Isekai Smartphone - Chapter 493

“Oh ……. This is ……!”

Two dishes are lined up in front of me. Both of them come with rice, miso soup, and aromatics.

The difference is the main meat dish placed in the center. One is pork, the other is chicken. One was pork with ginger and the other was chicken nanban.

No matter how you look at it, it’s a pork ginger yaki set meal and a chicken nanban set meal.

Is chicken nanban a Japanese dish?　I wondered a little, but let’s not get into the details. If I don’t know what it is, there’s no way the girls in the other world will understand it.

I’ve had gingered pork a few times since I came here, but I haven’t had chicken nanban in a while. Huh?　Did I give Lu the recipe for chicken nanban?

Just by looking at it, I can’t tell which one of us made it. But my eyes couldn’t help but turn towards the chicken nanban.

I’ve been thinking about how good it would be to make chicken nanban out of the chicken I chased through that maze.

“…… looks delicious, that it does. ……”

Yae gulped as the food was served in front of me. What do you think? You’re in front of my daughters, so please be moderate.

“I’ve prepared something for you mothers as well. Don’t worry.”

“Oh!　You are indeed Lu-dono’s daughter, that you are!”

Perhaps sensing Yae’s feelings, Ashia and Lu brought the chicken nanban set meal and ginger yaki set meal respectively. It’s nice that everyone can eat at ease. ……

Well, well. You can’t just sit around and watch. It’s time for me to eat.

“Well, let’s start with this chicken nanban. Let’s eat.”

I can’t help it. I can’t stop thinking about it.

I picked up the one in the middle with my chopsticks. I can see the white chicken meat inside the foxy batter. The sweet and sour sauce and tartar sauce on the meat stimulated my appetite.

After the crispy texture, the juices came out when I bit into the chicken. In addition to the flavor of the meat, the sourness of the sweet and sour sauce and the richness of the tartar sauce created a wonderful harmony.

While it was still lingering, I took a bowl of white rice. Kuuuu.

“This is delicious!”

I can’t stop eating. I savored the chicken nanban, enjoyed the rice with it as a side dish, cleaned my palate with the pickles, and washed it down with the miso soup.

It’s so good!　I was pretty hungry, and maybe it was because it’s been so long since I’ve had it.　Oh, no, I can’t eat all of it. I have one more dish.

“So now I’ll have this one: ……”

I move the chicken nanban set meal to the side and bring out the ginger yaki set meal this time. It also looks delicious.

There are two types of pork ginger yaki: fried pork slices and onions, or thinly sliced pork sauteed.

This one is the former. This is the former, fried onions and slices of pork. This is the one that my mother used to make at home.

Pick up the onions and pork together with chopsticks. I threw them into my mouth, using a bowl of rice to catch the juices that seeped out. It was also delicious.

I couldn’t resist taking a bite of the rice. The rice, onions, and pork are dancing in my mouth. The more I chew, the more the flavor spreads. This is almost as good as chicken nanban.

However, compared to the ginger yaki that I usually eat, it seems to have a slightly stronger flavor. It’s just a little bit. Could it be that this is the one that Ashia made?

No, no, no. Preconceptions are dangerous. It makes it impossible to make a proper judgment.

But it’s still delicious. Even the cabbage that had absorbed the oil from the gingerbread was delicious. It’s hard to compare this to the chicken nanban from earlier. …… What should I do?

It’s a good idea to have a good idea of what you’re looking for. I’m not sure what to do.

But I have to judge. …… Hmmm, hmmm …….

I ate the chicken nanban again, then the gingerbread. I compared rice, miso soup and pickles. Both are delicious, but if you ask me which I like better, I’d say …….

I can see that everyone’s eyes are on me. Too much confusion?　Yeah, well, whichever way you go, I’ll follow up somehow later!

“Okay, ……!”

“Have you decided?”

I nodded quietly in response to Yumina’s question. These things are intuition. Just go with the one you think you like!　I’m not bad!

“I’ll have the ginger-yaki set meal!”

“Why the hell?

Ashia exclaimed as if she was shouting over me. What?　Dad, you’ve done it!

Lu, on the other hand, is stroking his chest in relief. I don’t think she can see me.

So, the chicken nanban was made by Ashia and the ginger yaki was made by Lu.

“Why, father!　You were raving about it so much before!”

“What about before?”

“Ah …… No, don’t worry about it. More importantly, why!　Please explain!”

No, when you say explain, you mean ……. I just said that this one was more to my liking. You don’t have a reason there.

