落とし穴外伝：焼き鳥の食べ方
Pitfall Gaiden: How to Eat Yakitori
Side: Yuki
"Ah, the alcohol is delicious! The yakitori is delicious too!"
It was my wife, Milly, who was happily sipping beer and savoring yakitori as she said this. She loved alcohol, and that love had only intensified since we got married. After all, distribution in this otherworld, Arrowlith, was undeveloped, and food preservation methods, let alone processing techniques, were far inferior to modern Earth. This meant there was a chasm of difference in both the variety and flavor of alcoholic beverages. And of course, the yakitori accompanying the drinks was no exception.
"I understand you like it, but please drink in moderation. The children will complain again that you smell like alcohol, you know?"
"Exactly. And then you'll just get depressed, so it's a pointless cycle."
Ratz and Eris were cautioning a cheerful Milly. These three primarily handled Weed's internal affairs, so they often spent time together, leading to many drinking opportunities like this.
"Ahaha, Milly really loves her alcohol, doesn't she~"
"Even I think it's delicious, so I suppose it can't be helped."
"...Mm. Sake and fried tofu go well together."
Riel simply laughed, having no particular thoughts on Milly's behavior, while Tori, perhaps finding the alcohol delicious, spoke with a troubled expression. As for Kaya, she seemed to love fried tofu as usual. Perhaps it was because she was a Fox Beastman that she liked sake?
Incidentally, this drinking party was being held at a restaurant that served as a ramen shop, yakitori restaurant, and izakaya, all in one, attached to the inn. It was for our family to relax. And the reason we were drinking today was...
"Well, it's probably fine for today, isn't it? We've been so busy lately, and opportunities for everyone to gather and drink like this have decreased. I like alcohol too, after all."
As Seraria said, they were doing this because it seemed they could finally secure some time to drink after a long while. Everyone usually refrained from drinking much because they had work the next day. Today was a rare holiday, with no appointments scheduled for tomorrow.
"If you drink too much, I'll stop you, so it's fine. Besides, I also like yakitori and alcohol."
"There aren't many people who dislike it. Even though we call it yakitori, we grill all sorts of things, you see."
Rurua and Deryu said this as they ate yakitori. Rurua had the chicken thigh, and Deryu had the chicken skin.
"Speaking of which, it's strange, isn't it? We call it yakitori, but this is pork, right?"
"It's pork belly. Delicious."
Dressa ate the pork belly with a tilted head, while Vilia ate it without any particular question.
"Pork belly with salt, chicken skin with sauce!"
Hiiro held skewers in both hands, munching away.
"Well, it's like this. It's a common food, so local specialties grilled on skewers are simply categorized as yakitori. There are beef skewers, seafood, and vegetables too. Ultimately, if it's delicious, that's all that matters."
"That's right. It's delicious, so there's no problem."
"Indeed. It's amazing how delicious it can be with just salt."
"It's strange how good it is, even though it's just grilled~"
"Cooking is a miracle."
Labyris, Shera, Aslin, and Firia ate with relish, finding the deliciousness somewhat miraculous. Yakitori is truly just skewering ingredients, grilling them, and eating them with salt or sauce. It's certainly mysterious how something so simple can be so delicious. No, it just means there's an exquisite balance at play.
"Oh, Yuki. Can we get more negima?"
"Mikos-chan, chicken wings please~"
"Chicken wings, are those yakitori? No, I suppose they're grilled, so it's fine. Oh, Yuki, I'd like gizzard."
"Enor, for things like this, if it's delicious, it's fine. Oh, Yuki-sama, I'll have heart."
Kagura and the others simply focused on eating. Negima, chicken wings, gizzard, and heart, I placed them on the grill and started cooking.
"Speaking of which, Yuki-sama. I understand yakitori is delicious, but why are there both salt and sauce preparations?"
Oops, Fiora just dropped a bombshell. No, I understood it was a genuine question. However, it could spark a war. So, I tried my best to explain without provoking anything.
