The Other World Dining Hall (WN) Chapter 58

TN: It’s a somewhat sequel of the previous chapter featuring the other user of the door. And @MediavalAnon, here’s the answer to your question.

Genovese1

He confirmed that the black door was nestled quietly in the back allies and the Empire's knight, Graham Bertrand, gently breathed.

[I'm glad. It's there today.]

Such a voice leaked out from his lips.

7 days ago, the door had already disappeared when he visited the door at noon.

This was not the first time and it seemed that someone in this city "used" it since it was not the first time it happened.

He did not like that there was an unknown customer that used it, but he couldn't complain here.

Anyway, he would use it today.

While thinking so, he opened the door.

He heard the gentle bell sound for the first time in 14 days.

While listening to it, he stepped through the door.

Graham stepped into a closed bas.e.m.e.nt room.

The room was bright like daytime though there was not a single window, a wonderful room that was warm though it was winter and had no fireplace.

[Welcome to Western Restaurant Nekoya!]

At the same time Graham came in, a demon girl who was carrying a tray of food greeted him cheerfully.

[Aa, let me go to a proper seat.]

He replied to the girl and went to an empty seat.

[Sorry, please give me the menu.]

[Ye~s!]

He sat and asked for the menu book that summarized the cuisines of this restaurant… at the same time to encourage the girl.

[Well then, please let me know if you're ready to order.]

[Aa.]

He opened the menu while watching the girl go and pondered what to eat.

(…Again, it's seafood than land food.)

The dishes listed on the menu were abundant and he knew that they were all delicious, but Graham's eyes were more attracted to seafood selections…

Cooking with seafood like Kraako and Schripe.

(…I thought meat was good for everyday like when I was back in my hometown.)

While looking at the menu, he missed it a little bit.

Graham's hometown was a port town swallowed by the Empire several decades ago.

Trade s.h.i.+ps visited from other eastern mainland ports and from the far Western Continent every day and people bustling around, the city with ocean scent.

Every day at Graham's house which was a household of successive knights, there was always a kind of seafood on their table.

Young Graham liked the meat brought as a trade item, but when he lived in the inner part of the Empire where there was no trace of sea and he had to eat meat and Baron's fruit every day, he wanted to eat seafood.

Furthermore, even in the Capital City, the seafood was valuable commodity and he who had just pa.s.sed the knight's test (anyone could become a knight as long as they pa.s.sed the test) did not get a large salary.

That's why, this restaurant that served seafood and liquor at a price that was affordable enough for his salary was a valuable place for recreation.

(Well, I can get deep-fried, gratin, pilaf… no, it's pasta.)

There were many kinds of food that used seafood in the otherworld dining hall.

Wearing a fine quality military clothing and a sword hanging from his waist, was a knight with better skill than Graham eating deep-fried seafood.

A dish of Schripe that used a sauce originating from the Kingdom that the commoners liked to eat.

A dish using Western Continent rice preferred by an aristocratic daughter of Sand Country that wore Empire-style clothes.

And a dish that used not only seafood, it also used Kingdom style pasta that was cooked with various kinds of sauces.

Graham was troubled every time. Especially since liquor had to be adjusted depending on which dish he had chosen.

(Alright… today is white wine and pasta.)

[Excuse me, I would like to order.]

After a while, Graham finally decided what to order.

[Yes, what would you like to order?]

[Aa, today I want white wine. And pasta… that's right, first I want Genovese with seafood.]

He chose the green pasta with the fragrant aroma of herbs.

[Okay. Please wait a moment.]

[Umu.]

The waitress went back to the kitchen after receiving the order and Graham leaned back on his seat while he waited.

He could hear the voices of the customers in the restaurant.

Some had conversations with other customers sharing the same table, and some waited for their orders like Graham.

There were various races, and he was surprised every time they came.

(It's just that, this dish is delicious…)

He understood that feeling.

He himself had visited this restaurant every time he could ever since half a year ago when he found the door.

[Thank you for waiting! I brought your alcohol and food!]

And the dish he waited for had come.

A beautifully shaped green bottle and a green pasta dish.

[Well then, please enjoy!]

[Aa, I will.]

While replying to the waitress, Graham started to eat.

(First… it's alcohol.)

He gently pulled the wooden cork sealing the bottle and poured the wine into a gla.s.s cup with delicate leg.

The slightly yellowish white alcohol flowed from the green bottle.

As it poured, the fragrance of the white wine tickled his nose.

(Umu, such a fine scent.)

First of all, he enjoyed the scent for a while and carried the gla.s.s to his mouth.

The alcohol had a combination of little sweetness and acidity.

It was the taste of fine wine that should have been more expensive than its price of two silver coins.

(If this circulated in the Empire, the liquor merchants would go bankrupt.)

Even though he was a knight, he was familiar with trade business due to his hometown.

A restaurant with abnormally high quality for its price.

If the entrance was not a "door" with its inconvenience, it would have been more popular.

(Well then, I should eat before it cools down.)

Since he just tasted his wine, he started on his food.

Pasta dish cooked with vivid green sauce and fine oil.

And that dish had big fresh seafood as its ingredient.

(First, the pasta.)

Graham used his fork to wind up the pasta.

The noodles stained green by the sauce were illuminated by the light and shone vividly.

His saliva overflowed due to its beauty and aroma… and he ate it.

(Umu, this taste! It's the deliciousness of pasta!)

The boiled pasta that was not too hard, not sticky, and not too soft were intertwined with the complicated seasonings.

The taste of fish, sh.e.l.lfish, Kraako and Schripe which were used as ingredients.

The fragrant sauce made of aromatic herbs and savoury toasted nuts.

And the toughness of Togaran tightened the taste.

By putting it all together, Genovese was a complete dish.

(Umu, umu…)

The taste made Graham silent and he continued to eat without a sound.

Wind up the pasta, bring it to his mouth, and occasionally eat the ingredients in between the pasta.

Every few mouthful, he drank his wine and enjoyed the refres.h.i.+ng taste.

Graham was a young man.

That plate of Genovese was finished quickly.

(Fuu… I wonder if this is the first place.)

For the time being, Graham was comfortable with his belly.

(Now…)

Of course, with only one plate, Graham's stomach was not satisfied.

Graham opened the menu again.

(Now, what should I order next…)

There were various other dishes in this restaurant.

Graham looked at the menu to decide his next dish.

There're two probabilities for these. There's: Genovese sauce is a rich, onion-based pasta sauce from the region of Campania, Italy.  Pesto a la Genovese, the quintessential pesto recipe, is made with Genovese basil, coa.r.s.e salt, garlic, Ligurian extra virgin olive oil (Taggiasco), European pine nuts (sometimes toasted) and a grated cheese like Parmigiano Reggiano or Grana Padano and pecorino sardo or pecorino romano.