2
The time between then and when night fell was nothing but suffering for me.
I was told I had to stay here in this manor until its owner finished eating dinner, and so I was once more jailed in the room from before.
Cooking had taken me a bit over an hour to complete. And so, there were still around two hours left until sunset, when dinner would start. Plus, since I was in a position of having been captured by the enemy, I didn’t exactly have any means available to me to alleviate my boredom. Ultimately, the only thing I could do was wait and worry while lying atop the fluffy bed.
“Sir Asuta... Shall I bring you something to drink, perhaps...?” Chiffon Chel quietly asked, leaning in from beyond the partitioning screen.
“No, I’m fine.”
“I see... However, there is still quite some time left until dinner, so please do not hesitate to make any requests. After all, it is the duty given to me to fulfill them...” she said as she gracefully approached.
“My only wish is to be returned back home as soon as possible.”
“And yet, that is the one request I cannot fulfill...”
The bed suddenly sunk ever so slightly.
Looking up, I found that Chiffon Chel was now lightly sitting at its foot. She placed just one arm down on the bedding, then twisted her body to face me. With those mysterious purple eyes staring straight at me, I unwittingly froze.
“W-Well then, how about we discuss something to stave off boredom?” I stuttered. “It can just be small talk, instead of anything about this manor or the nobles who live here.”
“My...” Chiffon Chel said with a smile, bringing her hand to her lips. “But I know nothing of the world outside this manor. After all, I am not permitted to leave...”
“You were brought here against your will too at some point, right? I can’t say I really know anything about the relationship between the west and the north, though...”
I went ahead and shifted myself to sit cross-legged in the middle of the bed.
It was hard to call it a topic that got me overly excited, but it certainly seemed preferable to letting my mind wander wildly.
“On top of that, I don’t really know much about how slavery works in this country. You seem like you’re able to act fairly freely, but... you’re still a slave, right?”
“Yes... I was captured by soldiers of Selva at a young age and brought here to Genos. However, I was able to learn the language of the west unusually quickly, which is how I ended up being permitted to live here within the manor walls...”
“That’s awful. I can’t even imagine what that must have been like...”
“No, but Genos is a peaceful place... I am certain that is because it is so far removed from Mahyudra. At the border between the nations, both sides view one another as hated enemies... And so, I am not treated so terribly here...”
I was about to bring up the point that she’d had a ladle thrown at her even so, but it seemed that didn’t fall under the classification of “terrible treatment.” This topic really might have been a bit too heavy for someone like me, born and raised in a peaceful nation like Japan.
“There’s fighting on the border between the southern and eastern nations too, right? But their peoples coexist here in Genos without fighting, even if they’re not exactly friendly with each other. So do westerners and northerners do the same in eastern lands too, for example?”
“I cannot say... My former home was far from Sym, so I do not know the answer...”
I had sensed as much right from the start, but it seemed Chiffon Chel really didn’t lament her circumstances at all.
Naturally, I had no way of knowing whether she just wasn’t letting it show, or if she had such feelings crushed out of her. The one thing I did know for sure, though, was that she was the one I could talk most frankly with in this awful, disgusting place.
“You are a truly mysterious person, Sir Asuta...” Chiffon Chel said with a relaxed smile. “You created that wondrous meal despite being from the post town... Though you are a westerner, you defended someone like me... And though you have such a gentle face, you also possess such strength...”
“Actually, it’s not easy finding someone as weak as me at the forest’s edge.”
However, that Roy guy was notably weaker than I was. Maybe I had actually built up some muscle while living at the forest’s edge.
“Yes, you are a truly, truly mysterious person. So much so that I cannot help but regret that we must part in but a few hours... This is the first time I have had such feelings since leaving my home nation...”
“I don’t hate you either, Chiffon Chel.”
If Cyclaeus fell, would it be possible for people like her to gain their freedom, too?
Considering the relationship between the west and north, it didn’t seem especially likely, but still... For now, I’d at least have to eventually tell Kamyua Yoshu about how I met her here in this manor. Since he had mixed blood from the north and west, maybe he could come up with some sort of solid plan.
“It shall be getting dark soon...” Chiffon Chel stated, gently rising to her feet.
