Chapter 113: “Have You Forgotten to Look at My Face?”
I’m being dressed by Katharina again while Wilhelm and Dietrich are dressed as civilians. It’d be strange if I was dressed like a high-ranking noble while Wilhelm and Dietrich were dressed like civilians. I’m the guide. I should be dressed shabbily. I shouldn’t be…
“Katharina… Isn’t this too gorgeous? Can’t you at least use the clothes you were wearing before…”
“No. I won’t let you do it today. I won’t say it on our regular date, so just do what I say for today.”
The clothes Katherina’s making me wear make me look more like the daughter of a low-ranking noblewoman than a civilian. Compared to my usual attire I’m modest and I don’t look like a member of a high noble family, but I’m hardly a commoner either. If I dressed like this it’d be like walking around advertising that I’m a nobleman.
I’ve told her she should at least wear the civilian clothes she was wearing before, but today she was very insistent. She said she wouldn’t budge.
“This will make me stand out when I’m showing you two around…”
“It’s even more conspicuous if you’re dressed shabbily, Flora-sama. If you don’t dress like this at least, you’ll look out of place.”
“Huh…?”
What’s Katharina talking about? It’s like saying I’m a nobleman’s daughter. Sure, low-ranking noble families sometimes walk around in ordinary clothes but if I’m the only one dressed like a noble to show the king and Dietrich around it’s going to draw attention.
Just do as I say for today.
Katherina pushed me into it and I ended up wearing the dress she’d prepared. Well, it’s not unnatural to say I’m a knight’s daughter if I’m dressed like this. But since I’m obviously a noblewoman, I’m sure I’ll stand out and be in danger of being targeted if I walk around town.
I’m still not convinced, but Katharina insisted, and so I’m going out dressed as I am.
I’m their bodyguard. I need to be armed. But I can’t walk around with a sword on my hip when I’m dressed like a lowborn noblewoman in a dress. Of course, carrying it on my back is out of the question. I’m a frail maiden and I wouldn’t stand a chance if some ruffian attacked me without a weapon. I’m used to getting hurt, but if two members of the royal family were to get hurt it would be the Carruthers’ necks on the line.
I have a dagger, but it’s really just a small knife. I designed it and had it made in Khan’s domain. I’m glad I thought it would be useful to have something like this from my memories of my previous life.
That’s fine, but I’m still a little nervous about using a single sword like this… I’m not sure if I’ll be able to use it today, but should I develop a dark weapon or a hidden weapon in the future? A cane would be romantic. It’s more unnatural for me to walk around with a cane…
I’ll leave the hidden weapon for another time… but I can’t help myself today… so I’ll just have to make do with a single katana. Oliver and the others will be sneaking up behind us anyway. I’ll have Oliver bring my own sword.
My usual sword is a bit bulky, so I’ll have to ask my soldiers to bring one of their standard swords for me. I don’t really trust the soldiers’ swords because they’d break if I hit a rock or something with them… Aren’t you afraid to trust your lives to a sword that’s only as strong as that? I’d be worried about such a fragile weapon…
We’re ready.
Thank you, Katharina. Shall we head out?
I don’t want to go at all, but I have to go because I’m ordered. Next time I want you to take your own escort and leave me out of it.
******
I was on my way to the Kanza Trading Company with Wilhelm and Dietrich. I’ll never forget the looks on their faces when they first saw me dressed. They didn’t say anything, but they gave me a very delicate look. I don’t want to question Katherina’s taste, but I still think I shouldn’t have dressed like this. I know it’s nothing I can do about it now that she’s out…
If you look ahead, you’ll see Oliver and his men guarding our perimeter. We’re not right on top of them, but they’ve got a perimeter around us, so we should be okay.
But still, Oliver’s squad’s been in King’s Landing for some time now. Is it okay if I make it the unit in charge of King’s Landing for as long as I’m in King’s Landing? But I’m not sure we have the numbers… I’m guessing that Khan’s territory is understaffed now that Oliver’s gone. I’ve told them they can hire more men, but they’ll have to train them, so it’s not as simple as just bringing in new men and making them available right away.
