The Other World Dining Hall Chapter 53

Chapter 53

Birthday Cake

 

That day, Ellen’s family was particularly joyful.

[Nee, okaa-san, let’s hurry.]

[Wait please. Today is your day. You have to dress up.]

The leading role of today’s feast… Ellen looked sharply at the 9 years old Bona who was dressed specially in beautifully knitted clothes.

The feast of “children’s blessings” which was usually held at New Year Festival.

As one did not know when they would die, this festival was held to show that they were “full-fledged children” that had pa.s.sed the dangerous small children phase and were able to be taught how to do housework by their parents, though it was unlike the festival that was grandly held when one turned 15 years old and became an adult.

Before the official celebration was conducted, Ellen’s family decided to hold their own private celebration at otherworld dining hall.

 

Ellen gave birth to five children, but only Kai and Bona were greeted with children’s blessings when they were 9 years old.

The first born was a sickly girl that could not survive through her fifth winter.

She was careless with the second born as he was a boy with strong body. He died when he fell down the tree very badly when he was 7 years old.

She still didn’t know what caused the fifth child to die.

Before she slept, she was full with Ellen’s milk. When Ellen woke up the next morning, her body was already cold.

Then, only Kai and Bona were left.

 

That’s why, 3 years ago, the couple decided to celebrate grandly when Kai, their third child, had managed to reach 9 years old.

In the restaurant, Ellen paid the owner 10 silver coins from the family’s little savings and asked for a “special celebration”.

The owner responded admirably to their request.

A variety of feast arranged on the table for four people.

No matter how much alcohol or sweet beverages they drank, the price remained the same.

And coming out at the end was a dessert that was so sweet and soft that it melted on their tongue.

It was a treat that was suitable for the amount of coins they paid.

…As it was too amazing, Bona who was 6 years old then still remembered it and she asked for a celebration “same as onii-chan” 3 years before.

 

Thus, Bona’s 9 years old celebration was also held at Nekoya and Ellen allowed it.

[Eee… I’m looking forward to it. The “cake” that we ate was really amazing.]

While her hair was prepared by Ellen, Bona was thinking about the feast.

As Bona was still 9 years old, her appet.i.te was still larger than her s.e.x appeal.

3 years ago, all the food they ate was delicious, but she still couldn’t forget the dessert that they had only eaten once before.

That cake was amazingly large and it melted in her mouth.

Even now, she still dreamed of eating plenty of that sweet confection.

 

Usually, mother who wore sparkling clothes over there said that it was something that “people who had different living conditions” could eat.

Just thinking that made it more exciting than New Year Festival.

[Nee, okaa-san! Are you finished!?]

She did not care that she had to clean and braid her hair.

Bona wanted to go to that place as soon as possible.

With such a feeling, Bona threw a tantrum midway.

[…There, it’s finished. Un, you look beautiful. How charming.]

While smiling wryly at Bona’s complaint, Ellen nodded after she finished braiding her hair.

Her hair was washed with lukewarm water boiled with precious firewood and was carefully braided.

Together with her new clothes

that were sewn for children’s blessing over the year, her daughter was pretty like a fairy that lived in a forest.

[Oo! Finally finished! Ok, let’s go!]

[Okay! Let’s go quickly, kaa-chan!]

Hermann and Kai encouraged Ellen to go as soon as possible.

The two men were really desperate.

Anyway, they were having a feast today, so they only drank water in the morning.

Their bellies were empty, making them running out of patience.

[Okaa-san! Hurry up! I’m hungry!]

And young Bona sided with them.

[…Yes, yes. I understand. Let’s go.]

Ellen who was ganged up by her family sighed and decided to head out to their celebration feast.

 

Just as the sun reached its peak, they reached their barn.

‘Chirinchirin’, they went through the door while listening to the bell.

[Welcome! Please have a seat!]

When they came, Aletta cheerfully greeted them and led them to a table.

A reserved table for “party use”.

The four of them sat on that table with the sign “reserved seats” though Aletta couldn’t read it.

[I will bring your food as soon as possible! Also, what would you like to drink?]

[Yos.h.i.+, first is beer… no, that’s it! Distilled liquor! Give me whiskey!]

[Aa, wine for me please…]

[Cola for me!]

[Me too!]

Today’s price for beverages would be a set amount no matter how much they drank.

As they were promised that, they ordered more drinks more than usual.

[Yes, I understand! Please wait a moment! I’ll serve your food soon.]

