The Other World Dining Hall (WN) Chapter 117

TN: Sorry to keep you guys waiting. When I saw the title, I thought “Again? Is the author out of ideas?”.

Carpaccio Again

Once in 7 days, that person would use the magic of transference to visit the lake on the other side of the mountain in order to draw the scenery of the lake.

It was a hobby of Henry, a court magician of a small country, that lasted for the last several years.

(Fumu, it’s sunny today, I can see better.)

In this lake where a water spirit lived, the calm surface of the lake quietly filled with magical power reflected the blue sky and its white drifting clouds like a polished mirror.

And floating on the middle of the lake… was a black door.

(Umu… what a mysterious sight…)

A strange black door was floating on the center of the lake.

He could see that the black door was probably a product of magic.

The black door with a picture of a cat-like beast floated on the clear lake surface without anything to support it, and it was not reflected on the lake surface.

Clearly this door that was removed from principle of the world was a secret of the elves that had perished more than a thousand years ago.

The door stuck out like a black hole in the middle of a white and blue world, as if the heaven and the earth were stuck together.

Such a mysterious sight.

When he came to collect the lake’s water as a material for a special drug, he was really surprised when he saw this scenery for the first time.

(…What is behind that door…?)

He asked the question that he had repeatedly asked for many times, as he prepared his paints.

Henry was a wandering adventurer, he was also a painter that inherited his magical skill from his father who was also a painter.

His father learned battle magic in order to annihilate his opponents unilaterally, because using a barbaric weapon to fight would hurt his hands.

His father was a 200 years old half-elf that had wandered around the world to see unusual scenes once he was old enough, he was then hired by this country and settled down his roots.

At that time, in the era when the mighty and savage Empire swallowed many parts of the continent like flames, his father who was a renowned magician skilled with battle magic was given preferential treatment.

It was common sense to not employ a half-elf for a nation’s government so he was hired as a mere magician, but his opinions were treated like a general’s during important war.

He was bestowed a domestic noble’s daughter as a wife, and his human son was thus appointed as a formal court magician as soon as he became an adult.

That’s why Henry’s father, who had lived a life of travelling for more than a hundred years, decided this place as his last residence almost at the same time as Henry becoming an adult… he died in satisfaction that he was identical to a human’s father.

It had been 20 years since his father had passed away.

The Empire had relaxed their momentum ever since their great and savage emperor had passed away, and his moderate and inexperienced son inherited the throne.

After finally swallowing a port town about 10 years ago, the Empire’s territory had not expanded at all.

…That was good news for a small country like Henry’s, since they were trembling in trepidation that they would be involved in ravages of war.

Right now, it had become known that peace had arrived.

As a court magician, other than exterminating goblins and thieves, he had not used magic in a war situation.

He was concentrating on his other job, a court painter.

(…But still, painting is nice. It is interesting to do this… I see, so this why father wandered around until he’s old.)

Thinking that far, Henry realized that he inherited his father’s blood.

The work of a court painter was not interesting at all.

Unlike the Principality with its rich history or the prosperous Kingdom, there was no room for art to grow in this country, so the painter’s works usually featured the familiar castle’s garden, other work than that was to create portraits of the royal family and the prime minister.

It seemed to be a terribly boring job for Henry whose father had travelled around looking for rare sights and created a large quantity of unusual drawings.

While thinking such, the sun had come down from its peak and it was now sunset.

[…It’s almost over.]

Henry, who decided to return home before dark, cleaned up his supplies and prepared to go home.

[Okay…]

He made sure everything was cleaned up and used transference magic.

Then on the lake, only the door that was not used that day was left.

It was after a while since Henry noticed such an incident on the door.

(…What? Something is different from how it used to be…)

The first thing he noticed was a sense of discomfort.

The door floating on the middle of the lake looked different from usual.

As if it’s master had changed.

(Something is wrong… un? What is that?)

Henry realized the source of his unease. The signboard on the door seemed to be new.

(Are those… words?)

There was something written on the cat’s signboard though he couldn’t see it due to the distance.

It seemed to be the continent’s ordinary language from the shape of the letters, but he couldn’t read it from far away.

(…I have to go there, huh.)

Henry’s curiosity was tingled and he used the magic of water walking to approach the door for the first time.

When he stood in front of the black door, he read the words on the signboard.

[…It’s a restaurant…]

Otherworld restaurant Nekoya.

It was definitely written on the new signboard.

[So that means… this is the entrance to a restaurant?]

That’s what the words on the signboard meant.

But who made the entrance at such a strange place?

