The Guild, which Rei visited for the first time in a while, looked exactly as he had expected.
There were plenty of adventurers in the bar area, but hardly anyone near the Request Board.
The few who remained there were likely those who had failed to save up enough money for winter.
Naturally, the adventurers drinking in the bar noticed Rei as he walked in.
"Hey, isn't that Rei?"
"Hiccup... eh? Whoa, it really is Rei. Why's he coming to the Guild at this time of year?"
"Maybe he came to grab something to eat? I mean, he's always eating at food stalls with Set and stuff."
At those words, the others drinking at the same table—and even those at nearby tables—nodded in understanding.
In these male adventurers' minds, a capable adventurer was someone who ate delicious food, wooed beautiful women, and placed grand bets.
Among such adventurers, Rei was one who seemed entirely focused on eating.
Of course, since Rei had an exceptionally beautiful woman like Vihera around him, he might have been enjoying the company of fine women too—or so they thought with a hint of jealousy.
However, that was strictly the perception of these adventurers; in reality, there were all kinds of adventurers.
In any case, Rei, who received such gazes, headed not toward the bar as the adventurers predicted, but toward the Request Board area—or more precisely, toward the reception counter.
"Ah, Rei-kun! Over here, over here!"
Kenny, who had been looking bored at the counter with nothing to do, spotted Rei and waved broadly to call him over.
The absence of Lenora, who was usually beside her, was probably because she was tending to other duties.
Harboring that question, Rei approached the counter and spoke to Kenny.
"You summoned me, so I came... but from the looks of things, it doesn't seem like an urgent matter, does it?"
Rei had been lying in his inn reading a monster encyclopedia when he received a summons from the Guild and hurried over. But looking around, there was not the slightest sign of anything hectic.
He had assumed something had happened, just like with the Magic Fever incident before, so he felt somewhat deflated.
(Good thing I didn't bring Vihera.)
When Rei was summoned to the Guild, Vihera had initially tried to go with him.
But he had asked her to prepare so they could act immediately in case something happened. Yet, looking at the inside of the Guild now, it seemed like that preparation would only go to waste.
Still, considering that he could store those prepared items in his Misty Ring, the one saving grace was that the preparation hadn't been entirely pointless.
(If it were Byune, she might end up eating the food we prepared or something.)
Recalling Byune, who loved eating just as much as—if not more than—he did, a small smile crept onto Rei's face.
Kenny, seeing Rei like that, bowed her head apologetically.
"Ah, I'm sorry. It's not that there's some sudden urgent matter like back then. It's just this season, you know?"
Hearing Kenny's words, Rei had no choice but to agree.
For a normal adventurer, coming to the Guild at this time of year meant they only had business in the bar.
There were still adventurers agonizing in front of the Request Board, but in terms of winter survival funds, Rei had enough money to live without working for decades—maybe even a century.
Considering how much he would make just by selling Silver Lion materials, or Set's feathers and fur, there was no need to even think about it.
If someone had business with Rei, they would naturally either visit him directly or have him come to the Guild.
Kenny would have preferred to go see him in person, but being on duty, she couldn't do that.
That was why she had another Guild Staff Member run the errand.
"Ah... I see. Well, it's not like I had anything urgent to do, so I don't mind. But I would've liked to know there was no urgency."
"...I'm sorry. That's clearly my mistake."
Seeing Kenny droop her head dejectedly, Rei panicked slightly.
Just as he had said, there wasn't anything he urgently needed to do right now.
He had only mentioned it as a casual caution; he hadn't expected Kenny to get this down about it.
"Ah, don't worry about it. I'm not really that bothered. ...Anyway."
To change the mood, Rei cleared his throat softly before speaking again.
"So what was I summoned for in the end? I'd like to hear the details if you don't mind."
"Right. ...Um, to put it simply, there's a Nomination Request for you, Rei-kun."
"...A Nomination Request? At this time of year?"
The displeased expression that surfaced on Rei's face was likely because the previous Nomination Request incident was still fresh in his mind.
He had been told that he couldn't refuse once he heard the details, and when he refused anyway, mercenaries were hired to attack the carriage Rei was riding in, almost like harassment.
...The miscalculation for the nobles and mercenaries was that the carriage Rei was riding in wasn't an ordinary one, but Elena's carriage.
Because of that incident, there was currently a mild state of tension between the Noble's Faction and the King's Faction.
Normally, the King's Faction, which held greater power, would have the upper hand over the Noble's Faction, but this time it was simply too egregious.
The mercenaries had attacked the carriage carrying Elena, who bore the alias of Princess General and was a symbol of the Noble's Faction.
And the fact that Viscount Linus Marnino was revealed to be the one who hired the mercenaries was also significant.
It was the result of Daskar's subordinates, those known as the Prairie Wolves, taking action, and because of that, the King's Faction was put in a position where they couldn't make excuses.
Naturally, upon learning this, the King's Faction discarded Linus immediately, as if to cut off a lizard's tail.
But whether the Noble's Faction, whose symbol had been attacked, would be satisfied with that was another question—they couldn't possibly be.
As a result, the current standoff had developed.
In that sense, the one who gained the most from this incident was probably the Neutral Faction.
After all, the King's Faction and the Noble's Faction, both of whom held greater influence than they did, were now at odds with each other.
Setting aside that factional dispute, it was precisely because of that incident that Rei wanted to avoid accepting Nomination Requests as much as possible.
