Calm Before the Storm?

After several hours of riding, we safely arrived at the city of Tazula as evening approached.

I was impressed by the incredible stamina of military horses.

With only brief rest stops at intervals to avoid running them into the ground, they had traveled this far.

Quite different from the mules we kept at home.

Though in exchange, those mules carried plenty of cargo for us.

After dismounting, I felt like my lower back was going to give out.

Azu hurriedly supported me.

"Are you all right?"

"Yeah, sorry. My hips and legs went numb and I lost my strength."

"How pathetic for someone so young. You should exercise more."

"I do exercise, actually…"

Despite the long ride, everyone except Yohane and Orleans seemed fine as usual.

Princess Tianis was sweating but still seemed to have energy to spare.

"So this is Tazula, the royal territory. I see, this is my first time here, but I can understand why it was chosen as a retreat."

"If nothing else, the scenery here is second to none. I've been here several times myself."

My impression of the city of Tazula was that it was thoroughly designed for comfortable living.

It was moderately developed with moderate amounts of greenery.

A nearby lake could be seen in full view, and mountains were visible as well.

Being close to the capital, the Kingdom's military patrols eliminated monsters, ensuring safety.

There was a fence, but it was positioned so as not to obstruct the scenery.

"There's a separate villa that the royal family owns, apart from the one Yupe-neesan is using. Let's stay there tonight."

"That makes sense. It would be difficult to meet at this hour."

"I also want some time to sort out my feelings…"

Following Princess Tianis, we came upon a large manor.

This was apparently the royal family's villa.

As expected of royalty, even their scale was grand.

There was even an attached stable, so we moved the horses there.

When we prepared water and food for them, the horses dug in eagerly.

The interior of the manor was well-maintained with regular upkeep, the cleaning was thorough, and the beds were already made.

Food supplies were also prepared, albeit only items with long shelf lives.

It must have been kept ready for whenever royalty might visit.

"I've worked up a sweat and want to take a bath. You two, come help."

"Y-Yes."

"Understood."

Azu and Orleans were led away by Princess Tianis.

Perhaps she considered subordinates of subordinates to be her own subordinates.

Since there was no one here but us, someone had to take care of her.

I'd prepare something to eat while Princess Tianis and the others were bathing.

"All three of you, help me out."

I called over Elza and the others who had been standing around with nothing to do.

With seven people to feed, it was quite a lot, but dividing the work would make it manageable.

There were potatoes, onions, and other vegetables with long shelf lives, so I asked Elza and Finn to peel and cut them.

"Finn-chan, these are making my eyes water non-stop."

"Don't whine when you're older than me. It's because you're using a dull knife. Use mine."

"Ah, it really is better. Thanks."

Leaving that to them, I started pulling preserved foods from the pantry with Alexia.

"Pickles, cheese, and dried meat. Oh, there's butter too. And this is… cornmeal. I wonder if they grow corn around here."

"So, what should I do?"

"We can't do anything too elaborate. Let's make something quick. Alexia, once you've boiled water, add butter and cornmeal and stir it. A bit firm is good. Once it's mixed, add salt and herbs."

"Making porridge?"

"Yeah. Baking bread would take too long. This is ready as soon as it's cooked."

"I see. I've made something similar during marches before, so leave it to me."

"Thanks. I'll work on this side."

First, I grated the cheese finely using a grater.

Since it was cheese for storage, it had little moisture and was hard, but with effort it crumbled into pieces.

I did the same with the dried meat.

If I just boiled this rock-hard stuff normally, it wouldn't be edible until the middle of the night.

I put the cheese and dried meat in a pot, added enough water to cover it without burning, and put it on the fire.

I minced the pickles ahead of time.

"Vegetables are done."

"I worked hard～"

"Good, put everything in that pot."

"Okay～"

Elza and the others added the vegetables they'd cut to the pot with the cheese and dried meat.

The water released from the vegetables should loosen the cheese just right.

I covered it and waited. When the cheese melted from the heat and started bubbling, I stirred to prevent burning.

It was done once the vegetables were cooked through.

Finn massaging my shoulders in between tasks was a big help.

"This is done too. Brings back memories."

"What's this? It's yellow and gooey."

"Corn porridge. You just boil cornmeal and it's done. Simple but tasty. It should go well with this cheese pot."

"Hmm?"

Finn's curiosity won out and she scooped some porridge with a spoon and put it in her mouth.

Her expression showed she found it unremarkable, so I placed the minced pickles in front of her.

Try it, I suggested.

When she put some pickles in her mouth, the corners of Finn's lips turned up.

"By itself it's just faintly sweet, but eating it with pickles makes it sweet-salty and nice. The texture is interesting too."

"Right? I ate this all the time as a kid."

"It was often served at church meals too. During good harvest years, we ate it year-round."

"That would get boring…"

I placed the pot on the dining table and was preparing plates when there was a commotion from the back.

"Your Highness, wait. Your hair isn't done yet. And your undergarments…"

"You can't. Sir is here, you know."

"Something smells delicious! I'm hungry!"

The three of them appeared fresh from the bath.

All three were in their underwear.

Their hair was still wet.

Apparently they'd come here immediately after getting out of the bath.

Azu and Orleans kept looking back and forth between me and Princess Tianis in dismay.

"Haah. Elza, Alexia. Please."

"Yes, yes. Understood. I never thought I'd be doing babysitting."

"Come now, Your Highness, let's go over here, shall we～"

"H-Hey. What's this… That's too strong!? Fine, I get it, so let go of me."

Princess Tianis was escorted to the back.

Azu and the others followed.

Left in the room were only Finn and Yohane.

"Let's start plating so we can eat right away."

"Yeah. If they make any more of a fuss, I'll be exhausted."

Once Princess Tianis had gotten properly dressed, we ate dinner together and quickly turned in from exhaustion.

However, everyone except Princess Tianis took turns sleeping in shifts.