Allen the Reincarnated Merchant: A Plan to Get Rich in Another World

“By the way, are all elves vegetarians?”

After explaining the house to Eurua for a while, it was around noon, so I decided it was time for lunch.

Aria, who had been happily exploring the house, let out a cute little stomach growl, and since she seemed hungry, I cut the house tour short and prepared for lunch.

Just to note, when Aria’s stomach growled, she blushed like any other girl would, which was pretty adorable.

“No, elves mainly eat a vegetarian diet because we live in the forest. However, if we catch fish in rivers or ponds, we’ll eat it. We also occasionally eat meat from hunting,” Eurua explained.

“I see. What about raw fish?” I asked.

When I think of elves in a fantasy world, I imagine them as strict vegetarians, maybe even extreme vegans who refuse to eat any living creatures. So, before preparing lunch, I asked Eurua just to be sure. It turns out elves are mostly vegetarians, but they believe in consuming what they catch or find.

“R-raw fish, you say…?”

Though Eurua and Aria said they didn’t have any particular dislikes when it came to food, I couldn’t help but ask. Eurua’s expression grew tense, her temple twitching slightly as she made a face that was somewhere between hesitant and conflicted.

I’m guessing she was internally struggling between wanting to fulfill my request and her aversion to raw fish.

“If it’s too much, that’s okay. I can prepare something else,” I reassured her.

The other day, I’d seen a cooking show in Japan featuring raw fish, so I thought it’d be fun to try it out. However, if elves don’t have a culture of eating raw fish, there’s no need to push it. I had some sashimi-grade salmon stored in the fridge back at my house in Japan, but I could always save that for dinner. I decided to make something different for now.

“Wouldn’t eating raw fish make you sick?” Aria asked from the sofa.

“Usually, yes, but what I’m preparing is perfectly safe to eat raw,” I explained.

While Eurua let out a visible sigh of relief at my offer to make something else, Aria—who had been lying lazily on the living room sofa—showed genuine interest. She lay on her back, her head turned toward me, her beautiful hair spilling onto the floor. Her laid-back demeanor despite being in a new home for less than a day was impressive. I suppose that’s the grace of a High Elf.

“What a colorful dish. What is this called?” Aria asked.

I placed three large plates on the table, a bit oversized for just the three of us.

On the pure white plates were slices of vibrant orange salmon, neatly arranged, with a generous amount of colorful vegetables on top. The dressing was a simple recipe I found online, made with ingredients I had on hand. The golden olive oil drizzled over the dish made it look even more appetizing.

“Mmm, it’s good.”

I picked up a piece of salmon with my chopsticks, along with some vegetables, and took a bite. The acidity of the dressing perfectly complemented the rich fattiness of the salmon, and the freshness of the vegetables added a wonderful balance. It wasn’t restaurant-quality, but for homemade food, it was pretty good.

“It’s a strange sensation, but it’s delicious,” Aria remarked.

While I was using chopsticks out of habit, Eurua and Aria were using forks and spoons. Since I was the first to eat without hesitation, Aria, who had been eyeing the dish with curiosity, followed suit and took a bite of the thinly sliced salmon.

Her eyes widened in surprise the moment it touched her tongue, but after that, she seemed to really enjoy it, quickly taking more bites.

“It’s true… It’s raw fish, but there’s no fishy smell, and it tastes delicious,” Eurua said.

Unlike Aria, who was happily eating away, Eurua was visibly nervous when she took her first bite. However, her expression softened into a look of surprise, as the taste must have been different from what she had expected.

“In my homeland, we have a custom of eating fish raw. Of course, not all fish can be eaten that way, but those that can are quite tasty.”

Although the salmon carpaccio I made is more of a foreign dish, I might introduce Eurua and Aria to sushi one day. I think they’d like it.