Chapter 209: The Village Festival and the Proposal for the Local Specialty (3/4)
Another thing worth mentioning is that Iâve noticed abandoned buildings here and there along the road. They seem to have been developed to accommodate travelers. I asked the feudal lord about those.
âThose were built by my dad when the roads were being built. Theyâre lodging meant for the workers. They served their purpose when the roads were completed, so we could demolish them now, but it would take us considerable effort. In the end, we decided to just leave them alone. Besides, it rains frequently in this region, so we figured leaving them be would do the travelers some good. Do you have something in mind?â [Porco]
Personally, I think itâs a waste to just leave all those structures like that. Porco-sama will have to deal with various problems like hiring personnel, but I think he could turn those places into something akin to the parking areas or drive-through from my previous life.
âHmm⊠In order to spread word of a local specialty, a lot of people need to taste it.
People have to eat even if theyâre in a hurry, and even if theyâre going to be eating inside their carriage, Iâm sure thereâs a big difference between eating dried meat and freshly made gyoza.
Boiled gyoza might be tricky, but if itâs fried, deep-fried, or steamed gyoza, then depending on how theyâre prepared, I think it can work out.
Actually, Iâve also been worrying about those abandoned structures along the highway. We canât let bandits or other ruffians take root in them, so weâve been sending people to patrol the roads irregularly, but perhaps it would be best to station someone soon.â [Porco]
The feudal lordâs reaction was surprisingly good when I told him about my idea about turning those abandoned structures into places akin to parking areas or drive-throughs. Also, listening to the feudal lord reminded me of the police boxes back in my previous life.
âYou could station one or two guards in them. In my opinion, just having a few guards around to consult when needed is a lot more reassuring than having none.â [Ryouma]
âI think so too. And gyoza isnât that hard to cook in the first place. Among the people who submitted their own take on the gyoza, there was even a guy who rarely cooked. If a guy like that could cook gyoza after being taught a little, then spreading the method to cook gyoza to the rest of the villages shouldnât be difficult.â [Porco]
âYes. Moreover, there seem to be a lot of ingredients in Fatma Territory thatâs not being used.â [Ryouma]
Like crabs or octopuses or creatures resembling squids and sea cucumbers.
Even back at Earth, octopuses were known as devil fish, and there were even foreign countries that at one point never considered eating them. Of course, thereâs no harm in refusing to eat squid or other similar creatures. Thatâs the âfood cultureâ in those places, after all. Not wanting to eat something because of its appearance is in itself a part of the development of a food culture.
âSometimes people donât want to eat something because of how an ingredient looks. But if you look at it another way, if they just canât see how the ingredient looks, maybe theyâll be more inclined to eat it.â [Ryouma]
âNow that you mention it, when making gyoza you have to crush the meat first and then wrap it with gyoza wrapper. Whatâs more is that Gyozas are small enough to be eaten whole, so the ingredients looking weird will never be an issue! âŠFu fu, fu ha ha ha ha!ăFugo!?â [Porco]
The feudal lord suddenly started laughing, and then just as abruptly snorted.
Because of that the villagers all turned to us.
The feudal lord didnât seem to mind that one bit and continued.
âInteresting. Very interesting. Iâm impressed you were able to think this far. Countless chefs and proud housewives have sent me their recipes, but youâre the first one to go as far as to think of how to sell the product. But then again, Iâd only asked for recipes, so I guess that shouldnât come as a surprise.
I know I was the one who asked you to come up with a local specialty, but I never expected that youâd be able to come up with an answer like this at your age. As expected of the Barley Tea Sage, I suppose. I know you donât like to be called as such, but the situation just begs for it. Hang on. I suppose given the situation weâre in, it would be more apt to refer to you as âthe Barley Tea and Gyoza Sageâ?â [Porco]
Why was my title turned into something I would want to eat during summertime!?ăPorco-sama doesnât look like heâs joking, though.
âThereâll be a lot of preparations and circumstances to consider on my end, so I canât decide right away, but Iâll consider your proposition. It was truly a convincing proposition. Thank you.â [Porco]
âIâm unworthy of your word, my lord. Besides, the only reason I was able to propose this idea was because of the hot spring job you gave me. If not for that, I would have at most proposed a hot pot that made use of the ingredients that could be found around here, such as fish and tofu.
âOh?ăIâm curious how that will taste all the same, but Iâm even more curious how the hot springs could have given you the idea. If I recall correctly, we talked about all sorts of things that day.â [Porco]
If a reason had to be given, it would have to be the graffiti map in that hot spring shed that was outfitted with nothing but the bare necessities.
If youâve ever tried to draw a map yourself, youâll find that itâs surprisingly hard to draw one.
Of course, itâs not as difficult if youâre just going to be drawing the area around your house or a place that you frequent, but drawing a map of the entire region plus its main roads and geographical features⊠Unless you know the whole region like the back of your hand, thatâs not something that one should easily be able to do. At the very least, I canât do it.
And while itâs true that a feudal lord should know his territory in and out, why would he hang a map of his territory at the top of a mountain in what is otherwise a private space? Is it that important? Is there a special reason behind it?
The map was detailed, so I was able to find out that the mountain was not just one of the few mountains in Fatma Territory, but also the tallest. In other words, the peak of that mountain provided the highest and most extensive view of the region.
Just how much did the late feudal lord love his people and region for him to have his grave built on the peak of such a mountain?
According to the map, the road I passed through made up only a tiny portion of the region. There should be no mistaking that. After all, I went straight to Shikumu in order to participate in the Mud Salamander job. I didnât take any detours.
When I saw that map and spoke to Piguu-san, I found out for the first time that there were hot springs other than the one on that mountain.
Iâve been having a great time at Shikumu Village, but this region still has plenty of charm Iâve yet to see.
âWhen I thought about it like that, my perspective gradually changed.â [Ryouma]
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