The Other World Dining Hall (WN) Chapter 38

TN: It seems that the author was deliberate in making the title vague. There’s so many kinds of mushroom spaghetti and I decided to use my favourite kind which is aglio olio as the cover picture. What kind of mushroom spaghetti do you guys like? 😀

Mushroom Spaghetti

A small no-name town.

Alisa who ran a pharmacist on the outskirts of the forest found a black door as usual on the morning of the day that she was looking forward to for the last 7 days and laughed softly.

[Aa, that’s good…]

The black door which appeared about 3 years ago at her medicinal herb garden near her forest house where difficult herbs were cultivated.

Alisa always looked forward to the door’s appearance… the day she could visit the otherworld dining hall.

[I have to prepare for it…]

Alisa always prepared to go out before she went out.

Along with her homemade makeup, she wore a dress that she sewed herself just like how the old master of the pharmacy taught her back when she was just an orphan child.

She retrieved some money that she earned by selling medicines.

[Un. This is fine. I’m looking forward to it.]

She made her medicines in a happy mood while putting her thoughts on her day of enjoyment once in 7 days.

…Though thanks to a mistake, she had to throw away a defect medicine.

And when the sun reached its peak.

Alisa passed the door as usual.

‘Chirinchirin’, she closed the door while listening the sound… and heard the door opening again shortly afterwards.

[Yo! Hello, Alisa. How have you been?]

[Hello, Meimei. I’m doing fine.]

The girl that just came in… the black haired girl greeted with a smile to the tanned girl with large white goat horns.

[I see! That’s good. Then, let’s have a seat.]

[Un…]

Just as she thought, it was busy during lunch time. She called the waitress to give her order.

And both of them went to seat together on an appropriate table.

[Welcome.]

Approximately at the same time, the owner incidentally brought their water along with other customer’s food.

[What would you like to order?]

Their orders were confirmed.

Since they first came to this restaurant for the last few years, their orders were almost always the same.

[Yes. I would like a wafu1 mushroom spaghetti please.]

[Un. I would like creamy mushroom spaghetti! A, I would like to use chopsticks.]

[Okay.]

The owner nodded to the usual order and retreated to the kitchen.

[So, how was it?]

[N~? As usual. I always look after the sheep. How about you?]

[It’s as usual for me too. Taking care of the plants and flowers, go to the forest for mushrooms and making medicines…right.

A, but the previous customer that came…]

Both of them started to chatter about their lives.

Since she lived on the outskirts, this was a valuable time for Alisa who lost her mentor due to an epidemic.

[N? What happened? You’re looking at the waitress.]

[Un. Nothing.]

She answered with a smile to her friend.

Alisa thought that this restaurant was comfortable.

At least in her hometown, it’s impossible for demons to work in a restaurant.

Her mentor, an expert pharmacist, was gentle enough to raise her as a human orphan with no blood ties.

To the extent that it was necessary for her to conceal her face with a deep hood and bandages to hide her eyes and scales, the demon had a small feeling of shame.

[Ou! Sake! I want 3 more bottles of shochuu!]

[I want more roast chicken and grilled onigiri!]

[Then I want to order more Scotch Eggs. Please.]

[More Carpaccio please!] [Make it smoked salmon next please!]

[Mu. Omurice. Second serving.]

There’re ogres, lamia, sirens and lizardman behaving well inside the restaurant and eating vigorously. That’s why she felt so about this place.

[Sorry to keep you waiting. Your orders of wafu mushroom spaghetti and creamy mushroom spaghetti.]

While thinking such things and having silly talks with Meimei, the owner came with their orders.

[I’ve been waiting! Un, it looks delicious as always.]

[That’s true. So, let’s eat.]

The two of them began to eat their own food.

Alisa took a fork and started on her tea-coloured wafu mushroom spaghetti.

Meimei ate her creamy mushroom spaghetti using chopsticks.

(It’s as amazing as ever. I couldn’t eat while using such sticks.)

While watching Meimei who was deliciously eating creamy mushroom spaghetti with plenty knight sauce using chopsticks, Alisa ate her food.

The ingredients were smoked meat, dark green leafy vegetables (like Meimei’s “otorigusa2” vegetable), mushrooms and Oranie that were fried until it became sweet.

Two kinds of mushrooms were used in her dish.

Both of those mushrooms provided different taste and texture to the spaghetti, Alisa liked them both.

