The Other World Dining Hall (WN) Chapter 41

TN: A short and sweet chapter! Makes me want to eat Mont Blanc. But it’s rare in my country and my diet disallowed it. *sobs* orz

Mont Blanc

Thomas, an adventurer of the Kingdom, was surprised at its wonderful taste.

(What is this!? I’ve never eaten a confectionary this delicious!?)

This confectionary… used an abundant amount of Marone1, it was a great deviation from normal confectionaries that Thomas knew.

Placed on top was a vivid yellow Marone that was boiled in sugar water.

It crumbled down inside his mouth and dissolved like the woolen threads that covered the entire confectionary, which also used Marone as its ingredient.

Hidden beneath the threads and melting inside his mouth was something white and soft that tasted like sweet milk.

And underneath all of those was soft and yellow sweet bread.

These sweets were high-class enough that they were appropriate for aristocracy.

A soft sweetness that dissolved in his mouth, he wanted to eat another bite.

As soon as he repeated this action, the pastry disappeared in a blink of eye.

[Ou, demon lady! Give me one more Mont Blanc!]

[Yes, just a moment please!]

He had no choice but to repeat the interaction that he had already done twice.

While waiting, Thomas leaned back on his comfortable chair.

(When I received this quest, I thought that 3,000 silver coins is an absurd amount to find a single dessert…)

Indeed, in this case, he was satisfied by this exceptional reward.

(This is thanks to that maid grandma’s wisdom, huh.)

Discretely, he thanked the head maid that had ascended to the heaven last winter.

Yes, if that woman had taken this secret to the grave, Thomas would neither be asked to work for 3,000 silver coins, able to know the presence of this restaurant, nor be able to eat Mont Blanc…

――― She wanted this to be known.

This request was accepted by Thomas 10 days ago.

From the Imperial City, there was a town that could be reached in 3 days by riding a carriage and walking.

To the east of the city, there was a well-groomed orchard of Marone trees where large amount of Marone could be harvested in autumn.

Most of Marone used to make Roasted Marone and Boiled Marone in the Kingdom was harvested in this town, making this town indispensable for the Kingdom.

Due to the Eleanor who was the feudal lord’s wife, this town was more often called as “Town of Marone” instead of its original name.

…The current lord was her husband who married into her family, an influential ruler.

She was Thomas’ current client.

[So, that…]

[Yes, I would like you to find a confectionary using Marone.]

To convince Thomas who doubted his ears, Eleanor who was in her mid-twenties nodded and smiled glitteringly with a sex appeal that Thomas had never seen before.

Apparently she was serious.

(Is she serious? 3,000 silver coins for a confectionary?)

Thomas leaked a surprised voice.

The beginning of this was the head maid who was a veteran that served the household ever since Eleanor’s grandfather’s time.

She bought some wonderful sweets that used Marone, a special product of this town, a couple of years ago during autumn and served it to her master.

It was a wonderful sweet that surpassed all other sweets that used Marone, and quickly captured the hearts of the lord’s family including Eleanor.

Every year she looked forward to this time of year.

[Since that person passed away, you do not know where to obtain it.]

[Ee, that’s right. Even though we already looked around for it.]

According to what he heard, the head maid was quite old and had caught a cold last winter that caused her to pass away.

She said that that affair was just a few days ago.

Well, it couldn’t be helped. When people were on their death bed, there was no time for them to explain anything.

The problem was that she took the secret to her grave.

For many years, she served the lord’s house. She had neither relatives nor children.

Even the maid that she had trained to take over her position did not know where to get it.

At first, Eleanor thought that she could buy it when the season came.

After all, that dessert used a lot of Marone, which was the specialty of this town.

Although it was more refined than any ordinary sweets, there’s no doubt that it was made by a patisserie of this town.

That’s why when autumn came and it was the right time to buy confectionaries, Eleanor used her authority to find the dessert in the town…

It turned out that no one knew where the head maid obtained the sweets.

[I see… so that’s why you requested my service.]

[Ee, that’s right. In place of the deceased Gisele, please find the illusionary dessert named “Mont Blanc”. For the prosperity of this town.]

Yes, that dessert… it’s not just that Eleanor wanted to eat it.

Since Mont Blanc had been served to special guests before, Mont Blanc became known as a special confectionary that could only be found in this town.

A high priestess serving the God of Light who boasted having the most number of followers in the Eastern Continent and a powerful merchant who was prominent even in the Kingdom were among the people who searched for that fascinating sweet.

At this time of year, occasionally some people visited the town of Marone in search of Mont Blanc.

Even if it’s just a pastry, it was still a problem to the lord’s house since the offered price was high.

Therefore, they would like to know the method to obtain Mont Blanc even if they had to pay quite a huge amount.

To do so, they brought this up to the royal court and raised 3,000 silver coins in order to hire Thomas.

