At Big Tree Village’s lunch and snack time, mochi was served.
It wasn’t freshly pounded.
They had found last year’s mochi.
While preparing for winter, several large slab-like sheets of mochi were discovered in the back of the food storage.
It seems someone had forgotten they were stored there.
Fortunately, there was no mold.
So it was decided we should eat them all before that happened.
-0-
Grilled, boiled, simmered, fried.
Everyone ate them however they liked, with the seasonings of their choice.For lunch, I had miso soup with mochi in it. For my snack, I enjoyed grilled mochi with soy sauce and sugar.
Hey, kids.
When mochi is grilled or boiled and turns soft, make sure you cut it small before eating.
I know you want to enjoy how it stretches, but if you stuff your mouths too much, it’ll get stuck in your throats.
Mochi is delicious, but it’s also a dangerous food.
I might sound fussy, but this is something you’ll need to teach your own children when you grow up.
So remember it well.
-0-
The chef from a human kingdom.
Ribic.
He had gotten good at using chopsticks.
Good enough to eat doteni with chopsticks rather than a fork or spoon.
Ramen, katsudon, oden…
Since most of the dishes that originated from me are eaten with chopsticks, I suppose it was inevitable.
Because of that, he’s become something of a minor celebrity in Village Five.
Not only did he perform as a backup dancer for Village Five mascot, Five-kun, but he also made Five-kun perform a brand-new dance.
Five-kun’s headspin really was spectacular.
Even though he did it with assistance, I never thought he could spin so perfectly.
…
Wait a second. Inside that costume, wasn’t the person upside down?
「There is no such thing as a person inside!」
One of the residents happened to overhear my muttering and scolded me.
I’d better watch what I say.
There are plenty of Five-kun fans in Village Five.
-0-
Patisserie Fairy Fairy.
Originally, because of its location, it functioned mainly as a base for producing cakes for the mobile stall. But before long, people started coming to the shop itself.
Part of it is thanks to the development happening nearby, but apparently, eating at Fairy Fairy has become something of a status symbol among certain residents.
From noon until evening, the shop is lively and bustling.
Thanks to that, sales have gone up, and both the acting manager, Rorone, and the angels helping her are quite pleased.
The shop was never running at a loss, but that was largely thanks to its reliance on chocolate.
Now, with the steady increase in cake and tea varieties, its reputation has been climbing higher.
The problem is…
The second floor, which was set aside for nobles and other high-ranking guests, has also been seeing regular use.
Naturally, that means nobles and those of similar standing are visiting.
The angels handle the customer service there, but the conversations floating around are said to be dangerous.
“Dangerous” meaning things we really shouldn’t be hearing?
Ah, not just affairs and cheating scandals, but talk of corruption, secret illegitimate children, and the like.
I see.
In that case… any private matters overheard in the shop must never be repeated outside.
Recording them is forbidden too.
What?
They’re even exchanging banned books on the second floor?
Banned books?
Ah, you mean those ‘Versa’s hobby’ books.
Hmm.
If it were sales, we could put a stop to it, but with exchanges… that’s harder to regulate.
As long as it’s not being done openly on a large scale, let’s pretend we didn’t see anything.
However.
If their behavior ever becomes intolerable, don’t hesitate to ban them from the shop.
And what counts as “intolerable”?
Let’s say… forcing a stranger to read a book against their will.
Or making someone listen to something they clearly don’t want to hear. That should count too.
I discussed it with Rorone, and we decided on those standards.
If it’s difficult to enforce with just verbal warnings, putting up a notice is fine.
If they can read books, they can obviously read a sign.
And if necessary, we can even have the Demon King, no, Versa, sign the notice.
That’ll probably make people take it much more seriously than if I signed it.
-0-
A letter arrived from Alfred.
When Loo translated it for me, it turned out he had gotten into trouble with an adventurer guild in a certain town.
That guild apparently ranks its members according to types of minerals.
Starting from the bottom, it goes Clay, Iron, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and from there the names of magic ores continue upward.
Because of that ranking system, many adventurers like to carry equipment made with the ore that matches their rank, as a way of showing off.
For example, someone of Gold rank would carry weapons decorated with gold.
