Chapter 124

Chapter 124 \nThe Horror of Seiza\n「Aah! I did it」

 

Thanks to the ‘how to use chopsticks’ lesson from the proprietress, Aleutia was able to take a buri1 sashimi with the chopsticks, despite the chopsticks moving clumsily. Although the chopsticks are shaking, she dips the buri into the soy sauce and brings it to her mouth.\n「Ahー, delicious. The fatty meat is rich in flavor.」

Aleutia holds her cheek with an ecstatic expression on her face.

I was eating meat, but when I saw it, it made me want to eat some buri, so I reached out for a buri sashimi with the chopsticks. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

The buri sashimi that they currently served has a strong reddish color to it, so it is natural2. Certainly, the cultivated one has a high-fat content and a whitish body

Well, aquaculture is much more difficult than I can imagine, so I would be terribly surprised if there is a resulting product from the aquaculture.

I took the buri with the chopsticks, dip it into the soy sauce moderately, then bring it toward my mouth.

It is not too fatty and the characteristic sweetness of buri is delicious. The soy sauce gave a great accent to the natural taste of buri, further complementing the flavor. The more you chew on it, the more the taste spread inside your mouth. I don’t taste any fishy smell from it

.「……delicious」

As I relish the natural taste of buri sashimi, I decide that I will enjoy it with various things next.

Grabbing a buri once more, I dip it into the soy sauce. Dip the front and the back of the buri, then put it on top of some white rice and eat it as is.

Ahー, the fat of the buri and the somewhat strong taste of the soy sauce went extremely well with the rice. Aquaculture makes them have more fat content, so I feel that it goes well with the rice, but as for me, I prefer a natural taste of a fish with less fat in it.

Perhaps Aleutia also showed an interest when I was deliciously eating the buri with rice, she tried to do the same while her hand moved clumsily. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

「What is this! It goes well with rice!」

「Right?」

I smiled at Aleutia who had her eyes opened wide.

「I think it will be even more delicious if you place something like salmon or Dos tuna’s fatty meat on it.」

「Aaah! That’s going to be absolutely delicious!」

Aleutia said that kind of high school girl-like remark when I tried to suggest it.

After that, Aleutia started to happily arrange some salmon and Dos tuna’s fatty meat on a plate. The so-called seafood bowl. 3\n「Uu, this is difficult. The sashimi is escaping.」

Next to Aleutia, who is happily arranging her food, Ilya – who is still not used to use the chopsticks – is teary-eyed. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

 

 

Perhaps she can’t maintain the proper manner in which she has to hold the chopsticks when she tries to grab the buri sashimi, there are times when the chopsticks are crossing each other, so even if she tried to grab it, it’s as if the food slipped away and escape her.

Well, I think Aleutia is much more dexterous while Ilya is more of a normal type. Even someone with good dexterity will only be able to hold them a bit.

「Aah! I got it! ……aah!」

Ilya finally managed to raise the buri, but then perhaps she was exhausted since the buri smoothly fall from her chopsticks. It dropped to the soy sauce plate and the impact from it scattered the soy sauce.

「Kyaa!? Hey Ilya what are you doing! My face and yukata got covered in soy sauce, see! 」

「I, I’m sorry!」

Aleutia – who was meticulously arranging her seafood bowl beside her – was greatly harmed. Small droplets of soy sauce had splattered her right cheeks and the bottom of her neck.

\nIt's a common disaster with soy sauce. The stains from soy sauce don't come off easily, and it has quite the smell.

Fortunately, I didn’t suffer the same fate because I’m sitting diagonally in front of her.

The soy sauce splattered Tori’s plate in front of her, and I think it also splattered on Irvine who was concentrating on his chopsticks practice beside her, but it doesn’t seem that she realized it.

「I’ll wipe it with the napkin right now, alright!」

「Hey, it got soy sauce on it! Wipe it with a new napkin, will you! Proprietress―! Please bring me two new napkins!」

Ilya used the napkin and tried to wipe the soy sauce splattered on Aleutia’s face and neck, but that napkin had been absorbing plenty of soy sauce already.

Perhaps, she might have been using it to a spilled soy sauce and use it to wipe it from time to time. And from Aleutia’s perspective – whose face was being wiped -, it might look unbearable.

Hearing Aleutia’s voice, the proprietress soon returned with new napkins.

After receiving that, they each start to wipe the scattered soy sauce.

「I’m sorry Toriela-san. Your plate got splattered with a bit of soy sauce, right」

「S’okay. That happens quite often when you start using chopsticks, ‘fter all.」

Tori smiles and forgives her while Ilya apologizes as she looks apologetic.

