The mention of matsutake mushrooms naturally steered our conversation toward Japanese ingredients in general. More accurately, Kaori-san and I found ourselves peppering Noin-san with all sorts of questions.
"I see, so eel is a normal thing here too? I haven't really seen it around, so I wasn't sure..."
"Eel isn't a specialty of the Hydra Kingdom; it’s a product of the Arclesia Empire. It might be a bit tricky to track down elsewhere, but you can actually find Kabayaki eel at food stalls from time to time. I suppose it’s generally considered a bit of a niche... or rather, a rare delicacy," Noin-san replied with a faint, wry smile to Kaori-san’s eager questioning.
In this world, eel might be viewed as something akin to B-rank gourmet soul food. Since eating rice was a minor practice here, Kabayaki eel—which reaches its full potential when paired with white rice—probably hadn't achieved mainstream popularity. Still, even if it was niche, the fact that it appeared at stalls was exciting. I definitely wanted to try it if I ever came across a vendor.
As we chatted, a look of sudden realization crossed Noin-san’s face.
"Oh, come to think of it... this might sound like a bit of a sales pitch, but Kaori-san, would you be interested in something like this?"
"This is soy sauce and miso... Ah, and tofu too!"
"Yes. These are products handled by the shop I supervise."
"Wait, Noin-san, you have your own shop?"
Noin-san pulled several items from her Magic Box and lined them up. There was soy sauce, miso, and tofu, all stored in proper containers. Just as she said, they looked like professional commercial products. This was the first I’d heard of Noin-san owning a business. I knew she supplied her kanji calligraphy to Kuro’s shop, but this was different.
"Yes. Actually, the calligraphy business I started after consulting with you, Kaito-kun, has been doing quite well. Chrome-sama suggested that I should just supervise a store specializing in Japanese products and even set up a shop for me. I think she was being considerate because I had mentioned my lack of steady income."
"I see... But a shop for Japanese goods supervised by someone as meticulous as you, Noin-san, must have incredible quality control."
It was just like Kuro to casually gift Noin-san an entire storefront. Given Noin-san’s status, working for a standard merchant guild would have been difficult, and I knew she’d felt bad about not having a 'real' job. It was a wonderful solution. And now, she was pitching those products to Kaori-san, who ran a diner specifically for Japanese food.
"I may be an amateur, but I’ve spent nearly a thousand years refining my soy sauce and miso, so I have great confidence in their flavor. As for the tofu, it is a masterpiece that I’ve improved even further with the help of Ein-sama. These are samples, so please, feel free to try them."
"In that case, don't mind if I do... Oh, wow! This is incredibly delicious! Every single one of these is far better than what I’m currently using. I’d love to start stocking these for the restaurant."
"We would be delighted to have you. We are currently looking to expand our client base. Since I can’t show my face in public very often, I usually leave the negotiations to others, but I’ll have someone come by your shop at a later date. We can discuss the pricing then."
"Yes! Thank you so much!"
Kaori-san seemed genuinely impressed by Noin-san’s products, and the talk of a supply contract progressed with surprising speed. Once the broad strokes were settled, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
"By the way, Kaori-san, I know your shop serves tofu, but where have you been getting it until now?"
"Oh, I couldn't find any merchant companies that sold it, so I’ve been making it myself. Shige-san taught me the basics. But since I'm just an amateur, the texture was never quite right. I’ve been wishing for a proper supplier, so this is a dream come true!"
As I recalled from when Noin-san had first asked me how to make tofu, it wasn't a product that circulated in this world. Now that Noin-san was selling it, that might change, but for now, it was rare. I hadn't thought much about the tofu in Kaori-san’s miso soup, but it turned out she was making it from scratch.
However, since she only made enough for her own restaurant, and since her shop was located in the Friendly City—a place Noin-san deliberately avoided—it made perfect sense that Noin-san hadn't known tofu existed here until we met.
Conversing with fellow people from Earth always seemed to lead to new discoveries. Noin-san had lived here for over a millennium and knew far more about local Japanese-style ingredients than we did, but the conversation was lively and engaging for all of us.
Serious-senpai: "It’s ironic, in a way. Tofu existed in the Friendly City—the one place in the world effectively outside Noin’s information network. Shigenobu only made enough for himself, too... Maybe if she’d asked Alice, she would have known? Then again, Kuro mentioned that without Kaito around, even making contact with Alice is a chore... Either way, getting word of that tofu was never going to be easy."