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fantranslatorbychoice · 2 years

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Kakuriyo no Yadomeshi Volume 6 Chapter 9 - Tenjin-ya's Autumn Festival

T/N: I hope you like this chapter, it's my "Britney's back, bicth" reappearance, my Nihongo got a bit wonked-out but I hope you all still enjoy this. Also it's a double-upload so please do take a seat, it's gonna be a roller-coaster ride y'all.

As always, if you like this translation, you can heart it, SHARE THE LINK, reblog. You can rave about this, rant about this, reply, etc. but if you can, please link back to this page. If you’re unsure how to do that, just copy the web address of this page. If you’re on a blogsite just insert the web address as a hyperlink to create a link back to this page. I just respectfully ask to NOT REPOST OR REUPLOAD THIS ELSEWHERE. Thank you very much.

This is my contribution to the scant English content of this fandom, and I worked really hard to finish this thing, it’s not like I just copy-pasted everything on some AI-translating site. I even had to build the kanji in Jisho one by one if I need to. Try it here and you’ll see what I mean.

Honestly if this light novel was officially-published in English, I wouldn’t even be doing this right now... And if it did, especially if it was sanctioned, I’d take this down to support the publishers and Yuuma-sensei. Creators support creators, is what I believe in.

If I still have enough energy to do it, I’ll prolly do 1-5 once 6-10 has been done, or however long I can manage to translate the raw texts, sometimes my soul gets absorbed by some entity and I have to get it back piece by piece lol.

As previously-mentioned in earlier chapters, if you stumbled upon this one, the two seasons of the anime covered volumes 1-5, so other than the extra details, you didn’t miss much stuff. Believe me, I sped-run them with 50% comprehension then rewatched the anime, and they're more or less the same.

OK here it goes, enjoy~

P267 It's the end of October. In Utsushiyo, there is an event called "Halloween" which is associated with wearing costumes, I wonder if it's festive and lively and huge right now?

But then again, this is Kakuriyo. For countless days now, Tenjin-ya has been celebrating the bountiful harvests in the Autumn Festival. Because this is the biggest autumn event in here, this time around it was gossiped about that Tenjin-ya will be celebrating it differently than before.

As per Ginji-san's suggestion, Tenjin-ya's interior as well as the gardens were decorated with Japanese-style pumpkin lanterns lighted up by ogre-fire.

Maps were given to guests at the front desk, which guide them in finding the flashy lanterns placed at the service station and resting areas where the employees are gathered as they give away sweets and snacks.**

Pumpkin lanterns are considered rare in Kakuriyo, and with an event that seems like treasure-hunting in the underworld, it was a very popular event enjoyed by both adults and children.

Only one other place was also decorated with the pumpkin lanterns as a rest stop, and that is Yugao.

Here, aside from the usual sweets given out to everyone, Kasuga and I also give out the newly-developed product "Hell-juu".

This is because this product is being promoted and advertised as a "revolutionary" and "pioneering" product.

T/N: In Japan, anything labeled as お菓子 (o-kashi) are considered as tiny snacks, not limited to sweets but also small amounts of salty and savory stuff like 煎餅 (senbei - rice crackers)

P268 Since this year's opening for the Autumn Festival hasn't started yet, along with the tea time business operations, I was just sitting outside Yugao where tea is usually prepapred, as I was making a list of fun Autumn sweets that Yugao can offer to customers.

Right now, this is the food and snack lineup for sale in Yugao: -> Sweet potato and purple yam ice cream -> Buttercream-filled bread rolls with raisin and walnut -> Melt-in-your-mouth persimmon pudding (with persimmon leaf tea)

Since in Utsushiyo sweets are a big hit during Halloween, I also took a great liberty to do them too. And surprisingly, the bread rolls filled with buttercream and with raisins and walnuts were especially well-received by so many.

The grapes that we picked from the fruit orchard were hung behind Yugao, in order to make raisins. These raisins, along with the roasted walnuts were mixed with homemade buttercream**, and then turning them into an easily-consumable hand-held cream bread roll.

When I made the buttercream by hand, it felt nostalgic, I missed how the sweetness and how it feels in my mouth was to my liking. The full cream feels very different from the raisins and the walnuts, it wasn't a distasteful mix at all, and it makes them even prominent from the sidelines.

Since it tastes better when fresh from the oven, we had a label up that says "we bake them as you order them".

"Oh my, Kasuga-chan, since when did you switch to working at Yugao?" "I thought you already quit being a Tenjin-ya employee?"

T/N: Please never make homemade buttercream with your bare hands, unless your hands and arms are buff AF. Use a mixer ALWAYS. A message of concern from someone who HAD TO DO IT BY HAND and now has PTSD. The pain wasn't worth it. T_T

P269

Yugao's regular customers who came by during tea time were shocked to see that Kasuga was at work. Nobody knows though, that today was inevitably Kasuga's last day working at Tenjin-ya.

"Ahaha, but it's not bad working as a sales lady in a sweets' shop, you know?"

She doesn't show it in her innocent smile, but Kasuga does everything that she can to keep on serving each and every one of the customers, ceaselessly ushering them in and giving them what they need.

With that going on, I was able to concentrate on making the dishes, and the rounds in the shop went on smoothly.

More than anything else that I was grateful for, was Kasuga's know-how when it comes to serving guests. She even taught Ai-chan how to politely interact with the customers. Even though Ai-chan now regularly appears at the shop, she's still a beginner and likely will make mistakes. To Ai-chan that is more of a support, every now and then we give her some advice.

To be honest, the more that she moves the more she gets the hang of it, and the more she gets the hang of it, the more that she gets motivated to work.

So far it seems that whatever she sees, she does it in a similar manner. That is something that employees at Tenjin-ya learn from their superiors - cultivated by the toiling and grinding for so many years, this is by any means not a very easy thing to do nor learn by anyone's standards.**

Doing so much work, running so much errands... is this day ever gonna end...? Aaaarggh..

Kasuga keeps saying "this is too much" as she keeps running to and from here in the kitchen, urgently taking orders, relaying the information to me, and getting exhausted doing so.

T/N: Double negatives are really a pain in the arse I tell you. Arrrrggh lol

P270 "Aoi-shaaaa~n, please give me pumpkin sheeee~ds"

Before opening up for the evening's business hours, it was crunch time for prepping the ingredients. Kasuga and I arranged the chairs outside, while Chibi, who turned the pumpkin lanterns into a playground, was begging for pumpkin seeds.

"Why are you asking for pumpkin seeds?"

"They're delicioussssh~"

Because we used up so many pumpkins today, we have a lot of pumpkin seeds.

Giving him some pumpkin seeds from the kitchen, Chibi holds one and starts gnawing it with his beak, skillfully picking out the contents to eat.