While thinking such, Henry causally grasped the brass handle.

The handle turned and Henry unintentionally released the handle.

It was not locked.

(So to say, I can get in…)

Even when he looked at the opposite side of the door, it had the same appearance and the same cat character with its signboard.

He didn’t know where it’s connected to.

After feeling troubled for a while… Henry grasped the handle again and daringly opened the door.

‘Chirinchirin’, a bell rang when the door was opened.

As if driven away by the bell sound, Henry went through the door.

When he passed through the door, it was a different world.

(Wha, what is this place!?)

While the door closed, Henry felt a shiver.

The room was filled with a mysterious light that felt different from sunlight or the magical light conjured by a priest of White.

Inside the spacious room, people were eating their meals.

(…De, demon!?)

No, that was not accurate.

There were many humans, elves, dwarves, demons… and monsters gathered and eating.

[Welcome. Customer-san, it’s okay. No one here will attack other people.]

When he reflexively tried to cast an aria of magic, he heard a voice from behind and he looked back in surprise.

[Those people might look a bit scary, but they’re good people. They’re all customers, so please don’t fight.]

There was a female with black hair.

The girl with yellowish skin and unique face feature that Henry never saw continued to speak cheerfully with a smile.

[This is the otherworld restaurant called Nekoya, if you don’t mind, why don’t you eat something?]

The girl who doesn’t seem to have any experience in fighting didn’t have any fear even in this place where there were a lot of heinous demons.

[…I, I see.]

After hearing the words without any maliciousness, Henry unraveled his tension.

[That’s good. Well, let me show you to your seat.]

While Henry was vigilant, he decided to listen for the time being, the woman then professionally guided him to a seat.

…And judging by her facial expression when she showed the seat, she probably did not have any malicious intention when he was seated next to a Lizardman that was larger than the norm.

[…Well, since this is a restaurant of another world, what kind of dishes are there?]

Henry asked the girl, ignoring the Lizardman who was silently eating what seemed to be an egg dish.

[We serve everything. There’s meat, vegetables, seafood and confectionaries… what kind of food do you prefer?]

[I see… is there some kind of rare dish that’s unique to the otherworld?]

After thinking a little, Henry asked back.

[E? Unique to otherworld?]

[Aa, that’s right. A rare dish that can’t be found in this world, an unusual food… also, I’m not good with sweets so no confectionaries.]

He nodded and further affirmed.

Henry, who was a nobleman that lived in a small country for a long time, was quite excited about the strange world that he secretly visited for the first time.

That’s why he thought that he wanted to try cuisine that could only be eaten at the otherworld.

[Unusual… aa, then how about Carpaccio? It’s a dish using raw fish. Surely the other side doesn’t eat raw fish right?]

Indeed, the girl proposed a strange dish that went against Henry’s common sense.

[…Can fish be eaten raw? I hear that fish that is not properly cooked can cause terrible stomachache.]

Henry was confused.

In Henry’s hometown, fishes were found in lakes and rivers. It smelled of mud and was said that it would cause terrible stomachache if not cooked properly, and it was nonexistent at the capital where Henry lived.

[I think it’s fine. I have never heard of someone suffering from food poisoning after eating it and it’s quite popular. See, Carpaccio is what those children are eating.]

The girl responded after thinking a little and pointed at one table.

…Looking at the customers of the table, Henry frowned.

[…Aren’t they monsters? Is it safe for humans to eat?]

The customers the girl pointed at were two girls with wings, from what Henry knew of demons from his work, they were monsters called Sirens.

They lived at the sea and sang songs that invited sailors to their deaths at the sea, he had read that they were savage and dreadful monsters that ate human beings and raw fishes.

[Is that so… well, if you’re really worried, it can be dressed in wasabi mayo.]

[Wasabi mayo?]

The girl suggested something after seeing Henry’s response.

[Ee, it’s a spicy sauce… it has sterilization property, so it can eliminate poison.]

[I see. Then I’ll have that.]

He did not know what sterilization was, but it should be okay if the store guaranteed it.

Henry decided to try the Carpaccio dish.

[Yes, thank you very much. Well then, please wait for a moment…]

While saying so, she placed down the glassware filled with water and ice and then went to the back.

(Let’s see… hou, this is.)

Henry checked the interior of the restaurant while gulping the cold water with fruit flavor.

At first, he only noticed the dangerous demons, but when he looked around again, he noticed that there were a lot of humans too.

Just like the waitress, the people with yellowish skin were probably people of Western Continent; they wore clothes that he had seen in a book before.

