"Hoh... I'm glad to see everyone looking more pleased than I expected."
On the way to the Guild, Daskar murmured with satisfaction at the scene visible through the carriage window.
Currently, only Rei, Marina, and Daskar were riding in the carriage. There were a fair number of guards outside, but those inside the carriage were only the three of them.
Given Daskar's position, it wouldn't have been unusual for guards to be inside the carriage as well, but the ones currently accompanying him were Rei and Marina. Moreover, Seto was also present outside the carriage.
Under these circumstances, even if someone targeted Daskar, they could deal with it easily. Rather, if there were unnecessary guards inside the carriage, Rei and Marina would have to move more than necessary to protect them, which could well become a negative factor for Daskar's safety.
"Still, there was so little time from when we decided to hold the festival until today. It's only because everyone worked so hard on the preparations that it turned out this well. ...However, the effects of pushing that hard are showing up in various places, so next time you should think carefully about that before going ahead."
"Guh... it can't be helped. This matter was sudden, after all. I thought I managed to secure a reasonable amount of time, you know? Honestly, I wanted to hold the festival the very day after Rei returned."
But there was no way they could hold a festival the next day. If it were just publicly displaying the Crystal Dragon's corpse, that would have been possible without issue.
The reason he tried to make it a festival in the first place was undoubtedly because he wanted to entertain the people of Gilm.
The Expansion Construction was one thing, but the summer heat was still quite intense. Recently it was transitioning into late summer, so the mornings and evenings had become reasonably cooler, but the daytime was unchanged from before. If anything, because the mornings and evenings were cooler, the daytime felt all the more sweltering by comparison.
Those worn down by such heat, or those feeling irritable. Or those who were busy with work, work, work regardless of the heat. Daskar conceived the festival as a way to relieve the stress of such people.
...Making a grand announcement about Rei's affair was also a major reason, of course.
"I understand that part. ...But the people participating in the festival seem to be enjoying themselves, so I won't say anything more about this matter."
Looking at her surroundings just like Daskar, Marina made that statement. Even from Marina's perspective, the sight of everyone enjoying the festival with work suspended must have been satisfying.
Naturally, the carriage carrying Rei and the others advanced through the very midst of such festival-goers. Because they were moving through crowds, the carriage's speed was extremely slow. From Daskar's perspective, the extra travel time allowed him to observe the surrounding situation at leisure. That was a thoroughly enjoyable moment for Daskar.
"Hoh. Looking at it like this, there are more stalls than I expected. To have this many stalls assembled in such a short time is somewhat surprising."
"Stalls are run by quite a lot of people on a regular basis. Some make their living off stall sales, while others are adventurers running stalls as a hobby."
At Rei's explanation, Daskar nodded as if to say that figures. Daskar, too, was now a lord but had formerly served as a knight in the Royal Capital. There were many differences between the Royal Capital and Gilm, but even so, there were many places that were similar in atmosphere. The matter of the stalls was like that too; to Daskar, the sight of stalls lined up like this must have prompted various reflections.
"Rei, how are Gilm's stalls?"
Perhaps reminded of his time in the Royal Capital, Daskar suddenly asked such a question. Rei hesitated over how to answer... and eventually voiced what came to mind.
"Let's see. Because the frontier makes it easy for ingredients like high-rank monster meat to gather, there aren't many misses among the stalls."
There weren't many, but of course there were still disappointing stalls. Fortunately—or perhaps it was debatable whether "fortunately" was the right word—such establishments quickly lost to competition with other stalls and went under.
...Among them, some ran stalls as devoted amateurs purely as a hobby, and since it was just a hobby, there were stalls where operating at a loss was no problem at all. However, such stalls were truly in the minority.
"Also... oh, right. Since spices have started flowing into the market in various forms, there are stalls that serve dishes using them. However... spices and the like are difficult to use, so it seems a lot of people are struggling."
Using spices for the first time, or at the level of having heard a little about them before—since that was the extent of their experience, it was certain that they needed to research various things. Using spices carelessly could result in outrageous flavors, much like the saying that too much of a good thing is as bad as too little.
That was precisely why many people independently researched how to use spices... and those who succeeded sold novel dishes at their stalls to many customers. It wasn't just novelty—unless the food was genuinely delicious, customers would quickly stop coming.
"Hmm, then what should we do? It would be nice if there were a cook skilled at handling spices, but..."
"Oh, even if there's someone Daskar wants, wouldn't they wield their skills for their own work in that case? If other people are poor at using spices, that just means they can monopolize spice-based dishes for that much longer."
At Marina's words, Daskar nodded, conceding, "True enough..."
Meals being something everyone absolutely needs, they inevitably become essential. For that very reason, a dish that only you—or only a few—can make is just right for turning a profit on this occasion.
"But at the stalls where I ate, they were selling dishes that used spices. Given that, it might take some time, but I'm sure it'll spread."
"I suppose so. But it's a shame that we can't know when that will happen."
"At worst, I could go to a region where spice-based cooking is developed and bring someone back... but that would be difficult in its own way."
"True. If we let Rei and Seto do as they please, who knows what would happen. You'd definitely cause some kind of trouble, without a doubt."