Somehow, he looks like a hamster eating a sunflower seed...

But, just as Chibi was about to take the last bite, for some reason it seemed, he was starting to behave like he had an intense dilemma, and he stopped eating the seed.

"What? What's the matter? Is that a nasty-tasting seed?"

"This pumpkin sheeeed, If I plant thissss under the willow tree, I'm going to help it grow. Then when it bearssssh fruits, Aoi-shan will make me a dish from it. And the sheeeds... I will eat them."

Wait, wait, what's going on?

After immediately running towards the willow tree, Chibi using his webbed fingers started digging and tearing up the ground, and with some skills he has planted the seed into the ground. Well, for sure he can grow it like that, but...

"Wh-?"

P271

And in that exact moment, on the other side of the willow tree...

Within the inner garden some mysterious movement was happening, which was a young couple, and when I noticed them I called over saying

"Is something the matter?", to which they immediately came towards me.

"Uhm... have you seen an item that has been dropped around here?"

"A missing item? What is it that you have lost?"

"Uhm, that is... A silver bracelet..."

After asking them about it, it seemed like the young couple was newly wedded, and had their honeymoon here in Tenjin-ya.

They were a very typical young couple. According to the young bride, it was a silver bracelet that her own mother had bequeathed her before she got married.

It seemed that it got lost somewhere around pumpkin lanterns, and they have been going around and around the pumpkin lanterns in order to find it.

Even though it was supposed to be a very special occasion, the young bride looked so pitiful, with her face full of so much worry and anxiety. Could it possibly be that Yugao may have caught sight of that bracelet...?

"There, there! Tenjin-ya has a Lost and Found, maybe they have it in there? They probably have it there already, they always find all of the guests' lost items, for sure. I'll lead the way over there, ok?"

Hearing our conversation, Kasuga immediately popped over and courteously lead the young couple while saying "this way please".

I saw that the young bride smiled to her husband with a sigh of relief.

P272

As expected of Kasuga, isn't she is a clever, competent employee?

"I have so much concerns, but by leaving everything else to Kasuga, I don't have to worry so much. Then I only have to give it my all with my cooking." I'll need to add more items to Yugao's regular menu, and I am not limiting it to this year's Autumn Festival specials.

-> Crunchy salad made with lightly-pickled pumpkin topped with the Southern Lands' tuna -> Assorted Tempura Platter (Pumpkin, Chicken), garnished with Kimon's famous product, pumpkin -> White fish and autumn vegetables simmered in a thick sauce - A rare set meal, featuring Odanna-sama's homegrown autumn eggplant

But, the most special menu item, which is also served to guests as appetizers, is the Pumpkin and Soy Milk Potage. Foremost, because it has shredded onions and homemade bacon, which was stir-fried with care.

This brings out the umami taste of the shredded onions and homemade bacon, and the bite-sized pumpkin slices' flavor explodes into the whole soup as it boils and simmers down.

"Aoi-san, thank you for your hard work." "Oh, Ginji-san, thanks for the hard work."

Ginji-san was making his rounds in Yugao, he was in the middle of executing his plans and arranging the setups, when the potage was just about ready.

For the sake of drawing up the plans while still doing his management duties, Ginji-san seems so busy even for today.

But, as expected, you can't even see tiredness in the fresh and lively smiles of Ginji-san.

"Ginji-san, it seems that your well-though plan was a huge success. Everyone seems to be enjoying it."

P273

"Oh, it's not like that. It's just that it happened to be dark when we set things up for the guests. It would have been easier to hold the entire event during daylight hours but... The lanterns' lights won't show up. But if it was held during the evening, then it slowly becomes more and more Halloween-y. The pumpkin lanterns' lights are seen even from above Tenjin-ya's skies."

"Ahhh, then that's wonderful. Even I myself think that it already has the best Halloween vibes. But then again, the Ayakashi world already seems Halloween-y, so I don't know if that translates well..."

Originally meant to be held as a talisman against evil spirits during Halloween, it has changed, and the pumpkin lantern is now used as a fun decoration for Halloween by common folk and travelers alike.

Increasingly, due to the avoidance and ignorance of magic among humans, the ayakashi have slowly warmed up to the idea of pumpkin lanterns and see them as something fun.

Even Jack-O-Lanterns can surely make anyone in the underworld cry.

“By the way, Aoi-san, the pumpkin smells good, doesn't it?"

"Yes, and it's also because of the pumpkin potage I made. I'm going to put a lot of soy milk when I make it, so it easily goes down the throat, and it's healthy too."

"Ohhh, that sounds delicious."

I placed all of the sauteed onions, bacon, and boiled pumpkin in a see-through mixing bowl** and mixed it all in. Once it has turned into a paste, I was helped by Ginji-san as I strained all of the contents.

Once it got a smooth consistency, I placed it back again in a pot to boil while adding a lot of soy milk.

By using soy milk instead of cow's milk, it stands out by tasting as refreshing and as mellow as a stickleback.

T/N: The transliteration was "goldfish bowl mixing bowl" but that sounds so unsanitary so I made it boring lol

P274

The bacon's umami has already dissolved, and I was putting a small amount of salt and pepper for seasoning.

"Ginji-san, have some of these first before you go back to work. After all, you probably won't have much time eating tonight, don't you?"

"Yay, it's a good thing I waited."

I poured some of the pumpkin potage into a bowl, and handed it to Ginji-san.

"Ah, after this please have some of the bread rolls. There's still a bit left of the canned tuna, so I could make you some tuna salad sandwich."

"Wow, really? Then I'm gonna eat a lot! It's because canned tuna is my all-time favorite!"

"Ohhh is that so? Alright, please have some potage while I go fix you one."

There was still a bit left of the prepared shredded onions, so I quickly stir-fried them, divided some into a bowl and added some canned tuna to mix. I added a bit of pepper to the homemade mayo, then some soy sauce to make simple flavoring .

The canned tuna from the Southern Lands, was very much different from the canned tuna sold in Utsushiyo, the flesh feels more sturdy and I could feel it as I mix, mix, mix the ingredients altogether...

"Hm.. I think this is ready and good to go."

After cutting the bread roll in half, I took a bit of the flavored mayo and added that to the bread roll, after which I added the tuna with stir-fried onions. That's it. Simple is best. That.. is the only thing needed to make a really good tuna sandwich.

T/N: Just a reminder that this is not a cookbook but yeah you can try the recipes out. I am not liable for any mishaps lol

P275

Even as he was sitting on the counter where I handed his sandwich, Ginji-san didn't seem to be holding back. He just sank his teeth into the tuna-filled bread roll. After chewing it noisily, he took a gulp of the potage.

