Chapter 32

"Cheers!"

The sound of toasts echoed throughout the shop.

That evening, the izakaya Nobu had turned into a celebration gathering for the regulars.

It wasn't a planned celebration by Shizuno or Nobu. It was more accurate to say that the regulars had gradually gathered, and it turned into a party.

The two tables were pushed together, and it was set up as a standing party.

On the tables were the dishes that Nobu had prepared with great effort.

"Cheers!"

Hans and Nicolaus clinked their mugs again.

It was impossible to count how many times they had done this. They were drinking with their arms around each other, and the precious lager was spilling onto the floor.

Hermine was the one wiping up the mess at their feet. If the boss saw this, he would probably get angry, but Bertolt was chatting with Nobu and the others at the counter.

"But Gernot is quite something. To have investigated so thoroughly in such a short time..."

When Bertolt mentioned Gernot, who wasn't there, the regulars sitting at the counter all nodded in agreement.

"He probably doesn't have any connections with the imperial brewery. It must be his passion for the eel bento, right?"

"That's not it, Holger. It's not eel, but something called Napolitan. I heard him say it after the council meeting today, so it's definitely true."

At the words of Laurence, the glassmaker guild member, Nobu tilted his head in confusion.

"That's strange. We've never served Napolitan here... Shizuno, do you know anything about it?"

Suddenly being addressed, Shizuno half hid her face behind a tray.

"Eh, no, I don't know anything about Napolitan. It must be a misunderstanding by Mr. Gernot."

"...Come to think of it, didn't you say before that you loved bacon Napolitan, Shizuno?"

"Eh, hehe... Ah, there seems to be a new customer."

Feeling someone's presence at the glass door, Shizuno took the opportunity to escape the scene.

If she said something careless, all her past misdeeds related to the kitchen might come to light.

"Excuse me, is Deacon Etwin here?"

The young man who peeked in was a servant from the church.

He had come here a few times to fetch Etwin, who had skipped the evening service, so Shizuno recognized him.

"Oh, what's the matter? I thought I told the priest that he would be absent from today's service. After all, he's been invited to a celebratory gathering. It wouldn't be right to refuse."

"It's not about that. The priest is quite angry about it, but this is an urgent delivery."

The young man took out an envelope from his pocket.

Etwin, who seemed to have presbyopia, examined the seal on the envelope carefully before smiling slightly.

"Let's see... Ah, this. It took some effort, but it ended up being useless. Bertolt, it's a gift for you."

"A gift from Deacon Etwin? That's creepy."

Everyone leaned in to see what it was, but Shizuno didn't recognize the seal.

However, the regulars seemed to know what it was.

"Isn't this the seal of the Holy Kingdom?"

"Godhardt, you have eel sauce on your mouth. Choose between eating or talking. But yes, this is indeed the seal of the Holy Kingdom's Instructory Sacred Province. It's rare."

Outside the shop, Godhardt and Reinhardt, who were supposed to be enemies, were peering at the envelope together.

Eleonora had wanted to join the party but had something she couldn't miss, so she didn't attend.

"What is the Instructory Sacred Province?"

"Shizuno, the Instructory Sacred Province is the highest organization of the church. It's where the Patriarch and the Cardinals are."

"Wow, Eifa, you're so knowledgeable. But why would the Instructory Sacred Province send a letter to Deacon Etwin?"

At the urging, Bertolt opened the envelope, and inside was a single sheet of high-quality parchment. It was written in elegant script:

"Bless the marriage of Benedict's son, Bertolt, and Franz's daughter, Hermine, in the name of God. Instructory Sacred Province Cardinal Hulchegott... E, Etwin Deacon, is this...?"

"I've never seen Captain Bertolt look so surprised. Yes, this is the confirmation of your marriage to Miss Hermine from the Instructory Sacred Province. With this, even if the bishop of the parish raises some objections, they can be dismissed."

Etwin smiled while drying his mug, but this was no small matter.

"Y-You can't just get something like this from a Cardinal... Deacon, you...?"

"That's why I said it took some effort. If you're grateful, I wouldn't mind if you paid for a few drinks here. It won't be a sin, I think."

Etwin firmly shook the hand that Bertolt silently offered.

Someone had been working behind the scenes.

Nicolaus, holding a mug, interrupted.

"If it's about something that was wasted, it's Hans."

"Hey, Nicolaus, stop it!"

"This guy was so hopeless that he was preparing a petition to reduce Nobu's sentence. He managed to gather quite a few signatures, didn't he? One hundred and eighteen, right?"

"...One hundred and twenty-three. And you were part of it too!"

"Wait, Hans, don't say anything more!"

The lager splashed as they struggled with their mugs.

"You even bowed down to the daughter of a wine merchant and the widow of a brewer to forge a beer trade document, didn't you?"

"Men don't do that! What are you doing to me!"

Nicolaus knew that the shop didn't source ale from anywhere in the ancient capital. Or perhaps he had investigated it.

He had tried to create a document to make it look like there was a trade.

"Hans, your father, Laurence, was quite something too."

"Holger, you!"

"You even lobbied the council members of the Baxhof faction to prevent the izakaya Nobu from being shut down. It didn't seem to be very effective, though."

"You threatened to change your trading partner to the Baxhof company, didn't you, Holger?"

Holger's face turned red, as if he had been hit where it hurt.

"...That's because I thought a company that tries to force its way into a good shop like this isn't suitable as a trading partner for my guild."

"Sure, sure, sure, sure, I'll let you say that."

"Grumble..."

Godhardt and Reinhardt, who were laughing at this, and Eleonora, who wasn't there, had prepared funds to counteract if the Baxhof company tried to buy the shop.

And Eifa had been praying at the family altar every day.

"Hey, boss."

"What is it, Shizuno?"

"We're really glad we were able to open a shop in this town, aren't we?"

Nobu didn't say anything, just nodded slightly.

Then he lifted a large batch of fried food from the fryer.

"Here, the katsu is ready!"

The customers cheered, and the freshly fried katsu disappeared into their stomachs one after another.

The party continued late into the night, and the participants suffered from terrible hangovers the next day.