“Ashia. You’ll know the reason when you try the gingerbread that You made.”

“Huh?”

As prompted, Ashia took her chopsticks and took a bite of the gingerbread. Meditating, she chewed and swallowed it as if slowly savoring it.

“It’s certainly delicious ……. But I’m sure my chicken nanban is just as good. ……”

I’m not sure,” she said, shaking her head. It’s a matter of personal taste. I guess it’s a matter of personal preference now.

“How did you feel about it, Touya-sama?”

“Eh?　Well, it was delicious. I thought the taste was a little stronger than usual, but ……”

“It tastes strong ……?　No way!”

As if she had noticed something, Ashia took a bite of the ginger-yaki set meal, then drank the miso soup next to it. Eh, what?

“Salt ……!”

“Salt?”

“Just …… a tiny bit, but a lot of salt. Just enough not to upset the balance of flavors, though. …… Maybe this is the …….”

Huh?　I’m sure it was thicker than your usual gingerbread and miso soup, but it’s really only a little bit, okay?　If I hadn’t been comparing the food like I did this time, I probably wouldn’t have known.

In response to Ashia, Lu, who had been silent for a long time, opened his mouth.

“Touya-sama was swamped by slime, skeletons, and chickens in the morning. I’m sure it was quite a workout.”

Wait, wait, wait!　That’s not the right way to put it!　It makes it sound like I’m pathetically beaten all the time!　Correction!　A few corrections!

“Movement …… ah!”

“Yes. It is obvious that if salt is removed from the body along with sweat, the body will seek it out. Even if the person is not aware of it, it will show up in their behavior. That’s why I added just a little bit of salt to the …… food so as not to spoil the taste.”

In other words, were you seeking to be saltier than usual for the amount of salt lost through exercise?

Even though I’m physically stronger, I still sweat and need to go to the bathroom. But if I’m exercising too much, I don’t sweat as much as I used to because of my divinity. I could intentionally switch, but I don’t usually do it. It’s a pain in the ass, and it dulls my senses. Well, I did sweat a lot this time, and I was tired, but …….

Did Lu see through all that and make this dish? That’s what I unconsciously chose to do: ……. It’s a great way to make sure you’re getting the most out of your money.

“Stick …… to it. …… I didn’t know you thought that far ahead. It’s a complete defeat …….”

Ashia slumps her shoulders in disappointment. With the girl at her side, Lu took a bite of one of the chicken nanban on the table.

“Ha! ……!　…… I see. I’m sure you’ll agree that I’m very good at this. It’s no wonder you’re so confident. It’s very tasty, Ashia.”

“Mother, …….”

She smiled and took the hand of her daughter, who also loved to cook.

Phew. We’ve managed to come full circle, huh?　I don’t want to be this stomach-churning judge anymore.

“…but.”

“Huh?”

Lu’s eyebrows wrinkled as he kept the smiling smile he had just given me. …… Oh, what?　Didn’t we just come full circle?

“The words that I leaked earlier, saying, ‘You praised me so much before. I’m not sure what to make of it, but I think it’s a good idea.

“What is this, Okaasama?”

Ah, Ashia looked away. Oh, so I ate this in the future and I raved about it, and that’s why she brought it up.

Hmmm. I don’t know how many years it will be, but if I ever get the chance to serve this dish to the newborn Ashia, I’ll have to praise her immensely.

“How dare you use such a cunning strategy!　Look, in the first place, cooking is ……!”

“Huh?　Lu also hid the fact that Touya was sweating from exercising in the morning from Ashia, didn’t she?”

Lu was shot by Elze’s bullet that flew from behind her and stopped moving. Erna said to Elze, ‘Mother, ……!　Shhhh, shhhh,’ she elbowed her. Erna, your mother unknowingly unleashes an extra word.

“…… your mother?”

“What!!?”

Oh, Lu looked away. I don’t know what to say.

“You’re the same way, aren’t you?　If I had known about your father’s condition, I would have thought about the amount of salt!”

“You can say what you want later!　The problem is that you didn’t think that far ahead!　The problem is that you didn’t think of it!

While watching the two of them start to argue, everyone continued to eat without stopping.

“You two are so close!”

“I wonder if they’re good friends ……?　It’s good, I guess.”

I twist my head slightly at Sue’s words, but let’s put it that way. I’m sure this kind of parent-child relationship is possible.

◇　◇　◇

“Agh!　I’m so frustrated!　I’ve been outsmarted by mother again!”

