Cook of the Mercenary Corp c24

Jail.

That is, something created in the Castle’s underground or under the guardroom.

Different from a prison, here is where suspects are arrested before their crime has been judged and await their punishment.

Basically, each person is confined in their own rooms, and monitored.

The inside of the room is dim, so much so that the sunlight can only somehow barely get in.

After the daylight pa.s.ses, having a lifestyle with just candle light, even that was directly put out.

Doing so, the light has no way of coming in, and true darkness filled the s.p.a.ce.

There is no hope nor future.

With certainty, I can say that it is a dark place of suffering just for those subject to punishment.

Is what I said but, I didn’t find it that painful.

h.e.l.lo, it’s Shuri.

The man who got arrested for knocking over the Feudal Lord’s silver wine gla.s.s the day before.

I’m used to the dark and such. Rather I’m happy I can sleep so much.

But the cold is a little hard to bear with.

I wonder how everyone is doing.

Around this time, it would be good if it didn’t become a big deal because of me.

But, if I had ignored that then it would have become a big deal anyway….

“Shut up criminal. Be quiet inside the jail.”

“Yes, sorry!”

This jail is a peculiar thing underneath the castle.

Obviously it’s made of stone, and the iron bars are of a special toughness.

It was a cruel place where there were only straw sandals on the stone floors.

This is a place for the sake of monitoring the most serious criminals.

The one to monitor someone like me was just one muscular man.

“Geez, I can’t even drink in peace….”

A height surpa.s.sing 2 meters. Trimmed hair. A terrifyingly grim face.

A person who since coming here I’ve no impression of him doing anything but drink.

That is the person monitoring me.

“Excuse me, is it alright for Jailor-san to drink alcohol?”

“Aahh!?”

“It’s nothing, I’m sorry!”

Scary. Even scarier than Ganglabe-san.

“….No matter what a feeble man like yourself does, you wouldn’t be able to defeat me.

Besides, those iron bars will definitely not break. It’s fine even without a  jailor”

I-isn’t that negligence of duty?

He’s even eating snacks along with it…..

“The thing you’re taking out of your bag, what is it?”

“Ah? Clams, you know, clams. Draining it off just like this, it’s a snack you eat while drinking alcohol.

You eat it with this fish sauce.

There’s none for you”

Clams?

“The alcohol you’re drinking, is it wine?”

“Rice wine. Just be quiet already”

Wine from rice. Clams.

Ah, Sake-steamed Clams.

“Excuse me, I have a request”

“Rejected”

“That, won’t you share some with me?

I can make a delicious alcoholic snack with clams and sake”

Even I wanted to eat some.

Doing so, the Jailor made a puzzled look as he looks at the clam and alcohol.

“With this?”

“Yes. Then if we have a pot, and fish sauce, it will perfect”

I was somehow able sneak the portable stove in.

When I was being dragged away, they treated it as paper and it wasn’t confiscated.

“….Try it. It’ll be good for killing time”

“Understood”

Receiving the pot and fish sauce, I begin the preparation to heat up the portable stove.

Even though I said that, sake-steaming isn’t something which can be done so easily.

There’s no ingredients and the like.

Despite that, I fry it, add the sake, then put the lid on.

Once it’s steamed, it’s complete by adding some fish sauce.

“Try some”

“Oh, it smells good”

Feeling excited, Jailor-san accepted.

Taking a bite, he opened his mouth a little.

“It tastes alcoholic but it isn’t as strong as sake. The fish sauce also leaves a good impression.”

Right? That’s what’s good about sake-steaming.

There’s nothing better than drinking sake together with this.

“You, you’re a pretty interesting guy”

“Is that so”

“Ah. Normal criminals wouldn’t do something like cooking”

“There’s also probably no Jailor-san who would hand over ingredients to such a criminal so they could cook either”

“No doubt about it”

Jailor-san laughs, Karakara.

“It seems that I won’t be bored anymore”

That’s how my strange lifestyle together with the Jailor-san started.

There was a record left behind about how “King of Meals” Shuri Azuma was imprisoned for a period of time.

Without making sure of the charges, ranging from charges such as murder to theft, the truth was unknown.

From the testimonies of the six heroes, it’s said that it was an unreasonable crime due to disrespect but, even now the truth is buried in darkness.

However at that time, Shru Azuma had a fateful encounter.

Jailor, Gann Rubber.

Despairing his own life, a man leading a life of laziness.

As a result of meeting Shuri Azuma, his life was greatly changed.

The best pupil of Shuri Azuma.

The one who was called on by fate as “Successor of Meals”.

In a future not too far way.

(TL: Sake-Steamed Clams

Image from: JustOneCookbook)