Read Novel Full Vol 25 Chapter 5
Vol 25 Chapter 5
TN: Please read my translations only on my website since I never give my permission to any site to host my translations. And if you like my translations, please support this site on Ko-fi and Patreon to read several chapters ahead!
Enjoy~
Chapter 5 – The Ultimate Choice
I went to ask the God of Commerce-sama about charitable expenses and was relieved to learn that my investment in Gothenburg would be recognized as such. With that settled, I decided to buy a new ship. There are several ships I want, though, so it’ll probably take a while to decide.
“Hmmm, I can’t decide. No matter how I think about it, I can’t decide. Should I just buy one—no, two—more ships at this point? Funds are definitely sufficient…”
I pondered convenient excuses as I was soothed by the massage chair.
“No, that won’t do. Buying a ship because it’s necessary or because I want it is fine. But if I’m buying purely for entertainment, I should set limits. Otherwise, the joy will fade, and I won’t be able to enjoy the ship I choose fully. That would be unfair to the ship.”
AdvertisementI feel bad about it, but this time, I’m only buying one. I’m so lenient with myself that breaking this restriction would definitely lead to no restraint, and I’d be crushed by charity expenses.
Huuu, calm down, me.
First, I’ll compare the purchase candidates and choose the best one.
Candidate #1 caught my eye:
It’s a foreign-style floating restaurant ship.
It’s a category that was somehow added to the specialty ships section. It was categorized separately from traditional Japanese houseboat restaurants.
The selling point of this ship is that you can eat authentic foreign cuisine.
Among the many options, the floating restaurants from the following countries caught my interest: America, France, Italy, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The American shipboard restaurant probably has an oyster bar and serves lobster and large American-style cuts of meat, reminiscent of home parties on American TV dramas.
Next is France. Needless to say, it offers authentic French cuisine. While you can enjoy French food on luxury liners, I prefer the French cuisine served at a restaurant specializing in it.
Third is Italian cuisine. With its promise of authentic Neapolitan dishes, it’s bound to be delicious.
Finally, Thailand and Vietnam. Although their cuisines are different, I’m grouping them together because my reasons for interest are similar.
AdvertisementBoth Thai and Vietnamese cuisines tend to be lesser-known on the luxury liners I choose. Being able to enjoy authentic Asian cuisine whenever I want is hugely appealing.
Considering these four options, American, French, and Italian cuisines might be out, right?
Even on luxury liners, it seems they focus on meat, seafood, French, and Italian cuisine, so I don’t expect a huge difference in quality.
I’d like to try those cuisines eventually, but Thai and Vietnamese are my priority.
With just these two options, the decision is simple. No matter which I choose, I’ll feel excited yet regretful, so choosing based purely on mood is fine.
So why am I agonizing over it? Because other categories are vying for my attention.
Two, to be precise.
One is the yakatabune, a traditional houseboat.
Yakatabune options had quietly been added, significantly increasing the number of appealing choices.
After much consideration, I narrowed it down to two yakatabune boats.
The first is a luxury Tokyo yakatabune.
It features a rotating selection of renowned Tokyo restaurants. You can enjoy top-tier flavors of Japanese cuisine, including yakiniku, tempura, and sushi — it feels like paradise, no exaggeration.
The second is a Hakata yakatabune with food stalls.
AdvertisementIts menu is rich, distinctive, and incredibly appealing: There’s Hakata yosenabe hotpot, Hakata motsunabe offal hotpot, charcoal grilling, tempura, and fugu hotpot. You can also get tempura on a monjayaki-style boat, but savoring the unique flavors of each boat sounds better.
Purely based on the name, “Hakata” makes it feel way more appealing.
While I definitely want to savor the yosenabe and fugu nabe, the motsunabe is too appealing to pass up. There’s no way I can choose.
The appeal of these two yakatabune-style boats is simply too high.
Then there’s the final category.
Only one boat is registered here, so there are no other choices.
Its name is the Offshore Supply Vessel.
Apparently, it does business with large ships and tankers that can’t easily dock. It looks like a fishing boat.
Honestly, it isn’t that appealing as a boat. Since we don’t fish, we don’t need a fishing boat. If we’re using it for transportation, the Lutto would be more comfortable.
However, the Offshore Supply Vessel has advantages that make up for that shortcoming.
Because it does business with large vessels, it carries fresh fruits, vegetables, meat, alcohol, juice, seasonings, snacks, instant foods, clothing, and other daily necessities as cargo.
However, most of these goods are also available on the ferry. While the increased variety of snacks, juice, alcohol, and vegetables is appealing, nothing really caught my eye until I saw a certain item.
AdvertisementThe item that utterly captivated me was the assortment of solid curry roux.
Solid curry roux. Solid stew roux (beef and cream). They even sold roux for hayashi rice.
Curry is available on luxury liners and ferries, and instant curry is sold at the ferry shop.
But the solid roux changes the whole game.
