Due to deal restructure text to speech player is currently unavailable. Will find a solution soon.

Chapter 387: Chapter 387: Clearer than day

Chapter 387: Clearer than day

I decided to help the two who were going to participate in some sort of food stall competition of the Batoma Company . Before being brought to their office, I went around checking the rice that’s coming to Tsige .

Some would be thin and long grains, others would be gigantic like a dango, there’s also some who are selling sham rice that’s clearly more like quinoa even though they are advertising it as rice; it was quite the chaotic market situation to the point that it made me wanna laugh .

I bought a number of the Asora breed that’s similar to the japonica rice while accompanying Orosha, and arrived at the base of the Silly Company .

Hmm, it looks like they at least have the minimum required cooking equipment .

But if it is to develop something new, it is honestly unreliable .

They said there’s a good amount of food stalls, so they probably were thinking about steal—imitating and arranging the menus they think are good .

It is too cramped to begin from zero, and there’s not enough tools, but this cooking facility feels like the kind of place to somehow make-do even with all that .

“I didn’t know there was that much variety in rice-ssu . ” (Orosha)

“There were even some who were selling things that were not rice despite being advertised as such . ” (Makoto)

“About that, it is about whether you can judge it as so, I suppose . If it were a local specialty it would be one thing, but rice is a grain that was rarely seen and has only shown up recently . ” (Orosha)

It could be that they got their hands on something similar since it seemed like it would sell, or got them believing the lies of someone else saying it is rice .

That does sound plausible .

Thinking about the standing of the people who bring stuff to Tsige, most don’t have leeway in their cargo .

If there’s space, they would jam something there too .

It is natural for them to put things that they themselves have knowledge of, but there’s times when it just can’t go that way .

…Rice is still being treated as a low priority cargo, so of course the state of it would be chaotic .

I think it would slowly get better if they were to have a proper talk with Lorel and procure rice from them, so I guess I should put my expectations there .

In the first place, leaving aside the fake ones, the ones that are a different kind have different cooking methods, and if they were to know that, the story would be different too .

For example; chinese fried rice, nasi goreng, fried rice . Quite a lot of variety .

For that part, I will have to look forward to the curiosity and desire to make new things of cooks .

Tsige doesn’t have a large scale library like Rotsgard, so the way to spread knowledge is restrictive too .

“Knowledge… If there were a library in Tsige too, it could make a difference…” (Makoto)

“Library?” (Orosha)

“It is a facility that gathers many books in one place like in Rotsgard . ” (Makoto)

“Gathered books… I see, that’s interesting-ssu ne . ” (Orosha)

“Well, can’t rely on something we don’t have . Now then, I will instruct you on the way to prepare rice . ” (Makoto)

“Please do-ssu, Rai…ma-san!” (Orosha)

?

If I remember correctly, I was called Rama-san .

No, it was originally Raimagostock? Eh? Rama…mago…yeah, let’s just stop .

I will cook the four types I bought with the japanese process .

Judging from the state of the facility, I can’t do all 4, so I will do two at a time .

First will be the sweet corn that has the shape of rice .

The second one is like a japanese chestnut .

The third one is like fragrant wood .

Seriously?! This is sandalwood!

The scent is way too strong and it seems to be slightly sweet, but it didn’t really stay in my mind .

The fourth one was slightly soft, but it was rice without any traits .

As someone who has gotten used to eating rice, this rice that has almost no taste is…the one that resembles rice the most as of now, but I don’t know…

“The last one was the one that resembled it the most, but…I feel like there was no scent or taste . ” (Orosha)

Looks like Orosha’s taste buds were mostly the same as mine .

The onigiri in Mio’s store cannot be made with this rice at all .

If I remember correctly, there’s a way to eat old rice, but…nope, can’t remember it .

In the first place, I don’t know if it lost flavor because it is old, or it tasted like this from the very beginning .

Maybe if we sprinkle salt and fill it in, we might be able to make something that resembles the onigiri?

