"By the way, Ito-san, what kind of food do you like?"
Hayashi asked casually as he strolled along, cradling Pochita comfortably in his arms.
At that moment, the trio, accompanied by one small dog, made for an undeniably bizarre sight on the bustling commercial streets of The Metropolis's city center. One was a casually dressed young man who looked like he spent all his time at home, one was a sharp and professional career woman, and the third was a radiantly beautiful university student.
They looked like three people from entirely different worlds who had somehow been forced together.
"Me? Well... I was actually just thinking... I'd really love some Sukiyaki..."
Ayumi Ito had originally intended to be polite and say that anything was fine. But for some inexplicable reason, the image of a bubbling pot of Sukiyaki had suddenly materialized in her mind, making her mouth water. She had blurted out the request almost subconsciously.
"Akane?"
Akane asked, her voice filled with curiosity.
In this world, since Japan was merely a region rather than its own independent nation, its specific cultural traditions remained relatively niche. It certainly hadn't achieved the same level of global cultural dominance that it had in Hayashi's past life.
Having become intimately familiar with Japanese culture through manga in his previous life, Hayashi immediately chimed in to explain. "You can basically think of it as a Japanese-style hotpot, Akane. The flavor profile is relatively mild, with a broth primarily composed of a light Japanese soy sauce."
"Actually, the overall taste is somewhat similar to the local cuisine here. It's notably on the sweeter side."
Sudden realization dawned on Akane. "I see. But I don't think I've ever seen a restaurant around here that serves this 'Sukiyaki'..."
"Yeah... there aren't any..."
Ayumi sighed, sounding a bit dejected. Having lived in The Metropolis for quite some time now, she could confidently say that authentic Japanese restaurants were an incredibly rare sight.
An authentic Sukiyaki place was practically non-existent.
"Just because there aren't any restaurants doesn't mean we can't have it. We can just make it ourselves," Hayashi announced, giving his chest a confident pat.
"Make it ourselves?"
Ayumi and Senri both asked in unison, their voices filled with surprise.
"Aoyama-sensei... I... I don't actually know how to cook Sukiyaki..." Ayumi admitted, sounding a little embarrassed.
"You don't need to know how. I do," Hayashi countered, blinking innocently.
"Hayashi... you actually know how to make Sukiyaki?" Senri asked, her doubt clearly visible.
Hayashi patted his chest once more, a confident, self-assured smile spreading across his face. "Trust me. I've been living on my own for a long time, so I've naturally picked up quite a few cooking skills. In fact, I'm practically a grandmaster of international... uh, I mean, regional cuisines!"
In his past life, he had spent years living alone in various rental apartments. As a single man living a solo life, how could he possibly not know how to cook for himself?
Even if he hadn't known how to boil an egg at first, after living alone long enough and being constantly bombarded by mouth-watering cooking videos on the internet, how could he possibly resist the urge to try them out for himself?
Hayashi had always been a man of action. In his past life, he had personally experimented with all kinds of recipes.
From Thai-style dishes and Japanese cuisine to Southeast Asian satay, Spanish seafood paella, Korean army stew, Cantonese roast chicken, and even traditional Peking duck--he had tried his hand at nearly everything.
As long as it was a relatively common, home-style dish, he had successfully recreated it at least once.
And Sukiyaki was one of the simplest things to make. The ingredients were straightforward, and the process was hard to mess up. Hayashi had never failed at it.
"I had no idea... that Aoyama-sensei was so talented..." Ayumi remarked, her eyes practically sparkling with admiration.
"Hehe... we just need to find a decent DIY BBQ buffet place first. Then, we can stop by a shop and pick up a bottle of sweetened soy sauce. It won't have the exact same complex flavor profile as a proper Sukiyaki base, but I can use a few other ingredients to extract that same depth and freshness."
Hayashi explained with a confident chuckle.
Ayumi suddenly thought of something and shrunk her head back slightly. "Wait, Aoyama-sensei... shouldn't you check with Miss Akane first? Maybe she doesn't like that kind of food."
"Akane?"
Hayashi replied casually, "Oh, you don't need to worry about her. Akane's personal favorites are vegetable salads, and she's absolutely addicted to orange-flavored soda."
Akane froze for a second, staring at Hayashi in genuine surprise. "Hayashi... how did you know my specific tastes so well?"
"I've eaten so many meals with you lately, of course I'd pay attention to your preferences! A dog has to be mindful of its owner's likes and dislikes, right? Isn't that right, Pochita?!"
Hayashi turned and asked the puppy in his arms.
