Episode 234 – Vegetarian Specialty Restaurant
“We managed to get a lot of the stuff we needed from the first store. It was a great place with good quality, low prices, and a wide selection.” (Lewin)
“I’ve been a customer here for a long time, so I’m happy to hear you say that.” (Rosalie)
“Yup, we bought some nice things.” (Aruna)
“…Aruna-san, did you only buy tools that you needed for your own personal use? You do remember our objective for today, don’t you?” (Lewin)
“I know. To buy things we needed for camping in the Dungeon, right?” (Aruna)
Or so she said, with a smug look on her face. If you really know, then it would be nice if you’d show even the slightest intention to help out. Well, there’s no doubt that our Dungeon clearing will go smoother as Aruna gets stronger.
“If you get it, then couldn’t you at least help out a li―” (Lewin)
“There, there. L-Let’s just have a good time. Aruna-san bought g-gloves for each of us after all.” (Rosalie)
“Oh, these? All three are mine.” (Aruna)
Rosalie’s attempt to cover for her immediately fell flat, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Rosalie could only smile bitterly.
“…Well, there’s no use complaining about it. Just as Rosalie said, we should just have a good time. But Aruna-san, you’re going to be picking out all the food ingredients for us, okay?” (Lewin)
“A-All of them? Are you sure that’s going to be a-alright?” (Rosalie)
“Probably! Aruna used to work in the kitchen at Araku Village, so she should know how to cook.” (Lewin)
“Mhm. You can look forward to it.” (Aruna)
After I had entrusted her with that role, all that would be left was to go and buy the items needed for camping in the Dungeon. Honestly, trusting Aruna with all of the food shopping was terrifying. But those worries soon went away as I watched her pick out and purchase food items with a skilled hand.
It appeared that she must have been shopping for Araku Village in the past, as she was on familiar enough terms with the shopkeepers to carry conversations with them. Because of that, we ended up receiving a lot bigger discounts than I had expected to receive.
“See? I told you that you could leave it to me.” (Aruna)
“As expected of Aruna-san. You really pull through when it counts.” (Lewin)
When I gave Aruna a direct compliment, her rabbit ears perked up as if she was happy to receive the praise. The changes in her facial expressions were recently becoming more obvious than before, but the expressiveness through her ears was always the easiest to read.
“Is that e-everything we need for Dungeon preparations? I d-don’t think we forgot to buy anything, but…” (Rosalie)
“Right, we’ve definitely bought all the necessities, so I think we’re fine. This time will be more of a test run for us. If we find that we’re lacking something, then we’ll make steps so we don’t forget it next time― let’s go with that kind of outlook.” (Lewin)
“Mhm. It’ll be 3 days at most, so even if we’re missing something we’ll still get by somehow.” (Aruna)
That brought an end to the shopping that we had to do for the Dungeon, so we split up to put away the things we’d bought and planned to immediately meet back up again afterwards.
Rosalie had a large refrigerator at her place, so she was in charge of storing the food items, while Aruna was in charge of the small items like tools, utensils, and cookware. As for me, I was responsible for the sleeping bags, chairs, and other big items. With that, we all returned to our respective lodgings.
After dropping off the things at Ponpokotei, I once again headed towards the fountain. It took quite a bit of time to carry all the large items, so I ended up being the last one to arrive this time.
“Alright. Now we’re all set! What do you guys want to do now? Like we had discussed earlier, I still want to go around to everyone’s recommended shops.” (Lewin)
“Hm. Food first. I’m hungry.” (Aruna)
“T-True, it is already noon, so it’s a good time.” (Rosalie)
“Then let’s go get something to eat first. We can decide on our plans while we eat lunch.” (Lewin)
After meeting up again, we quickly decided on eating lunch, so we went to the restaurant that Aruna had recommended. For some reason Rosalie also seemed to know this place, so the two of them excitedly led the way.
When we arrived, the place looked somewhat like a stylish cafe. The customers and waiters inside were all female, so overall, it gave me the vibe that I shouldn’t enter this place at all costs.
“Here. This place is yummy.” (Aruna)
“I always wanted to come here! I never thought I could finally come!” (Rosalie)
“This place has an amazing atmosphere. What is this place?” (Lewin)
“A place that specializes in vegetables. Their smoothies are delicious.” (Aruna)
A place specializing in vegetables… It’s amazing, in more ways than one.
