Pokémon Detective Case Files

Chapter 388 A Dish from the Depths of the Soul

Chapter 390 A Dish from the Depths of the Soul

This is the kind of potato and pork chop stew my stepmother makes.

The moment the artificial meat steak gently touched the tip of my tongue, memories I thought I had long forgotten surged back like a tidal wave bursting its banks.

Guscalf's taste buds trembled involuntarily—this was the taste, the suffocating taste that had completely buried his childhood.

He seemed to see again his mother's increasingly withered face on her sickbed, the white petals falling at his father's funeral, and the cold, silent knives and forks on the dining table.

In that town of Ripples, where the sea breeze howled incessantly, under those heartbreakingly dilapidated eaves, the boy's heart gradually cooled down.

The whispers and laughter in the classroom, the unfamiliar footsteps at home—everything made him feel like a stone statue of a baboon, unable to rekindle even a single spark of warmth.

This despair, without them even realizing it, transformed into a craving for gluttony.

Torn between inferiority and self-destructive tendencies, he consumed food without restraint, swallowing everything in sight, attempting to fill the emptiness within with gluttony. Each excessive bite felt like a punishment, and his increasingly bloated body became a new mark of shame.

What an ironic and tragic cycle! However, just as a spring compressed to its limit will eventually rebound, when he ran away from home and finally broke free from the locks of that house, the whole world suddenly shone with a dazzling light.

The baboon broke its hibernation and roared, unleashing a burst of fire that illuminated everything.

Food that was once so bland and tasteless now blossoms with amazing deliciousness on the palate, and even the plump figure is strangely regarded by peers as a symbol of majesty, becoming a unique mark of the gourmet.

However, the brighter the light, the deeper the shadow behind it appears.

He thought he had long since sealed that memory away in the darkest corner of time, hoping to cleverly overcome the shadows of the past and find the culinary enlightenment deep within his soul through his biological mother when he was six years old. However, this fantasy was completely shattered by the stew in front of him—an invisible hand reaching out from the abyss of memory was now tightly, desperately gripping the hem of his clothes.

Disregarding the dignity of a gourmet, he hastily got up to escape before even finishing his meal. What he wanted to do was none other than the childhood memories he had buried deep in the dead corner of his heart.

He was afraid, afraid of being swallowed by that darkness again, afraid of falling back into that nightmare world from which he could never escape.

"Please wait a moment." Tong's clear voice came from behind Guskaf.

"This is the potato and pork stew we found, there's absolutely no mistake."

"Stop making excuses. Is this how the food detectives at the Sanyo Dojo solve cases?" Guskaf was almost laughing out of anger, and he stopped in his tracks.

"I've already said that the stew I'm looking for was made for me by my biological mother before I was six years old, while this stew was made by my stepmother. They're even different colors, is there really a problem?"

"These are not two different things, but the same thing." Tian Tong's voice remained steady, as mellow and resolute as aged red wine.

"It can't be the same." The gourmet's voice was filled with anger. "My mother and stepmother are two different people. They even live in different cities. How could they possibly make the same stew?"

"If you are in a hurry to leave, we will not stop you. It is our dereliction of duty not to fulfill the customer's wishes, and we will not charge you a penny."

But if you want to hear what I have to say, please sit down.

The bartender gestured towards the previous seat.

Guskaf's chest heaved violently.

After a moment of silence, he let out a heavy sigh: "Out of respect for Sanyao Restaurant, I'll listen to what you have to say."

The gourmet shifted his heavy body and returned to his seat, glancing at Bilan, who was sitting at the other end of the table, watching the show with her chin propped up on her hand.

Tian Tong then returned. "Actually, just like you said. I got this recipe from your stepmother, so the color isn't red, but everything else should be exactly the same. Your stepmother is doing very well now. Koen and I visited her little house in Ripple Town. She lives with her partner, the Sandalwood Cactus, and the Rock Crab she inherited from your father. They occasionally help out neighbors who don't have time to take care of their children. Their daily life is simple yet fulfilling."

As if to bolster his persuasiveness, the Grass-type Gym Leader handed the phone displaying the photos to Guscalf.

The stepmother is not in the photo, but you can see the two owners, the sand cactus, and the rock crab in a group photo.

Behind them was the simple old house that the gourmet remembered. Sunlight streamed through the familiar window, casting dappled shadows on the shell of the Iwadono crab.

Does she still live in that place?

Guskaf glanced at it and then pushed the phone back.

"Six years ago, your adoptive brother traveled to the Johto region and found his current life partner on the journey. The two of them settled down in Asagi City. Since then, your stepmother has been taking care of the family in Ripple Town all by herself, and your room has remained exactly as it was when she left."

Guskaf did not answer. The aroma of the stewed ribs continued to waft into his nostrils, making the gourmet somewhat irritated.

"This potato and pork stew was actually food that your biological mother entrusted to your stepmother."

The owner of the Tian Tong Pavilion said this, placing a small, yellowed notebook on the table in front of him. "This notebook records in detail the ingredients used in cooking and the methods of seasoning. Although we could scan and copy the contents, considering that you might want to read the handwriting left by your deceased mother in person, we managed to borrow it from your stepmother."

"Is this the recipe my mother left behind?" Guskaf hurriedly took the notebook and carefully opened it.

"Your seriously ill mother never gave up on taking care of you until the very end, entrusting everything to the nurse who was about to marry your father—your stepmother. This cookbook was written at that time. She recorded everything in this notebook about what you liked and disliked, even though you were a picky eater."

"My mother entrusted these to my stepmother," Guskaf said, his eyes wide as he looked at the weak handwriting in the notebook, his large fingers trembling slightly.

The aroma of the stew suddenly stopped bothering him; instead, it transformed into a strange pang of sadness that welled up in his eyes.

