Side Story: Fran and Kune 05

After finishing our check on Raydoss cuisine, we began work in the kitchen.

We had holed ourselves inside the building getting renovated into the tavern for the Adventurers Guild. However, the kitchen part was already complete and fully functional.

First, we tried adding a few spices to the Raydoss recipes we learned.

This started out as some slight adjustments, like adding a bit of spice to honey mustard, or a cinnamon-like flavor to honey.

Fran and Urushi said it was delicious, but…

「Blegh, nya.」

You don’t get to taste test! It was clearly a mistake to assume Kune could speak on behalf of the people of Raydoss. Thus, we invited the carpenters working on the building to try our dishes, but all of their faces turned grim.

「Is it bad?」

「I wouldn’t call it bad or anything, but the taste seems kinda weird…」

「Yeah, I get you. The slight difference from usual makes it uncanny.」

「It just feels off somehow.」

They all noticed the slightest addition of spices to their familiar dishes. If I remember correctly, adding a spicy flavor to sweet dishes can sometimes make the sweetness stand out better, right?

I’m pretty sure there were some countries in Central and South America where they sprinkled chili powder on pineapple. That said, it seems even a small amount of spice was off-putting to people in this region.

Next, we tried modifying potato and pasta dishes, having the proprietress of the eatery taste them. However, her reaction also seemed lukewarm.

「I just can’t get used to this flavor… It’s not bad, but I can’t call it tasty either, you know.」

「I see. Too bad.」

「Arf.」

For the next few days, we went around town tasting different recipes while making various prototypes.

We tried mixing buckwheat into barley porridge, using miso as a secret ingredient in cream dishes, and baking mochi bread with half rice flour.

「Tastes wrong, nya.」

「Smells bad, nya!」

「This weird bread is awful, nya!」

Shut up with all the complaints, Kune! We’re not asking you!

That said, the evaluations from other residents were similar. Long-established eating habits were apparently very difficult to overturn.

Honestly, I think we’re running out of options. As I was pondering our path forward, Kune barged in again. But her outfit was different today.

She was equipped with a thick coat, sturdy boots, and a pouch emitting mana at her waist.

「Doing weird stuff like cooking all the time is unhealthy, nya!」

How dare you call cooking weird! Apologize to the proprietress immediately!

「Hunting! Let’s go hunting! It’s a great way to refresh and get food, nya!」

Okay fine, I guess she’s thinking about Fran in her way.

Securing food was an important task, and as Kune said, going out for a change of pace might be effective.

「Nn. Got it.」

「Oh, you get me! I’ve been getting rusty lately, nya!」

Was she just looking to rampage? Well, whatever, I agree with going out.

「Where to?」

「Head north from here, and there’s a small bay, nya. Huge fish monsters sometimes stray in from there, nya!」

「That’s our target?」

「Yeah, nya!」

「Nn. Got it.」

「Woof!」

Huge fish monsters, huh. Seems like we might bump into some smaller game on the way there too. Guess we might as well report to the Adventurers Guild before heading out. We’re already on a request, after all.

After explaining our plans, the guild offered a high price for bringing back any magical beasts. By contributing to the local food supply, they intended to gather additional backing from the community, however small it might be.

To tell the truth, adventurers were still viewed with considerable skepticism. Though Northern Raydoss was less extreme than the south or east, our reputation wasn’t exactly great here.

Many thought of adventurers as thugs who were weaker than the common soldier. Others just plain hated us for no particular reason at all.

No one went as far as to brand us as enemies, but adventurers were considered the lowest of professions. The North Conquest Duke did apparently explain how all of these were misconceptions though…

Well, I suppose some adventurers fit that mold, making it hard to change their perception of us. We’ll have to improve our image gradually.

The first step will be fixing the food situation. While food-related grudges can be terrifying, the gratitude for food is equally immense.

That was the major reason the Adventurers Guild considered this mission important enough to specifically request Fran, who was now a Rank S adventurer.

The commission fee they gave us was quite substantial too.

「Nyahaha! This big wolf is so fast, nya! Let’s go! To the edge of the horizon, nya!」

「Woof woof!」

Kune was having a great time riding Urushi’s back. Though she had experience riding a horse, it wasn’t often you could ride a mount with such breakneck speed.

Influenced by Kune’s excitement, Urushi broke into a full sprint. When we bumped into a rabbit-type magical beast, Urushi immediately gobbled it down without even pausing.

I scolded him for this, of course, but it showed just how high his spirits were.

「Fran! Your wolf is amazing, nya!」

「Nn! Urushi is amazing.」

「Woof woof, awooo!」

The praises from the two pushed Urushi to run even faster. He went as far as to transform into his maximum size, which would cause a commotion if anyone saw us.

「Whoa! Cool! Faster, faster, nya!」

「Woof woof!」

Maybe we’ll be fine since Kune wants to keep going? No way, it would be wise not to use her as a benchmark.

Our full-speed dash eventually came to a screeching halt when Urushi’s foot got caught on a boulder, resulting in what might be called a minor disaster.

He had clearly crossed a line.

『Urushi, bad boy.』

「Kuhn…」

View the latest chapters at seeker142.github.io