Back when I had worked in Grezesta, I really had no money, so I would only eat wild grass. As a result, I originally didn’t like vegetables all that much. Plus, there were those times with the Magical Grass and the Dumbbell Weed, so it wasn’t like I ate vegetables because I liked them… But oh well, this was a good opportunity.
“Hoh, that’s amazing. I normally don’t eat vegetables too much, so I’m looking forward to it.” (Lewin)
“You can look forward to it. I think you’ll be surprised.” (Aruna)
“Let’s hurry up and go in!” (Rosalie)
After waiting in a short line, it was eventually our turn to head inside. I was immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere, and I began to flush red as the waiter led us to our table. Once we were seated, I nervously sipped on my water.
“What should I eat today? …I’ll go with the recommended A-Lunch menu set.” (Aruna)
“I’ll have the daily lunch set meal! I’d also like the Green Smoothie!” (Rosalie)
“I’ll have one too.” (Aruna)
The two of them decided without even looking at the menu. They turned their questioning eyes towards me, as if asking what I wanted. I also tried to decide right away by glancing at the menu, but there were a whole 6 different lunch sets, and I had no idea which one to choose.
“…I’ll have whatever Aruna-san is having.” (Lewin)
After thinking for a while, I gave up without making a decision and jumped on Aruna’s bandwagon. It seemed like the safe option to go with whatever Aruna was having, since she had come here before.
“Another recommended A-lunch menu set for Lewin. What about the smoothie?” (Aruna)
At her question, I once again flipped open the menu to check. Green Smoothie, Color Smoothie, and Cocoa Smoothie. They seemed to have 3 types, but I got the feeling that the most delicious one was probably the Color Smoothie.
“I’ll have the Color Smoothie, please.” (Lewin)
“Got it. Let’s order right away.” (Aruna)
Aruna skillfully called up the waiter and ordered on everyone’s behalf. In the meantime, I looked at the menu. For some reason, there were also meat dishes like fried chicken and Hamburg steak on the menu.
This place specialized in vegetables, so even those items were probably made out of only vegetable ingredients. I kind of wanted to try them, but since I had already placed my order, I decided to wait quietly instead.
About 20 minutes after we had placed our order, our food was ready, and it was placed in front of us.
First up was the daily lunch special set that Rosalie had ordered… It looked super delicious. It had brown rice, that fried chicken I saw on the menu earlier, and a vegetable tempura stew. There was also a colorful and well-arranged fresh salad and a side of thinly sliced bread.
When I heard that this place specialized in vegetable dishes, I thought that we would be getting served up with a full course of salad. But as far as I could see, this set meal seemed to be such a solid set meal that it was hard to imagine it was made from only vegetables.
Arriving next was the recommended A-lunch menu that Aruna and I had ordered.
Just like before, this set was also arranged nicely on a plate. Instead of brown rice, there was some fluffy bread. There were also croquettes, a bean paste dish, and an avocado sliced into halves, lightly grilled, and placed on top of a fresh, vibrantly colored salad. An incredibly delicious fragrance wafted over, piquing my appetite.
“Let’s eat.” (Aruna)
““Thanks for the meal!”” (Rosalie, Lewin)
With that, the first thing I reached out to try was the croquette. The outside was crisp and crunchy, while the inside was soft and fluffy. The taste of potatoes stood out in an excellent way. The outside coating had a hint of coconut flavor, so the croquette had probably been fried in coconut oil.
After that, I picked up the somewhat doubtful-looking bean paste. Looking at the way Aruna was eating it, this was apparently supposed to be used as a dip for the bread or to dress the salad.
I copied her right away, dipping some bread into it, then brought it to my mouth.
……Delicious! The fragrance of lemon in the dish further brought out the deliciousness of the beans, which complemented the bread wonderfully.
I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor that I had never experienced before, and I made short work of the set meal. It was extremely tasty, and I wanted to eat it again sometime, but… this kind of cooking seemed to require a high level of cooking skills, so there was probably no way for me to make it at my current level.
