Ch.75Knight’s Haven (2)

“But there’s a good side to it. Locking yourself in a room to write doesn’t harm anyone. And truthfully, he’s just a sentimental old man who uses writing as an excuse to meet people.

He talks a lot, but he’ll treat you well if you visit. Rumor has it that writing is just an excuse, and he’s just trying to avoid being turned away at people’s doors.”

“What’s so special about writing?”

“This is a city of artists.” The branch director spread his arms slightly.

“Nobody wants to be looked down upon. In an artistic city, being ignorant of art makes you look like a fool. And this place is full of such artists. Throw a stone and you’ll hear classical language curses. Young or old, everyone thinks they’re an artist.

But in reality, they’re just gilded trash who want to show off their money and time. Everyone knows real artists live in the capital with noble patronage. So this is a place full of lizards who failed to become dragons. Be careful.

Don’t introduce yourself as an artist anywhere. You’ll learn what it means to be torn apart alive.”

“That sounds just like the old days.”

* * * * *

Unfortunately, the esteemed Count of Edesa was not at home.

The butler, with an extremely pleased and happy expression, announced, “Sadly, the Count has embarked on a pilgrimage to the Veneration of the Sword Park to receive poetic inspiration.”

But upon seeing the empty expressions on Kain, Lily, and Maria’s faces, he quickly added, “However, the Count instructed us to show proper hospitality to guests and ‘as long as it doesn’t disturb their rest,’ to have a ghostwriter record one or two of their experiences.”

“Why is that?”

Maria asked with an expression of complete bewilderment. The butler shook his head.

“Count Edesa is a collector of stories. That’s why he rarely turns away any decent visitor. Instead, he wishes to hear their precious stories.”

Indeed, the entire count’s residence was filled with freeloaders. Next to talkative, pretentious people sat what appeared to be college students, writing down every word.

With luck, one might be featured in “Count Edesa’s Collection of Strange Tales, Volume 3.”

But no college student approached Kain’s group. They looked too exhausted to speak, which was apparent even to the others.

The butler assigned them a luxurious four-person room. Without exception, everyone fell asleep as soon as they lay on the beds.

If not for the servant’s enthusiastic knocking, they would have missed dinner entirely.

* * * * *

The group finished washing up and changed their clothes. When they entered the dining room, they didn’t have high expectations. After all, extreme fatigue tends to diminish appetite.

But the well-prepared table instantly dispelled such thoughts.

On the large central table sat an entire roasted pig. Servants were busily cutting it with large saws, and with each push, brown juices flowed out.

Plates were placed in front of the three who had taken their seats somewhat bewilderedly.

“Are we really allowed to eat this?”

Maria looked down at her plate suspiciously.

Around the shield-sized plate were wildflowers. In the center was a large wheat bread, baked until the outside was firm while the inside was hollowed out. The bread was filled with warm shiitake mushrooms, which gave off a unique aroma beyond just mushroom scent.

“What’s this dark stuff floating around? Did they burn it?”

Looking displeased, Maria took a spoonful of soup. She immediately stuck out her tongue and repeatedly called for “Water! Water!”

Thinking she had burned her tongue, Kain blew on a spoonful and tasted it. A spicy flavor filled his mouth. His eyes widened.

“Is this… pepper?” Liliana took another spoonful. It was definitely pepper.

“Pepper?!” Maria gulped down a cup of water and stuck out her tongue. “My goodness, how rich must they be to put pepper in soup?”

But the surprises didn’t end there. Instead of appetizers, a dish was served. It didn’t look particularly special from the outside. Just bite-sized pieces of meat and vegetables.

“Surely this won’t be spicy too!” Maria hesitantly put a piece of meat on her fork and into her mouth.

“…The meat is sweet? It melts in my mouth. This is strange…”

Yet she kept picking out only the meat pieces. Liliana slightly furrowed her brow.

“It doesn’t feel like eating meat. It’s like something else. It’s too tender and too sweet, like… eating bread soaked in honey. It feels almost unnatural.”

“It is meat. Pork and beef. The beef is from the brisket.”

Kain took another bite without much reaction. Maria narrowed her eyes at him.

“Are you lying in front of a cleric? Don’t you know how tough brisket is?”

“It’s beef cooked in a cast-iron pot with bacon. They cut the beef into bite-sized pieces, then added diced onions, carrots, celery, and sliced garlic, stir-fried over high heat, then added red wine and simmered it for a long time. They also added aromatic mushrooms. But the sauce they added at the end is unique.”

“What sauce?”

“That slightly reddish thing on top of the meat you’re eating. It’s raspberry and blackberry juice squeezed and then simmered with sugar. That’s why it’s so sweet.”

Maria didn’t even try to cover her mouth anymore.

“I’m eating sugar?”

As soon as she finished speaking, Maria grabbed a spoon. Kain sighed softly.

“You can just scrape it up. No one will say anything.”

Liliana watched with interest as Maria scraped her plate clean, then picked up the bread served before the meal.

She elegantly cut a piece and ran it along the bottom of the plate. Maria tore off a piece of bread with her hand and soaked up the remaining seasoning. It looked more like she was wiping the plate than soaking the bread.

Perhaps because the previous dishes were so elaborate, the main courses seemed almost ordinary in comparison: sirloin steak, roast pork, skewers of olives and garlic grilled on a rack, and slightly charred ham served with baked apples.

The pork ham was basted with dark beer while grilling, so each bite filled the mouth with a slight bitterness that stimulated the salivary glands and a savory taste that enveloped the tongue. Of course, the finale was still-warm baked apples as sweet as candy.

