Aku cukup kesulitan membuka peluang untuk menolak semua tawaran para pedagang kerdil. Mereka punya cara bicara yang cukup mengejutkan, dan tembuh penjualan mereka bahkan bisa membuat orang beli barang useless sama sekali sambil meyakini itu adalah harta karun berharga. Mereka bercampur dengan barang berguna dan berusaha menjual secara grosir — taktik yang cukup jenaka.
Aku berhasil meloloskan diri dari para pedagang yang manja dengan berjanji akan membawa kenalan dari kampung halamanku di kunjungan berikutnya.
Mereka pasti mengira aku kaya raya, jadi mencoba mengejar pelan-conganku. Aku mungkin punya ruang gerak, tapi sekarang memang tidak ada ruang kargo untuk menyimpan semua barang useless yang ingin mereka jual padaku. Aku lega berhasil menghindari pembelian yang sia-sia.
Tapi aku tetap membeli satu alat masak portabel. Ini barang yang cukup bagus dan bisa bertahan lama dengan sekotak energi. Alat masak ini berukuran sama dengan kotak perkakas biasa, lengkap dengan pemanas makanan, pemindai bahan untuk mengecek kesegaran atau kandungan berbahaya, serta peralatan makan. Barang ini berguna kalau suatu hari kita terdampar di planet yang belum dijelajahi atau sebegitu.
Eh, mungkin kalau kita harus mendarat darurat di planet ketika auto-cooker dan fasilitas lainnya rusak, maka Krishna dan kapal induk baru yang kubeli pasti akan rusak parah hingga putus asa.
Baiklah, aku mengakui ini impulsive beli. Maafkan aku. Dah, berhenti protes. C'mon. Alat masak kompak dan jubah termal camouflage akan dikirimkan ke Krishna nanti. Yah, lebih tepatnya, akan dikirim ke bengkel tempat Krishna sedang dalam pemeliharaan besar-besaran. Barang-barang itu akan dibawa ke kapal setelah pekerjaan pemeliharaan selesai, jadi tidak ada masalah.
“Wah, menarik juga kau berhasil menyeberang tanpa tertarik dengan semua ini.”
Orang yang memanggilku tepat setelah kubuangkan para pedagang kerdil adalah Elma. Rupanya para gadis sudah selesai berbelanja. Belum ada kabar dari May dan Tina, berarti mereka masih sibuk merancang senjata buatku. Senang mendengar mereka memberikan segala-galanya.
“Kamu menyaksikan semuanya?”
“Ya, sebagian saja. Aku pikir kamu pasti akan tertipu dan membeli banyak barang yang tidak berguna, tapi kamu justru lebih baik dari perkiraanku.”
“Aku sudah bilang tadi. Hiro-sama bisa tegas ketika ia mau.”
Elma tertawa kecil sambil mengekalkan bahu, sementara Mimi tersenyum bangga.
“Tapi dia bukan tipenya yang hemat, kan? Kalau benar-benar hemat, dia tidak akan membayar hutang Mimi dan akunnya tanpa ragu-ragu pun.”
“Uh, itu memang berbeda, y'know.”
Untuk Elma memang sedikit berbeda, tapi aku hanya berpikir bisa berteman dengan Mimi ketika aku membayar utangnya dulu. Aku jujur tidak menyangka kalau hubungan ini akan berkembang begitu jauh. Ini benar-benangjolokan budaya bagi aku.
Aku sekarang sudah paham implikasinya, jadi aku lebih hati-hati dalam memutuskan apakah dua saudara-saudari mayat bisa diterima sebagai awak kapal. Aku rasa sudah agak terbiasa dengan dimensi ini. Manusia memang fleksibel.
“A-Ayah, kamu benar-benar beli alat masak portabel, ya? Berencanaan kamu memasak sendiri?”
Sepertinya Whisker merasakan udara canggung ini, jadi dia berusaha mengganti topik.
“Benar. Hiro-sama adalah seorang koki yang hebat. Ia bisa memasak ikan, sayuran, dan daging. Benar-benar hebat sekali.”