(First… of course it’s the mushrooms.)

She used her fork to scoop the noodles together with mushrooms.

The mushrooms that she selected were those that were sliced thinly and dyed brown by the wafu sauce, leaving behind the ones with black caps.

She carried the noodles with distinctive flavor of saltiness and butter to her mouth.

(Un. The main character of this dish is the mushroom after all.)

The two types of mushrooms were as delicious as ever.

It’s wonderful to be able to include plenty of other ingredients and sauces while preserving the original taste of the mushrooms.

The taste of smoked meat with plenty fat, the umami of the meat and fat, and the sweetness of the sautéed Oranie.

The flavor and aroma of butter used to stir-fry the noodles.

And above it all, the wafu sauce used to season the dish.

Every time she chewed the mushrooms, its natural umami came out.

The owner said that they’re called “shimeji” mushrooms and “mushroom3” mushrooms.

Though they were similar to the medicinal plants that Alisa was knowledgeable of, both of them were different world mushrooms that she had never heard of and their flavours were very distinct.

She could enjoy these flavours together with otorigusa, but the mushrooms’ tastes were exceptional.

Alisa silently ate her noodles with mushrooms, her smile naturally deepened.

[[…Fuu.]]

And then, after she ate to a certain extent, she placed down her fork.

At the same time, Meimei also stopped eating her creamy mushroom spaghetti.

[Well then, as usual…]

[Let’s exchange.]

After drinking water to wash their mouths, the remaining mushroom spaghettis… they both exchanged their half-eaten food.

Both of them, women who lived alone, did not have much money in their pockets.

That’s why, when Meimei proposed this way to enjoy both kinds of flavours at one time, Alisa immediately agreed.

(…Un. After all, it’s hard to throw this away, right.)

She thought that while eating Meimei’s creamy mushroom spaghetti.

The ingredients contained in creamy mushroom spaghetti were the same as those in wafu mushroom spaghetti.

Smoked meat, Oranie, otorigusa and two kinds of mushrooms.

However, the seasonings were definitely different.

The sauce used in creamy mushroom spaghetti was knight’s sauce.

A rich sauce made of milk and butter, thickened with flour.

More than the wafu sauce, every time the strong buttery flavor and scent was carried to her mouth, the scent tickled her nose and her tongue encountered the sweetness of the ingredients.

It was much more delicious than the knight’s sauce made during various festival days that the town held.

At Alisa’s hometown, she could eat it during festivals, but it seemed that it was not yet known at Meimei’s hometown.

When she first entered the restaurant and ate it, Meimei laughed at her when she instinctively cried at the taste.

(It’s interesting. We live at the same world and yet we eat different cuisine.)

Recalling what she heard so far, Alisha smiled.

Meimei said that there was a taste similar to wafu sauce back at her hometown.

It’s a seasoning by fermenting salted fish, her hometown… it’s something that appeared from Sea Country’s market.

Alisa who lived at the Eastern Continent knew about knight’s sauce, but she didn’t know about wafu sauce.

Meimei who lived at the Western Continent knew what was close to wafu sauce, but she didn’t know about knight’s sauce.

That made Alisa felt the difference in their culture.

(It’s fascinating. Truly…)

Meimei would have never been able to know about the forest at the outskirts of her hometown.

Being able to eat this, Alisa thanked God, and continued eating her creamy mushroom spaghetti.

Then, the both of them finished eating at around the same time, paid the bill and left the restaurant.

[See you later. In 7 days.]

[Yes, in 7 days.]

They were reluctant to part, but they promised while simultaneously went through the door.

Passing through the door, she entered her familiar herbal medicine garden.

Next to her… there was no one.

Meimei told her that her door… it seemed that it was found at the corner of her ranch where she raised her sheep.

[…Still, it’s a little disappointing.]

She murmured as she watched the door disappeared after its role ended.

Someone she could spend time together once every 7 days when the door appeared… an important friend.

Regardless of demons or humans, Alisa returned to her usual herbal medicine preparation, it was regrettable that they could only meet once in 7 days.

…Still, she looked forward to the next enjoyable time eating delicious food with her friend.

TN: Why, author, why? First you write a sad chapter with sweet ending during hotdog. Now you write a fuwa-fuwa chapter with bitter-sweet ending!? I’m not prepared for the onslaught of feels. ToT