Chapter 10

"Hehehe..."

Staring into the refrigerator, I let out a creepy laugh to myself.

The sun had long since hidden its face, and the moon had grown tiresome to look at. Of course, my little sister was in the realm of dreams.

In the dark kitchen, the light from the refrigerator was the only thing illuminating me.

I was confident that my current expression was extremely sinister.

Before me lay a dried brown fish.

I gently lifted it, turning the package to examine it.

This fish, which had been forgotten and left untouched, was finally seeing the light of day.

There was also something that went perfectly with this fish.

I glanced at the mountain vegetables in a Tupperware on the top shelf of the refrigerator.

...Thank you, Lord of the Mountains!

Imagining the best possible side dish for alcohol that could be made with this, I could already feel the saliva building up.

What kind of alcohol should I have? No, that's a silly question.

What goes best with this is sake. Specifically, a light and easy-to-drink variety.

"Oh, what a blissful feeling..."

I headed towards the stove with a light step.

Today's drinking companion is—dried herring!

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Dried herring.

This is by no means a mainstream ingredient, but it is my uncle's favorite.

Originally from my grandmother's hometown in the Tohoku region, it was a rare delicacy often enjoyed there.

Dried herring, in essence, is a type of dried fish. In some places, it is used in simmered dishes or sweet and savory boiled dishes.

However, in my grandmother's hometown in Tohoku, it is cherished as a drinking snack.

The dried herring from Tohoku is semi-dried.

Semi-dried herring has a tightly packed flavor, and when you put it in your mouth, the fat of the herring seeps out, creating a unique taste. It is a drinker's delight, the best possible drinking snack.

Every year, my grandmother would order it for my uncle, who would return home for New Year's. Even after my grandmother passed away, I continued to order it for my uncle, who would come to pay his respects at the family altar. I had stored it deep in the freezer, preparing for the upcoming New Year.

My uncle would eat this favorite of his during his evening drinks, but he would never share. If I tried to take a piece, his hand would mercilessly strike the back of mine.

So, I only had the experience of taking a bite or two before it was served to my uncle, but I remember it being incredibly delicious.

Still, the Tohoku people's obsession with dried foods is terrifying. There is actually another dried food from my grandmother's hometown sleeping in the pantry... but I'll save that for another time.

In short, what I'm saying is that today I will be eating my uncle's dried herring.

Because I have no plans to return to my original world anytime soon.

I would usually look at the dried herring in the freezer, waiting for my uncle, and think, "No, I can't!" and give up, but this time, there's no choice.

It's better to enjoy it while it's still good rather than let it go bad and become inedible.

—Because I've already thawed it.

—Because my uncle can't come to this world.

Ah, the thrill of touching something that isn't mine.

This heart-pounding moment, like when you dip a spoon into someone else's dessert, is trying to drag me down a path of evil!

"No, I'm just eating it because the expiration date is approaching, right?"

Jade turned on the kitchen light with a snap and calmly pointed out my hypocrisy.

"Jade, you're not in the mood."

"Only a special person can follow that kind of mood."

—If it were my sister, she would have joined in.

Feeling a bit disappointed, I ripped open the package of dried herring.

Incidentally, Jade seems to have learned about expiration dates while helping me with cooking. ...My guard knight is truly excellent.

Today, Jade is in casual attire.

Even though he is off duty, he has offered to join me for my evening drink.

From a security standpoint, it's fine because Dajiru will come later, but he insists on participating out of concern. ...My guard knight is truly diligent.

In a loose shirt and slacks, with his usual apron, he looks surprisingly fresh. A handsome man looks good in anything.

Jade and I started preparing the ingredients together.

Humming a tune, I gently placed the dried herring on the cutting board.

The skin, which looks black but gleams silver in certain angles, and the slightly translucent dark brown flesh.

I narrowed my eyes slightly and began to feel for the bones with my fingers.

Determining the direction of the bones, I cut them diagonally from the opposite side to break them.

This way, the texture of the bones won't be noticeable when eating. Sprinkling some alcohol to remove the fishy smell, the preparation for the dried herring was complete.

—Now, I need two more dishes.

If I were alone, the dried herring would be enough, but considering the other two, I should make something else. ...It's not like I'm trying to limit how much dried herring I can eat. Not at all. Not at all.

Recalling the taste of sake, I rummaged through the refrigerator.

One dish was already decided, but what about the other...?

Searching through the back of the freezer, I found something.

—Chicken skin.

I bought it cheaply from a butcher at the market.

It seems that using only the skin is not common here, so it was very inexpensive.

Should I make grilled chicken skin? Or chicken skin in a stew? But I don't want to spend too much time.

—Let's just fry it to a crispy texture.

Crispy, salted, and peppered chicken skin is the best possible drinking snack.

Deciding on this, I thawed the chicken skin in the microwave.

Once thawed, I cut the larger pieces into bite-sized pieces. If there is any remaining moisture, I wiped it off with a kitchen towel.

Next, I took out the clams and whelks that I had already cleaned.

The shiny, large, mottled yellow-brown clams are razor clams.