[I understand. I accept this request.]

After listening to her story, Thomas pleasantly accepted it.

Thomas was originally an adventurer that was better at investigating than fighting… a former treasure hunter.

It was unfortunate that his eyesight became worst, which was required for fine techniques of a treasure hunter, but his knowledge and his intuition that he cultivated had not declined.

An adventurer who specialized in research, not fighting.

That was Thomas.

[Let me take care of it. I will definitely find out the whereabouts of that Mont Blanc.]

Thus Thomas set out to investigate. That was 8 days ago.

The third day after Thomas received the request.

[As expected, no one knows, huh…]

Thomas sighed as he threw a grilled Marone to his mouth.

To say the least, the search for Mont Blanc was difficult.

Originally, basic investigating… where the head maid obtained the Mont Blanc had been done by the lord’s men, it was already confirmed that no one knew.

Thomas tried to do it again (since Thomas had the lord’s seal, everyone was cooperative) but the result was still nothing.

On the contrary, influential people told him to “tell me if the source of Mont Blanc is known”.

No one knew… in other words, that maid grandma obtained it in a way unknown to anyone else in the town.

He then suddenly noticed.

As a rule of thumb, it should be difficult for the head maid to obtain “Mont Blanc” without anyone noticing it.

First of all, she was not the one that made it. Although the head maid was able to cook simple cuisine, the confection was made with a technology that was unknown to craftsmen.

In the first place, if she made it herself at the kitchen, it wouldn’t be a phantom dessert.

Besides, she was the head maid who served the lord’s household for decades, the townspeople knew her.

Maybe children wouldn’t recognize her, but adults who grew up in this town should know her at the very least.

Somebody would recognize her if she carried the Mont Blanc at the streets even if she put it inside a box…

It was a rare box made of bright sky blue paper with a picture of a winged dog monster.

That’s why Thomas noticed its possibilities.

(In other words, the place where the head maid obtained Mont Blanc… inside the mansion, maybe?)

The conclusion that came out of his investigation was somewhat strange, but it was the only answer left.

It would not be surprising if she did her housework in any location of the mansion.

Also, she served Mont Blanc to her master only once in 7 days, so it was something that could only be obtained in those times.

(Even when Eleanor several times asked her to bring him the dessert more than once in 7 days, she always refused.)

Thinking that way, he asked several maids who worked at the mansion and discovered the head maid’s strange behavior.

A storeroom where Eleanor’s childhood toys and dresses were stored.

The head maid often visited that place to clean it regularly even though it was rarely used.

It seemed that the head maid told them “Because I am old now, I wish to relive my memories of the mistress”, but she went there too frequently.

(There’s no mistake. Mont Blanc could be obtained there.)

Thomas was a veteran treasure hunter.

His intuition told him that that was the location of the treasure.

Then as he investigated, he checked the room once a day for 3 days… he found a black, magical door with a picture of a cat on the fifth day.

[Oi, oi… what is that?]

A magical door that did not exist yesterday.

It appeared in the storeroom.

[Normally thinking, the other side of the door should be the supplier.]

He pondered only for a while.

Thomas grasped the door’s handle… and opened it.

‘Chirinchirin’, the door opened with a light bell sound.

[Oya, welcome. What an early customer.]

A mysterious room that he had never seen before spread before his eyes.

A middle-aged man who was cleaning the room along with a demon girl who showed her legs boldly… the owner cheerfully greeted Thomas.

[Aa, wait a moment… etto, here, is there a confectionary named “Mont Blanc”?]

[Mont Blanc huh? …By chance, do you know Gisele-san?]

The owner who remembered a regular who was a cake lover that he had not seen for half a year questioned the customer who he had never seen before.

[…I have never seen that person directly though.]

There’s no doubt. This was the supplier of Mont Blanc.

Thomas was convinced of his work’s success and smiled.

After being told about the “otherworld dining hall”, he ordered Mont Blanc to taste that rumored sweet.

Thomas who ate four Mont Blanc asked for “takeaway” with great satisfaction and thought.

(Well… I completed my request, but I’m not satisfied with that small amount.)

This wonderful sweet that likely would never enter Thomas’ mouth ever again.

If he reported the door’s existence along with the sweet, he would likely never be allowed to use it after receiving his reward money.

(Maa, what should I do…)

That was why Thomas secretly decided.

There were a variety of customers who visited the restaurant and ate various types of food, people ranging from commoners to aristocrats, demons and monsters.

There was no doubt that there was at least the same amount of “doors” as the customers.

(Ma, I’ll try to find it…)

It might be unexpectedly near the Kingdom.

He thought such.

[Sorry to keep you waiting! I brought 6 Mont Blanc!]

[Ou. Thanks.]

Thomas received sweets with a value of 3,000 silver coins in exchange of 3 silver coins, which is the price of the 10 Mont Blanc that he ordered.