Running a Soup Kitchen

With the food preparation finished, we carried it alongside others to the gardens outside the castle.

The sight that greeted me there made me gasp.

So many people had evacuated here, wrapped in distributed blankets and shivering.

I could hear children crying in confusion.

Though it had gotten considerably warmer, it was still a time of year when it grew cold after sunset.

Since it would still be a while before sunrise, people needed to warm up.

I raised a frying pan and ladle high, then struck the ladle against the pan.

The loud noise drew the attention of those around us.

Having captured their attention, I had Azu shout loudly.

"Soup kitchen from the castle! Please line up to receive your portions! One per person, please! There's enough for everyone, so please come in order!"

As soon as Azu finished speaking, several people approached.

That opened the floodgates, and a line quickly formed. Hundreds of people.

I felt relieved for now. It would have been dangerous if they'd panicked and mobbed us, so I was glad it didn't come to that.

They seemed anxious, but perhaps believed they were safe at the castle with the royal army mobilized.

We served those lined up with milk soup in wooden bowls, one whole boiled potato each, and one piece of flatbread.

My experience from running stalls paid off, and the line moved smoothly.

The wooden bowls, incidentally, had been purchased from the Royal Capital's woodworking guild.

When I mentioned to Princess Tianis that these would be useful in times like this, she immediately had the Finance Minister secure them.

"From the king, no less. We're grateful. Thank you all."

"So warm…"

"What's going to happen to us…?"

Those who received the food spoke their thoughts while eating.

There were some minor troubles, but with soldiers present, distribution completed without major incident.

The leftovers were given to the soldiers as their meal.

Orleans joined us partway through after being released, and we cleaned up the soup kitchen.

"Um, sir."

"What is it? Are you tired?"

"No. This much is fine. It's just… while I serve you, sir, my status is as an Imperial subject."

"That's true."

"I ended up organizing important documents and such… is that alright? I'm worried it might cause trouble for you later."

Orleans shrank into herself as she said this.

We returned to the kitchen and left the dishes and such to the regular staff.

Then I poured milk into cups and served everyone.

Having been given permission to use a reasonable amount of the stored food supplies, this much should be fine.

Once Orleans had drunk her milk, I gave her some of the potatoes and soup we'd set aside.

Yohane and the others had already eaten while taste-testing.

"It was Anatia-san who took you, so there's nothing to worry about. She's not the type to punish you for that, and anything truly confidential would have been kept separate. She's thorough like that."

"I understand that Anatia-sama isn't a bad person, but…"

She scooped some soup with her spoon, and perhaps finding it delicious, her eating pace quickened.

"If anyone says anything, I'll handle it, so don't worry. You'll only exhaust yourself thinking about things that haven't happened."

"You should think about things a bit more."

Finn, who had been sipping her milk, interjected.

"Never mind me," I replied, scratching my cheek.

I thought I'd been thinking more carefully than before, but the feeling that anything besides money matters was just a hassle remained strong.

If money could solve it, no point worrying.

Though, admittedly, everything else tended to be troublesome.

Elza joined us after that, leaving only Alexia.

We took a short nap, but she still hadn't returned.

So I decided to wrap some flatbread around ham and cheese to make a packed meal and deliver it to her.

I gave Elza the same thing. Perhaps she was hungry, because she ate it with relish.

"I was starving, so this helps. There was no time to eat anything over there. And it would have been unsanitary anyway."

"Good work. You could have rested if you were tired."

"No, no. A little rest and I felt better. Besides, I don't want to waste any time right now."

The place where Alexia was working was the Royal Library, a short walk from the castle.

Apparently the barrier's magic circle was inscribed in the basement.

They'd told me the location on account of being Alexia's companion.

… I could certainly understand why Orleans was anxious.

It might be that they trusted us, but being told this much classified information…

Could they be deliberately sharing information to make sure we couldn't leave?

"No way."

I decided to accept that this was an emergency.

They surely needed all hands on deck.

We were almost there.

Just as I thought that, the sky brightened.

Thinking the sun had finally risen, I turned toward it. What I saw was unbelievable.

A second wave of the magic raining down on the Royal Capital.

The scale was smaller than the first, but there was no mistaking that sight.

It came toward us along with the sunlight.

"Run!"

Being outdoors was bad. Nothing to block it.

I thought I heard screams in the distance.

We entered the Royal Library and headed to the location we'd been told about.

There was a stairway leading underground.

Normally it was hidden by magic, apparently.

Descending the stairs and proceeding deeper, we arrived at a large room.

A massive magic circle was deployed there, and mages were channeling their mana into it.

I saw Alexia among them.

Just then, the second wave collided with the barrier.