NOVEL NEXT Chapter 42
There’s a meme that British food is bad, but I don’t really agree with that.
When you think of British food, the first thing that comes to mind is ‘fish and chips.’ I mean, it’s just fried food, right? It can be greasy, but it’s not actually bad in taste. Of course, if you hate fish, that might be a different story.
When I tried it once, it was actually pretty good.
The problem is, that was food I had in my previous life, in ‘Korea.’
The source of the ingredients may vary a bit, but I don’t think the taste of fish and chips can differ significantly just because I’m eating it in Britain. Sure, they might use a bit more oil or vinegar for that flavor, but come on, it’s just battered and fried fish! How different can it be?
Even aside from fish and chips, there are quite a few edible dishes in British cuisine… I guess. You don’t need someone to defend it; it’s pretty common in subcultures that tend to stereotype certain races or nations. Honestly, I feel British food is a similar case.
The problem is, this world is neither ‘Korea’ nor ‘Britain,’ but the ‘Empire of Aetherna.’
Yeah. It’s a world that doesn’t even exist in reality.
Or rather, since reality is reality, saying it’s a ‘world that doesn’t exist on Earth’ would be more accurate.
But here’s the thing.
This ‘Empire of Aetherna’ comes from a game series called ‘Chronicles of Aetherna,’ and the company that made it is a Japanese one called Millennium.
And in Japanese subculture, when someone mentions ‘food made by foreigners,’ British cuisine tends to come up, usually portraying Brits as incapable of cooking or suggesting British food is inedible.
One of the inspirations for the Empire of Aetherna is the ‘British Empire.’
It was set during the ‘Industrial Revolution’ when life for the common people was pretty miserable—if you ignore the nobility.
That’s right. The food in the Empire of Aetherna mostly tasted terrible.
Ah, but the meat was generally excellent. If it’s ‘grilled meat’ like steak, it can be delicious.
Desserts were also decent, and the tea served during tea time wasn’t too bad either.
But honestly, isn’t it true that those are foods that wealthy people enjoy? If you pour money into making anything, it becomes delicious.
Whenever I went out to understand the geography of Crowfield, I’d often purchase street food from vendors or roadside stalls, but most of the food that costs a few pence isn’t worth eating.
No, seriously.
When you think of ‘fish and chips,’ you imagine crispy—worst case, soggy—fried fish cutlets served with equally crispy or decent-tasting fries, but the fish and chips in this world aren’t in a good state.
Boom!
The Industrial Revolution.
A time when everything shifted to a mass production system.
The ‘fish’—usually cod—that became the ‘main ingredient’ for fish and chips was caught haphazardly using steam ships.
And the best way to manage all that fish at once was to dump it into boiling oil.
Poor quality fish, right before it spoils, is fried in low-quality oil, just about ‘cooked’ with flour to ensure the fish doesn’t get too oily, that’s the fish and chips of this world.
The fried batter soaked in cheap oil is usually peeled off and discarded, with only the fish being eaten.
That’s right. It’s never deboned like a fish cutlet; you’ve got to deal with bones and little fish spikes while eating that sad excuse for fish fillet.
It’s not just fish and chips. Most of the common folk’s food in this world was made strictly for survival.
Have you ever tried toasted bread seasoned with salt and then stuffed between two slices of bread as a sandwich? I’ve had that toasted bread sandwich once. It tasted like bland, salty bread. Who decided to sell this? Sure, maybe someone thought, “Let’s make this,” but please, let such food not exist on Earth.
After experiencing this first-hand, I stay far away from ‘common folk food’ in this world. Sure, there’s curry from the colonies that made its way here, but even after coming to this world, my distinctly Korean palate struggled with those unfamiliar spices.
On the bright side, black pudding, which has a somewhat similar taste to sundae, and sauerkraut from Germany, one of the themes of the Empire of Aetherna, suited my taste really well… but neither of them was a main food course. Plus, both have divisive opinions on taste.
Ta-da!
When Claire returned with the drink after seating us, what she showed us was stunning enough to shatter my image of common folk food.
Actually, could it really be called common folk food?
Technically, it wasn’t cheap. But it wasn’t priced for nobles either. It was a dish that a common person might splurge on. Of course, after eating, my meals would be pretty poor for the next week.
Well, this neighborhood isn’t that impoverished. At least in the Empire of Aetherna, it’s one of the safer places.
They laid out tropical fruits, probably based on mango, piled high with whipped cream, added more fruit and again topped with cream, topped off with various fruits in abundance.
Since it was served in a glass, it looked somewhat like cake at first glance.
“This shop’s pride, it’s parfait!”
Not just one type, there were various forms.
“I wasn’t expecting much from the price, but this is amazing.”
Alice said in a voice full of pure admiration.
“Right? I ordered it without much expectation at first!”
