Rice

“Nice to meet you, Lord Arthur. My name is Sloda, and I have been entrusted with preparing the dishes for this banquet. Would you be willing to try the cuisine of my homeland?”

“Lord Sloda!?”

Erin seemed to try to stop him, but the tanned cook—Sloda—paid it no mind and offered the dish to Arthur. He was likely an immigrant from some foreign land. He had a unique aura, and the food in his hands was something never before seen in Britannia.

To the average noble used to eating bread, the dish he presented probably looked like some bizarre, unappetizing fare.

“Oh, this looks interesting! How do you eat it?”

“Lord Arthur, it looks very delicious.”

Seeing the unusual dish, Arthur let out a delighted cry. Yes, Arthur was not an ordinary noble. Having eaten chicken sashimi in Jerusalem and smoked meats in Dorf, he had come to equate unusual food with being delicious because each local specialty had been tasty.

Besides… in his previous life, he had endured a hellish diet in prison. He had long lost the mindset to fuss over food just because it was a little different.

“Well… this is called rice. By itself, it doesn’t have much flavor, but when eaten together with a side dish, they complement each other and create an exquisite taste. It offers a different kind of enjoyment compared to bread.”

After widening his eyes for a moment, Sloda politely began explaining the dish. His words carried a hint of joy, revealing the pride he had in his cooking.

And when Arthur heard this…

“Oh, that sounds fun! Let’s dig in right away. I’ll try it with the meat. Kei, what about you?”

He was itching to start eating. The aroma of the rice and the side dishes had been tantalizing his stomach for some time now.

At Arthur’s words, Kei glanced briefly at Erin and Sloda, then smiled and replied to Arthur.

“Yes, then I’ll take you up on your offer. I’ll try it with fish.”

An ordinary maid would have tried to stop him from eating something unknown. However, Kei, too, was of commoner origin, felt no resistance to such things, sensed no malice from Sloda, and trusted Erin—so she decided to try it.

It was definitely not because she was hungry… The two of them began eating together happily and at the same time. Sloda watched with interest, while Erin, for some reason, looked rather tense.

“Oh, this is amazing! The rice goes perfectly with the rich meat dish! Kei, I want to try some of your fish too.”

“Hehe, this is delicious too. Here, say ‘ahh.’ Oh, and you have to eat your vegetables too!”

Though it was his first time eating such a dish, Arthur found it even tastier than expected, and he happily shared bites with Kei.

Seeing the two of them enjoying the food so much, the other guests also began trying the dish. Perhaps their reactions had a strong influence; rice dishes were now even more popular than the Britannian food.

“Um… thank you so much for eating our food so delightfully.”

“Ah, it really was delicious. Can this be easily cultivated in Britannia?”

Having enjoyed the delicious dish, Arthur asked with good cheer, remembering his Good Deed Notes. The dish called rice tasted no worse than the Britannian meals he usually ate. He thought it could be a way to prepare for food shortages.

Arthur finally remembered the true reason he had come to the banquet. And at that moment, Erin’s eyes widened.

“My, as expected of you, Lord Arthur. You’ve already seen through our intentions, haven’t you?”

“Huh?”

Arthur let out a dumbfounded voice at Erin’s sly smile. He had merely been distracted by delicious food and hastily remembered his real purpose…

Sloda, too, became cheerful. In an excited tone, he asked Arthur:

“As expected of Lord Arthur, you truly are as wise as the rumors say. Could it be that you knew I was testing you? I do hope your enjoyment of our food wasn’t just an act…”

“What are you talking about? Of course it was delicious. Otherwise, why would I have eaten it all? What are these people saying?”

Arthur muttered in a dazed tone as he showed his empty plate.

At that, Sloda reacted with an exaggerated “Ohh,” leaving Arthur, who had simply enjoyed a good meal, even more bewildered.