CH 112

Ch. 112: Inside Talk Part 2

“Welcome, Lou Quain.”

Luke: “Your Majesty, pardon me for arriving here without notice. You have my humblest apologies.”

King: “Now, now. You do not have to be so formal with me. I am meeting with you today just as Aires’ father.”

Taking a break from his Royal duties, the King of Tronstad was drinking tea in the inner courtyard.

King: “I did not expect so many people though. What are your plans?” Luke: “Oh, yes. Actuallyーー”

We came here to buy yeast.

But if I told the King that we used the Magic Teleport just for that, will he get mad……? Eris: “Father, we came here to buy yeast for making wine.”

King: “Ah, I see. Yeast for wine?” But while I was trying to figure out how to word our reason, Aires spoke our reason frankly and truthfully.

Luke: “YーYes, we have grapesーーI mean, garapes on our island, and I was told that one of the types of garapes were suitable for wine.”

King: “And you plan to start a winery?” Luke: “If it is possible, I wanted to make an attempt at it, yes.”

“So you are making a Tristan Island Specialty wine in that case.” A noble who was sitting and having tea with the King spoke up, and it dawned on me.

A Tristan Island Specialty…….that would be good. If it goes well, we would be able to sell it as an export.

“If you are looking for wine yeast, why not use ours?”

Luke: “Oh, is that okay?” Another noble in his forties courting a small, fashionable beard made the offer.

He stood up to introduce himself.

“I am Gizarune Escatole. My territory also produces garapes that are suitable for wine making.”

Luke: “So you also make wine?” Gizarune: “Yes, of course.” I thought it would be a conflict of interest……but I may not have to worry about that.

Gizarune: “If you travel north from Tronstad, you cannot obtain quality garapes. That’s why no matter how much wine you make, there is never enough.” Luke: “Then does the Kingdom of Tronstad also have a shortage of wine?” Both the King and Sir Escatole nod.

Now that I think about it, the cafeteria on the island also doesn’t serve wine. But that responsibility falls on the individual inn owners and the workers of the cafeteria.

Hmmmmmm, I see. Then this might be a big opportunity for us.

King: “Oh, dear Aires. Isn’t it about time you return home?” Eris: “Oh, father. I am planning to be wed to Sir Luke, so I will not be returning here anymore.”

Luke: “What? Huh? Wait…….”

WhーWhat did she just say?!

What did she just spout in front of the King himself?!

I steal a glance towards the King, and he was holding his head as if nursing an oncoming headache….

King: “Dearest Aires, I hope you are not being a burden to Lou Quain.”

Eris: “A burden Sir Luke?” The Princess glanced towards my direction.

She’s not a burden, but the fact that she follows me everywhere is……well……..

But if I say that, the King will find out that I have been taking the Princess to dangerous locations!!

I can’t say that. I could never tell him that.

Luke: “Princess Aires has been of great assistance to our island development.” King: “Well…….I hope that is the case. As you already know, she was quite fragile and rarely stepped outside of the castle. Because of that, I fear that I may have spoiled her too much….”

Eris: “IーI have done everything I can to be of Sir Luke’s service, father!”

Sia: “Sia also helps!”

Eris: “Sia, please don’t barge into our conversation!”

And Princess Aires and Sia glared into each other’s faces.

Sia: “Aires, you’re too close to Uーk!”

Eris: “You are one to talk! You always stick by his side!”

Sia: “Sia is allowed!”

Eris: “Then it is my right as well!!”

Sia: “GRRRRR!!”

Eris: “Errrrghhh!!”

And no one stepped in to stop the fight.

By now, we’ve gotten quite accustomed to the scene.

King: “Lou Quain, you have my apologies.”

Luke: “What? Oh, please, your Majesty. Though they argue sometimes, they are really good friends.”

At least, I hope so.

King: “Yes, I believe you. Aires grew up without any friends near her own age, and that girl is not treating her as a [Princess], but directly addressing to her as [Aires]. I hope she will continue to be by Aires’ side as good companions.”

Luke: “That, you do not have to worry about, your Majesty.” Having friends you can be dead honest to is one of life’s greatest gifts.

But……

I tend to forget nowadays, but Sia is neither human or a Beast Race.

She is a Magic Creature ー in short, a Monster.

According to Gonzo, she is closer to a Spirit though.

If the Princess knew Sia’s identity, how would she react? What would she think? I sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t change their relationship.

<<<<>>>>

“So, were you able to purchase the wine yeast?” Luke: “Yeah, it’s this.” I took out a clear bottle, and the powdery stuff inside was apparently the yeast. Since it was a bacteria, we need to make more of it on this island.

Luke: “I guess I’ll try the Alchemy.”

Since we were experimenting, I only wanted to make a little. So first, I created a barrel just for that occasion.

Inside the barrel, I placed the garapes inside and performed that alchemy.

With just the juice inside the barrel, Roku inserted the yeast.

Luke: “Good. Now, we place this in the BOX andーー”

Sia: “Alchemy?” Luke: “Yeah, I want to see what it will taste like.” Eris: “But Sir Luke, have you ever drank alcohol before?” ………uh……

“What?! Fear not, Gov’nor!! Leave the taste testing to us!!”

“Yeah, that’s rightー Gov’nor, you’re a little too young to understand the quality of wineー”

……..okay, those Adventurers just appeared out of nowhere.

Luke: “........so you’re saying that you can distinguish good wine from bad?” A broad, confident smile spread across all the Adventurers’ face.

Okay then, then let’s do some Alchemy!

<<<<>>>>

“*hiccup* so gooooo…uuuuud……yeahー”

“HA HA ha ha……he he HE HEー”

And the end result was just a bunch of drunks.

They said that one serving wasn’t enough to tell if the wine was good, and we had to make a second batch. Finishing that one, this happened.

They couldn’t speak clearly, and they giggled so much, a normal conversation was impossible.

Jopin: “Sir Luke, have you made the wine already?”

Luke: “Oh! Jopin, so you seeー I wouldn’t know what wine should taste like, so these Adventurers came over to help.”

Sia: “Adventurersー smellsー”

Eris: “To get drunk with just two drinks. They are no help at all.”

The Adventurers were merrily laughing together when they suddenly went silent.

Oh, they all fell asleep.

Sigh…….

Jopin: “Sir Luke, may I?” Luke: “Oh, Jopin, have you done wine tastings before?” Jopin: “Yes, sir. I have a little experience.”

And placing some of the wine in a glass cup, I passed it on to Jopin.

Jopin spun the wine inside the glass and sniffed ーー oh! I think I’ve seen people on TV do this before.

He reminded me of a sommelier.

Jopin: “Hmmm…….now for a taste.”

As he sipped the wine, he mixed it around in his mouth.

He eventually swallowed andーー　

Jopin: “Hmmmm, I believe this wine was fermented too much. The alcohol level seems to be quite high.”

Luke: “So I did the Alchemy for too long then.”

Jopin: “But overall, the taste is not bad, Sir Luke.” Luke: “I see. Then as soon as we can get the alcohol level right, we should be able to sell it as a product.”

So for now, I left the taste testing to Jopin.