Curry Party
After the subjugation squad returned and reported to Father, a curry party was held.
The curry was set up self-serve style. First, you chose either rice or butter rolls, then got your curry. For toppings, you could choose pork cutlet, vegetables, or everything. Finally, you got a frozen komiranji. For drinks, the booth next door offered ale, fruit juice, or a sports drink.
By the way, it seems that in my past life, “orange” is called *mirange* and “mikan” is *komirange*. So, frozen komirange means frozen mikan orange.
“““““““So goooood!”””””””
“““““““Insane!!!”””””””
“““““““Next level!!!”””””””
“““““““Spicy!! Delicious!!”””””””
“““So spicy! Water, water...!”””
Everywhere, people were raving about the curry.
Apparently, some had gone overboard with the chili powder...
As I was restocking the toppings from storage, Father arrived with Grey.
“Thank you, Joan. Not just for the curry—I heard you saved Mike too.”
“Oh, um, yes. I’m glad I made it in time. And I’m happy the curry is going over well. You and Grey should have some too.”
“Yeah, we will later… I need to go talk with the Monster Subjugation Unit first.”
“Is that so? Now that you mention it, Luke and Jacob haven’t come for curry yet, right? Do you know where they are? And there seem to be fewer subjugation team members than I saw earlier. I was going to ask Nancy, but I can’t find her either.”
“Ah—Young lady. Luke and Jacob, along with some of the subjugation members, are with Nancy. Apparently, they had a lot to talk about. If there’s enough curry, could you set some aside for them...? Though, whether they’ll have the appetite…”
“Huh?”
“It’s nothing.”
After Father and Grey left, Bosco—whom I had given first aid earlier—came to me with some other adventurers.
“.. .Um, we didn’t really get to properly thank or apologize to you, so...”
“Apologize? For what?”
“Well... we were rude to you nobles, and it’s kind of our fault Mike got hurt... We’re really sorry.”
“Thanks for saving our party member.”
““Thank you very much.””
“Uh, I think you should be apologizing and saying thanks to Mike, not me?”
“We’ll talk to Mike later, properly. But first, we had to thank you, Young lady... Ah, I’m Frank, leader of the adventurer party ‘Wings of the Wild.’ That’s Bosco—you patched him up earlier—this is Peck, and finally, Murdoch.”
Frank has short, spiky red hair, green eyes, and a solid build. Bosco has a black soft mohawk, brown eyes, and is average height and build. Peck has shoulder-length green hair, purple eyes, is the shortest, and looks baby-faced. Murdoch has blue hair, red eyes, is the tallest, and has a tough-looking face.
“I’m Joan. Uh, I’m six. You said it’s your first time in the Lampail territory, but where’s your base?”
“Um, in the Burst Domain. Not many know it—it’s kind of a rural area.”
“Burst Domain? … Is that where Belle lives?”
“Huh? You know our Young lady Belle?”
“Yes. We’re friends.”
“Really? Small world, huh?”
“Yeah, really.”
“Joan, Young master Gene is looking for you.”
“Thanks, Ben.”
“Wait, Ben? Why are you wearing a cook’s uniform?”
“Huh? Didn’t you guys know? Ben and Arthur are our cooks. Mike’s our gardener… Well, I’ll leave you to it. Enjoy.”
““““Thank you!””””
As Joan ran off, Frank spoke to Ben.
“Your young lady... she’s a good kid.”
“Told you. She’s the pride of all the staff.”
“Seriously. Our domain lord’s daughter is more like a tomboy. I’ve had to spar with her a few times. I heard she’s friends with this girl, but they’re total opposites.”
“Ahh, Frank. Your young lady and Joan are the same type. Like attracts like.”
“Hah!? Doesn’t look that way to me.”
“Joan’s being trained by Nancy and Lady Lindsay.”
““““What!?””””
“You mean *that* Nancy—the S-rank ‘Demon of Ice Flowers’!?”
“Why is she training the young lady?”
“She’s our head maid.”
“N-No way!?”
“And Lady Lindsay?”
“You don’t know? She was a royal guard under the previous queen—”
“Wait... you mean *that* ‘Witch of Hellfire’?”
“That’s right. ...She’s Joan’s grandmother.”
“Then the reason the Lampail Adventurers’ Guild is so strong is...”
“Probably because everyone in this mansion is a guild member. Former Monster Subjugation Unit members, royal guards, ex-Magic Corps, and former adventurers too.”
“... More than being Belle’s equal, she’s actually a tier above.”
“Still, everything in Lampail is tasty. Not just the food here, even the inn’s food is good. And the croquettes—or whatever they were—from that shop, Jo Company? Amazing.”
“Yeah yeah! With so much good food in town, people will want to come back even without Joan pushing.”
“Ahaha, true. Joan will be happy to hear that. She’s the one who came up with the croquettes at Jo Company so they’d be easy to eat while walking.”
“Who did?”
“Huh? Joan. Oh, and today’s curry too—that was Joan’s idea. First time it’s been served. You guys are lucky.”
“Heeey, Beeennn.”
“Ah, crap! Arthur’s calling me. Gotta go. Oh, and feel free to get seconds on curry!”
As Ben ran off, the four of them stood there in a daze.
“... I’m getting seconds.”
“Hey, Murdoch. I’m coming too!!”
Murdoch and Peck lined up again for more curry.
“... What do I even say when I report to the lord...?”
“Frank, just tell him the truth. As a friend of Young lady Belle, that girl’s the best. No matter who she’s dealing with, she’s kind, her cooking’s amazing, she’s contracted a Pegasus... she’s the same type.”
“Yeah, you’re right... With her, Young lady Belle won’t go astray.”
“Yup. Let’s line up too. Seems we can only eat this here.”
“Yeah. First, let’s eat.”
Frank joined Bosco in line for more curry.
“Hehehe. I knew it—our Young lady Joan is the best. As expected, those were the Burst Domain’s ‘Shadows.’ But Ben’s good too, dropping those hints so smoothly…”
Right next to where the four of them had been moments ago was Sarah, who had used the skill Stealth to hide her presence and eavesdrop on what was going on.
What do you think about this chapter?
