Three carriages passed through the great gate of the old capital.
The coachman’s seat was decorated with white flowers, a sign that this was a carriage prepared for a newlywed bride.
Newlywed couples are given the privilege of passing through the old capital’s great gate first on their wedding day. This privilege is a powerful one, and neither nobles nor priests can pass before them.
Many couples wish to enjoy this privilege, and inns for newlyweds line the street in front of the great gate.
The open-top carriage was loaded with household goods, and it proceeded proudly in the morning sun. The horses, too, were of fine physique, showing that no expense had been spared.
People passing by whispered that the groom must be deeply in love with the bride, since they had arranged for three carriages when a normal couple would have made do with one.
Berthold, on the carriage, was very proud of this display.
The one being greeted by the people who had rushed to celebrate his departure was none other than Berthold, captain of the old capital’s guard, known as the “demon” captain.
He had returned in triumph to the old capital with his new wife, Hermina, whom he had brought from the port town.
Their new home had already been decided, and a smooth-sailing married life was supposed to begin.
“…So, why have you been in a tavern all this time, so soon after your wedding?”
The day after returning to the old capital, Berthold had brought his new wife, Hermina, to the tavern Nobu.
Shinobu’s eyes weren’t smiling as she served tea to the newlywed couple.
Taisho, Shinobu, and Eva had congratulated the two on their marriage that morning.
All three had celebrated as if it were their own. Berthold himself was well aware that the atmosphere had become strange because the newlyweds hadn’t left for so long.
Eva was also a little on edge because she was so busy that she had to come to work from early morning. Berthold had also heard that the tavern Nobu had been terribly busy for the past few days.
However, Berthold also had his reasons for not being able to go home.
“Well, Shinobu-chan, it’s very hard to say, but…”
“What is it, Berthold-san? I won’t be surprised by much.”
“Actually, I want you to keep my wife at this store for a while.”
“Huh?”
Hermina, blushing and fidgeting next to Berthold, nodded.
Hermina, who was a little older than Eva, was a quiet girl with flaxen hair and was not very assertive.
“Actually, my wife’s family is the best squid fishing family in the northern port town.”
“Yes, I heard that before.”
“Her father is a little doting on his children. He prepared a lot of fine household goods for us, saying that a newlywed home needed them.”
“What a nice father-in-law.”
“Yeah. I think he’s a very good father-in-law, too. It’s not something you can do easily, preparing furniture for three carriages. But that’s where a big problem arose.”
“A problem?”
“Hermina’s and my new home has already been decided, but the previous residents haven’t moved out yet, so we can’t move in.”
It’s a common story that moving is a hassle.
It seems that they were planning to move to a distant residence, but a monk who wanted to return to the Eastern Kingdom in a hurry borrowed the carriage that had been reserved at an exorbitant price.
He seemed to be in a great hurry, so he must have had a good reason.
“That’s tough.”
“Furthermore, the official residence where I used to live is for the company commander, but it’s not that big. It’s only for one man to sleep and live in.”
“…I’m starting to see where this is going.”
“The carriages that brought the household goods have to go back to the northern port town. They’re borrowed from the horse-lending guild. But I can’t leave the furniture out in the rain. So, I forced three carriages worth of household goods into my official residence…”
“And Hermina-san has no place to be during the day,”
“That’s right.”
Berthold himself was exasperated by the turn of events, even as he explained it himself.
He hadn’t even been able to properly prepare a house to welcome his beloved wife into. He thought he might be able to squeeze one person in if he forced it, but there was no such space.
“We decided to rent an inn for the night. We’ve agreed that the person who didn’t vacate the house by the deadline will pay for it. The only problem left is where Hermina will stay during the day.”
“So, you came to us.”
“It would be best if I could stay with her, but that’s not possible. As I expected, everyone, including Hans and Nikolaus, was slacking off while I was away. I have to work them a little harder. “
Today, Berthold’s squad was immediately made to run outside the walls of the old capital.
It was not so much a price for laziness as it was a desire to retrain them in a short period of time.
Rumors that the northern territories were plotting independence had also reached the port town. Berthold had a duty to prepare for any eventuality that might befall the old capital.