"The potato and pork stew is on page four," Tian Tong said.

Upon hearing this, the food critic quickly turned back to the next page.

"The stewing tradition in the Unova region dates back over a hundred years. The most authentic way to make it uses golden potatoes grown on the outskirts of Hiyori City. These potatoes don't fall apart even after long cooking and have a smooth, creamy texture. Your mother specifically chose 'Sea Tide' potatoes, a specialty of Ripple Bay. These potatoes absorb the minerals from the seaside, resulting in a crisp texture and a unique sweetness. The onions must be laurel onions introduced from Johto and cultivated in the greenhouses of Homba City, and the sauce uses soy sauce, a specialty of Hinoki City. The combination of these two ingredients gives off a unique aroma. In an era thirty years ago when the flow of goods was not so convenient, to be so particular about the source of ingredients shows how much care your mother put into it."

"Then this steak, could it be..." Guskaf stared at the notebook, his lips moving as he mumbled something.

"That's right, it's canned meat. It's a bionic meat canned product jointly produced by the Alola Ether Foundation and Fanba City, which is also written in the notes. At that time, there were no shops in Mountain Road Town that could supply fresh bionic meat, which had just become popular, for a long time. And you didn't like the rough texture of the old plant protein products, so you used bionic meat canned meat, which could maintain consistent quality. Your family runs a warehousing company, so it's easier for you to buy this kind of product, which should also be one of the reasons."

Tian Tong placed a can of meat on the table.

"The places where imported food is purchased in Fanba City are usually local cold storage warehouses. You didn't know about this place when you were a child, and when you heard about it from your parents, you might have misunderstood it as a snowy winter. In addition, the label on the can may also have slightly affected your memory."

The curator pointed to the pattern on the can that symbolized the place of origin, a hexagonal geometric snowflake.

"That's why I remembered it as a snowy day." Guskaf took the can and opened his mouth in sudden realization.

"The potato and pork stew you remember was red because your mother grated carrots, which you didn't like as a child, and cooked them in it. But when your stepmother took over the recipe, you were already old enough to eat whole carrots, and that's the difference in color."

Tian Tong pointed to the carrots in the remaining stew on the table and said.

"One more thing, about those two pots, one of them doesn't have any meat in it because we're using imitation meat cans. The meat in the cans is already cooked and seasoned, so you can just put it in before eating. If you overcook it, the already cooked meat will become tough."

"So that's why my stepmother prepared a meal for me alone," Guskaf said, his voice trembling with emotion as he held his notebook.

"Yes," Tian Tong nodded. "Furthermore, after you started junior high school, the family lost your father as the breadwinner, making it even more difficult to obtain artificial meat cans. Under these circumstances, your stepmother is relatively more casual when preparing stewed meat for other people."

Cook using plant-based meats commonly found in the market.

"I now prefer fresh food to canned food."

"Fresh food is certainly delicious, but it won't do if the quality declines. As you get older, your taste preferences will change. But your stepmother has always adhered to the practices she inherited from your biological mother, which is truly honest and proper."

Tian Tong took out her phone again, and this time the screen showed a photo of Guskaf's stepmother standing in front of the door.

"She looks a little smaller, and her hair seems to be whiter too." The gourmet's eyes were slightly moist.

Was the "darkness" he desperately tried to escape all those years just this gentle, hunched figure?

"Besides the stew and bread, this vegetable soup with dried mushroom spores is also on this recipe. However, the handwriting is different from the previous notes, so I think it was added by your stepmother later. She mentioned to us that you've become somewhat indulgent with your appetite since your father passed away, and she's very worried about your digestive health."

"You're meddling too much—" Guskaf turned his face away. "I ran away from home a long time ago."

"Therefore, this potato and pork chop stew is not two different flavors, but a flavor that has been passed down with love by two mothers."

Tian Tong poured warm tea for the tearful gourmet, saying, "I wonder if this answer can serve as a reference for you when dealing with an interview with Outlook magazine."

Guskaf closed his notebook, bowed deeply to Tian Tong, and said firmly, "Even if they don't ask, I will tell them about this dish."

The steam rising from the tea seemed to echo this reconciliation that spanned thirty years.

Tian Tong's lips curved into a gentle smile: "Do you know? Your stepmother is very pleased to hear about your success. Every time she sees your food reviews on TV, she carefully cuts out the relevant reports and keeps them. She even prepared a thick scrapbook, which is now completely full. And all the living expenses you've sent over the years, she's kept in the bank without a trace—"

"Are you going to renovate that old house?" Guskaf shook his head with a wry smile. "If you ask me, it's better not to renovate those dilapidated little houses. Just buy a new one."

"A mother's heart is filled with concern," Tian Tong's gaze deepened. "It's certainly something to be happy about for her son to succeed, but she also worries that he might fall into despair at any moment. That lady probably feels that if that happens, she'll have to return the money to you. Regardless of blood ties, she's always concerned about her child's future..."

"Ah." The sommelier suddenly scratched his head awkwardly. "Sorry, did I sound too old-fashioned just now? I'm a young man myself."

"No, that's not true." Guskaf suddenly gripped Tian Tong's hand tightly, his voice trembling with emotion. "Please don't say that. I am truly, truly grateful to you. Tonight may well become one of the most precious memories of my life."

"Since it's such a significant night—"

In this heartwarming moment, a clear, bright voice suddenly came from across the table: "At a time like this, it would be such a shame to only eat half a meal when faced with delicious food, don't you think?"

She winked playfully and tapped her finger lightly on the still steaming plate on the table.

Everyone's eyes fell on the table—the golden stew was still steaming, and the aroma of bread filled the air.

Guskaf was taken aback at first, then laughed happily, the tear tracks at the corners of his eyes glistening under the light.