Chapter 267 The Reason for the Visit
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
I make my way to the reception room where the guest is waiting, reminding Diana again to confirm.
”Are you really sure about this? If we mess it up, we might be in deep trouble.”
”I only saw Neil-sama’s face once at his coming-of-age party, but I remember it clearly, so I don’t think there’s a mistake.”
”I see…”
While I half-hope Diana is mistaken, I can’t ignore the possibility that if I act on the wrong assumption, it could lead to a big problem. So, praying it’s not a misunderstanding, I take a deep breath in front of the reception room door and knock.
”Excuse me.”
Upon opening the door and stepping inside, I see a well-built man in his late thirties comfortably slouched on the sofa, with a woman in her twenties standing behind him looking somewhat attentive.
I don’t recognize him at all, but given how he carries himself, I’m sure he’s not a mere envoy; I can even feel the confidence radiating from him. Before he can speak, I jump in with my own words.
”Long time no see, Marquis Rubal.”
”…Indeed, it has been a year.”
This man isn’t just a representative of the Marquis Rubal house; he is Marquis Rubal himself.
He seems a bit bored, perhaps thinking this was some kind of prank, but hey, one such prank is enough for a lifetime, especially from His Majesty!
”Well then, don’t just stand there like a statue; have a seat.”
”In that case, I’ll take you up on that.”
As I sink into the sofa, Marquis Rubal starts to speak.
”You only met me once, yet you remember my face well?”
”To be honest, it was just my attendant who remembered. I was so nervous at the time that I couldn’t recall the faces of those I greeted.”
”Oh? To stand right before me and declare ‘I don’t remember’──that’s not something I expected after our last encounter. Seems you’ve gained some serious guts.”
”Guts, you say? More like I just didn’t want to be caught lying.”
”…I see, just as I heard.”
Heard?
Could it be he came here because someone told him about me?
The first person that comes to mind is certainly Golarf-san.
”Did you perhaps hear something from Golarf-san?”
”Golarf? No, that’s not it.”
”Ah… I see.”
An awkward silence hangs between me and Marquis Rubal due to my off-target question.
Oops, I accidentally dropped Golarf-san’s name, which is definitely not something to toss around in front of an empire noble.
Marquis Rubal looks like he wants to say something, but he seems to hesitate, probably understanding it relates to Grelego.
I also want to ask who he heard it from if it wasn’t Golarf-san, but I decide it’s best not to dwell on this topic and shift to something else.
”So, Marquis Rubal, what brings you here? Judging by your outfit, you must be incognito, right?”
Marquis Rubal is dressed in commoner’s clothes, not noble attire, so it’s obvious he’s sneaking into the frontier settlement.
If he only had business with me, he wouldn’t need to go through the trouble of being incognito, so I think there must be something else going on.
”Ah, I just came to check out an interesting story I heard before arriving. I wasn’t originally planning to visit you. My purpose for coming to the frontier settlement is to confirm the recent rumors about ‘that’.”
”That, could it be about ‘Shiown’?”
”Yes, that’s it.”
Shiown is another attraction we brainstormed with Niya-san and the others to draw people to a different frontier settlement, separate from Arafem.
Its official name is the Shiown Party, and Shiown means “imitation” in spirit language, while “party” remains as is.
So, what exactly is an imitation party? To put it simply, it’s a buffet.
You pay a set fee to enter and can eat as much food as you want within a time limit. Initially, we thought a simple all-you-can-eat would be tough, but if we add some value, the game changes.
That added value is the “experience” we talked about back then, and I thought, why not make it a buffet featuring dishes you’d find at a noble’s party instead of just a regular all-you-can-eat?
Everyone thinks they’d like to try the kind of food served at a noble’s party at least once, but only a select few can actually attend, making it nearly impossible for commoners to experience those luxurious dishes nobles enjoy.
Even if you somehow manage to get invited thanks to some achievement, it’s not just about enjoying the food; you’ll likely get tangled up with nobles, which can be quite a drag, so many folks would rather skip the party despite their curiosity about the cuisine, hence the existence of this Shiown.
This is a knockoff party, so you don’t have to deal with any of the pesky etiquette that comes with a real one; it’s simply about enjoying the meal.
Niya-san and others were on board with this idea, but we quickly hit a snag.
Firstly, only Narsht-san could whip up such dishes, and while a few helping hands would solve the quantity issue, running it alongside the dining hall was a no-go.
Right now in the dining hall, there are 2 people on cooking duty besides Narsht-san, but even without him, it’s not sufficient to keep the dining hall running smoothly.