If the labor class of the Empire of Aetherna overheard Alice and Claire’s conversation, a revolution would’ve seemed imminent. This dessert is highly burdensome for someone in the proletariat class of this world…
Of course, from the nobles’ perspective, it is indeed cheap since you can ‘buy it.’ Especially for someone like Princess Alice.
“It’s wonderful. I don’t think it’s too different from what I’ve seen back home.”
The word parfait is French, so for the idealized country of Velbur, it might just be an ordinary dessert.
“Still, you never know until you try it.”
Charlotte said, looking slightly eager.
“Honestly, the bread from the academy wasn’t that great.”
“Hmm?”
Alice whipped her head around at Charlotte’s comment.
“Wait… are you saying the academy food is bad?”
Now that I look, not only Alice, but Claire, Leo, and even Mia Crowfield all had shocked expressions as they stared at Charlotte.
“…What?”
And Charlotte gazed back as if that reaction was the truly shocking part.
“Did you just say… those breads are delicious?”
“No, they are! Right?”
Charlotte said in a slightly dazed voice, while Alice looked bewildered and turned to Claire and Leo. They both nodded.
They are tasty.
In fact, they might taste better than what I had in Korea. Most of the bread I had was convenience store bread from factories. If it were freshly baked bread, it can only be good.
However, Charlotte is from the “Land of Taste,” Velbur. And one of its inspirations is France.
France. A place where the method of making baguettes is even established by law.
If the Empire of Aetherna is known for meats, black tea, and biscuits, then the Kingdom of Velbur could be described as the land of breads, wine, and chocolates.
Of course, the narrative agency could have added a special flair to each country, but if there is a consensus in this world, Velbur has the tastiest bread.
It’s mentioned in the setting guide, after all. It’s what ‘officially’ means.
It’s probably accepted as ‘common sense’ here.
“Alice, haven’t you been to the Kingdom of Velbur? Didn’t you try their bread then?”
“Oh, no, it was good. It was indeed good, but just because one is incredibly good doesn’t mean the other is bad. Even if it’s ‘tastier.’”
“No, absolutely not. The ‘bread’ of the Empire of Aetherna is not good at all.”
By the way, ‘bread’ comes from the word ‘bread’ in this world.
“No, I mean, they’re both tasty but the Velbur ones are better.”
Alice, perhaps due to her pride as the imperial princess, seemed intent on not backing down.
“The statement that Velbur’s bread is ‘better’ means that Aetherna’s bread is ‘less’ tasty, which means you can say that the Empire’s bread is worse than the Kingdom’s. Honestly, can you genuinely say that Aetherna’s food can be declared delicious? It’s just fresh produce being grilled or boiled!”
“What!? I can’t believe you!”
Alice looked flabbergasted.
“If you’re going to argue like that, then the velbur food that doesn’t even allow the original tastes to shine and drowns them in wine is truly sinful! Don’t you feel sorry for the fish that died just to be eaten!?”
Velbur food is famous for frequently using wine. Even the poorer classes use wine due to its high production.
Among the nobility and royalty of Aetherna, the top-tier wines are considered to be from Velbur.
“Velbur wine is considered the best even objectively. Naturally, that means the food that uses such ingredients must be the best too, right? Besides, the dish we’re about to eat here also originates from the Kingdom of Velbur.”
“No! The Empire has plenty of delicious desserts!”
“All those ‘delicious desserts’ are now pushed aside and the dessert we’re eating right now is from the Kingdom of Velbur.”
“No, we can’t just only eat Aetherna’s food!”
“I can live solely on Velbur cuisine without a single problem.”
“No, what I’m trying to say is not that…!”
“…Sister?”
The heated debate between the two abruptly halted.
Arguing over food is pointless. Honestly, the British inspiration overshadowed this, but one of the themes of Aetherna was indeed Germany.
In this world, sausages are Aetherna’s food, and when you think of ‘sausage,’ it’s Aetherna, so why are they battling over bread like this?
As long as it’s this tasty, who cares?
“…Is my sister… smiling?”
The first to drop her jaw was Claire. Then Leo, and finally, Alice and Charlotte gasped in unison.
Mia Crowfield looked as if she couldn’t follow the conversation.
“…Sylvia?”
“I-Is this parfait really that delicious…!?”
Alice murmured my name with a blank expression, and Charlotte asked me with an astonished look.
It’s delicious, indeed.
Having tasted common folk food in this world a few times, I’ve learned to appreciate such food.
It’s about relishing the food without arguing over its quality when delicious food is right in front of you; it’s embracing the humble experience of savoring the meal.
If someone eats a wonderfully sweet dessert and doesn’t smile, they must either have destroyed taste buds or a lack of emotions.
…But that doesn’t mean I’m ready to show such a face just yet.
Smiling should be saved for truly important moments.
Plus…
I made a very princess-like move, grabbing a napkin to wipe away the whipped cream stuck on my mouth.
Then, I took a small breath and muttered.
“Again.”
Now that this has happened, I might as well enjoy all the parfaits in front of me.