Behemoth's Pet

Chapter 156: Let’s Have a Fill of a Foreign Country’s Dishes

After resting in the inn for a while, Aria and co. left and walked along the main street for lunch.

「It’s such a beautiful city…」

「Nya~~~n.」

When Aria let out a long sigh while looking at the landscape again, Tama replied with his adorable cries.

「If I’m not wrong, according to what I’ve heard, this city is modeled after the ancient capital called 〝Kyoto? in the country called Japan in the Earth.」

Cedric spoke while looking at Aria and Tama, who were as intimate as ever, with a smile.

（Kyoto, huh… There really are various kinds of other worlds. The scenery is different from Ark, which we visited before.）

Cedric’s explanation made Tama recall Ark, the world which they visited to defeat the Demon Belphegor, who had escaped there.

Aria and Tama went toward the shopping district while conversing about this topic.

Upon arriving there, they could smell all kinds of appetizing aromas coming from the stores along the street.

「How about we try this place?」

Arnold pointed at a store and asked the others.

The store’s exterior was elegant as if it were geared for a formal dinner.

〝Arashiyama Dinner? was written on the signboard of the store.

「Sure enough! This place looks promising!」

「Gufufufu… I’m looking forward to what kind of flavor they’re going to show us!」

Both Aria and Stella looked at the elegant exterior of the store with anticipation in their eyes. Lily and Faeri frolicked behind them.

Even though it was already past the time for lunch, Aria and co. still choose to enter the store.

Just like its elegant exterior, the inside of the dinner was also elegant.

Aria and co. were slightly bewildered about having meals in the tatami room, which was generally used for a dinner party, due to the size of their group. However, they completely enjoyed it since it was also part of the fun of the trip.

A while after everyone took their seat, a clerk wearing a kimono came to ask for their orders.

Since it was their first meal in this country, the group wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. Thus, Aria and co. wanted to order the recommended set meal for this dinner.

「Since we’re traveling, let’s order liquor too nyan?」

「Ah, nice idea, Vulcan-san.」

Aria readily agreed to Vulcan’s proposal. Thus, starting from Aria, the adult group of the party ordered liquor.

After they decided on their order, they had a pleasant conversation for a while. Then, the meal was finally carried to their room.

The special beef steak of this region or fish boiled in soy sauce; the local cuisine of this country, a lot of pickled vegetables, and then thinly sliced raw seawater fish, a dish called sashimi.

「Well then, for our fun travel, TOAST!」

「「「TOAST!」」」

Led by Arnold, Aria and co. had a toast.

Aria and Vulcan had chosen plum liquor. Cedric and Arnold had chosen the local liquor of this country, sake. Stella, Lily, and Faeri chose fruit juice, and lastly, Tama had milk.

「Uhm, this plum liquor is delicious.」

「Nyes! it’s called pomegranate sake, right nya?」

「Yes, although the alcohol content of this sake is high, it’s delicious.」

「I can’t stop the craving for snacks to go with this?」

Aria, Vulcan, Cedric, and Arnold, who were drinking liquor, conversed among themselves.

On the other hand, Stella and co, who drank pomegranate juice, showed satisfied looks on their faces.

「Tama, what do you think about the milk of this country?」

「Nya~n(Uhm, it’s flavorful, Master)!」

Tama let out a satisfied cry to answer Aria’s question. He was delighted to have a more flavorful milk than usual.

「T-Then… let’s partake the dishes…」

With a timid look on her face, Aria brought her chopstick toward a dish called sashimi, a sliced raw fish dish made from a fish called sea bream. That was only natural since it was her first time eating raw fish.

She took a slice of the sashimi with the chopsticks, a utensil which she had yet to get used to. Apparently, the dish was seasoned with a light seasoning called soy sauce according to the clerk.

「…! This is… delicious.」

Aria’s eyes opened wide as she slowly chewed on the raw fish, savoring its natural flavor.

The body of the freshly caught fish was springy, yet it was slightly sweet and had a profound salty taste because of the soy sauce.

「Nyaa! It’s delicious, nyan!」

Vulcan followed Aria and picked up the sashimi. Cedric and Arnold followed suit.

「Tama, A~n?」

Aria offered the sashimi, which she had already dipped a bit into soy sauce, to Tama. Tama opened his mouth wide and chewed the sashimi with a delighted expression.

「Fufu… Tama seems to like it too.」

Aria spoke with an entranced expression upon seeing Tama’s delighted face. Tama replied with adorable cries after swallowing the sashimi.

Stella, who was stuffing steak into her mouth by Aria’s side, muttered with a delighted expression, 「This fatty meat is shoo delicious!」

Lily and Faeri seemed to enjoy the pickled vegetables. The two fairies were happily chomping on the pickled radish.

In this way, Tama, Aria, and the others enjoyed their first traditional meal of this kingdom.