'Look at this magnificent white wine, Tori!

'Hm?'

Breakfast time had passed and the dining room was sparse. Michal shouted loudly and placed a bottle of white wine on the kitchen table.

It must be a very good white wine, since Michal, who is a food connoisseur, wanted to show it off.

Curious, I stopped washing dishes and looked at the white wine on the table.

White wine? It says 'Rubani' on it.

'Rubani? Is that the famous one?

When I read out the brand name, my father, who had been putting away the dishes, came running to me in surprise.

Yes, it is a fine white wine made from the Rubani grape, which is only grown in the village of Rubani. I was able to get it through a friend of mine.

'Is it that good?'

I'm not an adult yet, so I've only had a taste of alcohol to check it out. Therefore, I know little about the good and bad of this world's alcoholic beverages.

Ah, ah, I've never had it, but it is said that the moment you take it in your mouth, the mild taste of white peaches spreads out, followed by an exquisite acidity. I hear it goes great with salty, buttery, or seafood dishes. ......'

My father explains the white wine to me carefully while looking at it with bloodshot eyes.

For a wine lover like him, the wine in front of him must be irresistible.

'So it's a fine wine that tastes great with seafood dishes.

That's what I'm talking about! I mean, you know what I want, right?

Michal deliberately takes away the white wine on the table.

He looks at him regretfully, but his expression tightens up.

Are you asking me to choose seafood for today's menu?

To put it simply. We've got the best white wine. It's only natural to want to eat it with the best food to go with it, isn't it?

'I, as the head chef, decide the menu for the day. That's the rule here, and that's our pride. I can't just change the menu so quickly, no matter how much Michal asks...''

'Oh, that's a shame. If Mr. Abel would change today's menu to seafood, I would have offered him a bottle of Rubani's wine.

As soon as my father had firmly refused, Michal took out another bottle of white wine from his bag at his feet.

'We'll have seafood for dinner tonight,' he said.

'Thanks for talking so fast!

''Aren't you proud to be the head chef for a minute?''

I had to shove the obviousness of the response back at him.

I'm the rule in the kitchen. What I decide is absolute.

My father says this line like a tyrant while fishing for the white wine he has just received.

'In the face of Rubani's fine white wine, even the pride of being a chef is bowing ......'.

'Tori is just a kid, so he might not understand, but Rubani's wines are limited and hard to come by every year!

'Besides, royalty, aristocrats, and wealthy merchants all make reservations. It is almost impossible for ordinary people to get them. The price has skyrocketed as well.

I was taken aback, and my father and Michal explained to me the rarity of this white wine.

I see.

So rare and valuable.

No wonder my wine-loving father changed the menu at Michal's request.

So tonight's dinner will consist mainly of seafood dishes. I'll go to the market to buy fish, while you take Lettie to the nearby river to get small fish, shellfish, shrimps, etc.', said Tori.

'All right.

Because there is no sea near the city of Rubella, seafood is transported frozen. The cost of this labor is added to the price, making sea fish and other seafood more expensive.

However, there are many beautiful rivers inside and outside of the city.

There are plenty of river fish, shellfish, shrimps, etc., so the idea is to secure them and add them to the menu.

It will be nice to have seafood dishes since we usually have meat and vegetable dishes.

It's not so bad for me either, so I accept my father's request.

I'm looking forward to dinner tonight!

I walk past Michal with a satisfied smile on his face and go upstairs.

At this time of the day, Letty is probably going around collecting the guests' laundry.

As expected, Letty was collecting the bags of laundry that had been put out in the hallway.

'Brother, take this! I have a lot of laundry to do today!''

'Oh, I can take care of that, Mom. We're going out to get groceries.

'What, really? What are you doing?

Letty's eyes lit up when she heard that we were going out to get food.

Letty is a calm but energetic old lady. She seems to like going out more than working.

I understand! Then, I'll just give this to my mother in the courtyard and wait for her to be ready to explain!

When I told Letty what had happened, she went downstairs with a glowing expression on her face.

Soon after, I heard my mother's frustrated voice in the courtyard. I guess she was lamenting the fact that she had to do the laundry all by herself, even though there was a lot of laundry to do.

And soon Letty came running up the stairs.

'Mom, you were complaining, weren't you?

'Yes, but he was in a better mood when I told him there was a bottle of Rubani's wine.

Not as much as Dad, but Mom likes wine too. People are hardworking creatures if they know that they will be rewarded after overcoming hardships.

But Lettie is also very determined to make sure that she knows about it so that no one will complain.

Let's get ready to go!

''Yes.''

Lettie's excitement rushes me up to the fourth floor.

I pull out all the tools I might need for gathering food, such as a trap for river fish, buckets, bait, gloves, nets, and fishing rods, and put on sandals to get ready.

With the small tools in the bucket and the fishing rod on my shoulder, I am not too bulky.

Then I'm off, Dad!

'Oh! Be careful! Tori, keep an eye on Letty so she doesn't get swept away in the river!

When Letty shouts cheerfully, my father in the kitchen smiles and gives me a stern talking-to.

Don't be so dramatic. The river we're heading for is shallow, no more than fifty centimeters deep. There's no way we'll get swept away.

Letty and I walk out of the inn with a wry smile on our faces.

What's that? Tori and Letty, are you going to the river now?'

Then Ira, a childhood friend of mine, approached us, as if he was just about to come over to our house.



If you look at our luggage, you'll know exactly where we're going.

Yes, we're going to have mainly seafood for dinner tonight, so we're going to get some ingredients.

'Let's go together, Ayla-sis!

'Great! I'll be ready in a minute! I'll be right back!

Ira accepted Letty's invitation with a resounding "yes.

He ran toward his lodgings to pick up the tools he would need to get food from the river.

Ira was probably just taking a short break to play as usual, but it was a good job if it was for the cause of getting foodstuffs.

With the cause of getting foodstuff, it would be a noble job.

This randomness is the freedom that comes with being a child. In a previous life, as an adult, it would have been difficult to make time for work, family, and other commitments.

I miss this kind of atmosphere very much.