Side Story: Fran and Kune 02

The Adventurers Guild looked rather deserted, but the building itself was quite large. Despite repurposing an old building, it seemed well-maintained.

However, Fran was curious about a different aspect.

「There’s no tavern?」

Come to think of it, I didn’t see one either. Practically every branch of the Adventurers Guild came with a tavern. These are intended as a sort of service for adventurers, as well as a place to monitor them so they don’t cause trouble elsewhere.

Presumably, it’s safer to let them go wild under their watchful eyes. And how can an adventurer celebrate a completed request without a jug of beer? Though it does make the place rowdy!

Maybe the guild is aiming for a more refined approach in Raydoss?

That was my first thought, but apparently not.

「We took over a building that originally belonged to a large trading company. That’s why the layout is different from other guilds.」

「I see.」

「Also, we are renovating the building next door into a tavern.」

Apparently, the neighboring building also belongs to the guild. Moreover, Raydoss is covering all of the renovation costs. They seem to be showing the guild a decent amount of consideration.

「Please, follow me into――」

「Captain!」

As Cotton attempted to lead us further into the guild, we were interrupted by a voice from the side. The newcomer was a stern-looking man with a bald head.

「Nn?」

「Long time no see! Curry!」

Ah. I don’t remember his name, but he was one of the adventurers assigned to Fran’s unit when we first entered Raydoss.

Surviving Fran’s boot camp seems to have toughened him up.

「Nn. It’s been a while. You came to Raydoss too?」

「Yes! I heard they were recruiting personnel for the guild’s first entry into Raydoss! The pay wasn’t bad either!」

Makes sense. Even if the guild establishes a branch, it would be pointless with nobody working there. I doubt there will be many people in Raydoss who want to become adventurers at this early stage.

Thus, they needed to bring foreign adventurers capable enough to help with regional surveys and training newcomers.

Wait, please don’t tell me they’re putting this guy in charge of training. It’s not a matter of him being suitable or not. It will be incredibly bad if he bases it on his torturous experience under Fran.

We might end up with a bunch of additional boot camp survivors who add “curry” to the end of their sentences.

Or so I thought. This guy, whose name was apparently Wadal, had a very good reputation. Everyone who trained under him said he was gentle and meticulous, yet strict when necessary. Not to mention his decent skills. No wonder he’s popular.

「Hahaha! My boys still have a long way to go before they can endure your style of training, Captain! I’ll save that for much later!」

So it seems everything is alright… Wait, you’re going to put them through boot camp eventually!?

「Guildmaster. Will you be giving her the special request?」

「Yes, I was just about to bring it up.」

「Oh, then I’ll leave you to it. I’ve gotten quite familiar with this area, so feel free to ask me if you need anything.」

「Nn. Thanks.」

「Woof!」

After seeing Wadal off, we returned to our discussion with Cotton.

In the first place, we came here because Klimt asked us to solve a problem the branches in Raydoss were facing.

「By the way, have you heard anything about the details of the request?」

「Something about cooking.」

「W-Well, that’s not entirely wrong…」

『Don’t worry, I got down all the details.』

「I-I see! That’s good to hear!」

The request was more about creating recipes rather than just cooking.

Many countries have sent food supplies to aid Raydoss in its time of need.

Since their duties on the continent of Gordicia had been suspended, the supplies intended for Gordicia ended up getting redirected to Raydoss. Some countries even rejoiced at the opportunity, as it meant the food would no longer go to waste.

But the problem was the composition of the supplies.

The first problem was the vast amount of preserved foods, with half being salted meat and fish. Of course, beggars can’t be choosers, so all food is appreciated. That said, the incredibly skewed distribution might be a nutritional risk.

Well, having too much preserved food isn’t much of an issue, since it has a long shelf life. Just consume it gradually and they’ll be fine.

The other problem was the excessive amount of spices. A few small countries lacked the ability to provide stores of food supplies. Instead, they bought a shipload of expensive spices and sailed it to Raydoss so that they could say they were helping.

This allowed them to give a contribution worth a decent monetary value while only occupying a single cargo ship. Thus, a massive supply of spices was delivered to Raydoss.

Many of these spices had no place in the recipes of Northern Raydoss, so they simply ended up unused.

This is where Fran comes in. Regardless of her rank, she is also the foremost expert in curry, which uses a lot of spices. That’s probably the main reason she was chosen.

Not to mention her track record in spreading curry. The mapo curry she taught at the Academy of Magic in the Kingdom of Belioth has been gaining popularity. The guild knew about all of her curry-related feats.

Apparently, when promoting Fran to Rank S, the guild hastily gathered every possible scrap of information about her.

「Allow me to briefly summarize the food situation in Northern Raydoss. Their staples are black bread and potatoes. Also, they produce a fair amount of sugar and honey, so there are many sweet dishes.」

Seems like they would enjoy stuff like pancakes with honey mustard and sweet cream.

As a result, they don’t use many spices, nor have they touched the rice and buckwheat included in the supplies. They probably don’t even know the proper way to consume them.

So I guess all we have to do is teach them how to make curry?

Honestly speaking, popularizing unfamiliar foods sounds pretty challenging, but…

「I’m sure the food situation in Raydoss will improve once they realize how delicious your recipes are. It may even spur further trade with the outside.」

「Nn! Got it! I’ll get everyone to eat curry!」

「Woof!」

「That’s very reassuring! I will be counting on you.」

Of course, Fran would never turn down a request that involves spreading curry.

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