“If I had an orchard, I should grow apples like these.”

Kain smiled bitterly. But he didn’t elaborate further, instead showing interest in the next plate that arrived.

“…Isn’t this just burnt grass?”

Maria seemed to view Kain as a tour guide now. Liliana also hesitated, apparently seeing this food for the first time. Indeed, anyone would react similarly upon seeing long vegetables grilled over charcoal.

“Ah, this. It’s called Calcotada, just grilled green onions.”

“They’re burnt.”

“You peel off the burnt parts. Like this.” Indeed, the charred parts peeled off easily like onion skin. “Here, it’s good if you dip it in the sauce. Paprika, garlic, almonds, olive oil, and vinegar… with pepper added.”

Liliana adventurously picked up one stalk. She peeled off the burnt part, dipped it in the sauce, and carefully ate it.

“It’s not spicy at all. It’s sweet but not greasy or cloying. I think it’s because of the sauce.”

Maria still seemed suspicious, but after eating one stalk, she immediately picked up another.

“How do you know all this?”

“Because I’ve eaten it before,” Kain answered simply. “You’ll eat many different things too when you’re stationed abroad someday.”

“Why doesn’t Magdeburg have things like this?” Maria asked while peeling another stalk.

“Magdeburg has strong pride. They think Imperial cuisine is the best. They reluctantly serve food that suits foreigners’ tastes, but they still consider the Empire’s food superior. It’s different from here.”

“How so?”

Kain carefully chewed a roasted olive and put down his fork.

“Compared to Magdeburg, there are many wealthy people here too. But Magdeburg is a city where money flows, while here there are many people who want to show off their wealth. Most of it goes to art patronage. Even the room decor is half Imperial style and half Southern style. But the wall decorations are Northern pagan style. The dessert is…”

The dessert was brown candy. It was somewhat hard but good for melting in the mouth.

“The dessert is Eastern style. Cream and honey, butter and nuts, a little salt and sugar melted together, then cooled and hardened. But true Eastern style would sprinkle cinnamon powder on top, which they didn’t do. Instead, they added vanilla flavor. A matter of preference, I suppose.”

“…You’re saying I’m eating melted sugar?” Maria muttered in awe. Liliana didn’t say anything.

Kain pretended not to notice when Liliana grabbed a handful of candy and ate it with her mouth closed while Maria was closing her eyes in happiness.

“This city is splendid and beautiful. But it’s never first in anything in the world.

Since it’s not the capital, its importance is diminished, and it’s not as wealthy as Magdeburg, so all people can do is show off their money. It’s not as beautiful as Eastern Venelucia, not as magnificent as the Southern Papal States, and its spiritual vigor and discipline can’t compare to the West or North.

By any standard, it always ranks second or third. That’s why people here are vain. And this is the result.”

Liliana seemed to be trying not to smile. The sweetness in her mouth was too pleasant to listen to Kain’s serious words. So she decided to pretend she hadn’t heard. Therefore, it was Maria who responded to Kain.

“Fine. But is there a reason we specifically came to this city? From what you’re saying, it might be a city of insecure rich people, but it doesn’t seem particularly important for our mission.”

“Well. Did I paint too negative a picture? Because it’s a city full of jealousy, the people here have more discerning tastes than anywhere else. Since their gaze is always directed outward, almost all information and news from around the world gather here.

Among them are people with very unique interests. People who delve deeply into stories that others only know superficially. For instance, Professor Osrant Koch of the Literature Department, an expert on the Seven Heroes.”

“What does he do?”

“He’s someone who has met all seven heroes. And not just met them. He’s an official calligrapher invited by the Papal Office. He was the first person to meet them when they returned from the Crusade. So, he’s the most primary source of information.

In fact, many of today’s stories about the Seven Heroes have been embellished and reinterpreted since then, to the point where it’s impossible to distinguish what’s real and what’s not. Of course…”

Kain lowered his voice.

“No one would have known the truth about them. That’s why we need to meet Professor Osrant. Any clue would be good. Even something like an impression would be fine.”

Maria also looked around and lowered her voice.

“What are you trying to find out?”

“Exactly what they did. Of course, they wouldn’t have told Professor Osrant everything. But from what I know, Professor Osrant is famous for his piercing questions. There must have been questions where the heroes gave roundabout answers, indirect responses, or contradicted each other.

I need to hear about that. Before Arianne died, she said ‘temperance.’ I don’t know what that means.”

“Temperance?”

“It’s strange, isn’t it?” Kain nodded. “She tried to say that somehow. Also, The Apostle of Temperance, Arius, was the first person to be attacked. So I’m curious why Arianne specifically mentioned ‘temperance.'”

Finally, having finished melting the candy in her mouth, Liliana cleared her throat.

“How do you plan to approach Professor Osrant?”

“That’s the problem. I don’t have a good pretext.” Kain answered honestly.

“So I have no choice but to ask for Professor Anna’s help on this. Since I can’t use Security Bureau resources, I’ll have to rely on the professor’s connections. Of course… not the purple ones. I mean academic exchanges.”

He meant he wouldn’t use imperial resources. Maria’s expression also became quite serious.

“But won’t that take time too?”

“That’s why we need to do what we can before then. Besides meeting Professor Koch, there are many other things we need to investigate. Among them, the most urgent is… Lily. I need your help.”

“I am always ready,” Liliana answered maturely. But Kain’s request was unexpected.

“Then let’s have a sparring match.”