“Yeah, the last one can narrowly be used in onigiri . ” (Makoto)

“Wonder where Mio-san from the Kuzunoha Company gets her rice . At the very least, we now know that it isn’t going around in the market . ” (Orosha)

I see .

The place of Mio does get rice pretty stably in Tsige .

Orosha must be thinking that there’s some place where she can stably get rice .

If he were to search, there would be eateries in Tsige that would use rice, but our place is the one that stands out the most .

“Lorel…” (Makoto)

Must be the place they say they get it .

I say that, but there’s currently no company that’s stably trading with Lorel directly .

I heard from Rembrandt-san that it was just after several business discussions that they are finally on the stage where they are beginning to move .

It is something pretty recent .

His way of saying ‘not yet’ felt like he was suggesting something there, so that must mean they are moving on the surface .

But it is still in the ‘not yet’ phase .

“It must be that place-ssu ka ne . It seems like the Kuzunoha Company-san is often using the Golden Highway and getting a massive amount of cargo, so does that mean there’s rice there as well?” (Orosha)

“…”

“Rama-san?” (Orosha)

Right, there was that .

Several wagons with giant cargos that stand out .

The inside would normally be completely empty or have fake bottoms . There hasn’t been a single time when those things have had any actual cargo .

“Aah, it is nothing . First let’s keep these four . There’s the option of resolving yourself and going to the place of Mio…-san to ask about the rice . ” (Makoto)

“That’s super straight . Will it work?” (Orosha)

“If you want to sell them at the stations, you two won’t be competing that much, so there might be a chance . ” (Makoto)

“As you can see, we are a company in name only, so we would go bankrupt if they were to demand money for the rights to use the rice . ” (Orosha)

“Hahaha, leaving aside the jokes…” (Makoto)

“…”

“In the world of merchants, information is gold . If you were to bring one or two things of something, they might unexpectedly take an interest and listen to you . ” (Makoto)

I don’t remember hearing about that unbelievable rice from Mio, and if I were to put in a word for him, I think they will at least give him some advice .

It is not like there would be a critical hit like the time with the butcher .

Honestly speaking, for the matter of the rice search, I can’t think of anything aside from secretly circulating the one of Asora .

For the rice cooking device, it will take a bit of time, but I will try talking with the eldwas .

If Asora were to be at the forefront…it would be the Hagma Special that allows you to get fluffy rice in just 30 minutes of putting it in .

It is so good that even people in the modern era would want it .

Mio says that when using that tool, it will always come at a 98, and never comes out as a full score, so it is no good .

Even with that, Mio still properly uses that tool for the store, so she is the type that can separate feelings and efficiency properly .

“Orosha! It was perfect on my side! Wait, hm? A customer? …?!”

“Ah, no, I am about to leave, so…your onigiri food stall…I will root for you that it will be successful . Farewell…” (Makoto)

“Ah, you are leaving already-ssu ka? Thanks for your help, Rama-san!” (Orosha)

“I will come back in around…3 days . ” (Makoto)

“Got it-ssu . ” (Orosha)

Leaving aside Orosha, his Big Bro most likely knows my face or my name, or both .

There’s no doubt the Big Bro is the one with the street smarts after all .

Also, I found something slightly interesting while on my way here .

That was most likely a youkyu .

Also I think there was a ball bow which I don’t really know much about .

Let’s play a bit before going back .

◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆◇◇◆◆

“Oi . ”

“Welcome back, Bro Ets . ” (Orosha)

“Oi oi oi oi oi!” (Ets)

“Aah…about Rama-san, right?” (Orosha)

“No matter how you look at him, that was Raidou!” (Ets)

“Well, you see, it is because Bro Ets said something that denied the good parts of rice completely in a loud voice as you left that he spoke to me . ” (Orosha)

“Me?!” (Ets)

“He introduced himself with some weird name like Ramakoma-something, and I played along with it . He told me that he would cooperate with us . ” (Orosha)

“Eh?” (Ets)

“He instructed me on how to cook rice and how to choose it-ssu . Well, it seems like there wasn’t one that clicked within these though . ” (Orosha)

Orosha said this while throwing in the sweet corn and chestnut tasting rice into his mouth .