The dining hall gets busy mainly in the mornings and evenings, with most folks coming in pre-work for breakfast, meaning the early hours are the bustling time, and as travelers wake up and dine, the hall tends to clear out, freeing up Narsht-san. Thus, we decided to limit Shiown’s hours and only serve during the mornings.
As for Shiown’s reviews, they weren’t as stellar as we hoped, but they did bring in a decent crowd and received a fair amount of praise.
The entrance fee is set high at 5 platinum coins to give a sense of luxury, but it seems some customers find it a bargain if they can enjoy this level of cuisine.
While this might look appealing to the average traveler, for nobles who are used to such dishes, there’s nothing new to see here.
That’s why I thought the empire nobles wouldn’t bother coming to the frontier settlement just for Shiown…
”You look puzzled. Are you having trouble understanding why I would come all the way to a frontier settlement?”
”…Yes, the dishes served at Shiown should be nothing new for Marquis Rubal.”
”That’s true, but I came to enjoy the food, not just for the food itself.”
”What do you mean by that?”
”I was interested in a party where we could purely enjoy the food without any of the usual social games. I’m a self-proclaimed gourmet, and whenever I discover a new dish, I throw a party to share it with everyone. Each time, I’d say, ‘This party is for enjoying the meal, let’s skip the pointless probing into each other’s motives.’ Do you think that had any effect?”
I shake my head at Marquis Rubal’s question.
It’s clear that when an empire noble says something like that, it’s just for show.
”I simply wanted to host a party for everyone to enjoy the food, not to have it turned into a battleground of hidden agendas. Because of that, I’ve been hosting fewer parties lately and instead, I’ve been sneaking around to blow off steam.”
”I see, then while I can’t guarantee I’ll meet Marquis Rubal’s expectations, please do join us at Shiown. If you haven’t made a reservation for tomorrow yet, I can arrange a seat for you.”
”No need for that, I’ve already received my reservation tickets before coming here.”
Saying that, Marquis Rubal pulls out 2 tickets from his pocket.
To use Shiown, one must receive a reservation ticket the day before, and participation on the same day is not allowed.
This was a measure to grasp the number of customers the day before, ensuring that no more guests than Shiown’s capacity could handle would come in.
”Well then, I’m sorry for barging in on you when you’re busy managing the frontier settlement. I’ll take my leave now.”
”Huh?”
Just a few minutes after arriving, and without much conversation, Marquis Rubal suddenly announced he was leaving.
I couldn’t help but let out a surprised sound, and Marquis Rubal smiled slightly.
”I’ve confirmed what I wanted to know. I’ll come back tomorrow to share my thoughts on Shiown. Until then!”
After saying what he wanted to say without waiting for my response, Marquis Rubal left the reception room, leading a woman with him.
Given the context of our conversation, it was likely that what Marquis Rubal wanted to confirm was something I had previously told Viscount Hedmar.
If that’s the case, then Marquis Rubal must have heard about Viscount Hedmar.
”Neil-sama, about Marquis Rubal…”
”I know, you’re going to tell me to be cautious.”
Viscount Hedmar had also said that my actions were no different from suicide.
It’s like asking to be deceived by revealing my thoughts without probing the intentions of the empire nobles.
But──
”If I think, ‘The other party is an empire noble, so they must be trying to deceive me,’ then I’m no different from any other empire noble, right?”
”So, you trust the empire nobles?”
”No, I don’t trust the empire nobles; I trust that person. Besides, if I don’t face them honestly, they won’t face me honestly either.”
It’s too selfish to expect others to trust me while doubting them.
Even if I end up being deceived by Marquis Rubal, as long as I maintain my attitude of trusting others, there will surely come a day when that reaches someone.
”Hah… I imagined it, but this is going to be quite a struggle, isn’t it?”
”Hahaha, you’ll regret becoming my dedicated servant for this!”
”Nope, I’m not holding any regrets here.”
Diana stood behind me, placing her hand on my shoulder.
”I’ve dreamt of supporting you, Neil-sama, by your side since long ago.”
”…It seems like Diana’s dreams and the current reality are worlds apart, huh?”
”Hehe, yes, indeed! I never imagined it would turn out this way… but right now, I am as happy as can be, like living in a dream!”
With that, Diana released her hand from my shoulder and gently pulled my head into an embrace.
Though it was still too early for a break and work awaited me, I momentarily forgot about it and leaned into Diana’s warm hug.
The term “imitation” is used in spirit language, as there’s simply no equivalent for “party” in that tongue.
Spirits don’t throw parties, after all.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
Thanks for reading.
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