Lady Yoko was making another request of the Village Head.
I wondered if she wasn't relying on him a bit too much.
I was one of the High Ogre maids.
Although I have received the Village Head's favor, I have yet to bear a child.
I envied Lady Ann, who had already given birth.
By rights, Lady Ramrias should be next, but children are gifts from the heavens.
It could just as easily be me...
Oh, Lady Laladel was crying.
That particular cry meant a diaper change was needed.
I had only just changed her a moment ago, but babies never behaved as one expected.
Fufu.
It was a lot of work, but that was where the joy lay.
The request Lady Yoko brought to the Village Head was to hold a Special Cooking Class in Village Five.
I wanted to point out that she could have handled such a matter using her authority as the Acting Village Head without needing his direct cooperation, but...
If our cooperation was required, then speaking to him was unavoidable.
We did not follow instructions from anyone but the Village Head as a matter of principle.
Oh, I wasn't being spiteful.
We were simply busy, so the Village Head’s orders took absolute priority.
That was all.
We regularly held cooking classes for the adventurers and residents of Village Five.
Perhaps it was because of that, but the professional cooks who attended the Special Cooking Class were anything but obedient.
Their reasons didn't really matter.
Food handled with dirty hands is dirty food.
No matter how delicious it may be, it will turn the stomach.
Surely they washed their hands before cooking, at the very least?
This was merely an extension of that basic principle.
Honestly, if we told them to do something, they should have just done it.
To think we would show such a pathetic display while the Village Head was watching us...
I wondered if it might have been easier to beat the hierarchy into them with a few fistfights first.
...
That wouldn't do.
My thoughts were becoming tainted by the ways of the Demon Kingdom.
I reflected on my behavior.
"This is the procedure for receiving a blessing to ensure the food does not cause illness. It is a complex ritual, so please commit it to memory."
Thanks to the advice from Saint Seles, we managed to handle the hygiene education.
However, I felt a deep sense of failure that it wasn't completed in a single day.
Village Head, please accept my apologies.
...
He offered such kind words in return.
I was happy, but I could not allow myself to celebrate.
I had failed, after all.
My fellow High Ogres felt the same.
Very well.
We would prepare for tomorrow.
Our resolve was lacking today.
We had to anticipate every possible situation and have measures ready.
Perhaps it was the result of our preparations.
The second day of the Special Cooking Class proceeded smoothly.
Failed dishes were being produced in mass quantities, but that was part of the experience.
Furthermore, even if they succeeded, they wouldn't truly master it without repeated practice.
Everyone, keep doing your best.
Oh?
What was it?
They wanted to be taught more than just the basics?
It was true that in the cooking classes for adventurers and residents, we taught specific dishes in addition to the basics.
But were they sure?
I had heard that everyone gathered here was a respectable cook.
That's right.
Were they certain they wanted us to hold their hands and teach them as if they were small children?
Did they understand?
Yes, we would teach them the fundamentals as thoroughly as they liked.
However, any application beyond that was something they had to devise themselves.
If they were truly professional cooks, that is.
...
There were a few cooks who seemed to have no pride.
While I admired their hunger for knowledge, if that was the case, they should have participated in a regular cooking class rather than the Special Cooking Class.
In the next regular cooking class, we were planning to teach egg-based dishes.
The Special Cooking Class concluded successfully.
I wanted to say it was good that there were no major problems, but it was originally scheduled to end in one day.
I would remain humble.
The Village Head's kind words reached us.
Dinner at the mansion in Village Five?
And we were actually going to be served a meal personally cooked by the Village Head?
Was that really all right?
Oh, I see; since he had been watching the whole time, he felt like cooking something himself.
I understood.
I would gratefully accept.
It was a dish of peeled shrimp, coated in potato starch and fried, then tossed in a mixture of mayonnaise and a sweet-spicy sauce.
The dishes the Village Head made were unique.
Furthermore, his ideas were completely different from ours.
I wondered where he could have learned such a thing.
No, that wouldn't do.
Prying into my master’s private affairs was overstepping.
We simply needed to serve the Village Head in silence.
However...
I found myself feeling a touch envious of Lady Yoko for how casually she spoke with him.
"Village Head. The people who learned at the cooking class are asking for a cooking tournament to be held."
Ah, there she went again.
Lady Yoko made requests of the Village Head so easily.
If they wanted a cooking tournament, I thought they should just do as they pleased, so why was she asking the Village Head to be a judge?
And the Village Head was also far too quick to agree.
There were preparations for winter to consider, and the autumn harvest was coming up soon.
However, we, who had already taken up two days of the Village Head's time for the Special Cooking Class, were in no position to say anything.
I remained silent.
...
What was it?
Lady Yoko was looking at us.
And then, addressing the Village Head...
"I would like those maids there to participate in the cooking tournament as well."
...
Just what was Lady Yoko saying?
The Village Head asked for the reason.
"There are certain people I want to show the high caliber of the maids who serve the Village Head."
Apparently, there was a fair number of butler and maid applicants who wanted to work under the Village Head.
However, while it would be fine if all the applicants were excellent, that was supposedly not the case.
And the less skilled they were, the more overconfident and troublesome they became.
She wanted us to teach those people their place.
I see, I see.
If that was the case, we had no reason to refuse.
We would certainly teach those who didn't know their place exactly where they stood.
Please, Village Head. Give us the command.
...
Huh?
Village Head, surely you don't think we are incapable of winning?
Isn't that a bit much, even for you?
No, no, it was our own fault for failing to earn the Village Head's trust, but...
Ah, I see. If we participated while the Village Head served as the judge, it might lead to suspicions of favoritism.
I see how it is.
We could not possibly bring such dishonor upon the Village Head.
We would withdraw from the event.
Yes, while it was a shame we wouldn't be able to teach those ignorant fools their place, surely there would be other opportunities.
"I should think the maids serving the Village Head possess enough skill to render any suspicion of foul play moot, wouldn't you?"
Lady Yoko was skilled at egging the Village Head on.
It was decided that we would participate in the cooking tournament.
We would show him a victory for his sake.
...
Ah, so it will be held in winter?
I shall hone my skills until then.