That attitude of his was aloof, and contrasted Bro Ets -actual name Essen- who was panicking about Raidou .

“…Does it taste good?” (Essen)

Essen seemed to be doubting it from the bottom of his heart .

“It is pretty good-ssu yo . It must have to do with the cooking method as well, but that person’s eye for this is really good-ssu . ” (Orosha)

“It is that Raidou of the Kuzunoha Company, you know! Of course he is an unbelievably talented person!” (Essen)

“He felt a bit different from a super talented person though . ” (Orosha)

“What scheme brought him to get close to us?! Isn’t this the biggest trouble the Resily Company has had?! Batoma-san hates Raidou to death, you know?!” (Essen)

“No, Bro Ets . That’s old info-ssu yo . It seems like the Boss Batoma has been meeting the Rembrandt Company’s representative and left to stay someplace else . There’s rumors that something must have happened postwar . ” (Orosha)

“…Seriously? Now that I think about it, I have only been thinking about the project recently, so I haven’t spoken to anyone aside from people related to that . ” (Essen)

“Also…his daughter Ates…” (Orosha)

“Ooh, my angel!” (Essen)

The tension of Essen that was going up and down raised his hands up the moment he heard the name of Ates .

“…Please leave that for later-ssu . Anyways, I have heard that Ates-san has also been coming and going to the Kuzunoha Company . ” (Orosha)

“Could it be that that guy…is using his money to… Unforgivable!” (Essen)

“Bro Ets, please keep a bit of sanity here-ssu . It is because of that that I think their relationship isn’t as bad postwar-ssu yo . ” (Orosha)

“Orosha, you really are more the thinker type . Then, that means that we are not in a rock and a hard place at present, right?” (Essen)

“We have no choice but to move with that line of thought in mind-ssu . It felt like we might be able to obtain the cooperation of Mio-san . I will try showing up at the store one more time tomorrow-ssu . Rama-san did say that it might be good to be straight . ” (Orosha)

“…I don’t understand . Why did Raidou go as far as using a fake name to cooperate with us? We are practically trash in the eyes of them, you know?” (Essen)

“It is scary that this isn’t just self-deprecation but the actual truth . I feel the same-ssu . At any rate, Bro Ets, have you obtained the container for the onigiri?” (Orosha)

“You could say that!! I had an encounter of sorts, you see! It was an instant decision! I also paid for it!” (Essen)

“…I have understood right at this moment that we cannot retreat anymore . And so, is that craftsman free?” (Orosha)

Even if he has spoken to a craftsman, depending on the guild or company they are affiliated to, they could retract it at a decisive moment .

The fear of Orosha was natural .

“Of course, I didn’t miss anything!” (Essen)

“What was their name?” (Orosha)

“Carol . It seems like she just recently came back from her travels . She is a woodworker, but she apparently has been acting as an adventurer with her little sister every now and then . She doesn’t compare to my angel, but I thought she was a pretty nice woman . ” (Essen)

“Carol… It is true that her name doesn’t show up within the people that are problematic . As expected of Bro Ets, the maestro of good encounters-ssu!” (Orosha)

“Alright! I don’t understand, but I can tell in my pores that the flow has changed, Orosha! Let’s spread the name of Resily!” (Essen)

Essen and Orosha do a toast with water .

They simply didn’t want to waste gold so chose to do so with water, but if Raidou had seen that, he would have had a wry smile .

That’s because a toast with water is a show of resolve for separation in his eyes .

While those slight black clouds hung on them, a certain small company that would be sent flying if blown on them was going for an all-in gamble .

Tip: You can use left, right, A and D keyboard keys to browse between chapters .