第１２１７堀：出発の朝 (Part2)
"Oh, no. This is plenty delicious as it is, so there’s no need to worry so much..."
"Not at all. This is for the sake of Baide’s development. It’s a good thing to have a variety of dishes, even if it’s just something as simple as frying an egg."
"I see. It’s good to enrich our meals, but will the traditional specialties of Baide be alright?"
When a new wave of influence arrives, it’s quite common for the existing customs to be discarded as obsolete. However, I personally want them to move forward while still preserving what came before.
"Yes. The lake fish dishes, a Baide specialty, still enjoy unshakable popularity. Though, ever since we gained access to a wider variety of seasonings, we’ve added herbs and the like to the traditional, rustic kiln-grilled salt fish, which has certainly increased the variety of flavors."
True, if it’s just kiln-grilled, it’s just salt-grilled fish. If that’s the kind of change we’re talking about, then it’s a good thing.
"Beyond food, if there are crafts or traditions you wish to preserve, feel free to protect them firmly. That is part of Baide’s unique culture. There is no need to make everything exactly the same as Weed."
"Understood. I shall see to it."
"Once the survey of the goblin village is finished, there’s talk of holding a conference to decide the official name of this new continent. Once that’s settled, tourists from other continents will likely come to Baide via Weed, and as an outpost of Weed, people from all over this continent will gather here as well. Don’t neglect the preparations for that."
"Leave it to me. I am already coordinating closely with Ratz, Eris, and Shera on that front."
Well, I suppose I didn’t need to say anything; they’re already handling it properly. I guess you can’t serve as a regional lord if you can’t manage at least that much.
As we were talking, Cleena and the others arrived in the dining hall.
"…Mm. Morning."
"Good morning."
"Good morning to you, too."
"Morning!"
"Good morning!"
"Good morning."
"Morning."
It seems Aslin and the others woke up together as well. Seeing this, the servers immediately began setting breakfast at each of their seats.
"Morning. How are you all? No fatigue? We’ll be traveling by vehicle from here on out."
"…Mm. No issues."
"It’s far more comfortable and safer than a carriage, so there’s no problem at all."
Everyone nodded in agreement with Cleena and Samantha’s response.
"Well, the only problem would be bandits on the road, but that’s not something we need to worry about."
"It’s alright, Big Sister Jessica. We’ll just have to protect Big Brother ourselves."
"That’s right!"
"Haha. Though, I imagine the people of Haiden might be a bit troubled by that."
"I wonder if there will even be a turn for the guards to shine."
"No, Labyris. In this case, it’s obviously better if the guards never have to do anything at all."
"Sister Dre is right. It’s best if the guards have no work to do."
"Indeed. I want to avoid any situation where Brother is attacked."
For some reason, even the members of the navy were here.
"Hey, Dressa and the rest of you. Is the aircraft carrier alright?"
"We’ve got things running smoothly over there. It’s a problem if the fleet can’t move just because the commander isn't present, so I’m making sure they train properly. Of course, in an emergency, they’ll contact us here."
"Above all, Brother’s safety comes first."
"That’s right. Big Brother is number one."
At those words from Shera and Hiiro, everyone nodded in unison.
*Sigh.* I understand that my safety is important, but I hope they’re keeping it within reasonable limits... though I suppose they probably aren't.
Come to think of it, I had completely forgotten...
"So, where’s Steve?"
For some reason, Steve alone was missing. The 'Representative of the Goblins' was absent. If he were just sleeping in, that would be one thing, but Steve is a soldier—a general, at that. He isn't the type to be loose with time like those researchers.
"Now that you mention it, he isn't here. Where did Steve go?"
"…Maybe he’s still asleep?"
"He’s not Cleena-san, you know."
As we were talking, Steve walked into the dining hall with a towel draped around his neck.
"Oh, everyone’s here. Man, it’s been a while since I’ve had a slow morning, so I went for a run down by the lake."
I see. A soldier’s morning starts early, after all. So he went for a run that doubled as a walk by the lake.
"Alright, let’s eat breakfast and give it our all today!"
" " "Yeah!" " "
And so, we sat down to a hearty breakfast.
Come to think of it, the roads being what they are, should I take some motion sickness medicine? Traveling to Haiden, Kagura and the others' homeland, after all this time... I’m sure many people would say they smell trouble in the air.