“Recently, there’s a shop in the old capital that’s been getting a bit of buzz.”
The mere sound of that made Hans’ stomach rumble.
It was after a rigorous training session.
Hans was a city guard in the old capital, hired at a low wage, and his pay included the obligation to undergo training.
Thanks to that, he felt like he’d gotten a bit more physically robust, but due to his brown, curly hair and large eyes, he looked a little younger than his age despite being over twenty.
The new captain of the hundred-man unit was an ex-mercenary, and his training was incredibly strict.
Today, as usual, Hans’ unit left the walls of the old capital, marched through the fields, and went all the way to the Alburg Forest.
The training, which felt like real combat, had a bad reputation.
But, setting that aside, it was dinner time now.
Fortunately, it was payday today, and Hans’ wallet felt a little more reassuringly heavy.
That being the case, there was no need to be loyal to his usual bar which only offered cheap and sour ale.
There was no reason to hesitate in venturing out to the shop that was the talk of the town.
That shop was located in a remote area of the old capital.
And it had a peculiar storefront.
Among the stone buildings that lined the old capital, only that one was made of plaster and wood.
The roof…was it made of the slate tiles that were popular in the Imperial Capital?
It had a strange wave-like shape, and a mysterious charm.
And the sign.
Usually, shops would have a bronze sign that extended out into the street, but this shop had something written in foreign letters on a large wooden plank.
“Hey, Nikolaus. What does that sign say?”
“Ah, apparently it says “Izakaya Nobu.””
Nikolaus, the fellow from the same regiment with a chobihige who had guided him to this shop, was knowledgeable about everything.
T/N: “chobihige” means a small mustache.
“Nobu? Is that a person’s name?”
“Yeah, it seems to be the name of the master here. Nobu Taisho. You should call him Taisho in the shop.”
“Huh.”
Nobu Taisho.
That was clearly not a name from around here. Perhaps he was from one of the border tribes?
“By the way, Nikolaus. What can you eat at this shop?”
“I don’t know. It changes depending on the day.”
“Depending on the day? What do you mean?”
Whether it served meat or fish. It was natural for shops to have their own specialities. Some shops had good liquor. There was no such thing as a shop that could be good at everything.
In the first place, there weren’t many dishes available in this old capital. At best it was sausage, cheese, soup, and stew. And then there was potatoes, and pickled cabbage.
“Well, you’ll understand once you try it, Hans.”
“If you say so, I’ll believe you, Nikolaus. It’s just potatoes every single day at the barracks. Anything besides potatoes will be fine.”
At that moment, Hans noticed something strange.
(…Is this, glass?)
The wooden sliding door was lattice-shaped, but something that looked like glass was sandwiched in between. It was cloudy and he couldn’t see through it, perhaps because it was low quality, but Hans, whose father and older brother were traveling glass craftsmen, knew what it was at a glance.
“…Hey, Nikolaus. Are you sure this is okay?”
“What do you mean?”
“The payment, you know, even if it’s payday…”
“Don’t worry about it. Here, you can even run up a tab.”
While patting Hans’ worried back, Nikolaus opened the sliding door and entered the shop.
“Welcome!”
“…Welcome.”
Two voices echoed from inside the shop.
The first, polite one was a woman.
The later, lower voice was a man’s.
The interior wasn’t very spacious, just six counter seats and two tables. It was compact and tidy, but it had a bright, clean feel. Luckily, there was only one other customer in the shop.
Nikolaus smoothly slid onto a seat at the counter with practiced movements and ordered, “Toriaezu nama! Get one for this guy too!”
“Hey, wait. What is that, “Toriae…” thing?”
“Ah, it’s “Toriaezu nama.” Just try it, you’ll be surprised. ”
T/N: “Toriaezu nama” is a common phrase in Japanese meaning “draft beer for now”. It’s used as a casual way to start an order at a Japanese bar.
“Drink? Is it alcohol?”
“Yeah, it’s ale.”
Ale, huh.
Then he had no complaints. Hans liked drinking ale before a meal more than anything.
