“Now everyone, please enjoy this original Santos-san curry!”
As the server, Kukrika-chan, a rabbit-eared girl and disciple of Santos-san, deftly served and distributed it to everyone.
Apparently, her hometown was burned down during the recent war, and she was a war orphan. Santos-san found her, took her in, and now she serves as his disciple and assistant. She, along with Santos-san, has been hired as an employee here.
During a chaotic war where her own life was in danger, she picked up a child of a beastkin she didn’t know… I don’t think that’s something anyone can do easily. Santos-san, he’s truly a good person.
In his own words, “There was someone starving to death, so I gave them food! Then they just attached themselves to me, so I had no choice but to take care of them.” Even while saying that, he calls them his proud disciples, which I see as a tsundere trait.
“Whoa! It looks black, but it smells like curry! Amazing, Santos-san!”
…The smell is a mix of curry and something like garlic and onion. Visually, in a word, it’s black.
Not dark, but just black, like squid ink spaghetti!
But the taste is undeniably excellent.
He asked me to taste it a few times, and it was quite delicious. But he started saying things like, “I’ll surpass the Eleven Mart original curry with my chef’s pride!” So, I gave him some feedback.
But… to actually surpass it, Santos-san was no ordinary person!
“Honestly, meeting the husband’s demands was pretty tough. But thanks to that, I’ve finished something I’m satisfied with! Now, eat up! I have to go serve the people outside too. They’ve been waiting, only smelling it until now, and at this rate, a riot could break out. Kukrika, I’m leaving the serving of the husband’s group to you.”
“Y-Yes, Master! I’ll do my best!”
Bunny-chan gave a crisp salute.
Unlike her master Santos-san, she’s a calming presence.
Her body size is not much different from Mimi and Momo.
Her rabbit ears peek out adorably from her triangular bandage.
“…Huh? Santos-san, is it okay for you to be handling the customers alone? If you leave Kukrika-chan here, won’t you be short-handed?”
“Hahaha! I’ll just ask someone else around here to help, so don’t worry! Kukrika, once you’ve finished serving the side dishes, you eat with the husband and the others too. So, husband, please enjoy it at your leisure! I don’t even need to ask for your feedback.”
With that confident parting remark, Santos-san heads towards the giant pot set up outside the tent, leaving Kukrika-chan holding a ladle, looking a bit lost.
Today, I’d only seen her running around busily while being shouted at by Santos-san.
I know she’s a hardworking, good kid… I should definitely eat with her.
Suddenly, I noticed everyone was waiting quietly without touching their food.
“Kukrika-chan! Please prepare your own portion and sit down with us. You must be tired from being on your feet and moving around so much!”
“R-Really? But I was entrusted with serving everyone… I’ll just eat leftovers later by myself.”
“Kukrika… No need to be so modest! This Master is kind-hearted and probably wants to treat all of us employees equally. So, if you don’t sit down, we can’t eat either… Look… Manager-san and Mimimomo are having a hard time holding back.”
I saw Manager-san and Mimimomo, their mouths watering, gripping their spoons and fighting their desires!
“Hahaha… That’s right. Well, I can get seconds myself, and after serving, I’ll just be standing around, won’t I?”
Kukrika-chan looked at them, then efficiently scooped her own portion onto a plate and sat down in a corner of the table where we were sitting, smiling.
“Then, let’s eat properly! If you’ll excuse us, Santos-san, we’re starting!”
As I said that, I glanced at Santos-san, who was busy serving curry rice to customers and waved his hand indifferently.
“We’re eating!”
With our voices in unison, everyone, who was apparently hungry, dug in.
She’s a girl, so she should be demure… but no complaints.
I took a bite of the curry rice, which had an Otherworldly twist.
The base roux is a product called J Curry, used in diners even in Japan.
In addition, it’s been arranged into a spicy dish with the pungency of garlic and the kick of black pepper spices.
It’s simply delicious! The taste was as good as the Eleven Mart original curry.
By the way, for the rice, they used a blend of rice from this world brought by Santos-san and Koshihikari from the product, cooked like in a mess hall.
The rice from this world is long and slender like Indica rice, but it’s also sticky and closer to Japanese rice.
Apparently, in the Romeo Kingdom… due to the King’s preference, the cultivation of this rice-like crop is encouraged, and in some places, you can see pastoral landscapes.
…I’m absolutely sure that King is Japanese…
At this rate, I wouldn’t be surprised if they have miso and soy sauce too.
