Some Suspicious Nobility

At the [Dancing Dolls Pavilion] cafeteria, two young girls were engaged in lively conversation.

"Ah, the udon was so delicious, wasn't it, Mai-dono?"

"Indeed it was, Shikina-sama."

Shikina Kukkoro, an elf who had recently been receiving more casual treatment from Kehma.

And Maiodoru Tsuia, the fiancée of Niku.

While Kehma and the others were in the Demonlands, Shikina had been staying with the Tsuia family, and the two had become close friends.

By the way, Maiodoru had secretly received a souvenir from Niku. It was a tapestry with no particular use, but Maiodoru happily hugged and accepted it.

"I wish got had a personal souvenir as well…"

"But you've been learning techniques from Kuro-sama, who in turn learned them in the Demonlands, haven't you? Couldn't you consider that your souvenir?"

"Oh! That's true indeed! As expected of Mai-dono!"

By the way, Rokuko had prepared souvenirs for the village leaders, like Gozoh and others. Things like alcohol from the Demonlands.

"My master achieved great results, placing third in the fighting tournament in the Demonlands. I can hold my head high as his disciple."

"Indeed. Kuro also participated in the main tournament… Oh how I wish I could have seen his gallant figure."

"Kuro-chan would probably fight as calmly and gracefully as usual."

With a sigh of delight, Maiodoru imagined Niku effortlessly defeating opponents in the arena. He must have been wonderfully fitting as her future husband.

"I'm curious about Master's secret technique as well. It's said to be magic, but can I counter it?"

"Speaking of Kehma, he's obtained the right to use the Divine Bedding from Emperor Lionel. We, the administrators, are allowed to decide on the compensation, so why not have him use his secret technique in exchange for that?"

"Well, the Kukkoro family has also received notice about that… But we were also told not to make such decisions on our own."

Maiodoru nodded in agreement as if it were natural. If used wisely, the right to form a deeper friendship with Kehma, who was currently making a name for himself as the one who subdued a dragon and ranked third in the Demonlands's fighting tournament, could be established. It would be a waste to use it as compensation for something that could be easily asked for.

Moreover, lending it out carelessly just because permission was granted would undermine their authority.

"Alternatively, you could hold the compensation in reserve and use it as a bargaining chip later on."

"Ah, that's a good idea. We'll have a favor to call in!"

As the conversation was getting lively, new customers walked in.

Naturally, this was a cafeteria for adventurers at the inn. It was only natural for customers to come in, but…

"Hmm, it's better maintained than I thought. A bit small, though."

"Prince, are you comparing this to the academy cafeteria? The entire village is smaller than the academy in the first place."

"True."

They were obviously well-bred men. There were three of them, men with a distinct presence and clearly different from the adventurers who usually frequented this cafeteria. In fact, they openly referred to one as a prince.

"Hey, where do we submit our meal tickets?"

"Here you go, I'll take them for you. Oh, a C-rank meal, is it?"

A maid in her prime, dressed in a light green outfit, took the meal tickets and guides them to their seats.

Since it wasn't busy right at that moment, it appeared as if she'd serve the meal as well.

"Mai-dono, was that not unusual?"

"Yes. That's a Diado prince."

As a noble, Maiodoru knew the faces of the Daido's princes as a matter of general knowledge at the very least. Portraits of royalty were circulated amongst nobility for just that. She even knew of three separate Daido princesses by their portrait alone. Was this some anti-assassination countermeasure?

However, Shikina shook her head.

"No, not that. Did you notice that they knew how to use meal tickets?"

"Is that really unusual?"

"It is unusual. Most people who come here for the first time are generally confused."

"Is that so?"

In ordinary casual restaurants, it was rare to see the extra hassle of distributing meal tickets. High-end restaurants wouldn't bother their customers with such a system.

Even in the vast empire, the [Dancing Doll Pavillion] was one of the few places that adopted the meal ticket system.

"Maybe they were told at the counter?"

"Rather, they seemed quite familiar with the concept of meal tickets. Their actions suggested that while this is their first time here, they already know about meal tickets."

"… Shikina-sama, you're surprisingly observant, aren't you?"

"I'm no match for Master though. Can you believe he can read Kuro-chan's expressions?"

"Eh, Kuro-sama's—mmm, Kuro is quite expressive though? Apart from his face, I mean."

Meanwhile, the Daido prince's group were already receiving their C-rank meals and had began eating. Indeed, they didn't seem particularly surprised. Maiodoru also noticed this discrepancy.

The C-rank meal was a stew with chunks of beef. It would be strange for beef to be so readily available in a remote village like this. There might be a possibility of Minotaur meat if Minotaurs appeared in the dungeon, but…

The only dungeon in the area where minotaurs appeared was [Flame Cavern]. It wouldn't not be easy for anyone other than top adventurers like Kehma to casually procure such meat.

It was odd that they didn't find it strange for beef to be served at the table. Despite being a prince who had traveled to a foreign village, for him to be ignorant of the ways of the world to that extent would be quite something.

"… Should we inform Kehma-sama?"

"Wouldn't the receptionist contact him? That's what I'd expect at least."

"Right now, the receptionist is Nerune-san. Do you think she'd report something like that?"

Nerune always seemed absent-minded and spacey. She likely wouldn't care about nobles at all. There was an even greater chance that she wouldn't even know the prince's face. Nerune, who would even treat Hero Wataru as an ordinary person, might not even be able to distinguish people's faces. She probably couldn't remember the faces of people she'd met only two or three times.

Shikina didn't even have confidence that Nerune remembered her name.

Shikina also sensed that she should properly report this.

"I'll convey the message myself then."

"I'll also let Kuro know. Hehe, I wonder if he'll praise me."

"I might even get praised by Master!"

For the time being, they decided on that course of action.