10 minutes later.
After removing the liquid from the shappaya, I gently washed the Shappaya, making sure not to crush it. The deodorant slime’s liquid wasn’t poisonous, but I had to make sure that no filth would be left, so I used water magic to wash everything off, and… Done! The stench is gone!
Compared to before, the shappaya basically smelled like nothing now. But what about the taste?
I roasted it over fire and ate it.
“!!” [Ryouma]
The more I chewed, the more the deliciousness of the fish came out. I thought I’d lose some of the taste by washing the shappaya with the dedorant liquid, but it’s still plenty delicious.
There’s still a little bit of stench from the shappaya’s liquid, though… Should I let it soak for longer? It might be because I’m numbed to the smell already or it might be because of the Stench Resist skill, but the thing is I don’t really mind the smell, so I’m not actually sure if the smell is bearable now for a normal person.
“Shelma-san, I was able to remove most of the smell. What do you think?” [Ryouma]
“Oh, you’re right. In that case, I’ll have one. …Mmm… It still stinks a little.” [Shemla]
“I see…” [Ryouma]”
“It’s much better compared to before, though. Before, it was so bad I couldn’t stand it, but now, I can properly taste it. I think it might be best if this is prepared with some herbs first rather than served as is.” [Shelma]
So, the stench is weak enough that it could be solved with something like that. In that case, how about adding Jija— Wait. I don’t have any. I don’t have any herbs too.
…Right. Let’s use that Semisa instead.
I took a bag of Semisa from the second floor and wrung out some oil using alchemy. The oil is plenty aromatic as is, but heating it up will release even more of the aroma. I cooked the oil on a frying pan.
…And gradually the aromatic smell became stronger! I then added the Shappaya that’s been treated with deodorant. After frying one side, I flip the pan and fry the other side. I fried the Shappaya until both sides had turned crispy.
“Is it ready?” [Shelma]
“Yes. What do you think?” [Ryouma]
“…Mmm. Well, it stink way less than before now. I think it’ll go well with wine.” [Shelma]
Is the taste the problem?
“…What’s going on?” [Fina]
“Ah, no, it’s…” [Ryouma]
“We smelled something familiar!” [Jane]
“So we came to see what it is~” [Maria]
When I turned around, the three working girls were standing by the entrance.
“The semisa is our hometown’s taste, so—” [Jane]
“—Smelling it really whets our appetite!” [Fina]
“I see.” [Ryouma]
“Boss~ Is that tonight’s supper?” [Maria]
It’s an experiment actually…
“It’s alright. We’ll add it to our supper tonight.” [Shelma]
And that’s how today’s experiment concluded.
As a result, the side dishes for tonight’s supper increased.
After supper.
Shelma-san’s cooking was again simple and delicious. The employees also enjoyed the Shappaya fried in sesame oil. The effect of the deodorizing liquid could be seen immediately.
If I knew I could use the Deodorizing Liquid like this, I would have bought more Shappaya. Too bad. So long as man lives, he will need food to sustain him. So it never hurts to have too many preserved food.
“Here you go, Boss.” [Jane]
“Thank you very much.” [Ryouma]
After supper, Jane-san served me a cup of Dante Coffee. She prepared everyone else’s favorite drink too, and we spent the time after supper like that.
“Funfufun.” [Jane]
…Still, Jane-san sure is in a good mood to day. The others are also in a good mood. Are they that happy having the ingredients of their hometown used?
When I asked them that, apparently, that was one part of it, but there was also the conversation this afternoon.
“When I think of how everyone in the village might be hired by the store, I just… Ah~” [Maria]
“Of course, we’re also okay if you send us to different branches. Either way the laundromat is a really safe workplace. We left the village to work, but while we’re able to have an easy life working here, we can’t help but worry for those working elsewhere…” [Jane]
“And with the way our village is, more and more villagers will eventually have to leave to make money. At that time, if we could just ensure the safety of at least one more villager, then we could be at ease by that much.” [Fina]
“I see.” [Ryouma]
“What would really be great is if we can sell our produce, though!” [Fina]
“That’s right~. If that happens, then everyone can live together again~” [Maria]
“It’s a waste that ingredients that delicious are just being thrown away.” [Fei]
“Unthinkable in our country.” [Leelin]
Fei-san and Leelin-san joined the conversation.
