Sightseeing in the Central District

After leaving the bank, I walked with Marcel-san, looking at the shops in the central district.

"Let's have lunch first, shall we? What would you like to eat, Leon?"

"Hmm... What kind of places are there?"

"Let's see... There are upscale restaurants, stylish cafés, and ordinary diners for commoners."

"So there are diners for commoners here too."

"Of course. Most of the employees at the shops around here are commoners, and many commoners work in noble households as well. But prices are higher here than around your home."

As expected, prices were higher in the central district. Besides, with those three choices, there was only one I could pick.

"A diner for commoners, please."

"Good, then we'll go to a stylish café."

"Marcel-san, that's not what I said!"

"It's fine, since I want to go. I would have preferred a restaurant, but it has a dress code, so you couldn't get in wearing what you have on. Though perhaps we could buy you some clothes first?"

Buy clothes first!? Surely that would be too much.

"A café. I'd like to try a café!"

"Good, then let's go to a café."

Somehow, I felt like I'd been tricked...

Well, I did want to try a café, so I decided to gratefully let him treat me.

After walking for a while, we arrived at the café we were looking for.

From the outside, it looked like an ordinary, beautiful house, but there was a stylish sign hanging outside.

Inside, unlike the plain, undecorated wooden tables with exposed grain found in commoners' homes, there were stylish tables and chairs painted white, with intricate carvings along their edges.

"Welcome. Would that table be all right?"

"Leon, is that all right?"

"Y-yes. That table is fine."

I hadn't expected to be asked so suddenly, and I panicked.

Upon entering the shop, a young woman guided us to our seats.

Everyone who worked here was probably a commoner, but I supposed they were taught proper speech and manners because they had to deal with nobles.

She spoke politely as a matter of course, unlike the people around me.

"Here are the menus. Please let me know when you've decided what to order."

With that, the server stepped away.

"Leon, what would you like?"

"W-wait a moment, please."

Marcel-san was already looking at the menu, so I hurriedly lowered my eyes to it as well.

As expected of a café, the menu was filled with stylish names. There were many things I knew, such as French toast, sandwiches, and jam toast, but there were also several dishes I'd never heard of.

This was only a guess, but I thought my translation ability translated things with counterparts in Japan into their Japanese names, while things with no equivalent in Japan were rendered in katakana based on their pronunciation in this world.

And I supposed the words I spoke were being translated into this world's language as well. It was incredibly convenient, but what a mysterious ability...

Well, it was convenient, so who cared? It was lunchtime!

Which should I choose...? All right! A sandwich and French toast.

"Marcel-san, I'd like a sandwich and French toast."

"What would you like to drink?"

Oh, there were drinks on the menu too. Commoner diners served fruit water everywhere, so this was the first time since coming to this world that I'd gotten to choose a drink.

Let's see... There was black tea, green tea, and fruit juice. Wait, they had green tea too!?

This world really was rather Japanese in style. I wonder why...

But black tea and green tea came from the same kind of tea leaves, so perhaps it was normal for both to exist.

"Black tea, please."

"All right. Then I'll order that."

Marcel-san called the server over and placed our order. It seemed he was ordering jam toast and black tea.

I'd thought this world's food culture was undeveloped, but perhaps it was actually quite advanced among nobles and those connected to them.

Maybe it had only recently begun developing and hadn't spread to commoners yet.

"Marcel-san, is noble cuisine much more advanced than commoners' food?"

"It is. Food culture has developed rapidly since the war ended more than a decade ago. Before that, nobles mostly just ate larger portions and better cuts of meat than commoners. Recently, though, all sorts of cooking methods have developed. And now that sugar can be imported, sweet foods are becoming more common too."

There had been a war...? I was so glad it was over.

I wonder if commoners would start eating better too.

"Then commoners' food will become more plentiful eventually, right?"

"Well, it will eventually, but I expect that will be decades from now. It might spread relatively quickly among the wealthy, but the poor have little contact with the central district."

I see... Nobles again. I wanted to become a noble already! I was so jealous. To do that, I first needed to get into the Royal Academy.

As I renewed my resolve to enter the Royal Academy, our food was brought over.

"Thank you for waiting."

Our drinks arrived first, followed by the food.

The French toast and sandwich looked incredibly delicious. My stomach suddenly gave a loud rumble.

H-how embarrassing... I should eat quickly.

