Pelmeni. A dish made with ground meat and chopped vegetables, wrapped with a wheat wrapping. From what Hans had been told, Hugo’s mother, Lorentz’s ex-wife, was good at making this dish. It seemed that Hans’ mother, who had a frail body, could not make it very well, but Hans remembered eating the real thing during his travels in the west.
「Did you come up with something?」
Leontaine asked sleepily after spending the whole time drinking. As she slovenly leaned against the counter, she watched as the ice melted in the amber liquid, changing its colour. She must have really liked the drink.
「I’ll make a prototype dish now.」
「Now? I don’t mind, but are you alright, Hans?」
「I want to try this idea out right now.」
As Hans started to roughly mince the pork meat with his kitchen knife, Hugo stood up.
「Well, I have work tomorrow, so I’ll head home now. Hans, the porridge was delicious.」
「Okay, take care, Big Brother.」
Hans bade Hugo farewell without looking at him as he began to chop the vegetables. He actually wanted to try various ingredients, but he would use the vegetables available in the kitchen for now. There were bok choy, cabbages and spring onions. There were also some spices that could help get rid of the bad odors.
He then kneaded the wheat flour with some hot water, which he had boiled as he chopped the vegetables. Somehow, Hans felt really happy. The pelmeni he made now was quite different from the pelmeni in his memory, but the feeling that a delicious dish would appear motivated him.
Leotaine was already asleep on the counter before anyone had noticed. Hans placed a bath towel over the former mercenary’s shoulders and continued with his task. He could still go on. Thanks to the seemingly endless confidence brimming out of him, he didn’t feel sleepy. Before he had realised it, the night had begun to grow brighter.
The next day at Izakaya Nobu, the sales of Toriaezu Nama were going through the roof.
「One Toriaezu Nama here! And two portions of ‘Hans’ here!」
「Toriaezu Nama here too! And…three portions of ‘Hans’!」
「Got it~! Please wait a bit~!」
Hans’-style pelmeni sizzled in the frying pan, stimulating one’s appetite. Hans’ suggested addition to the menu was adopted within a day, with only a slight adjustment.
「Isn’t this gyoza?」
「It’s gyoza, huh.」
Overhearing Shinobu and Taisho’s murmuring, he wondered if there was a similar dish in their world too. The pelmeni, seasoned with garlic, was called “Hans’ dish”, or “Hans”, because the official name, “Hans’-style pelmeni”, was too long to remember. His assignment, creating a dish that “went well with Toriaezu Nama”, had been accomplished, and the novelty of the dish contributed significantly to its popularity.
「You did well, Hans.」
「No, Taisho. I owe it to my brother. If I didn’t receive his hint last night, I think I’d still be suffering in the kitchen tonight.」
「Even if you got the insight from your brother, it was still you who completed it, Hans. Have a bit more confidence in yourself.」
「…Yes sir!」
For the steamed pelmeni, the potato starch that had dissolved in the water spread out like feathers. Apparently, it was fun to break the crispy part of the fried ones by spreading it apart with chopsticks. Customers who usually did not use chopsticks began using them by watching and learning from other people today.
Pelmeni
「Eva-chan, one bowl of sasarica here!」
「I’d like a bowl of sasarica too. And another serving of ‘Hans’!」
Among the customers who didn’t drink, there were many who asked for pelmeni and sasarica rice. The pelmeni, which was eaten with soy sauce or vinegar, went well with sasarica rice. Since it could be reheated at home, some customers ordered them as takeout. Shinobu decided to give these customers a small packet of sauce to bring back as well. She had been busy in the kitchen this whole time, stretching the wrappings.
As he watched Taisho kneading the dough for the wrappings, Hans couldn’t hold himself in. His face loosened at the thought that everyone was enjoying the dish that he himself had introduced to the shop.
This was it. This was what Hans wanted to do.
Although he was merely at the stage of helping Taisho, he would definitely make his own dish and make his customers happy one day. The goal was far, but it seemed attainable now.
「It turned out well, didn’t it, Hans? It’s very popular.」
「Thank you, Leontaine.」
There was sweat on Leontaine’s forehead, despite her being accustomed to handling the floor alone. Today was the busiest since the Grand Bazaar.
「Shouldn’t you let your brother try it too?」
「That’s right, I wanted to invite Father and two more people.」
Ever since Hans had decided to become a guard, the relationship between Hugo and Lorentz had been awkward, and he didn’t understand why. From his perspective, he didn’t think he had the talent for glass-smithing like his brother Hugo, but his father might not have thought the same. He wanted to clear up this misunderstanding as soon as possible.
「At any rate, it’s going to be a celebration tonight.」
「Nah, let’s hold off on that celebration a little longer. There are things I have to do first.」
「What do you have to do?」
「Oh, I’m going to improve on my pelmeni tonight.」
Hans was satisfied with what he had put out in the shop today and he had accomplished the task of making a dish that paired well with Toriaezu Nama. However, he wondered if he could still devise more ways to improve this dish so even more people would eat it.
「Improvements, huh…」
「Leontaine, aren’t you going to eat some pelmeni?」
「Well, I’m serving customers right now.」
Taisho had added plenty of garlic in the pelmeni to pair it well with Toriaezu Nama, but it wasn’t suitable for female customers. If Leontaine, Shinobu, and Eva couldn’t eat it, then it wasn’t right for Izakaya Nobu.
「Should I call you hardworking or stubborn, I wonder? You would definitely be successful even if you aren’t in this line of work.」
「I have my hands full with cooking for now.」
A customer’s voice called out, and Leontaine responded to it. When she turned around, her long hair swayed and tickled the tip of Hans’ nose. He wondered if Leontaine would drink tonight as well. He had even more reason to look forward to tonight’s pelmeni research.
