The Unreasonable Request For Mapo Tofu - Part Two

The beginning of a dream is sudden. No one knows what triggers it until a later era arrives.

I fight desperately to live, watching the band grow larger and my comrades multiply day by day.

I suppose I struggle against fate so I can make their dreams come true.

Nearly a year has passed since Shuri joined the band.

Before I knew it, my mercenary band had grown into a massive organization exceeding a thousand men.

I manage it all with my childhood friends serving as unit commanders and their deputy commanders assisting them.

Fortunately, I possess the ability to maintain a large troop force, so I am somehow managing for now.

The biggest factor behind this is likely Shuri’s cooking.

Guys who join our band invariably complain about their pay at first, grumbling about how cheap it is.

However, once they realize how delicious the provided meals are, they pull back their complaints. That is because they realize they can save the money they used to spend drinking out in town.

Well, if one of your major expenses disappears, naturally you will save money, I think. Even for me, the money I used to spend on drinking just floats there and accumulates with nowhere to spend it.

When I mentioned that to Shuri, he said,

“Then why don’t you send Arius-san a ring as proof of your engagement?”

“A ring?”

“Yes. Where I come from, rings are used as proof of engagement or for marriage proposals. They say a ring on the left ring finger means marriage, while one on the right ring finger means you have pledged your future to someone.”

Talk about scales falling from my eyes.

I decided to prepare an exquisite ring and give her a real surprise.

Now then, as for this battle.

It was a conflict between the Kingdom of Niewbist, which owns the Niewbist Forest Region rich in food and medicinal resources, and Yuyubi, which owns the Yuyubi Mine rich in mineral resources.

I gave Shuri a rough explanation, but this war is teeming with schemes and machinations.

Originally, a proposal was raised for an alliance through a royal marriage from Yuyubi to Niewbist.

However, mine resources will eventually run dry. Forest resources, on the other hand, can be harvested again if given time.

Since the benefit of the alliance was minimal for the Niewbist side, and they foresaw Yuyubi over-exploiting their forest resources, Niewbist rejected the proposal.

Then, Yuyubi—furious that the royal engagement was unilaterally broken—declared war, and thus this conflict began.

If the engagement succeeded, they would brazenly seize the resources; if rejected, they would invade and destroy the territory to take them under the pretext of a righteous cause.

Naturally, Yuyubi never entertained the thought of losing to Niewbist. In a territory where mineral resources can be extracted, the quantity and quality of weapons and armor are high. In a normal battle, they had a seventy percent chance of winning.

That is, assuming Yuyubi did not negotiate while looking down on us.

At first, Yuyubi was the one who asked to hire us as mercenaries. Recently, our mercenary band has been undefeated, acquiring a reputation as the band opponents least want to encounter on the battlefield.

However, Yuyubi demanded that we be hired for a pittance.

They even claimed they would guarantee us mineral resources and weapons if we won.

They are completely looking down on us. My band already has no issues regarding armaments. We have secured acquisition routes for mineral resources and trade arrangements with merchants, so we do not need weapons.

Besides, things made by Rir are far superior in performance compared to poorly made gear.

“What do you think, Rir? How is Yuyubi’s gear?”

“It is made with decent metallurgy techniques. But Rir can replicate something of this level.”

“Is that true?”

“In fact, now that I have seen it once, I can apply it to make something even better. In exchange, I want highball steaks!”

It was highball steaks during the large stove construction, and highball steaks during the big pot construction too.

Shuri just warned me that our beef consumption is getting out of hand.

“It is about time you step away from highball steaks. Even Shuri is getting troubled.”

“I will not compromise on something so delicious. That is Rir’s justice!!!”

Faced with Rir’s sheer intensity and a face like a demon mask, I had no choice but to give up and surrender.

At any rate, I have no intention of cooperating with anyone who looks down on us.

Since siding with Yuyubi offered no benefit, I decided to side with Niewbist instead.

The royal family of Niewbist, facing a thick shadow of defeat for their nation, welcomed us with open arms. After all, the more allies you have, the better.

Furthermore, Niewbist is abundant in food resources, and many merchants trade in food there. I intend to use this opportunity to secure sales channels.

The battle ended in victory.

The enemy relied too heavily on their equipment and underestimated us as a weak force, so when we struck at that opening, they pulled back easily.

Well, it seems Yuyubi was secretly trying to poach our Kuuga, so that served them right.

When we put Kuuga on the front line and let him run wild, the enemy was consumed by fear and broke into a rout. Serves them right.

Once we win, we receive our bonus reward.

Up to that point, everything went according to plan.

