A Buffet and Unsuitable Conversation

Large platters covered every inch of the table, making it hard to know where to look first.

It seemed we'd be eating buffet-style.

Perhaps they'd chosen this format so we'd feel more at ease.

A chef was stationed at the end of the room, ready to prepare omelets and steaks to order.

"Well then, let's eat. Everyone, please help yourselves."

At Queen Tianis's signal, breakfast began.

Since it was only family here, there was no need to rush or fight over the food.

Elza and Alexia wasted no time heading straight for the dishes that caught their eye.

"Um…"

"What's wrong?"

Azu came over to me.

She was looking around uneasily.

"What's with that face? Usually you'd be the first one piling food onto a plate."

"I love eating, but… this is where you serve yourself, right?"

"It's a buffet. We've done this once before, remember?"

"Oh, so it is."

It had been quite a while ago, but she'd experienced it before.

The unfamiliar setting must have thrown her off a little.

"Can I go back for seconds?"

"Of course. This is Queen Tianis's generous hospitality. Eat as much as you want. Just only take what you'll actually eat and don't leave anything on your plate. And no piling your plate into a mountain. That's bad manners."

"Got it!"

Azu joined the others and started loading up her plate.

Orleans showed no signs of confusion. She'd probably seen this sort of thing during her time at the duke's household in the empire.

Same for Finn. She might have had the chance to sneak into parties back in her day.

Hmm. Azu and the others were earning as much as senior adventurers now. Maybe I should start teaching them some of the finer things in life, partly as education.

Given how long we'd be working alongside Queen Tianis, opportunities like this would keep coming up. And if it added one more enjoyable thing to their lives, all the better.

It was surprising to see that Evalin seemed accustomed to this too.

Had buffet-style dining existed back in her time?

She was silently putting away food in quantities that rivaled Azu and the others.

The spread included meat dishes, seafood salad, and steamed potatoes.

Bread, sausages, ham, and cheese.

There were pasta dishes too.

Several kinds of soup had been prepared as well.

It felt like they'd gathered every good breakfast item imaginable.

But the star of the show was undoubtedly the steak, cooked to order by the chef.

Beautifully seared beef sizzled in its own juices.

The sound alone was enough to whet my appetite.

Once it was done, the chef cut it into easy-to-eat pieces and placed them on a plate for me.

When I turned around, Finn, Azu, and Alexia had somehow formed a line behind me.

This was clearly the most popular station.

I filled my plate with a balanced selection and took my seat.

The drink was sparkling water with a hint of lemon.

One bite of the seafood salad revealed the flavor of the vegetables paired with a rich umami from the seafood. Delicious.

It was in a completely different league from what we normally ate.

Every single dish was top-tier, and before I knew it, I'd gone back for seconds several times.

Azu and the others seemed to love it too, emptying plate after plate in quick succession.

I could see the kitchen frantically sending out additional dishes.

Surely there was enough… right?

"It looks like everyone's enjoying it."

"Nobody's going to turn down delicious food, especially when it's free and all-you-can-eat."

"Unfortunately, there are people who do… People who've become so accustomed to luxury that they've lost all sense of it. That's why treating Yohane and company is actually fun for me."

I understood what Queen Tianis was getting at.

She was talking about people who took extravagance so much for granted that they craved ever more and lost their way.

It wouldn't be unusual in the upper echelons.

"That must be a lot to deal with."

"Things are much better now, though. When the Secretary of Military Affairs' faction was still around, it was truly awful. They were mostly old-guard nobles."

"And when that entire faction vanished, things opened up considerably."

"Opened up so much there's a gaping hole."

We both shared a quiet laugh at the dark humor.

"Ughhh… water…"

Princess Yupe had finally come to.

She groaned her way upright, slowly getting to her feet.

She was still in yesterday's dress. She should have looked like a complete mess, and yet somehow she still managed to be beautiful. That was practically a talent in itself.

Princess Yupe took the glass of water a maid brought her, placed her hand on her hip, and drained it in one impressive gulp.

"Ahh, I'm alive again…! Oh, Yohane's group and Tianis are here too. What's the occasion?"

She'd only just noticed us, apparently.

Her personal maid quickly ran a comb through her disheveled hair.

A warm towel to the face, a touch of lipstick, and within minutes she looked reasonably put together.

"I called them here on business. We're having breakfast as a treat. A bit of rest and relaxation."

"Oh, in that case, I'm starving too. All I had was wine, so I'm famished."

"Sigh… There's plenty, so help yourself, nee-san."

I watched Princess Yupe head for the steak station.

Incredible.

She'd drunk herself unconscious and now wanted steak the moment she woke up?

Not even the hardiest adventurers did that.

"Ah, so, Your Majesty. What was it you called me here for?"

"I'd planned to save the work talk until after we finished this lovely meal, but…"

"It's fine. My people are having a wonderful time. Our time is valuable, so please, go ahead."

Everyone wore blissful expressions.

That alone was reward enough.

"That helps. So, the thing is… First, I spoke with Duke Baroba yesterday. He's resumed the advance into Solar Union territory as we speak."

"Good to hear they didn't have to turn back."

"Apparently some of his generals argued for a retreat. But doing so would cost even more time. There's still the risk of that spell being used again, and a flying enemy can't be chased on foot, so Duke Baroba decided to press forward. The Royal Capital has the barrier, after all."

"That sounds like him."

If retreating wouldn't help, advancing was the better bet.

The last time they'd pulled back, it was because the king had died and the entire nation was shaken, but now…

"They haven't met heavy resistance so far, but they're struggling with enemy soldiers who burst into flames after being killed and come back. And when our soldiers are struck by them, they start attacking their allies too."

"It's just like a monster or something."

"It makes no sense, right? The frontline troops must be under tremendous stress. To counter it, they've been dousing the bodies in oil and burning them first. Apparently that prevents the revival."

… This wasn't exactly appropriate mealtime conversation.

I regretted bringing it up a little.

"That's why oil shipments to the front are top priority right now, but it's reducing the oil available for the civilian market. When oil prices go up, it causes all sorts of problems. The whole burning stone situation nearly caused a crisis too."

"True. Oil has a lot of uses."

"We'll import the shortfall from elsewhere, but separately, I need you to ramp up oil production."

"Me?"

"Yes. We're shorthanded, and I don't have anyone I can entrust this to and leave it alone. As a merchant, you must have connections, right?"

"Well, I am managing Luido, so I might be able to work something out through there."

If I recalled correctly, Luido grew olives and rapeseed.

They should already be processing those into oil.

Oil was heavy, being a liquid.

Transporting it would be quite expensive.

The idea was probably to ramp up production while the national treasury could still absorb the cost.

I accepted, though not without a twinge of doubt about whether this was really a merchant's job.

Oil was a staple commodity, something people used at food stalls and in daily life.

It wasn't a matter of life and death the way burning stone had been, but having plenty of it was always better than not.