However, he was also particular about it. He had drunk quite good ale thanks to the support from his father and brother. If a shop served bad ale, he wouldn’t care if the food was good.
“Here you go, two drafts, sorry to keep you waiting. Excuse me for reaching across.”
A woman, seemingly the server, brought the ale in glass mugs.
Glass here too. And this one was clear, and perfectly shaped. It was no ordinary craftsmanship. You couldn’t see it with pottery or wooden mugs, but the clear yellow of the ale, or rather, in the case of this Toriaezu nama, it’s gold color, was very visible. Unlike low-quality ale, the foam was fine and delicate. Hans reached out to examine the mug’s surface,
“It’s cold!”
He pulled his hand back involuntarily. The mug was cold. What is this?
“Haha, I was surprised at first too. Well, let’s drink it for now. Cheers! Prost!”
“O-okay, cheers! Prost!”
Watching Nikolaus gulp it down with obvious pleasure, Hans took a deep breath.
Chilled ale was something he had never experienced before, so he wondered how good it could possibly be.
He didn’t think it would surpass the Konigsbrau made in a city near his hometown, though.
Gulp
Gulp
Gulp. Gulp gulp gulp.
He drained it in one go and stared at the mug.
What is this?
It wasn’t a matter of whether it was good or not. The smoothness, the crispness, everything was on a completely different level from the ale he had been drinking until now.
“Well, what do you think, Hans? It’s good, right?”
“…It’s like cow’s piss.”
“Huh?” Nikolaus looked puzzled.
“I’m saying that the ale I’ve been drinking until now is like cow’s piss!”
“Hehe, was it that good? Would you like another draft?” asked the server, and Hans nodded vigorously.
“Yes, another Toriaezu nama!”
“Yes, thank you very much. One more draft!”
Looking over at Nikolaus, he was now picking at some podded beans that had appeared in front of them.
“Hey, what’s that?”
“This is an otoshi, boiled beans with salt.”
T/N: Otoshi is a small appetizer served at Japanese bars and izakayas, often automatically, and will appear on your bill.
“Beans, huh. Isn’t not peeling them a way of being lazy?”
“No, that’s not it. The salt is sprinkled on the skin, and when you eat it like this… it becomes the perfect amount of saltiness.”
“……Oh really?”
He tried one, as an experiment.
The bean, squeezed out of its skin with his fingers, entered his mouth with a pop texture.
Pop, one bite.
Pop, bite.
Pop, pop, bite.
It was fun, enjoyable, and delicious.
This was unfair. For instance, if all the otoshi beans were out of their skins and you just scooped them with a spoon, there wouldn’t be this kind of feeling.
“Nikolaus, this is, I can’t stop.”
“Yeah, you can’t stop. It’s delicious, and it goes great with the Toriaezu nama.”
“You’re cheating, you’re the only one!”
“Here you go, sorry for the wait.”
As if sensing Hans’ desire, another cold Toriaezu nama was brought over.
He put the otoshi beans in his mouth, and then drank the Toriaezu nama,
“Delicious!”
“Right?”
For some reason, Nikolaus happily pounded Hans on the back.
Wonderful. It was a wonderful shop.
He didn’t know which brewery this ale with the strange name of “Toriaezu nama” came from, but it was truly wonderful.
Feeling a bit more at ease, Hans looked around the shop.
The waitress was constantly busy, wiping down tables and cleaning glasses whenever she had a free moment.
The way she had her black hair tied back and wore a white kerchief was quite exotic and charming. Her dark eyes were also distinctive. Despite her slender face, her build was sensual without being vulgar in any way.
In contrast, the “Taisho” behind the counter looked like a battle-hardened veteran.
He also had black hair that was cropped extremely short, barely longer than a fingernail, and the way he was preparing ingredients gave the feeling of a man constantly on a battlefield. His clothing was also unique, he probably was a borderlander too.
“By the way, Taisho, what are you serving today?”
In response to Nikolaus’ question, Taisho answered without looking up.
“Today, it’s oden.”