Marina stated this with absolute conviction that Rei would cause some problem. Rei wanted to argue back against her, but given the current situation and considering everything he had done up to now, even if he wanted to rebut, he couldn't.
He fell silent, disgruntled. In reality, even Rei himself thought that if he took action, he would probably get caught up in some kind of commotion again.
Incidentally, being attacked by bandits or attacking bandits on such occasions did not count as a commotion. Bandit hunting was, to Rei, a lucrative hobby. Since that hobby restored the surrounding security, there was no problem at all.
...In reality, it was not uncommon for new bandits to move into territories vacated after the previous ones were wiped out, and those bandits might be more vicious than the ones before them. Or, when the bandit hunting occurred, some might have been out by coincidence and not present, only to return to their hideout and find all their comrades annihilated, and then go on a flashy rampage seeking revenge... such individuals also existed.
"There's the matter of cooking, but even if you bring someone from the source region, there's no guaranteeing that cuisine will sell."
Deciding not to touch on the trouble topic, Rei deflected the conversation for the time being. Even so, what came out of Rei's mouth was by no means wrong. From another country—in this case, within the Kingdom of Mireana, so it was technically slightly different—but in any case, cuisine brought in from a different place did not necessarily sell.
Even in Japan, where Rei had previously lived, new foreign cuisine was generally adapted to suit Japanese palates. ...As a result, dishes like ramen and curry ended up subtly different from their authentic versions.
Incidentally, sauce yakisoba is extremely common in Japan, but in Chinese cuisine, there is no such thing as sauce yakisoba. Granted, the roots of yakisoba lie in a Chinese dish called chow mein, and this dish has spread not only throughout Japan but across all of Asia, with many regions giving it their own unique evolution. In that sense, sauce yakisoba was also a uniquely Japanese evolution.
In any case, while a certain number of people would gladly eat authentic cuisine, there were also quite a few who simply could not acquire a taste for it. Rather than giving up on that cuisine, they adapted it to suit Japanese palates—this was likely the reason Japanese people were said to be greedy when it came to food.
"So even if we bring a professional cook, we'd have to adapt the food to suit Gilm's residents' tastes."
When Rei explained in easy-to-understand terms, Daskar murmured as much. Even so, because Gilm was located on the frontier, a great many people gathered there, so when it came to the taste of cooking, a variety of cuisines were readily accepted.
"I suppose it might be interesting to gather cooks and give lectures or something. Though, the question of who would give such a lecture would also become an issue."
Ultimately, as Rei said, even if they were to hold lectures, there was the problem of who would serve as instructor. For those in Gilm who were skilled at using spices, teaching their research results to others for free would mean giving away their hard-earned knowledge, so there would be many who couldn't accept that.
"We should think about that properly later. ...Now then, let's set the stall matter aside for the time being."
The reason Daskar changed the topic was probably because the Guild had come into view through the window. Even while Rei and the others were talking about various things, the carriage had been advancing through the crowds, and the destination—the Guild—had finally come into sight. Strictly speaking, it wasn't the Guild itself but the stage in front of the Guild that was the destination.
"Now that you mention it, this is really... truly a belated question, but when we publicly display the Crystal Dragon's corpse, how should it be arranged? Has Lord Daskar's side been thinking about that? I'm not good at that sort of thing."
"There's no need to worry about that. Marina is here, isn't she?"
"...Ah, I see. So that's why Marina..."
Honestly, Rei hadn't understood why Marina had come to the Lord's Manor. He had been at loose ends in the guest room, so he was glad Marina came to see him, but he still hadn't understood the reason why she came. But hearing Daskar's explanation, he understood.
That Marina had such—or rather, artistic sensibility—was surprising yet also something he could accept. If anything, it seemed like it wouldn't be strange for people like Elena and Vihera to have similar sensibilities either.
"Fufu, that's certainly true."
Seeing Rei looking convinced, Marina floated a slightly amused smile and said so. Though there was some slight discomfort regarding Marina, if that was the case... he decided not to think about it any further for the time being.
While they were doing so, the carriage continued advancing, and eventually drew near the Guild... but the area that usually served as a parking space for carriages and the like was currently blocked off by the stage. The carriage passed by the side of the stage and headed deeper into the Guild grounds. They arrived at the spot where the Guild's carriages were usually parked, and there the carriage finally came to a stop.
Naturally, a carriage surrounded by guards stood out tremendously. Even without guards, the presence of Seto alone would have made standing inconspicuous impossible.
When the carriage arrived, Worker was also present. Since they were welcoming Daskar, the lord of Gilm, it was only natural for Worker, the Guild Master, to come out.
(The festival probably gave him a chance to get paperwork under control, too.)
However, that only meant the rate at which paperwork increased had temporarily slowed or stopped; it didn't mean the paperwork they had been unable to process before had vanished. In that sense, the guild staff's true feelings were probably that they wanted to clear as much paperwork as possible during this festival.
Nearly all guild staff members, despite today being the festival, were not participating in it at all and were focusing on paperwork. For the guild staff, how much paperwork they could get through today... that was directly tied to their work efficiency from tomorrow onward, so it was only natural for them to be desperate about it.