"Hmmm, this is so delicious! The crunch of the stir-fried onions are still there! The saltiness of the tuna goes so well with the spiciness of the onions. This unsophisticated bread roll, along with the sweetness of the potage, they work exceptionally well together, don't they?"

"It seems like it. Nobody can hold back from a simple tuna sandwich, it will be the death of working people."

Unlike other dishes that are a hassle to make, this one is delicious yet really simple. These days I just enjoy eating a lot of sandwiches like that, but because I have been eating that since I was a child, it has been my long time cherished food.

So this is how it is, using a bread roll. Somehow, this gives of the feeling of elementary school food back in the day.

And yet, Ginji-san seems to have enjoyed eating it so much...

"Wahhh, this light snack has filled and warmed up my entire body, it was really delicious. Now I can go back to working at my best!"

Wow, it seemed that Ginji-san was really hungry back there. I'm gonna tell him that he can come again to eat when he has some free time later.

"Oh, right, I just remembered. The pumpkins that you used for the potage, aren't those the ones grown by Odanna-sama himself? It's truly mysterious, he even started growing that pumpkin that he hates so much."

"But.. surely, I think that even Odanna-sama will eventually come to like this potage."

And just like that, even though Ginij-san was still smiling, his gaze quickly dropped down.

P276

It was a quick reaction. I wonder if he's worried about something...

"Kyaaaaaa! Please stop it Kasuga, please stoooop!"

That came as a surprise. Out of nowhere, shrieks can be heard from outside.

"That voice... It's the Ookami-sama!"

What on earth is happening? Ginji-san and I went out to take a look.

It seems that there's some commotion at the main building, and at the west tower a multitude of waiters and waitresses were gathered around the one-eyed Ookami-sama. It was so noisy that the guests have also started to notice it.

"What is going on here, may I ask?" "Oh, Wakadanna-dono, that girl Kasuga, please make her stop!" In a very shrill voice the Ookami-sama begged and clung onto Ginji-san.

What the, Kasuga is on the roof of the western tower. Both Ginji-san and I were shocked.

"Wh-what's the matter Kasuga? What on earth are you doing over there?!"

"K-kasuga-san! It's dangerous up there, please go down in a safer place!"

Hearing our voices down below, Kasuga glanced toward us and took all of her voice out

"Uhm..."

"It was a crow. It was a crow that took our guests' silver bracelet. Please wait, I'll

P277

go down as soon as I can."

"Oh... that crow! That crow that took my kanzashi a while back!"

For sure, at the top of that western building, that one, shameless, impudent crow, whose looks we all despise. On its beak there was something glittery, could that be the guests' silver bracelet?

It seems that when Kasuga found out about it, she climbed all the way up the tower in order to get it back.

But whenever Kasuga was about to move, it seems like she's about to slip her feet and fall down, and it does not bode her well.

"Aaaahhhh! Kasuga please stop it right now! If something happens to you I will not be responsible!!!"

Ookami-sama is now starting to lose her wits.

As if it was normal though, Kasuga just said "Shhh, be quiet" and started focusing her attention to what she was doing. But the crow being a crow, it started darting back and forth towards Kasuga as if she was an idiot. It seems to be relishing the whole commotion.

"AAAAAH!"

"K-kasuga!"

That crow swatted at Kasuga's head and this caused her balance to break, slipping over the roof tiles and sending her down.

P278

Everyone started shrieking out loud. The Ookami-sama somehow lost her spirits, while being supported by the waitresses as they sat in that place and dealt with the whole incidence.

But Kasuga's fingertips were able to stay in place, and while keeping her body in balance, she was able to climb up on the roof again.

Eventually, Ginji-san said "I'm coming to help you" and just when it seemed that he was changing into his giant fox form while saying "Please hang on-"

"Aaaaah!"

From behind, on the other side someone tightly grabbed Ginji-san's third tail from the right, which was hanging down. Because of that, he didn't transform completely, and he ended up with his baby fox form.

When he looked back, he saw that O-ryo's face was looking at him relentlessly.

"Wakadanna-sama, this is none of your business. This is something that Kasuga must follow through on her own."

"But.. But O-ryo!"

"Aoi, just shut up and watch."

O-ryo, what the heck are you even thinking right now?

On the other hand, poor Ginji-san seems to be dejected. Humiliated as he is, he casually hid behind me as he trembled and shook. So it was true that the third tail from the right was really weak...

P279

"Kasuga!"

From yonder, O-ryo's voice reached Kasuga who was still on the roof.

"It's our guests' important missing item you know. Don't let that crow get away with it!"

"O-ryo sama..."

Everyone in there had no idea why O-ryo would say such things.

Kasuga was being made to retrieve the guests' silver bracelet.

Ookami-sama shrieked out "What on earth are you even saying!!", but O-ryo just flat out ignored her screams, and when Kasuga looked at O-ryo, she immediately understood, she looked like she braced herself tightly as she started climbing back onto the roof again.

"Ouch!"

The crow, while still holding the bracelet in its beak, started attacking Kasuga furiously.

As Kasuga kept crying "Ouch! Ouch!" in hushed tones while the crow was relentlessly attacking her outstretched hand, she pulled out something from inside her kimono.

"Look here, This is the "Hell-juu" that Aoi-chan made~ It's delicious~"

"..."

"What in the.. Kasuga was carrying a concealed "Hell-juu"?

Kasuga realized it in an instant, when the crow's eyes started twinkling, and she didn't miss the opportunity to use the "Hell-juu" as bait, and flung the manjuu.

P280

The crow opened its beak wide, and perfectly caught it.

On its beak it replaced the silver bracelet, which dropped and rolled down, down down from the roof.

"No, wait!"

The bracelet has dangerously rolled off the roof, someone needs to chase after and grab hold of it but...

Good thing she was surrounded by the west tower's walls, Kasuga already leapt off the roof and and shot off into the sky.

This was a scary feat, and as Kasuga was clutching the bracelet in her bosom, her true form was revealed, and in an instant, on the chimney, there stood a tiny tanuki.

"Ohhh, Kasuga!"

Nobody dared close their eyes.

Even though she wasn't swayed, O-ryo kept watching over Kasuga.

"Nice job, Kasuga!"

O-ryo swung her sleeves, and rolled up a really powerful snowstorm.

The snowstorm wrapped up and cradled tiny tanuki Kasuga, the air gently softened the impact and she fell onto the ground with a plop.

Kasuga got covered by the snow and was shivering, and she fell on her ribboned backside. We had no idea if she got any major injuries.

"Kasuga.. Are you cold?"

P281

She was asked by O-ryo, who had a daunting stance in front of her.

Kasuga, while still shivering, slowly opened her cute, round eyes.

It was because O-ryo was looking at her without much concern.