For the people with unusual brown skin, were they the people of Sand Country of Western Continent that excelled in magic?

However some of them were completely different from the people of the Sand Country that he had read in a book before, he could also see people wearing unusual clothes that exposed their arms and legs.

(All these people with different backgrounds… what kind of place is this restaurant?)

He wondered that there were other doors just like the one at the lake, and did they all connect to this place?

While he was thinking such, the previous waitress came back.

[Thank you for waiting. Here is your sea bream Carpaccio with wasabi mayo sauce.]

While saying so, she placed down the fancy and brilliant dish.

[Oo… this is… beautiful.]

Henry who saw the dish unintentionally leaked his honest impression.

The food arranged on top of the pure white plate was beautiful.

The meat of the fish called sea bream was clear transparent white like snow and had pale flower-like skin, the fish slices were then arranged like flower petals.

A grill pattern was drawn on the skin showing that the fish was lightly baked or grilled, and thin green lines were drawn in a grid pattern from above.

Just beside the plate were baked brown round bread and a fragrant brown soup with slices of Oranie floating in it, stimulating his appetite.

[Well then, please enjoy… a, bread and soup are free of charge, but alcohols are charged separately, so please don’t hesitate to call.]

After the waitress said so, she went to attend another customer.

After seeing her off, Henry turned his eyes towards the dish.

(Well, how about the taste…)

The view was beautiful enough that it’s too good to destroy, however the taste was unknown.

Feeling nervous, he picked up a silver fork and pierced the white fish flesh.

Just like the fish meat’s appearance, the surface was lightly roasted.

Unlike cooked fish, the fish meat that was only lightly cooked was still transparent, his fork easily pierced through the meat.

He looked at the fish meat coloured with light green sauce.

Fish… this was the first time he ate a raw one, usually he ate dried fish.

He was anxious about that… he then carried it to his mouth while remembering his expectation.

(Oo, this is… delicious.)

Henry was surprised at the taste.

There was nothing wrong… in fact he found it to be delicious.

There was no fishy smell that he thought would linger in raw fish. It certainly had a unique scent, but it’s not unpleasant.

(This… is excellent meat.)

He enjoyed the raw fish texture, which was different from cooked fish.

It was by no means soft; it had texture that pushed against his teeth every time he chewed.

However it was not tough enough that he couldn’t chew it, it could be easily chewed apart with just a bit of strength.

Every time he chewed, the umami contained in the fish slices overflowed.

The sauce that coloured the meat was also good. The sauce seemed to contain vinegar and eggs and its slightly sour and egg flavors seemed to further draw the taste of the fish.

(Also, this sauce… ugh!?)

Suddenly a stinging sensation hit his nose while he was enjoying the flavor.

A strong stimulation as if a myriad of needles were stabbing his nostrils.

While his eyes watered, Henry panicked and drank his water.

(What is this… is this what she called as wasabi?)

After wiping his tears, Henry looked at the dish in front of him.

The stimulus was felt from the green sauce.

(This is…)

The fish meat, it was delicious.

However, he thought that the cause of the stimulation that assaulted his nose was the wasabi… he then ate another slice.

Since he was prepared this time, he was not surprised anymore, but the sensation still hit his nose.

Rather than spicy, it was painful.

(Is this fine to eat… oh right. There are alcohols here.)

While eating, he remembered.

It was painful just to eat the meat alone. It seemed to be a good idea to drink in between the slices to eliminate the pain.

[Excuse me! I want alcohol, but what kinds are served here!?]

While he called the waitress loudly, she then came and answered him.

[We have plenty of varieties. There are beers, wines, and then sake… since this Carpaccio uses white fish… I recommend wine or sake.]

[I’ll order both… and another serving of Carpaccio.]

[Yes, please wait a moment.]

The fish meat was delicious… he also admitted that the wasabi mayo sauce was also delicious.

Hearing Henry’s orders, the waitress answered with a smile.

Early afternoon.

While being drenched, Henry arrived at the shore of the lake and sighed in relief.

(Such negligence…)

Even though he didn’t drink enough to be drunk, Henry who was enjoying his Carpaccio and alcohol at the restaurant dropped to the lake the moment he stepped out of the door.

He had forgotten that he would appear at the same place as the door’s location.

Since his magic of water walking had long dissipated, at the moment he stepped out of the door, Henry fell into the lake.

[…If I remember correctly, there are shoes left behind by father that enables a person to walk on water.]

He muttered so.

He looked forward for seven days later.

TN: I relate with Henry, I hate it when the wasabi stings my nose. Though I do use it when eating sashimi.