The conversation with Bluitt had been lively, but with dusk settling in, they ended up parting ways in that park after all.
He was a noble unlike most nobles, with an interest in Magic Items — from Rei's perspective, an exceedingly rare sort, and someone he could interact with in a genuinely friendly manner.
Precisely because Bluitt was such a person, Rei asked where he was staying and learned the name of his inn.
Conversely, the fact that Bluitt never asked where Rei was staying was probably because he already knew.
The information that Rei had been invited as a guest of Duke Kerebel's House had already spread among the nobility. That being the case, there was no need to ask.
In any event, having talked with Bluitt far longer than expected, it was already completely dark by the time Rei returned to the Duke Kerebel Mansion.
Though, given that it was winter, sunset came early.
Set had been reluctant to part with Rei, but after being told they would meet again tomorrow and that Miranda would bring him delicious food, he settled down without further fuss.
...Ielo, who had been sleeping in the stable, woke up when Set returned, so Set's loneliness faded quickly enough.
Upon returning to his room, it was not long before dinnertime arrived.
"Rei, I hear you were looking around Anesis. How was it?"
During the meal, Liberte asked Rei.
For someone in the position of Duke Kerebel, it was only natural to be curious about how others perceived Anesis — a place he had built and nurtured himself.
Moreover, given that Rei was also involved in various aspects of Gilm's Expansion Construction, it would not have been surprising if a competitive spirit stirred within him.
"That's right. As expected of the second-largest city in the Kingdom of Mireana, I thought there were a lot of people."
Rei answered, pausing with his spoon mid-soup.
Liberte had likely anticipated that response. He nodded without any particular sign of surprise and prompted Rei to continue.
"There were a lot of shops too, befitting a city of that scale. Oh, and I thought it was impressive how there was hardly any litter on the streets."
"Umu. Regarding that, there is also an employment policy aspect to it. And while it is fine in winter, when summer comes, litter brings all sorts of problems."
Since they were in the middle of a meal, he did not state it explicitly, but he was likely referring to the foul odors that would drift about and the flies that would breed.
Of course, beyond that, reasons such as maintaining the cityscape also factored in.
"I would like to do the same outside of Anesis, if possible..."
Arcadia murmured with a faintly regretful air, letting out a small sigh.
...And yet, her skin was remarkably radiant — likely because her nightly activities had been particularly vigorous of late.
"I understand that Mother wishes to do so, but in the villages, there are many who can barely scrape by as it is. Wouldn't it be difficult to secure the manpower the way Anesis does?"
"You're right. If only there were a few more people, but it can't be helped."
Murmuring, Arcadia brought a forkful of salad to her mouth.
Preparing fresh vegetables in this winter season required considerable financial power and authority.
It was only because they had something close to a greenhouse — enabling vegetable cultivation even in winter through Alchemy — that salad appeared at dinner like this.
This, too, was one of the conditions set when Georgima was hired by Duke Kerebel.
Being able to eat delicious vegetables even in winter — the very season when it was hardest to do so — was a matter of deep interest for Georgima as a cook.
That said, making vegetables taste good in winter also necessitated plant breeding improvements.
Over the past few years, they had been hiring people knowledgeable about agriculture to try and manage that somehow.
(Compared to the first day's meal, this is so much more relaxed.)
On the first day, Rei had been subjected to intense pressure from both Liberte and Arcadia, but now he could eat normally.
Though it might seem like Rei had simply grown accustomed to the pressure, the more accurate explanation was that the two had stopped directing any pressure at him.
Thanks to that, Rei was able to purely enjoy the food Georgima had prepared.
That said, today's dinner was not the kind of elaborate fare served on the first day, where a single piece of meat delivered a full-course experience.
It was ordinary cooking — ordinary by Duke Kerebel Mansion standards, that is.
The first day's dishes had likely been prepared with particular care because it was the day Rei first arrived.
The main reason for that was surely to make Rei say it was delicious through the food, and thereby get him to teach about ramen.
(Wait, could this food also be a result of his ramen research? ...Knowing Georgima's personality, I can't rule it out.)
Of course, it was also possible that the dishes spread across the table before him were simply the leftovers from ramen research — the cleanup, so to speak.
But even if that were the case, there was almost no doubt that he had put proper effort into refining them.
And in practice, eating the food before him now, it was certainly delicious enough. For Rei, that was sufficient.
"So then, Rei. I understand you taught Georgima about a dish called ramen... was that alright?"
"Eh? Ah, yes. It's a dish I'd wanted to try eating myself, actually. If anything, I'd be more than happy if Georgima can make it."
Rei, who had been thinking about ramen, was caught off guard by the sudden question and hastily replied.
"A special dish that can only be eaten there. If it will contribute to Anesis's development, I have nothing but gratitude. No — in this case, words of thanks would be appropriate."
The words that came from Liberte's mouth were by no means wrong.
In truth, the development that a distinctive dish could bring about was significant.
However, what Rei was picturing was, after all, Japan.
In Elgin, where the transportation system was not as developed as in Japan, and where travel could hardly be called safe due to bandits and monsters, cuisine would not exert as strong an influence as Rei imagined.
That said, if a dish was delicious, those who ate it would spread the word, so it would not be entirely meaningless.
In fact, Gilm had come to be known among merchants and adventurers as the birthplace of udon, and that udon had spread outward from Gilm along the flow of human traffic.
In Port City Emosion as well, the spread of Seafood Okonomiyaki was clearly traceable to what Rei had eaten at this very mansion.