“Taisho, what do you think?”
“I don’t mind, but is your wife okay with it?”
When Taisho spoke to her, Hermina hurriedly nodded. She seemed to be very interested in the decorative ship on display.
It was a model of a sailing ship inside a large bottle. Tavern Nobu has many strange pieces of furniture.
“Y-Yes. Thank you very much! I can only help with simple tasks, though.”
Taisho looked up from the cutting board at Hermina’s words as she stood up and bowed.
“Help? Berthold-san, are you okay with us borrowing your wife’s hands?”
“Of course, I don’t expect you to let her stay for free. Hermina and I have talked about it. My concern is whether Nobu needs help…”
“You don’t have to worry about that. We need all the help we can get right now.”
When Taisho said that definitively, Shinobu and Eva also nodded in agreement. They seemed to be very short-handed.
“It seems that you’re so busy that even Eva-chan has to come out from early in the morning. What happened to Nobu?”
Taisho sighed deeply at Berthold’s question.
“…Eel.”
Taisho lifted the eel he was about to fillet from the cutting board. Its tail was moving, so it must still be alive.
As expected of a fisherman’s daughter, Hermina was not at all disturbed by the sight of it.
“What are you going to do with an eel? Are you going to put something like jelly on the tavern menu?”
“Well, it’s faster to have you eat it than to explain it in words.”
Saying that, Taisho brought out something that looked like a grilled piece of something.
The aroma of the sauce, which was somewhere between a deep amber and brown color, whetted the appetite.
This was supposed to be eel, but it was a bit of a surprise to Berthold, who had been imagining a jelly.
And another dish, similar to Nobu’s classic dashimaki tamago, was also on the plate. This one seemed to have eel rolled inside.
Translator’s Note
Dashimaki tamago is a Japanese rolled omelet.
The same thing was placed in front of Hermina.
“May I have some?”
After asking permission, Hermina used a wooden spoon.
The moment she put it in her mouth, her eyes, which were usually narrowed in a fragile way, widened.
“B-Berthold-san!”
“W-What’s wrong, Hermina?”
“It’s amazing! This eel is so delicious!”
Hermina waved her hand, the one not holding the spoon, to express how delicious it was. She looked somewhat like a dog.
“This dashimaki tamago also looks delicious.”
“It’s called umaki. Because it has eel (unagi + maki) rolled in it, umaki.”
“I see.”
He cut it in half with a wooden spoon and put it in his mouth.
A fluffy, melty happiness spread in Berthold’s mouth.
This was certainly delicious. Rather than delicious, it was too delicious.
“…I see, this is why Nobu is so busy.”
“Do you think so too, Berthold-san?”
“Of course. I’d definitely want to eat this again and again.”
And it would probably be difficult to imitate this taste.
Eels themselves swim in the canals, and even if you buy them at the market, they’re almost given away. But the taste of the sauce and the way it’s grilled must be unique to Nobu.
“Now, even if we open the store at night, we only get customers for eel.”
Taisho nodded at Shinobu, who muttered sadly.
“Thanks to that, I don’t know if we’re a tavern or an eel restaurant.”
“It’s great that you’re so prosperous.”
“Even so, there are customers who come to drink. We have to prepare snacks, so we’re more than twice as busy. If we can’t serve them to customers, it’s a waste even if we prepare them.”
There are various problems even when business is booming. To Berthold, a military man, it seemed that the more customers came, the more the store would make money, but it seems that’s not the case.
“Above all, it’s a shame that customers who come to drink at our place can’t get in.”
“Nobu isn’t very spacious.”
Shinobu and Eva lamented.
Certainly, with six seats at the counter and two tables, there was nothing they could do about the limited number of customers they could accommodate.
This certainly requires manpower.
Thinking that, he looked at Hermina, and she seemed to be savoring the umaki, smiling dreamily with her hand on her cheek.
“Hermina, that’s why you should help out here.”
“Huh? Oh, yes.”
Whether she had heard him or not, Hermina nodded with the wooden spoon in her mouth.
“I just thought of something…”