One afternoon. At the Linos family mansion in the Imperial capital, Considine is in a thinking pose, not moving a muscle.
"Hmmm..."
At first glance, she appears to be battling a headache, but in her mind, she is troubled by the deep furrows furrowing her brow. She looks too young to have wrinkles on her face yet.
A pot is placed in front of her. There is a pumpkin just cooked. Sidi looked at the pot and muttered quietly.
"...What should I put it in?
The story goes back to ten minutes before this.
It was a holiday, but after lunch, each of us made a move. May and Rico had moved to Krumphal with their child. They went to see Loni, their doctor, to check the children's health and whether they had any allergies. In this world, babies are not usually subjected to such tests. This was because his master, Rinos, insisted.
"What if he has a food allergy? Just in case, get it checked out. Also, have them check their ears and eyes to make sure they can see properly.
Neither Rico nor May understood the word "allergy" and halfheartedly gave up, but Roni was an erudite and decided to go to Krumphal to consult on childcare issues as well.
Peris went to the university, Gon, Fairlie, and Soleil to Ramalon, and Matkal, Ferris, and Ruara were on their way to the capital of Agartha to deal with a little trouble. Linos and Sidi remained in the house.
Rinos was cooking something for dinner and was in a good mood by himself. Sidhi and Mei were working together in the laboratory to develop a drug that would help crops grow better, and they were just about to start preparing the samples for their experiments when a voice came from the dining room.
"Hey, Sadie! Siddy!"
"Yes, can I help you?"
They move quickly from the laboratory to the kitchen. Linos was already on his way out of the house.
"Sorry, I'm going to Agartha for a while. I heard that a messenger from Lamarron has arrived.
"Oh, I see. Have a good day.
"Oh, please put the money in the storage room."
"What?"
"So, please put it in the machine shop."
"In the Nankin Taitta no Mizuya...?"
"Oh, yeah. Leave it in there. Good luck."
With these words, Linos left the mansion.
"What did you mean by 'put it in the library'?"
Sidhi tried to decipher these cryptic words with all his faculties.
"Leave it in, so I have to put something in there.... What do you mean "in the watery night..."? How much money? Taitai no? ... I don't know."
Sadie thought. He closed his eyes and kept thinking. But no matter how he thought about it, he could not find a solution.
There was no one in the house. Siddee wondered who might be able to decipher the code. The most efficient way would be to ask Rinos himself, but he said he would meet with the messenger. During the meeting with the messenger,
"Excuse me for interrupting. What did you mean earlier, Mr. Linos, when you asked me to put the money in the storage room?"
I did not have the guts to go to Rinos to ask him.
Rico and Mei would know, but they have a child with them. I am not the kind of woman who has no sense of discretion to ask such a question while she is taking care of her children.
Peris seems to know about the university, Ferris and Ruara, but it is difficult to ask because they are always in a bad mood when they are busy. Matkal does not seem to know. Soleil is likely to be sarcastic. Gon and Fairlie ... would be busy, no doubt. Given all this, there was no one in the family he could ask.
At that moment, a woman's face came to Sidie's mind. Maybe she would know. She immediately went to that person.
She went to the guest house of Agartha. There were more people than usual to welcome the messenger, but the accommodation building was already prepared and the staff was just waiting for the arrival of the guest. After confirming this, Sidi went to the guest's room.
"Oh my God, what's going on?"
It was Minsi, the former head of the Niza Duchy, who voiced her surprise. She is now the manager of the guest house's accommodation wing. Sidi immediately asked her a question.
I'm sorry, Minsi. I have a question."
"Yes, sir?"
"Well... Mr. Rinos told me to put the money in the storage room. What does that mean?
"What? Please repeat."
"He told me to put the money in the vault."
Minsi recites Sidi's words over and over.
"Maybe Minsi doesn't understand either?"
"No! That is not true! I understand. I understand."
Minsi answers with pride. Sidi sees this attitude and is relieved.
"Then, what is nankin?"
"Nankin.... I'm sorry, under what circumstances did Mr. Linos ask you to do this?"
"Situation? Well, in the kitchen, there was a pot... Master Llinos was cooking."
"I see! So I get it. It's a pot. I'm wondering about the pot.