"When you had no choice but to bear that cold, before you looked like a tiny tanuki that was being pelted on by the harsh cold winds of the northern lands, if that happens you'll instantly get frozen up. A frozen tanuki..., When you look like that, little by little... You'd look like a pudgy, stumpy, cute little tanuki!"

Upon saying those words, O-ryo looked up in the sky as her face became distorted.

With her hands on her waist, she remarkably looked very elated.

"Even though back home I hated being a snow lady, the snow folk families are very tight-knit and clannish. You'll think that we're cold, lonely, and harsh but... Please don't imagine us like that. Even though you're a shivering tanuki, you won't get looked at without getting any pity."

"O-ryo..."

In the end, no one else was more worried about Kasuga than O-ryo.

Because she knew about so much stuff on the northern lands and the snow folk, she had always been so worried about Kasuga going to live there...

That's why when she said that she was quitting work and getting married off to live there, O-ryo had a very strong stance against it.

"Wahhh, O-ryo sama!!!"

P282

With a pop, Kasuga returned to her human girl form, and hugged O-ryo's waist.

For sure, it helped that O-ryo expressed her thoughts, and once again it was reassuring.

It must have been so awkward for the revered O-ryo, but it seemed that Kasuga was someone she was deeply concerned about.

O-ryo hasn't said anything yet, but only kept patting Kasuga's head.

The crimson twilight has appeared, and it was a memorable sight, the two's silhouettes hugging each other.

That O-ryo has always been selfish and gets her way, but not right now, for she is supporting her kouhai and sending her off, and now she appears as the wonderful sempai attendant.

"Well, now hurry off to return the guests' bracelet. What a pity, they couldn't find it so for sure they're in the lobby all depressed."

"Oh, right!"

"And after you're done here, go to the banquet hall that I'm in charge of, up until the end I will make you word hard."

"Heeeeyy, even though right now, Kasuga is helping at Yugao?!"

"Hee hee hee. Too bad, Aoi. Give us Kasuga. From the very start she has always been my subordinate."

Even though Kasuga was bewildered, I gave up and put up a bitter-sweet smile at her saying "Well, we can't do anything about that", and even as she wore a burdened smile at me, she hurried back to the lobby quickly.

And without missing a beat, that woman O-ryo called out to all the onlooking attendants and said "Alright everybody, back to work!" and directed and

P283

guided everyone on what to do as they went back to the main hall. Even that Ookami-sama went back while she was shaking and trembling...

After seeing what happened, no matter what anyone says, I believe that O-ryo is still skilled at being a Wakaookami.

Every since the beginning, that has always been what Kasuga knows.

And even until now, she still believes it.

"Aoi-san, it seems that even for today, it's busy hasn't it?"

Ginji-san, who was still in his tiny fox form, at my heels, spoke out cheerfully.

I picked up Ginji-san and held him in my arms.

"Heheh, well, it is. But.. Ai-chan learned so many things from Kasuga, Yugao will just continue business as usual."

"Well, if my abilities weren't so limited, I would be going there to help out too. I know that I have no business saying this, but during the time that Kasuga was in Yugao, I felt a bit lonely."

"Aww, really now? But I think that if Ginji-san's workload decreased, you'd be very happy, won't you? But if you're there, you'd still be worried."

While petting his fluffy tails, we looked at each other and stifled a laugh. Well, nightfall is drawing near.

All around Tenjin-ya, the pumpkin lanterns' lights grew even brighter.

P284

And in a few moments, Yugao's evening business hours will be starting.

A few guests will appear here and there and would start lining up in front of Yugao, so we need to get back quickly.

x-x-x

That day's business hours was booming.

There were no unexpected increase in customers, it was an announced event and everything went successfully just as planned, all of the ingredients were properly allotted and there was no shortage. It was very busy, but Ai-chan and Chibi were there, and thankfully Ginji-san occasionally pops right in to help, and up until closing hours the rounds in the shop went well without a hitch.

The huge number of guests were also due to the advertisements in the souvenir shops, and it was something worth celebrating for.

"Whew, finally it has ended. Ai-chan and Chibi you're both tired too, let's go to sleep!"

After business hours, Yugao was empty and we were done cleaning up after the day.

With her head facing up, Ai-chan was out like a light and was fast asleep in the corner of the tatami seating room. I brought a blanket from the kitchen and covered her up with it. Even though she easily falls asleep these days, now she easily doesn't go back into the pendant, and I call that progress.

Beside her was Chibi sleeping soundly again with a swelling snot bubble.

Ginji-san has left Yugao afterwards, surely after the events it will still be busy,

P285

and it always has been the case.

There were still huge celebrations outside. A huge pumpkin lantern with ogre lights is flying on top of Tenjin-ya, it looks like there's still a show going on.

I'm sure that it looks very pretty. It's very much visible but, I can't see it from here so....

"Aoi, thank you for your hard work."

"Oh..."

The sliding door to Yugao opened, and it was Odanna-sama.

I did promise to do something, he probably came in to remind me.

"Why do you look so surprised?"

"Not really... Aren't you busy? I feel bad, I didn't know that you'll be coming here..."

"Oh, well an invitation from Aoi is very generous. At this time of the night it already has been empty and closed. Even my stomach is already empty."

"Aww.. Well, I apologize for that."

However, I was glad that he came.

Because I was on a quest to help Odanna-sama overcome his difficulty with pumpkins, and I did my best in researching pumpkin recipes for him.

P286

"Sit over at the counter. Oh.. Now that we're looking at it, it feels weird that Odanna-sama has come to Yugao to eat."

"You're saying that now that I've finally come here?"

"..."

"While I was going here, I didn't hear anybody saying any complaints about it."

Probably, but...

If Odanna-sama has been going here to Yugao from the very beginning, it would seem that, with his position, in the eyes of the other employees, he is showing some favoritism, I think.

During those times, even if that guy didn't say anything, even if I didn't know about it, we were just following protocol.

"Oh, uhm... I want Odanna-sama to try eating some deep-fried meat patty with pumpkin.

"Deep-fried meat patty with pumpkin? Hm... I haven't heard of that kind of food before."

Some food he never had before, and pumpkin, these made Odanna-sama in some way, very nervous.

While holding his pose he went over to the side counter, and I could only gaze at him from the side.

"It's image is similar to a croquette made out of pumpkin. I didn't sell any in the shop today, this is a dish I made exclusively for Odanna-sama behind the scenes. There's a lot of meat, and the meat patty has some spicy peppers."

P287

"Being an exclusive recipe.. That's so much like a wife, I'm so glad."

"What? Which part?"

"But a meat patty with spicy peppers... Uhm.... I don't know how that would taste like."

Odanna-sama's face says it all... Pumpkins that are supposedly sweet mixed with meat and chilli peppers.. I dunno how that goes.

"You wait right there. I'll make you something. Oh, also have some of the potage I made."

