagura has finally brought us to the port city of Esport! Now all we have to do is complete our week-long journey by sea and we'll be in Kagura! There is still a lot of work to be done, but today we will eat and drink as much as we can in order to recover from the fatigue of the trip and rejuvenate our spirits. It's all on me!

 The men cheered when they heard Tory's last words, "Buy me a drink".

 How delicious is the food that you can eat without hurting your own pocket.

 I don't know how I feel about that.

'Well then! Cheers!

""Cheers!"

 Everyone chants and raises their mugs in time with Tory's raised mug.

 The mugs collide with each other, and splashes of ale and red wine fly, but no one pays any attention. Everyone is smiling and hammering away at each other.

'Irvine, Malt! Cheers!

'Oh! --Hey, hey, hey! Don't deliberately laced with orange juice!

Ha ha, trying to get me to drink seawater. Whoa, Malt? Are you saying you won't drink with a nobleman like me?

 The malt is also laced with orange juice, and the mug is usually matched with the rumba.

 The orange juice in the mug is stirred all at once to moisten the throat.

 The refreshing sweetness and sourness unique to oranges is unbearable.

 At the same time I put my mug on the table, Irvine and the others vigorously slammed their mugs down on the table.

''Dahaha! There's a strange orange flavor to it, but I don't care!

"It's free! You can drink whatever you want now!

Another one!

 Irvine and the others drank it all in one go, then picked up their mugs and poured the next drink.

 Once I'd quenched my throat and settled down, I turned my attention to the food being grilled on the net as quickly as possible.

 I knew it would be scallops first, right? I was just aiming in my mind, when Tory, sitting next to me, called out to me.

''I have a wonderful present for you, Alfried-sama!

Hmm? What's a great gift?

 What is it? It's that amazing thing you were saying this morning, right? I don't know what the hell they're serving up. Can't really surprise me for a second, can it?

 As I stood tall, Tory placed a small jar in front of me.

'My God! I've got some soy sauce!

What?