Episode 234 – Vegetarian Specialty Restaurant
“We managed to get a lot of the stuff we needed from the first store. It was a great place with good quality, low prices, and a wide selection.” (Lewin)
“I’ve been a customer here for a long time, so I’m happy to hear you say that.” (Rosalie)
“Yup, we bought some nice things.” (Aruna)
“…Aruna-san, did you only buy tools that you needed for your own personal use? You do remember our objective for today, don’t you?” (Lewin)
“I know. To buy things we needed for camping in the Dungeon, right?” (Aruna)
Or so she said, with a smug look on her face. If you really know, then it would be nice if you’d show even the slightest intention to help out. Well, there’s no doubt that our Dungeon clearing will go smoother as Aruna gets stronger.
“If you get it, then couldn’t you at least help out a li―” (Lewin)
“There, there. L-Let’s just have a good time. Aruna-san bought g-gloves for each of us after all.” (Rosalie)
“Oh, these? All three are mine.” (Aruna)
Rosalie’s attempt to cover for her immediately fell flat, and I couldn’t help but burst into laughter. Rosalie could only smile bitterly.
“…Well, there’s no use complaining about it. Just as Rosalie said, we should just have a good time. But Aruna-san, you’re going to be picking out all the food ingredients for us, okay?” (Lewin)
“A-All of them? Are you sure that’s going to be a-alright?” (Rosalie)
“Probably! Aruna used to work in the kitchen at Araku Village, so she should know how to cook.” (Lewin)
“Mhm. You can look forward to it.” (Aruna)
After I had entrusted her with that role, all that would be left was to go and buy the items needed for camping in the Dungeon. Honestly, trusting Aruna with all of the food shopping was terrifying. But those worries soon went away as I watched her pick out and purchase food items with a skilled hand.
It appeared that she must have been shopping for Araku Village in the past, as she was on familiar enough terms with the shopkeepers to carry conversations with them. Because of that, we ended up receiving a lot bigger discounts than I had expected to receive.
“See? I told you that you could leave it to me.” (Aruna)
“As expected of Aruna-san. You really pull through when it counts.” (Lewin)
When I gave Aruna a direct compliment, her rabbit ears perked up as if she was happy to receive the praise. The changes in her facial expressions were recently becoming more obvious than before, but the expressiveness through her ears was always the easiest to read.
“Is that e-everything we need for Dungeon preparations? I d-don’t think we forgot to buy anything, but…” (Rosalie)
“Right, we’ve definitely bought all the necessities, so I think we’re fine. This time will be more of a test run for us. If we find that we’re lacking something, then we’ll make steps so we don’t forget it next time― let’s go with that kind of outlook.” (Lewin)
“Mhm. It’ll be 3 days at most, so even if we’re missing something we’ll still get by somehow.” (Aruna)
That brought an end to the shopping that we had to do for the Dungeon, so we split up to put away the things we’d bought and planned to immediately meet back up again afterwards.
Rosalie had a large refrigerator at her place, so she was in charge of storing the food items, while Aruna was in charge of the small items like tools, utensils, and cookware. As for me, I was responsible for the sleeping bags, chairs, and other big items. With that, we all returned to our respective lodgings.
After dropping off the things at Ponpokotei, I once again headed towards the fountain. It took quite a bit of time to carry all the large items, so I ended up being the last one to arrive this time.
“Alright. Now we’re all set! What do you guys want to do now? Like we had discussed earlier, I still want to go around to everyone’s recommended shops.” (Lewin)
“Hm. Food first. I’m hungry.” (Aruna)
“T-True, it is already noon, so it’s a good time.” (Rosalie)
“Then let’s go get something to eat first. We can decide on our plans while we eat lunch.” (Lewin)
After meeting up again, we quickly decided on eating lunch, so we went to the restaurant that Aruna had recommended. For some reason Rosalie also seemed to know this place, so the two of them excitedly led the way.
When we arrived, the place looked somewhat like a stylish cafe. The customers and waiters inside were all female, so overall, it gave me the vibe that I shouldn’t enter this place at all costs.
“Here. This place is yummy.” (Aruna)
“I always wanted to come here! I never thought I could finally come!” (Rosalie)
“This place has an amazing atmosphere. What is this place?” (Lewin)
“A place that specializes in vegetables. Their smoothies are delicious.” (Aruna)
A place specializing in vegetables… It’s amazing, in more ways than one.
