Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included. 048

Transition to Another World, Land Mines Included.

ACT 2: UNION
048: Let’s Make Sauce! Part 1

←PREVIOUS

NEXT→

——

“First, let’s put the meat in the chilled storage box.”

We were all back in Aera’s kitchen, transferring the meat from our backpacks into a large chilled storage box… In other words, a fridge. It stood about two meters tall and wide, and was about 1.5 meters deep. It was a magical item which probably cost her a ton.

“It’s really convenient! …But I guess I won’t be using it much, now that we’re not following the strategy of small profits and quick returns,” Aera said with a sigh, her expression clouded with sadness.

It couldn’t be helped. The item probably cost her a lot of money, and maybe even more to keep it running. It would be a total waste if she couldn’t find another use for it.

“Don’t worry, Aera-san. If you work on making desserts, having this fridge will be so useful!” Yuki hurried to assure her.

“She’s right. With this, you can serve fresh desserts. Won’t that be a nice advantage?” Natsuki added.

“R-Really? W-What do you mean by fresh desserts!? It sounds so delicious!”

“H-Huh? Don’t you know about fresh desserts?”

“Not at all. Please tell me about it!”

That’s right. The cafe we visited before only served baked desserts such as cookies.

While there were sugared desserts listed on the menu too, Haruka had guessed that we would simply be served sugar cubes, so we hadn’t ordered it.

Back then, I’d imagined the desserts being similar to sugared candies, but maybe my image was too far from the truth. Looking at the price of the items on the menu, it was clear that the desserts of this world weren’t as amazing as what we had in our previous world.

I guess that would explain why Aera was so eager now, eyes sparkling as she moved closer to Natsuki, who seemed to hesitate a little before nodding.

“Alright, I’ll tell you more when we have time.”

“That’s a promise?”

“Yes. But let’s make some Inspeel sauce first…”

“Oh, that’s right. Erm, we’ll need a ceramic pot for that. I’ll need one to make sauce for the restaurant, and one to make sauce for you guys. Shall we go buy pots?” Aera suggested.

“Sure, but we also need to go pick up your signboards, Aera-san,” Yuki reminded.

“Oh, right!”

It seemed that the signboards the girls ordered yesterday were finally ready for collection. The signboards described by Yuki were simple objects that could be finished in a single day, but since we wanted to make something nice to display inside the restaurant, the carpenter had requested an extra day to work on them.

“What shall we do? It’s almost closing time for the shops.”

Aside from some restaurants and the red-light district, most stores in this world closed for the day once the sun had set. Judging by the time now, it would be impossible for Aera to visit both shops today.

“Hmm. I’ll go get the signboards then. Aera-san, you can go with Nao and Natsuki to buy the pots,” Yuki offered.

“Is that OK?”

“Sure. It’s a simple errand. In exchange, can you guys go get Haruka and Tohya as well? It’ll be great if you can teach Haruka how to make Inspeel sauce too, so she can make some tonkatsu for us.”

“No problem! I’ll do anything to learn how to make tonkatsu!”

~

“This is where I buy all my cooking utensils.”

The shop Aera led us to was located in a side street, tucked away from the main street. It was quite well-hidden, and I wouldn’t have spotted it unless I knew it was there.

It seemed to be a shop specializing in ceramics, selling all kinds of utensils and pots. Since most utensils in this world were made of wood, it was surprising to see this store selling only ceramics. The craftsman running the store must be quite well-known for his handiwork, or was a shrewd businessman who sold only high-quality items at high prices.

“Erm… Natsuki, do you have cash?” I whispered.

“Huh? Not much. I only have whatever I managed to earn in Saarstat.”

“Dammit. Haruka’s in charge of all our money, so I only have spare change.”

We probably only had about 3,000 Reas between the two of us. I looked around the store, and was dismayed to see that none of the items had price tags on them… Then, I spotted Aera walking towards the back of the store as she called out to the staff.

“Hello, I’d like to buy some pots. Something sturdy and good for heavy use.”

“Sure, how about these?”

The staff was showing off a series of light brown pots with lids. The largest looked to be about 50 cm across in diameter, while the smallest was tiny enough to fit onto my palm.

“I think I’ll need two of these for use in the shop… Nao-san, will you help me to bring them back?” Aera asked.

“Oh, sure.”

Aera had picked out the largest pot on offer, so it would be tough for her to carry two of them back on her own.

How about us…? Which pot would be best for us to make sauce for ourselves?

“What do you think, Natsuki?”

“Hmm… This one seems to be big enough?”

Natsuki pointed to a pot that was slightly larger than a flower vase. I guess it could hold about three or four liters of liquid. Turning to the staff, she addressed him.

“Excuse me. What’s the cheapest option you have for a pot of this size?”

“That size… How about this one? It’s a little wonky, but perfectly usable.”

Looking at the pot indicated by the staff, it was obvious that it looked a little distorted compared to the rest. It was to be expected. Since all pots were handmade on a potter’s wheel, it was understandable that some would have imperfections.

Natsuki picked up the pot in question and gave it a few light knocks, then nodded.

“How much is this?”

“600 Reas.”

Ooh? It was surprisingly cheap? I mean, all these items were handmade, so I thought they should cost a little more?

“What do you think, Natsuki? Isn’t it a little too cheap?” I whispered.

“Maybe. I can’t be certain of the actual numbers, but I’m sure he makes enough profit from selling the other pots.”

“I see. I guess he’ll sell it for cheap if nobody wants to buy it.”

With that, I turned to the staff.

“OK, we’ll get this one.”

Aera turned to the staff as well.

“Excuse me, since we’re buying all these pots, could you give us a small discount?”

“Well… How about 3,000 Reas for all of them?” He offered.

“Sure, thank you.”

With a quick nod, Aera pulled out her purse and paid for all the pots. While it was quite a good bargain, I wondered how much Aera’s pots originally cost before the discount was given…

“Shall we head back? Nao-san, could you help me with that pot, please?”

“S-Sure.”

Grabbing one of the large pots, I followed Aera, who had the other pot, out of the shop.

“Thank you for your business~!” The staff called out merrily as Natsuki brought up the rear and exited the store with our smaller pot.

“Erm, Aera-san. I don’t know the exact price of the pot, but I’ll give you 600 Reas back for it?” Natsuki asked.

“Oh, no~! I bought the pot as a gift for you guys. Getting these two pots for 3,000 Reas is slightly below market price, so it’s as if the staff gave us the small pot for free as a bonus,” Aera explained, then added with a wry smile. “Besides, I’ve already spent so much at his store just the other day.”

It seemed that Aera had purchased all her cooking utensils for her restaurant from that shop, so they must have earned a large profit already.

“Are you sure about that…?” Natsuki asked again, with a glance at me.

She must be worried, since it was clear that Aera probably didn’t have much money left…

“Also, you guys came to help me harvest Dindle today. I’d much rather spend money on these pots than buy Dindle from the market.”

It was true. Aera would have paid the same price for this pot as two Dindle fruits. Dindle was just that expensive.

“…In that case, thanks,” I said appreciatively.

“Thank you,” Natsuki added.

And thus, we got ourselves a free ceramic pot thanks to Aera’s generosity.

——
←PREVIOUS

NEXT→

 

If you liked the chapter, please consider supporting me at Ko-fi! :)