As a gesture of reconciliation, Senior Sorin assigned Vince to the cooking team.
Vince wore a sullen expression but obediently followed Senior Sorin's instructions.
Once we started, they proved fairly skilled with a knife, as expected of a Knightly Path major.
I left Karl and Vince to prepare the ingredients and gave Lulusha, who was hopeless with a kitchen knife, miscellaneous errands.
At last, the tasting dishes were complete.
“This is how we'll serve them. One after another, like a course.”
The original recipes had included five dishes, but I increased the number to seven.
The members marveled at the plating, then were even more surprised when they tasted the food.
“You only modified the original recipes, but they taste completely different.”
“To be honest, all five used to taste similar. Now there are two more, and every dish tastes different.”
“I've never met anyone who could cook this well…….”
“God must have guided Armand to us.”
“This is wonderful!”
The response was good.
Senior Sorin gave me a thumbs-up.
“As expected, my judgment was not mistaken. Armand, I trusted you from the very beginning.”
For the sake of politeness, I gave him a thumbs-up in return.
“I also did my utmost to repay your trust, Senior.”
“What an admirable fellow…….”
Senior Sorin adjusted his glasses as the corners of his mouth twitched.
Soon, a large carriage arrived.
We straightened our Ivory Tower uniforms and welcomed the guests at the entrance to the hall.
“Welcome. May peace be with you all.”
The believers immediately noticed that the food had changed.
“It looks a little different.”
“The Love Fellowship must have prepared quite a lot this time.”
“I look forward to tasting it. You must have worked hard.”
Senior Sorin greeted each guest personally and introduced Karl and me.
“These new friends helped us this time. Their names are Armand and Karl. They are culinary prodigies.”
“Are they new members?”
“They do not belong to the Love Fellowship, but their faith runs deep.”
“Oh, it is a pleasure to meet you.”
The believers welcomed Karl and me warmly.
I sent Senior Sorin a grateful look.
He could easily have looked down on me for offering to help because I needed donations, yet not only had he accepted me without question, he was even introducing Karl and me to the wealthy believers gathered here.
He was a good person.
I would have to repay him later.
The last person to enter was an elderly gentleman in a suit, seated in a wheelchair.
They say the years a person has lived show on their face as they age. If that was true, this old gentleman must have frowned far more often than he had smiled. The deep wrinkles on his forehead and between his brows rarely relaxed.
The old gentleman propelled the wheels himself, passed us without a greeting, and went straight to the seat of honor.
Numerous medals gleamed on his chest.
Senior Sorin whispered in my ear.
“That is Count Koel. His family once ruled Ark. These days, the residents elect their own mayor, but his influence remains considerable. I hear he distinguished himself on many battlefields when he was young.”
“I see.”
“As you can probably tell from his face, he is a difficult man. Everyone in Ark respects him, so it would be wise to make a good impression.”
“Should I go push his wheelchair?”
Two handles shaped almost like sword hilts protruded from the back of his wheelchair.
“No. He always insists on doing it himself. He becomes angry if anyone pushes him.”
“I see.”
I think I understand what sort of man he is.
Once Count Koel had taken his seat, Madam Mary stepped forward and greeted the guests.
The members assigned to cooking, myself included, returned to the kitchen.
To serve every dish at the ideal temperature, we had to keep moving without rest.
I put on the chef's hat hanging in a corner of the kitchen.
“A kitchen is like a battlefield. Let us begin the battle.”
“Yes, Chef!”
“Okay.”
“How dramatic…….”
The first two were Karl and Lulusha. The last was Vince.
***
Time passed in an instant as I frantically supervised the cooking.
Laughter repeatedly drifted in from the hall.
From time to time, the members serving in the hall came into the kitchen and relayed the believers' praise.
“The response is incredible. It's perfect!”
“That is a relief.”
At last, it was time to serve the final dish.
“I'll take this one.”
Having the head chef deliver the food personally was the highest courtesy.
I loaded the dishes onto a trolley and wheeled it into the hall.
When I appeared wearing the chef's hat, the believers welcomed me with applause.
“A student made all of this personally? That is remarkable.”
“Thank you.”
“It was delicious. Thank you.”
“You are too kind.”
“You cook well. You will be dearly loved.”
After serving every believer, I went to Count Koel last.
He stared at me without a word.
As I set down the dish, I noticed something among the many medals pinned to his chest.
I nearly froze.
Count Koel had been to the North?
Without revealing my agitation, I spoke.
“This is the final dish. Was the food to your liking?”
