Labyrinth Restaurant

hundreds of km away from the labyrinth city.

Behind the deep woods is one of several settlements of elves dotted in the world.

Since there are no road-like paths in the woods and they are protected by magic on multiple occasions, it is impossible to reach the settlements in a decent human being first.

Occasionally, there were strangers travelling to see the outside world or welcoming migrants from other settlements, but to that extent precisely when it comes to life changes. Using the grace of a rich forest as food, these forest elves have had peaceful and boring days for the past hundred years. I was there. It's a past form.

Their lives had changed dramatically in recent years, when there had been no significant changes over time.

There are a few kickasses, one of which is the existence of a cabin built some years ago outside the village. In a village where century-old or two-hundred-year-old houses are not uncommon, the existence of a brand new cabin is clearly floating.

The size of the cabin is about 4m square.

It's too small for someone to live in or use as a storage, but it's not a problem at all.

Anyway, this hut is only a 'door' to and from the labyrinth city far beyond through the magical formation of a transfer laid on the ground. There is a small room in that city with similar magic formations laid near the center of the city, and the mechanism is that you can automatically come and go in both directions just by riding on top of the formations.

Moreover, in the name of safety measures, some interested parties and mechanisms are working that cannot be used other than elves. You don't have to worry about residuals with bad thoughts coming into the village.

The species Elf is better at magic technology than humans and dwarves among the same human species.

Well, geniuses sometimes arise in some other species that outweigh coarse elves, but with that exception, if you take the average across the species, it's clear that a species called elves is loved by magical geniuses.

But even from those elves, the magic formations depicted on the floor of this cabin were like incomprehensible. The formation, which the Demon King portrayed as chocolate with tree branches to cross his nose that he was from the demonic world, continued to take effect after many years without losing his magic power.

Metastatic magic is advanced magic, but a handful of elves exist.

There are some people in the ancient days of this settlement who can use it, but even then they can't use it with ease because it drains a lot of magic every time they use the technique once.

It is clearly an anomaly, such as a magic formation that does not lose its effectiveness no matter how many times it is transferred.

We're clearly jumping over that dimension, like what the unknown technology is, or what the new theory is.

… but no matter how incomprehensible the ultra-technology, it doesn't change the convenience.

From their point of view, there are few people on Earth in different worlds who understand and use all the appliances, computers, etc. around them. If you have a handy tool, and you know how to use it, a large part of it is fine.

Besides, life in the woods is peaceful, but there is undeniably too little change and boring.

After the magic shift, there was a culture that even long-lived elves had never seen, a market lined with a wealth of products, and a large crowd of people from all over the world.

Those who were wary at first also began to roll out to the city in search of inspiration, and now the hut was a necessity in the lives of the elves.

◆ ◆ ◆

"I'm home."

One evening.

Lyme moved out of the labyrinth city as usual and returned to her home.

I didn't have an audition with Alice today, but I was playing with friends of my generation until earlier, so my stomach is already peppery.

"Welcome back"

"Oh, welcome back, Lime. It's almost dinner, so wash your hands."

My parents were already waiting for Lime home at home.

Lyme's father is as oligarchic in nature as she is, but her mother is with her sister's time, a very rapturous and sociable type. The opposite is true, but after nearly three hundred years of marriage, the couple are very close.

Sometimes I don't come back on an annual basis. Time and so on said, "Also, I may have more new brothers or sisters before I know it" (although Lime didn't really know what the story was about).

In fact, it won't be impossible, though, as there are some real examples of times when I ran into a strange sister when I got home at random for the first time in about twenty years.

Well, aside from that.

"Well, shall we have dinner then? You got a little nervous today."

"Yeah."

"Mmm."

The three of us arrived at the table and it was time for dinner.

The tabletop is lined with today's main dishes, dishes in a bright red hue and tea bowls served with white rice.

"Akai"

"Red."

"It's called 'shrimp chili'. It's so extravagant to use shrimp."

Until recently, seafood was a great value in this village.

Even rivers that flow through the forest catch fish, but compared to sea fish, there is no denying that they are inferior in type and size. Once in a few decades, we only had a chance to mouth seafood when those who went out of the woods came back with salty dried foods and kachikochi dried foods as souvenirs.

But not in the last few years.

If you stretch your legs a bit to the labyrinth city market, you'll find mountains of fresh seafood just caught that day for sale. It must have looked like a pile of treasure to the people who were eating irreplaceable meals for decades and centuries.

The elves, whose lives were established almost by self-sufficiency and barter, had little money to store, but it didn't take long to acquire the art of changing the knowledge and skills they had developed over time. A light one if to the extent of earning a little daily necessity or food.

The ingredients and seasonings used for this shrimp chili are also mostly purchased on the market.

Needless to say, the main part of the prawns, in the soybean plate soy sauce that is the source of the spicy flavour, single-chestnut flour for adding thickening, flavoured soy sauce and sugar, tomato ketchup, etc. Then the same goes for the recipes themselves of the dishes and the pans used to cook them. The exception would be about an onion cut into fine dust.

"Tease."

"Are you all right?

"Oh, was it a little too spicy for Lime?

"Daijibu, Yum"

I'm not so good at spicy dishes yet Lime, but this time it's not even that wacky called spicy, so it looks delicious. Along with the white rice, he was eating molly with an impetus that no adult could beat.

Shrimp chili also has a recipe for using shrimp that stays shelled or heady, but this time it is removed at the lower stage with priority given to eatability. The shrimp miso stuck in the head area is mixed in chili sauce without throwing it away, which familiarizes the whole thing well as a link between you and the sauce.

When you chew off a puffy shrimp, it overflows with delicious juices that are different from both meat and fish, and when combined with a red, spicy, sweet and sour sauce, it evolves into a wonderful flavor.

It goes great with cooked white rice and looks like you could eat as much as you want.

When the rustic sweetness lurking within white rice is multiplied by the intricate flavors of chili sauce, alternating with shrimp wrapped in sauce clothes, this is no longer acceptable.

"Replacement"

"Likewise"

"Oh, you both really liked it."

It took little time until the shrimp chili plate and rice tea bowl were empty.

Lime is also exercising a lot these days so she is hungry and eating as fast as an adult. After this, I showed enough appetite to change all three cups of rice for my father and daughter, and finished my dinner with great satisfaction.

Connecting with the outside world has made a huge difference in the lives of the elves.

Perhaps sometimes there are negative effects that destroy the lives and cultures we have cultivated so far.

But at least it must be good to be able to easily enjoy the flavors of ingredients and novel dishes from far away regions.