“Uh, aku sebenarnya tidak begitu hebat. Aku hanya tahu beberapa makanan sederhana.”
“Eh, tapi menurutku bukan berlebihan sama sekali…… Benar-benar enak, kamu tahu?”
“Benarkah……? Wah, jarang juga bertemu orang yang bisa memasak di luar kerdil sepertiku.”
“Oh iya, sepertinya banyak chef kerdil di sini. Aku bahkan melihat cukup banyak restoran di koloni ini yang tidak menggunakan auto-cooker untuk membuat makanan.”
“Bukan berarti kita tidak menggunakannya sama sekali. Bahan makanan segar dan alami cukup mahal, jadi kebanyakan tempat menggunakan auto-cooker untuk menghasilkan bahan, lalu memasaknya secara manual.”
“Tapi bukan itu yang ribet?”
“Padahal, rasanya makanan dari auto-cooker agak hambar, kan? Versi sederhananya cukup bisa diterima, tapi kebanyakan yang lain seperti itulah.”
“Oh. Ya, aku mengerti maksudmu.”
Aku sudah tidak terlalu terganggu lagi sejak membeli Krishna yang kamiandalkan, tapi auto-cooker asli yang terpasang di Krishna ketika pertama kali aku datang dulunya memang membuat makanan yang rasanya hambar.
“Benarkah itu, Elma-san?”
“Aku tidak tahu.”
Mimi dan Elma menoleh ke sini dengan tatapan keluh kesulitan. Mimi mungkin hanya pernah makan makanan dari auto-cooker sejak kecil, jadi tidak heri ia tidak mengerti. Sementara Elma adalah pecinta junk food…… Elf ini terus makan pizza dan steak untuk makanan. Sungguh. Namun meski begitu, sepertinya ia tidak gendut sama sekali. Elma sungguh elf yang misterius.
“Kebanyakan orang tidak akan memahami hal-hal seperti ini kecuali dengan sesama kerdil. Aku merasa aku cocok sekali denganmu, adi.”
“Senang mendengarnya. Jadi, bagaimana jika kita makan siang di restoran kerdil?”
“Itu ide bagus. Aku akan menunjukkan tempat yang pas……?”
Whisker tertarik beberapa saat, lalu tiba-tiba bertepuk tangan dengan ceria.
“Itu dia. Murah, mengenyangkan, dan sangat enak.”
Setelah memberi tahu May dan Tina tentang tujuan kita, grup kami pergi ke sebuah tempat makan yang tampak nyaman seperti diner jaman dulu. Di sana ada kursi meja biasa dan kursi khusus yang menyerupai area duduk yang ditinggi-tinggi seperti di restoran Jepang. Di tengah area duduk itu juga ada kotatsu tenggelam. Namun yang diletakkan di atasnya bukan kotatsu biasa. Di tengah meja kotatsu ada piring logam paduan. Kemungkinan itu adalah teppan atau hotplate untuk memasak.
Kursi sudah penuh karena sedang jam makan siang, dan kita harus menunggu sebentar untuk giliran kami. May dan Tina memang akan tiba nanti, jadi tidak apa-apa-apa memakan waktu.
“Tempat ini menjual makanan apa sih? Kue kering…? Kurasa tidak.”
“Mereka menjual yang namanya dwarf-yaki atau kue goreng kerdil. Kamu dicampurkan berbagai bahan dengan adonan, lalu digoreng di atas piring. Kamu bisa menikmati makanan panas yang baru dimasak dengan berbagai rasa dan saus.”
“Dwarf-yaki, ya.”
Dari penampilannya, bahan-bahan dicampur dengan adonan lalu digoreng, bukan hanya diletakkan di atas. Jadi lebih mirip okonomiyaki gaya Kansai, bukan gaya Hiroshima. Aku memang bukan ahli okonomiyaki, jadi tidak bisa yakin.
“Ya, ini adalah dwarf-yaki. Kita bisa bermain-main sambil memasak, jadi sangat populer di kalangan ras-ras lain selain kerdil.”