Pelmeni. A dish made with ground meat and chopped vegetables, wrapped with a wheat wrapping. From what Hans had been told, Hugo’s mother, Lorentz’s ex-wife, was good at making this dish. It seemed that Hans’ mother, who had a frail body, could not make it very well, but Hans remembered eating the real thing during his travels in the west.
「Did you come up with something?」
Leontaine asked sleepily after spending the whole time drinking. As she slovenly leaned against the counter, she watched as the ice melted in the amber liquid, changing its colour. She must have really liked the drink.
「I’ll make a prototype dish now.」
「Now? I don’t mind, but are you alright, Hans?」
「I want to try this idea out right now.」
As Hans started to roughly mince the pork meat with his kitchen knife, Hugo stood up.
「Well, I have work tomorrow, so I’ll head home now. Hans, the porridge was delicious.」
「Okay, take care, Big Brother.」
Hans bade Hugo farewell without looking at him as he began to chop the vegetables. He actually wanted to try various ingredients, but he would use the vegetables available in the kitchen for now. There were bok choy, cabbages and spring onions. There were also some spices that could help get rid of the bad odors.
He then kneaded the wheat flour with some hot water, which he had boiled as he chopped the vegetables. Somehow, Hans felt really happy. The pelmeni he made now was quite different from the pelmeni in his memory, but the feeling that a delicious dish would appear motivated him.
Leotaine was already asleep on the counter before anyone had noticed. Hans placed a bath towel over the former mercenary’s shoulders and continued with his task. He could still go on. Thanks to the seemingly endless confidence brimming out of him, he didn’t feel sleepy. Before he had realised it, the night had begun to grow brighter.
The next day at Izakaya Nobu, the sales of Toriaezu Nama were going through the roof.
「One Toriaezu Nama here! And two portions of ‘Hans’ here!」
「Toriaezu Nama here too! And…three portions of ‘Hans’!」
「Got it~! Please wait a bit~!」
Hans’-style pelmeni sizzled in the frying pan, stimulating one’s appetite. Hans’ suggested addition to the menu was adopted within a day, with only a slight adjustment.
「Isn’t this gyoza?」
「It’s gyoza, huh.」
Overhearing Shinobu and Taisho’s murmuring, he wondered if there was a similar dish in their world too. The pelmeni, seasoned with garlic, was called “Hans’ dish”, or “Hans”, because the official name, “Hans’-style pelmeni”, was too long to remember. His assignment, creating a dish that “went well with Toriaezu Nama”, had been accomplished, and the novelty of the dish contributed significantly to its popularity.
「You did well, Hans.」
「No, Taisho. I owe it to my brother. If I didn’t receive his hint last night, I think I’d still be suffering in the kitchen tonight.」
「Even if you got the insight from your brother, it was still you who completed it, Hans. Have a bit more confidence in yourself.」
「…Yes sir!」
For the steamed pelmeni, the potato starch that had dissolved in the water spread out like feathers. Apparently, it was fun to break the crispy part of the fried ones by spreading it apart with chopsticks. Customers who usually did not use chopsticks began using them by watching and learning from other people today.
Pelmeni
「Eva-chan, one bowl of sasarica here!」
「I’d like a bowl of sasarica too. And another serving of ‘Hans’!」
Among the customers who didn’t drink, there were many who asked for pelmeni and sasarica rice. The pelmeni, which was eaten with soy sauce or vinegar, went well with sasarica rice. Since it could be reheated at home, some customers ordered them as takeout. Shinobu decided to give these customers a small packet of sauce to bring back as well. She had been busy in the kitchen this whole time, stretching the wrappings.
As he watched Taisho kneading the dough for the wrappings, Hans couldn’t hold himself in. His face loosened at the thought that everyone was enjoying the dish that he himself had introduced to the shop.
This was it. This was what Hans wanted to do.
Although he was merely at the stage of helping Taisho, he would definitely make his own dish and make his customers happy one day. The goal was far, but it seemed attainable now.
「It turned out well, didn’t it, Hans? It’s very popular.」
「Thank you, Leontaine.」
There was sweat on Leontaine’s forehead, despite her being accustomed to handling the floor alone. Today was the busiest since the Grand Bazaar.
「Shouldn’t you let your brother try it too?」
「That’s right, I wanted to invite Father and two more people.」
Ever since Hans had decided to become a guard, the relationship between Hugo and Lorentz had been awkward, and he didn’t understand why. From his perspective, he didn’t think he had the talent for glass-smithing like his brother Hugo, but his father might not have thought the same. He wanted to clear up this misunderstanding as soon as possible.
「At any rate, it’s going to be a celebration tonight.」
「Nah, let’s hold off on that celebration a little longer. There are things I have to do first.」
「What do you have to do?」
「Oh, I’m going to improve on my pelmeni tonight.」
Hans was satisfied with what he had put out in the shop today and he had accomplished the task of making a dish that paired well with Toriaezu Nama. However, he wondered if he could still devise more ways to improve this dish so even more people would eat it.
「Improvements, huh…」
「Leontaine, aren’t you going to eat some pelmeni?」
「Well, I’m serving customers right now.」
Taisho had added plenty of garlic in the pelmeni to pair it well with Toriaezu Nama, but it wasn’t suitable for female customers. If Leontaine, Shinobu, and Eva couldn’t eat it, then it wasn’t right for Izakaya Nobu.
「Should I call you hardworking or stubborn, I wonder? You would definitely be successful even if you aren’t in this line of work.」
「I have my hands full with cooking for now.」
A customer’s voice called out, and Leontaine responded to it. When she turned around, her long hair swayed and tickled the tip of Hans’ nose. He wondered if Leontaine would drink tonight as well. He had even more reason to look forward to tonight’s pelmeni research.