I heated up the potage I made, and placed it in a small bowl. I made Ginji-san some bread rolls to add to his, but for Odanna-sama I made some garlic croutons out of the bread crusts and added it on top.

Holding his spoon, while looking confused, Odanna-sama took a spoonful of the potage in his mouth.

"Mmm.. I didn't imagine that it's easy to drink. I imagined it would be thick, but it's goes down smoothly."

"I strained it many times. After adding a lot of soymilk, I added simple seasonings to it."

"What are these things that seem to be afloat?"

"Those are croutons. Is this your first time eating them? I added some garlic and salt to some cold bread crusts, cut them into tiny pieces, and toasted them on the stove. It adds a nice salty taste, and I think it keeps the soup's sweetness more interesting."

"Oh.. You're right. This is good. I could readily drink all of this!"

The garlic's flavor was effective, and the croutons were crunchy. The aroma and the texture, it seemed that Odanna-sama

P288

enjoyed the potage.

It seems that he has already drank all of the potage up, I should make him the deep-fried patty now.

While I was about to start cooking, Chibi, who was sleeping beside Ai-chan, woke up, and went towards Odanna-sama.

"Saaaay Ogre-shaaaan, how do you grow a huuuuge pumpkin?"

"Hmm?"

Chibi started climbing onto Odanna-sama's sleeve, and started asking him on how to grow pumpkins.

That little one, he got passionate for growing pumpkins.

Odanna-sama being an Odanna-sama, happily started talking about and teaching Chibi about how to plant pumpkins. It seemed that he suddenly bonded with Chibi as an older brother, like a commander of vegetable farmers and holding secrets...

Well, Odanna-sama can take care of Chibi on the side, and I will be making the deep-fried meat patty with pumpkin.

While the pumpkin gets soft and mushy as it's being boiled, I'll make some other dishes, and I already prepared the ingredients.

I finely chopped some onions and stir-fried them, and mixed these with both pork and beef in a bowl, and added the pumpkin and an egg yolk after that, then splashed some soymilk in, and kept mixing everything until it has gotten very sticky.

Then I made some sauces for flavoring, some salt and pepper, seven-spice and chili peppers, and a spoonful each of secret ingredients: mayonnaise and ketchup.

Now it's just like frying your usual fried food. The meat was shaped into a round patty, and dipped these in flour, beaten egg and panko crumbs,

P289

and fried them in oil.

The sauce is also conventional. Homemade ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, with roasted sesame seeds were mixed together.

The deep-fried meat patty is now well-done. I made Chibi's tiny meat patty while I was at it.

I piled a huge amount of shredded cabbage on a plate, and arranged two large pieces of fried patty.

I placed a lot of the sauces in another container, so that anyone can add whatever they like.

In another bowl, I added the pumpkin soup and croutons plentifully.

To make it really into the delicious flavors of autumn, I stir-fried some mustard spinach greens and some eggplant with some soy sauce. I added some eggplants harvested from Odanna-sama's vegetable patch.

Since the soup has already been drank up, I made the meal a lot more deluxe by adding some broth made out of matsutake mushrooms.

"Odanna-sama, now I'm thinking of choosing, between plain white rice or rice and barley, which one would you prefer?"

"Oh, really? It has been a while since I ate rice and barley."

"As expected, rice and barley are a better match with fried food."

I mixed the barley and rice then boiled it. Even though newly-harvested plain rice tastes better, as the barley is being cooked and mixed, its added texture makes it stand out and the rice even more fun to eat.

P290

While the rice and barley are cooking, more pumpkin dishes. I added some lightly-pickled pumpkin for garnishing.

"Thank you for waiting, Odanna-sama, here is our specially-made premium meal, deep-fried minced meat patty with pumpkin. I added a lot of pumpkin in the meat, please have a taste."

"...It looks delicious, what Aoi made..."

"You're saying that while you're sweating profusely..."

Even though a while ago he was drinking some soup.

I thought so, him having to deal with something difficult hasn't been brushed off.

"Aoi-shaaaan~, I wanna, I wanna eat some minced meat too~"

Chibi hopped onto the counter and started demanding by jumping up and down over and over again, I cut a piece of the minced meat small enough for a baby, placed it on a plate and put it in front of him.

"Okay you two, that is fresh off the fryer and very hot, the juices of the meat might ooze out, so be careful when you eat it."

At first, Odanna-sama took a sip of his matsutake soup, took a bit of the turnip garnish on the side, and well, with all his might gently took some of pumpkin minced meat.

"Ohhh!"

I knew it, the juicy meat was heart-pounding. As hot steam piped out, the pumpkin's pretty yellow color was intertwined with the coarsely-ground meat.

And despite that...

P291

"Mmmm... it tastes sweet, but also spicy? Is that.. seven-spice?"

While chewing, Odanna-sama had a surprised look on his face.

The crumbly pumpkin's sweetness, the meat and its juiciness filled with onions, and adding the seven-spice to make it spicy, it was made perfectly.

"The pumpkin tastes sweet, but the addition of the seven-spice gave it heat, it ties up all of the flavors. And because of the meat's juiciness, that alone makes the pumpkin's presence unnoticeable, doesn't it? No matter how you taste it, it just melts in your mouth."

"Oh... The meat's flavor rather than the pumpkin brings everything together. It's good, like after eating edamame. It's a perfect accent. It feels like eating pumpkin that I had difficulties with, I won't have any left-overs."

"Well, rather than forcing someone who finds it difficult to eat pumpkin, by adding other ingredients and lending their flavors, I think it becomes easier to eat. As for removing your difficulty in eating it, if you keep eating a lot of the food made to taste better and easier to eat, as you keep eating them you'll get used to it, right?"

"Woah, Aoi, you're a scheming person."

Odanna-sama started stifling off his amused laugh.

And once more, asking for another plate of the rice and barley, he filled his mouth with some pumpkin minced meat. Odanna-sama eats his food neatly, but when he takes a huge bite, at the end of the day he still eats like a man.

P292

"Oh, it was like what you were saying, Aoi. By adding light sauce to the minced meat, it's an added improvement to the rice and barley."

"Right? Oh, just looking at it makes me go hungry too."

"Is it alright if you eat beside me? You haven't eaten dinner, right?"

"Yup, but for today I thought I want to devote myself to serving Odanna-sama food and drinks.."

I tried averting my gaze, but then my stomach made a loud noise.

He tried to hold it in, but Odanna-sama couldn't hide the laughter in his face.

Ahhh, whatever! Stop reading how hungry I am!

"It's alright. You don't have to steel yourself in front of me."

"Normally I keep my composure, but what are you implying, Odanna-sama?"

Fiiine. I don't care, I'm gonna eat.

In my desperation, I arranged all my deluxe food in a plate, and sat beside Odanna-sama.

