Act 2:
Hot Springs
A SHORT WHILE after Albert and I went to the market, we had a debriefing about the monster situation. According to the scouts who had returned from a survey, significantly fewer monsters were manifesting around the mining settlement where we had found the black swamps. The miners said that they would be able to deal with them without the aid of the knights.
Although I was relieved to hear this good news, it was too soon to relax. The Hawke Borderlands were much larger than I had thought, so they weren’t done surveying the whole region. The knight commander finished the meeting by reminding everyone to keep up their guard as they continued their investigations.
Thus we wound up staying in Hawke’s Domain a bit longer.
While the knights were out surveying the territory, I spent my time relaxing in Lord Hawke’s manor. As for what I did with my time, I went out to the nearby forest to gather herbs and made potions for the knights. I still felt like I wasn’t doing much, and I started to feel guilty for going about my days without a care in the world.
That was when the vegetable we had ordered from the market arrived: savoy cabbages, with those delicious, detailed veins on their leaves. Albert’s desire to eat stuffed cabbages were still fresh in my mind.
Propelled by my feelings of guilt, I ran to ask Lord Hawke for permission to use his kitchens. He instantly said yes. Thanks to the help of the manor’s chefs, the stuffed cabbages turned out wonderfully.
I was a bit stymied because they expected me to use herbs, as I was the leading figure in the popular field of herb-seasoned dishes back in the royal capital. I barely remembered the recipe from my world, so I wound up relying heavily on the one the manor chefs used. As a last resort, I threw some bay laurel—also known as bay leaf—into the pot while the cabbages were simmering. I hoped that would meet their expectations. Based on their shouts of joy when they tasted the end product, that seemed to do the trick.
“You made these stuffed cabbages, Lady Takanashi?”
“Yes. Although I don’t think they’ll taste too different from what you’re used to.”
The stuffed cabbages were being served during dinner with the family members of House Hawke, as was custom. Whenever I went somewhere and cooked, it was nearly guaranteed that the members of the house who ruled that domain would partake. That proved to be the case here as well.
Lord Hawke looked deeply moved as he tasted my cooking, but I knew that savoy cabbages were commonly eaten throughout Hawke’s Domain. Moreover, stuffed cabbages was already a traditional dish in this region, so I doubted it looked any different either.
Maybe it tastes a little new with that bay leaf? Will Lord and Lady Hawke like it anyway? I watched them anxiously as they chewed.
“The fragrance is a bit sweeter,” Claudia—Lady Hawke—commented after she tried the soup.
“Yes, though this scent does seem familiar,” her husband agreed.
“I added bay leaf while it was boiling, so it might be that.”
“Bay leaf? They say that’s good for joint pain, right?” he asked.
“Yes. It’s also an herb that promotes digestion and absorption of food.”
Just as Lord Hawke said, bay laurel helped to suppress inflammation and pain. Because of that, the leaves were also boiled to make a medicinal tea. Perhaps he recognized the smell because he had drunk that tea before.
“If it promotes digestion, then perhaps we can eat more than we usually do,” Albert said, just as I had expected.
“You shouldn’t overeat just because of that!” I said offhandedly, using the same tone I would have at home.
That made the other people at the table chuckle. It was then that I remembered that Albert’s parents were with us. I glanced around and saw not only Albert’s mother but his father trying to contain their laughter. Eep! That left me feeling a bit embarrassed.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Albert’s brows knit together. His ears were red, so he was probably a bit flustered too. Albert noticed me looking at him and returned my gaze. As our eyes met, his expression relaxed, and he laughed sheepishly. I wound up smiling wider in turn.
“Come to think of it, Lady Takanashi, you’ll be staying with us for a little while longer, yes?” Lady Hawke asked as we finished the main course and moved on to dessert.
“Indeed. I heard as much from Sir Hawke.” According to Albert, we would remain in the domain until the knights finished their survey of the entire region.
Lady Hawke smiled. “Then perhaps you would like to visit our villa?”
“Your villa?”
“Yes. It’s located in a village a bit far from here, but it’s near a lake, so it has the loveliest view.”
A villa by a lake? I feel like they mentioned that before. Why did that come up again? I wondered.
Lady Hawke’s next words jogged my memory: “We also have a hot spring there.”
“A hot spring?!” Despite myself, my voice came out a bit louder than was acceptable at a dinner table. It was a faux pas, but those words were just so unbelievably wonderful to my ears. A hot spring! “Is this the same hot spring at the lake shore that you told me about before?”
“Yes, that’s right! You remember.” Lady Hawke nodded, a smile still gracing her face.
If I correctly recalled that prior conversation, the villa was located in a village on the shore of a lake in the northern stretch of the domain. There were several hot springs in that area, one of which was at the Hawke villa.
The one Lady Hawke was describing now was the same one we had discussed before. I believed she had recommended that we visit it during that conversation too. Albert had said we could go after we took care of all the monsters.
I had completely forgotten it after everything that had happened, but Lady Hawke had done the remembering for us.
“I heard you faced many difficulties in the mine. If you have the time, you should soak in the hot spring to recover from your fatigue.” Lady Hawke told me this with a smile on her face, and I could practically see the halo shining around her.
“Thank you!”
I was exceedingly grateful for the offer. It had been some time since our return from the expedition, but I absolutely wanted to take her up on it.
Lady Hawke grinned happily at my eager response.
And so, thanks to Lady Hawke’s enthusiasm, we got ready to go straightaway and left for the villa a mere three days later.