Chapter 85

Thank you for reporting the typo!

Good morning.

Today's weather is overcast.

After a series of disturbances finally subsided, a relaxed atmosphere seems to have settled in the castle.

Alshain, as always, is serious, constantly working, practicing magic, or training with the sword.

I spend most of my time making magic bags or playing with Sora and Haku.

Sora has made it a daily routine to take me for a walk around the castle, and sometimes we take the twin princes along, making it a group of three people and two animals. The maids, knights, and clerical staff often look at us with warm eyes.

Haku has become a bed for naps. It's the perfect softness, with the right amount of bounce and even adjustable temperature, capable of making people from my past life addicted.

Living such a peaceful and idle life every day,

"Lord Keta, you have two letters,"

Shell handed me two letters.

One was from Diggory, who had sent a letter to Prince Susana of Amate asking if I could go with him, and the reply was an enthusiastic "Absolutely, I'll go!"

The other was from Prince Susana of Amate, saying that after the party circuit was over, he wanted to talk about soy sauce and rice. I had been waiting for this!

I asked Shell about Alshain's schedule, and since he had no particular plans, I sent a letter saying we could go at any time with an entourage.

Although I had to get Alshain's approval after the fact, he gave a wry smile and forgave me. When I informed the head chef that we might go within a few days, he declared he would take a break from the next day and was scolded by the deputy chef.

It turns out that in this world, letters are delivered by human effort, not magic.

Within the capital, it takes half a day, and the price is set according to the distance. The delivery service is managed by the knightly order. There are patrol units of knights who deliver letters as part of their duties.

Since the knightly order manages the service, it is highly reliable.

Even thieves can't get in the way, so valuable items are delivered safely.

However, while knights deliver letters directly to the homes of high-ranking nobles, soldiers who protect the city deliver them to the homes of lower-ranking nobles, and aspiring adventurers deliver them to the homes of commoners.

In the past, merchants tried to start a delivery service, but they got involved in illegal transactions with nobles, and frequent losses, thefts, and frauds led to the quick decline of the service.

So, the letter I sent received a reply the next day, and it was decided that we would visit Prince Susana's rented house on the morning of the second day.

Shell teases me a bit for being fidgety from morning, but I don't mind! I put on a slightly formal outfit, and with Alshain, Shell, Jyusuke, the head chef, and picking up Diggory on the way, we headed to Prince Susana's rented house.

The gate of the house was guarded by a knight in armor reminiscent of samurai armor from my past life.

It was a bit disappointing that they didn't have topknots, but I felt a sense of familiarity.

The door was opened by an elderly man.

He was small in stature but exuded a presence that was not to be underestimated.

I didn't sense anything, but Jyusuke, Alshain, and the head chef reacted.

We were led to the reception room where Prince Susana was waiting, and after the usual greetings, we immediately began discussing soy sauce and rice.

The rice was treated as a vegetable, so there was only about 30 kilograms in a burlap bag, but we decided to buy three 50-centimeter jars of soy sauce.

The price would be determined after tasting, and the head chef, who wanted to prepare fried chicken for lunch, was observed by everyone.

Jyusuke, following my instructions, would cook the rice!

I had already taught the head chef the recipe for fried chicken, so I left it to him.

The rice was polished white rice, so we washed it lightly and let it absorb water.

While the head chef marinated the chicken, he consulted with the cook from Amate and decided to prepare other dishes one by one.

Shell was busy taking notes, and the elderly man, who also exuded a presence, was taking notes as well.

We had somehow agreed to share recipes, so there were no issues.

A colorful salad with the head chef's special dressing, a fried fish monster similar to sea bass, a boiled potato dish made by the cook from Amate, and a miso-based kenchin soup! The main dish, soy sauce-flavored fried chicken, was piled in the center of the table, and in front of each person was fluffy, slightly charred white rice! The menu lacked unity, but everything looked delicious!

There were no child-sized chairs in this house, so I, who couldn't reach the table, sat directly on it, albeit in a proper seiza position.

"Shall we begin?"

At Prince Susana's words, Jyusuke and I said in unison,

"Itadakimasu!"

This surprised everyone a bit, but I was too focused on the white rice to notice.

I took a bite of the fluffy, warm white rice.

As I chewed slowly, I almost cried.

Oh, I remembered I was Japanese!

"Delicious!"

"Ah, so good! This is it!"

When Jyusuke and I almost simultaneously expressed our thoughts, everyone who had not yet tried the unfamiliar rice and unheard-of cooking method looked at us in surprise.

"Is it that good? Let me try."

Prince Susana took a bite, chewed slowly, and exhaled.

"I've never tasted anything like this. It's not bad, and the sweetness that comes as you chew is strange."

Alshain and Diggory also tentatively took a bite.

"Indeed, I can feel the sweetness. It's soft and warm."

"Hard to describe, but it's a comforting taste. It doesn't overpower the other dishes, yet it has a presence. A mysterious food."

The response was generally positive.

The texture is somewhere between glutinous and non-glutinous rice, and it's very delicious!

I'm very happy that it's well-received, as I know from my past life that some foreigners didn't quite take to white rice.

The kenchin soup is delicious, and the other dishes are delicious too.

The soy sauce-flavored fried chicken was a huge hit, and we all ate until we were full, rubbing our bellies.

The business talk after the meal proceeded in a friendly atmosphere.

Soy sauce would be called "Shoyu" and handled by Diggory's family's Raver Trading Company, and they would also handle miso.

They would start by increasing the production of rice.

Until then, it was agreed that the castle and I would have priority in purchasing the rice, so I was very pleased!

During the negotiations, Shell and the elderly man, who had apparently finished their meals, also had satisfied looks.

Amate had hardly any exports other than silk, so they were very pleased.

I also gave a lecture on how to grow rice!

I hope you can achieve a good harvest!

They were very grateful that they could now use land that couldn't grow vegetables in wetlands.

If you sell us rice, it's no problem at all!

On the way back, we talked about the food, and Diggory was disappointed that he couldn't eat rice, but when I declared that the castle wouldn't cook rice, everyone was surprised.

Prince Susana said he wanted to give me the remaining rice as a thank you for teaching the cooking and growing methods, so I took it all!

When asked why we didn't serve rice, I mentioned Anne-Louise, and everyone understood.

At the merchants' party, Anne-Louise's figure had been a topic of conversation.

When I said I would occasionally cook rice when we returned to the academy, Diggory was excited, and the head chef was dejected.

When the remaining days of my break were just a few, I was playing with Sora and Haku in the corner of the knight training ground as usual when Anne-Louise ran in, fleeing from a muscular female knight.

She had run blindly, laughing and bleeding, and screamed when she saw a group of knights swinging magic swords.

It's scary, I understand.

Even though she was plump, the knights who had screamed when the princess saw them were shocked by their own appearance.

They couldn't see themselves, but they were a group of half-naked, bloodied knights with strained smiles.

Even if you weren't a princess, you'd scream.

Once they understood, they entrusted the princess to the relatively calm Alshain and focused on treating their injuries, tightening their strained smiles.

It took a long time for the knights to regain their composure, and afterward, they trained with renewed focus to avoid losing their cool.

General and Ingrid, who were not present, still tend to lose their composure.

Anne-Louise, who was shocked, was afraid of knights for a while and avoided the knight training ground at all costs.

Knights, even female ones, are apparently scary, so she began to attend training sessions, albeit with many complaints, instead of running away as she used to.

The muscular female knight is a bit dissatisfied, though.