WE TRIED TRANSLATIONS

Translator: Abood

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◈ The Saviour Embarks on a Nameless Journey

Chapter 45: Comparing Tastes

Hazelnut cherry cake.

I immediately compared it with the one we’d eaten in the village. The fragrant hazelnut dough was lightly sweet, with thin chips of chocolate mixed in.

Their crisp texture was delightful, and they paired well with the cherries steeped in liquor.

The way the aroma of the liquor rose through the nose when biting into a cherry was irresistible.

“Seems like they used expensive liquor.”

“Aye. It has a fine fragrance.”

For Tain, though, it still seemed too sweet. His expression was dubious, as if to say he would have preferred the liquor straight rather than put into a confection.

“Could it be Kane’s rum?”

Marius closed his eyes, savoring the flavor of the alcohol.

“Pyaa…”

Pya let out a feeble cry.

“Tomorrow, then.”

This inn seemed to have hired a cook separately, and the meals were excellent.

So excellent, in fact, that Pya, greedy as ever, had eaten past ‘eggplant’ into ‘pear-shaped,’ and now, though he could not fit another bite, was still working on dessert.

I cannot understand it, being stuffed to the point of bursting, yet still wanting to eat. Doesn’t the very sight of food make him feel sick?

At last, as if giving up, he lumbered toward my back. No, you—why must you climb past my face just to get there? Go under my arm! Under my arm!

Fortunately, perhaps because he is a sacred beast of sorts, he doesn’t shed fur. Even so, he is a nuisance.

“The same dish can taste so different.”

“I prefer this one’s flavor… but I’d have liked it a little sweeter.”

“I agree.”

They exchanged words, then Io and Alina giggled together.

For Marius and me, the sweetness was just right, but for Tain it was too sweet, while for the children it wasn’t sweet enough. Food is a difficult matter indeed.

“Still, this is luxury. Never thought I’d end up staying at a place like this, even handling a single fork makes me feel self-conscious. Maybe I should’ve rented some formal wear somewhere?”

Tain spoke as he pulled the pastry onto his plate with a fork.

“This is only the third-ranked inn in this town.”

“Mercenaries with coin to spare use it too, so rest easy.”

The finest inn in town is reserved for royalty, and one cannot stay there without high rank and trusted credentials. The second-best likewise requires firm proof of identity, with payment billed to one’s household later or delivered directly by a retainer.

Alina is royalty, Marius and Io are of ducal connection, and I am a margrave of the frontier, any of us could easily meet those requirements. But staying there would reveal our whereabouts at once.

This third-ranked inn allows even commoners to stay, so long as they can pay. Of course, for ordinary folk it is too costly.

Alina and Io offered no complaint, but after days of camping out and sleeping on straw in village huts, I chose an inn with fine baths and bedding, for the sake of restoring their strength.

“The good point about this inn is that its cuisine surpasses even the second-ranked inn, and it serves delicacies you’d never find at the top inn.”

The finest inn will not handle any ingredient that carries even the slightest hint of toxicity.

“The fried flowers we had with the meal were faintly sweet and delicious,” Alina said, pressing her cheeks with shining eyes.

“The fragrance of the flowers was marvelous as well,” Io added dreamily.

“They were flowers of the Niseaka tree. In a little while, you’ll be able to see the small white blossoms bloom in clusters,” Marius said with a gentle smile.

The fried dish made use of buds taken before the flowers opened. Compared to full blooms, they were less likely to harbor insects, and when fried their fragrance remained sealed inside.

The petals contained a mild toxin that could upset the stomach, but with heat it was dispelled.

After finishing our meal, we returned to our rooms. The suite first had a small chamber, usually for servants or guards.

Beyond that was a sitting room, spacious for an inn. From the sitting room extended four bedrooms and a bath.

Alina and Io said they would sleep together, so I encouraged Tain to use one of the bedrooms. Instead, he chose the small front chamber, tossing his belongings inside to make it his own.

“Now then, here is the map of this town.”

Marius spread a map across the table for all to see.

Gathered in the sitting room, we discussed the plans for tomorrow.

“Fifty years ago, the thing had nested inside the lord’s manor. But from today’s walkabout, it seems different this time.”

“Indeed. The servants were neither gloomy nor unnaturally cheerful, and there were no lingering traces of a monster’s presence.”

Marius agreed with me.

“If gloomy behavior can happen, then can they also appear overly cheerful?”

“When monsters use mental manipulation, yes. It’s difficult for outsiders like us to judge, however… Complex suggestions are hard to maintain, so the commands are usually simple, like ‘carry on as usual’ or ‘act cheerful.’”

Marius answered Io’s question gently. But fifty years ago, in the lord’s residence, when several of our comrades had gone missing, the servants left behind had been so unnaturally cheerful that it was beyond strange, it was frightening.

“The monster’s presence you felt was from that passing wagon, right? Then perhaps the place we seek is somewhere those wagons tend to gather?”

Tain spoke, arms crossed, not leaning over to look at the map with the rest of us.

“I see… So you and Suirun ended up fixating on the past?”

Listening to Tain, I looked over the map for places where many wagons, merchants, might gather. Marius made it sound as if dwelling on the past were a fault, yet one’s eyes are naturally drawn to places that left such deep impressions.

“Wouldn’t it be here?”

I pointed to a spot on the map.

“The place where the monster escaped and was slain?”

Marius tilted his head.

“They say it’s now become a square where merchants hold their auctions.”

Footnotes:

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