AIWON Mall Isekai Store, Grand Opening Today! - Chapter 107
Episode 10-9
It’s been 25 days since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
I pause in front of the large dish before me. Well, I’m using a spoon and fork, not chopsticks, but my hands still stop. I make eye contact with the alien-like, or rather, Warasubo-like fish, whose head rests on the edge of the plate. It doesn’t move.
“Of course not. It’s dead. It’s been cooked already. Haha.”
A dry laugh escapes me.
The grilled fish and shellfish were delicious. The bouillabaisse was a bit lacking, but it wasn’t bad.
“Wh-what’s wrong, Naoya? If you’re not going to eat it, I’ll eat it! It might look like this, but what matters is what’s inside. That means it should be delicious.”
“Don’t push yourself, Chloe, your hands are trembling.”
“It seems they’ve used dried fish to make the broth, and it’s flavored with fish sauce. The ingredients are gelatinous fish flesh and… ah, the fish’s insides. I see, that’s why Chloe said ‘what’s inside matters.'”
“Please don’t interpret ‘inside’ as ‘innards,’ Anna-san. I don’t think that’s what she meant.”
In front of the large dish that the old lady vendor placed, my hands stopped. Neither Chloe nor Anna-san seems willing to take a bite.
The appearance of the mishmash soup is apparently tough to stomach even in this other world. And it’s irritatingly fragrant.
“…Alright, here we go. I’m the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. The supermarket department is under my jurisdiction, and I’m responsible for sourcing seafood. I can’t afford not to eat this. Let’s do it. Here I go.”
Gathering my courage, I scoop some up. The gelatinous flesh of the giant fish wobbles on the wooden spoon. The dried Warasubo resting its head on the edge of the plate seems to be staring at me. Or so it feels.
Steeling myself, I take a bite.
I savor it.
I chew.
My eyes widen.
“You’ve got to be kidding me… This is… delicious…”
“A-are you serious, Naoya!? There’s no way something that looks like this could taste good!”
“Didn’t you just say that what’s inside matters more than appearances, Chloe?”
“This is even better than the bouillabaisse we had earlier. It’s like those innards spilling out from those creatures. Perhaps—”
“Please don’t finish that thought, Anna-san. It’s not ‘perhaps.’ It’s not funny this time.”
“…Delicious!”
“Oh, it’s not bad at all. Humans can be quite capable.”
“Ah, yes, dragons can handle it, I’m sure. You can eat both meat and fish raw, after all.”
The grotesque-looking mishmash soup was delicious. It was even tastier than the grilled dishes that brought out the flavor of the ingredients.
So far, it’s the best dish I’ve had in this diner.
“But this… There’s no way this will sell, even if we manage to solve the transportation issues.”
Once we took the first bite, everyone seemed to lose their initial hesitation and started digging into the large platter. On my spoon, however, was an eyeball. Nope. I can’t do this. I’m still not okay with this.
As I hesitated, Barbera swooped in and bit it right off my spoon. Anna-san scolded her for her bad manners, but honestly, I was saved. Thank you, Barbera. She seemed to enjoy it, and the dragon girl herself was delighted. You’re amazing, Barbera.
“My, my, you young ‘un are handling this well! How about trying this one too?”
But our trial wasn’t over yet.
The aunty vendor returned, placing yet another dish on the table.
“What is this? A prank on outsiders?”
“What are you talking about! This sashimi is from the seafood you boys bought earlier! You wanted to try it, right?”
One dish was a type of sashimi, specifically a “sugata-zukuri” (whole fish presentation). That’s fine—it’s a delicacy served in Japan’s coastal restaurants or more specialized eateries.
The problem was the “sugata.”
It was those pink, slender, wriggling creatures that were slithering around in the market’s corner earlier. Their heads had been chopped off, and their elongated bodies were sliced into rings, laid out on a flat board.
“Have you ever seen a less appetizing ‘sugata-zukuri’? No, I haven’t.”
“We’re supposed to… eat this raw? I mean, maybe Elves and humans have different tastes! Naoya, you should be the one to eat it!”