"I'm gonna eat now."

And with gusto, I partook of my food.

Mmm. it truly shows that autumn is the best season of good appetite. Just about everything in this season is really delicious.

Especially when I work a lot, whenever I eat food on an empty stomach, everything just tastes so good.

"Aoi, don't worry about how you're eating."

"Mmm?"

P293

My mouth was full of minced meat, so I replied with my mouth closed.

I saw that Odanna-sama's meal was half-finished in front of him.

"That is no different from everyone else. Food is something absolutely necessary for anybody to stay alive. Even if occasionally you can't eat something high-class and delightful, you need it to stay alive each day, and when you're eating a familial warm home-cooked meal, it just gives you that sensation of being alive."

"What are you talking about, Odanna-sama. You're exaggerating."

"Hmm. The meals that you call food, even if it's that one thing where you feel like you belong. It can be beside anybody, but it makes you feel like you can be vulnerable in that place, doesn't it?"

"Where you belong..."

I have heard that from Odanna-sama so many times...

After eating his meal with a gulp and drinking his fill, Odanna-sama showed the side of his face.

Working out those features, no matter how it looks like he smiles like a young boy.

And yet, despite that, it seems like he has another side to him...

"Hmph. Ginji describes your cooking as something that "makes ayakashi hearts go wild", and it seems like it. It looks like your cooking is no match to those whose hearts are obstinately closed."

"Is there anything that you want to tell me?"

I unabashedly asked.

P294

"Can we talk about something right now, just for a bit? But, this is something that is beyond what I normally would talk about. This is a secret belief among most ayakashi. And I feel very strongly about it."

"..But Odanna-sama, I don't get what this situation is all about..."

"Might you become angry at me?"

"I don't understand why I would be angry at Odanna-sama but, yes I would like to know more about what you're about to say."

When I thought that I was getting to understand this person bit by bit, it has become clear that everything about him seems so hazy that I can't see anymore.

Even though it feels like he wants to intensely keep me in suspense, I was just holding the fried minced meat patty with my chopsticks, empathically chewing it in my cheeks very slowly.

Even though these are the times when it seems like it's the most crucial moment, "It's fine, just keep eating", Odanna-sama says as it seems that he is still relaxed over the matter.

"Aoi..."

"What now? If you want dessert, it's in the fridge..."

"It's not that."

After drinking his after-meal tea**, Odanna-sama, with formalilty, placed an object in front of me.

What is this... a key?

It was a beautiful obsidian glass key.

It looked like a key that came out of a fairy-tale from a foreign land. And in those stories, it's a secret key.

"I want Aoi to keep this safe, for me."

"Me? Why...?"

T/N: As far as I am aware of, this might be an Asian thing, wherein after having meals it is custom to drink something like tea or hot water (Hi Steven’s Dad lolol) to aid in digestion. Some say it helps stave off calories, I say this just helps with the bloat.

P295

"I still have some stuff left to do, and I need to go to Youto as well. It seems that I'm still going to Youto to go out and do things. Well, think that I'm like in a business trip, dealing with so many part-time jobs here and there, as well as managing the matter regarding Kasuga. While I'm gone, if there's anything that you are concerned about, I won't know about it."

My eyes blinked back in surprise. If that's the case, why the key, and why me?

"This... What is this key for?"**

"That I cannot tell you. But, the thing is, if you really want to GET-TO-KNOW-MORE about me, and you have no other choices, then you have to find the place which that key unlocks.

"Uhm...?"

I wanna know. I don't wanna know.

I could see them in his eyes, those extreme mixed feelings, it seemed like these were fighting inside Odanna-sama.

Having those feelings while wearing a bitter-sweet smile, he pushed his hair behind his ears.

In an instant, the color of his eyes changed.

It wasn't warm, but it wasn't a cold gaze either, it seemed so captivating like a clear, empty sky.

"Aoi, you always say that you wanted to get to know more about me. But if you do get to know who I really am, I wonder, will you grow to hate me even more? That.. is what I am worried about. That is because, ultimately, I am still an ogre."

"Odanna-sama?"

T/N: LOL how about the key to your heart lololol do I look like I care lol ofc I do fam. Don't we all lol

P296

A while ago, I asked those words. I was wondering what good things to say, and Odanna-sama went "I have to leave in a bit." as he stood up. Oh no, the dessert... I missed my chance to give some for him to eat.

"I have been pleased with the food, Aoi. Thanks to you, my impression on the pumpkin that I had difficulty eating has been changed. Aoi's home-cooked meals, somehow you have made me eat some. As expected from my housewife."

And from a new wife it suddenly became a housewife. "Ahahaha" While finally laughing, Odanna-sama petted my head while saying "There, there, there". In a moment, he saw my kanzashi, but he didn't say anything in particular, and in a bit he pulled away his hand. "Well then, Aoi" While my head was tousled, I sent off Odanna-sama as he left Yugao. In front of Yugao's shop curtain, the black haori fluttering from that height, dissolving into the darkness and disappearing... That height was really tall. In all of Tenjin-ya, the multitudes of Ayakashi couldn't reach that height.** And yet, why this time, his back seems secluded and a little solitary... W... Wait, Odanna-sama!" "..."

T/N: Supposedly, ogres or Oni were very tall, like super-tall, they're not exactly giants but they're tall-ish Youkai, like the tallest, hence in both the anime and the covers of the light novels, Odanna-sama is illustrated as the tallest dude in the bunch. Unless he's on covert ninja mode. Still tall though.

P297 Weirdly I felt impatient, and I ran out, and grabbed Odanna-sama's kimono. Odanna-sama turned his head. I abruptly raised my face, and I stared at him with assertion. "I... I like, Odanna-sama." ".. .what? Aoi?" "I trust, Odanna-sama"

Odanna-sama slowly opened his eyes and stared. Shocked, his mouth slacked open and was about to say something, but it seemed that he couldn't say anything. What "like" means, it's like "love" but I don't know it yet. My emotions kept getting intense.

"Odanna-sama, a while ago didn't you tell me? When everyone in Tenjin-ya was judging me... confidently, you said that I was a person who can give my all and win. When I made a small mistake, you didn't put me down..." How much can one be happy, hearing those words? How much relief can it give?

"It's also the same with Odanna-sama. Now I can trust Odanna-sama, and continuously, from the sidelines give support. In the most crucial moments I'll come to your side. I'll help you. No matter how many times..." Almost certainly, even my young self would. But, even though it's different, Odanna-sama has already saved me countless times. . P298 My trust in that person, is enough.

"That is why, whatever I'll find out, I will not hate Odanna-sama!"

That was all, I thought I have conveyed what I needed to say. Odanna-sama's red eyes, it only got wrapped in a surprised expression, and little by little it started flickering. With my question, his mouth opened again. But... Not one word came out.

