Preliminary Round (1)
Finally, we’ve made it — the day of the preliminary round in the royal capital.
I was a fool to think things would get easier once the new recruits arrived.
The workload exploded, and I’ve been running around nonstop, holding meetings with each guild, checking the venue setups, and inspecting the tools and equipment.
When it came to the equipment checks, I borrowed a few mid-level chefs, since the head chef couldn’t be everywhere at once, and went over every change and setup method carefully.
I really don’t want anyone claiming they couldn’t cook properly because of faulty gear.
We ended up with 126 stall applications in total — and even more last-minute entries came in before the deadline.
This time, there won’t be any popular vote among the townsfolk.
The judging will be done by the chefs of Westland and my own family.
We’ll focus not just on flavor, but on whether the dish is truly original.
Some entries might be adaptations of well-known recipes, after all.
We’ll taste everything labeled as an original, but if there are too many, we’ll split the tasting between this capital’s preliminaries and Eminira’s.
That’s something to look forward to once we’re on-site.
The participants all arrived in the capital two days ago.
Yesterday, they drew lots to decide their stall locations, and afterward, each checked their cooking gear and rearranged their setups however they liked within their tents.
The lottery got pretty heated.
We drew in order of application, and as expected, the plaza was far more popular than the marketplace.
Anyone who pulled a spot near the back looked crushed as they returned to their seats, while those who drew central spots were jumping for joy.
You could tell at a glance.
We’ll hold another lottery in Eminira for stall placement there, too.
One thing I made sure to arrange was dividers between tents, so the cooking process wouldn’t be visible to neighboring stalls.
Everyone worked hard on their new dishes; I figured they wouldn’t want others peeking.
We also posted notices reminding participants not to place fire-related equipment near the divider panels.
I’ll be personally checking that rule on-site today.
Since the preliminaries were extended to two days, each participant received 1 silver coin (10,000 yen) from Westland to help with ingredient costs.
It’s not much, but better than nothing.
Now it’s up to them — sell, sell, and sell some more!
I got up early to make my rounds before the event began.
Half of our mansion’s chefs came as support staff; the other half will head to Eminira.
Apparently, they’d been preparing stored meals for the staff since several days ago.
Honestly, that’s a huge help.
I started with the plaza, while the head chef took the marketplace.
The new recruits and our household chefs are also split between the two venues.
It’s only eight in the morning, but everyone’s already bustling around doing prep work.
The gates opened at five, and nearly all participants were there right away.
The official opening is at ten.
With an unfamiliar setup, everyone’s clearly in a frenzy to get ready.
I went around to check, stall by stall, making sure all the agreed-upon rules were being followed.
Most stalls had four people, including helpers.
Some had handmade signs — cardboard ones hanging from tents, or boards turned into signposts — doing their best to stand out.
We plan to close the venue at 3 p.m.
Still, if a stall sells out before then, they’re free to pack up, or if they can restock, they can keep selling until the end.
Most of the townsfolk working in the capital are taking turns attending the preliminaries and the exhibition.
Since big events like this only happen during the harvest festival, everyone’s been looking forward to it.
Many villagers are coming too, split into four groups:
Capital Preliminaries, Eminira Preliminaries, Capital Exhibition, and Eminira Exhibition.
Almost everyone’s attending one of the four.
Even among our mansion staff, those who won the internal lottery will buy up stall food in bulk and bring it home.
If they’re that excited, I can imagine how lively things will be across the whole domain — it’s going to be packed.
I can only pray nothing goes wrong.
The Adventurers’ Guild is handling security, with extra guards assigned.
Still, many adventurers want to enjoy the event themselves, so they’re rotating every two hours to keep coverage stable.
Each venue — the plaza and the marketplace — has a base camp with vice guildmasters, our new recruits, and knights stationed there.
For lunch, our chefs are allowed to buy stall food and eat it at the headquarters.
I’ll be patrolling, but I’ve been banned from buying food directly.
They said if I’m seen eating something, it’ll look like I’m endorsing it.
So I’ll just mark down which ones I want to try later.
By nine o’clock, delicious smells started wafting through the air.
“Isn’t it too early? Some of these dishes will go cold before opening.”
Georges replied, “Everything being cooked now is for the staff and headquarters lunch.”
Apparently, after ten, they won’t be able to buy anything, so they’re using their organizer privilege to buy in advance.
They’ve already paid, and they’re telling participants it’s for ‘judging purposes.’
“How many portions?”
“Sixty.”
“Isn’t that a bit much?”
“Not really. That includes both guild staffs.”
Our household staff plan to take one bite of each dish, but since many want larger portions, those who won the internal lottery will handle the extra purchases.
They’re really going that far?
“One hundred twenty-six dishes? That’s impossible.”
“If they can’t finish at lunch, they’ll eat the rest at dinner.”
They’d all eaten light breakfasts, so it should be fine, apparently.
So that’s why they were prepping since five in the morning…
And here I am, the organizer, only now finding that out.
What do you think about this chapter?