“No, I think it’s more like Aa-chan’s carelessness. ……”

It was that night when Ashia arrived. The children had changed into their pajamas and were gathered in one of the castle rooms. Frey let out an exasperated squeal as Ashia took it out on the cushions in frustration. With that by his side, Coon opened his mouth to Erna and Linne.

“So, Erna, Linne. I’m going to ask you one more time, but you’re sure it was Ashia who was in front of you guys when that dimensional tremor happened, right?”

“Yes, I’m sure. When the nuclear core flashed, Arshia was protecting us.”

Coon listened to Linnea’s explanation and was convinced that his hypothesis was correct. I don’t think it’s a coincidence. They are definitely appearing in our world in the order of those who were far away from the ‘Nuclear Core’.

“So, Ashia. Who was in front of you at that time?”

“In front of you?　Um, well, I was so dazzled that I closed my eyes and ……. But I think Yoshino was almost beside me.”

“Yoshino, right ……. Then there’s no need to worry. She can jump here with her [teleportation]. As long as she doesn’t take any unnecessary detours. ……”

Yoshino, a child of Sakura, can use non-attribute magic [teleport] like her mother. Unlike [Gate], [Teleport] can be transferred anywhere as long as the distance and direction match.

Long-distance movement requires a large amount of magical power, but Yoshino’s magical power should return to Brynhildr in a few transfers even from the end of the world.

If there was a problem, it was her personality. Yoshino is a very moody person, she won’t do anything if she doesn’t feel like it, and she won’t do anything she’s not interested in. She is the kind of girl who might think, “I have to go see my family at ……, but I can do it later”.

On the other hand, she is the type of person who reacts quickly to things that interest her, and she likes new and unusual things. However, she is also the type of person who gets bored easily, and her storage card is full of strange junk that she bought but got bored with. She has a tendency to get hot and cold easily.

Coon sighed, thinking that it was unlikely that such a sister would return straight back to the past, an extremely unusual situation.

“If I’m not careful, Yakumo-sama might come first.”

“If I’m not careful? It doesn’t matter, even if big sister Yakumo comes.”

Coon’s words made Linne, who was lying on the bed, chuckle. Erna, who was next to her, tilted her head at Coon’s somehow not wanting her to come before Yoshino.

“That’s sweet. Why don’t you let Yakumo-sama arrive and Yoshino come leisurely after her? With a lot of unfamiliar souvenirs in her hands, you know?”

“Ah, ……. It’s definitely going to be a sermon, big sister Yakumo’s …….”

Erna gave a drawn out smile, as if she could easily imagine the scene.

Serious Yakumo and free-spirited Yoshino are water and oil. It’s not that they don’t get along, but due to their positions, they’ve all seen the scenes where Yakumo, the older sister, lectures Yoshino to the point of disgust.

“Yoshino. If you don’t come soon, your sister Yakumo’s lightning will strike. ……”

Frey murmurs to one of the younger sisters, who doesn’t know where she’s taking a detour. I don’t know if Yakumo will be mad at me for stopping by, Frey thinks. But for the moment, Frey had no intention of stopping her sister’s sermon.

Well, he thought, I’ll follow up with her if she brings me a rare weapon as a souvenir.

◇　◇　◇

“Ikkishi!”

Suddenly, Yakumo’s nose got all mushy and he sneezed like an old man, which was unbecoming of a maiden.

“Mmm ……. I wonder if someone’s talking about …….”

Guzzling and rubbing his nose, Yakumo continues through the town. This is Orphans Dragon and Phoenix Country. It is the counterpart of Yisheng, the homeland of his mother, Yae.

Yisheng is in the far east, and Orphans is in the far west. Yakumo had never been to this country, which has a terrain similar to that of Yisheng on both sides. This is why he couldn’t get there through the [Gate], but had to take a ship from the Kingdom of Raasemu.

He had to come here in search of a clue to the golden powder he had obtained in Isengard.

It was said to be a potion made from the ground branches of a holy tree, and was said to be effective against the Golden Flower Disease.

Golden Flower Disease is a disease that causes high fever, emaciation, suffering and death. The horrible thing about this disease is that a golden flower blooms on the head of the deceased and they turn into the living dead.

Those who know about it know that it was not a disease, but a plot by an evil god to turn humans into mutated species. However, it is generally believed to be a disease.

Now that the evil god had fallen, there was no reason for it to happen again, but people couldn’t shake their fears. It seems to me that this is a scam to take advantage of that.

