Chapter 38

"I apologize for the delay in preparing the meal. Due to our inland location, we cannot offer the same variety of delicacies as the Fries territory, but please enjoy the meal."

About an hour after Ichirou came out of the bath, Ichirou and the other three, including Haber, were seated at the dining table of the Rousseau residence, facing a spread of lavish dishes. The table was a long rectangular one, perhaps four meters in length. On the table, several large platters, each about the size of a person's armspan, were placed, filled to the brim with various dishes.

Haber and Ichirou were seated in what could be called the "birthday seats," while Valleta and the village chief were seated on the side. Two serving maids stood a little away from the table, and in front of them was a small table covered with a cloth, on which several copper pitchers filled with drinks were placed. One of the maids was Marie, and the other was a woman Ichirou had not seen since they arrived at the mansion.

Haber had taken off the armor he had been wearing and was now dressed in a loose robe, similar to what Ichirou was wearing. The village chief and Valleta were also dressed in similar, though slightly different, robes.

"This is... quite something..."

Ichirou said this, impressed by the array of dishes in front of him. The quality of the food far exceeded his expectations.

The dishes on the table included many ingredients that Ichirou rarely ate in this world, such as meat and fish, and the variety was impressive. Among the dishes, there were meat dishes like roast beef and grilled fish with sauce, which were familiar to Ichirou from Japan.

There were also a few dishes that would make a Japanese person faint, such as grilled and sautéed mealworms, but if they were on this table, they must be high-end ingredients. Since Ichirou had been eating high-end mealworm dishes made by Valleta in Gricia Village, he had no problem with mealworms on the table.

"Amazing... I've never seen such a luxurious spread."

Valleta, who looked a bit nervous, said this, and the village chief nodded in agreement. It was natural, as the meals of nobles were something that ordinary farmers would never see.

"I'm glad you like it. We also have fine fruit wine, but can everyone drink alcohol?"

"I can!"

The village chief answered enthusiastically, and Haber smiled, saying, "That's good," and called Marie to pour fruit wine into the copper cup in front of the village chief.

"What about the two of you?"

"I'll have some too."

"I'll pass on the alcohol..."

"Oh, I see. How about fruit juice, then?"

"Ah, yes, then I'll have that..."

Haber gave instructions to the other waiting maid after hearing Valleta's response. Marie, who had finished pouring wine into the village chief's cup, came to Ichirou's cup and poured fruit wine as well.

"Please, enjoy your meal. If you can't reach any dish, just let the maids know, and they will serve you."

Haber said this and started transferring food from a nearby large platter to a small plate. Seeing this, the village chief and Valleta also began to transfer food from nearby dishes to their small plates. Following them, Ichirou transferred a meat dish similar to roast beef to his small plate.

"Itadakimasu... Wow, this is delicious!"

Ichirou, who was so hungry he felt dizzy, quickly brought the meat to his mouth and exclaimed in amazement. The meat dish he ate had a texture and taste very close to roast beef.

In fact, this dish was made by steaming meat with salt and pouring a sauce made from herbs and fruits over it, a cooking method very similar to roast beef. While Ichirou, who knew the taste of roast beef from Japan, might have wanted some garlic, pepper, wasabi, or soy sauce, that would be a luxury.

"I'm glad you like it. There's plenty of food, so please eat as much as you like."

Haber looked relieved to see Ichirou eating the meat enthusiastically. Not knowing what kind of food would satisfy Ichirou, he had prepared as many different dishes as possible, but it seemed that the first dish he tried was a hit.

"By the way, Lord Kazura, there's something I'd like to ask of you..."

About fifteen minutes into the dinner, after everyone had eaten enough to take a break, Haber, who had been talking about the food and the town, stopped eating and spoke to Ichirou.

"What is it?"

"When you need to arrange people or supplies in Isteria in the future, I would like you to entrust it to me... I have connections with merchants and other nobles in Isteria, so I can certainly be of help."

