Hakai no Miko

"Welcome, Mr. Menahem!

Menahem was making a cold observation with a smile on her face as she welcomed herself with a full smile.

Menahem, a trader, has experience in meeting and negotiating with more people than he can count so far.

Some of these people were adults who could be called the masterpieces of a generation.

Such a person, even if only on the spot, had a unique atmosphere that overwhelmed this one.

But for the first time, I can't feel those things from a young man named "Son of Destruction" I see.

On the contrary, it is mediocre.

If you can't feel anything particularly talented running, there's no atmosphere to intimidate this one. He is a rounded ordinary person who just seems good to people. It would still be more convincing to be introduced to some wealthy nobleman or merchant boy.

"We will have a formal welcome feast in the evening, but we would like to invite you to join us for lunch first"

Menahem, who entered the detachment room following a pale horse who said so, finds himself slightly uncomfortable.

It's a lot brighter in the detached room.

It was a faintly eyebrow-rooted menahem, but I felt the sun pouring over me and shook over my head. Then, a skylight for lighting was placed (already) on the ceiling, from which a blue sky appeared.

Skylights containing many lattices are taken large enough to be bold. This should make you feel bright. But taking skylights that big would be hard to get cold outside air in the winter.

That's what I thought, Menahem said, "Oh?" I thought.

The season is only in the early spring. It's still a cold season. In fact, outside the detached room, he was feeling the cold that just shrugged his neck with a slightly stronger breeze.

However, the air is reasonably warm in the detached room.

Menahem looked over his head again. I felt that the blue sky visible from the skylight appeared distorted if I let my eyes peel often. That's not all. The clouds that are supposed to be white in the blue sky appear slightly blue-green.

"What if it's sheet glass...?

To Menahem's inquiry, the Ethereal Horse smiled and showed him.

"Yeah, it's just recently finished."

In the centre of the continent, rumors had it that the use of plank-shaped glass created by Dwarves and others for windows had become popular recently. But the story is that glass is still precious and only a limited number of places, such as cathedrals and royal palaces. Yet Menahem was surprised that it was early incorporated in a borderline city at the edge of such a western zone.

It is very common for Ethereal Horses who have lived in modern Japan to use glass for windows. As a result, from the early days of glass manufacturing, Dwarves were strongly requested to manufacture sheet glass.

But for the people of this age, glass is still a substitute for gems and very expensive. For those people, window glass was the equivalent of decorating windows with gems.

There is a famous passage in the "Western Sightings," a journal written by the merchant and adventurer Mark Paul of the centre of the continent, which reads: "The West produces enormous amounts of gold and silver, and the palaces and common people's houses are full of treasures, such as decorated with jewels".

In fact, however, there is no record of Mark Paul himself visiting the West End, and the "West End Gazette" is just a description of the West End hearsay he heard. And there is a theory that this part of "decorated with gems" was passed down by the deception of the story of sheet glass, which also became popular in the houses of ordinary people in later years.

"You just succeeded in producing large quantities of glass vessels, or even sheet glass."

Menahem said that not just in flattery, but sincerely.

But in contrast, the Ethereal Horse only laughs affectionately, "thanks to the Dwarf craftsmen". Besides, Menahem clapped out.

He praised the successful manufacture of sheet glass, which is still rare in the centre of the continent. You could be more proud. But even though the Son of Destruction was proud of the Dwarves' arms, his response to the sheet glass itself was faint.

It is as if sheet glass and the like are not uncommon.

Menahem was also convinced by the story that he was out of saying "I didn't think it was such a big deal" a groundbreaking thing called a button that would revolutionize clothing.

It's a hell of a story that this guy is mediocre.

Didn't my son Joash also previously say, "Judging by his appearance alone, he shrugs his feet"? Besides, it is an unmistakable fact that this young man produced so many things that he could not help but be stunned himself.

The Ethereal Horse leads Menahem, who had secretly changed his perception of himself, to the room where a large table was provided.

Before Menahem and Joash, who sat in a chair in the form of a face to face with the Ethereal Horse, shortly after, the Elf woman placed only one plate on which the hot air was raised.

Looking in that plate, Menahem moves his eyebrows slightly.