"What? You call a pot a nankin?"
"Princess, in the world of the human race, the names of things sometimes change depending on where you live.
"Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Yes, indeed. That's for sure. Master Linos is originally from the Kingdom of Juka. In Juka, they might have called the pot "nankin". Okay, thank you. What about tai tai?
"Princess, isn't it "tai tai" but "pattan"?"
"Oh, Pa-tai... Pa-tai-no..." "Oh, Pa-tai... Pa-tai-no..." "Oh, Pa-tai... Yes, it could have been "pa-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta."
"Then, it's a soup made from the bones of beef or chicken, called "Paitan" soup.
"I see, you mean soup. I see. Then what is mizutoyaki?
"Princess, isn't it potherb mustard, not mizuya?"
"Mizuya... Mizuna... Yes, it could have been potherb mustard.
"Yes, that's right. We have the answer, don't we?
Minsi looks relieved. Sidi puts his index finger on his chin and looks diagonally upward.
"So, does that mean I should put white soup made of boiled down beef or chicken bones and potherb mustard in a pot called Nankin? But Minsi, there was a dish of boiled pumpkin in the pot, remember? Do you think it would taste good with that stuff in there?"
Minsi's face became more severe than usual.
"Princess, you must understand..."
"What do you mean?"
"Princess, the seasoning of food varies from house to house. There is a taste of home, so to speak. Perhaps you are trying to impart the taste of the House of Batharm, and by extension, the Royal House of Agartha, to the Princess.
"Me? Why?"
Princess, in every common house, when a bride is welcomed, the mistress of the house passes on the taste of the house to her daughter-in-law. With all due respect, Your Highness Linos, you are a former slave. Therefore, I do not mean to imply that... It is highly likely that you were born a commoner. No, it's not that he's a commoner. King Agartha must have seen a scene where he gave a taste of home when he was a child. That's why he himself is giving the princess the taste of home, this Minsi thinks.
"I see..."
"Princess. You must take the taste of Agartha's royal family and pass it on to the next generation. When Linos' children are married and his new bride arrives, she will pass on the taste to them.
"But, Master Linos doesn't have any male children, does he?"
"Princess! d*mn it! What are you talking about! The princess will give birth to the male child!
"Me?"
"Yes! Dwarves, especially royalty, are a male lineage. I am sure that Linos and the princess will have a male child. Then who can give his bride the taste of Agartha's royal family? The princess is the only one who can teach her daughter-in-law the taste of Agartha's royal family. Isn't that why Linos-sama gave the princess the taste of his house? Princess, please give birth to a fine child. Minsi, I pray for you from the bottom of my heart.
"...Minsi, thank you."
With tears in her eyes, Sadie thanks him. With a satisfied smile on her face, Minsi slowly nodded her head.
After returning to the house, Sidi immediately ransacked the refrigerator and took out some of the golden chicken bones he had stocked to make a white soup, which he put into the pot. Then he chopped up some potherb mustard and threw it into the pot. Then he put them in the pot and simmered them.
At night, Linos finally returned to the house.
"I'm so tired! I had no idea that Lamaron was so rich in mineral resources!
Talking to himself, Linos entered the kitchen. There was Sidi standing in front of a pot.
"What are you doing, Sadie?"
"Ah, Mr. Linos, welcome back."
Sadie greeted him with a smile, but she had a simmering pot on the stove.
"Oh, I see you're reheating the chicken. Thank you."
"Yes. As Mr. Rinos said, I put white soup and potherb mustard in this pot called Nankin."
"Hm? What do you mean...? Huh? No, it's not. Nankin means... pumpkin. Taitano means stew. Mizuyaa means water closet. It means to put the stewed pumpkin in the cupboard to cool."
Now Sidi's eyes widen.
"Well... then... I..."
"What have you done to my pumpkin stew? Oh, it's changed its color.
Saying this, Linos stirred the inside of the pot with chopsticks.
"This is a nice pumpkin. What a waste.
Saying this, Linos popped the stew into his mouth.
"Hmm? ...The white soup is surprisingly thick.......Golden chicken broth....... Oh my.... This is... well... how nice.
Saying this, Llinos brought the pumpkin stew to his mouth one after another. Then he looked at Sidi's face.