Aletta returned to the kitchen after giving them a cheerful smile.

[Master! Ellen and her family are here!] {TN: Aletta calls the owner master. So this is not the master of the bar upstairs.}

[Ou. Understood.]

The owner nodded and moved per Aletta’s report.

In addition to usual cuisine, a number of party food centered around cla.s.sic dishes of that time period.

He began the finis.h.i.+ng touches while waiting the cold dishes to become cold enough and warm dishes to be hot.

(Well then, I hope they’re happy with this.)

He glanced at the fridge while doing final presentations for the dishes.

Unlike the usual dessert, this was the first time it was ordered in 3 years.

But for Flying Puppy who made the cake, it was a cla.s.sic item for most cake shops.

The timing for presenting it should be carefully monitored.

 

The owner and Aletta one by one arranged the dishes side by side.

[It’s here…!] [It truly is luxurious…] [Awesome!] [Waa!]

Those four swallowed their spit looking at the luxurious foods.

Roasted chicken, made by roasting whole plump, fat chicken.

Poured on it was brown sauce containing vinegar, with a garnish of fried thinly sliced Baron’s fruit along with raw vegetables that could be harvested during midwinter.

Potage soup made with milk and yellowish grains of corn that emitted a faintly sweet scent.

 

Deep-fried sh.e.l.lfish like scallops and shrimps were lined up one by one, still faintly smelling of fried oil.

A pale yellow omelet packed with smoked meat and cheese, a vivid red sauce poured over it.

Served on large plate were small sandwiches containing mashed Baron’s fruit, chopped Cule, pickled fish and eggs seasoned with mayonnaise.

With the dishes arranged closely to each other on the table, their eyes zeroed on the food and their stomachs grumbled.

If people looked closely, the other customers seemed to involuntarily watch the a.s.sortment of foods on the table.

[Well then, I’ll serve the cake at the end of the meal… please enjoy and have fun.]

Looking at Ellen’s family, the owner decided to only speak a few words.

The family of four immediately went to grab the food that they wanted.

 

All the foods for the feast were delicious.

The roast chicken contained plenty of fat beneath its skin. Eaten with the gravy made from its meat juice, the taste of chicken meat was packed with the sweet and sour sauce along with the scent of herbs stuffed in its belly.

Fresh raw vegetables that could be eaten steadily thanks to the sour sauce and the salty Baron’s fruit.

Soup made of sweet yellow corn warmed the body with its sweetness.

Fried seafood that was very compatible with the tartar sauce placed on the middle of the plate, though usually such ingredients did not contain much flavor.

A perfectly cooked omelet that melted in their mouth.

A sandwich that made people could enjoy various ingredients coloured with the softness of fine white bread and the acidity of mayonnaise.

Sweet delicious drinks that they could drink however much they wanted.

 

They silently enjoyed their delicious feast.

They did not utter any word.

…The more silent they were, the more delicious it was.

(Delicious… but, I have to be patient.)

Meanwhile, Bona had to resist the urge to eat more and more food and had to eat little by little.

Of course, she wanted to eat all of it. But she must resist.

Bona knew.

After this, the treat that would come out last was something that Bona had dreamt of eating for the last 3 years.

If she missed this opportunity, she would have to wait until her brother became an adult.

Best food with the best stomach condition.

It was a hard decision 3 years ago that Bona was only able to eat half a portion as the rest was eaten by her brother.

 

And then it came.

[Excuse me! Would you like your cake to be served now?]

After seeing that the food was finished, Aletta came to ask while tidying the table.

[That’s right… ok. Please.]

(It’s here!)

Bona responded to her mother’s words.

[Very well, please wait a moment.]

After saying so, Aletta quickly lifted the empty plates and retreated to the kitchen.

(Not yet, not yet…)

She felt restless.

The thing she had wanted for a long time.

That’s it.

 

[Thank you for waiting. Here’s your birthday cake.]

For Bona it was her dream dessert that she could only eat during a time of celebration.

 

The size was big enough for Aletta to carry it with both hands, a special dessert that needs “reservation” in otherworld dining hall.

[…Ara. It’s quite large.]

[Ano, Victoria-sama, that kind of cake, you have seen it before?]

[…No, this is also my first time. If it’s just the size, then it’s the same as whole cakes available for takeaway. But I have never seen a cake with so much decoration before.]

 

[Celestine-sama… that is.]

[I don’t know. However, it looks delicious… no, it looks beautiful.]