I've been so surprised. I wondered if anything absurd would come out here again, and what came out was a pale brown transparent soup in a deep plate. Speaking of utensils, I'm just sorry there's a fine chopping of vegetables floating around.

When it comes to the soup Menahem knows, it is a dull, more varied ingredient is simmered. This only makes it look like a soup made by the poor with their ingredients kettled.

Well, I guess it's better to be watery to soften the hard bread.

That's what I thought, Menahem, but there was no bread at the heart.

I can't eat soup with this. In the southern desert and elsewhere, some regions eat soup dull with their hands, but in such watery soups it is also difficult.

Now, to Menahem wondering what was wrong, an elf woman who was holding back to serve softly ears.

"Use this and drink only soup"

An elf woman showed a tool very similar to the spoon (tsp) used to formulate the drug. But the part of the suckling plate is bigger and rounder than the spoon Menahem knows better. This would make it easier to soak up the soup.

Menahem couldn't be. On a hand, I creaked the soup with a spoon and put it in my mouth.

Good.

Menahem was surprised by the good spread all over his mouth.

Poor man's soup, for example, is outrageous. It tastes good. I don't know what to describe it as either. It's complicated.

Menahem, who himself boarded a merchant ship and tasted all the gastronomy of the nations, has confidence in his tongue. But even with its proud tongue, the taste of its soup was unknown.

The wild taste that underlies the soup probably belongs to the mountain birds. I feel the taste of seafood and even the sweetness of vegetables there. But that's all I know. One thing, it has a flavour I don't know. It was something Menahem had never tasted before.

That's just Menahem, too, I wouldn't have imagined. I didn't know that was the seagrass that many people only saw as weeds growing in the ocean as well as menahem - the taste of the stock picked from kelp.

"You seem to like it, most of all."

I'm not teasing you, I'm just purely happy with the voice of the Ethereal Horse, and Menahem returns to me hah. If you noticed, the soup in the plate was almost gone.

I try to unravel the secret to the taste of soup. Menahem is ashamed that he was losing me. The Ethereal Horse ordered him to bring an alternative soup to Menahem like that. After a while, along with the new soup, another plate is served to Menahem.

Instead of bringing the dishes that were made to the top, it's rare how they come out one dish at a time, but the next dish served was also something Menahem didn't know about.

"What is this...?

"It's soma's national dish, and they say it's called" tempura ""

According to the elf woman who brought the dish, she put eggs and flour on seafood and vegetables dissolved in water as clothes, a dish fried in oil. I've just eaten fried vegetables that fry ingredients in oil, but I've never seen anything like this before.

Just now, an elf woman stops Menahem from trying to get her tempura in her way.

"Use this"

That's what an elf woman showed you, like a little trident made of silver.

"It's a tool called a fork. Now stab the food and eat."

Menahem was convinced that it would be. This will allow you to carry it to your mouth even with hot dishes, and you don't have to worry about getting your hands dirty with oil. It's called an earlier spoon, well thought out.

When I stuck the fork to the tempered one, it sounded like a creepy noise. I'll carry that to my mouth and take a bite.

…… What the hell is this?

In the clothes of crisp wheat were fillets of white fish caught in the sea of Jeboa. The moist fish fillet, unlikely to be vegan fried, spreads its goodness in the mouth juwah when it bites. White fish with a pale taste adds a hint of oil weight, which is again indescribable.

But Menahem was surprised, not just because it's good.

The fillets are not salty.

It is a time when we still rely on salt for food preservation. Whatever it is near the sea, it must always be salted to bring fish to these inland areas. However, the fish fillets that I just ate were unlikely to be salted.

In fact, this tempurally used fish was just water-fried yesterday in the port of Jeboa. It was immediately drained of blood and airlifted using harpuran after being soaked in ice stored in an ice chamber.

No way, Menahem, I never thought I was doing that, but I know you're using a tremendous amount of effort and skill anyway.

That's why Menahem was stunned.

How much effort are you spending on just one plate?!

Menahem, one of the premier luxuries in Jeboa, deserved a grand welcome wherever he went.

And those who welcome themselves try to communicate with exaggerated gestures and gestures, not just words, about how pleased and welcoming Menahem's visit is. That was sometimes even excessive enough for this one to open up.

