Seafood will be the main dish for dinner tonight. It seems that such information has spread through the guests and regular customers, and the seats in the dining room are already full.
Hermina, Natalia, and for some reason even Lilith, a fellow prostitute, were present at a nearby table.
At a table in the back, there is Michal, the one who caused the event, Urgas, an elf who has recently become a favorite of mine, and a group of calm and relaxed people.
The spread of information in this world is by word of mouth. It is not to be underestimated, and people are quick to take to new information and interesting rumors.
As a result, this is happening even though the peak of the dinner season has not yet arrived.
Normally, we would have a casual conversation with the customers who come in slowly, and bring them ale and snacks, but not today.
The restaurant is full before the sun goes down, so not only my father but also myself are in the kitchen.
I make fried prawns and small goby, which I've had sand-spit out, as well as butter-baked and garlic-baked shellfish. We are very busy, probably because we are cooking several dishes at the same time.
Three shellfish soups and three garlic-roasted funereal clams, big brother!
'Yes, sir.
I guess they don't even have time to come to the receiving end and tell us. Lettie's clear voice echoed through the laughter of the customers.
I tried to reply to her, but I guess she couldn't hear my croaky voice with all the noise of the day.
Anyway, I put the shellfish soup in a bowl and the just-baked funereal clams on a plate and put it on the tray placed at the receiving end of the table.
Then, as if slipping in between the customers, my mother comes over and leaves a note.
Three mebbar meuni re and two herb-baked swordfish, please!
'Okay. I'll tell my dad.
I reply, and my mother brings the tray with the dishes.
I looked at the note she had left behind, and found that her order was written all over it.
The prices are a little high, but the orders don't stop coming in, partly because we rarely get to eat them.
The dishes mentioned in the message have to be served with the highest priority because they keep the customers waiting.
Tori, three mebbal meuniere and what did you say?
He must have heard me halfway through. Dad asks me while frying in a frying pan.
Two herb-roasted swordfish.
'Okay!
Dad nodded, quickly cut a slit in the mebbar and started sprinkling salt and pepper on it.
With that, I put some butter in a frying pan and started to fry the clams I had caught in the river.
Ah, the butter smells so good. It's a simple dish, but I'm sure it's delicious.
Two steaks of eigfang, big brother!
'Yeah? Even though today's main course is seafood?''
'I had a fish dish and now I want to eat meat too.
'I understand how you feel, but how extravagant ......'
But I understand that I would want to eat both fish and meat if I had both, so I take the pre-seasoned meat out of the fridge and cook it in a separate pan, despite my complaints.
In the meantime, the butter-roasted clams are ready, and I serve them on a bed of leafy greens. Adding a little greenery like this adds color to the dish, doesn't it?
Is there a seat available?
'Sorry, we're full right now. ......'
A new customer must have arrived. Letty apologetically announces that the restaurant is full.
Come here, whoever you are! If you pack it in, you can still sit down!''
'Really? Thank God!
However, thanks to the customers filling the seats, they managed to free up enough space for one person to sit down.
The guests are happy to see the adventurer as he walks up to them.
The kindness of the customers to let even one more person sit down even if the place is crowded is appreciated by the employees.
While Eigfang's steaks were cooking, the five plates of buttered shellfish that had been left at the receiving end had disappeared. Apparently, they had already been delivered to the table.
It is strange that the more we make, the more they disappear.
It is too late to cook the steaks after the order comes in, so I take the steaks and put them in my mouth to move on to the next dish.
The sake-soaked river prawns are put into a pan of oil.
The sound of the oil popping is heard.
The shrimp, heated by the high temperature, has turned its flesh reddish in color.
Yes, the sound and the color of the fried prawns are great. Just by looking with your eyes and listening with your ears, you can feel the deliciousness.
It's a nice sound, isn't it?
'Ah! Tori is making fried river shrimp!
'It's bright red and looks delicious! Hey, give us some of that!
It was the same for the customers sitting nearby, Natalia, Hermina, and Lilith peeked at us and ordered.
Oh, brother, five fried river shrimps!
Oh, shit! I was just trying to keep the place from getting too busy, and now I've done something like ordering more food myself.
The sound of oil seems to have whetted the appetite of not only me but also the customers in the restaurant.
'Tori! Hey, wash the dishes! We need more plates!
