Organizing a large-scale Takoyaki Party required preparation. Starting right then would have been too late, and we wouldn't have been able to gather much of a crowd. So, we decided to have a normal dinner that night and hold the party the following day. Even so, it was still a fairly impulsive decision.
And so, the next morning arrived.
After getting permission from Mayor Badis, we set up shop in the plaza in front of the dungeon. It was the official start of our massive Takoyaki Party. Anyone could join, and it was completely free. We were even open to suggestions for new fillings at any time. Of course, since the townspeople didn't really know what takoyaki was, I figured the only people bringing their own ingredients would be the ones I’d already spoken to.
Without much of a formal opening ceremony, we started grilling. The air was soon filled with a delicious sizzling sound.
"Hey, what’s going on over there?"
"Is God up to something again?"
The majority of the adventurers heading for the dungeon stopped in their tracks when they saw the stalls. That "God" they were talking about referred to me—much as I hated to admit it. Since the town had been dubbed "God Tort," they teased me like that constantly. I didn't really mind, though; it wasn't like they were being mean or keeping their distance.
"It’s takoyaki! Come and get some!"
Spira, who happened to be free, volunteered to explain the event to the crowd. It seemed the adventurers found the idea interesting enough to join in. Since this dungeon was quite profitable, everyone had plenty of money to spare, meaning they could afford to take a day off without any worries.
The first batch used the standard ingredient: octopus legs. I figured we should let everyone know what traditional takoyaki tasted like first.
"Heheh! Leave the normal ones to Tort. We’re going to make the extremely spicy ones!"
"Hehe, sounds like a plan~"
At a separate stall, Shiroru and Pino were busy prepping the spicy takoyaki. For some reason, they were acting all sneaky about it. I’d already told everyone that there would be "loser" takoyaki in the mix, so there wasn't really any reason for them to hide.
"Tort, these are ready!"
"Thanks! These are done, too."
Halfa and I began placing the finished takoyaki onto plate golems. I called them golems, but they didn't have arms or legs, so they couldn't actually move. Instead, they had Clean-enchanted magic tools built into them, meaning they would automatically clean themselves once someone finished eating. Once a regular golem collected them, they’d be ready for the next person immediately.
I thought it was a pretty revolutionary idea, but Garna just looked at me with an exasperated expression. "Wouldn't it be easier to just have the collecting golem use Clean?" she sighed. She was probably right. I’d definitely developed a habit of turning every little thing into a golem.
In any case, if we were going to use the Russian Roulette style, we needed to wait for Shiroru and the others to finish their spicy batch. However...
"Ahaha! Look how red it is! I put in way too many chili peppers!"
"Wait, won't that make it obvious which ones are spicy?"
"Oh, you're right. What should we do...?"
It looked like they were going to be a while, so I decided to serve the normal ones we had ready. I didn't want to keep the people who had gathered waiting too long.
"Whoa, this is great!"
"This sauce is amazing... It’s addictive!"
"So this is Land Kraken? It’s surprisingly good!"
"Seriously? You're actually eating that...?"
The feedback from the adventurers was mostly positive. However, a fair number of people couldn't get past the idea of eating Land Kraken and decided to pass. It was a bit of a shame, but I wasn't going to force anyone. I planned to experiment with plenty of other fillings, so I hoped they’d find something else to enjoy.
"Master, we’d like to join in too."
"Oh, Jester! You mean you're setting up a stall?"
"Exactly. And of course, we’ll be providing everything for free."
After a short while, Jester arrived with the employees from his curry shop. It seemed they wanted to participate as vendors rather than just guests.
"You know we're making takoyaki today, right?"
"No problem at all. Pino told me everything. Here, would you like to try one?"
He handed me a small, round snack. It looked like takoyaki, but the smell was unmistakable.
"Is this... curry spice?"
"Yes! It’s curry-yaki!"
Intrigued, I took a bite of the piping hot curry-yaki. The curry flavor was prominent, but the texture wasn't all that different from the real thing. As for the filling... it was a chunk of meat! It felt like a small bit of diced steak.
"This is delicious!"
"Really? I’m glad to hear it!"
Jester beamed. Despite his intimidating features, when he smiled that broadly, the scariness vanished completely. He just looked like a kind-hearted middle-aged man. He used to be little more than a bandit, but now he was a full-fledged cook. Watching him, I realized just how much a person's environment truly mattered.
"By the way, what other fillings did you use?"
"Oh, was that one meat? We actually have a few varieties."
"I see. You really took the theme to heart."
To fit the spirit of the event, Jester and his team had prepared several versions of their curry-yaki. Besides the diced meat I’d just eaten, they had versions with Ninjin, onion-like vegetables, and potatoes. It was basically all the ingredients of a standard curry.
While the meat was definitely my favorite, the other fillings were quite good too. If you ate a few of them together, it really did feel like you were eating a bowl of curry. It was a clever idea.
Jester and his crew were certainly putting in the work.