Published: September 9, 2025
Satou here.
When I was in the original world, I never really paid it any mind, but coming to this another world made me realize just how often we eat things without knowing what the ingredients are or how they’re made.
â—‡
“Hello, long time no see.”
“Oh, if it isn’t Young Master Satou. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?”
“Long time no see, Sir Baron Pendragon.”
In the duke’s castle kitchen, I was greeted warmly by the head chef who still struggles with formal speech. He looks like the type to charge into battle wielding a greatsword while clad in armor, but when it comes to delicate court cuisine, he ranks among the top five in the Shiga Kingdom. Another person there was a slender young chef supporting him.
The maid who guided me here was standing by the wall, eyes full of expectation, but I wasn’t here to cook today.
I pulled out the Dragon Spring Liquor and Fairy Wine (Brownie Wine) from my bag as gifts and handed them to the head chef. Fairy Wine is rare but not completely unknown, so it wouldn’t reveal my identity. On the other hand, Dragon Spring Liquor is so rare that it’s virtually nonexistent in circulation, so when appraised, it should just be recognized as a minor brewery’s product.
“Is the other bottle Shiga liquor?”
“Yes, Baron, sorry for troubling you.”
“No, it’s fine. I found some rare liquor on my travels and thought to bring some back to those who helped me.”
In fact, instead of recipes for tempura or jellied fish, they taught me various vegetable garnishing and candy crafting techniques. Pochi’s character bentos were a result of that.
After some polite conversation, I got to the main point.
“Red pickles, you say? We don’t know Fukujinzuke by name, but pickled peaches or salted Lulu are red, aren’t they?”
“That’s right. Pickled carrots and Gabo Fruit in grape vinegar are also red, but they’re more orange, so that’s different.”
Sadly, neither of them knew Fukujinzuke.
They named various red pickles, but since I haven’t even seen daikon radish since arriving in the Duke’s Capital, it’s no wonder. I’m out of daikon to use for Japanese-style hamburg steaks. Did I overuse grated daikon with grilled fish, causing a shortage?
“If you know the ingredients, why not try pickling it yourself?”
“I know it uses daikon and lotus root, but I don’t know what seasonings.”
I’m pretty sure salt and vinegar are used, but I can’t remember where that red color comes from. Surely it’s not just food coloring?
“No one around here grows daikon.”
“It’s just a superstition, but there’s a longstanding tale that planting daikon attracts Orcs. I believe they do cultivate it in Count Cuhanow’s Domain and Count Seryu’s Domain.”
If there’s no daikon, my chances are slim.
I thanked them for the information and prepared to leave. The maid by the wall looked very disappointed, so I whispered “It’s a secret,” and secretly slipped her a wrapped baked good. I’d been handing them out to feather spirits and Elves for days, so I wasn’t well stocked.
â—‡
Even if I go to Count Cuhanow’s Domain or Count Seryu’s Domain, it needs to be late at night so I don’t stand out, so I decided to spend today in the Duke’s Capital rekindling old friendships.
Before leaving the duke’s castle, I stopped by the airship maintenance workshop and gave the foreman a bottle of Fairy Wine. Not that I was stingy with Dragon Spring Liquor; he looked like a red-faced drinker but apparently can’t handle strong alcohol, so I refrained. Fairy Wine has only 1–3% alcohol and is sweet and easy to drink.
Being careful not to seem odd, I asked about the control of aerodynamic engines. He said the airships in the capital use aerodynamic engines built by combining fins with similar output characteristics. Because of this, even when news comes of monster slayings, new airships rarely get added. The recent used aerodynamic engine was kept as a backup after maintenance.
“Satou-dono, have you heard of the country Talvia?”