Atop a Tree That Reaches the Clouds (3)

Walking around Kaiyo Port, what catches the eye is the difference in culture, including clothing, and, of course, the presence of merfolk.

I had already experienced changes in architectural styles, clothing, and races several times while traveling across the grasslands and circling the Yellow Ancient Empire, but in Fusang, they were even more pronounced.

Japanese-style. Yes, "Japanese-style" is definitely the most fitting way to put it.

The people passing through the town were dressed in kimono and zori.

I had seen them at Kaeha's house, so they didn't feel out of place, but seeing so many together was rather spectacular.

I do have memories of kimono and zori from my previous life, but apparently I never wore them myself, so they don't feel all that familiar.

Above all, they made me realize there was a connection between Kaeha's home and this land.

The merfolk still didn't seem able to come ashore, but whenever I spoke to them, every one of them responded in a friendly manner.

According to them, there was a merfolk town in the sea within the bowl-shaped hollow of this crescent-shaped island, and it apparently belonged to the southern nation of Fusang, the human nation.

In other words, merfolk were also part of the human side fighting the oni.

That said, the oni probably weren't foolish enough to fight merfolk at sea, and merfolk couldn't fight the oni on land, so I doubted they actually crossed blades directly.

The merfolk were probably going to support transportation for the human nation.

For example, if merfolk pulled small boats carrying soldiers, they could attack from anywhere along the coast.

Even if that wasn't direct military strength, it was undoubtedly a major force.

A merfolk town.

At present, all the merfolk pulling small boats loaded with cargo at Kaiyo Port were male, but there should be female merfolk in the town as well.

I was genuinely curious, but it seemed unlikely that one could eat much good food in a town beneath the sea.

That would be different if there were buildings filled with air underwater, but otherwise, they couldn't use fire for cooking, and whenever they opened their mouths, seawater would enter before any food did.

Relying on spirits made it possible to survive and breathe underwater, but food was another matter entirely.

Besides, I had only just gotten off the ship, and I wanted to spend some time on land.

Perhaps because it was the place farthest from the battlefield, Kaiyo Port was livelier and more crowded than I had imagined.

As curious eyes followed me, I searched for a money changer.

If I was going to head for the Fusang Tree by land, it would be more convenient to obtain Fusang currency, even if I had to pay a small fee.

Even if they were worth the same, familiar currency left a very different impression on the person receiving it than foreign currency did.

When people saw unfamiliar currency, they naturally became wary of being cheated.

If that wariness led them to refuse payment or demand a surcharge, then paying a fee to obtain this country's currency would certainly be cheaper and help me avoid trouble.

Still, trouble could sometimes actually make things work out better.

After exchanging money, I slurped soba at a diner for port workers.

It wasn't sobagaki, but sobakiri—in other words, proper soba noodles, served as mori soba, with each bite dipped in rich tsuyu.

I had entered the diner intending merely to fill my stomach a little, but the soba was surprisingly well made, and delicious at that.

They must have used some kind of binding agent, but it was easy to eat while still retaining the full fragrance of the buckwheat.

Perhaps the sight of an elf slurping soba so smoothly was amusing.

After I started eating soba, the seats in the diner gradually filled up, and everyone ordered soba while watching me.

I was used to being watched, so if they found me amusing, they were welcome to watch as much as they liked, and if a good restaurant prospered because of it, so much the better.

In this country, my faded memories of my previous life had been stirred more than ever before.

Well, of course, there shouldn't have been any merfolk in the world where I had lived in my previous life, but even so, its culture seemed close to that of Fusang.

At least judging from the soba, the food culture seemed similar too.

They did grow buckwheat in the central part of the continent, but it was eaten as galettes or pancakes, making it something completely different.

Perhaps because I had spent so long nibbling on nothing but fruit in the forest, I had a fairly strong desire to eat delicious food.

That desire wasn't limited to any particular genre, though. I liked meat, fish, potatoes, grains, and vegetables, as well as sweet, sour, and spicy foods—in short, anything delicious.

I had eaten rice in the grasslands and the Yellow Ancient Empire, but perhaps because the varieties and cooking methods were different, it hadn't moved me all that much.

But now, eating soba, I felt happy, and even a little nostalgic.

After all, this tsuyu probably contained something like soy sauce.

At Kaeha's house, most of the ingredients that were easy to obtain came from the Kingdom of Ludria, so although I sometimes used chopsticks, most of what we ate was still food from there.

For example, wheat porridge.

Of course, we sometimes used imported rice and had meals resembling Japanese cuisine, but those were rare luxuries reserved for celebrations.

Hmm... I found myself wishing I could have let Kaeha and her mother, Kuroha, try all sorts of food from Fusang as well.

If I had, I wondered what expressions the two of them would have made and what they would have said.

As I finished drinking the sobayu while thinking about that, ... I suddenly noticed the customer in the seat beside me drinking sake, and found myself envious.

Soba and sake.

That combination worked too.

If anything, the proper way seemed to be drinking sake with pickles as an accompaniment while waiting for the soba to arrive.

Ah, if only I'd found an inn before coming here, I could have had some sake too.

People would probably frown on me searching for an inn after drinking, but spending the night drinking without having chosen an inn in a country and town I was visiting for the first time would be far too reckless.

First, I should find an inn.

With a wistful glance around, I saw that the sake people were drinking included both cloudy sake and clear sake.

It was probably made from rice.

"That was delicious. Thank you."

After paying and thanking them, I left the diner.

Soba alone was nowhere near enough to fill my stomach or satisfy me.

I would find an inn quickly, then look for a bar somewhere.

I had a feeling that good food and good sake awaited me.