“You’re so scared you’re actually making sense, Chloe.”
“Come to think of it, Naoya-san, didn’t you say earlier, ‘I’m in charge of sourcing seafood too, so I can’t afford not to eat this’?”
“Wow, you’ve got a good memory, Anna-san. As expected of a brainy undead.”
These pink, slender creatures, which resemble shipworms, are apparently meant to be eaten raw with a dash of fish sauce. Seriously? Whoever decided to try this first must’ve been out of their mind.
“…Alright. Chloe, use ‘Purification.’ Thoroughly. More thoroughly than usual.”
“So you’ve steeled yourself to eat it! Leave it to me! I shall honor your courage, Naoya! ‘Purification,’ ‘Purification,’ ‘Purification’!”
“By the way, isn’t it odd that ‘Purification’ doesn’t get rid of these parasites, even though they’re parasites themselves?”
“Yes. ‘Purification’ only repels ‘evil beings weaker than the caster.’ If something is already dead and harmless, it won’t work. Except for the undead, of course.”
“Yet somehow, Anna-san doesn’t seem affected by sunlight… Well, I guess that’s because you’re a long-lived Lich.”
“Oh no no, I’m 21 years old.”
“That’s still going on, huh? I feel like I’ve heard this line before.”
“Alright, we’re ready! Go ahead, Naoya!”
Chloe’s face was tense.
My face was tense.
Anna-san had her usual serene smile, while the dragon family was curious about the unfamiliar food. The strong in this otherworld are just too strong.
“I’m ready. Here I go. I’m the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store. The supermarket department is under my jurisdiction, and I’m responsible for sourcing seafood. I can’t afford not to eat this.”
I repeated my earlier words, as if to reassure myself.
I can do this. I have to be able to do this.
Even in our world, when Aion Mall expanded overseas, we had to try all sorts of local foods.
I once heard that to ensure the safety of the vegetables they were sourcing, some people even tasted the soil. Plus, Chloe’s ‘Purification’ ensured safety, and this world has healing magic too.
In fact, it’s probably safer than eating foreign food in our world. It has to be.
I stabbed it with my fork.
The slimy texture sapped my courage.
I dipped it in fish sauce.
I brought it closer to my mouth.
I closed my eyes.
I tossed it into my mouth.
I chewed.
It was crunchy.
Aside from the texture, all I could taste was the fish sauce.
“A-are you alright, Naoya?! Should we use healing magic, just in case? If Anna and I work together, we can handle most injuries—”
“Ah, no, I think I’m fine, Chloe. Yeah, probably fine. It’s not bad. But it’s not particularly good either. The only real advantage is that it’s a ‘rare delicacy’ you can eat raw.”
“…Weird taste.”
“Yeah, it doesn’t really feel like eating, does it? I think I’d prefer sea serpent meat over this.”
“It’s okay, really. Even if it tears through my stomach, I’ll just revive. I’ll give it a try—yes, as Naoya-san said, there’s no particular merit besides its rarity.”
The grotesque fish’s “sugata-zukuri” had an interesting texture, but that was about it.
It wasn’t especially tasty or disgusting, and neither Anna-san, Barbera, nor Barbera Mama rated it highly.
“Fine! If everyone else can do it, so can I! Women need guts! Elves need determination!”
“Elves and determination don’t seem to go together… Wait, I said this before, didn’t I?”
Chloe mustered her courage and tried it, but her review wasn’t great either.
It turns out that rare delicacies you can eat raw are just that—rare delicacies and not much else.
It’s been 25 days since I became the manager of the Aion Mall Otherworldly Store.
After touring the fish market and tasting the food in this diner, I feel utterly exhausted.
Next up is the main event, a tour of the fishing port. I hope I have the energy for it.
For now, I must say, the overseas expansion team of Aion Corporation is incredible for trying everything the local cuisine has to offer. I wish I could go back and slap my past self for casually saying, “Yeah, working overseas sounds nice” during job hunting. I mean, I ended up in another world…