Oh yeah, I kinda agreed to attempt to do something about the Lord of the Lake as part of the pact with Stanrus.
“Since our kind don’t really eat anything that doesn’t grow on trees, we don’t fish. However, the lake is quite scenic. Perhaps I could make a hotel there, and charge people to rent rooms for vacations,” I mused aloud.
“Hotel?” From her reaction, I guessed that hotels weren’t really a thing in this world—or if they were, perhaps they went by a different name. They definitely had places like inns though.
“It’s similar to an inn, but the accommodations are much more lavish. In this case, it’d be more of a resort. Maybe I could even add a casino. That’d be a great way to really rake in the cash. Oh, we could sell swimsuits, and pool toys—maybe fishing gear too. Hmm, for the gear, maybe we could do rentals too...”
I was still thinking aloud, but a lot of it went over her head, so Shildris just smiled and nodded along.
“By the way, is the Lord of the Lake that giant spider monster?” I asked.
“Giant spider?”
From the confused look on her face, I guess the Lord of the Lake is something completely different. Wait, is she not aware of the huge horde of massive spiders?
“Yeah, there were a whole bunch of them living by the big lake,” I said.
“What?! The Lord lives in the lake. It pops its head out when it wants to attack. Whenever we deal any damage, it retreats beneath the surface. That’s why we haven’t been able to kill it yet. I’ve never seen a huge spider monster near the lake, though. Don’t those normally hang out in the southern part of the forest where the altitude is higher?”
I waved a hand. “Oh, I’m not talking about those. The ones near the lake are a different species. They’re not all black and obvious like the southern variety that hunts with webs. The spiders by the lake are a grayish color, and they have moss growing on them. They probably look like rocks from the ground. They seem like they’d be ambush hunters.”
“Huh?” It seemed like Shildris really had no idea what I was talking about.
Around that moment, Bistro showed up with the requested fruit. He had prepared it three ways: cubed raw pieces, cooked slices, and dried strips. Bistro did most of his cooking with magic, so the preparation time for such simple dishes was really short. The cutting took more time than the rest of it, and he had other chefs to help with that. The dried pieces were stored in a glass jar, while the cooked pieces and raw cubes were each stored in an earthenware jar with a cork stopper. The three containers were arranged neatly in a woven basket.
“I’ve prepared the items you asked for, Your Majesty,” Bistro said.
Oh no! He came to deliver them in person. Keep it together, Lilac. Keep it together. Don’t drool. You got this. “Good work. Please give those to Princess Shildris, we’ll settle payment later,” I managed as I fought desperately to avoid trembling in front of my guest.
“As you wish.” Bistro walked over to Shildris, and handed her the basket. She accepted it with a dreamy expression on her face.
After he bowed and took his leave, Shildris couldn’t contain herself any longer. “Who was that?! He’s super cute!” she blurted out.
“That’s Bistro, my head chef,” I said, my cheeks feeling hot as I mentioned his name.
“I want your life,” Shildris sighed.
“Hey, phrasing.”
“I didn’t mean I want you dead, but just look at everything you surround yourself with. Who wouldn’t be jealous?”
I giggled. “I won’t deny I have impeccable taste, so I’ll take that as a compliment. You have good taste as well, for realizing what a catch Bistro is.”
“So, have you done anything with him?” she asked. Wait, is she shifting into girl talk mode?
“Definitely not. I know very well how attractive he is, and the fact that he’s a talented cook makes him a threat to even the most stalwart maiden’s heart.”
“So why not, then?” Shildris prodded. Yup, she was totally in girl talk mode. I actually wasn’t sure I’d ever really done the whole girl talk thing, so this was pretty cool.
“He’s my subordinate,” I said. “If I expressed my desires, he’d feel obligated to respond, even if he didn’t feel the same way. It would cause others to become jealous of him as well. It could lead to all kinds of problems.”
“Wow, you really put a lot of thought into this stuff. If I had a man like that around, I’d grab him without hesitation,” said Shildris, making a movement like she was snatching something up.
Rather than me putting a lot of thought into it, I feel like you don’t think enough about these things, my dear Shildris...
“I feel like that would be a problem of its own,” I sighed.
A few days later, the king of Stanrus himself paid me a sudden visit. My first impression? He was a great big burly sort of man who looked more like a barbarian than a king. Maybe more like a barbarian king? The reason for his visit was simple, but surprising.
“P-please make one for me too,” he managed, a hint of blush coloring his cheeks.
“Huh?”
It turned out that big burly warrior king had a major soft spot for cute doggies, just like his daughter. When he saw what his daughter brought home, he immediately wanted one for himself. He tried to get Shildris to intercede on his behalf, but she got mad with him and told him to come ask me himself. I could see where she was coming from. If she’d said something like “Hey, can you make one for my dad?” then I might have suspected she was just trying to get another one for herself.
So I ended up agreeing to make a magic item for King Stanrus as well. I honestly couldn’t refuse him when he looked so pathetic. I mean, he was practically groveling. Come on, have some respect for yourself, you’re a king!