[It’s rather amazing isn’t it? Do you think that doll or that plate could be eaten?]

[…The possibility is high. If the cake decorations could be eaten, then it’s tasty.]

Conversations could be heard from nearby tables.

When Bona caught a glimpse, they came from customers who usually eat confectionaries in the restaurant.

Okaa-san always said that “there were different people in this world”.

While knowing that their eyes were looking at the cake, Bona’s gaze was also nailed on it.

 

It looked like a piece of art while being a confectionary.

It had white cream and red strawberries decorating the round shape

As the cream covered the whole surface in a pure white state, white powder and red strawberries were used to draw a complicated pattern as if snow was piled up on top of the pure white cake.

On the center were a brown pattern and four dolls.

[Waaaaa.]

[Isn’t it great, young lady? This cake is made for you.]

While Bona was exclaiming her wonder, the owner handed a cake knife to Ellen.

[Shall I cut it?]

[No, I’ll do it. Excuse me, could you lend me a knife?]

Ellen took the knife from the owner while shaking her head to the owner’s offer.

(…Well.)

To be honest, Ellen thought that it was sacrilegious to cut it while she divided the cake.

She just cut it from the plate on the center (which Kai said was delicious and very sweet when he ate it before) to the edge of the cake.

Each of them got one doll.

…And only one slice on which the size of the divided plate on the center was bigger than other slices.

The other three’s gazes were nailed on the extraordinarily large cake while Ellen divided it.

[Kaa-chan! I want this!]

[Wait! First of all, tou-chan gets to choose…]

[Wait. Have you forgotten what’s important?]

Ellen sharply asked both males that stretched their hands towards the largest slice.

[The main character of today’s celebration is Bona. Bona gets to choose first. Which one do you want?]

She smiled at Bona.

There’s no need for her to answer, really.

 

[Yay! Cake, cake!]

A big slice of cake was placed in front of Bona.

While shouting in joy, Bona started on it.

[Well then, this!]

The first thing she ate was the white board with brown pattern on it.

3 years ago, she couldn’t eat it because Kai hogged it all.

Her brother said that it was amazingly sweet and tasty.

The owner seemed to write words to celebrate Bona’s birthday, but to Bona, this was not important.

[Hoo! Sweet! What is this!?]

The taste was tastier than she expected.

She nibbled on it. The plate then snapped.

It tasted slightly like milk, it was sweeter than anything Bona had ever eaten and melted in her mouth.

Being absorbed in the taste, Bona finished it in a blink of eye before Kai became envious.

[A, it’s gone…]

She felt sorry for a little bit, but she corrected herself.

(But, the cake is still there!)

Yes, the leading role was not yet eaten.

 

Bona unconsciously recalled the taste 3 years ago and cut a small piece with her fork.

In order to enjoy it, she would eat it slowly.

She drank her saliva… and ate the cake.

(Aa… delicious…)

At the moment, that vivid memory spread in her mouth.

Surely the taste that she imagined in her dreams for the past 3 years was in her mouth.

In her mouth was the soft and sweet taste of the yellow foundation along with the soft and fluffy white cream that taste like milk.

The fruit juice containing different sweetness than the cream overflowed every time she chewed on the syrup that was sandwiched with the cream between the cake layers.

The red berry contained sourness along with its sweetness.

By combining these, Bona was fascinated with the cake.

 

No matter when, this sweet cake was like a sweet dream.

In that dream, Bona became addicted with it.

That was the moment of bliss that Bona had waited for 3 years.

 

Eventually, the dream had to end.

[…A, it’s gone…]

Finally, after the red berry that was sprinkled the sugar and the crisp candy dolls, Bona’s plate was empty.

Such a big slice of cake was finished quickly.

The only things left behind were the feeling of full stomach and loneliness.

(I wish I had more…)

While wis.h.i.+ng that, Bona looked at her family.

[…Fuu, I ate it, I ate it.]

[U~, I can’t eat anymore…]

[The food here is really delicious.]

Everyone was smiling.

She wore beautiful clothes and ate delicious foods.

She smiled in a satisfied way.

[Yos.h.i.+, would you like to be here longer or do you want to go home?]

[That’s right. My belly is bursting.]

[Uwaa… I ate too much… nee-chan, another cup!]

A loving family that exchanged words with a smile.

[Un. This is really nice… I also want another cola.]

In that situation, Bona smiled naturally, and the best day of her life pa.s.sed slowly.