Back when I had worked in Grezesta, I really had no money, so I would only eat wild grass. As a result, I originally didn’t like vegetables all that much. Plus, there were those times with the Magical Grass and the Dumbbell Weed, so it wasn’t like I ate vegetables because I liked them… But oh well, this was a good opportunity.
“Hoh, that’s amazing. I normally don’t eat vegetables too much, so I’m looking forward to it.” (Lewin)
“You can look forward to it. I think you’ll be surprised.” (Aruna)
“Let’s hurry up and go in!” (Rosalie)
After waiting in a short line, it was eventually our turn to head inside. I was immediately overwhelmed by the atmosphere, and I began to flush red as the waiter led us to our table. Once we were seated, I nervously sipped on my water.
“What should I eat today? …I’ll go with the recommended A-Lunch menu set.” (Aruna)
“I’ll have the daily lunch set meal! I’d also like the Green Smoothie!” (Rosalie)
“I’ll have one too.” (Aruna)
The two of them decided without even looking at the menu. They turned their questioning eyes towards me, as if asking what I wanted. I also tried to decide right away by glancing at the menu, but there were a whole 6 different lunch sets, and I had no idea which one to choose.
“…I’ll have whatever Aruna-san is having.” (Lewin)
After thinking for a while, I gave up without making a decision and jumped on Aruna’s bandwagon. It seemed like the safe option to go with whatever Aruna was having, since she had come here before.
“Another recommended A-lunch menu set for Lewin. What about the smoothie?” (Aruna)
At her question, I once again flipped open the menu to check. Green Smoothie, Color Smoothie, and Cocoa Smoothie. They seemed to have 3 types, but I got the feeling that the most delicious one was probably the Color Smoothie.
“I’ll have the Color Smoothie, please.” (Lewin)
“Got it. Let’s order right away.” (Aruna)
Aruna skillfully called up the waiter and ordered on everyone’s behalf. In the meantime, I looked at the menu. For some reason, there were also meat dishes like fried chicken and Hamburg steak on the menu.
This place specialized in vegetables, so even those items were probably made out of only vegetable ingredients. I kind of wanted to try them, but since I had already placed my order, I decided to wait quietly instead.
About 20 minutes after we had placed our order, our food was ready, and it was placed in front of us.
First up was the daily lunch special set that Rosalie had ordered… It looked super delicious. It had brown rice, that fried chicken I saw on the menu earlier, and a vegetable tempura stew. There was also a colorful and well-arranged fresh salad and a side of thinly sliced bread.
When I heard that this place specialized in vegetable dishes, I thought that we would be getting served up with a full course of salad. But as far as I could see, this set meal seemed to be such a solid set meal that it was hard to imagine it was made from only vegetables.
Arriving next was the recommended A-lunch menu that Aruna and I had ordered.
Just like before, this set was also arranged nicely on a plate. Instead of brown rice, there was some fluffy bread. There were also croquettes, a bean paste dish, and an avocado sliced into halves, lightly grilled, and placed on top of a fresh, vibrantly colored salad. An incredibly delicious fragrance wafted over, piquing my appetite.
“Let’s eat.” (Aruna)
““Thanks for the meal!”” (Rosalie, Lewin)
With that, the first thing I reached out to try was the croquette. The outside was crisp and crunchy, while the inside was soft and fluffy. The taste of potatoes stood out in an excellent way. The outside coating had a hint of coconut flavor, so the croquette had probably been fried in coconut oil.
After that, I picked up the somewhat doubtful-looking bean paste. Looking at the way Aruna was eating it, this was apparently supposed to be used as a dip for the bread or to dress the salad.
I copied her right away, dipping some bread into it, then brought it to my mouth.
……Delicious! The fragrance of lemon in the dish further brought out the deliciousness of the beans, which complemented the bread wonderfully.
I was pleasantly surprised by the flavor that I had never experienced before, and I made short work of the set meal. It was extremely tasty, and I wanted to eat it again sometime, but… this kind of cooking seemed to require a high level of cooking skills, so there was probably no way for me to make it at my current level.