Count Koel remained silent for a moment before slowly opening his mouth.
“The seasoning is too strong.”
The atmosphere in the hall sank the instant he spoke.
I asked him,
“Was it too heavily seasoned?”
“Yes. The food was quite poor. Far too sweet and salty.”
Even though no one showed it openly, everyone watched his reaction.
A pleasant-looking believer who had praised the food earlier immediately changed his attitude.
“To be honest, I did feel that way as well. The flavors were certainly much stronger than before.”
One by one, the believers began agreeing with Count Koel.
“Younger people may enjoy it, but this is hardly a healthy flavor.”
“It seems the Count and I have similar tastes. I felt the same.”
“So everyone thought so? I assumed it was only me.”
The atmosphere changed in an instant.
Madam Mary and the Love Fellowship's members stiffened.
I placed a hand over my chest and addressed Count Koel.
“I apologize. Please forgive me for serving food that did not suit your palate.”
“It is enough that you understand.”
“Yes, Count.”
I bowed to Count Koel, then returned to the kitchen.
Vince spoke as though they had been waiting.
“See? What did I tell you?”
I ignored Vince. Karl and Lulusha comforted me.
“It's fine, Armand! It wasn't salty at all to me! It was delicious!”
“Count Koel is lying. I heard people's sense of taste grows dull with age. If the seasoning was perfect to me, there is no way it could be too salty for an old man like him.”
Without answering, I began searching through the kitchen.
“What are you doing?”
“He said the seasoning was too strong.”
“So?”
“Then I should cleanse his palate.”
“Armand, don't tell me you're planning to get back at the Count?”
“Of course not.”
“It looks like you are.”
Hearing Karl, Vince grabbed my shoulder.
“What are you planning?”
“You may rest now.”
“Do not do anything strange.”
I opened a box, looked inside, and nodded.
“Here it is.”
Everyone's eyes widened when they saw what was inside.
Wine.
“What are you trying to do? You are going to serve alcohol at a religious gathering?”
“There is nothing wrong with that. Wine is a drink consumed on holy days while praising God. Apostle Ares taught humanity how to make wine, and there are countless records of Ares drinking it.”
“That is beside the point! Are you insane? Treating him like a drunkard because he criticized your cooking is…….”
“Karl, silence this one.”
“Got it!”
Karl covered Vince's mouth in an instant. Vince struggled, but Karl subdued them without difficulty.
Even though they both majored in the Knightly Path, Vince was no match for that monster Karl.
When I took out several bottles of wine, Lulusha tilted her head.
“Armand, you aren't really trying to make trouble for him, are you?”
“Who knows?”
The corners of my mouth rose.
“If he disliked the food, I should answer in the northern fashion.”
***
When I appeared again pushing the trolley, the laughing and chatting believers fell silent.
“I heard that the food did not suit your palates, so I have prepared a drink as an apology.”
Everyone's attention focused on me. Count Koel's gaze was downright piercing.
“What kind of drink is it?”
“You will know soon.”
“The color…….”
“It was made with wine.”
“Wine?”
The believers' expressions turned strange.
“Are you serious?”
The temple did not prohibit drinking, but because it warned against excess, many believers abstained from alcohol.
I did not offer the wine-based drink to everyone.
I served it only to the guests who had complained that the food was too sweet and salty.
“What is the meaning of this?”
“It is exactly as I said—an apology.”
“Are you telling anyone who complains about the food to drink and be quiet?”
“No.”
“Then why are you serving it only to us?”
“If you do not want it, I will take it away.”
“I do not want it!”
I removed the drink from anyone who refused it.
As the situation unfolded, Madam Mary became increasingly restless, while Senior Sorin adjusted his glasses with trembling hands.
Not one person accepted the drink, but I did not care.
At last, I reached Count Koel.
“He is even doing that to the Count…….”
“Stop him. Does he intend to insult the Count?”
“Can’t he see that the Count has limited mobility? How could he offer him a drink made with alcohol…….”
“Madam Mary, what is the meaning of this insolence?”
Still smiling, I spoke with perfect courtesy.
“Count, I can only apologize that the food did not suit your palate. As an expression of my regret, I have prepared a drink to cleanse your tongue.”
Count Koel had not taken his eyes off me from the beginning.
I set the wine-based drink before him.
“What do you think?”
“How dare you……!”
The believers were about to raise their voices at me.
Then Count Koel's wrinkled hand closed around the glass.
“Count?”
Without hesitation, he drank the wine-based beverage.