“Wah, terlihat seru!”
Mata Mimi sudah berbinar penuh. Elma juga tertarik melihat pelanggan yang sedang memasak pesanan mereka. Aku juga cukup tertarik untuk mencoba. Kayaknya makanan semacam ini serupa dalam dimensi lain juga.
“Terima kasih sudah menunggu〜”
“Kami tiba, Master.”
May dan Tina akhirnya tiba, Tina yang tiba-tiba memburu napas karena aromanya. Tina tersenyum lebar, berarti ia puas dengan pekerjaannya pada senjatamu. May datang bersamanya, jadi seharusnya sudah mencegah jiwa insinyurnya tidak terlalu bersemangat. Namun ia masih tersenyum cemberut, membuatku sedikit khawatir dengan hasil akhirnya.
“Jadi ini dwarf-yaki? Karena mereka yang bayar, kenapa kamu tidak bawa ke restoran yang lebih mewah? Bukankah tempat ini terlalu sederhana?”
“Adikku……”
Whisker mengeluarkan suara mengantuk karena sikap ceroboh Tina. Aku ingat dia sempat meminta ditreat makan tadi pagi. Aku memang bilang ya untuk pergi ke tempat mahal, jadi tempat ini cukup sederhana. Aku belum tahu berapa harga makanannya, tapi aku rasa tidak akan terlalu mahal.
“Biarkan saja untuk kesempatan berikutnya. Kita memang ingin mencoba makanan tradisional kerdil.”
“Benar juga. Aku sangat ingin mencobanya!”
Mimi yang bertekad mencicipi semua makanan gourmet di galaksi ini ingin sekali mencoba makanan tradisional kerdil. Tapi aku sempat melihat daging yang bergerak-gerak aneh di antara bahan yang disajikan, jadi mungkin ada kejutan nanti. Aku tidak boleh meremehkan.
Setelah sekian lama menunggu, akhirnya sebuah meja kosong. Kita dibawa ke mari oleh staf. May memancarkan keindahannya dengan pakaian servannya. Aku mungkin harus membelikan pakaian santai untuk dia juga.
“Serahkan padaku. Aku akan membawamu ke tempat bagus lainnya nanti.”
“Jangan khawatir, adi. Aku akan memastikan tempatnya dulu.”
Whisker tetap membungkuk di samping Tina yang tersenyum ceroboh. Nah, itu tidak masalah. Bukan seperti kita akan menghabiskan ribuan Enels hanya untuk makanan. Setelah aku melihat menu tempat ini, makanannya sekitar 5-8 Enels per orang. May tidak butuh makan, jadi kami empat orang: aku, Mimi, Elma, dan dua saudara, lima orang. Makanan tidak akan melebihi 100 Enels meski termasuk tambahan dan minuman.
“Aku serahkan pemesanan ke kalian. Kita belum familiar dengan menu setelah semua. Aku punya teh dingin atau air.”
“Aku ingin pesan sama seperti Hiro-sama.”
“Aku ingin minum alkohol. Apa yang cocok dengan dwarf-yaki?”
“Biasanya beer, tapi secara pribadi aku menyarankan sake kerdil yang dicampirkan air atau highball.”
“Aku lebih suka ochawari kerdil.”
“Baiklah. Aku pilih highball. Kalian berdua juga mau minum, kan?”
“Tentu saja—”
“S-I-S-B-I-G?”
“—Aku mau teh. Karena kita dilarang minum alkohol selama dua minggu. Ya, sudah jelas.”
Tina lupa akan larangan alkohol selama dua minggu. Ini adalah hukuman resmi dari perusahaan, jadi kusangka pelanggarannya akan sangat serius. Aura Whisker ketika mengingatkannya cukup menakutkan.
“Mistress, kami order tiga set daging babi dan cumi-cumi, serta enam teh dingin!”
“Segera!”