Odanna-sama pulled my waist closer, and that mouth that spun words, blocked mine.

"..."

The passion was so deep and vast, the extent of feeling and not feeling, everywhere felt so light, it was so unexpected, and in an instant my mind went blank.

When our lips pulled away, the feeling of a warm and moist breath, other than understanding what just happened, the corners of my eyes became hot. I couldn't blink because of that.

"Na.... O, Oda... what?" My pulse suddenly became fast. Normally I would've been angry, but I was

P299 more surprised than angry, and my words became incoherent.

In spite of not feeling anything easily, I couldn't say anything. I burned and blushed, I was embarrassed to have my red-as-an-apple face seen. I instantly covered my face with my palms. Me being like that, Odanna-sama hugged me tightly, and whispered in my ear.

"..." "Aoi. Undoubtedly, you'll become my wife."

"..." "From the bottom of my heart, I revere you."

I don't get it. Why those words? In that moment, those came out of Odanna-sama's mouth.

It's easier to say "I like you", but right now, after so long a time, it deeply pierced and cut through me. Although, it did touch my heart a little bit.

Beyond Odanna-sama's wide shoulders, I realized that I could see him amidst the darkness.

And with that, the lightly-floating moon hid itself in the navy blue sky, and somehow it got dimmer.

End of Chapter 9, Volume 6. Previous - Intermission 3 Next - Chapter 10.

References:

Wonderful site for the youkai references

Other stuff I used to do this: Kodansha Kanji Learner’s Dictionary (you can buy here, I’m not sponsored btw). I was about to buy the older edition but then the newer one came out 2013 so I bought that instead. Worth buying since I was able to find nearly all of the words I needed just by stroke pattern alone.

Merriam-Webster's Japanese-English Dictionary (the red-covered 1996 version is apparently out of print right now). This is what I have been using for a very long time, I bought it when I was still a fetus (yes I am old so what lol), and after so many years, when compared to newer editions, I still prefer this one since its entirety is Japanese-English, the English to Japanese gloss are just 16 pages tops, so you get more Japanese words for your buck. But that’s just my opinion, maybe other people prefer the Jap-En x En-Jap IDEK.

Basic online dictionary, Jisho. Knowledge of verb conjugations and other words are necessary since not all have entries.

If you can read Japanese, you can buy the whole set in Amazon Japan, they’re shipping worldwide now, I think.

#kakuriyo no yadomeshi #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english translation #kakuriyo no yadomeshi english fan translation #kakuriyo no yadomeshi light novel english #kakuriyo no yadomeshi volume 6 chapter 9

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yichentu-foodstory · 10 months

Text

南方味，南方情

“ 有時候，令人難忘的美味，並不完全來自於飯桌上的美食。很大部份是同桌共飯的美好陪伴，以及下了飯桌後，令人珍惜的一輩子情誼。”

傑夫是我搬來亞特蘭大第一個認識的朋友。我會認識他是剛搬來亞特蘭大因為沒有車，上下班都得 Uber，他成了我的專用司機。傑夫今年74 歲，在喬治亞州出生、大學搬去佛羅里達，主修喇叭演奏，不像他其他同學喜歡邁阿密的海灘風情，畢業後他還是搬回了亞特蘭大。他結過兩次婚，現在的老婆是個中國人，帶著一個10歲大的女兒從中國搬來跟他住。每天的載送過程，他都會跟我分享生活，包括他和中國太太的隔閡，繼女的學習成長等等，我們變成朋友，即便後來我不再需要搭 Uber 上班，還是保持聯絡。偶爾我會陪他去看電影，吃晚餐，或是划船。傑夫對美食不太有追求，早餐他會去星巴克跟朋友見面，吃一包堅果配一大杯健怡可樂、中餐則是三明治加上一包薯片、晚餐用微波食品就打發或吃太太煮的飯。

我問他喜歡太太的料理嗎？他跟我抱怨不敢吃那些「看起來不知道是什麼的肉的中國料理」 (據他的形容應該是內臟類的食材）。我又問他喜歡吃什麼？傑夫說，他喜歡義大利菜、中東菜、還有羊排，但最習慣的還是「南方菜」。

我以前住在紐約，��美國南方菜的印象不外乎是炸雞鬆餅 (chicken and waffles) ，BBQ，或是燉的軟爛的甘藍 (collard green) ，水煮罐頭四季豆 (steam string bean)。比起美食薈萃的紐約，南方料理不怎麼能夠吸引我的目光。搬來亞特蘭大後因為住在郊區，附近不外乎是 MacDonald’s，Chick-fil-A，PopEyes 這些連鎖快餐店，儘管有不少質量不錯的墨西哥、韓國、越南餐廳，但心中對亞特蘭大還是存有「美食沙漠」的偏見。

直到前陣子看了一篇文章才知道亞特蘭大其實在全美美食版圖中佔有一席之地，老牌的 Fox Bros Bar BBQ 餐廳的漢堡被華爾街日報挑選為全美前三名，海鮮餐廳 Fishmonger 則被 Bon Appetit 票選 2023 年全美最佳餐廳。除此之外，當然不能不提幾家老牌的南方菜餐廳，如以鹹香鬆軟的比斯吉，和酥脆多汁的炸雞聞名的 Buttermilk Kitchen。

這篇文章喚醒我沈睡已久的味蕾，我開始上 Eaters Atlanta 或是其他美食網站搜尋亞特蘭大美食，打算按圖索驥，一一拜訪。其中幾家主打「當代南方」餐廳讓我躍躍欲試，而以農夫餐桌(farm to table) 概念出發、融合南方料理烹調精髓的米勒聯盟 (Miller Union) 就在我的前五名單上。

米勒聯盟 (Miller Union) 是被紐約時報知名專欄作家Sam Sifton 冠上「青疏魔法師」(Vegetable Shaman) 的 Steven Satterfield 和 Neal McCarthy 在 2009 年創立的當代南方代表性餐廳。取名米勒聯盟 (Miller Union)，是因為餐廳地點過去曾是亞特蘭大知名的「米勒聯盟牲畜飼養場」(Miller Union Stockyards)，該牧場是在 1880 年代佔據亞特蘭大肉類加工區的整個街區，餐廳就設立在重新改造的舊有廢棄倉庫上。餐廳的菜餚根據季節不同來做變化，食材則購自當地小農，在一般常見的主菜中如燜燒排骨(braised short rib) 、烤里肌 (grilled pork loin)、牛排都不難看到南方料理的精神，配菜大都以南方料理常見的甘藍 (collard green) 、秋葵 (okara)、甜薯 (sweet potatoes) 來搭配，有時還見玉米粥 (grits)。

