Chapter 71: Foil-Baked Salmon and Entering the Country 

THUD!!

The entire camping tank lurched violently.

The sudden jolt made me instinctively glance toward the driver’s seat, where Hijiri sat calmly gripping the controls.

“…Did we just run something over? It felt like we climbed over something.”

“Just a rock. A rock.”

“Oh… a rock. That’s good. If it had been a monster or some wild animal, that’d be one thing, but if we’d hit a person, that would’ve been a major incident. Please keep driving safely.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know. More importantly, you should probably worry about those two.”

Hijiri jerked his thumb toward the back of the vehicle.

Following his gesture, I looked over to where Raphiel and Eve had been enthusiastically playing a fighting game despite the constant shaking of the moving tank.

As expected…

The motion had finally caught up with them.

“…The whole world is swaying…”

“I… I feel sick…”

Just as I’d predicted.

Fortunately, I’d already prepared a pair of motion sickness bags in advance, setting them within easy reach in case either of them lost the battle against nausea.

Before I could say anything else, Luka, who had been happily playing Old Maid with the others, looked up at me.

“Eight-niichan, I’m hungry.”

“Hm? Ah, you’re right. It’s about lunchtime, isn’t it? Guess I’ll whip something up.”

“Eight-niichan, I’ll help!”

“Thanks, Rio.”

Now then…

What should I make?

I opened the refrigerator we’d installed inside the camping tank and began searching through the ingredients while considering the menu.

“…Hm? What’s this?”

The moment I looked inside, I spotted something I was absolutely certain I hadn’t packed.

Salmon fillets.

Confused, I slowly looked around the cabin, searching for the culprit.

The instant our eyes met, only one person hurriedly looked away.

…Found you.

“Raphiel, remember when I told you fresh food isn’t really suitable for long trips? More importantly… salmon? We’re literally heading to the sea.”

“I figured we’d eat it near the beginning of the journey.”

“…Well, you have a point there. In that case, let’s make something with it.”

First, I patted the salmon dry with paper towels before seasoning both sides generously with salt and pepper.

Next came the onions.

I sliced them into thin strips, then reached into the vegetable compartment where—just as I’d suspected—Raphiel had secretly stashed enoki and shimeji mushrooms alongside the salmon.

After trimming the tough ends off both varieties of mushrooms, I folded sheets of aluminum foil into shallow trays.

A layer of onions went on the bottom.

Then the salmon.

Then the enoki.

Then the shimeji.

Finally, another layer of onions on top.

I poured a little sake over everything before placing a generous pat of butter right in the center.

Lastly, I covered each portion with another sheet of foil, tightly twisting the edges until every packet was completely sealed.

Preparation complete.

“Now line the foil packets up inside a frying pan and pour in some water…”

A lid went on top.

Medium heat.

Steam-cook everything to perfection.

About ten minutes later, I carefully opened one of the foil packets to check the contents.

The onions had become soft and translucent.

The salmon had cooked all the way through.

Perfect.

All that remained was to drizzle a little ponzu sauce—or soy sauce, depending on personal preference.

Foil-baked salmon was ready.

“It’s done, Raphiel… Can you manage to eat?”

“The wonderful smell cured my motion sickness.”

That was… remarkably convenient.

Raphiel tore open the foil, gently flaked apart the tender salmon with her chopsticks, and carried a bite to her mouth.

“The salmon’s rich flavor has been perfectly sealed inside… Delicious. I’m satisfied.”

“I’m glad to hear that. Everyone else, dig in.”

“Yaaay!!”

Eve, Luka, Nor, Rio, and Amate eagerly followed Raphiel’s example, opening their own foil packets before happily digging in.

“It really is delicious… but wouldn’t it taste even better with mayonnaise?”

“Eve-neechan puts mayonnaise on everything.”

“Well… I kind of think mayonnaise makes almost anything taste better too.”

“I like the way Eight-niisan recommends eating it.”