Then, she disappeared beyond the partitioning screen, only to return holding a lit candlestick. Actually, maybe it’d be more accurate to call it a lantern? After all, it was dangling from a metal handle, and the flame inside was protected by a glass cover.
It was true that there was a lot less light coming in through the small window now. It seemed that dinnertime was finally fast approaching.
Would my cooking be to the nobles’ liking? And was there a chance I really would be released like I was promised if so? If not... then I may just have to consider escaping by force.
Ai Fa... You must have already returned home by now and heard what happened from Ludo Ruu and the others...
Just how angry was she at me for not fulfilling my promise to return home safely? And how sad, too?
There was a crushing pain in my chest, and my head felt heavy. The dark clouds inside me had shifted into a pitch black murky stream swirling about in my guts. If it weren’t for the fact that I knew Ai Fa must be suffering even more than I was since she didn’t even know what was going on, I probably would have wailed out as loud as I could, with no shame in the least.
It felt like torture as I sat there silently in the dim light, time slowly ticking by. Just when I was about at my limit and stepped down from the bed, though, the door to the room suddenly swung open from the outside.
“Asuta of the Fa clan, our employer is permitting you an audience.”
It was one of the guards who had been keeping watch.
I glared right back at him, wondering how the hell they justified using a word like “permitting” under these circumstances.
“Come this way. Woman, you’re to remain in this room.”
This time, I was finally going to get to meet the culprit behind all this face to face.
For now, I needed to focus on dealing with them calmly and carefully. After asking Chiffon Chel to just prepare my clothes to change into, I once more stepped out into the hallway.
Is it going to be Cyclaeus himself, or one of his underlings...? At the very least, everything will be cleared up after this, I thought to myself as I walked through the eerie, dimly-lit hallway, which had countless lanterns hanging along its walls.
Our route this time ended up a good bit longer than when we went to the bathhouse or the kitchen.
This place really was like a labyrinth. No matter where we went, it was all just brick walls and rugs stretching out along the floor, so I really couldn’t tell anything apart. Even if I managed to somehow give the soldiers the slip, I got the feeling I would not only fail to find my way out, but I probably wouldn’t even be able to make it back to the room from before.
We went down the spiral staircase, walked for what felt like an eternity, and then ended up going up yet another set of stairs. A few more minutes of walking after that, we finally stood in front of a set of doors.
They were big, and clearly built differently than the ones we had passed along the way. The edges were reinforced with steel sheets, and the engraved decorations were truly splendid. They really had an antique, exaggerated look about them... and to me, it was like they were the gates of hell.
“We have brought Asuta of the Fa clan!” one of the soldiers shouted. The doors were so thick that he needed to raise his voice that much just for it to reach, I figured.
From the other side, a man’s muffled voice replied, “Enter.”
With that, the soldiers grabbed onto the heavy looking doors and pulled them open.
Instantly, a dazzling light came spilling out into the hallway.
That was definitely some lavish lighting there. In fact, I had to half-shut my eyes so I wouldn’t be blinded as I stepped inside.
“Stop there,” a low male voice commanded.
The doors slowly closed, and the soldiers moved to either side of me.
This is the mastermind...? I thought with a gulp.
I had more or less heard what Cyclaeus looked like from Gazraan Rutim... and this wasn’t him. There was no way it could be.
“My lord... This person is Asuta of the Fa clan,” the low voice announced. The man who had been speaking so far was nothing but an officer serving under the lord in question.
He was clad in even more magnificent armor than the soldiers on either side of me, and certainly looked like he had to hold quite a high rank. His appearance, however, didn’t quite seem to match that attire. He had an oddly short and stout build, and a face like a particularly dim-witted bull.
However, none of that mattered.
No, the real issue was the owner of this room, who was glaring at me while lounging atop a fluffy couch... The culprit behind this whole ridiculous plot.
“Hmph. What a truly dull-looking man. Why, he’s still nothing but a child,” a high-pitched voice stated. It sounded somewhat childish, and had a lisp to it. Actually... It belonged to a young little girl. “I find it hard to believe such a child could have created a dish like that. This is truly Asuta of the Fa clan?”
“Yes. There is no doubt of that,” the short and stout officer gloomily replied.