Surprised by Haber's sudden offer, Ichirou put down the skewer of mealworms he was about to eat. Incidentally, the mealworms on the skewer were not Arcadian worms but a different species.

"That's a generous offer. If I need your help, I'll come to you, so please take care of me then."

Ichirou said this and bowed slightly. In response, Haber placed both hands on the table and bowed deeply.

"Thank you. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

After dinner, Ichirou and the others returned to their room and relaxed, chatting with full stomachs.

"Is something wrong, Kazura?"

While they were sitting on the bed or the built-in sofa, talking about the food and other things, Valleta noticed that Ichirou seemed a bit off and asked him. Ichirou, who had been rubbing his overfilled stomach, frowned slightly.

"No, it's just that my stomach... feels a bit off."

"Wh-What!?"

Valleta was surprised to hear Ichirou complain about his stomach right after dinner and hurriedly rushed to his side. For a moment, she feared that the food might have been poisoned, but then she noticed that Ichirou didn't seem to be in pain or distress, just rubbing his stomach with a puzzled look.

"This is really strange..."

"Are you okay!? Is your stomach hurting!?"

Valleta, worried about Ichirou, who was looking at his stomach with a serious expression, placed her hand on his stomach and fidgeted.

"No, it's not painful or uncomfortable or anything."

Ichirou quickly defended himself to Valleta, who was looking worried and touching his stomach. While he did feel some discomfort in his stomach, it was a different sensation from pain.

"I'm so hungry, I feel dizzy..."

"..."

Hearing that Ichirou was hungry, Valleta and the village chief were stunned. After all, Ichirou had just eaten a huge amount of food at dinner, to the point where his stomach was visibly full. In fact, Ichirou's stomach was completely full, with hardly any room for more food. Yet, he claimed to be extremely hungry, which made no sense.

"Actually, since yesterday... or rather, the day before, I haven't felt my stomach get full after eating. It was a bit better yesterday, but... when I say it doesn't get full, it's more of a feeling. My stomach does expand as I eat."

Ichirou said this while rubbing his stomach. Valleta, who was still touching Ichirou's stomach, looked puzzled as she rubbed it.

Ichirou thought for a moment but couldn't figure out the reason. If his satiety center had been damaged and he couldn't feel full no matter how much he ate, it would make sense, but if that were the case, he shouldn't be relaxing here. He should go back to Japan and see a doctor.

"Ugh, I'm so hungry. Maybe I'll have another piece of fruit..."

Ichirou said this and tried to stand up to get some fruit from the table. However, as he was about to stand, he suddenly felt unsteady on his feet and almost fell.

"Kazura!"

Valleta, who was sitting next to him, quickly hugged him to support him. Despite her slender build, she supported Ichirou with a firm grip, preventing him from falling.

"Sorry, I just felt a bit unsteady..."

Ichirou grabbed Valleta's shoulder to steady himself and thanked her. As he was about to let go of her shoulder, he noticed that his fingertips were trembling slightly.

"...What's this..."

His trembling fingertips and unsteady feet were something Ichirou had experienced before.

It was when he was working as an office worker, working like a horse for days on end without time to eat. One day, he realized he had been working from morning to night without eating, and he experienced similar symptoms. Worried about what was happening to his body, he searched the internet for his symptoms and found one word.

"Ah, I see, that's what it is."

Ichirou, who was rubbing his stomach with his right hand and looking at his trembling left hand, which was still holding Valleta's shoulder, seemed to have come to a realization. Valleta looked at him with a worried expression.

"Valleta, I'm fine now. Thank you."

Ichirou thanked Valleta and let go of her shoulder, then sat down in front of the Boston bag in the corner of the room and started rummaging through it.

"That was close. I could have starved to death without realizing it."

"Did you figure out the cause?"

Valleta asked Ichirou, who was rummaging through the Boston bag. Ichirou seemed to have come to a conclusion, but Valleta had no idea what he was talking about.

"I think I have hypoglycemia. Probably."

