"Now then... let the tasting of our new dish, 'takoyaki,' begin!"
"Oooooooh!"
It was evening. The square at the center of the fishing village.
The moment Rest made the announcement, the gathered villagers erupted in a unified roar.
He had only told them to come if they could... yet nearly the entire village had assembled here.
"No, seriously... this is way too many people..."
"A noble is offering to cook for them. Of course they'd come running from every corner of the village."
Celestine let out a wry smile, looking somewhat troubled.
When you thought about it, it was perfectly obvious.
This was a rural fishing village with little in the way of entertainment and no particular luxury in their daily diet.
Their lord had promised them a feast, so naturally they would drop everything and rush over.
"Having this many people's expectations on me is pretty daunting..."
"Since we're at it, shall we serve some of the experimental sake as well? If we water it down, everyone here should be able to enjoy it."
"They'd probably love that, but... is it really okay? Giving away that much?"
"The people of this village have contributed greatly to the sake brewing. Anyone would want to taste the fruits of their own hard work, wouldn't they?"
That, too, was only natural.
They had poured their efforts into brewing sake, and if not a single drop of the finished product reached their own lips, that would be far too disheartening.
It could crush their motivation and hinder future work.
"All right then... let's get started!"
Rest steeled himself and began making takoyaki.
He coated a large iron griddle with oil, then used magic to generate fire and heat it up. Once it was sufficiently hot, he poured in the batter.
The batter, too, was Rest's own creation. He had dissolved wheat flour in water, added eggs, and mixed in a broth made from dried fish and simmered seaweed.
(The only fillings were octopus, green onion, and cabbage. He would have liked to add tenkasu as well, but there was no time today, so he left that out.)
"Now for the main event. In goes the octopus!"
He placed cut octopus legs into the batter.
Celestine, who had been watching from the side, wore a strained expression, but the villagers watched with eager curiosity.
"And then… when the timing's right, give it a flip — like this!"
"Ooh!?"
He inserted an awl-shaped metal pick and flipped them over.
The villagers cried out in surprise.
"That's amazing… what are you even making?"
"They're round. Somehow, it's fascinating."
"So that's what that iron griddle is for — that's how you use it."
For anyone seeing takoyaki being made for the first time, it must have been a captivating sight.
Even Celestine, who had been frightened of the octopus, was staring intently at the griddle.
"Now I'll drizzle on the sauce… and done!"
Before long, the takoyaki were complete.
Not bad at all, considering he hadn't made them in a while. They were a little lopsided, but each one was properly spherical.
"Alright, let's keep making them while the griddle is still hot!"
Rest continued adding ingredients one after another until the takoyaki were complete, and before long, enough had been made for every villager.
Since there were so many people, each person only received two... but the villagers stared at the plates handed to them, drooling.
"Everyone got a plate? Then... dig in!"
"Ohhhhhhhhhhhh!"
Once Rest gave the go-ahead, the villagers lunged at their takoyaki.
The ones made later were still piping hot, so they blew on them and rolled them around in their mouths as they ate.
"Hot! But... this is delicious!"
"Crispy on the outside, gooey on the inside... and the octopus is nice and chewy!"
"I can't believe the octopus I caught could be transformed into something like this... I've been wasting my life until now!"
Over-the-top reactions, but... if this was their first time ever eating takoyaki, maybe that kind of response was only natural.
(The sauce is Western-style, and there's no mayonnaise, bonito flakes, or dried seaweed... honestly, it really doesn't feel like the real thing.)
As someone who knew Japanese takoyaki, Rest felt distinctly unsatisfied.
Even so... the villagers loved it. Even Celestine was spearing them with her fork and bringing them to her mouth.
"..."
"So? Now that you've tried it, it doesn't feel so gross anymore, right?"
"No... that fish is still unsettling and I'd rather not look at it. But my curiosity has won out over the visceral disgust."
Celestine ate the takoyaki with an elegant gesture and let out a deep sigh.
"For a party, it would be best served as something prepared in front of the guests. I'm sure it would be a hit as entertainment. Some may be reluctant about the octopus, but... nobles tend to be fond of delicacies. It shouldn't be too much of a problem."
"That's wonderful. Another dish added to the party menu."
Rest nodded with satisfaction.
An unexpected harvest in the fishing village we'd come to for alcohol.
"However... with just this much, it may still be difficult to make a judgment."
"Hm?"
"I think it will become quite clear once you've eaten two or three more, though..."
Celestine fixed me with a rare, longing gaze.
Behind her, the villagers watched with eyes sparkling with ardent anticipation.
"Fine, fine... seconds it is."
Rest shrugged lightly and set to work making another round of takoyaki.
That day, we ended up making takoyaki until we ran out of ingredients, and from the next day onward, the villagers burned with passion for catching octopus.