“Hmph...” the girl muttered, looking me up and down with a seriously cheeky glare.
It was the haughty gaze of someone who was well accustomed to looking down at people.
And yet, she was definitely still just a kid.
She must have only been around ten or so. From the way she was lying down, it was hard to properly gauge her height, but she definitely seemed to be small and slender. However, that thin body of hers was wrapped up in a pure white dress that seemed like it was practically made entirely of frills and ribbons.
The upper portion seemed perfectly fitted to her form, while the waist downwards bloomed out wide into a layered skirt. It was a truly gorgeous, showy outfit that reminded me of a wedding dress.
The ivory-white skin of her shoulders and arms was almost fully exposed, except for her numerous accessories made of metal and jewels. Her chestnut-colored hair dangled down to around her chest, and she even wore a silver tiara atop her head.
It was in such attire that the girl was lying languidly atop the couch. And with that posture she was crushing the bottom half of the poofy skirt, which was a real waste.
She really did have a fitting appearance for a spoiled rich noble girl.
Her pale reddish-brown eyes were large and stood out distinctly, and her arched eyebrows, small nose, and budding cherry blossom-like lips were all exceptionally well proportioned. Her face was so small I could easily cover it with the palm of one hand, and her pure white skin wasn’t tanned in the least and didn’t have so much as a single blemish.
However, the girl’s graceful face was wearing a rather displeased expression. And unlike when it was Ai Fa or Lala Ruu making such a look, hers was clearly overflowing with antipathy.
I could hear a warning signal ringing out in my head, telling me that she was going to be trouble.
“What is the meaning of that impudent staring...?” the girl questioned, her voice dripping with irritation. “Are you perhaps getting the wrong idea just because you happen to have a bit of cooking skill? Normally, someone as lowly as you would not even be allowed to stand in my presence, you know.”
A number of retorts I’d love to use instantly sprung to mind. However, if I spoke out carelessly I could end up getting whipped for it. The girl’s voice just had such a nasty tone to it that I couldn’t help but feel that way.
“Are you the one who had me brought here...?”
I had no clue how I should deal with this little tyrant, and so I used the gentlest tone I could manage, though I didn’t bother trying to use overly polite language.
She didn’t seem to have any issues with how I was speaking to her, though, as she just thrust out her lower lip and seemed to be looking down at me.
“What, you’re asking such a thing at this point? Hey, who are you really...? What country was it exactly where you learned such cooking techniques? You most certainly were not born in Genos, correct?”
“Before asking about my identity, won’t you tell me yours first? Who in the world are you, exactly?”
“I am Lefreya.” Apparently she thought that was enough of an answer, as she immediately started pressing further. “I have never tasted such cooking before. From what I am told, you did not use any unusual ingredients, so what exactly did you do? What land does that dish hail from? From what I can tell, you look to have mixed blood, but from which nations? Sym? Jagar? Not Mahyudra, surely.”
“I come from an island nation outside of this continent, by the name of Japan,” I went ahead and earnestly responded, seeing no other option.
“From overseas?!” Lefreya questioned, her eyes opening wide. “I see... In that case, I can understand how you could make food of the sort I have never seen before! But what is someone from overseas doing right in the middle of the continent? Do your people not restrict themselves to visiting only Mahyudra and Sym briefly for business, and then promptly return overseas?”
“No, that’s...”
“To start with, kimyuus and karon only exist in Selva and Jagar, do they not? So how were you able to create such a dish even so? You are but a child, so how could you possibly do such a thing? Really, just who exactly are you?”
Ultimately, we ended up circling back to her initial question.
I took a moment to reassess, trying to figure out just what to do here. And as I did so, I went ahead and took in the room a bit, too.
It was a truly luxurious chamber, fitting for a noble’s dwelling. Though the room wasn’t all that wide, there was not only a thick rug on the floor, but also tapestries with geometric patterns along the walls that almost entirely hid the bricks from view.
The couch the girl was lying on reminded me of a sofa bed, and could probably fit four grown adults sitting normally.
And between me and the room’s owner, there was a grand table with a wine-colored cloth, atop which sat a woven basket filled with a variety of colorful flowers.