“What do you eat in your country?” [Shelma]
“Our staple food is Miyen. It’s made by kneading flour with water. Kind of like bread, but we don’t cook it, and instead, put it in soup. When made long and narrow, we call it Reemiyen. When it’s thin and long, we call it Parmiyen. There are many names and ways of eating it.” [Fei]
Could this Miyen be noodles?That seems to be the case after hearing Fei-san’s explanation. Or maybe it’s closer to flour dumplings since they put them in a soup.
“That’s interesting~” [Maria]
“I wonder how foreign cuisine tastes like…” [Shelma]
“Shelma-san, are you curious? If you want, I can make you some.” [Leelin]
“Oh, my, Leelin-san. Are you sure?” [Shelma]
“I haven’t eaten it in a long while too. Why not? The ingredients are wheat flour, water, and soup. Everyone in our country is poor, so we don’t need any special ingredients.” [Leelin]
What a happy conversation this has turned into.
“…Should we put up a stall?” [Carm]
“Huh?” [Leelin]
“Carm-san?” [Ryouma]
I was wondering what he was talking about so suddenly, but apparently, it was related to our discussion with Serge-san.
“Although we’re not making a loss by lending the store, we can benefit more from the deal depending on our actions. One way we can do that, I believe, is by providing some snacks to the people coming to watch the troupe. If we provide them a place for them they can rest at and prepare products that can attract their attention, we should also be able to sell them some things. It’s a festival after all, so they should be more willing to spend. And even if we don’t make that much, we can still use this as an opportunity to deepen relations with the townspeople.” [Carm]
Carm-san… Although it’s just an idea, he’s sure thought it through.
Management is going well, so we do have the capital, and we might just be able to give back a little to the people we’ve been making a killing from… This is another way to enjoy the festival.
“What do you think? Everyone.” [Carm-san]
It would be impossible if the stall is to be tended by just me and Carm-san.
We need to get everyone’s cooperation.
“…If you’re doing it, I’ll help. I… don’t have anything scheduled.” [Dolce]
Unexpectedly, Dolce-san immediately agreed.
I thought he was focused on working on his diary, but it seems he was actually listening.
“I don’t have any experience putting up a stall, but I certainly love seeing people eat my food. All the more when the customers praise my cooking.” [Shelma]
Shelma-san was also up for it.
“If we take turns like we do normally, we should be able to make time to go around the festival even while tending to the stall.” [Fina]
“Hmm~ We’ll probably lose all our money if we play the whole day, so~ Why not?” [Maria]
“I’m okay with it.” [Leelin]
“I agree with my daughter.” [Fei]
“Me too. Ah! Assistant-Manager, can we use our store’s wheat for the ingredients?” [Jane]
“We have to create an environment to preserve the food goods, but it should be fine. Is something the matter?” [Carm]
“If we use our village’s wheat, some customers might ask where the wheat is produced.” [Jane]
“What are you talking about?” [Dolce]
“Ahaha, forget it. I’m alright with working on the stall. It sounds fun.” [Jane]
After Jane-san agreed, Fina-san also agreed.
With that, the decision was a unanimous yes.
We’re putting up a stall! Great!
But then again, when you think about, couldn’t we just use the store?
Still, this is where the flow of conversation brought us, so I guess that’s that.
“Now, we need to check the cost of the ingredients and prepare some sample dishes. We’ll have to lay the groundwork with Morgan Company… I’ll begin preliminary investigations tomorrow.” [Ryouma]
If after that everyone still feels like putting up a stall, then we’ll put up a stall.
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