The other two mercenary bands had worked decently enough, so they were expecting to receive a bonus reward as well.

However, the unexpected occurred.

The audience chamber.

In an audience chamber featuring a unique architectural style designed to evoke the refreshing atmosphere of a forest, Shuri and I sat waiting.

By the way, as for why I brought Shuri along, it was just a hunch.

For some reason, I felt things would go better if I brought him along.

“We express our gratitude for your work. You won the battle magnificently and protected our sacred forest. We shall pay the bonus reward.”

Great, just as expected.

I want to take it quickly and head over to negotiate with the merchants.

“However, we shall pay only one mercenary band.”

…Huh?

“We wish to set a condition. Paying even the base rewards to your forces has pushed our territory’s finances to the absolute limit. Therefore, we shall pay only the band that fulfills our condition.”

The other mercenary bands looked as if they wanted to voice complaints, but I immediately grasped the situation.

That’s right, this nation’s finances are at their limit. Ever since it was decided that war would begin, everyone from the populace to the royal family practiced strict frugality. To survive, everyone united as one.

As a result, they succeeded in hiring three mercenary bands.

However, they lacked the capacity to pay extra rewards to all of them.

Because I understood the circumstances, I had accepted the contract at a lower rate.

However, those other foolish mercenary bands tried to take advantage of the situation and squeeze them dry.

Steadily and stably—that is the fundamental rule of business and mercenary work, yet they ignored it.

Even so, this royal family is relatively conscientious and intelligent.

Instead of resolving it with mere words of gratitude and reward items from the start, they are trying to pay the extra amount at a fair price.

I can appreciate that about them.

“My daughter is a gourmet. However, ordinary meals no longer satisfy her as of late. Therefore, if any of you can prepare a dish that satisfies her, I shall pay the bonus reward to that band.”

We won!

I pumped my fist in my heart.

Setting other bands aside, our side has Shuri.

Using this as an opportunity, we can establish a connection with the royal family and gain their backing.

Heh heh heh, I will grab all sorts of benefits through this opportunity.

His daughter, the princess, was a young girl.

She was a beauty with blonde hair tied behind her back, dressed in attire unique to this territory.

She had slightly competitive eyes, though.

I didn’t quite understand why, but her feet were fidgeting. Is she nervously shaking her legs?

“What I wish to eat is a delicious dish that is sweet, sour, spicy, and bitter. Bring it to me.”

What… did she say?

I don’t get it. There is no way something like that could taste good!

The members of the other bands are confused too. Naturally so.

A grotesque concoction that satisfies every single taste bud could not possibly be delicious!

However, Shuri remained completely unbothered.

Having moved to the kitchen, we were about to start cooking right away.

The other bands all bore grim expressions, looking as if they were marching into a losing battle.

“Shuri, will you be alright?”

Faced with such an unreasonable task this time, even I had to worry about Shuri.

I cannot even imagine a dish that satisfies all taste buds while remaining delicious.

“Well, I have an idea… or rather, a good guess.”

…You’re kidding, right?

“Is that true!?”

“Well, it is a somewhat unusual dish, though.”

Unusual, he says?

Does that mean my help is needed as well?

“Is there anything I can do to help?”

“In that case, please inform Arius-san that tomorrow’s boiled tofu is postponed.”

“That… seems a bit impossible.”

Lately, Arius has been obsessed with boiled tofu.

She is overjoyed, saying it is delicious, non-fattening, good for health, and makes her skin firm.

I felt like the skin texture of her female subordinates had somehow improved as well.

“Please do your best. Tofu is the main star of this dish, so we cannot begin without it.”

Tofu? Are you saying this dish uses tofu?

“Well then, I will start cooking.”

What he took out were scallions, minced meat, tofu, peppercorn, garlic, ginger, along with numerous mixed seasonings like sugar and sake, a mysterious white liquid, and a dark red mysterious seasoning.

That seasoning looks spicy just by the sight of it, doesn’t it? Come to think of it, there was a period before when Shuri stored various ingredients packed in jars. Is this one of those?

Taking out a pot and stove, Shuri began frying the scallions, minced meat, tofu, and scallions.

However, since he was shaking the pot and stirring with a ladle he pulled out, it was a bit different from ordinary frying.

When I asked him before, he said it was a technique called stir-frying.

After adding seasonings, he added the mysterious white liquid, the dark red mysterious seasoning, and Sichuan pepper to cook it further, completing the dish.

What came out was a mysterious dish with a red liquid.

“This looks quite spicy…”

“It will be spicy for those unaccustomed to it. But once you get hooked, you will be moved by its multitude of flavors.”

Seriously?