On top of that, there were some strange stone statues in the four corners of the room. While they were definitely decorative, were they also meant as some sort of charm to ward off evils? At any rate, they had the appearance of some sort of bizarre satyr creature with the face of a lion, torso of a man, and limbs of a horse or deer or something. And they were made of smooth, gleaming white, marble-like stone, and were each holding a sword or a spear and facing the center of the room. Between the bared fangs of their lion faces, the shoulder muscles tensing as they brandished their weapons, and their huge raised hooves, all wildly chiseled into shape, they almost felt like they would start moving at any moment.
What warranted even more attention, though, was the room’s lighting fixture. There was a massive chandelier-like object dangling from the high ceiling, filling the room with bright white light like the midday sun. It had a diameter of around a meter, and was shaped like a jeweled crown. That degree of luxury wouldn’t be all that unusual back in my old land, but considering the level of development here in this world, it certainly was a surprise. I didn’t know whether they were glass or crystal, but the dozens of lit candles were reflecting light off of countless bits of decoration.
And what were those candles made of, for that matter? There was a faintly sweet, gentle smell filling the room. Plus there wasn’t much smoke, either. They were definitely rarer and more high-quality than the animal fat candles used at the forest’s edge.
“Answer my questions. What exactly are you staring idly for?” Lefreya urged in a tone that made it sound like her anger was about to explode at any moment.
“I don’t really think I could come up with a reply that would satisfy your curiosity... I just suddenly found myself here in this land, after all,” I answered, carefully choosing my words. “But at any rate, I don’t come from this continent, and back in my home nation, there were plenty of chefs my age. It may seem a bit curious to you, but that’s all there is to it.”
“Hmph...”
“Now then, will you answer my questions now? Who exactly are you, and why did you have me brought here to this manor? And at knife point, at that.”
At that, the girl’s mouth tightly shut and she shot me a displeased glare.
“And this man here...” I said, glancing at the officer positioned next to the couch. “You’re one of the men who abducted me, aren’t you? As someone serving at a noble’s manor, how do you end up being such a criminal?”
Honestly, that was something of a leading question on my part.
However, his particular build and muffled voice were familiar to me.
His dark brown hair swirled in an unkempt manner, and it was clear just from looking at him that he was a westerner. And he had a puffy, unhealthy-looking face that made it hard to gauge exactly how old he was. Still, if nothing else, he definitely looked strong. From underneath his swollen eyelids, his small brown eyes shot me back a sharp glare.
“I have some idea as to who exactly owns this manor. However, the person I’m thinking of should currently be participating in important meetings at the Genos castle. Is he aware of what you all have done? After all, I’d imagine he wouldn’t want to spark off needless trouble with the people of the forest’s edge.”
I got no response.
“You said your name was Lefreya, right? What exactly are you to Count Cyclaeus Turan?”
With that, the girl suddenly sat up. Her frilly clumped-up skirt stretched back out, and started sparkling in the light of the chandelier.
And then, she started stamping her feet in frustration out of nowhere.
“What does Father have to do with anything?! When he is not around, I am in charge of this manor!”
“‘Father’...? So you’re Cyclaeus’s daughter, Lefreya?”
Well, that was probably the most innocuous answer.
The fact that there was a northerner serving here as a slave had already pretty much confirmed this place was Cyclaeus’s manor, but he was currently supposed to be in the castle. And so, this revelation cleared up that contradiction. Plus, as Cyclaeus’s daughter, she would have had a chance to hear of my place’s reputation through Diel.
That was enough to clear up most of the doubts whirling about inside of me.
In all likelihood, Cyclaeus had nothing to do with this incident. After all, I couldn’t imagine him approving of such actions, especially when he wasn’t even around.
“Right, I think I more or less get what’s going on. So... what do you intend to do with me, exactly? The story they told me was that if you judged I held back with my cooking, you would forbid me from doing business in the post town.”
Still no answer.
“Like I explained, I’m a chef who was born in another nation entirely. I certainly tried to give my all when making that dish, but I don’t know how well it fits the tastes of people from this land. Still, I definitely didn’t hold back.”
I was still feeling more than a little dumbfounded, but I did my best to keep to a fairly calm tone.
