Episode 15: The Creeping Shadow ②
Charabine Miw Tydyr, located on a bustling main street in the outskirts of the Imperial Capital, is a renowned restaurant on the second floor of a long-established cheese shop.
They serve delicious and affordable cheese dishes using popular items or leftovers from the cheese shop downstairs.
Though a庶民的なお店 (commoner’s establishment), it’s known as a名店 (famous store) frequented by nobles and clergy alike.
Incidentally, while the restaurant’s name has a rather cool ring to it in the Imperial tongue, translated into Japanese, it means something like “Ginormous Boobs Suckling,” so it’s not cool at all.
I assume it refers to a cow’s, of course, but why would they choose such a name?
I really don’t get what the people of the Orthodox Empire are thinking.
“Hmm…”
Lieutenant Krimine was scowling, stroking her chest area, so I let out a small sigh.
“Try not to mind the name. Come on, let’s go in.”
“Yes, Lieutenant Fonkt.”
Persistently stroking her chest, Lieutenant Krimine nodded.
For the record, I prefer smaller chests, so please don’t misunderstand. If anything, I rather like the supple lines formed by muscles and bone structure.
That said, I’m also very interested in ample bosoms, but this isn’t something to discuss with a female subordinate, so I’ll keep quiet.
“Welcome, Mister Guardsman. A party of two?”
The waiter, who was clearing dishes, turned around, and I nodded.
“Are there any private rooms available? ‘The Red Cow has been in a good mood since yesterday.'”
The burly, bearded waiter’s eyes turned momentarily serious.
“May I ask your name?”
“It’s Fonkt. Just say I’m Gehenbach’s subordinate, and they’ll understand.”
The waiter gave a small nod.
“Understood. Please wait a moment.”
Lieutenant Krimine, seemingly not understanding what had happened, blinked, looking back and forth between my face and the waiter’s.
“Eh… What was that?”
“‘Red Cow’ refers to the owner here, and ‘yesterday’ and ‘good mood’ are part of a code.”
“Amazing…”
I’m just using the password the Battalion Commander taught me, so there are parts I don’t really get myself. I’ve never met the owner directly, either.
The waiter, who had stepped away for a moment, quickly returned.
“Thank you for waiting, Fonkt-sama. A private room just opened up, so please use it. It’s a ‘quiet room.'”
A room designed with counter-intelligence in mind, huh? How thoughtful.
“Thank you.”
I smiled brightly and slipped the waiter a copper coin.
Then I turned back to Lieutenant Krimine.
“Let’s go, Lieutenant.”
＊ ＊
And now, I was in a real bind.
“It’s certainly a private room, but…”
We were led through a corridor next to the kitchen to a small room at the very end. It had only one window and was a bit dim.
It’s natural for there to be a table and chairs, but why is there a bed?
“Lieutenant Fonkt…”
Lieutenant Krimine stared intently at me, making me panic.
“This is my first time in this room too. Maybe it’s an employee break room?”
It’s not a very large building to begin with, so there shouldn’t be many private rooms. This is probably a room used for secret talks or clandestine meetings. Very convenient for counter-intelligence purposes.
Though it’s very inconvenient in that it makes me feel awkward.
A waitress, not the previous waiter, came, so I placed a random order. I also handed her a memo and asked her to leave.
No, please don’t stare at me like that. It’s not what you think.
Dammit, I’m always like this. Nothing ever goes right for me.
I took off my service cap and smiled at Lieutenant Krimine.
“Once we’re in here, we can completely shake off any pursuers for now. I sent a coded message to the Company Commander just now, so he should arrange something to deal with the tail.”
Company Commander Captain Yugi always prioritizes his subordinates’ safety in these situations. However, since he’s a martial type himself, his tendency to rush to the front lines is a constant headache for his subordinates.
There’s no doubt he’s reliable, but he often gets scolded by the Battalion Commander because of that…
After a while, the food was brought in, but what caught the eye was a ridiculously large block of cheese. It was probably a wheel of cheese, the kind used for aging, cut in half.
There was a hollow in the cut surface of the cheese, and the chef tossed freshly boiled pasta into it.
“Woah, woah, woah!”
As Lieutenant Krimine exclaimed, the chef, with a proud expression, skillfully mixed the pasta. The heat from the pasta melted the cheese, and in no time, cheese pasta was made.
Once it had cooled down a bit, the chef portioned the pasta onto small plates, twirling it neatly.
“This is our specialty, a three-year-aged cheese, the ‘Golden Cow.’ Please enjoy it while it’s hot. We also sell it in the shop downstairs.”
A subtle sales pitch.
Other servers arranged an assortment of cut cheeses, a small pot for cheese fondue, and the like on the table, then quickly departed.
“Well then, please enjoy yourselves.”
The chef gave a final bow, leaving behind a somewhat suggestive smile.
It’s not like that!
“Uhm…”
Since Lieutenant Krimine looked dumbfounded, I explained, recalling knowledge from my previous life.
“This pot here is a dish where you dip bread and vegetables into melted cheese. The cheese hasn’t completely melted yet, so they probably mean for us to eat the pasta first.”
“I see.”
Lieutenant Krimine readied her fork.
“Then, giving thanks for the grace of the True God…”
She abbreviated the first half of the state religion’s prayer and eagerly began to eat the cheese pasta.
“Wow, this is delicious! Lieutenant Fonkt, you should try it too, quickly!”
Hey, have you forgotten we’re here to lose our tail?
I couldn’t help but give a wry smile, but I felt it would be tactless to say too much, so I started eating.
“It certainly is delicious. To think cheese alone can produce such a complex flavor.”
“Yes, I’ve eaten various cheeses, but this one is carefully aged and delicious. Plus, the way it’s made and eaten is interesting.”
It seems the taste satisfies even a young lady of quasi-noble status. I was a little relieved.
However, in my past life in Japan, dishes like this weren’t uncommon. Whether it was pasta made by tossing it in cheese or cheese fondue, I’d eaten similar things.
But in this world, food culture is fixed by region, so only the wealthy in major cities like the Imperial Capital can casually enjoy the delicacies of various regions.
In the Kavalaf Region, where I went on a business trip in early spring, there was little to eat besides beans and black bread. Being served game in the village was probably the best hospitality they could offer.
The staple food of the lords, though it included nuts and dried fruits, was still black bread.
In this Empire, only the wealthy in urban areas, less than one percent of the total population, possess the privilege of enjoying food as entertainment.
Thinking about such things fills me with a sense of guilt even with this delicious food, but it’d be a waste not to eat it, so I eat.
“Lieutenant Fonkt, this pot looks about ready too. We dip bread in it, right?”
“Yeah. You should try those steamed vegetables too.”
The reason I abandoned my hometown and joined the army was because I heard that officers could get decent meals. For a penniless commoner from a rural area to rise in the world, the only options were to become a soldier or a clergyman, and if I had to choose, I wanted to eat good food.
But that aside, I need to talk to Lieutenant Krimine about this while I have the chance.
“Lieutenant.”
“Fwat if if?”
“Sorry, you can keep eating with your mouth full, just listen. You don’t need to answer even if I ask questions.”
Apologizing to Lieutenant Krimine, who had cheese dripping from the corner of her mouth, I began.
“I want you to think about this for a moment, Lieutenant… no, are we pro-Emperor? Or are we anti-Emperor?”
“Mhm-hm.”
“No, you don’t have to answer. Just think about it.”
This conversation isn’t getting anywhere…