Tina berteriak memesan dengan keras, dan si pemilik kerdil menjawab segera. Untuk informasi, pemiliknya tampak seperti legal loli klasik, jadi tampak seperti dua anak kecil sedang berbincang ceria. Tampaknya agak membingungkanku.
“Itu cukup tradisional.”
“Mengapa ya? Menggunakan tablet untuk memesan seperti ini terasa tidak nyaman, y'know. Bukan berarti semua hal akan lebih baik kalau sudah high-tech.”
“Sepertinya itu bukan tipikal insinyur.”
“Karena aku insinyur. Mengapa harus menggunakan konsol untuk memesan dengan circuitous ketika lebih efisien dan jelas langsung?”
“Oh begitu.”
Aku agak mengerti tapi tidak sepenuhnya. Sebelum lama, pemilik kerdil datang dengan mangkuk berisi bahan untuk membuat dwarf-yaki kita, disertai minuman kami.
“Terima kasih sudah menunggu. Ini pesananmu.”
“Terima kasih banyak. Ini minuman untuk kalian semua.”
Setelah membagikan semua minuman, Tina mengangkat gelasnya.
“Baiklah, dalam pertemuan kita! Cheers!”
“Chee〜rs!”
Apa dengan suara nyanyian ala Ondo ini? Well, tidak apa-apa. Aku tidak ingin merusak suasana, jadi takut untuk memancing situasi. Mari nikmati dwarf-yaki saja, ya?
I had a hell of a time refusing all the offers of the dwarven merchants. They had an uncanny way with words and their sales talk may even prompt people to buy useless junk while believing them to be priceless treasures. They mixed in some useful stuff with the junk goods and tried to sell them in bulk, which was a pretty devious tactic. I managed to muddle through somehow, and I got away from those pushy guys by promising to bring acquaintances from my hometown on my next visit.
They probably thought I was filthy rich so they tried to squeeze me for all I’m worth. I may have some leeway when it comes to funds, but presently, there’s just no cargo space to dump all that junk they were trying to sell me. I’m glad I was able to avoid meaningless purchases.
But I did buy a portable cooking kit. It’s a high-quality item that can be powered for quite a long time by a single energy pack. The cooking kit is the same size as your regular toolbox and includes a cooking heater, an ingredient scanner for checking freshness or possible harmful stuff, and a cutlery set. This thing can come in handy if we ever find ourselves stranded on an unexplored planet or something…… maybe.
Uh, I guess if we ever crash land on a planet in a state where even the auto-cooker and other facilities are busted, then Krishna and the newly purchased mothership should be heavily damaged to the point of despair.
Alright, I admit I bought this thing on impulse. Sorry. Ugh. Cut me some slack, guys. C’mon. The compact cooking kit and the chameleon thermal cloaks will be delivered to Krishna later on. Well, to be exact, they’re going to be sent to the workshop where Krishna is undergoing its maintenance overhaul. The items will be sent on board the ship once the maintenance work gets finished, so there’s no problem.
“Well, that’s a surprise. You were able to hold your own without getting caught up in their pace for the most part.”
The one who called out to me just after I ditched the dwarven merchants was Elma. It looks like the girls were finished with their shopping. There’s no word from May and Tina yet, so I guess they’re still hard at work designing my weapon. It’s great that they’re giving their all.
“Were you watching all that?”
“Yeah. Just halfway through though. I thought for sure you’d get suckered in to buy lots of pointless stuff, but you did better than I expected.”
“I already said so earlier. Hiro-sama can be resolute when he wants to.”
Elma shrugged her shoulders in mock-disappointment while Mimi looked quite pleased and proud.
“But he’s not exactly the prudent sort, right? If he was, then he wouldn’t have paid for Mimi and my debts without so much as batting an eye. And he even laid his hands on both of us.”
“Uh, that’s true, but this and that are very different things y’know.”
It was a bit different for Elma, but I just thought I could get along with Mimi when I paid her debts back then. I didn’t really expect it’ll go in that direction at all. It was a major culture shock for me.
