Chapter 83

Hans stood with his arms crossed, staring intently at the cutting board. He had been in the same position for quite some time, lost in thought. His mind was preoccupied with the sharpness and subtle bitterness of the Triaezunama.

Not long ago, Hans had reconciled with his father, Laurenz, and Taisho had given him a new challenge. He was to come up with a new dish to add to the menu. Although he wasn't yet in a position to create something for the restaurant, being able to think about the menu was a significant step forward. It meant that Taisho recognized his potential.

The task was to come up with a dish that would pair well with Triaezunama. There was no set deadline, but he wanted to complete it as soon as possible. That's why he had been spending every day after closing, thinking with his arms crossed at the izakaya Nobu.

"Have you come up with any good ideas?"

As Leonetine stroked the ice in her Taketuru pure malt with her fingertips, a pleasant sound echoed in the glass. It was a new drink that Nobu had recently started serving. Leonetine seemed to really enjoy it, often pairing it with Tantakatan for her evening drinks.

"Nothing."

"Nothing? You've been standing there for days."

"I want to create something completely new."

"That's quite ambitious."

Hans wasn't saying this lightly. The dishes at Nobu were all delicious and refined. To add something to the menu, it needed to be new. Simply imitating Taisho's dishes with a few tweaks wouldn't do justice to the opportunity he had been given, and he wouldn't be satisfied with that.

"Why don't you at least decide on the ingredients? You can probably think of a few that would go well with Triaezunama?"

"I've been thinking about using pork."

Pork was a widely enjoyed ingredient in the ancient city, but it was surprisingly underused at Nobu. It was used for tonkatsu, kushikatsu, and kakuni, but it didn't get as much attention as chicken. The pigs raised in the Blantano forest ate chestnuts and medicinal walnuts during autumn, making them perfect for the current season.

"Pork, huh? It seems like it would go well with Triaezunama, whether boiled, grilled, or fried. I think it's a good choice."

"The problem is how to cook it."

Leonetine's quick assertion that pork would go well with Triaezunama, whether boiled, grilled, or fried, also meant that these were existing dishes. Even if they weren't served at Nobu, there was no point in Hans thinking about them if they were available at other places in the ancient city.

What could he do? He took the pork out of the refrigerator and placed it in front of him. Since it was raw, it had to be cooked. Was there anything else besides boiling, grilling, or frying? As he pondered this, he examined the pork from various angles. Suddenly, there was a knock on the glass door of Nobu.

Hans and Leonetine exchanged glances. The noren was already put away, and Taisho was upstairs watching a keiji drama. If Shinobu had forgotten something, she would have come through the back door, and Efa wouldn't come at this hour.

Could it be a thief? Leonetine was already poised with a broom, her stance that of a seasoned mercenary. Nodding to her, Hans crouched and grabbed the glass sliding door, taking a deep breath before pulling it open.

"Who's there!"

"Whoa!"

The visitor fell back at the force of Leonetine's challenge. Hans recognized the face. In fact, he saw it every day.

"...Brother?"

Hugo, Hans's brother, was sitting pitifully on the snowy <Coachman's Inn> street.

"Hans, is the place closed at this hour?"

"Yeah, the noren is already down, right?"

"But it was still lit inside, and I was hungry, so I thought maybe..."

Hans let his brother in and started a fire in the stove. He boiled water in a yu-hira-nabe and threw in some cold rice. Since Hugo had come after closing, he wasn't a customer, and Hans could cook something for him without any issues. His finger injuries had already healed.

"Next time, try to come a bit earlier."

"Sure, I'll try. But I've been a bit busy lately."

The job he had taken from Thomas at the cathedral was more challenging than expected. Laurenz, their father, was the best glass expert in the ancient city, but grinding the glass to the exact thickness the client wanted was no easy task. Hugo and Laurenz were working on it together.

As they chatted, Leonetine smiled.

"You two seem to get along well. I've never seen Hans so relaxed before."

"Really?"

Hans wasn't sure, but maybe he had put up some walls. They had lived a nomadic life since childhood. He made friends even in places where the language was different, but his closest friend was always his brother, Hugo. That's why, even at this age, they still got along well.

He cracked an egg into the rice to make congee. It was a light meal, perfect for his brother, who had a weak stomach.

"Here you go."

"Thanks."

Watching his brother enjoy the congee, Hans was reminded of a trip they had taken west. By then, their mother was already gone, and it was just the two brothers traveling with Laurenz. They were supposed to visit Hugo's uncle. They rode horses for days across endless grasslands, traveling with a trade caravan to buy pepper. Hugo and Hans were the only children in the group.

He still remembered the lamb they ate under the starry sky, surrounded by the horizon, as particularly delicious. Hugo's expression relaxed after eating the congee. After exchanging pleasantries with Leonetine, they naturally started chatting.

"Hans, you've been coming home late lately. Is something bothering you?"

"Yeah, I can't come up with a new dish for the menu."

When Hans mentioned that he was thinking about using pork, Hugo's face turned thoughtful, and he stopped stirring with the wooden spoon. He always got like this when he was deep in thought.

"This might take a while..."

"Is that how it is?"

"Yeah, it can take a long time."

Hugo was skilled at many things, but this was his one weakness. When he focused on something, he became oblivious to everything else. He wouldn't respond even if you called out to him. Once he decided to stay, he would start experimenting. What if he tried cutting the pork differently? The squid jerky that Bertholdt brought could have a different texture if shredded. Slicing the pork thinly might be interesting.

Leonetine seemed willing to stay a bit longer and was making another glass of Taketuru on the rocks. The quiet time passed slowly. Since it wasn't snowing, the distant barking of a dog was clearly audible.

"...What about ground meat?"

Hugo returned to the present sooner than expected. Hans had braced himself for a long night, so he was grateful.

"Ground meat? Are you thinking of making sausages?"

"No, no. Do you remember? The lamb wrapped in dough."

"Oh, pelmeni!"