But how about this?

A tremendous amount of effort spent on just one plate, felt via the tongue or stomach. It is conveyed more eloquently and enthusiastically than the millions of words that make Menahem welcome.

I can only honestly say that even Menahem, who is immune to the euphemisms of those who welcome him, has come to this.

Even then, the next dish came out that I didn't know was next, and each time I surprised Menahem.

And finally, something like a main course is brought in. Meat dishes are a staple when meat is the main dish that entertains guests in precious times. It is still like a meat dish that has been prepared because of the noise and fragrant smell of oil that can be played violently.

When it comes to meat dishes served as staple dishes in regions around here, it is common to cook whole cows and pigs stuffed with vegetables and fruits after the guts have been cleaned out.

However, only one plate with meaty things on it was carried by an elf woman before Menahem.

It is also impossible that Menahem could not determine what appeared on the plate.

It was different from what Menahem knew about meat. The lightly scorched surface is uniform in its entirety and tissues such as muscle and fat are not visible. Besides, the shape is a beautiful oval, as if it had been made.

Menahem pierces it with a fork and carries it to his dreaded mouth.

"It's good......!

I accidentally leaked my exclamation.

What is this plump, soft baking when you say that meat gets stiff when it's cooked?

This kind of textured meat has never been eaten before. Even without chewing, the meat seemed to unwind in my mouth.

Besides, the brown juice on top is also exceptional. Juice that combines fruity acidity and vegetable sweetness with spice flavors is entangled in the meat, and the good taste can be played in the mouth.

Meat itself is also something that I have never tasted. He seems to have eaten somewhere, and none of that. Menahem, who thought over and over again of what meat it was, finally figured out who it was.

"Is this beef and pork meat...?

Asked half-heartedly, the Ethereal Horse affirmed.

"Yes. - In my hometown, it's a dish called Hamburger of Mixed Ground Meat."

Menahem was also the first experience to create a different flavor by mixing two kinds of ground meat instead of just baking them.

If you taste a meat dish with so much taste, it will only seem like a handful of dishes, such as round-roasted beef and pork, which you have always thought was luxurious.

"Did the food fit your mouth?

To the pale horse, who asked with a smiling smile, Menahem was full of answers with no twist: "We are fully indulged".

"That was good. Mr. Joash recently gave me some precious sugar, so I'm making ice cream now with it. Stay tuned."

Joash cheers next to Menahem, baffled by the name of the dish he hears for the first time.

"Yo ho! That's that sweet snow. That's exciting!

It seems to be a treat made by cooling cow's milk with precious sugar. Besides, they use a ton of ice and salt to make it, so if they're not so many customers, they won't serve it.

On the back of Menahem's brain, which was explained to him by his son, the following words follow:

Give me a break already.

◆ ◇ ◆ ◇ ◆

Then for three days, two figures, Menahem and Joash, who received generous hospitality from the Ethereal Horse, were in a carriage bound for Jeboa.

With expressions such as not here in his heart, Joash speaks with a grin to his father, who sees the city of Bornis, which has become so invisible.

"Father, how was the city of Bornis?

Menahem grinned bitterly at the inquiry knowing he was in shock.

Now I can understand why my son was so much into the city of Bornis.

That's all the knowledge of a young man named "Son of Destruction" and what comes out of it is worth it.

In the three days that he was being entertained, the Son of Destruction did not say a word about inviting himself to Jeboa. Perhaps that also had the wisdom to let my son in. My son was convinced that he could not help but invite him, even if he did not speak from the Son of Destruction.

And angrily, I had already intended to invite him to Jeboa in order to deepen my relationship with the Son of Destruction.

Even if that makes the weather slightly worse in Jeboa's Merchant Guild, it would be more profitable to have an even better relationship with that Son of Destruction. No, rather, the attitude of the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce to build a good relationship even in those circumstances would make a strong and positive impression on the Son of Destruction.

It was because of the dishes served while in Bornis that made Menahem so determined.

That's not just because I was caged in by the delicacy of cooking.

Cooking is richness and history.

If you are having trouble eating, filling your stomach is a priority. So the idea of how to cook deliciously and beautifully comes second and third. The idea of cooking deliciously and beautifully is the first time you can afford something to eat.