I’m now aware of what the implications are, so I’m more prudent when it comes to deciding if the dead ball sisters will be allowed on board as part of our crew. I guess I’ve somewhat accustomed myself to this dimension already. Humans are quite adaptable creatures y’see.
“A-Anyway, you purchased a portable cooking kit right, big brother? Are you planning on cooking with it yourself?”
Maybe she sensed the awkward air, so Whisker made an effort to change the subject.
“That’s right. Hiro-sama is a wonderful cook. He can cook fish, veggies, and meat. He’s really, really good.”
“Uh, I’m not really all that great a cook. I just know some simple meals.”
“Eh, but I don’t think it’s an exaggeration at all…… They were really delicious, you know?”
“Is that so……? How rare. It’s a surprise to meet someone who knows how to cook who’s not a dwarf like me.”
“Oh, right. Come to think of it, there are a lot of dwarven chefs out there huh. I even saw a good number of restaurants in this colony that doesn’t use auto-cookers to prepare their meals.”
“It’s not that we don’t use them at all. Fresh, natural ingredients are pretty expensive, so most shops use auto-cookers to produce ingredients, and then cook them manually.”
“But isn’t that kind of bothersome…?”
“Don’t you think the meals made by auto-cookers taste a bit bland? The simple ones are passable, but most other meals are like that.”
“Oh. Yeah, I kinda get what you mean.”
I wasn’t really bothered by it anymore since buying our trusty Tetsujin V, but the default auto-cooker that was installed on Krishna when I first came here did make somewhat bland-tasting food.
“Is that really the case, Elma-san?”
“I have no idea.”
Mimi and Elma inclined their heads in bafflement. Mimi probably only ate food made by auto-cookers since she was a child, so it’s no wonder she doesn’t get it. Elma was a firm junk food lover though…… This elf keeps eating stuff like pizza and steaks for meals. Honestly. But even so, she doesn’t seem to get fat no matter how much she eats. Elma sure is one mysterious elf.
“Most people don’t get things like these apart from other dwarves. I feel like I can get along really well with you, big brother.”
“Glad to hear that. So, how about we try having lunch at a dwarf restaurant then?”
“That sounds great. I’ll guide you. I wonder which place would be good……?”
Whisker got lost in thought for a few moments then clapped her hands happily after making a decision.
“That’s right. Let’s have ‘that’. It’s cheap, filling, and very delicious.”
After informing May and Tina of our destination, our group went to a cozy-looking eatery that resembled an old-fashioned diner in Japan. There were both usual seats and tables and small separate dining areas that resembled raised-tatami seating areas used in Japanese restaurants. There were sunken kotatsus placed in the middle of those areas as well. But what was placed on top was not a normal kotatsu. There was a metallic alloy plate in the center of the kotatsu table. It was most probably a teppan or hotplate used for cooking.
The seats were filled because it was in the middle of lunchtime, and it looks like we have to wait a bit to have our turn. Well, Tina and May will be arriving later anyway, so I guess it’s fine to wait.
“What type of food does this shop sell? Crepes…? I guess not.”
“They sell what you call dwarf-yaki or dwarven fried savory pancakes. You mix various ingredients with some batter and fry them on top of the plate. You can enjoy freshly cooked, hot food along with various flavors and sauces.”
“Dwarf-yaki, huh.”
From the looks of it, the ingredients are mixed together with the batter and then fried instead of just putting them on top. So it was more like Kansai-style okonomiyaki instead of Hiroshima-style. I’m not an expert when it comes to okonomiyaki so I can’t really say for certain though.
“Yes, this is dwarf-yaki. We can have fun with each other while cooking so it’s really popular with other races apart from dwarves as well.”
“I see! It looks really fun!”
Mimi’s eyes were already shining in anticipation. Elma also looked curiously at the customers who were busy frying their orders. I’m really interested as well. I guess these kinds of meals are similar even in another dimension huh.
“Thank you for waiting〜”
“We have arrived, Master.”