"Don't worry. This time, it's a request that has nothing to do with nobles or anything like that."
"Really? ...Alright, I'll hear what it's about, then."
Slightly relieved by Kenny's words, Rei fell silent and readied himself to listen.
Happy to be talking with Rei, perhaps, Kenny opened her mouth with a smile.
"As you know, Rei-kun, Gilm loses a lot of people in winter."
"Yeah."
From spring to autumn, Gilm was bustling with merchants, travelers, and newly arrived adventurers. But in winter, the merchants disappeared, and adventurers who had come only to realize their skills weren't up to par departed.
As for travelers, some left before winter set in, while others stayed in Gilm.
In any case, compared to spring through autumn, there was no doubt that the number of people in Gilm decreased.
...However, Gilm originally boasted a scale that could be called a small city. Even with somewhat fewer people, it never truly felt empty or lonely.
"And so, a diner near the Guild sent in a request. They want help developing a new dish."
"...Does the decrease in people have anything to do with this right now?"
"Probably, right? That's what they said, at least."
Rei's words made Kenny shrug her shoulders slightly.
As she did, the cleavage visible through the deeply open neckline of her Guild uniform swayed heavily, full of a sense of mass.
Kenny, who would dress in layers of winter clothing until she was thoroughly bundled up when going outside, wore only her usual Guild uniform inside the warmed Guild building, thanks to a Magic Item.
Quietly averting his gaze from Kenny's appearance, Rei spoke up.
"So, what kind of new dish are they hoping for? Something udon-related?"
Rei had taught udon to the owner of the Full Belly Diner, and from there it had spread.
It had already become one of Gilm's famous specialties and had even spread to other towns.
Dishes like yakisoba udon had also been developed independently.
Rei wondered if they wanted him to come up with a new udon dish, and he puzzled over it internally.
Originally, Rei wasn't particularly knowledgeable about cooking.
Of course, he had made some dishes during home economics classes at school and had experience making what could be called bachelor's cooking at home, starting with curry.
But... that was the extent of it.
He enjoyed cooking manga to some extent, but if asked whether he remembered every dish that appeared in them, he would immediately shake his head.
(Curry udon... but there's no curry, is there? I've already seen putting udon in stew. Kama-tama udon? That might work, but there are issues like whether eggs can be safely eaten raw, and whether a fixed number can be secured every day.)
Rei was uncertain in his mind, but to his expectations, Kenny shook her head.
"No. Not existing udon or anything like that. A new dish that no one has ever eaten before."
"...What are they expecting from a mere adventurer?"
"Well, you're a mage, aren't you? If you could come up with udon, you could probably come up with a new dish too, right?"
"I wonder. Nothing comes to mind right away. Curry... would be difficult."
"Curry?"
"Yeah."
Since udon existed, if curry spread, they would be able to eat curry udon.
That was what Rei thought, but he didn't know how to make curry.
The curry he had made in Japan was made using curry roux. He knew a little about hidden ingredients like chocolate, coffee, ketchup, sauce, and soy sauce, but only to that extent.
Also, making curry naturally required multiple kinds of spices, which would also raise the issue of cost.
(What was it... there was a cooking manga focused on curry, wasn't there?)
He tried recalling his time in Japan, but while he remembered the general plot, he had no memory of what ingredients were used to make the curry.
(I should have memorized it properly if I'd known this would happen.)
He regretted it, but it was already too late.
"Rei-kun, what's wrong?"
"No, I was trying to remember how to make curry, but all I can recall is that it requires a massive amount of spices—not just one kind, but several, even dozens of varieties."
"Ah... that would be a bit difficult. Even if you could make something like that, the people who could eat it would be limited."
"Right? Plus, I have no idea how long it would take to properly develop it."
"Can you think of anything else?"
"Even if you ask me that..."
The other thing that immediately came to mind was okonomiyaki, but he had already taught that elsewhere as seafood okonomiyaki.
(Any other unusual dishes...)
Thinking that far, Rei suddenly recalled the curry bread imitation he had eaten just the other day—no, considering it didn't use curry powder, maybe it was better to call it a piroshki imitation—and he thought about that.
Of course, without curry powder, he couldn't make curry bread, nor anything that could be called a baked piroshki imitation.
A dish that could be made using existing cooking methods, yet was easy to eat casually. And something that would be especially welcome during the cold season.
"Nikuman."
"Nikuman? What's that?"
Rei had blurted out his idea, but no one other than Kenny seemed to be listening.
This was probably partly because there were fewer receptionists at this time of year.
"Do you know steamed bread?"
"Bug bread? ...Hey, Rei-kun. You're not planning to use bugs, are you?"
Eating insects was something that polarized people's preferences extremely.
Among them, Kenny was likely on the side of those who disliked it.
Sensing that, Rei hastily shook his head.
"No, not bread made with bugs. 'Mushi' as in steaming, like steamed cooking."
"...Steam? Bread? Instead of baking it?"
"Yeah."
"I think things like a fragrant aroma and a soft texture are what make bread delicious."
"The fragrant aroma aside, steamed bread doesn't lose out in terms of texture. Actually, it might even win."
"Hmm, I can't imagine it. At the very least, I've never eaten it before."
"In that case..."
Even without hearing Rei's words to the end, Kenny seemed to understand what he was trying to say.
She immediately nodded.
"Yes, I think it could work."
"Then I'd like you to proceed with me accepting the Nomination Request."
And so, Rei ended up accepting the Nomination Request to create a new dish.