Chapter 4: 4

Episode 4: Chivalrous-san Appears Part 3

Translated by AmaLynne
Edited by AmaLynne

 

TN: Sorry for no update last week >_<.
My keyboard laptop broke and the shipment for my new keyboard is also late :’3.
The update schedule for this series will be 2 chapters/week. I’ll upload 4 this week to compensate for the last week’s no update.
Also, after considering it a bit, I decided to use Japanese honorifics instead of translating them to English. But, I’ll still use English if it sounds better.

 

「Thank you for waiting.」

 

I offered one of the skewered dishes I had grilled myself to Oyabun-san.

 

「What, it’s not meat? You’re so stingy.」

 

It was indeed skewered, but it was not a skewer of meat or offal.

 

It was about the size of a ginkgo nut, with three vegetables that looked like knobs, slightly charred on the outside.

 

「I didn’t serve it to you.」

 

「This little girl is bullish on me, isn’t she?」

 

I don’t know about you, oyabun-san, but at least I don’t feel like I can lose to you.

 

「Terry, keep it down. It’s kofuki…」

 

「So you know it.」

 

The kofuki was a wildflower much like the Japanese butterbur.

 

The one in this world is only as big as ginkgo nuts.

 

It is not widely available in Royal Capital, but the grocer I stock vegetables from told me that a farmer in the countryside with whom I have a good relationship distributes it at the right time of year, so I stocked up on some to try it out.

 

In this world, there is no tempura… Oil is an issue. If it’s not refined oil… I heard it’s put in mixed grain porridge or grilled with meat and fish.

 

I just put them on skewers and grilled them with a light sprinkle of salt.

 

It had just the right amount of bitterness, and oji-san ordered one to eat instead of an appetizer.

 

It was one of the other dishes that were a hit with the older customers.

 

「(I’m not sure if it would be to the liking of the oyabun-san, who I believe is only around 30 years old… But oji-san seems confident.)」

 

Oyabun-san popped one of the kofuki, which had three skewers pointed at it, into his mouth.

 

He seems to check its taste carefully as he chews it lightly with his eyes.

 

He continued with another.

 

He is also carefully checking the taste of the kofuki, which is just grilled over charcoal and sprinkled with salt, while meditating in the same way.

 

He puts the last piece in his mouth, chews it extra slowly, and after swallowing it, I see a few tears in his eyes.

 

「The kofuki is slightly bitter, and because of the salt sprinkled on it, it finally tastes a little sweet thanks to the salt. It’s not very tasty, but it reminds me of the bastard hometown I left behind. That small village. My father, who was a proud and arrogant farmer, and my mother, who had married into the family from a much poorer village and was always shy to ask my father’s opinion because she had no place to go back to. Truly, it was a shitty hometown.」

 

His voice must have come out spontaneously, without any intention of being heard by anyone.

 

When Oyabun-san finished eating the kofuki skewers, he began to tell us about his upbringing.

 

「My father didn’t do much farm work, he was more into drinking and gambling. Since it was a rural village, he spent every day playing games with the other villagers who also liked to gamble. Therefore, my mother cultivated the fields alone, and whenever there was even a little money in the house, my father would either buy liquor or spend it on gambling. If my mother tried to resist him even a little, he would beat her mercilessly. When I tried to stop him, he would say,『You cheeky little kid!』. I was beaten and kicked until I lost consciousness. It kept me in a tight spot when I was a kid.」

 

「Was it kofuki that you ate most often?」

 

「There was plenty of these growing outside the village. It was not very tasty, so people in the village did not eat it that much, but we were different. My mother was sorry that I had to suffer so much, so she fed me a lot of it. Even under such circumstances, my mother did not leave my father and died prematurely of illness. I was ten years old. I was sick of everything and ran away from the village. I finally made it to the royal capital dressed like a hobo. From there, I struggled to the death to get where I am today.」

 

Did Oyabun-san’s awesomeness emanate from such a painful past?

 

「When I left my hometown, I thought I would never eat kofuki again, but this reminds me of that…」

 

「Your late mother?」

 

「I’ll give you a grade of honor. The shovel fee should be at market price. Terry!」

 

「Yes!」

 

「Tell the others! Do not try anything funny in this store!」

 

「I understand!」

 

「Let’s go home.」

 

「Hey! I wanted something to eat too…」

 

「What is it? Terry.」

 

「No, nothing…」

 

「In time. And the other young guys, too.」

 

「I understand!」

 

After saying this, oyabun-san left the restaurant with his three subordinates.

 

On the table was a silver coin.

 

Since each kofuki skewer costs one copper coin, I guess this was compensation for the inconvenience.

 

It would be tactless to try to give oyabun-san a change right now, so I decided to gratefully accept it.

 

I am also good at reading the atmosphere.

 

I never think that I am lucky to get a silver coin for just one skewer.

