Part 2 – Osaka’s Auntie Spreads Okonomiyaki

Chapter 09 – The Angel of Okonomiyaki

 

So, why was Okonomiyaki so quickly accepted into this world?

Okonomiyaki’s strongest point was in its adaptable flavour profile that allowed the people of this world to use their local products and sauces to create flavours that suited their taste.

It shared similarities with the Italian pizza, which originated from the little town of Naples, and later spread its way across the world. While it is impossible to claim that pineapple and tuna are some of the best toppings ever created for a pizza, it showed just how flexible this dish could be.

“Yes! One more thing for the menu!”

Right then, Haruna was experimenting with the roughly chopped up leek-like vegetables in place of the little cabbages of this world.

She continued to cook the Okonomiyaki in the usual way but without the addition of ham or cheese.

“Leek Okonomiyaki, ya! Now let’s try out this flavour.”

First, she slathered on a slightly spicier sauce. A spicier flavour would be a better match for this combination.

 

The Adventurers immediately swarmed over, and began stuffing the newly created Okonomiyaki into their mouths.

“Ooh, this is good!”

“It’s spicy! A good flavour to bring out a warrior’s fighting spirit!”

“This flavour just makes me want to eat and eat, more and more!”

 

Haruna was once more touched to the point of tears.

Deep within the dungeons, it was rare for one to experience pleasure or happiness.

She hoped to transfer as many good recipes as she could into this world. There were plenty of strong and powerful Adventurers in this world, but this, this was something that only she could do.

“The diet down here is really unbalanced. Some people only ate rusk, which is ridiculous. From now on, I wish to continue eating like this whenever possible,” said Kokon as she stared at the plate in front of her, tears wetting her face.

“Please make Leek Okonomiyaki for us employees too! Oh, but overeating is forbidden by God…”

Somehow, whenever a conflict between religious belief and appetite occurred, and appetite won, Kokon’s face often wore a look of self-recrimination.

“I’m not sure if she belongs to the same faith Kokon believes in, but, a Goddess has tasked me with a mission to bring Okonomiyaki into this world. So, it’s going to be all right, I guess.”

“Eh…?”

Kokon’s lack of understanding face triggered a geyser of laughter from Haruna. “That’s totally a perfect boke face, ya.”

After that, Haruna made a Japanese-esque sauce out of fruits and other spices.

When the sauce hit the iron pan, which was once part of an armour, with a sizzle, an irresistible aroma started to permeate the whole of the Level 13 floor. A most delicious smell that had everyone drooling unconsciously.

The sizzling sound, the powerful aroma, it was all too much for the monsters to resist. To prevent the monsters from disturbing their precious meal time, the Adventurers dealt with the lot in one swift move.

“Ooh, that’s awesome! Great job everyone!”

Haruna and Kokon, as well as the rest of the staff, clapped admiringly. The group of rough and often boorish Adventurers actually blushed.

“We’re in front of [Haru-chan]! There are loads of Restoration Potions here!”

“Better to say, we could easily level up by hanging around here!”

From that day onwards, [Haru-chan] became even more of a base cum meeting place for Adventurers.

 

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Since there was an extensive increase in customers, the shop itself also underwent rapid expansion. The food and drink area soon became an independent location on its own.

[Adventurer’s Convenience Store, Haru-chan] stood right next to [Okonomiyaki Haru-chan]. Having these two shops in the dungeon passage seemed somehow natural to Haruna’s eye.

However, thanks to the newly opened [Okonomiyaki Haru-chan], Haruna who had been enjoying a little break was once again stuck in the middle of a non-stop hectic lifestyle.

While she had assigned a few employees to look after the Okonomiyaki shop, there were some things that she could not just hand over.

Basically, the problem was related to Haruna herself.

“No, no! If you push the spatula down too hard, the air will escape. It needs to be fluffy, fluffy! Wait for the fire to heat it through, ya!”

The employees had been doing their best to make Okonomiyaki, but thus far, there was no successful result yet.

“The batter must be properly beaten, na. To ensure even cooking when we grill it. So, practise your batter mixing skills, ya na.”

“Boss… to achieve your level of skill is… I fear this is far more difficult than studying the scriptures…”

Kokon had tears running down her face.

“Money is no issue, I can increase your salaries, wa, but I won’t compromise on this!”

“There are no other shops in the dungeon, so even if the texture is a little different…”

“It’s fine, ok. Anyway, I’m thinking of entrusting Kokon and the rest of you guys with this shop, ya.”

Kokon could think of nothing to say. She just stood there with her mouth hanging open.

 

(*≧□≦)o

 

It had been three weeks since the initial spread of the Word of Okonomiyaki in the dungeon.

Haruna had opened a second [Okonomiyaki Haru-chan] near the Old Saxon’s marketplace.

“Everyone, come and have a taste~! Okonomiyaki is good for health, na ~”

Haruna’s cheerful voice resounded through the marketplace with great zeal and vigour.

According to the Goddess’ word, the goal was to spread Okonomiyaki far and wide, wasn’t it? It certainly seemed that way to Haruna. Even if there’s no money to be made, she would still bring delicious food to the people of this town- no, to the people of this entire world in order to see the smiles on their faces revived by the taste of delicious food.

Other types of vegetables could be finely sliced and used in the place of cabbages. There’s no absolute rule against this.

They could also add finely crushed walnuts to accentuate the flavour profile.

As for seasoning, a little bit of herb added straight into the batter could go a long way in making this dish even more delicious.

Okonomiyaki is food filled with all kinds of possibilities. She could also summon Benishouga and Benishouga Tempura via her magic and add those into her Okonomiyaki too.

With the help of the Japanese style sauce, she could once more taste the flavours of Japan in her Okonomiyaki.

With a plateful of Okonomiyaki samples cut into bite-sized pieces in hand, Haruna dashed around the marketplace, thrusting out her plate at every passerby.

“Tasting samples, tasting samples. If you like it, please buy from us later, na!”

On the second shop’s opening day, a record-breaking 150 people turned up to queue for this new food.

It was not a temporary one-hour boom. The shop immediately established itself firmly in the Old Saxon town and the hearts of its natives. The Candy Distributing Angel Haruna has now been renamed as the Angel of Okonomiyaki.

 

 

[Gumihou: All hail Angel of Okonomiyaki ~]