As I’m walking around the city, I see the second branch of the Kanza Trading Company and a crepe café in the downtown area. It’s as crowded as ever today, and there’s a long line of people waiting in line. It seems to have been like this ever since it opened.
“It seems to be crowded, so maybe another day we can just watch from outside and you can sample some of the crepes we make…”
“No, there’s a line. Where do we stand in line to eat inside?
“… This way.”
Apparently, they’re not willing to give up. Reluctantly I let them stand in line for food and drink. I wonder how others would react if they knew the king and the prime minister were standing in line at a crepe shop dressed as commoners. It might be interesting to watch from a distance, at least if I were not involved. But if I were in charge of security, I’d definitely avoid it.
We spend some time in line, talking and killing time, and finally it’s our turn. The two of us were looking at the samples and menus, asking the waiter about them and making our selections.
It’s the same in this world, and on Earth there was hardly even the concept of a menu until a little while ago. When you went into a restaurant, you would only be served a fixed menu, and there was no way for you to order anything. In a normal restaurant, the menu is prepared and served when the customer arrives, and the only thing you can choose from it is a drink at the most.
It’s not surprising, of course, that it’s practically impossible to make a large number of dishes every day. If you want to make a variety of dishes according to customers’ orders, you need a wide variety of ingredients. These ingredients are not always available every day.
It’s not as easy as just making a menu that changes daily, using only the ingredients you have on hand that day. Even if you did that, you would have to store a large amount of ingredients in edible condition if you wanted to cook to order.
It is only when a large variety of foodstuffs are available in large quantities, and storage methods such as refrigerators become widespread, and fire can be freely used at any time, that it becomes possible to serve food ordered freely from a menu. Such a thing was not possible in medieval times, or even in modern times. It might have been possible if the cost was taken into account, but it would never have been possible as a business.
Of course, there is no way to serve crepes like that in this country, and our crepe café is probably the first of its kind in the world. There are many ways to keep the food fresh and to prevent the waste of ingredients.
This style is possible because of our modern knowledge and investment in equipment, and it would be impossible for other shops to imitate us.
Wilhelm and Dietrich were so excited to order their first style crepes that they were too old to know what to do with them. The sight of these two old men chuckling as they ordered their crepes was, to my modern eyes, a terrific sight.
But to their credit, they’re not the only ones. There are old men here and there, and many of them buy takeout. In modern Japan, sweets shops are usually reserved for women, but here, people of all ages and both sexes are buying crepes.
After ordering and taking a seat, I immediately put a crepe in my mouth… I choose a regular crepe today. I’ve ordered a mille crepe before.
“Wow! That’s good. And it’s easy to hold the package and eat it like this.”
“Yes. This would be good for a standing party or something.”
I’m glad to hear you’re both so pleased with our work. I thought it’d be a hassle having to guide and escort them all the way here, but I don’t feel bad about praising our hard work and trial and error… They finished their crepes in no time. Wilhelm looks at Dietrich and Dietrich nods in reply.
Yes, sir. This is your reward for escorting me today.”
“Oh…? Thank you?”
He handed me a package. I take a quick peek inside, and it looks like some kind of document. I’m curious to see what’s inside, but I’ll have to wait until I get home to check.
Nothing much happened except they handed me a bunch of papers and we relaxed over a cup of tea. They seemed to like the dandelion tea even though they usually drink good tea. They ordered the dandelion tea, but I didn’t mention that I was thinking in my mind that it’s cheaper than the dandelion tea.
After a while of relaxing and talking about nothing else, I noticed that there was a lot of noise outside the shop. I look over there and see a woman with soldiers screaming. I know that fat woman with the paintings on her face. The Marquise Valtek who threatened Louisa.
Most of the men with them are wearing armor bearing the sigil of the Marquise of Valtek. They appear to be members of the private army of the Marquise of Valtek. There are some ordinary soldiers of the Kingdom of Prois mixed in. From what I can hear, it sounds like the Marquise of Valtek has brought her own soldiers.