 

Besides, you know what?

 

That’s what’s called a『nuisance fee』.

 

「Woow, up close, Yard-oyabun-san is quite a force to be reckoned with.」

 

「It’s all about the eyes, isn’t it?」

 

After oyabun-san was gone, the main topic of conversation among the customers was about him.

 

You are reading story Wild JK Kashino Yukiko Opens a Bar in Another World at novel35.com

Incidentally, the reason he is called『Yard-oyabun-san』is said to be a legacy from when the area around here was called the Yard district in the past.

 

Now, with the rezoning, the name of the Yard district seems to have disappeared.

 

The oyabun-san is the most powerful neighborhood watchman in the area, and he is also a young boss who has not been around in recent years.

 

「Thanks for the advice, oji-san.」

 

「No, it’s a kind of a lure, but it’s a strategy that was only possible because the restaurant had kofuki. I used to stock it all the time.」

 

「Oji-san ordered one, too, didn’t he?」

 

「At my age, I guess. Many of us enjoy a little bit of something like kofuki as an appetizer and get a taste of life’s journey. Yard-oyabun-san is young, but his life must have been turbulent itself. He had room to remember his past by eating something like that.」

 

So that’s how much your folks have struggled in life.

 

Also, he’s old, but he is indeed the former head of a large business association.

 

His ability to see people is extraordinary.

 

No wonder he is successful.

 

「If Yard-oyabun-san likes the store, no one will bother this store anymore, unless they are naive and stupid. Now we can go to this restaurant with peace of mind. Landlady, please get me a refill of ale and some more skewers.」

 

「Are you all right? Oji-san. Eat that much.」

 

「I’m not a fan of kofuki, but I’ll eat one first. People should eat delicious food.」

 

「That’s true.」

 

I was in a bit of a pinch today, but oji-san advice got me through it.

 

I must do my best to prepare food again tomorrow.

 

「Ehh? Oyabun-san? And three subordinates.」

 

「I’m just a guest here today. There are a lot of young people here, so please grill them some skewers.」

 

To my surprise, the next day, yesterday’s oyabun-san came to the restaurant with several young minions.

 

I decided to pay the market rate for the shovel, but when I wondered what else he wanted, Oyabun-san told us that he was here purely as a customer.

 

In fact, the young people he brought with him ate a lot of kushiyaki (skewers) in a funny way.

 

「They eat so much!」

 

「They’re all growing up.」

 

Alone, oyabun-san sips a chug of ale and sips the wild boar’s grilled liver salt.

 

He did not order the kofuki skewers as he did the other day.

 

「That one is good to eat once in a while. It’s not that tasty.」

 

「You say the same thing as oji-san, oyabun-san.」

 

「Oji-san… ah, you mean the retired man. The landlady has the guts to call an amazing person who rebuilt a business association that was on the verge of collapse and raised it to become the largest business association in the country with oji-san.」

 

「I didn’t know.」

 

「He is a retired guy, but… he’s not a one-trick pony.」

 

At a glance, one can tell that oyabun-san is a one-of-a-kind person, but the oji-san who enjoys sake and knobs at the restaurant seems like a gentle old man who could be found anywhere.

 

That’s probably why he’s such a great person, on the contrary.

 

「Aniki also liked this restaurant, so isn’t this another of nee-san great qualities?」

 

Yesterday Mishita-kun, who was hard at work eating his skewers, suddenly started calling me『Nee-san』.

 

I’m an izakaya owner, not someone from the world of chivalry…

 

「Nee-san is… aren’t you older than I am?」

 

「No, I’m seventeen.」

  

 

「What!」

 

This Mishita-kun, I had no idea he was younger than me…

 

I thought he was already over 20 years old… In this Western-style world, Japanese people who don’t look very tall are seen as younger than their real age.

 

「That’s unreasonable… to be called nee-san even though you look younger than you are.」

 

「Ohh, I’m impressed. I’ve never seen anyone who could say that to aniki to his face.」

 

「I agree. It’s been a long time since I had a fresh experience. You guys eat a lot today.」

 

「「「「Yes!」」」」

 

I see.

 

Mishita…… Terry-kun, you are one of them, but all these young kids have no other place to stay, no formal job, and oyabun-san is taking care of them.

 

He collects the money and makes sure that these kids can maintain the security of the area and not become full-fledged criminals.

 

It’s a kind of safety net.

 

In Japan, where there is a law against violence, it is a way of thinking that will never be understood.

 

「「「「「Nee-san, and thank you for the food!」」」」」

 

I am glad to hear you thank me, but please don’t call me nee-san. if you can.

 

However, Terry-kun and others have been calling me『Nee-san』ever since.

 

Nevertheless, I am glad that the good-looking oyabun-san became a regular customer.

 

Girls like a nice guy with a bit of a mysterious side.

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