Spice and Nostalgia

(Otherworld Time)

One evening, sometime after their departure from the Royal City, the five-member Hero’s party found themselves camped deep within the forest, at the borderlands between the Human Kingdom and the Demon Lord’s territory.

“Hmm, let’s have hotpot tonight!”

Hero Moon ventured the rather unusual suggestion.

Brit inquired, “Hotpot? What exactly is that? Is it a dish from your homeland?”

The blonde girl pondered for a moment, then retrieved the sole iron pot from their wagon before elaborating, “It involves preparing a flavorful broth base, then dipping pre-prepared ingredients into it to cook quickly before eating. We’ll likely need plenty of seasonings and spices.”

“Hm, sounds rather like some sort of seasoned stew,” Halin mused, stroking the stubble on his chin.

“Let’s give it a try! We’re nearing the Demon Lord’s territory, and I doubt our camps will be quite so leisurely once we’re there, will they?”

“…Alright then, let’s try it!”

In such instances, Brit was invariably the first to agree.

Since the Hero, their captain, was so insistent, the others found it difficult to refuse.

Melia, the red-haired mage, produced several vials of potions from within her robes.

“I’ll handle the seasoning,” she declared.

As a mage, her mastery of magic was remarkably diverse; the concoctions she brewed served not only for healing and detoxification but also proved perfectly suitable for seasoning food.

It was, in essence, ‘magic’ akin to ‘technology’.

Her forte lay in applying her magical knowledge to every facet of daily life, effortlessly and at will.

‘After all, the cleric in their party was *this* fellow…’

With that thought, Moon glanced at the slovenly man in plate armor.

“Halin, are you truly a cleric?”

“Huh? You’re only asking that now, after we’ve come all this way?”

This plate-armored vanguard, who claimed to be a cleric, had barely ever invoked the Goddess’s prayers; more often than not, it was Melia from the rear who restored everyone’s vitality by tossing vials of potions.

Conversely, Melia was considerably inept at offensive magic; both its potency and accuracy were quite dismal. This imbalance left their party heavily specialized, with the three vanguards typically charging to the front lines to overwhelm and mercilessly beat down their foes.

“Well then, let’s get the water boiling~ Brit, could you slice up the deer meat we hunted this afternoon? Make sure the slices are thin!”

Under Moon’s direction, the group began to set up the pot and boil water. Melia, employing magical additives of questionable safety, concocted a foundational savory broth within the pot.

‘It’s a shame we have no chili peppers; it would be too difficult to ask Melia to replicate a taste she’s never experienced.’

Moon muttered, realizing she couldn’t possibly describe chili peppers to Melia.

This world lacked any ingredients akin to chili peppers in flavor, at least none had been discovered yet, so Moon could only add mushrooms gathered from the forest to create a mushroom broth hotpot.

Of course, the mushrooms had already been identified as edible by Halin, the cleric who, for some inexplicable reason, possessed an extraordinarily vast knowledge of survival.

“Well then, let’s eat!”

The ingredients were hardly abundant, as was typical for a journey. Their wagon held some dried meats, while fresh meat came from beasts hunted along the way. For vegetables, Halin had gathered wild greens and fungi—though sometimes he would roast insects, a delicacy Moon and Melia firmly refused to touch.

As for their toxicity, the others simply had to put their trust in him.

“So, we don’t just let it simmer indefinitely; we’re meant to quickly blanch the food and then eat it?”

Melia blew on a slice of meat, while Hero Moon merely sighed, “It’s a pity we don’t have any dipping sauce.”

Finding the taste somewhat bland, Moon, as expected, yearned for chili peppers.

Halin simply remarked, “What sort of spice or seasoning is that? We should buy more when we reach the next town, as once we enter the Demon Lord’s territory further ahead, there won’t be any human settlements for us to resupply.”

“Mm, I’ll go with you to look then.”

“However, the frontier towns aren’t exactly well-stocked with daily necessities, so it might not be easy to find.”

Brit, meanwhile, made a new discovery.

“Oh, the broth is quite delicious, actually?”

“Usually, you don’t drink the broth when you’re eating hotpot, you know?”

Halin, however, countered, “What? Moon, all the essence of these ingredients has gone into the broth!”

“Purines have gone in too! Watch out for gout (TL Note: Purines are compounds found in many foods, which, when metabolized, can lead to a buildup of uric acid and potentially cause gout, a painful form of arthritis.), old man!”

Evidently, the people of this otherworld were unfamiliar with ‘purines’ and ‘gout’; perhaps they had other names for them, but Moon was unaware.

This harmonious hotpot meal, however, marked the last moment of joy and leisure on their irreversible journey.

(The flashback ends here.)

****

Seated at a table in a hotpot restaurant, Li Yue gazed at the crimson broth before her, a color reminiscent of hellfire, a nostalgic smile gracing her lips.

“Moon, what happy memory has you wearing such a blissful expression?” Alezno couldn’t help but tease.

Her small face, illuminated by the red hotpot broth, appeared flushed.

“I was merely reminiscing about the hotpot we shared during our journey.”

But Alezno countered with a mournful pout, “Did we *really* share it?”

“…Hm?”

“You all didn’t wait for me that time you had hotpot. By the time I returned from patrol, you had already finished everything, leaving nothing edible for me… And that deer was *my* hunt!”

“…Was, was that so?”

Li Yue’s gaze wavered slightly, causing Alezno’s expression to puff up in indignation.

“That’s just too much, Moon!”

“My apologies. That’s why I’m treating you to *real* hotpot this time! Look, no one else is here, right?”

“I actually wish everyone else *were* here…”

Alezno sighed, her words trailing off.

Just then, an uninvited guest settled into the seat opposite them.

“While I’m unsure if your ‘everyone else’ includes me, if it’s a meal, I wouldn’t mind joining in… You’re having hotpot, surely you don’t mind one more?”

It was Mo Linyu, who, to their surprise, settled right beside Alezno.

“Demon Lord!”

Alezno exclaimed loudly, only for Li Yue to quickly cover her mouth.

“Quiet down,”

“It’s quite alright; I don’t mind being called that,” Mo Linyu’s demeanor remained as magnanimous as ever.

“It seems your afternoon proved uneventful… But how did you manage to find us?”

“This street is a necessary route to your home. I sensed your presence as I passed by and simply came in,” she explained, then promptly waved over a server to add an extra set of tableware.

“Hmm~ I haven’t had dinner yet myself, actually.”

Li Yue remarked, a hint of tartness in her voice, “It’s truly a shame to have a young lady like you eat hotpot at such a humble, ‘fly-infested’ eatery.”

“I don’t mind; food is food, why differentiate by status? However…”

Mo Linyu looked at the hotpot on the table, a frown creasing her brow.

“Why didn’t you order a ‘yin-yang’ pot?”

“You want a clear broth pot when eating hotpot? Ah! Could it be that the Demon Lord can’t handle spice? Oh, I forgot, there weren’t any chili peppers over there, were there~”

Being mocked for such a trivial matter caused Mo Linyu’s brow to furrow slightly.

Yet she merely stated, “You might consider your ranger friend; at least I have memories of eating spicy food from this lifetime. She, however, has no memory of spice, only the concept.”

“I’m fine,” Alezno whispered.

From the fiery red broth, she fished out a piece of meat with her chopsticks, dipped it in the dry seasoning dish just as Li Yue had, and then promptly popped it into her mouth.

“…Ugh, cough, cough, cough!”

And then, the elven ranger from another world experienced a rather significant chili shock.

“My mouth is burning!”