餐廳的另外一個亮點是做為「青疏魔法師」的 Steven Satterfield 對時蔬的烹飪用心，最受歡迎的前菜「雞蛋烘奶油芹菜醬」就以芹菜的清香佐平衡奶白醬的醇厚口感帶出雞蛋的滑嫩質地，簡單食材打造富含層次的味道讓美食家們讚不絕口。本身愛品酒的 Steven Satterfield 也在餐廳引進各式葡萄酒佐餐，餐廳還入圍 2019 年和 2020 年詹姆斯比爾德基金會「傑出葡萄酒計劃」決賽。近日，以法式加入南方、委內瑞拉元素聞名，入圍 2022 年傑出糕點廚師決賽克勞迪婭·馬丁內斯 (Claudia Martinez) 的加入坐鎮該店甜點，讓整個餐廳更具完整度，加上餐廳以永續發展和食在地方理念經營，自開張以來，在亞特蘭大的好評不斷。

為了這個心儀已久的餐廳，我特別選今年生日的時機，傳簡訊給傑夫問他能不能陪我去中城的米勒聯盟 (Miller Union) 慶祝我的生日。我跟他說這是賣南方菜的餐廳，他很爽快地答應。我們選定了我生日那禮拜的週六一起去探訪，我就像一個要遠足的小學生一樣，從週一就開始期待週六的到來。

到了約定日子，傑夫比我早到半個小時，他打電話跟我說，因為餐廳客滿，儘管預約了但是只能做到吧台座。「不過你猜怎麼著？因為我是長者，我又跟他們說要幫你慶生，所以我們有座位了！」。我高聲大喊，「你最棒了！ (You are the best），等我一下，我馬上到。」

下了高速高路後，我跟著 Google Map 導航來到了一個辦公大樓，轉角是一面手繪塗鴉牆，米勒聯盟 (Miller Union) 就位在一樓。走進餐廳，沒有太多的華麗裝飾，而是用簡約感營造的現代空間，傑夫早已就位，窗外的夕陽灑在他的臉上，帶著他最愛的佛羅里達州立大學足球隊鴨舌帽的他，看到我站起來給我一個擁��，開心的跟我說，「生日快樂！」。

我倆都坐下後，服務生送上了飲品單，問我們有沒有想要點什麼飲料或酒，看了一下酒單，有許多選自法國波爾多五大酒莊的葡萄酒，可惜我們兩個都不能喝酒，只能跟美酒擦身而過。服務生介紹了今天的菜單，前菜她推薦招牌長青「雞蛋烘奶油芹菜醬」以及夏日限定的「香草甜菜沙拉」，傑夫說他想吃沙拉，不過我對另一道前菜烤三層肉配橡果瓜 (Acorn Squash) 更有興趣。最後我們選了產地直送的「時蔬沙拉佐青檸優格油醋汁」做為前菜。傑夫因為餐餐都要有麵包，我們又加點麵包，服務生說麵包是亞特蘭大知名的獨立烘培坊「 Osono bakery」的酸種麵包，搭配餐廳調製的蜂蜜焦糖核桃奶油。

當天主菜的選擇有每日鮮魚搭配季節鮮蔬、烤豬排佐甘藍甜薯、草飼牛排淋刺山柑醬 (capers-herb)、以及南方佳餚奶油蝦仁玉米粥 (Shrimp and grits)。服務生說今天的魚是產地直送的現撈鱒魚，我跟傑夫都屬意吃魚，但我說，「壽星最大，我要吃魚～」。他最終讓賢要了一份三分熟的牛排。

我跟傑夫一邊閒聊，一邊等著美食上桌。不久，服務生端上「時蔬沙拉佐青檸優格油醋汁」和麵包。這盤綠意盎然「時蔬沙拉佐青檸優格油醋汁」彷彿是剛從自家菜園摘下鮮嫩蔬菜，妝點上紅白的蕪菁，開心果和香草脆片，加上鮮脆的蘋果切片，散發著夏日的活力。青檸優格油醋汁則則盤底撲灑在盤底，襯托翠綠鮮蔬，沒有過多矯情的擺盤，隨性的方式呈現方式讓我倆沒有拘束的夾了一大匙放在盤裡。蔬菜入口爽脆，青檸優格油醋汁則醇厚中帶有清香，味道微酸但帶有回甘，傑夫吃了一口頻說「我喜歡這個沙拉醬」，我個人倒是沒有特別驚艷。隨後，我抹了一匙蜂蜜焦糖核桃奶油在烤得蓬鬆的麵包上，奶油夾雜著微甜顆粒感，應該是炒碎的砂糖混在奶油裡，吃起來微甜微鹹，平衡麵包的酸，我實在太喜歡這個奶油抹醬，又挖了一大匙放在嘴裡，享受鮮甜油脂在嘴裡化開的幸福，一旁的傑夫則是認真吃著麵包，連掉在桌上的麵包屑他都用刀子收拾在盤裡，再吃得精光。

不久，我們的主菜也出場。我點的鮮魚配時蔬份量不大不小，切的方正、手掌般大小的烤鱒魚疊放在五顏六色的蔬菜上，蔬菜是南方常見的秋葵、番茄、玉米、混搭義大利料理常出現的的蕈菇和法羅麥 (Farro) 。傑夫的草飼牛排則看得出先煎後再炙燒，配菜則是一般西式料理常見的櫛瓜和彩椒。我給傑夫切了一小塊魚，要他先嚐。他吃了一口後，臉上散發光彩讚嘆「 Wow，我第一次吃到這麼好吃的魚」。我以為他誇大其詞，立即嚐了一口，Q彈的魚肉在嘴裡慢慢散開，隨即是一份從所未有的鮮甜在嘴裡化開，只有用少許的鹽的調味讓魚的原味更加凸顯，只能用一個「鮮」字來形容這番令人難以忘懷的滋味。燉煮的蔬菜和法羅麥則用松露醬來調味，松露醬的濃郁以及不同蔬菜的甜味，加上魚鮮，讓整道菜多了許多層次。我尤其喜歡法羅麥和松露醬的組合，像是有嚼勁的燉飯，讓人一口接一口。比起「時蔬沙拉佐青檸優格油醋汁」，我覺得 Steven Satterfield 在這道菜將蔬菜與蛋白質各司其職卻又完美結合，更能凸顯他「青疏魔法師」的美名。我和傑夫一起分享牛排，三分熟的牛排多汁鮮美，但是肉質卻有點柴，讓我有些失望，倒是刺山柑醬 (capers-herb) 令我印象深刻，吃起來有點像多了嗆辣感的羅勒青醬，中和了紅肉的厚重感。我看傑夫也不是特別喜歡這盤牛排，又切了盤中的魚給他，傑夫吃得津津有味，再次跟我說，「我從沒吃過這麼好吃的魚」。