Isekai Izakaya Nobu Chapter 44

Takowasa (Part 2)

「He-hey, Reinhold-san. Isn’t that…」

That slippery ‘thing’ crawled out of the open pot.
The weird creature, which was covered in slimy mucus and slowly crept across the floor, seemed to still be very much alive.
G.o.dhardt had never seen this creature called an ‘octopus’ before.

If it were a squid, he would recognize it.
If one said they did not know what a squid was in Izakaya n.o.bu, they were very unqualified.
The [Demon] Berthold, the company commander of the sentry corps that was in charge of the defense of the Old Capital, had a former fear of squid.
The octopus was a creature similar to that, so it could probably be eaten too.

The interior of the store suddenly became noisy, due to the unexpected appearance of the rare ‘guest’.
Some of the customers were even shouting to get rid of it.
Even Gernot, who usually boasted of having a calm and collected disposition in the council, only looked calm, while taking refuge at the corner of the wall with his Napolitan dish.
The only ones who remained calm were s.h.i.+n.o.bu, Taisho, Eva, and the young wife of the company commander, who was called Helmina, if he wasn’t mistaken.
The women were tough at such times.

Meanwhile, Helmina expertly caught the octopus and shoved it back into the jar.
During this commotion, it seemed that the pair of sentry guards were stunned and couldn’t do anything. Could they really protect the town like this?

「I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was still so lively.」

Reinhold scratched his head apologetically.
While the customers got a hold of themselves and jeers were thrown around, G.o.dhardt was observing Taisho’s facial expressions.
Those were the eyes of a chef.
G.o.dhardt wanted to make sure that the octopus was marketable.
If Reinhold’s octopus was anything like a squid and could be eaten, it would be a huge advantage if they could transport them fresh to the Old Capital.

It wasn’t like you couldn’t eat it after it died and some time had pa.s.sed, but if you could transport it alive, it would be a different story. Wasn’t it better if the state of freshness could be preserved?

‘Perhaps.’ G.o.dhardt turned towards Reinhold.
Even though he thought Reinhold was a well raised young master, this man might have brought the octopus here on purpose.

If that was the case, then he was unexpectedly shrewd.
If he thought about it, what was G.o.dhardt doing when he was Reinhold’s age?
Didn’t he do nothing but picking fights everyday?

「Ugh.」

「What’s the matter, G.o.dhardt-san? Groaning like that. Your precious eel is getting cold.」

「Eh, ah, that’s right.」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu casually exchanged the lagers, which had become lukewarm after the commotion. Such consideration for the customers was hard to come by in other restaurants.
While he was gulping down the new lager, Reinhold was talking about giving the octopus to Taisho.

「How about it? This octopus. I’ll hand it over to you, so won’t you try cooking it? Of course, I won’t charge you for taking it.」

「I’m thankful for that, but it’ll take some time.」

「I don’t mind. The night is still young.」

The surrounding guests seemed to have taken an interest in the conversation between the two, and there were signs that they were p.r.i.c.king their ears up to listen.
Everyone intended to take part in sampling the leftovers.
Taisho decided to cook the octopus, preparing it with deft movements.
The octopus was quickly prepped in front of their eyes, while s.h.i.+n.o.bu was grating daikon.

「I only need to rub it with salt actually, but this octopus seems firm, so I will rub this grated daikon on it too.」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu usually served the tables, but she also grated the daikon skillfully.
The bowl was filled up with grated daikon in the blink of an eye.
The customers gulped in antic.i.p.ation.
There would never be a time when it would be as wasteful as leaving now.
Apparently, it was possible to eat octopus in various ways, so they had ordered lager and prepared for a drawn-out wait.

Eva, who was wiping the floor where the octopus had crawled, also rushed about, taking orders in a flurry.
Helmina was filling ordinary beer mugs with lager, and had been carrying them from one table to another.
Also, since Taisho’s hands were full, no appetizers were refilled. In that case, every seat seemed to be talking about the flowers blossoming.
There was a topic about a witch or something similar that had come up at a table, but Reinhold and G.o.dhardt concerned about something else.