And no matter how rich, cooking is not complete overnight. After decades and centuries of trial and error, it is finally complete.

Exactly, it is history itself.

When it became the richness and history that produced so many dishes of such taste, it was of an area that Menahem could no longer even imagine.

And that's not the only thing that surprised Menahem.

What surprised Menahem most was that he couldn't see the background in the dishes served.

Cooking is also a culture. Even if the race is the same, the culture and customs of the land create a completely different dish. If it's close to the sea, fish and other dishes will develop, and if it's a mountain, meat-based dishes will develop, and if it's a plain, cereal-based dishes will develop.

The dishes that came out in Bornis, if every one of them, can see the background.

But when it comes to all the dishes, the story is different. I wondered if there was a dish that seemed to belong to the sea, and the dishes with very different backgrounds were served side by side together, just as the mountain ones were served, followed by the plain ones.

It is not possible to push the origin of the son of destruction from the dish.

If forced to reckon, the Son of Destruction's home country would be:

Blessed with abundant seas, mountains and flatlands, or superpowers that have absorbed the cultures of such nations by trade or occupation, nurturing and developing them in more than hundreds of years of history.

But if you're such a big country, you can't be in your own ear as a dealer. Nor was there talk from his son Joash that such a great nation was behind the Son of Destruction.

Exactly, incomprehensible.

The closest Menahem could come to it would have been an empire in the centre of the continent. But what Menahem felt was a much richer and more historic power than such an empire - the shadow of modern Japan.

There's no reason why Menahem thought it was incomprehensible.

But that's why Menahem also felt dangerous.

Previously, my son, Joash, described the Son of Destruction as a sea demon hidden beneath the surface of the sea, even if he could see a giant toucharm, firing a shotgun. Anyway, I don't know when or where it's coming from. That is what, if you approach it inadvertently, you may be caught in contact with (from) its arm and dragged to the bottom of the far deep ocean to ruin it.

But Menahem thinks.

My grandfather embarked on a merchant ship to the sea where pirates would storm, laying the foundations of what is now the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce. My father went to buy himself in an undisclosed land where he was said to be dangerous, and raised him to be an extravagant merchant who could neither push nor be pushed by the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce.

Yet Menahem laughs at the fact that he is the only one who fears the sea demon and tatami the ship's sails.

"Let's break the bones so Master Soma can come to Jeboa"

Just to be sure, Menahem sprouts a prank on her soft-faced loving son.

"And you're too prodigal."

Suddenly, Joash also opens his eyes to a poked allowance. He was a Menahem who cared about his son's reaction as expected, but he continues his words by making a face that is only all the more stubborn.

"I invite the Son of Destruction to Jeboa without the understanding of the Ten Commissioners, too, and I will soon take responsibility and hide. The later Shapiro Chamber of Commerce is going to leave it to his eldest son, Daniel."

So Menahem laughs niggardly.

"Though I forgive you, you are a lovely son. At the same time as I retire, I'll split my fortune. Take it and start doing business wherever you like."

Seeing his father's thoughts, Joash goes along with the stinking play.

"When your father takes care of you, you can't be embarrassed and very Jeboa. - Fortunately, even I have people like this who are close to me. I think I'll open one of those little shops in that city."

"Uhm. Let's be good. I'm sorry, but you and Daniel are just two brothers. We will continue to help each other and set up the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce."

Joash's recriminations and Menahem's recriminations divert accusations from other merchants to the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce. And the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce will become ever greater if it enters into a more intimate relationship with the Son of Destruction, via Joash, who is ostensibly forgiven.

The only thing that strikes me at once is the growing tension between the Son of Destruction and the State of Holmea.

But if the Son of Destruction loses to the kingdom of Holmea, if he trumps Joash, the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce body can survive. Besides, if we deepen our friendship here, we'll be able to bring in artisans at the Shapiro Chamber of Commerce who make distilled liquors, soaps, etc. who lost their way to Holmea.

It is such a lukewarm thought.

"That's right, Father. Bad Wisdom Works."

"Not as good as you."

Menahem and Joash both laughed loudly when they said what they thought would be a "conversation between the evil deputy and Echikaya" if the Ethereal Horse had listened to it.