It had been boiled, reducing its alcohol content, but it was still undeniably alcoholic.
A flush rose to Count Koel's face after he drank the warm wine.
“Now I finally feel alive. I was mistaken earlier. The seasoning was neither excessive nor insufficient. It was exactly right. Every dish was splendid.”
“Thank you, Count.”
Everyone was bewildered by Count Koel's abrupt change in attitude.
Count Koel set down his glass and held out a hand to me.
I clasped his wrinkled hand in both of mine.
“You are Armand Draco, correct?”
“Yes.”
“Cesar Draco's son?”
“That is correct.”
“Yes, of course.”
The Count let out a laugh.
When someone who rarely smiled finally did, the effect was all the greater.
As Count Koel's rigid expression relaxed, he looked like an entirely different person.
Madam Mary approached.
“Count? Are you all right?”
“More than all right. I feel excellent.”
“But earlier, you said the food did not suit you…….”
“Madam Mary, did you serve northern cuisine without knowing the customs of the North?”
“The customs of the North?”
“How amusing.”
When she looked bewildered, the Count laughed aloud.
“To see the Count laugh like that…….”
“I have never seen it before.”
Count Koel was such a difficult man that his reaction seemed to astonish everyone.
I explained to the believers.
“I am from the North, and I served you dishes that applied northern cooking methods. The North is so cold that we often warm ourselves with hot alcohol.”
I smiled.
“However, it can sometimes be embarrassing for a guest to ask for alcohol first. Because of that, there is a custom in the North of deliberately complaining that the food does not suit one's palate, no matter how delicious it may be. The host understands the meaning and serves the guest hot liquor or a drink made with wine.”
I looked at the medals pinned to the Count's chest.
“If I may venture a guess, Count, you accomplished a great deal in your youth. I noticed that you possess a medal awarded to soldiers who served at the wall. I therefore believed you would know the customs of the North well.”
Guarding the wall was House Draco's duty, but it was also the duty of all those who wished to take responsibility for the power they had been given.
For that reason, some knights and mages came to Winter Castle and volunteered to serve.
A wall built of black bricks, with a sword planted atop it.
That medal carried House Draco's respect for such people.
“That is right. I did.”
The Count held my hand with a gentle expression.
“I went to the wall when I was young. It seems people remember the food they ate during hard times. Even at this age, I still miss the meals I barely managed to eat at the wall. And this warm northern-style mulled wine I drank while the cutting wind struck me atop the wall. I am glad I could taste it again before I die. Thank you. Truly, thank you.”
Count Koel held my hand and patted its back.
The believers' mouths fell open.
“The honor is mine. I was able to serve someone who devoted himself to a noble duty.”
“I could die now without regret.”
“Please do not say that.”
“Why? Am I still too young to die? Are you planning to cook for me again?”
I smiled and nodded.
“My studies keep me busy, so I cannot serve you often. However, I will introduce you to someone else from the North. He is a far better cook than I am, and if you visit him, he will serve you northern cuisine whenever you wish.”
“That is most welcome news.”
The Count smiled and drank more mulled wine.
Still smiling, I bowed to him.
“Then please enjoy the rest of your time. I will take my leave.”
As I was about to return to the kitchen, Count Koel caught my wrist.
“One moment.”
At his signal, I leaned closer.
Count Koel whispered so quietly that only I could hear.
“I am sorry.”
I looked into his eyes. His grip on my wrist tightened.
“Please understand that many people in the Empire opposed that war.”
I did not answer.
Count Koel gave a bitter smile and released me.
“In any case, thank you once again.”
“I should be thanking you for enjoying my inadequate cooking.”
The believers who had agreed with Count Koel's earlier complaint apologized.
“We spoke without understanding…….”
“I am sorry.”
“We behaved shamefully.”
“How embarrassing…….”
I shook my head.
“No. It was only natural that you did not know.”
Even after I said that, the believers could not bring themselves to look at me.
“It truly is all right. Please do not trouble yourselves.”
I lowered my head and brought my hands together.
“At times, the sheep wander without knowing what they do. Please watch over even our steps as we set foot upon the righteous path…….”
“What?”
“That prayer…….”
When I responded with the old prayer, the startled believers brought their hands together a beat later.
“Please watch over us…….”
The believers' gazes toward me became far more favorable than before.
I placed a hand over my chest and bowed.
“It truly is all right. He is watching over all of us. I will prepare more northern-style mulled wine for anyone curious about its taste. Please enjoy yourselves.”