If it was just a scam, Yakumo would not have gone this far. She would have just reported it to the Adventurer’s Guild and asked them to alert the country’s higher-ups.

However, she couldn’t help but feel trapped. There’s something about this powder. It makes me feel indescribably uncomfortable.

Yakumo followed the clues and finally arrived at the Orphans’ Dragon and Phoenix Kingdom, where the person selling this medicine was said to be.

Orphans Dragon and Phoenix Kingdom was a country similar to Yisheng. The streets were made of wood and bricks instead of stone and iron, and the people’s clothes resembled kimonos. Even so, there are streetlights made of magic light stones and golem carriages passing through the streets.

Even the swordsmen and golems on the streets look somewhat like samurai. Yes, there are swords in this country.

This is why Yakumo, who would normally look out of place, doesn’t stand out here. He was a resident of Orphans itself.

Yakumo walked straight down the street. It was his first time in the town, but the map on his phone showed every detail of the streets.

His destination was an abandoned house on the outskirts of town. He was told that there was a dealer of this golden potion there.

There was no particular strategy. Cut to the front, take him into custody, and then get his story. Perhaps it was her mother who was too straightforward, but Yakumo was that kind of girl.

The abandoned house on the outskirts of town used to be a factory of some kind. As she walked further into the dimly lit factory, she couldn’t find any sign of human presence. Could they have escaped?　As Yakumo wondered, something was released from the darkness of the second floor.

“Huh!”

As Yakumo dodged it, three knives pierced the ground where she was. Pulling his favorite sword from his waist, Yakumo turned to look into the dim darkness of the second floor where the knives had come from.

“…… Who are you?　You’re not the fool who came here for medicine, are you?　Your eyes aren’t cloudy.”

The one who emerged from the darkness wore a strange iron mask. It had a round spherical head with several round peepholes, and the peepholes were fitted with latticed iron bars. The bellows pipes extending from the throat on both sides led to the tank on the back. It was a very strange appearance.

If Yakumo’s father had been here, he would have muttered, “Diving suit, huh?

For a moment, Yakumo thought he was dealing with a golem, but aside from the large armor on his hands, the rest of his body was that of a human.

“You are the one who is scattering the golden pills, aren’t you ……?”

“Very much so. I see, you are Orphans’ dog. To be sniffed out right away, …… the people of this country seem to be quite good.”

It seemed that he was making a selfish mistake, but Yakumo didn’t dare to correct him because it was convenient.

“What in the world is this medicine?　It’s not just a potion to trick people into believing in fraud, is it?”

“Huh. That’s quite perceptive. Well, this is a ‘sieve’ as they say. It separates those with aptitude from those without.”

Aptitude?　Are you saying that you are using this potion to look for people with some sort of aptitude?　Yakumo tried to think about the meaning of the words, but there was no answer. If that was the case, he would have to find out directly.

“[Gate]”

“Mmm!”

I open the 【Gate】 right next to the man in the diving suit (or not, I don’t know). Moving in an instant, the man in the diving suit caught Yakumo’s unannounced strike with the hatchet he pulled out from behind his waist.

“”!””

GING!　The two jumped back with a sound.

Yakumo was surprised. His beloved sword was made by his father himself, and it was made of crystal material. He was surprised that his opponent had accepted this sword, which is said to be able to cut through magic power.

However, for some reason, the man in the diving suit also seemed to be surprised.

“You received my ‘Deep Blue’ ……?”

He looked at the dull metallic blue glowing hatchet in his hand and seemed to be stunned.

Yakumo is not one to miss that opportunity. He instantly closes the distance and slashes his sword up in a reverse kesa from below.

“Mwah!”

The tip of the sword slightly slashes through the bellows pipe at the diving suit man’s throat.

A golden mist leaks from the pipe and drifts around the area. For some reason, Yakumo had a bad premonition and jumped back from the spot.

“Stick with ……!　…… Let’s just pull out for today. You can report this to the Dragon and Phoenix Emperor of Orphans. Eventually, we, the ‘Evil God’s Apostles’, will return this world to the way it should be.”

“The ‘Apostle of Evil God’ ……!　Kuh, I’ll wait, that I will!”

Before Yakumo could shout, the man in the diving suit dove into the ground as if he were diving into water, and disappeared.

It was probably transference magic. The man was no longer here.

“The Evil Apostle ……. It seems that Grandma Tokie’s bad premonition came true, that it did.”

With a small murmur, Yakumo quietly put his beloved sword back into its sheath as if to calm himself down.