Pigs Can't Appreciate Fine Grain

"Ptooey!"

Hades spat out the piece of steak he had just cut and put in his mouth. The meat was tough and dry, and the seasoning was downright bizarre. It hadn't covered up the meat's gaminess at all, but the salt was overpowering. One bite had nearly salted him to death.

"Hey! You there, come over here!"

Hades beckoned to a waiter in the distance.

Seeing that someone was calling him over, the waiter came to Hades's table and asked politely, "How may I help you?"

Pointing to the piece of steak he had cut off, Hades asked, "Is this your signature dish?"

"Uh..." The waiter nodded. "Is there something you're unhappy with?"

"Have you ever even tried this stuff you serve?" Hades asked expressionlessly.

"Um... is the dish not to your taste?" the waiter asked.

"Try it yourself." Hades pushed the plate toward him.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we have a rule against—"

"How can you know what's wrong with it if you don't try it? You're making it seem like I'm just looking for a reason to complain." Hades cut him off.

"Hmm... you're right. Then, if you'll excuse me." The waiter had no choice but to pick up a knife and fork, cut off a piece of steak, and taste it. As he chewed, however, a look of confusion came over his face.

"Well? Is it good?" Hades asked, giving him a sidelong glance.

"It's delicious," the waiter said after a moment's hesitation.

"Delicious?" Hades said in disbelief. "You call this delicious? Your inn looks pretty decent, yet you serve something like this? Don't you think it's salty?"

When faced with E-Rantel's three layers of city walls, Hades hadn't chosen to land in the outermost district or the innermost one. Instead, he had chosen an area in the middle layer.

Based on his understanding of ancient city planning, the outermost district was probably something like a slum, while the innermost city was where the nobles and high officials lived.

The middle district was likely where the relatively well-off residents lived. He didn't want to go looking for trouble in the territory of the nobility and high officials. In his experience, people like that in ancient times were hardly reasonable. He wasn't afraid of them, but there was no need to invite trouble. At the same time, he didn't want to go to the poorest district and suffer for no reason.

The money he had borrowed from Nigun consisted of ten gold coins, some silver coins, and some copper coins. Hades felt the gold coins, then took out some YGGDRASIL gold coins to compare them. They seemed a little different; the YGGDRASIL coins were heavier.

Gold was dense, and judging by their appearance, Nigun's dark-yellow coins were probably gold. They were about the same size, but lighter than the YGGDRASIL coins. For a moment, Hades genuinely couldn't tell which ones were real gold.

Hades then looked for an inn in the city. Though it was already the middle of the night, inns were easy enough to spot. Thanks to the monk skill "Tongue of the Heavens," he had no trouble recognizing the bizarre writing in this world.

After finding a fairly large inn, he swallowed his pride and asked the on-duty waiter a few basic questions that, in the waiter's eyes, were incredibly stupid. At last, he figured out how the currency worked.

Nigun's dark-yellow coins were indeed gold. One gold coin was worth twenty silver coins, and one silver coin was worth twenty copper coins. Judging by the cost of a night's lodging, Hades began to understand why Nigun had looked a little resentful at the end.

Those ten gold coins, along with all the silver and copper, were indeed worth a lot. It would probably take Hades quite a while to earn that much. The cost of lodging also gave him a rough idea of the residents' income.

Hades had also taken out some YGGDRASIL gold coins for the waiter to inspect. From the waiter's impatient expression to his eventual astonishment, then to his bringing out a scale to weigh them and saying he was willing to buy the whole set, Hades could see where things were headed.

His heart leapt with joy. More than twenty billion gold coins would be enough to let him live it up in this world. But that excitement soon vanished completely, replaced by worry.

YGGDRASIL gold coins weren't just money. They could be used for many other things, such as summoning monster mercenaries with a Magic Item Book, or serving as a medium for casting certain spells.

What's more, blacksmithing materials and items also required gold coins. YGGDRASIL gold coins weren't merely currency; they were also a consumable material.

If there were no threat from "Ainz Ooal Gown," he could spend those two hundred billion gold coins however he liked. But under the circumstances, that was absolutely out of the question. They were strategic resources.

Besides, spending them could very well expose his whereabouts. He'd better be cautious and first see what this world had to offer.

He also had items of his own that he could probably exchange for money. But those carried the same risk of exposing him. It would be best to learn more about this world before deciding what he could put up for sale.

There was no longer any way to replenish his YGGDRASIL gold coins. Every coin he spent was one less. He wouldn't be able to use them freely until he had dealt with the problem of "Ainz Ooal Gown" and gained a thorough understanding of this world. Only then could he spend without worrying about the consequences.

Life's ups and downs were just too intense. He had thought he could enjoy a comfortable life, just like in his original world, but now he had discovered that he still needed to earn a living.

Still, Hades had been accustomed to a life of comfort. Although his current problem was a lack of money, he wasn't going to make himself miserable.

If he had no choice, he could put up with it and make do. But since he had already borrowed money from Nigun, he might as well order a decent meal to comfort his stomach.

After sleeping until late morning, he went to the inn's dining room at noon and ordered the most expensive dish on the menu. But the taste made him feel as though it was worse than the black bread and bean soup he'd eaten that night.

What Hades hadn't expected was that the waiter didn't seem to find it unpleasant at all. Judging from the subtle changes in his expression, the waiter didn't seem to be lying.

A faint wail rose in Hades's heart. Was he really a pig who couldn't appreciate fine grain? The inn's decor looked thousands of times better than that of the countryside village, yet the food they served was so awful.

Was he only fit to eat black bread and oddly flavored bean soup?

"If you're unhappy with the dish, sir, we can make you another one," the waiter said helplessly. Their food naturally couldn't match the standards of a first-rate inn like the Golden Radiance Pavilion, but that was because of their inn's target clientele.

The Golden Radiance Pavilion mainly served nobles, royalty, and wealthy merchants. Although they had imitated its high-end style of decor, most of their customers were commoners with a little money to spare, or high-ranking adventurers who occasionally came to enjoy the atmosphere of pretending to be part of high society.

Thanks to this business strategy, their inn was always bustling with customers and was quite famous in E-Rantel. But for the same reason, their food naturally couldn't compare with that of the Golden Radiance Pavilion. After all, they had to consider their costs.

Still, it wasn't that bad. He thought it was delicious, at least.

"Forget it." Hades waved a hand wearily. "Don't go to all that trouble. I'll have this. Please bring me a jug of water."

"Right away." The waiter left.

Since it was salty, he'd just drink more water and make do. As Hades ate the salty steak, he suddenly found himself missing that black bread and bean soup.