“Uh...”
“Hmm...”
My white squirrels also circled around me, squeaking as they gestured in ways that suggested they were also thinking about the problem. It was up in the air whether they actually understood the assignment, however.
How vexing. How could the duchy be so lacking in tourist spots and entertainment options? Has everyone been struggling so hard to get by that we’ve had no time to have fun?
Among all of us, Parfeil was the only one who had experienced life outside of the Dragon Duchy or the Kingdom of Sacristain. I decided to ask her about what she’d seen.
“Parfeil, did you encounter any entertaining places during your time as an adventurer?”
Parfeil’s long ears swayed left and right as she thought about it. “Hmm... I remember that going to the circus was pretty enjoyable.”
“The circus? I’ve never heard of that,” I said.
“Me neither,” Madeleine added.
According to Parfeil, circuses were very common in other countries, but she had never seen one in the Dragon Duchy of Éclair.
“What’s a circus?” I asked.
“It’s difficult to explain, but it’s an event that takes place in a gigantic tent, much like a theater. The circus performers do various tricks for the audience,” Parfeil explained.
People swung about in the air, phantasmal beasts jumped through hoops of fire and balanced on balls, jesters threw knives, and pantomimes were performed for the crowd. According to her, watching this fantastical scene unfold was thrilling and exciting.
“I do occasionally spot such performers on the city streets. Does the circus just gather those performers and make an event out of it?”
“No, that’s not quite the same. I heard the circus is a group that travels all over—they don’t get hired to stay in one place,” Parfeil replied.
“I see... So it’s like a troupe but with a group of performers who know tricks.”
“That’s right, milady.”
Nobody knew where the circus might’ve been at any given time. Like migratory birds, it never stayed in one place and traveled most of the time.
“That means it’ll be difficult to find them and invite them over...”
“Indeed...”
“Do you have any other ideas?” I asked.
Once more, Parfeil’s ears twitched as she racked her brain for ideas.
“Oh, yes!” she said, suddenly coming up with one. “What about swimming?”
“Swimming? What about it?”
“You know, like going into the sea and swishing about in the water.” Parfeil motioned with her arms. Madeleine and I were confused at the unusual suggestion and gave her puzzled glances. This was the first time we’d heard of people swimming for any reason other than fishing.
Madeleine seemed curious. “Um, do you mean that people swim in the ocean with their clothes on?”
“Regular clothes are too heavy and make it hard to move around, so people just swim in their underwear. In other countries, they make special underwear for swimming called ‘swimsuits.’” Parfeil then drew a picture of what a swimsuit looked like to illustrate her point. She wasn’t exaggerating when she said that it was underwear; it left most of the wearer’s chest and all of their limbs exposed to the elements.
“Wearing such clothing would certainly require some...no, a lot of courage,” Madeleine remarked.
I couldn’t help but nod in agreement. The Dragon Duchy of Éclair was a country where exposing one’s ankles was considered quite scandalous. Swimming in something that was basically underwear would be unthinkable.
“Also, Parfeil, aren’t there monsters in the sea? Isn’t it dangerous?” I asked.
“It is. That’s why everyone brings a harpoon while swimming.”
“Where’s the fun and relaxation in that, exactly?”
“You can harpoon edible fish, and if you encounter a monster, you just kill it,” she explained.
“That’s such a violent pastime.”
Apparently, swimming in the ocean was mostly popular with adventurers. Since it was so dangerous, regular citizens couldn’t enjoy it.
“However, there were a few nobles who had these large tanks of water called ‘swimming pools’ where they could swim,” Parfeil continued.
“In their swimwear?”
“Of course.”
That solved the problem of monster attacks, but it would still be difficult to convince this country that still disapproved of exposing skin to anyone outside one’s family or spouse to adopt such a pastime.
I tried asking Parfeil for more suggestions, but I was met with total silence. I was about to suggest going to the library for ideas when the door slammed open.
“Knock knock!!!” Van’s sister, Lady Opera, seemed in high spirits as she barged into the room. “When I say, ‘Knock knock,’ you should all be replying with ‘Who’s there?’! That is the tradition!” she said, scolding us. She seemed upset that we were taken aback by her sudden intrusion.
“A tradition in which country?” I asked her.
“Why, a country in some other world, I suppose!” Lady Opera exclaimed.
I was so confused by her greeting as I didn’t expect it to be one from a nonexistent nation. I politely informed her that I would never have been able to respond correctly.
“Forget about all that. My attendant has brought you all some confectioneries, and I would like you all to partake in them with great enthusiasm.”
The attendant behind Lady Opera was holding a silver tray with a number of sweets on it, and she lined them up on the table. Among them were a small cake and a number of pastries filled with jams and chocolate. I was impressed that the dough used in these was fluffier than what was used for typical confectioneries.
“This is delicious! The dough is just slightly moist and very soft!” I exclaimed.
“Right? Right?!” Lady Opera nodded enthusiastically. Apparently, these sweets were the latest fad on the city streets. People were lining up for them every day, and the queues were practically five hours long.
“Lady Opera, what do they call these sweets?”
“They call them ‘steamed cakes.’ As the name suggests, they steam the dough instead of baking it,” Lady Opera explained. By being cooked with the heat from steam instead of a direct flame, the dough became very fluffy.
“How novel,” I remarked.
“I knew you would all think as much, so I decided to share some with you all.”
Thanks to Lady Opera, I had discovered a new type of snack. I was grateful to her for this discovery, and we all bowed to her in gratitude.
Lady Opera covered her face with her fan. “Oh, you are all quite welcome!” she replied with great enthusiasm.
I found it to be a miracle that I was here having a normal conversation with Lady Opera. As Van’s sister, she had treated me with hostility ever since she first laid her eyes on me. She’d even harassed me with a full-course meal of monstrous “delicacies.” I imagined that she didn’t like it when women became close to her brother.
However, that was now all water under the bridge, and our relationship had become quite pleasant. She would frequently come to visit and spend a few hours just chatting with me. Though she might not have said it out loud, she had given her blessing to my marriage with Van, and she had even become one of the people I could confide in.
“In any case, you all looked quite troubled before I came in with these steamed cakes. What have you all been talking about?” Lady Opera tilted her head in curiosity.
Parfeil and Madeleine glanced at me. It seemed they were both hoping that I would explain the situation to her.
I straightened up my posture and began to summarize our previous conversation. “We had been discussing the severe lack of tourism in the duchy and were trying to come up with some new ideas.”
“A lack of tourism, eh? I see. It is indeed quite troubling that the only noteworthy destination we have is the lake...” Lady Opera said.
The lake was a scenic place—beautiful apple blossoms bloomed in the spring, verdant leaves were a refreshing sight in the summer, colorful autumn leaves were a sight to behold in the fall, and the misty lake in the winter was a scene straight out of a painting. However, word had been going around that the rapid influx of visitors to the lake had been taking its toll on the environment. The water quality had started to suffer, and algae had been spotted on the lake’s surface.