With a solid roux, I can make homemade dishes for the girls. That’s huge! Maybe I can even cook alongside the God of Gastronomy-sama during the upcoming vacation with the goddesses.
I love cream stew, and I adore hayashi rice. Being able to change things up and cook for the girls multiple times is a real plus.
Also, since they stock all the major curry roux brands, I can mix and match to create new variations. That opens up a lot of possibilities.
But is buying a fishing boat just to get solid curry roux the right approach?
Sure, there are other benefits, like acquiring more Japanese products, but buying a fishing boat just for roux? That’s a bit much.
Then again, I once bought a houseboat just for monjayaki, so I guess I shouldn’t complain now.
Above all, I have to choose one of these five boats. If this were a real situation, it would be an extremely difficult problem, the kind that might never be solved.
“I just don’t know anymore.”
AdvertisementI should be relaxing in this massage chair, but my body somehow feels sore.
At first, agonizing over it was fun, but not reaching a conclusion after so long is starting to hurt.
If I can’t bring myself to choose a boat, maybe I should narrow down the options.
After much thought, I narrowed my choices down to two boats.
The first option I eliminated was the restaurant boats, specifically the Thai and Vietnamese ones.
I agonized over this quite a bit, but ultimately decided that I only enjoy Thai and Vietnamese cuisine occasionally, and that kind of pleasure could wait. I decided to prioritize boats that could be enjoyed as part of everyday life.
Next came the two yakatabune boats.
Deciding between these two proved more difficult than eliminating the on-board restaurants. Both offered dishes that looked too delicious to pass up.
It would have been easier if I had a clear set of preferred dishes, but both boats offered appealing options, making the decision difficult.
The Hakata houseboat offers: Motsunabe and fugu hotpot. Tokyo houseboat: Yakiniku and sushi.
You can get sushi on luxury liners, too, but sushi from a renowned Tokyo establishment is a different story. Similarly, if you have Yakiniku from a famous Tokyo spot, you will likely get brand-name Wagyu beef.
True to its “high-end” name, the Tokyo side offers the chance to incorporate high-quality dining into your routine.
AdvertisementOn the other hand, the Hakata houseboat’s unique offerings—motsu nabe and fugu nabe—have won me over.
Motsu nabe requires the careful preparation of offal, and I’ve never seen fugu prepared anywhere else, so buying the Hakata houseboat is likely my only chance to try it.
After much deliberation, I chose the motsunabe and fugu nabe.
That leaves two ships: the Offshore Supply Vessel and the Hakata houseboat.
I can’t choose! I can’t choose. I can’t choose!
The motsunabe and fugu nabe are both delicious and sure to please the girls. The Offshore Supply Vessel’s solid roux will enrich camp life and capture the interest of the God of Gastronomy-sama.
However, both the fugu hotpot and the offal hotpot would also capture the God of Gastronomy-sama’s interest.
I can picture the girls and goddesses enjoying either choice, so I can’t decide.
“Huh? Cooking with the God of Gastronomy… wouldn’t the knowledge needed to prepare fugu and offal hotpot be pleasing to her?”
She’d probably enjoy making home-style curry, too, but becoming a cooking staff member on a floating food stall would likely provide access to that knowledge. There’s no way the God of Gastronomy-sama wouldn’t be pleased by that.
Wouldn’t the orichalcum knife and the knife purchased in the Mermaid Kingdom truly shine when preparing fugu?
AdvertisementOn top of that, there’s the massive advantage of being the only person in the world who can cook fugu.
I agonized so much that I almost decided to flip a coin. But I’ve decided on the boat I’m buying this time.
I still feel regret about the other boats, especially the offshore supply vessel, but I’ve decided on the boat I’m purchasing this time: the Hakata houseboat.
Since the houseboat can be purchased with just one platinum coin, there’s plenty of leeway left in the charity fund. This surplus can be used to buy an additional ship or invest more in Beastmen Town.
However, if I decide to invest more in Beastmen Town, thirty platinum coins probably won’t be enough. This means I’d likely have to buy a new ship anyway. That makes me wonder what the point of this whole dilemma was in the first place. But that’s that.
The ships on the table this time are relatively inexpensive. If I were to invest more in the Beastmen Town, I’d likely aim for a much larger vessel.
Putting the Beastmen Town aside for now, the focus is on the Hakata houseboat.
Since I’ve already had dinner, the unveiling will be tomorrow. Actually, I’ve been agonizing over this since midnight, so it’s already today.
Since I have work involving transportation today, a nighttime unveiling is safer.
I really want them to try the special menu first. That leaves either the fugu or the motsu hotpot, but serving both at once seems wasteful. I need to think this through carefully.
I’m overwhelmed with too many happy problems. The last one, however, crossed the line from happy to outright agonizing.
AdvertisementIf you like my translations, please support me on Ko-Fi and subscribe my Patreon to read several chapters ahead!