"The capital?

　That's how Rique reacted when I told her.

Do you have a problem with that?
No, I've simply never been there.

　I asked him about it, and he told me that he hadn't been to many big cities before he became my apprentice.

It's just a big city.

　Diana said in a gentle voice, as if to soothe Rike. For those of us who live here, any big city is a hometown.
　But Deanna lived in the house of an earl, which means she was high class, so it's a little hard to rely on her.
　I'm not going to say anything about it, because it's clear that it's a flower that needs not be said.

Well, it's going to be a day trip, but I hope you don't get too worked up about it and think of it as a little trip. You guys too.

　I echoed Diana's words and told everyone so.

　As I was doing this, Camilo came into the room with the guard. He was pushing a kind of cart.
　The cart was covered with a cloth, so it was hard to see what was on it.

"Hey, did you wait for me?
"No. No, but you were strangely late today.
Yeah. I was getting ready for this.

　Camilo looks at the cart. You were late because I came and you were preparing that thing.

Must have been pretty good if you went through all that trouble, huh?
"Of course it is.

　Camilo and I laugh at each other. When Camilo gave the signal, the guard nodded and removed a piece of cloth from the cart.
　There were two rather large pots. The jars were glazed, with a smooth surface, and had glazed lids.
　I wonder if they contain something that evaporates easily.

Come here.

　Camilo beckoned to me. Camilo beckoned to us, and we approached with trepidation, not expecting anything strange to be in there given the circumstances.

Let's start with this one.

　Camilo took off the lid of one of the jars. Camilo took the lid off one of the jars, and the rest of the family looked at him suspiciously. They've probably never smelled anything like it before.
　But my nose finds the smell familiar. I hadn't smelled it in about a month or so.

"Soy sauce!

　I exclaimed, startling everyone.

"Sorry.

　I shrank back, and Camilo saw me laughing.

"That's Eizo. Yes, it's Shouyu from the north.
"Well, this one's .......

　I pointed to the other jar. Camilo smirks.

Camilo smirked and said, "Did you say Miso?
"Miso?

　I shouted again, unable to hide my jumping joy. If you think about it, there's soy sauce, so there must be miso.
　When I opened the lid, I found a brown paste that I was familiar with. It was definitely miso.

　I dipped my finger in a little bit of the soy sauce and licked it off. Since there is no such word as "low-sodium," it has a rich salty taste with a hint of sweetness. The taste is unmistakably that of soy sauce.
　I also tasted a little of the miso paste, which was also a little sweet and had a light barley miso taste. My tongue and stomach were screaming for more, but I held it back with tears in my eyes.
　Later, my family members said to me, "I knew you were from the north.

"How did you find him?
"I was lucky enough to meet a peddler with northern connections. It cost me a bit of money, but I got it.

　Camilo says this as if it were nothing, but it is easy to see from his attitude that it must have been more than a little difficult.
　And it's a fact of life that things that are hard to get are expensive. I, too, am paid a lot of money by my customers for creating something that is hard to find. I want to keep that in mind.

"How much for two of these?
"Let's see, .......

　The price Camilo told me was much cheaper than I thought it would be.

"Are you sure? Is that a good price?
"Yeah. I've got some regular supplies, and I've got a plan to sell it to a gourmand aristocrat. I'll do you guys a favor and ask for your continued patronage.
I'm grateful for that. ......
And, you know what?
Hmm?
I'm pretty sure now that if there's any left over, you're going to buy all the rest.

　Camilo's face broke. I make a deliberately resentful face, but of course I don't mean it. I immediately burst into laughter and the room erupts in laughter.



"So, guys.

　I turn to the others.

I know it's a little late, but can I get some soy sauce and miso?
"It's really late.

　Deanna says in disgust.

"Not many people can say no to something like that.

　You can't say no to someone after seeing them like that," Rieke said, and they all nodded emphatically. I slumped my shoulders dejectedly.
　Camilo smiled and said, "Good day, sir," as he instructed the foreman to start loading.