I don’t see a problem with that, but apparently, if a Silver rank adventurer carries a weapon decorated with gold, people consider it overstepping, and it often leads to trouble.
That was the cause of the conflict this time.
When Alfred tried to register as an adventurer in a human nation, the guild staff pointed out that the weapon he carried was inappropriate for his rank.
The weapon in question was a sword.
The blade had been crafted by Gutt.
Gutt doesn’t care much for decoration, and since it was made for family use, both the scabbard and the hilt were plain.
But as a charm, or more like a protective token, the hilt was marked with fragments of scales from Dors.
The guild staff spotted it immediately, and they didn’t like what they saw.
After all, the highest rank in their system was “Dragon”.
Of course, there is no mineral called Dragon. What it referred to was the scales of an Ancient Dragon.
Still, if it had only been pointed out, it wouldn’t have escalated.
Alfred wouldn’t fly into a rage so easily.
But the guild staff tried to seize Alfred’s sword under that pretext.
In response, Alfred resisted.
And then Alfred’s companions were the ones who lashed out.
Those companions were none other than the three princes from Ancestor-sama’s country. They took on the guild staff and the adventurers who sided with them in a huge brawl.
The end result: the entire adventurer guild building collapsed.
Alfred himself did not fight.
If anything, he was trying to stop the three princes.
…He just couldn’t stop them.
Fortunately, the collapse of the building revealed evidence that the guild had been involved in widespread corruption. Thanks to that, Alfred and his group weren’t punished, in fact, they were praised.
Still, Alfred reflected on the incident, saying that just because the outcome was good, it didn’t mean the process could be ignored.
…
But really, is there even anything Alfred needs to reflect on?
Maybe not showing off his sword?
That was what I was thinking as I listened to Loo’s translation, but Alfred’s own reflection was only one thing.
He said he should have uncovered the evidence of corruption first.
…Fair point, I suppose.
Though honestly, going into it with the assumption that a fight will break out and looking for the other side’s flaws, that doesn’t sit right with me either.
Yeah, I really don’t think that’s a good approach.
-0-
I read the letter from Fushu that came together with Alfred’s.
This one I can read on my own.
It was a message of gratitude and apology, thanking us for being able to crush the corrupt adventurer guild thanks to Alfred.
Apparently, the guild had long been known for shady rumors, or rather, for actually committing misdeeds, and evidence was in the process of being gathered.
So she was grateful that, thanks to the incident, they were able to bring down such a problematic guild.
However, Fushu also apologized, saying that she had intended to keep Alfred away from such a place but failed to do so.
I don’t think there’s any need to apologize.
In the end, everything worked out.
「Alfred wrote the same in his letter, but just because the outcome was good doesn’t mean anything can be justified」
At Loo’s remark, I nodded in agreement.
「Also, I think… the fact that evidence of corruption came out right after Alfred and the others caused a commotion, that was probably Fushu’s arrangement」
Huh?
「It’s just too convenient, don’t you think?」
Ah… now that she mentioned it, that might be true.
I don’t know the details, but what kind of evidence comes spilling out of a collapsed building anyway?
Were papers conveniently written out in detail and lying around?
It does feel unnatural.
「But since he didn’t hint at it in his letter, it’s hard for us to bring it up from our side」
That’s true.
So what should we do?
Pretend we didn’t notice?
There’s still a chance it wasn’t Fushu’s doing, right?
「That’s true and if it really wasn’t her arrangement, then we caused her trouble. So… what if we cover the repair costs for the collapsed guild building? Even if that guild was destroyed, they’ll still need a new organization to take its place」
I see.
Then let’s do that.
We’ll frame it as repair costs for the building… no, better as a donation toward reconstruction, and give a generous amount.
After all, Alfred seems to have received quite a lot of help from her.
-0-
A guest on the second floor, looking at the notice: 「Tch, I was planning to hold an exhibition and sale here one day…」
-0-
AN: Sorry for the delay.
I’ve been unwell, more precisely, struggling with gum disease, which has made eating normal meals difficult.
Even though I brushed my teeth properly… even though I have no cavities…
I underestimated gum disease.
I regret it.