“This shop’s crepes are named after the Duchess of Creff! It’s impolite! Seize him immediately!”
Oh… Apparently the name Crepe is profane because it sounds like the Duke of Creff. It’s a terrible accusation but the private soldiers of House Valtek are shouting “yes, yes” at the top of their lungs in response to the lady. The royal soldiers look annoyed but they don’t know what to do because they’re dealing with a high ranking noble.
“Please wait. Our product [crepe] has nothing to do with the name of the Duke of Creff. If you’re going to make accusations like this, please go through the proper channels and file a lawsuit. Making such a scene in front of our shop is obstructing our business.”
Oh! That’s what Bianca said to the Marquise Valtek when she came out of the shop. That’s wonderful. I was right about Bianca. She’s a very good waitress. I have to protect such a good waitress even if I’m in trouble with the Marquise of Valtec. Dietrich stopped me as I was leaving. Dietrich walks out with a smile on his face.
“If it was the Duke of Creff who said it, wouldn’t it be more problematic for the Marquise of Valtek to use the Duke of Creff’s name to threaten the Chamber of Commerce and disrupt its business?”
“Huh? What is a commoner saying to me, the Marquise de Valtec? You’re a nobody! Or do you want me to destroy you along with this shop?”
Wow… This lady is amazing… And she can’t remember their faces at all… She only judges people by their clothes… so she can’t even tell who they are just because they’re wearing commoners’ clothes. That’s amazing…
“Hmm… [“You said, ‘I’m gonna take this place down with me’… That means you admit that you made the accusation to bring this place down, right?”
Wilhelm even stands up, tugs at his beard and walks out the door. The Kingdom soldiers behind him have noticed. They’re on their knees in a panic. But the marchioness and the privateers who haven’t looked back still don’t seem to know who they’re dealing with.
“So what! I’m the Marquise of Valtec! I could destroy a merchant or two if I wanted to! You’re dressed like a merchant too, are you related to this place or one of them? Then I’ll crush you too!”
Ohhh… I don’t know… How brave is this lady? I’d never say anything like that. You really only look at what they’re wearing. A marchioness must’ve seen the king before… or met him at a social gathering…
“Oh, yeah, yeah. You’re going to destroy me. Does that mean you’re going to destroy the house of Prowis?
“I don’t mean to impugn the name of the crepe or disrespect it. In fact, I’m flattered that my name was used for something so delicious. I’m sure it has nothing to do with our family’s name.”
“Huh? What are these idiots talking about? Can someone please explain to me what these illiterate commoners are saying so that I can understand?”
Wow… If you’ve said all this, can’t we complain even if the Marquis de Valtec is destroyed? There’s no excuse now that there are so many witnesses. He said all this to the king and the duke himself.
“Is that so? Then let’s go talk to him in the castle. Lead him away!
“”””” Ha! !”””””
The kneeling soldiers of the kingdom rise up and seize the Marchioness.
“Hey! What are you doing! You incompetent soldiers! If anyone should be arrested, it should be those two commoners who spoke out against me, the Marchioness!”
“Well, it seems you really don’t remember me. Then let me tell you my name again. I am Dietrich von Kleef. I’m the head of the Duke and Duchess of Creff. We have no quarrel with the name of your product, Crepe.”
“Let me tell you my name too. I am Wilhelm von Prois. Your behaviour has been appalling. You will be judged in the castle and dealt with accordingly!”
“… Huh?”
The Marchioness is stunned and doesn’t know what she’s talking about. She probably still doesn’t think they’re the real King and Prime Minister.
“What? The king?”
“Duke Kleef, the Prime Minister?”
Oh… There’s a lot of commotion around here. This looks like one of those old men with a sealed envelope or a rampaging Shogun we used to see in the modern age.
“I’m sorry for the intrusion today. I’ll see you another day.
Then we’re going back.
Hey… Don’t talk to me… I was the one who got the most attention after their identities were revealed. After they disappeared with the soldier and the captured marchioness, I couldn’t stand it any longer and rushed out of the place.