Hypoglycemia is a condition where blood sugar levels drop extremely low, causing symptoms like trembling hands and weakness. While the severity of symptoms can vary from person to person, it often occurs during extreme hunger and can be quickly alleviated by consuming food to raise blood sugar levels.

"Hypoglycemia... Ah, I remember studying that before. But..."

Valleta looked unconvinced when she heard about hypoglycemia. This was because the reference book they had used in their studies mentioned that hypoglycemia often occurs during hunger. Ichirou had just finished eating dinner, so this didn't apply to him.

"Well, whether it's hypoglycemia or not, we'll know after I eat this. ...Hmm, I'm so hungry, but my stomach is already full... Will it fit...?"

Despite Valleta's skeptical look, Ichirou took out a plastic spoon and a can of mandarin oranges from the Boston bag, opened the can, and started drinking the syrup and eating the oranges with the spoon.

This would provide a significant amount of calories and sugar, but if Ichirou's hypothesis was correct, it shouldn't be a problem.

"If this helps me recover, it will explain the rapid growth of the village's crops and the villagers' super recovery. As for the enhancement of physical abilities... I guess it can be explained, somehow..."

While the village chief was looking bewildered, Valleta listened to Ichirou's explanation with a serious expression.

"Kazura, what do you mean by 'super recovery'?"

"Ah, hypoglycemia... Let me explain..."

Ichirou started explaining the details of the condition to the village chief, who looked completely lost. While it might seem strange to explain that Ichirou had hypoglycemia to someone who believed he was Graciel, it was too late to change that now. Ichirou would have to leave the follow-up to Valleta.

After about twenty minutes of explaining hypoglycemia to the village chief and answering Valleta's questions, Ichirou stood up to check his condition. His feet were steady, and his hands had stopped trembling. It seemed his hypothesis was correct.

"Of course. So, this means..."

Ichirou muttered this and crossed his arms to think. Considering the content of the food he had eaten over the past few days and his recent symptoms, he could form two hypotheses about the relationship between the food in this world and himself.

The first hypothesis was that the food in this world contained almost no nutrients.

If this hypothesis were true, it would easily explain why Ichirou had experienced symptoms similar to hypoglycemia and why the village's crops had grown rapidly. Since Ichirou had hardly eaten any food from Japan since the afternoon of three days ago, he had only eaten one can of food on the second night of the march and the can of mandarin oranges he just ate. If the food in this world contained almost no nutrients, Ichirou would have been severely malnourished over the past three days. Similarly, the village's crops, which were chronically malnourished, could have returned to their normal state after being given rich fertilizer from the forest and Japan. The villagers, who were also chronically malnourished, could have regained their normal strength after being given the necessary nutrients. In this case, the villagers would have had incredible physical abilities but lacked the fuel to use them. However, this would mean that the people in this world could maintain life and exhibit physical abilities similar to those of people in Ichirou's world with almost no nutrients, which would make them ultimate life forms beyond common sense.

The second hypothesis was that Ichirou could not absorb nutrients from the food in this world, but the food and fertilizer from Japan had a special effect on the villagers and crops.

In this case, the food in this world would contain nutrients, but Ichirou alone could not absorb them. However, this hypothesis would not explain why the villagers and crops experienced super recovery and superhuman abilities after eating food from Japan. While it could be assumed that the food and fertilizer had a special effect, the food and fertilizer Ichirou brought were ordinary commercial products. It could be hypothesized that they gained special effects when brought to this world from Japan, but that would be too fantastical to accept. However, the existence of a room that could move between worlds was already fantastical enough.

"Kazura...?"

While Ichirou was deep in thought, Valleta, who had approached him, looked worried.

"Ah, sorry, I was just thinking... I'm fine now."

Ichirou thought about explaining the hypotheses to Valleta but decided to hold off since the village chief was also present. While he could tell the village chief, who was Valleta's father, everything, the chief firmly believed that Ichirou was Graciel, so there was no need to change that.

After stuffing his already full stomach with the can of mandarin oranges, Ichirou, who was now feeling uncomfortable, took out some stomach medicine from the Boston bag and swallowed a few tablets.