37: Extra: The People of Restaurant “Rocinante” 3

“I’m s-sorry, I got a little shaken up. We’re still in the middle of the course.”

Chelsea blushed as she let go of Jill and returned to her seat.

Her tears had already subsided, and her breathing was calm.

“No worries. Well then, shall we move on to today’s star dish?”

The first course served was an appetizer and an aperitif.

Next came a pasta dish.

Following that was either the main meat or fish dish.

Jill chose carpaccio for her menu.

“This is sea bream… how did you manage to get your hands on this?”

The Kingdom of Dailan borders the sea. Its port cities flourish next to the royal capital, and there are also many fishing villages outside the cities, leading to a plentiful distribution of seafood. And, of course, magic plays a role in all of this.

By freezing the fish in seawater, they are transported to cities where they can be enjoyed not just as preserved food but also as delicacies like sashimi. Even without the power to freeze an entire tank or barrel at once, a few skilled magic users can create enough ice to store the fish in specially made ice containers for transportation.

However, since magic is involved, fish tends to be more expensive and less abundant than meats like lamb or pork. Nevertheless, this time, Matthew had managed to charm a merchant dealing in food supplies.

“Yes. I used one of Matthew’s connections… oh, I didn’t go all the way to the port town. It just so happened that a fisherman from a nearby village had frozen a catch that made its way to the market.”

“This is quite the feast, isn’t it?”

“Yeah!”

Roland and Tina gleefully expressed their excitement.

Seeing their happy faces, Jill felt a wave of relief wash over her. Jill wasn’t as experienced with fish dishes as she was with other cuisines. Although she had learned basic techniques like filleting and skinning fish from Conrad, she hadn’t had many opportunities to practice them. If the menu had featured something more challenging, like flounder or flathead fish, she might have reconsidered the dish. But luckily, she was working with sea bream, which is relatively easier to fillet.

After slicing the sea bream into sashimi-like pieces and plating it, Jill didn’t do anything too fancy. She simply added some olive oil, vinegar, and a light drizzle of lime juice.

“This fish is rich and fatty. It’s a good bream…”

“The ingredients are great, aren’t they?”

When Tina complimented it, it was a sure sign that the dish had been genuinely well-received.

Jill smiled to herself.

“This takes me back… oh, that’s right. There was a time when Lord Conrad said he wanted to make ‘soy sauce that pairs well with fish.’ That caused quite the commotion.”

“Soy sauce?”

“You don’t know about it, Jill?”

Jill had an idea.

It was a term frequently mentioned in the fish-related cookbooks at “Acacia.”

“Uh, if I remember correctly, it’s a black seasoning, right…? I’m not too familiar with it either. I’ve never tasted it myself.”

“He tried making all sorts of seasonings, but no one had ever tasted soy sauce before, so we didn’t know what it was supposed to be like. In the end, it seems he failed.”

“Really…? That sounds interesting. I’d love to know more about the kinds of struggles Uncle put you through.”

“Hey, hey, I’m not sure digging into embarrassing stories is a good idea.”

“Come on, please?”

At first, Roland hesitated, but eventually, a variety of stories came out.

Besides trying to make soy sauce, there were times when Conrad challenged the chef of the city’s top restaurant to a cooking duel, and there were also several minor and major troubles along the way. Not all of Conrad’s recipe ideas were well-received either. There were times when people expressed reservations, saying, “This is a bit much,” and he experienced his fair share of disappointments.

Every story made Conrad’s face vividly appear in Jill’s mind.

His troubled face. His smiling face. His “gotcha” face. His embarrassed face after a failure.

He had definitely been here, in this mansion and in this city.

Jill quietly accepted, imagined, and enjoyed that realization.

Before they knew it, time had flown by, and their plates were empty.

“Everything was delicious… It brought back memories. I guess you modeled this course after Lord Conrad’s, didn’t you?”

“Oh, so this is the kind of course he used to make?”

“… You didn’t know?”

Roland looked surprised.

“My uncle never left behind any written documents or recipes about cooking… Everything I learned was passed down orally. He talked about course meals and etiquette, but those explanations were for the people eating, not about what dishes go well together or specific methods.”

Jill chuckled wryly.

But Roland only grew more puzzled.

“Then, how did you put this course together?”

“Well… As for the appetizer, my uncle often made something similar. The ingredients depended on what we had at hand that day, but pumpkin was almost always included. For me, when I think of potage, it’s always pumpkin.”

“… Really?”

“I always wondered why. Even though corn and potatoes were available, he had this strange attachment to pumpkin. It wasn’t until Maureen occasionally made pumpkin soup that I finally understood.”

Conrad must have wanted to convey something about his time living in this town.

But he couldn’t exactly tell Jill about the “Acacia” books passed down in the mansion.

So, in the end, he communicated it to her through various dishes.

“The next dish, *Cacio e Pepe*, is a very basic pasta that doesn’t exist in Shelland or this country. It’s a traditional dish from a distant foreign land, far from this island.”

“Yeah. He mentioned it was a dish from a place called Italy.”

“On the other hand, this carpaccio is a mix of influences.”

“A mix?”

“Actually, it seems that carpaccio was originally a meat dish. It was made by thinly slicing beef tenderloin, pounding it, seasoning it, and eating it raw.”

“I… didn’t know that. Where did you hear it?”

“My uncle let it slip when he was drunk.”

That was a lie. Jill had heard before that carpaccio wasn’t originally a fish dish, but she hadn’t learned the specific origin.

Jill had included genres beyond handicrafts in the 666 books within *Acacia*. Several books about Italian cuisine and Japanese cooking techniques had slipped in, and from those, she had learned about the origin of carpaccio.

“It was introduced to a country different from Italy, where raw fish was eaten but not raw meat. From there, it was reimported, and ‘fish carpaccio’ became a common dish.”

“Now that you mention it, I’ve heard they don’t eat much raw fish on the continent.”

“While respecting traditional techniques and dishes passed down through generations, my uncle also loved dishes that strayed from tradition or were modified. I wanted to remember that whimsical side of him when I planned the menu.”

“Oh, now I remember.”

Roland murmured with satisfaction.

Next to him, Chelsea began to cry softly, recalling the past once more.

Seeing this, Jill felt as though a long mourning had finally lifted.

By tracing the footsteps of the person no longer there, Jill could finally accept the fact that he was gone.

At the castle, every morning, she was reminded of Conrad’s absence. When someone heard her muttering his name, it would lead to scolding. At night, she borrowed the kitchen in search of remnants of Conrad and was met with sarcastic comments like, “Are you pretending to be a maid?” Over time, this search became a way not to forget Conrad’s fading expressions and gestures.

But now, she no longer needed to do such things; she could remember Conrad at any time.

Because there were people mourning with her.

“It was a good meal. Thank you, Jill.”

“Ah, there’s one last dessert. Today, we have macarons.”

Jill and Maureen placed tea and macarons on the table.

And again, they peacefully reminisced about the deceased, their conversation blooming.

The children nibbled on the sweets, their faces lighting up with joy.

“Running the general store is nice, but serving meals like this is also good.”

“Oh, you should do it! If there’s anything I can help with, just let me know. Running a restaurant or café is fun too.”

“Exactly. You don’t find many people who can brew such delicious tea.”

At Roland’s words, Chelsea nodded vigorously.

Then, everyone quietly enjoyed the dessert.

Dessert is the lingering echo of a satisfying meal.

That echo seeps into both the body and soul like music.

“Hmm… it might be nice to do it, as long as it doesn’t interfere with my main work.”

At Jill’s casual reply, those around her couldn’t help but have a faint sense of anticipation.