A Mishap?

The meals at the castle had been undeniably extravagant, but the spread Luido had prepared as a welcome was the kind of thing you could only find here.

River fish had been salt-grilled and brought out on large platters.

They ate alongside the representative and his housekeeper, enjoying the full canola-themed lunch.

Normally he thought meat tasted better than vegetables, but truly good vegetables were something you could eat endlessly without getting tired of them.

The canola in particular, leaves, stems, buds, all of it, was delicious.

A subtle bitterness that paired perfectly with salt.

The pickled portions were well-steeped too.

Azu and Elza were eating with smiles on their faces.

He'd been worried that Princess Yupe, accustomed to castle cuisine, might not take to the food, but she was digging into everything enthusiastically.

Yet even so, she ate with elegance. Royalty was royalty.

The fried chicken and salt-grilled river fish weren't the stars here. The canola claimed that role without question.

He'd have to ask for the recipes later.

The sweet potatoes he'd brought back on a previous visit and asked Luido to cultivate had also been steamed and served.

Just like when he'd had them before, they were sweet even without any topping.

A sprinkle of salt made them taste even sweeter. Delicious.

They grew quickly, which made them promising both as a famine crop and a trade good.

He'd asked that a portion of the harvest be kept in storage rather than shipped to the capital.

He intended to stock them in his own shop.

If they served them at Kazusa's restaurant, they'd definitely catch on.

Something had been nagging at him, so he brought up Luido's recent situation during the meal.

There hadn't been any dramatic changes, but as their earlier conversation had touched on, the number of people migrating to Luido was increasing.

That was almost certainly due to the Church of the Sun God… and the Sky Whale.

Even though the attacks had been repelled, being targeted twice in such a short span was enough to make people evacuate.

"Could you see the Sky Whale, that flying monster, from Luido?"

"Several people said they did. At first we thought they were seeing things, but apparently not. Terrifying business. We were relieved to hear it had been driven off."

"You're relatively close to the capital here. Did anyone think about fleeing?"

"Out of the question. Most of the people in Luido have been tilling these fields since the city was founded, passing them down through generations. Losing that would be no different from dying."

"Even with your lives at risk?"

"In the old days, dangerous monsters roamed this area too, but our ancestors stood their ground with hoes and axes. If the same thing happened now, we'd do the same. Having your life isn't everything."

Call it love of homeland.

He could feel it, that unwavering resolve to die here if it came to that.

And it was probably rooted not just in the fields, but in the history passed down through all those generations.

Yohane had once considered leaving Kassad, where he'd been born and raised.

That was back when the lord's son had been running rampant and threatening to destroy the city entirely.

Better alive than dead, he'd thought.

In the end, he'd chosen to stay. And that had been the right call.

But even then, his conviction hadn't been anywhere near this strong. It had been a calculated decision.

Different people had different convictions.

Taking pride in your work and your home was something to admire.

"Shall we move on to dessert? In winter, we freeze milk into ice treats, but this time of year, well, this is the obvious choice."

"Is this… a galette?"

Out came thin, round flatbreads.

They lacked the yellowish tint of crepes, so eggs probably weren't involved.

"When we have leftover jam, we make these all the time. Just take one and put it on your plate, like so."

Following instructions, everyone took a galette and placed it on their plates.

There was hardly any thickness to them.

Each one was about the size of a face, but thin enough that you could roll it up and eat it in one bite.

The empty dishes were cleared and replaced with jars.

Inside were jams of every color.

From the hues, they looked to be fruit preserves.

"A lot of fruit goes bad quickly after harvest. There's always demand for fresh fruit in the capital, but we can't exactly deliver spoiled goods. So we turn most of it into jam. If you come to Luido at the right time of year, you can have it fresh."

"Doesn't making all that jam use a lot of sugar?"

"It does. Buying it would be quite expensive, but Luido has sugarcane."

Right. He'd forgotten because a different city was more famous for sugar production.

Was salt the only staple Luido couldn't produce?

"Spread your favorite jam on the galette and eat it as-is. We have honey, too."

"How fun. Come on, everyone, try it."

Princess Yupe was already spreading jam.

Vivid reds and yellows painted the white galettes.

"They look like jewels. It feels almost wasteful."

"There's plenty, so don't hold back."

"Th-then, I will."

Azu finished spreading her jam, folded the galette, and took a bite.

A smudge of red jam clung to the corner of her mouth.

When he wiped it away, she looked embarrassed.

Still a kid in some ways.

"It's tangy and sweet and… all kinds of flavors mixing together. It's delicious."

"I love that you can adjust the type and amount yourself. Everyone's is different because it depends on personal taste. And being able to experiment is nice."

"It's simple but delicious. I used to eat jam like this all the time growing up."

Elza seemed satisfied too.

She was spreading honey and purple jam on hers.

Blueberry, of course.

Even after a full meal, he could eat these endlessly.

The representative was smiling warmly as he watched their reactions.

"This is a wonderful place."

"Isn't it? Yohane-san, if you ever need somewhere to settle down, come here. I'll have land ready for you in no time."

"If it ever comes to that, I'll take you up on it."

Working the fields alongside Azu and the others might not be half bad.

Living in harmony with nature. A slow life.

No more adventuring, no more money-chasing. But it would probably be fulfilling.

That just wasn't in the cards right now, though.

Knowing the kingdom was in danger, he couldn't simply ignore it.

For the sake of wonderful places like Luido, too.

"Thank you for the meal. Everything was delicious."

"I only wish I could have done more. We start at sunrise tomorrow, so come by if you'd like to help."

"We will. We'll do our best to be useful."

Farmers started early, they said, but sunrise?

They'd better turn in early tonight.

They left the representative's house and headed for their base in Luido.

"Oh, you have a house here? But isn't there a lord's manor? I doubt anyone would complain if you used it."

"The manor's already been demolished. Things happened, and it was in no condition to be used."

"Ah, right, the inside was covered in blood."

"Wh… What happened?"

Iefuda and Jill had disposed of the people who'd been trying to use the chaos as cover for a drug distribution operation.

The scene of the crime had been the lord's chambers, and the cleanup had been a nightmare.

The residents of Luido had held deep resentment toward the lord, so demolishing the place had been an easy call.

The full details of that incident remained unclear. He still wasn't sure what the real objective had been.

Iefuda had his own reasons, whatever they were.

After speaking with him at that red castle, he'd gotten the sense that there was more to him than just being a villain.

But they still weren't the kind of people he could see eye to eye with.

"This is our base in Luido. It's normally used as a ledger storage."

"It's decent-sized. And you keep it clean inside, too."

"The locals are kind enough to keep it tidy for us."

"Oh, there's a bath! I've been wanting to wash off all this sweat."

The moment they stepped inside, Princess Yupe made a beeline through the building and found the bathroom.

He hurried after her.

"Hey, you two must want to freshen up too, right? Would you get a bath ready?"

"Sigh… I agree, actually. Azu, Elza, get things set up."

"Sure! I can handle the water, so if someone splits and lights the firewood, it'll be ready in no time."

"I'll leave the water to you then, Azu-chan, and handle the firewood myself."

"That'd be wonderful. I'm all sticky."

Princess Yupe pulled off her outer layer as she said it.

True to her word, it was damp with sweat, her shirt had gone translucent, her undergarments visible beneath.

It happened so suddenly that he froze.

"W-wait! That's too fast! And Master is still right here!"

"I don't mind if he sees."

"Ugh, I mind! I'll set out a change of clothes for you, so…"

She said it like it was nothing.

He hurriedly fled the changing room. Did she think of him as a servant or something?