第１４７３堀：建前上晩御飯 (Part1)
**Chapter 1473: The Pretext of Dinner**
**Side: Coral**
For some reason, I found myself standing in the Fountain Plaza—a spot famous as a meeting place in the Commercial District—just as the sun was beginning to set.
"Tell me, Lord Gaul."
"Yes, Lady Coral?"
"Why exactly am I standing here?"
"Well, it is a meeting point, is it not?"
"Yes, yes, I know it’s a meeting point, but my schedule for today was supposed to be..."
I was supposed to be heading to another country. So why was I here at dusk, in the Weed Commercial District? Shouldn't I be at the immigration gate?
"There are various circumstances involved, Coral."
The one who answered my question wasn't Gaul, but Queen Miyabi.
"Good evening, Queen Miyabi. And what, pray tell, are these 'various circumstances'?"
"You’ve heard the news, haven't you? About the Great Outbreak in Suls."
"Indeed. The customers at the shop were all talking about it. A Great Outbreak for the first time in ages. Though, there was no panic. The word spread that even though one town was leveled, the Alliance moved in and suppressed it immediately. It didn't sound like a lie."
Naturally, since I am privy to important matters regarding Weed, I had heard about the Suls incident through those channels as well. I had even been told that, in the worst-case scenario, I might be deployed, but I had no objections to that. Protecting Weed means protecting the Master, and it means protecting the children.
Though, it seemed the Master and the Generals had already easily suppressed the situation before it could escalate to that point. Well, if the Master and the Generals couldn't handle it, I would have to prepare myself for death anyway.
"Exactly. It was suppressed, but the region hasn't recovered from the ensuing chaos. And since the Dark Guilds and Dungeon Masters are keeping a close eye on the borders, we need to move under the cover of night. By not sending any prior notice, we minimize the chance of them interfering."
"Ah, I see. But we are talking about another country, are we not? Is that wise?"
Having lived in Weed for some time and studied its ways, I know that illegal entry into another country is generally frowned upon.
"It isn't 'wise,' no. But if we send notice beforehand, they’ll just throw a wrench in our plans and cause more chaos. We wouldn't be able to achieve our objective."
"True, the Dark Guilds' information network is formidable. Sending word carelessly would be a mistake. Hence, the stealth approach."
"Precisely. Normally, one would worry about the size of the escort or the threat of assassination, but..."
"They couldn't possibly do anything to us, could they?"
"That is the point. Now, let's move."
"Hm? The Master hasn't arrived yet, has he?"
"Ah, we are meeting Yuki-dono and the others at a different location. I am merely your guide. Honestly, the Dark Guilds make everything so troublesome."
"That they do."
"Indeed. I suppose we must go to such lengths to deceive those around us... what a chore."
To think that even gathering like this requires such elaborate camouflage.
"By the way, Coral. How is the shop?"
"The shop? You mean Master Alfin’s?"
As I followed behind Queen Miyabi, she suddenly changed the subject.
"Yes. Is business booming? I haven't heard much about it lately."
"Ah, I suppose I haven't mentioned it. There are no issues. We are constantly repeating the cycle of creating new recipes and testing them. Crafting a new cake is a difficult art."
"You seem to be working as hard as ever. How are the sales?"
"No problems there, either. We have our regulars, of course, and then there is the International Exchange School, is there not? Aslin and the others bring the students by, and through them, their families have started visiting as well."
"Ah, so that’s why there have been so many people with unusual appearances lately."
"Lord Gaul visits often enough, and I imagine you do as well, Queen Miyabi?"
I wondered why she would bother asking when she already knew.
"Well, one cannot tell the shop's sales or customer traffic from the outside. Though, since Yuki-dono funds Alfin-dono’s shop, it’s unlikely to go under. But you know how Alfin-dono is—full of a spirit of service, isn't she?"
"Ah... well, even to me, there are times when she goes too far. She was serving students for free, after all."
She does it because she wants them to know what happiness tastes like, but when I consider the cost of ingredients and labor, it feels like a loss. However, since the Master provides the funding to cover those gaps, it isn't a problem. In fact, it’s quite the opposite.
"But, you might find this surprising, but in terms of the balance sheet, we are actually in the black."
"What?"
"Even after giving away so much for free?"
"Indeed. It may seem strange, but after she serves those free samples, the number of orders skyrockets. The back of the café is always a frenzy trying to keep up with the demand. They say it’s actually easier to be out on the floor than in the kitchen."
That is how many orders we get. I, too, spend my time in the back baking mountains of cakes. If I didn't have the stamina of a dragon, I would have collapsed long ago. In that sense, baking cakes is truly exhausting work.
"I see. So it serves as excellent advertising."
"Exactly. Thanks to that, we’ve even secured large-scale contracts with the school."
"Ah, I see. So that’s the nature of your relationship."
"Naturally, the Master’s patronage plays a part, but it seems they are doing business with other shops as well."
"Well, it would be physically impossible for one shop to provide for all the students and teachers, and I’m sure the other shops would be quite jealous if we did."
As we chatted, we entered a dining establishment.
"Why here?"
"We are here under the pretense of having dinner."
I see. They’re going that far to maintain the ruse. We were guided by a waiter to a private room, and upon entering...
"Yo, you're here."
"Yahoo!"
"You’ve arrived."
Greeting us were the Master, Riel, and Samantha. The others were silently devouring their meat. No, wait...
"Yuki-dono. This is a much larger group than I anticipated."
Indeed. As Queen Miyabi noted, the room was quite spacious, and it contained not only the Master but ten of his wives as well. Plus, there were the attendants for Orelia and the others, and Narjia-dono, who had said she would join us. Regardless of the details, it was undeniably a large crowd.
"I told them we could keep it smaller, but they wouldn't hear of it. And Queen, you didn't even bring a single guard?"