Chapter 76

It was undoubtedly an incident.

On an ordinary afternoon, Geanote, the tax collector, visited the usual izakaya, the "Bu," and did not order the spaghetti Napoletana he would normally request.

"…Red wine. No appetizers."

That was all he said, almost to himself. He propped his elbows on the counter and supported his prominent forehead with both hands, falling silent. I thought he might want to get drunk, but when Leontine brought him a glass of red wine, he merely glanced at it and took it without even touching it to his lips.

"Did something happen?"

"Well, strange things do happen."

When Shinobu asked, Leontine only shrugged.

The recent Sasarika rice scandal had been resolved thanks to Geanote's quick thinking. The House of Sacknussemberg was able to buy cheap grain for storage, and the Eisen Schmidt Trading Company secured the working capital needed for spring and was able to open their warehouse. It was also a good discovery that the rice grown in this world was quite tasty.

I had thought that the rice from Japan, which had been improved, would naturally be better, but the rice here had its own unique qualities. It had a slightly sticky texture, similar to mochi, which made me want to try making ochazuke or zongzi.

As I was thinking about what dishes would be good to make with it, the sound of a traveling performer's flute drifted into the shop from the street. The city was abuzz with an unusual excitement because a royal or noble from some country was suddenly visiting the ancient capital.

There was speculation about what they could be doing here in the cold winter, but the truth was that no one really knew. It was even questionable whether they would actually come.

More than that, what was worrying me now was Geanote.

Geanote's love for spaghetti Napoletana was well-known, and he rarely ordered anything else at Bu. Shinobu had secretly worried that he might eventually get tired of it, but there had been no sign of that until today.

"Hans, I'm a bit worried," Hans muttered.

"Do you think so too, Hans?"

"Doesn't it worry you, Shinobu? He doesn't seem like the type to fail at his job, and I wonder if he met someone he didn't want to see."

"Someone he didn't want to see, huh."

Shinobu almost started to think of the face of someone she didn't want to see, but she shook her head slightly.

"The person I don't want to see right now is my father."

Hans laughed, almost jokingly, and Shinobu forced a smile in response.

Even with family, there are people you don't want to see.

"By the way, Mr. Lorentz hasn't been to the shop recently. Is something wrong?"

"We've been fighting, ever since the end of last year."

"Ever since?"

This was news to Shinobu. When Hans was a regular customer, he didn't seem to have a particularly bad relationship with his father.

"My father doesn't like that I'm aiming to be a chef. So…"

"You should talk it out properly."

It wasn't Nobu who interjected, but Geanote. He slowly raised his head, picked up the glass beside him, and drained it in one go. This was not the usual way Geanote drank.

"Sorry, did you hear that, Geanote?"

"Don't worry about it, Shinobu. I just have slightly better hearing than most people."

Geanote raised his glass with a thin smile, and Leontine poured him another. It was not wine from this world, but Chilean wine bought from Japan. It was cheap but tasted good.

Shinobu and Nobu had discussed the secret of the back door of the izakaya Bu with Hans and Leontine, but their reactions were lukewarm. They seemed to understand that it connected to another world, but they didn't find it particularly special. They thought it was like a fairy tale where someone goes to the land of fairies.

Shinobu tried hard to explain that it wasn't like that, but Hans and Leontine brushed it off.

"Anyway, Geanote, since you overheard, could you tell us why you're so down?"

Leontine, who was straightforward, asked directly.

Geanote fiddled with his monocle as if hesitating, then drained his glass as if he had made a decision.

"It seems my younger brother is in this city."

He spoke in a heavy, serious tone, as if revealing a deep, dark secret, but the content was quite ordinary.

"You have a younger brother?"

Shinobu's surprised voice echoed.

Nobu, who enjoyed speculating about the family structures of the customers based on their conversations, was taken aback. This time, his guess was off.

"I have a younger brother, and my parents are still alive. Some people seem to want to believe I was born from a tree or a cave, but I'm just a regular human."

He drained his third glass as soon as Leontine refilled it. Today, Geanote was clearly different from his usual self. Shinobu had seen him drink a lot of beer before, but she had never seen him drink wine at this pace. It was not a good way to drink.

"So, why is it bad that your brother is in this city?"

Leontine gently stopped Geanote from raising his glass for a fourth time and asked.

"My brother doesn't know that I'm a tax collector, and I have no intention of telling him. So, I can't meet him. Otherwise, I wouldn't be drinking during the day and neglecting my work."

"I see…"

From what Shinobu knew, Geanote was the only tax collector she knew, but from the regular customers' comments, it was clear that this profession was quite disliked in this world. It must be a delicate matter for Geanote, who took pride in his job, to not be able to tell his own brother.

"By the way, how did you find out your brother was in the ancient capital?"

As Leontine asked, the glass door of the izakaya Bu was gently knocked.