"First, salt is a classic because it's easy to season with. As for sauce, the reason isn't entirely clear. But the ingredients for the sauce—soy sauce, mirin, sugar, sake—are adjusted to create a sweet and savory flavor. So, I can somewhat guess the reason."
"Meaning?"
"It's a sauce unique to Japan. This method of preparation is like teriyaki, or eel sauce, that kind of thing. It's probably an adaptation of those."
"I see. It certainly resembles teriyaki sauce and the like."
"The flavor of this sauce varies by restaurant. Also, some people like to add yuzu kosho or shichimi to their liking. And then..."
"And then?"
I scooped rice from the adjacent rice cooker into bowls and served it.
"It can also be a side dish for rice."
"It certainly goes well with rice."
"And fried rice too. Though, there are places where rice dishes are strictly forbidden at the beginning of a drinking party, so caution is needed."
"Why is that?"
"Rice dishes, you see, when you gather yakitori like this, look, Kagura and the others' orders—"
With a thud, I served the ordered yakitori to Kagura and the others, and they each reached out, began eating, and chatted.
"The purpose of a drinking party is to talk like that. It's about communication. But if you serve rice dishes, people tend to focus solely on them, and they fill you up, making it hard to eat more later."
"I see. Indeed, if the goal is communication, getting full and being unable to participate in conversation would defeat the purpose."
"That said, it's a matter of debate. Even if it's called a drinking party, it's about drinking beer, eating delicious yakitori, and chatting, so why shouldn't it be okay to eat rice?"
"True. Some people come because they're hungry, and there are also those who don't drink alcohol, like Aslin and the others."
"Exactly. Well, I think it's fine to just declare it at the beginning. Oh, and by the way, here, you're free to order rice or not."
When I said that,
"Yuki-san! Fried rice for me, please!"
"I'll have rice."
"Ah, I suppose I'll take whatever Milly can't finish."
Just like that, everyone started ordering rice dishes one after another. It seemed they were surprisingly concerned about that.
Of course, while some continued to eat yakitori as is...
"Oh, it'll be unbalanced if we don't eat salad."
"Indeed. It's better to pay attention to our diet."
"Then, shall we order a Caesar salad?"
And so, some people ordered additional salads. And vegetable skewers, of course.
As I was making and serving things like that,
"Um, Yuki-sama, are you eating?"
"I'm a little worried~"
"Th-that's right. W-we'll h-help."
"Indeed. Yuki-sama, you can leave it to us at times like these."
Orelia and the others called out, looking worried. But I was already used to this kind of thing.
"It's fine, it's fine. I'm eating as I go. Everyone has their own drinks, and I'm just cooking, and as for help..."
"Leave it to us!"
"Leave it to us~!"
The maids were supporting me. Originally, I thought about hiring a cook, but it takes time to teach them, and at home, they're the most skilled cooks after me. No, except for certain dishes, the two of them are better.
"So don't worry and just eat. I even have time to talk like this."
Orelia and the others were still being considerate about eating at this inn. Well, I understood that. After all, their boss, me, was cooking, while they were just eating.
Just as I was thinking that,
"Then, Master. Orelia and the others are worried, so please join us."
"Indeed~. The other wives would also be happy if you could eat with them."
"That's right! Yuki-san, let's drink together!"
No sooner had Milly reacted to Kirue and Sasari's words than everyone turned their gazes to me. Ah, I couldn't betray their expectations.
"Alright. Then, for now, ten chicken skins with salt and ten with sauce, and ten of everything else, please."
"Understood."
"Yes, yes~!"
And so, I directly joined my wives' drinking party. By the way, it seemed I still couldn't finish my drinks halfway through due to the frequent refills. I really dislike getting full from alcohol.
Regarding yakitori seasoning, there are likely various theories. Besides the two major titans of sauce and salt, there are also various additions like shichimi and yuzu kosho. Incidentally, the author believes that whether to use sauce or salt depends on the type of skewer. Also, since the author is from Fukuoka, there's no sense of incongruity with pork belly skewers. Of course, I've wondered if pork belly in yakitori is strange, but since it's delicious, it's not a problem.