“Hey, Kukrika-chan… why is this curry so black?”
“The color? It’s probably this.”
Saying that, she scooped up something resembling a chopped onion with her spoon and showed it to me.
In a word, black onion…?
“Wh-What the heck, that’s a Desire Fruit! Did you put something that stinks that bad in it?”
“I-Is that so?”
“Yes. It smells terrible raw, but if you toast it lightly and soak it in water, the smell disappears. It’s one part of Master Santos-san’s secret techniques, but there are quite a few subtle tips involved in how to toast it and the water temperature, so it’s absolutely impossible for amateurs to replicate.”
Kukrika-chan proudly puffed out her chest.
It seems she’s already been taught that secret technique…
“It smells that bad? Actually, I’m more interested…”
“I wouldn’t recommend it, especially during meals. The strange drink earlier was bad enough, but Desire Fruit is quite dangerous too.”
“Yes. We put it in a double-layered leather bag until just before use, and then toast it immediately after opening it outdoors, far downwind. If the heat isn’t just right, it stinks terribly, so it’s a troublesome ingredient that can’t be handled in urban areas.”
“I know! I’ve heard stories about how sometimes accidents happen and the diners and employees of the cafeteria collapse all at once…”
If handled incorrectly, everyone collapses… It almost feels like a potent poison.
The unique richness and umami are probably from that Desire Fruit.
Is it worth using it even with such trouble? If you ask me, I’d say yes.
…Even I, a complete amateur when it comes to cooking, can tell the difference. It’s an incredible ingredient that elevates the curry’s taste to another level.
Damn… it’s too delicious! I couldn’t stop my spoon and easily emptied my plate.
It was a simple curry with almost no ingredients, but I’ve already finished it.
This calls for another serving!
Without a word, Kukrika-chan collected my plate and served me a second helping.
This one contains chunks of meat.
“…You know, the first one didn’t have meat, right? Is this the Wyvern meat you were talking about?”
“Yes! He said to first let you enjoy the flavor of the roux, so he deliberately made it without meat! The second serving is the main event, so please enjoy it with due respect!”
…Damn, Santos-san.
He had a two-stage approach: the first serving was light, and the second was the main event!
As expected of a professional chef! Is this a taste performance?
Tentatively, I took a bite of the chunky Wyvern meat. The meat, simmered to a tender fall-apart consistency, absorbed the flavor of the original curry.
…This is a taste that rivals the Matsusaka beef sukiyaki I was served during an entertainment dinner when I was a bank employee!
“In-Incredible… Delicious! It’s too delicious!”
…Ah, this is enough to make me want to grow larger or take off my clothes!
When people encounter truly delicious food, words fail them… All that emerges is the impulse to react in some way!
My tail! My tail is standing up furiously!
“Kukrika! The owner is tripping!”
“H-Huh! Are you alright?! Water, please drink some water!”
I took a sip of the ice-cold bottled water handed to me by Kukrika-chan and finally calmed down.
…That was already entering dangerous territory! Dangerous, dangerous!
I almost spewed out a lot of water from my tail… This is bad!
Perhaps this… has some effect of temporarily boosting magic power! Amazing!
Looking around, Manager-san, who had also eaten a chunk of meat in one bite, was in a similar state.
His eyes were unfocused, and he held his spoon tightly, wearing a silly grin and staring blankly into the distance.
Manager-san is in a happy trip now.
Indeed, his tail is standing straight up…!
“M-Manager-san!”
“…Th-This is dangerously delicious… ours… ours is completely defeated.”
With that, Kirika-san also slumped forward.
He’s somehow giving a thumbs-up… “I’ll be back?”
Mimi and Momo are also inexplicably crying…
At this moment, the only one maintaining sanity is Kukrika-chan!
Truly, truly! Santos’s curry is devilishly delicious!
We… may have opened the gates of hell!
I said it would be every other day, but for now, I’m updating daily as if nothing happened. (laughs)
Sorry. It’s the usual.
For now, the first part is scheduled to end in the next and following updates. Well, I plan to update tomorrow and the day after, take a two or three-day break, and then start the next chapter!
The next chapter will jump a bit in chronology and setting.
Chapter 2: “The Iron-Blooded Princess Chloe and the War Demon Ursa’s World-Reforming Destroy”
…What’s going to happen? (laughs)
Addendum
In today’s activity report, I have published the world map of Cat Convenience Store.
It’s not particularly well-made, but why not take a look as a reference?
