Near the Northern Fortress, the town of Leonard .

There were indeed a lot of small skirmishes that happened between the Holy Arcadia Empire and the Wolfgard Empire . But despite that, it can be said that it’s just trivial compared to what happened on other places .

Why, you asked? The answer is due to the existence of Schwarzer territory’s Northern Fortress Leonard that directly faces the Wolfgard Empire .

It’s said that the generations of the Schwarzer Archduke have always maintained the status of being the bravest among the Four Great Clans . Then, with their best soldiers guarding the northern fortress, it’ll be like playing with fire if someone were to stir up some trouble there .

Especially on the recent years, with the rising of the [Schwarzer Twin Generals], specifically after Rouen Beluga took command of the fortress . And now, after many long calm days, the village on the vicinity of the Northern Fortress that was originally built for the soldiers to stay, had gradually grown into a town .

ーーLeonard Town square, the story of the popular tavern「White Cat」ーー

Yes, welcome to our tavern . Eh? Ares-sama?

Ah, it’s the [Captain Milk] . E? What do I mean by [Captain Milk]? Well it’s young master’ nickname in this tavern . He went to a tavern but will only order for milk . It was a source of laughter among the tavern’s customers . It’s just a joke of course . Young master himself also considered it as such and usually also laughed along… . . Aa, don’t get angry please? Don’t worry, since I already know young master’s real ident.i.ty . I’m not a fool… . He’s really loved by everyone after all .

He actually came to visit last year despite his business . A celebration was in order and tables and chairs were set even outside of the tavern . Both soldiers and townsfolk alike joined in the party regardless of age and gender . This kind of thing don’t usually happen . Only when young master is in town . No, really .

Yes, here it is . Boiled mollusk innards . Eh, you ask if mollusk can really be eaten?? Don’t be silly . Don’t you know that this is the tavern’s specialty? By the way, it’s also captain milk… . . no, let’s just use his actual name already . It’s a delicacy that Ares-sama taught me .

How to make it? Don’t tell this to other taverns, okay?

……to make this, I need to extract all the blood from the mollusk first .

Chicken is also okay, but mollusk is still better . The depth of taste is completely different .

Ares-sama blew my heart away with this mollusk dish recipe of his .

So, I cook everything except for the heart and liver . Eh? The heart and liver? Oh, I use it for another dish . I’ll save that for later .

Next, clean up the intestines and stomach and cut away the innards to be cooked just like that . I had this habit of carefully processing the ingredients after doing it so many times .

Cook it for quite a long while . The innards will become soft and have a rubber-like texture . Isn’t it strange?

Lastly we put in some seasoning . Now, please have a sample . Isn’t it delicious?

And here is the liver . It has to be eaten raw . Try to eat it after dipping it in the sauce . Delicious, isn’t it? Even so, it’s a valuable delicacy, you know? I can’t make it unless it’s fresh ingredients . It’s no good if you store the main ingredients even for a day . So, still thinking about cooking it by yourself?

And here is the liver . It has to be eaten raw . Try to eat it after dipping it in the sauce . Delicious, isn’t it? Even so, it’s a valuable delicacy, you know? I can’t make it unless it’s fresh ingredients . It’s no good if you store the main ingredients even for a day . So, still thinking about cooking it by yourself?

You can eat the heart after it’s baked . Or do you prefer it served cold?

That is the popular menu of this tavern . Well, it’s all taught to me by that certain person though .

……I have said this before, but please don’t tell this to other taverns, okay?

ーーthe story of a shopkeeper in Leonard townーー

A story about Ares-sama? Why do you want to hear about it?

……

Ha? You want to write an article about Ares-sama for the newspaper? Ah, I guess Ares-sama’s name has started to spread in the capital… . .

Well then, I guess it’s fine .

Try to eat this slowly, alright……eh? What is this? It’s potato [fried with oil] .

Eh? You don’t know what [frying oil] is? Hee, is there no [frying oil] in the royal capital? So much for a citizen of the imperial capital……Oh, you only moved there recently? Well just enjoy it for the time being .

Eh? You don’t know what [frying oil] is? Hee, is there no [frying oil] in the royal capital? So much for a citizen of the imperial capital……Oh, you only moved there recently? Well just enjoy it for the time being .

… . . it’s delicious, isn’t it? That’s also Ares-sama’s favorite if you ask me . There are plants called cold-resistant beets growing around the area . You can extract oil from its fruits . That’s why, we call this thing [Flower Oil] .

I heard that the imperial capital uses oil extracted from animals . That’s why it’s considered as a valuable commodity . But here we use the flower oil which is not as expensive . We can use the oil as we please since it’s abundant in this area .

Ares-sama often visits here and buys this [fried potato] for his journey back home . It become his habit . Is there any other menu? Fish fillet and meat… . . all fried with [frying oil] . Well about the fish fillet and meat… . . if you ask me… . it was Ares-sama who gave me the idea .

Young master seems to be really interested in food… . . and he’s eager to eat something he hasn’t eaten before . Good grief… . . he’s such an interesting fellow . .

Since I’m pretty keen on making it myself, do you think the people on the imperial capital would want to import some [frying oil]?

The story of a popular tavern on the southern part of Leonard town

Ah, calling it day already? Eh? Ya want to hear about Ares-sama? Why do ya want to hear about young master anyways? But before that, let’s drink this ale first!

Ohh! That was a nice drink . Delicious . Eh? Are ya saying it’s tad bit too cold? Why of course . It’s the town at the north after all . Ee? Isn’t this cup made of gla.s.s? Well, yes it is . It’s made this way to improve ale tasting . Indeed people use wooden cups to drink ale in the Imperial capital . That’s actually no good . Ya won’t be able to judge the purity of an ale using a wooden cup .

Ale is indeed best served cold . And in a gla.s.s, of course .

It’s enjoyable to drink during summer time, y’know? Like, all yer fatigue will be drowned away after ya drink this .

Ale is indeed best served cold . And in a gla.s.s, of course .

It’s enjoyable to drink during summer time, y’know? Like, all yer fatigue will be drowned away after ya drink this .

Well, it’s all Ares-sama’s idea actually . And not only in Leonard……all of Schwarzer territory should also have this kind of drink too .

Eh? How do I make this? You guys must be newcomers in Schwarzer territory, aren’t ya? It’s quite well known, y’know? See that box over there? It has a magic stone that can cool things . Ya use that box to cool the ale and pour it on a gla.s.s .

Eh? Ya think this gla.s.s is neat too? This isn’t any gla.s.s, y’know? It’s a gla.s.s only for ale . It’s called a mug . Well, by the way, want another swig?

This is a limited menu for summer . Cause it’s really hot here at the north during summer . Without this… . it’s crazy hard to work, y’know?

It was Ares-sama who thought about creating this box . That young’un is truly an exceptional fellow .

The King of Heroes Ares was a person with various interests and is said to be often absorbed in his personal research . Among all the things he’s interested in, he’s known to put more emphasis on [food] .

The food culture shows the civilization level of the particular place

That’s what he said .

It’s said that he researched various recipes and ingredients, enriching the food culture with excellent delicacies .