May and Tina finally arrived, with the latter’s nose already reacting to the smell of oko– err, dwarf-yaki. Tina was beaming brightly, so she must’ve been satisfied with her work on my order-made weapon. May was together with her, so she should have prevented her engineering soul from going too wild. But she still looked quite smug, so I was a bit worried about the end result.
“So it’s dwarf-yaki huh? They’re treating anyway, so why didn’t you take them to a fancier joint? Isn’t this place a bit too plain?”
“Sis, you……”
Whisker made an exasperated sigh due to Tina’s brazen attitude. Come to think of it, she was pestering me about treating her to lunch earlier, huh. I did say it was fine to go somewhere expensive, so this place does look a bit too plain. I don’t know how much the meals will cost yet, but I don’t think they will be that expensive.
“Let’s just leave that for next time. We’re also interested in traditional dwarven cuisine anyway.”
“That’s right. I really want to try it!”
Mimi, who made it her goal to taste all gourmet food in the galaxy, was very curious about traditional dwarven cuisine. But I managed to spot some strangely wriggling meat within the provided ingredients, so we might be in for a surprise later. I better not let my guard down.
After a bit more, a spot was finally free, so we were guided there by the staff. May really stood out with her maid clothes. I may have to consider getting her some casual clothes too.
“Leave it to me. I’ll take you to a good place later as well.”
“Don’t worry, big brother. I’ll be sure to check the shop first.”
Whisker kept bowing beside Tina, who was sporting a cheeky grin. Nah, it’s fine y’know. It’s not like we’ll be forking out several thousands of Enels just for meals. When I took a look at this place’s menu, it seems the meals would cost 5 to 8 Enels per person. May didn’t need to eat, so I, Mimi, Elma, and the sisters made five people. The meals won’t exceed 100 Enels even if you include the side dishes and drinks.
“I’ll leave the orders to you guys. We’re not all familiar with the menu after all. I’ll have chilled tea or water for my drink.”
“I’ll have the same as Hiro-sama.”
“I guess I’ll go for some alcohol. What would go well with dwarf-yaki?”
“Beer is the usual fare, but I personally recommend watered-down dwarven sake or a highball.”
“I prefer dwarven ochawari.”
“Okay. I guess I’ll go for a highball then. You two will have drinks as well, right?”
“Of course–”
“B-I-G S-I-S?”
“–I’ll have some tea. We’re banned from drinking liquor for two weeks after all. Yeah.”
“Is that so? I guess I’ll refrain from drinking this time then. I’ll get some chilled tea or water as well.”
Tina already forgot about the two-week liquor ban huh. It’s an official punishment by the company, so I believe breaking it would have some serious consequences. Whisker’s aura when she reprimanded Tina was kinda overwhelming.
“Mistress, we’ll have three orders of pork and squid sets and six orders of chilled tea!”
“Right away–!”
Tina yelled her order in a loud voice, and the dwarven mistress at the counter responded right away. By the way, the mistress looked like a classic legal loli, so it kinda looked like two kids having a cheerful exchange. It honestly threw me off a bit.
“That’s quite old-fashioned.”
“Well, fiddling with a tablet for things like this feels kinda off y’know. It’s not like everything’s better if it’s high-tech.”
“I feel that’s not something an engineer would normally say.”
“It’s because I’m an engineer. Why would you want to use a console for placing orders in a roundabout manner when it’s more efficient and less confusing to place orders directly?”
“I see.”
I kinda get it but kinda don’t at the same time. Before long, the restaurant mistress brought us a bowl containing the ingredients for making dwarf-yakis as well as our drinks.
“Thank you for waiting. Here are your orders.”
“Thanks a bunch. Here are your drinks, everyone.”
After handing out all the drinks, Tina held her glass cup aloft.
“Okay then. To our meeting with each other! Cheers!”
“Chee〜rs!”
What’s with the Ondo-like singsong voices? Oh well. I don’t want to ruin the atmosphere, so I refrained from making such a quip. Let’s just enjoy the dwarf-yaki, shall we?
Komentar Chapter (0)
Login buat ikut berkomentar.
Belum ada komentar di chapter ini. Jadi yang pertama!