「But, neither Aleutia nor Alfried-sama’s make any careless mistake……..」

「Well, those two are really strange, don’t you think? You wouldn't be able to easily hold the food with the chopsticks at first, you know. Especially Alfried-sama, he’s as dexterous as the people of Kagura who use the chopsticks every day.」

「……..certainly, the way Alfried-sama uses the chopsticks is beautiful isn’t it」

Even the proprietress looked in my direction curiously after listening to Tori’s words.

Aleutia doesn’t mind them since she went to work on arranging the seafood bowl once again.

「That’s because it’s thanks to proprietress-san and Sannosuke-san’s neat example.」

「Oh, it’s great I can be of help. And I’m glad that I can properly convey the culture of Kagura.」

For now, let’s silence the proprietress and end this conversation.

 I was able to change the conversation to head off toward the proprietress’s explanation and example. That’s great, isn’t it. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

For some reason, Tori’s gaze is painful, so I decided to also make a seafood bowl in silence.

Dipping the seafood into the soy sauce puts some rice on it, then arranges it as if to put them on top of each other.

「I did it! It’s an assortment of sashimi!」

Aleutia happily shouts.

On top of Aleutia’s donburi, is Dos tuna red meat, light pink fatty meat, and there are salmon and all manners of sashimi on the buri. Each of them is lined toward the middle of the plate, the carefully stacked arrangement of food looks beautiful.

 Aleutia might have a good sense of presentation.

「Ooh! What is that, Aleutia! Is it tasty if you put rice on top of the sashimi!?」

Roomba was the first to react to Aleutia’s seafood bowl. For Roomba, who loves tamago kake gohan, it may be something that he couldn’t miss.

「It’s good you know! Roomba-san should also try it and taste how it’s like!」

Encouraged by Aleutia, Roomba also started to put the sashimi on top of the rice.

It doesn’t feel like Roomba is going to use the chopsticks, he dexterously made the seafood bowl using a fork.

And in the blink of an eye, Roomba instantly wolfed down the arranged sashimi.

Though it’s not an elegant manner of eating, it’s strange that it makes it look more delicious.

「Uooooh! This is good! I can eat plenty of rice with this!」

Though, the sashimi is limited. Maybe we can order for more, huh.

I thought while also enjoying the seafood bowl. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com \n「I’ve been wondering for quite some time but, don’t you feel tired sitting like that, proprietress? 」

Irvine curiously asked the proprietress as I ate up my seafood bowl, simmered dishes, and vegetables.

Because of that, our gaze went to the proprietress who sits conservatively in seiza.

 \n 

「……you’re right. It looks really compact. How did you sit like that I wonder?」

「It looks like she folded her legs, huh?」

Gingerly, Aleutia and Ilya send their gaze toward the proprietress’s leg.

There is no culture of seiza in Misfrit Kingdom. In general, there are no particular rules on how to sit, such as raising one’s knee or crossing one’s legs. Women basically also sit normally.

 \n(Sitting normally)

Well, people don’t sit on the carpet or tatami mats that often, so the sitting manner in the Kingdom – with the exception being the nobles etiquette – is not that particular.

Even now, the male members are sitting cross-legged while the women are sitting normally.

「This is called seiza. A traditional manner of sitting that has been passed down in Kagura since the old times.」

As if to make it easier for Irvine and the others who were curious about it, the proprietress relaxed her posture and reseat herself. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

「Looking at it again, the spine is tightly stretched, and it looks neat isn’t it.」

「That’s true. It also doesn’t take up space so I think that it’s nice.」

Aleutia and Ilya praised, seeing the proprietress’s neat appearance as she sat.

「You can sit like this if there is something like a cushion4, a carpet, or tatami mats on the floor. You will not stoop and the burden on your lower back will be light. 」

If there is an advantage, then that’s it.

「I see, that’s such an unusual sitting manner, isn’t it. Should we try it?.」

「That’s right.」

「Shall we try it then?」

「Yes!」

The members of Silver Wind start doing seiza after saying that.

「Ooh, this is nice. It’s also easier to eat!」

「Right. We also look like the proprietress now, aren’t we?」

Irvine and Mort sit in seiza and raise their voice in surprise.

「It feels nice, this way. Do I sit neatly just like the proprietress now?」

「I think you need to stick out your chest a little bit more.」

「Like this!」

Aleutia and Ilya also happily confirm each other’s sitting posture.

Without knowing the terrifying demerit of seiza. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com

The other members of the Firm around us and Tori are watching them while grinning. I dare say that the members of the Firm might already know about it. That’s probably why everyone didn’t try it.

And only at this time does the proprietress understand and watch them while smiling.5

Surprisingly, she seems to be a person who can read the situation.\nDinner is over.