"That may be so. However, the ramen I taught him this time is quite a difficult dish. Many of its components require special seasonings and ingredients, but unfortunately, I'm not very knowledgeable about such things."
"I have heard. Seasonings made from soybeans, and some sort of curious liquid, were needed, I understand. It will be difficult, but I am having people search for them. Since you say you read about it in a book, there is a possibility that those seasonings still exist somewhere. Even if they don't, the knowledge itself may remain."
"Ah... yes. That's right."
Unable to reveal the true origins of ramen, Rei gave a vague response to deflect the topic.
Whether the seasonings and ingredients necessary for making ramen — such as miso, soy sauce, and kansui — truly existed in this Elgin was unknown.
Since soybeans existed normally, it was probably fine... but that was closer to optimistic speculation than anything else.
The particularly problematic one was kansui.
With miso and soy sauce, while he didn't know the exact methods, he at least knew they were made from soybeans.
But with kansui, even though he could tell from the name that it was a liquid, he had absolutely no idea what it was made from or how.
"However, without those seasonings and ingredients, it wouldn't be ramen. I think it would end up as something like... a variant of the udon I taught in Gilm."
"I see. But knowing Georgima, he will likely struggle, but ultimately complete this ramen of yours."
"I hope so."
For a moment, Rei wondered whether he should have taught pasta instead... but unfortunately, he knew even less about making pasta than he did about ramen noodles.
The only pasta Rei had ever eaten was the dried variety sold in supermarkets.
He was aware that fresh pasta existed, but he had never eaten it himself.
If anything, he might know even less about making pasta noodles than ramen noodles.
(If it were soba, I'd have a decent idea at least. ...But I don't even know if buckwheat exists in this world.)
Rei had helped with the harvest at a relative's home where they cultivated buckwheat, so he had some experience.
He had also heard about one-hundred-percent soba somewhere, so in theory, soba could be made with just buckwheat flour and water.
That would certainly be more straightforward than working with an ingredient like kansui, which he knew nothing about.
(Wait? Maybe I should have taught soba from the start... no, there doesn't seem to be any custom of eating soba here. Starting from finding the buckwheat itself — given the current season, that's impossible.)
The dashi for udon and the dashi for soba might differ in various ways in theory, but when Rei was in Japan, he ate both with the same dashi — a soy sauce-based chicken broth — without any issue.
Of course, that would mean eating a different type of noodle than udon, but since the dashi that determined the flavor was the same, it might be difficult to call them distinct dishes.
A Japanese person could assert they were different dishes without it being strange, but unfortunately, this was not Japan — it was the Kingdom of Mireana, in the world of Elgin.
"In any case, I genuinely wanted to eat ramen myself."
The words Rei spoke were his honest feelings.
Since coming to this world of Elgin, he had eaten many different dishes.
Monster meat in particular became more delicious the higher its rank, likely due to the influence of magic.
Orc meat was several levels more delicious than the brand-name meat he had eaten a few times back in Japan.
Dishes made with such meat were delicious... and yet, he still found himself wanting to eat the food he had eaten in Japan.
It would have been nice if rice existed, but unfortunately, he had not been able to find any so far.
"A dish you want to eat that badly? Now you've made me want to try it too."
Whether intrigued by Rei's words, Arcadia also expressed a desire to try it.
A glance that could only be described as suggestive was directed at her husband, and he in turn gave a small cough at such a look.
"Ah... but ramen is, in a manner of speaking, commoners' food. It might not suit a noble's palate."
"My, you know quite a lot for someone who only read about it in a book."
"The book did mention it was commoners' food."
Rei was momentarily startled by Arcadia's remark, but managed to conceal his discomposure.
"Is that so?"
"Yes. In fact, the same goes for udon — ramen is also a dish where you slurp the noodles, so I think it would be especially unsuited for nobles."
Slurping was a culture that was not very widespread, not just in this world but on Earth as a whole.
No — it was certainly known that slurping as an eating style existed, but it was generally regarded as poor manners.
In Gilm, those who ate udon were almost all commoners, and while they initially hesitated at the act of slurping, they quickly grew accustomed to it.
But for nobles — and moreover, the family of Duke Kerebel, who led the Noble's Faction — engaging in such behavior would be problematic in more ways than one.
"Slurp... that is..."
For Arcadia as well, the act of slurping was apparently unexpected, and a look of surprise surfaced on her face.
But what that expression held was merely surprise.
There was no trace of disgust or aversion.
(Come to think of it, she did say she'd been traveling around Duke Kerebel's Territory. Is that why?)
Because she had many opportunities to interact with commoners, the act of slurping had not been as objectionable to her as Rei had anticipated.
"By the way, I heard from a maid that you ran into Bluitt of the Exolis Count Family in the city?"
Perhaps because the atmosphere had taken on a slightly awkward tone, Elena stepped in to change the subject.
Rei went along with it and nodded.
"Yeah. He was an unexpectedly friendly guy, hard to believe he's the next head of a count family. But... he's got serious skills."
At the very least, from Rei's perspective, he could determine that Bluitt possessed ability clearly superior to Leodanis's.
Leodanis was a knight who trained diligently every day, while Bluitt no doubt trained in combat as well, but as the next head of a count family, the majority of his time was likely consumed by noble duties.
And yet, if they were to actually fight, Rei could judge that Bluitt would clearly win.
The gap in talent was probably tragically large.
Thinking so, Rei continued the conversation.