"Let's eat. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu!"

I decided to start with the sandwich. A knife and fork had been set out, so I supposed I was meant to use them.

This was my first time using silverware in another world. As expected, nobles probably had rules for table manners too.

I glanced at Marcel-san. He seemed to use the silverware much as it was used in Japan, so I decided to eat normally too.

I held the sandwich in place with my fork and put the knife to it. I was surprised by the first thing I discovered: the bread wasn't hard!

The bread poor commoners ate was like a rock-hard baguette, but this was closer to sandwich bread... Bread really had developed too.

I decided to take my first bite.

Mmm... Delicious! Incredibly delicious!

There was lettuce and chicken covered in something like an herb-and-tomato sauce. It was a high-quality sandwich even by Japanese standards.

I finished it in no time at all.

Next was the French toast. It looked like a baguette, but it was incredibly soft.

Mmm... This is unbelievably good. It's sweet, too.

They definitely used sugar in this... It was no different from French toast in Japan. In fact, since I'd been craving something sweet, it tasted even better.

It was so delicious I felt like I might cry. Food really was important.

Finally, I drank the black tea. It had a fruitier flavor than the tea I'd drunk in Japan. It might even have been better than Japanese tea...

I was completely satisfied and wanted to come back. As I took a satisfied breather with a huge smile on my face, Marcel-san spoke to me.

"Was it good?"

Only then did I realize that I'd been so absorbed in my meal that I'd eaten in complete silence.

"S-sorry. I got so absorbed in eating that I..."

"There's no need to apologize. It was nice seeing you enjoy your food."

Marcel-san said that in a slightly teasing tone.

H-how embarrassing... I'd be more careful next time.

"Um... It was incredibly delicious. Thank you for the meal."

I was so embarrassed that my voice came out quieter than usual.

Marcel-san smiled a little at me before speaking.

"I'm glad to hear it. Shall we go shopping next?"

Marcel-san stood up and paid the bill, so I followed him out of the café.

"All right, next is a leather-goods shop. We should get you something that can hold your bank card and a little money too."

Leather goods are definitely expensive... But arguing wouldn't change his mind, so I decided to gratefully accept his offer.

"Thank you very much."

After walking for a while, we arrived in front of a very large shop. It seemed to be the main branch of a merchant house that primarily dealt in leather goods for nobles and the wealthy.

"Welcome. What are you looking for today?"

"I'm looking for something that can hold a bank card and a little money, and that can be worn around the neck."

"Certainly. In that case, I recommend this product."

The item the clerk showed us was, in Japanese terms, something like a pass case designed to be worn around the neck.

"Leon, which one would you like?"

No matter which one I picked, they all seemed more or less the same to me. If I had to choose, the only real difference was whether the color was dark or light...

"Um, I think I'd prefer a darker color."

"This one, then? It's made of sturdy leather, so I recommend it."

The clerk recommended one of the darker-colored items. That was helpful.

"Then I'll take that one, please."

"Certainly. It will be five silver coins. Is that all right?"

"That's fine."

"Then please pay here."

Five silver coins!? That's fifty thousand yen, right? Was it really that expensive? But Marcel-san was already paying for everything...

I was becoming more and more indebted to Marcel-san. I had to repay him someday...

Marcel-san came back carrying what he'd bought. Apparently, he'd finished paying.

"Leon, put your bank card in it. It would be a problem if you lost it, wouldn't it?"

"Yes. Thank you so much, really."

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I have money to spare since there hasn't been anyone for me to spend it on."

Marcel-san said that with a smile. I was truly grateful. I absolutely had to repay him.

As I thought that, I put my bank card into the wallet Marcel-san had bought for me. When I actually held it, it was considerably larger than a pass case—more like a wallet you could wear around your neck—so I decided to call it a wallet.

This way, I could keep it under my clothes at all times, even while sleeping. That would be the best way to protect it from thieves.

Besides, wearing such an elegant wallet outside my clothes would be like announcing that I had money, so I decided not to show it outside the central district.

"Did it fit properly?"

"Yes, perfectly. Thank you very much."

"It's fine. I intend to have you make me money from now on."

"Yes. I'll work hard to come up with magic tools!"

"Well, don't rush yourself. Shall we head home soon?"

"Yes. It'll take some time, so we'd better head back soon."

With that, we started walking toward the square where we'd first gotten off the shared carriage.