In the kitchen, even my dad is ordering.
We're short on staff. Ricotta, please come soon!
We're too busy cooking seafood.
If Ricotta would come, at least, this busyness would be lessened.
It's been a long time since I've had a seafood dish!
I don't care about river fish, but sea fish is expensive in this town. I always eat meat, but fish is delicious too!
But when I see the customers in the cafeteria enjoying my dad's and my food, I can try a little harder.
I would never want to do this every day, but once in a while it's not so bad.
I grill up the eigfang steak, cut up the chives, and wash the dishes piled up in the sink while keeping an eye on the fried river prawns.
Wow, so many customers! Tori, did you cook something new?
As I mindlessly continue to wash the dishes, Ricotta, my savior, appears.
'No, no, no. Today's main dish is seafood.
'Ah, well, that explains the crowd!
'More importantly, Ricotta. I need your help quickly.
'I got it! I'll be right back!
Ricotta nodded encouragingly and went into the changing room in the back.
Then she came out and put her hair up and an apron on.
Perhaps because she is a theater actress, she is good at changing quickly. Ricotta looks radiant as she sashayed out.
I'll do the dishes!
It's a big help.
To be honest, it was quite hard to make fried river prawns while washing dishes.
Because I had to worry about how well the prawns were fried, and the number of dirty dishes kept increasing.
I left the dish washing to Ricotta and went back to the pan where I was frying the prawns.
There are almost no bubbles from the prawns that have been put into the pan. I take them out one by one and put them on a plate lined with a thin sheet of paper.
I take them out and put them on a thin paper-lined plate. I decorate them with lettuce and cut lemon and they are done.
The shrimp looked so delicious that I took one of the freshly fried ones in my mouth.
The sound of crunching limbs and shells echoed in my ears, and the flavor of the shrimp spread out at once.
The more I chewed, the more the flavor oozed out, and it was very tasty.
The more I chewed, the more the flavor oozed out, and the more delicious it was. Since I ate not only the body part but also the head part like sashimi, the strong taste and bitterness of the miso accentuated the deliciousness of the shrimp.
Perhaps because it was just dinner time, I was about to reach for another one when Lettie shouted out.
Ah! Big brother, you're snacking! That's not fair!''
I'm not snacking. I'm just tasting it as a cook.
'Usually you say you're an employee, but only when it's convenient do you call yourself a chef.
Letty leans out of the receiver's mouth and calls me a cheater and a cheater.
He doesn't seem to like the fact that I am the only one eating his favorite river shrimp. It's adorable to see her cheeks puffed out in a sulk.
'Here, baby.
'Uh-oh.'
I put a piece of fried river shrimp close to Lettie's mouth as she leans forward. Lettie meditated and opened her mouth.
I did not put the shrimp in Lettie's mouth, but ate it myself.
'Ah, I knew it tastes good when it's deep-fried.
'............ big brother?'
Then, Lettie's expression suddenly disappeared and a low voice, not unlike a girl's, escaped from her.
'I'm just kidding. Come on, open your mouth.
My sixth sense was ringing a loud alarm bell, so I hurriedly offered him some river prawns with an amiable smile. This time Lettie gets the shrimp in her mouth.
Even from a distance, I can hear the crunching sound of the prawns.
Mmmm, delicious!
Lettie's face was more relaxed and happy than ever, as if it was her favorite food.
'Hey, we want to eat it soon too!
Maybe it's because they were snacking like that. Lilith, who was seated at the table right next to us, was urging us to eat. She may look cute, but she still has a way of saying what she wants to say.
Well, when you've ordered and are waiting for your food, and then you're eating it right in front of you, you might want to say something, don't you? I'm sorry.
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, it's fried shrimp.
With a slight apology, I bring the shrimp to Lilith's table.
'Oh, they have a nice color, don't they?
'Eat it, eat it!
The three of us were so impressed with the bright red appearance that we immediately reached for our forks and put the prawns in our mouths.
They were so crispy and delicious!
'I like the head and the legs, don't you?'
Ah! I'm out of ale! Refill!
Fried shrimp and ale go very well together.
Not only Lilith, but also Hermina and Natalia are asked to order more ale.
At that rate, the prawns will be gone soon.
I pour a mug of ale and take it to Lilith's table.
I go back to the kitchen and fry the prawns and the small goby.