“I’m so full...”
After dinner, the dining hall was filled with adults looking well-fed and satisfied. I’d enjoyed the curry myself, after going without it for so long, but the others had become entranced—like machines with the sole purpose of lifting their spoons to their mouths. We had eaten in complete silence, reminding me of the time I had crab in Fatoma. All in all, my efforts and spices were put to good use.
“This curry is incredible. I could eat this forever.”
“Dessert was wonderful too.”
“I’m glad to hear that,” I said. For dessert, I had served soy milk ice cream I had made with Ice magic—vanilla flavored. Vanilla beans were another plant I could harvest in the Sea of Trees. It took another step before the vanilla beans were edible, but at least I could get as much as I wanted whenever I went to Korumi. In fact, keeping a stock of fresh milk was more difficult at the moment. I’d substituted soy milk this time around, but I was tempted to keep milk cow monsters as livestock in my Dimension Home alongside the clever chickens.
“It’s the perfect touch of cold to quell the tongue and body heated from the curry. And then there’s the refreshing sweetness and rich aroma. It’s difficult to describe this perfect bliss.”
Sebas gave me a glowing review, which boosted my confidence knowing that he’d made a hobby out of reviewing food. I’d test out the cow milk version soon.
“Would anyone like a drink?” I suggested. I’d planned to offer them along with the food, but the curry had demanded all of their attention. Should I save the drinks for another time?
“Great food and drinks? You’re too good to us, Ryoma. I’ll have a little pour,” Welanna said.
“Me too. I’ll take whatever you got,” Jeff chimed in, followed by the others who showed interest in the alcohol.
Now the real party was about to begin...in a sipping kind of way. They were all full from the curry. Since I didn’t expect them to drink all that much, I decided to serve us all a common wine. Even though the goblins made mean white liquor and sake, those were foreign to these parts. If this were a full-on drinking party, I would have recommended a variety of drinks. For today, it felt more appropriate to serve the wine they were all familiar with. I passed out the wine with a small side of hors d’oeuvres.
“Cheers!” I called.
“Cheers!” the others answered and began sipping their wine. I couldn’t help but notice that Eleonora froze up after one sip. I watched her closely and saw that she was staring at her glass wide-eyed. Did it hit her the wrong way after not drinking for a while?
“Eleonora. Is everything okay?” I asked.
“I was just a little surprised. I did not realize how delicious wine could be.”
Good. It didn’t sound like it was too strong or tasted off to her. “I’m glad you like it. I don’t know much about wine, so I bought these blindly.”
“It is really delicious, although I cannot deny the possibility that I was never exposed to quality wine before. It is very easy to drink, without any bitter or harsh taste.”
“Some wines are bitter and harsh, I assume.”
“As I mentioned before, my family home stands next to a mine. Because of high demand from the miners, alcohol was imported from other fiefdoms for cheap. Drinkable water, on the other hand, was harder to come by. Most people drank wine instead of water. Of course, it would be folly to even compare that miners’ wine to yours,” Eleonora said.
Even on Earth, I’d heard that in some regions or during certain time periods in history, people drank low-proof alcohol. I didn’t realize Eleonora had come from an area with such a tradition.
“That’s where you had wine,” I said.
“At first, I was watering down weak wine with pure water I produced with magic. I was drinking it regularly for as long as I can remember. I was given more and more wine in my water as I grew up. The first time I drank pure water was when I left my fiefdom to enter the academy in the capital. At first, it felt strange that there were drinks undiluted by wine.” Eleonora seemed to have shed some of her stiffness. That was a good sign, and as a former member of the Japanese workforce, it’d be nice if we could have a little heart-to-heart over a drink. Eleonora seemed to really enjoy the wine, savoring each sip. It didn’t take long for her to drain her first glass of wine.
“Would you like another pour?” I asked.
“Yes.”
“Looks like you can handle your wine. How about some cheese?” Welanna offered a plate of smoked cheese.
“Yes, please.” Eleonora took the cheese.
“I’m glad you’re getting along with the adventurers,” I said.
“I agree,” Eleonora said.
“You didn’t need to worry about that. Although... If I’m being honest, I thought you were going to be a bit of a square at first. But once we got to talk, I realized you weren’t baggy or anything. Anytime you’ve told me to do something, you always had a good reason,” Welanna said.
“All four nobles here are very good people. I’ve worked for a few nobles before, and the bad ones can be really nasty,” Miya said.
I’d assumed some nobles were real jerks. Hearing half the girls’ opinions, I was curious to hear what Cilia and Mizelia would add.
“In my experience, many of them acted with entitlement—of course, nobles aren’t the only ones to act that way.”
“Our party’s all-women, and we’re all at a decent rank. A lot of quests we get from nobles are to guard their daughters.”
“Unlike emergency monster hunting or herb harvesting, bodyguard duty means spending more time with the client. Guarding nobles is not my kind of gig by a long shot.”
My heart goes out to you... The only nobles I’d come into contact with so far were the Jamils; Count Porco Fatoma; Sever, the former captain of the Knight’s Order; and Remily, the former royal sorcerer. I always knew I’d had a real stroke of luck because all of them had been so nice.
“I understand how adventurers can feel annoyed when working for nobles. Even I notice how many nobles are downright discourteous,” Eleonora said.
“That’s right. You’ve told me stories before,” I said.
“My former husband was the model of a rotten noble, squandering away his father’s name and fortune. Whenever something did not go his way, he used to shout at the staff. There was so little of him on the inside, that there is no more I can say about him...except that he was uselessly bloated on the outside.”
Choked laughter threatened to break out all over the room. Eleonora definitely hadn’t meant it as a joke, but it had snuck up on us because the conversation had shifted to a serious tone. The silence that came after reminded me of a certain TV special in Japan where contestants got paddled for laughing.
“Th-That must have been a rocky marriage. Here, have another pour.”
“Thank you. I detested interacting with him, but I did not need to do much of that. Our marriage was arranged solely for the benefit of our houses. He had taken a mistress before we were married, so I was left alone in the guest house of the estate.”
“What? Noble marriages are supposed to bring families together, right? He got away with treating you that way?”
“If this had been an ordinary marriage, Jeff, you would be right. However, my marriage to him had been a scheme to control my house and our gold mines. My role in this marriage was closer to that of a hostage—no one expected me to act or be treated as a wife. There was little my family could do when they were far less powerful than his family. Never for a moment did I want his affection, so a marriage only in name was just fine by me,” Eleonora said flippantly, the alcohol boldening her tongue.