While I certainly wasn’t about to forgive them for taking Nail hostage, since it seemed like this plot was nothing more than the result of a pampered noble girl’s curiosity or mischievousness, it should have still been possible to bring everything to a peaceful close.
“I don’t need any sort of reward, so just let me go home. And of course, I’d like to keep doing business as I have up till now... That’s all that I ask for. Can you find it in yourself to grant those requests?”
Lefreya just kept on silently biting her lip.
I didn’t think this small girl had really been granted authority to do as she pleased with my business, but I couldn’t say that for certain.
Still, I wouldn’t mind if that matter was just put off at least. After all, there would be one heck of a commotion in the post town if my stalls were shut down over something this ridiculous. And at any rate, we should have a chance to freshly renegotiate once Cyclaeus and Melfried returned from the castle in five days.
Thanks to all that, just getting to return home would be plenty. That was my one desire here.
“You are a truly irritating man...” Lefreya finally stated, her neatly-shaped eyebrows sternly furrowing.
With that, I straightened up my posture, worrying I may have spoken a bit too hastily.
However, rather than letting her anger burst forth, she instead silently stretched out her slender fingers over the table. Atop her palm sat what looked like a small jewelry case, and from it she pulled out a little silver object.
Then she tossed it so that it made a short arc and landed at my feet. It was the type of shining silver coin I had several of back at the Fa house.
Each one was worth 100 white coins or 1000 red, and you pretty much only ever saw them at a money changer in the post town.
“So you’re offering this as a reward...? But this is far too much money, no matter how you look at it.”
I generally earned one silver coin’s worth of profit in four days or so, as my current daily take came out to about 250 red coins. If I were to earnestly accept this, I’d honestly probably end up giving it to Nail for the trouble.
As that thought ran through my head, Lefreya responded with the same hostile look on her face, “What are you saying? That is your payment for the work that you did.”
“Payment?” I questioned, picking up the coin at my feet and tilting my head.
What exactly was the difference between a reward and payment?
“I still have not fully acknowledged your skills. And so, you are to do work equal to that payment.”
“Huh? I don’t understand what you’re—”
“First will be tomorrow’s midday snack. If you satisfy me with that, I will grant you another silver coin,” Lefreya stated, suddenly cutting me off and then turning her back to me. “Well then, I will rest now. And you are to prepare for tomorrow.”
“H-Hold on a moment! What do you mean, tomorrow’s snack? Weren’t you supposed to return me home, regardless of what impression you got?!”
Lefreya stopped, then shot me a harsh glare out of the corner of her eye.
“Be quiet. I am the owner of this manor. Everyone within its walls must obey my words.”
“That’s insane! There are some things even nobles can’t get away with, right?!” I shouted, stepping forward without thinking.
However, the guards on either side of me swiftly grabbed hold of my arms. Even so, I couldn’t just remain silent.
“Then let me just say, doing something like this is going to put your father at a real disadvantage! He holds all sorts of discussions with the people of the forest’s edge as representative for Genos, right? As his daughter, these actions of yours will put him in a real bad position!”
“Did you not hear me tell you to be quiet...?”
“You’re the one who needs to listen to what I have to say! If you don’t want this whole thing to blow up, then let me go now! It’s still not too late to just laugh this off! But if you add to your crimes further—”
“You say my father will be put in a bad position?” Lefreya repeated, interrupting me again as her well proportioned little face broke out in a devilish grin. “That sounds interesting in its own way. Just what sort of face will that man make when he returns five days from now in a rage? Yes, that is certain to prove amusing.”
“Hey, wait—!”
“Well then, the time limit shall be five days. My father is to return in the morning five days from now, so create a dish that truly satisfies me down to the depths of my heart before then. Do so, and I shall grant you another silver coin, and may even allow you to return home before those five days are up.” At that point, Lefreya stopped for a moment and broke out in a mischievous smile. “However, make a truly dull dish and I shall make sure you can never do business in the post town again, no matter what Father has to say on the matter. If you do not like the thought of that, then strive away as hard as you can.”
“Hold on!” I shouted to no avail at the girl’s small back.
With that, the young tyrant disappeared behind the inner doors opened by her short and stout attendant... leaving me to stand there with the soldiers still gripping my arms, holding the shining silver coin in my hand and trembling with pure rage.
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