They are in season, so they are quite large.

Today, I will make them into a sake-steamed dish.

These razor clams will surely provide an exquisite broth.

The whelks are an ingredient from this world.

It was Dajiru's request.

They are called "milk clams" and are small, spiral-shaped. About the size of the tip of a thumb in an inverted triangle, they resemble the "Shittaka" found on the shores of Japan.

I had informed Dajiru of my plans for the evening drink through Jade, and he had asked if I could make his favorite dish. He said he would bring the ingredients, so I agreed.

This morning, Dajiru brought a net full of milk clams and said with a grin, "These are fierce, so be careful." ...Fierce?

A completely mysterious ingredient, but I had learned the cooking method from Dajiru.

I took out a large, milky white bottle that made a splashing sound.

This was also brought by Dajiru.

It is something like doburoku, a type of sake lees, and is commonly consumed in nearby fishing villages. Sniffing it, it has a smell similar to sake lees. Its name is "milk wine."

...Could Dajiru like milk? He did say it was his favorite...

While thinking this rather impolite thought, I poured the milky white milk wine into a bowl of milk clams.

Suddenly, many tentacles emerged from the milk clams!

Slurp, slurp, slurp!

—Ugh.

My face involuntarily contorted.

The tentacles, competing with each other, thrashed around in the milk wine, absorbing it at an alarming rate.

To ensure the milk wine didn't run out, I kept adding more.

After a while, the milk clams seemed to get drunk and stopped moving, their tentacles losing strength.

The tentacles, like drunkards, slowly retracted into the shells and closed the thin lids.

According to Dajiru, these clams are very fond of alcohol.

When they get drunk, they are grilled on a net, resulting in a delicious dish. They are called "drunken clams," fittingly.

Now, the preparations are complete.

I asked Jade to prepare the charcoal and started cooking.

First, the sake-steamed clams.

I finely chopped a lot of garlic and chopped some green onions.

I placed the clams and garlic in a frying pan and poured in plenty of sake. It's important not to skimp on the alcohol.

After a while, the clams began to open their shells. As they did, their flavors dissolved into the sake, making the broth cloudy. Once all the clams had opened, I scattered the green onions and tasted the broth.

If it needed more salt, I would add a little—.

"Oh, no. I want to drink it all at once."

"Akane, calm down."

The broth of the sake-steamed clams is bewitching. The rich flavor of the clams overwhelmed me.

"No, no, no, Jade, you'll understand if you try it."

Saying this, I forced a spoonful of the broth into Jade's mouth.

Jade groaned, "Mmm," but after swallowing, he said, "Ah, this is..." and covered his face with his hand.

—Tasting is a privilege of the cook.

With a sly smile, I took a clam, scooped up some garlic and broth in the shell, and handed it to Jade. I did the same for myself and brought it to my mouth without spilling the broth.

Using my front teeth, I scraped out the plump flesh of the clam and chewed it with the garlic—ah.

The smooth texture of the clam. The stimulating flavor of the garlic.

The rich, flavorful sake broth that I had just sipped.

"Aaah..."

Someone, give me some alcohol...!

Bring me some alcohol!

The fake lord inside me started to act up.

Looking at Jade, he had his eyes closed, savoring the dish with a blissful expression.

—Thus, a conspiracy was formed.

It goes without saying that secret tasting, disguised as sampling, continued for a while.

Now, Dajiru should be arriving soon. I need to hurry with the remaining preparations.

Swallowing the clam in my mouth, I threw the chicken skin into the heated frying pan.

As it cooked, the fat from the chicken skin seeped out, quickly filling the pan.

Before I knew it, the pan was brimming with the fat from the chicken skin. I fried the chicken skin to a crispy, golden-brown color using this fat.

The crispy chicken skin, having released all its fat, shrank and swayed in the chicken oil, tempting me.

I placed the chicken skin on a kitchen towel, lightly sprinkled it with salt and pepper, and took a bite.

Jade looked a bit exasperated, wondering if I would take another bite, but I ignored it.

Crunch, crunch, crunch...

The chicken skin, with all its moisture gone, had a delightful texture. The savory aroma of the chicken skin, combined with the salt and pepper, made me crave the sizzling golden liquid.

As I reached for another piece, I met Jade's gaze, which was fixed on me.

I glanced at the chicken skin in my hand and offered it to Jade's mouth.

Jade blinked a few times, fidgeted with his mouth, and then happily took a bite.

He seemed to really like chicken skin. Jade's face was completely different from before, now beaming with joy.

I divided the chicken skin into three plates, sprinkling one with salt and pepper, another with curry powder, and the last with garlic powder.

This way, the fragrant spices would make the greasy chicken skin easier to eat.

As I was doing this, someone knocked on the kitchen window.

Looking up, I met Dajiru's eyes, floating in the darkness outside, illuminated by the kitchen light.

I asked Jade to go to the front door to greet Dajiru.

While he was gone, I quickly finished the mysterious item and put it back in the refrigerator.

Then, with a nonchalant expression, I carried the dishes to the living room.

This is a challenge with exotic ingredients.