abcnovels
Chapter 19 - Magic Sauce (First)
Chapter 19 - Magic Sauce (First)
Chapter 19 - Magic Sauce (First)
Chapter 19: Magic Sauce (First)
Since we ran out of ingredients we’re eating out for today’s lunch, and Noela and I went over to the bar-and-diner that I gave the dish detergent to previously, Rabbit Hall.
When we went inside, the poster girl, Rena, came to greet us.
“Welcome, Pharmacist-san. And also Wolf-chan.”
Noela nodded in satisfaction.
Looks like she’s delighted to be called a wolf.
The people who come to our shop call her, “Puppy,” after all.
Hm...? There’s no one else other than us in the store, even though it’s lunch time.
It’s not like they’re usually THAT prosperous, but it’s rare for no one to be here.
I requested some dishes from Rena, who came to take our orders.
“There doesn’t seem to be many customers today, ne.”
“Ah-... ahaha... rather than just today, it’s more like recently it’s like this, I guess...”
“Recently? It’s always like this?”
Rena nodded with a bitter smile.
“Over thataways there’s a store with delicious meat cuisine; it’s called Comdale, I guess? Did you know that appeared?”
I had noticed that the delicious scent of meat and fat was coming from somewhere when I was coming over, and it seems it was coming from that new store.
Was she remembering the tasty scent? Drool dripped from Noela’s mouth.
She can’t be helped, huh? I wiped her mouth with a handkerchief.
“Aah... so as a result, here has become like this?”
“That’s how it is... Even at night, see, the people who head over there to drink have increased...”
So that means it’s not just a simple diner; it does everything that Rabbit Hall was doing, huh...
“Dad’s also been sighing a lot...”
When she mentions it, I looked over at the counter and the shopkeeper also looks lifeless.
“Noela, Rabbit Hall, likes.”
Along with Noela, I also like the food here.
Compared to the flashiness of the grilled meat and the scent of the fat, the menu here might be a little plain, but all of items are consistently delicious.
“Thanks, Wolf-chan. ... It’s not like there aren’t ANY customers, so ... I’m sure it will be fine.”
She’s saying that, but Rena also looks lifeless.
“...Previously, the Comdale owner came over to us. It seems like he came to talk about wanting to buy our store, and we naturally refused, but as he left he was saying that we’ll definitely regret it and such.”
Was she unable to bear with it anymore? Tears began to spill down Rena’s face.
“I mean, I mean ... we couldn’t help but refuse like that ... we’ve always been running the shop here; to say, ‘Okay, here you go,’ and sell it, there’s no waaay... If we sold it, afterwards, what are we supposed to do... ...”
“... ... Rena, cheer up. – – Ru!?”
When Noela patted Rena’s head, Rena hugged her tightly.
“Thank you, Wolf-chan.”
As if sensing his daughter’s abnormality, the store owner come over from the interior of the shop.
With an age in the later half of his 30s, he has a large body like a bear.
“Pharmacist-san, it seems like my daughter has been telling you some unnecessary things. My apologies.”
“No, no. It seems like it’s been tough...”
Ha ha ha; the storeowner laughed bitterly.
“It seems like Comdale has their main store in the Capital, and from there they’re putting out branch stores in every town to make a profit.”
“And so this time they’re doing it here, so....”
“That’s right. It’s just, they shouldn’t have been a store that sold alcohol...”
And it seems that’s why the store owner turned them away so strongly.
You can tell that the reason only this town’s store sells alcohol is obviously to destroy Rabbit Hall.
You might say it’s business so it can’t be helped, but their methods have a touch of evil intent to them.
Ring ring; the bell on the door rang, and a customer came in.
“Welco...”
“Oh my, what a dirty shop as always.”
The one who came was a man with a moustache. The ends of the moustache were spun in a curl.
If I was going to give him a nickname, it would definitely be Pierre.
“Of course the customers won’t come into such a shop.”
When Pierre(temp) said so in a mocking tone, the store owner glared at Pierre.
“What did you come her for? Are you here to talk about buying our store again?”
“Oh no, I wouldn’t discuss that after all the this time. This time I’m here to talk business. This time I would like to buy only your abilities in cooking. How about it? Won’t you work for us?”
If the store owner of Rabbit Hall goes to work for the other side, then the shop really will be destroyed.
Looks like Pierre really is a malicious bastard.
I’d get it if he was making a serious face, but that guy, he’s sneering.
“You can’t do anything about this store eventually going under, right?”
This even makes a third-party observer, like myself, irritated.
“This isn’t just a problem with profits. This store is one that’s packed with our memories. It won’t be destroyed so easily. Please leave.”
Hmph; Pierre snorted merrily through his nose.
“I’m certain you’ll regret not selling the store then, definitely. I suppose the day isn’t far off when you’ll be bowing down and begging to work for us. Well then, good luck.”
While waving his hand frivolously, Pierre left the store.
“Dad... is there anything we can do?”
With a long sigh, the store owner hung his head.
The store owner’s pained feelings are obvious.
As for me, I’m the store owner for Kirio Drug.
Even if I’m told to sell it, I think I definitely wouldn’t let it go.
That place is where Noela is, where Mina is, and where all the memories in the town were made.
It isn’t about the money.
“Pharmacist-san, there wouldn’t be anything you could do...?”
“Ruu... Master, Noela is also asking...”
Rena and Noela look at me.
“I also like this store. I don’t want it destroyed.”
That said, cooking isn’t my specialty...
The other side has the delicious scent of meat wafting around after all...
I do understand the feeling of heading over when you really want to eat.
“Hm? Scent?”
It’s said that for peoples’ sense of taste, the sense of smell plays a greater role than the sense of touch.
The scent of meat fat is certainly delicious.
But it’s not something you can sniff forever.
I don’t think it’s something everyone can eat every day.
“I wonder if I can use THAT...”
“Pharmacist-san, did you think of something?”
“Yeah. Just a bit ago, I got my hands on a large amount of ripe rockshou fruits. ... Oji=san, can’t we use that?”
“Just where did you get such a high-class ingredient ... Actually, rockshou is an ingredient often used to make sauces. It takes a lot of time to make, and even if I had the ingredients, I don’t know how to make it...”
He doesn’t know how to make it–?
Oji-san, who had slumped his shoulders, gave a sigh.
“Even if I had the recipe, I’ve heard that it’s difficult to prepare it without destroying the scent.”
So there was something like that.
Ever since then, the kodra has been coming about once every three days to deliver the rockshou fruits.
It doesn’t matter if it’s a high-class ingredient or whatever; there wouldn’t be any problems if we made some mistakes.
And also;
I have the Drug Discovery skill.
Recipes and preperation methods won’t matter at all.
“If that’s how it is, then leave it to me. Rather than that, Oji-san, please think up a recipe that will win over them.”
I left the store, and Rena’s voice called out from behind.
“Pharmacist-san, didn’t you come to eat-?”
“Leave that for later, later! See ya, I’m coming right back, after all!”
When I looked over my shoulder, Noela is waving her hand with Rena.
Looks like she has no intention of coming with me.
.... Noela wants to eat, I guess.
When I returned to the shop and went to the medicine room, I began making a medicine with rockshou fruit.
With my OP Drug Discovery skill, I made a perfect sauce with the rockshou fruits that were supposed to be difficult to handle.
“Alright, let’s beat Pierre with this!”
[Rockshou Sauce: A sauce made with rockshou fruits. It’s a high-class item with a dense scent. It has some acidity and a refreshing aftertaste. Even kings rarely have the chance to eat it.]