「This year’s harvest festival seems to be smaller than usual.」

「That's because the Bachschouf company has shut down, and there seems to have been a dispute in the management of the Grand Bazaar.」

「It was preferable when compared to having most of the profits taken away, huh.」

Even though there were several months till the harvest festival, the preparation for it would begin soon. It was important for the Water Transportation Guild to allocate tasks between the opening of the Grand Bazaar and the harvest festival, which was held at the same time.
Merchants from all over the Empire gathered at the Grand Bazaar, which was held only once a year. Even though the profits earned was huge, it wasn’t trouble-free.
During that time, the reputation of the Water Transportation Guild was at stake, in case there was any carelessness during the transportation of goods.

「The preparation for the octopus and the Grand Bazaar is essential, is that what you’re saying?」

「That’s right. Once Eleonora is together with us, the three of us should have a proper briefing.」

「I see. So, where is this meeting?」

Reinhold awkwardly asked an unnecessary question. The answer was understood when G.o.dhardt saw him smiling.
「I’ve decided for it to be in this store.」

While they were talking about it, the preparation of the octopus seemed to have finally ended.
Taisho, who prepared the octopus with his splendid kitchen knife, was was.h.i.+ng the now thinly sliced octopus with water.

「First up, it’s sas.h.i.+mi.」

~Octopus sas.h.i.+mi~

The sas.h.i.+mi was beautifully arranged on the plate like white petals.
When it was crawling on the floor, it looked like the minion of an evil G.o.d sleeping in the depths of the sea, but strangely it now looked very appetizing.
He picked up a slice, dipped it in soy sauce, and brought it to his mouth.

「Oh…?」

His voice leaked out unintentionally at the chewy texture in his mouth.
It was firm when he chewed on it.
Even though he had eaten fish sas.h.i.+mi several times before, this one had a different taste.

「This is softer than the time I ate it in the northern town…」

Reinhold picked up two, no three slices of sas.h.i.+mi while saying so.
Not wanting to lose, G.o.dhardt also extended his chopsticks, unexpectedly enjoying the firmness of the octopus.
This dish would pair well with cold sake.

「Excuse me, s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan. A gla.s.s of cold sake here please.」

「Ah, me too please.」

The orders for cold sake came pouring in after one person asked for it.
Gernot, who was suspected of suffering from a strange illness of only being able to eat Napolitan, was stealthily holding a gla.s.s of white wine in one hand.

It matched well.
As expected, the octopus sas.h.i.+mi and the cold sake pair well together.
The cold, dry taste of the cold sake enhanced the umami flavour of the octopus by several times.
The octopus was indeed an ingredient suitable for sas.h.i.+mi.

Although there was no tradition of eating raw fresh fish in the Old Capital, it would be a different story if they could purchase live octopus from the northern port city.
A considerable profit might come out of this.
The sas.h.i.+mi had been cleared in the blink of an eye, but the next dish was served as if it had been waiting for this time.

「Next is octopus karaage.」

~Tako karaage~

The tentacles, which were cut into chunks, had been deep fried and even had a strong fragrance.
How did the fragrance from the oil cause the stomach to have such violent reactions and set up this kind of temptation?
There should be lager for this.
G.o.dhardt’s instinct as a drinker was strongly insisting on it.

「s.h.i.+n.o.bu-chan, one gla.s.s of ‘Toriaezu Nama’ here!」

「Here please!」

「Here too, please!」

He held a gulp of lager in his mouth, and his taste buds returned to normal.
Octopus karaage.
The chicken karaage was a famous dish of Izakaya n.o.bu.
So, the octopus was a strong enough contender to be made into karaage, huh?
He contemplated this quietly as he picked up a piece.

Crunch.
He took a bite, and noticed his blunder.
The octopus was not meant to be eaten as sas.h.i.+mi.
It was meant to be eaten as karaage. This creature had been created by G.o.d solely for this purpose.