It really doesn’t look like it, but since Shuri is full of confidence, I decided to trust him.

When we returned to the audience chamber, the other mercenary bands had already presented their dishes.

Looking at the princess’s face, she was boiling with rage.

“Disgusting!”

She looked ready to throw the plate.

Even from a distance, it looked like nothing more than a grotesque dish. Indeed, that must taste terrible.

“Your Highness. Our cook, Shuri, has prepared a meal. Please partake of it.”

“Are you the last one…”

The previous dish must have been terribly awful. The princess’s anger was considerable. However, she looked exhausted from having to keep eating disgusting food.

Yet Shuri paid no mind to her anger, presenting the mysterious dish without hesitation.

The princess’s expression blanked in surprise.

“What is this?”

“It is Mapo Tofu.”

I see, so the name of that dish is Mapo Tofu.

Come to think of it, I hadn’t asked.

“Ma… what did you say?”

“Please give it a try. It is delicious.”

Sounds suspicious. It looks like nothing but a spicy dish.

If things go wrong, heads will fly. Is that guy not scared?

The princess also took a spoonful with a frightened look and put it into her mouth.

She paused for a moment, and her face looked as if tears were about to burst out.

“Ngh, ngh… Spicy, it’s spicy!!”

I knew it, it’s spicy!

This is bad, the surrounding guards look ready to draw their swords.

If I knew this would happen, I should have brought Kuuga along.

I can’t stop breaking into a cold sweat.

“Princess, please savor it carefully.”

Writhed by the spiciness, she closed her eyes to somehow endure it.

Then, didn’t her face turn into one of pure surprise?

“…Sweet?”

Huh!? Sweet?!

“That is the sweetness of the tofu.”

Tofu, I see. Indeed, that carries the natural sweetness of the source beans.

“And sour too.”

“That is one of the flavors of the chili bean paste.”

“It is… bitter as well.”

“Because it has been thoroughly cooked over high heat in the pan.”

“Finally, spicy.”

“That comes from the peppercorn and chili bean paste.”

Amazing, he calculated everything to this extent!

While adding flavor through every single process and ingredient, he harmonizes them to complete the dish.

What incredible technique. Can that guy even pull off something like this!

The princess, having grown used to the heat, was wolfing it down.

Does that mean it’s so delicious she’s completely hooked!

“Delicious! Delicious!”

“Please wipe your sweat while eating.

I thought it would be just right for a princess who tends to get cold easily.“

…Gets cold easily?

“What did you say?”

“Ever since I arrived, I noticed you fidgeting with your feet as if you were cold, so I wondered if that was the case.”

So that leg shaking was because she was cold!

At this time of noon, the inside of this building was warm.

However, it must be tough for women.

Come to think of it, I recall Arius lamenting that she struggled with cold hands and feet.

That seems to be something unique to women, and it becomes quite painful at night or in places untouched by sunlight.

That guy figured it out just by watching her for a short while!

The princess was surprised, but a smile spread across her face.

Her body was warmed up, and she got to eat something delicious.

With this, the bonus reward is secured!

“I have taken a liking to you! Become my chef!”

“Ah, that is impossible.”

Right after I rejoiced, things turned into a crazy situation, and from a crazy situation, it turned into an even crazier one.

In an instant, this place turned into a battleground.

In the end, we succeeded in preventing Shuri from being poached.

We received the bonus reward properly, secured the food sales route, and got favorable trade terms.

However, we cannot let our guard down.

That princess’s obsession with Shuri is strong. There is no telling where she might resort to poaching tactics or forceful means like kidnapping and abduction.

I have no choice but to assign guards from Kuuga’s and Teg’s units.

Ah, my head hurts.

“Gungrave-san, I am causing you a lot of trouble.”

“Ah? It can’t be helped. Your cooking is just that attractive.”

“Is that so? Ah, so the princess can eat it anytime, I left behind the seasonings and the recipe.”

“What did you say?”

“Well, as long as they know how to make it, it seems doable even without a stove. I handed over various applied recipes and pulled back for this time.”

I see, indeed, if the princess is satisfied, the possibility of her taking reckless action is low.

Still, we cannot let our guard down.

Royals are the kind of people where you never know when the gears will go haywire. We need to stay vigilant.

However, even after several days passed, no such thing occurred.

Instead, a thank-you letter and a chef’s knife bearing the royal crest were delivered.

She’s totally marking her territory with this.

Though Shuri is happily using the chef’s knife.

I wonder if he even understands what it means.

Well, knowing him, I feel like he will somehow manage to handle it anyway.

By the way, Arius gave me an earful.

It seems postponing her boiled tofu was quite unforgivable.