"Woof! Woof woof woof!"
Pochita wagged his tail and barked enthusiastically in response.
"Woof! Woof!"
Hayashi looked up at Akane and let out two playful barks of his own. "Pochita just told me, 'That's exactly right, Ashan!'"
Akane and Ayumi both stared at Hayashi with incredibly complicated expressions.
In particular, Akane couldn't help but feel that... wait, was Hayashi actually starting to take his "I'm your dog" joke a little too seriously?
...
After arriving at a high-end DIY BBQ buffet in the city center, Hayashi didn't hesitate for a single second to pay the 5,000 Yen per person entry fee. He happily covered the 15,000 Yen total for himself, Akane, and Ayumi.
He truly didn't feel any sting from spending that much money.
After all, he had just received a paycheck of 160,000 Yen for only half a month's worth of work. Furthermore, as a transmigrator with a literal cheat system, he was certain that his future earnings would dwarf this amount.
With that kind of future in mind, why should he worry about spending a little bit of money now?
Besides, you usually got what you paid for... Wait, this was The Metropolis. Things being expensive didn't necessarily mean they were good!
However, before they entered the restaurant, Hayashi had made a quick detour to the neighboring shopping mall to purchase a bottle of "sweetened soy sauce."
In reality, it was just a bottle of high-quality Steamed Fish Soy Sauce.
He then proceeded to hide the bottle inside his jacket. With Pochita acting as a perfect distraction, he successfully managed to smuggle the soy sauce into the restaurant.
Damn! He was paying 15,000 Yen for a meal, and they still didn't allow outside sauces?!
Regardless, Hayashi had to admit that the quality of the 15,000 Yen buffet was actually quite impressive.
"Alright, alright! Everyone stand back and watch the master at work!"
Hayashi quickly gathered his ingredients and set to work. Using the stone pot that was originally intended for a small individual hotpot, he heated up a thin layer of oil and began searing strips of fatty beef until they were fragrant and beautifully browned.
Next, he poured in his smuggled Steamed Fish Soy Sauce and added a small amount of water to balance it out.
Following that, he began layering the other ingredients: green onions, sliced onions, tofu, konjac silk, enoki mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, crown daisies, and napa cabbage. He used the vegetables to form a solid base at the bottom of the pot.
Finally, he added the remaining fresh meat and topped everything off with a sprinkle of sugar, some chopped green onions, and a tiny dash of vinegar.
And just like that, his own "impromptu Sukiyaki" was complete.
"Oh, and don't forget this! A sterilized raw egg!"
Hayashi cracked an egg into a small bowl and presented it to Ayumi.
Even though Japanese culture wasn't particularly prominent in this world, for some inexplicable reason, sterilized eggs had managed to become a relatively common product in The Metropolis.
Perhaps it was due to lingering concerns over food safety?
Either way, it was a lucky break for them.
Ayumi stared at the steaming pot in front of her. While it looked a little different from a traditional Sukiyaki, she could still see the clear resemblance. Suddenly, she felt a wave of intense nostalgia for her hometown.
Perhaps this was what people meant when they talked about "homesickness" while working far away from their families.
She tentatively used her chopsticks to dip a piece of tender beef into the raw egg, swirling it around before bringing it to her mouth...
"It... it's delicious..."
Ayumi's eyes suddenly welled up with tears.
While the flavor wasn't an exact match for the Sukiyaki her mother used to make back home, it was still incredibly, undeniably tasty.
"If it's good, then eat as much as you want!"
Hayashi replied with a cheerily dismissive wave of his hand. "By the way, Akane, I made sure to prepare a special fruit and vegetable salad for you. I specifically picked out plenty of lettuce and cherry tomatoes. Also, I noticed there was some of that purple cabbage you hate in the original mix, so I made sure to pick all of it out for you beforehand."
"..."
Akane merely shook her head. While Hayashi's thoughtfulness was undeniably touching, when she combined it with the strange things he had said earlier on the walk over...
She couldn't help but feel that things were only getting weirder.
(End of Chapter)
[Translated and Rewritten by Shika_Kagura]
T/N: Sukiyaki (寿喜锅) - The Japanese hotpot dish.
T/N: Steamed Fish Soy Sauce (蒸鱼豉油) - A sweetened, seasoned soy sauce commonly used in local cooking. Makes for a decent impromptu substitute for Sukiyaki sauce.
T/N: Ashan (阿山) - A nickname for Hayashi Aoyama.
T/N: Local Culture - The text notes that Japanese culture is a "niche regional culture" in this parallel world compared to its dominance in ours.