If he thought about it that way, he could accept that monstrous appearance.
That dubious and eerie figure was to hide this delicacy from human beings.
Naturally, it also paired well with lager. It was a little bit more exquisite, as he had been told that it was spiced a little more than the chicken karaage. It could become a habit to eat octopus karaage.

「Is it to your liking?」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu asked him while carrying a second gla.s.s of lager.
G.o.dhardt vigorously nodded to declare so.

「This octopus karaage is wonderful. It also pairs well with ‘Toriaezu Nama’. This will be my usual order from tomorrow onwards. Of course, I’ll eat eel from time to time, but when I have octopus, I want it to be karaage.」

「Did you like it that much?」
「Ah, I am really pleased with it. Somehow, I feel like expressing myself like the poet Krowinkel now.」

「Poet…?」

s.h.i.+n.o.bu, who didn’t seem to understand what he was referring to, was nudged in the elbow by Reinhold, who had come to the rescue.

「It seems that G.o.dhardt-san has a splendid fondness of poems and tales. That Krowinkel is a bard who only sings songs about cooking. His poems are collected and have been made into a book as well.」

「I see, there are various kinds of people huh.」

The empty mug was pushed towards the admiring s.h.i.+n.o.bu.

「I don’t look like a learned person, do I? It doesn’t fit the appearance of a Guild Master who only has physical strength. Right, Reinhold-san?」

「Am I lacking in physical strength, I wonder?」

G.o.dhardt embraced Reinhold’s neck and forcibly made a toast with him, displaying his well-developed biceps with the other party’s slender arms.

「Don’t mind it. Even if you have no physical strength, you have still put your guild in order. You’re doing well so far.」

「Ri-right…」

Reinhold gave an unconvinced sigh and sipped his lager while picking up a piece of the karaage when the next plate arrived. It was a small bowl.
There was some kind of stalk garnish, and part of the base was sitting on the plate, small and quietly.
It seemed like it would be better to serve it in a big bowl rather than in a pretentious bowl like this.

「The last dish is takowasa. It is a little spicy, so please eat bit by bit.」

~Takowasa~

‘I see.’ G.o.dhardt made a small sigh.
The sas.h.i.+mi and karaage built up a mood for the next coming dish, but when it finally came, it was somewhat of a wet blanket.

However, since it was Taisho, he might have some plan.
For example, this dish might make him completely sober up if he took a bite. When he thought about it that way, he felt somewhat thankful.
Taisho said he should eat it little by little, it was probably just something like a warning.
G.o.dhardt daringly picked up a handful of takowasa.
Even though s.h.i.+n.o.bu saw it and tried to stop him, it was already too late.
He threw it into his mouth immediately.

Pain.
The next moment, a pain that he had never felt before ran from the middle of his forehead to the bridge of his nose.
He washed it down with the lager while closing his eyes involuntarily.
What on Earth was that? Rather than spicy, it was painful.
However, it was by no means an unpleasant sensation.
The remaining takowasa was chewed properly. The chewy texture of the sas.h.i.+mi remained intact, but the invigorating, sharp taste, which was neither salt nor spices, produced an exquisite flavour.
(TL note: yep, it’s wasabi. Takowasa = tako (octopus) + wasabi)

「Are, are you okay? Eating that much at once…」

Instead of answering s.h.i.+n.o.bu and Reinhold, who looked anxious, G.o.dhardt threw another mouthful of takowasa into his mouth. However, it was a proper mouthful this time.
Then, the lager.
Delicious.
It was truly delicious.

「Reinhold-san.」

「Y, yes.」

He grasped both of Reinhold’s hands, who was sitting with his spine straightened.

「I agree to the matter of investment. Let’s sell octopuses, so I can eat octopus in the Old Capital at any time.」

「Yes!」

G.o.dhardt made another toast to Reinhold, who was nodding strongly.
It felt like it had been a long time since he had drank such delicious alcohol.