“Anything Father makes is delicious no matter how you eat it!!”

…Kids really were good for the soul.

Hearing such honest praise made every bit of effort worthwhile.

It made me want to cook for them again.

And again.

And as many times as they asked.

“…”

Without warning, the image of the girl who called herself the Dragon King drifted into my mind.

She had apparently managed to bite off the village chief’s arm.

I knew perfectly well she wasn’t someone I could afford to underestimate.

And yet…

Somehow…

I just couldn’t bring myself to see her as an enemy.

Maybe it was because she looked like such a young girl.

Or maybe it was because, despite barely changing her expression, she always looked so genuinely happy whenever she was eating something delicious.

…If we met again…

Maybe I should cook something for her.

And gently convince her to stop causing trouble.

“Father? Why are you making such a scary face?”

“Huh? Oh… it’s nothing. You’ve got food around your mouth.”

“Hawawa!”

Amate hurriedly wiped around her lips in embarrassment.

…Cute.

“It’s really delicious, Eight.”

“You’ve still got ridiculously enviable cooking skills.”

“…Moving is such a pain… Sabine… feed me…”

It was nice hearing the adults enjoyed it too.

Just then, a complaint came from the driver’s seat.

“Eight-kun… where’s mine?”

“No eating while driving. Pull over somewhere first.”

“Hmm. In that case, allow me to feed you myself.”

“…I never imagined the day would come when a slime would ‘ahhh’ me.”

As laughter filled the cabin, the camping tank carried us steadily onward.

Before long, we crossed the border of the Kingdom of Elde…

…and officially entered the Luresia Empire.

Several more days passed.

Eventually, a massive fortress appeared on the horizon.

“We’re almost there. Eight-kun, raise the Kingdom of Elde’s flag.”

Following Hijiri’s instructions, I opened the window and unfurled the royal banner we’d prepared beforehand.

Considering the soldiers guarding the fortress had probably never seen a self-propelled vehicle before, there was a real possibility they’d mistake the camping tank for some enormous new species of monster and attack on sight.

Displaying the Kingdom of Elde’s flag made it unmistakably clear that we were official diplomatic envoys.

The strategy worked.

Without any incident, the camping tank rolled toward the fortress.

Hijiri climbed down from the driver’s seat and raised his voice toward the soldiers atop the walls.

“I’m Hijiri, envoy of His Majesty, King of the Kingdom of Elde!!”

“Welcome!! We’ve been informed of your arrival!! We shall open the gate immediately!! Proceed through!!”

“Our thanks!!”

After that brief exchange with the guards standing atop the walls, the enormous gate slowly began to move.

Rumble…

The massive doors groaned as they swung open, their tremendous weight causing the ground itself to tremble.

As we prepared to enter, one of the soldiers called down hesitantly.

“Honored Envoy!! If I may ask… what exactly is… that vehicle?”

It was a perfectly reasonable question.

No one in this world knew what an automobile was.

A horse-drawn carriage made sense.

A dragon-drawn carriage made sense.

But a carriage that moved entirely on its own?

They had never seen such a thing.

Whether it was simple curiosity…

Or whether someone higher up had instructed them to gather information…

Hijiri answered without the slightest hesitation.

“It’s a new weapon developed by our Kingdom!! As it’s a newly developed military asset, I ask that you forgive us for withholding the details!! Should anyone attempt to investigate its secrets without authorization, the Kingdom of Elde will lodge a strong diplomatic protest against your nation!! Please keep that in mind!!”

“…!? U-Understood!! I shall report this directly to His Imperial Majesty!!”

Without saying anything, I quietly tugged on Hijiri’s sleeve and leaned closer so the Luresian soldiers couldn’t overhear.

“…Hey, Hijiri.”

“It’s fine, it’s fine. If we say something like that now, they’ll think twice before trying anything unnecessary.”

…That certainly was one way to discourage unwanted attention.

And so, without any further trouble, we successfully entered the Luresia Empire.