Chapter 116 - Big Pig and Big Wild Boar
After finishing his second bowl of salty soup pasta and washing the dishes, Volf leaned back on the sofa, looking relaxed.
Dahlia had suggested he rest since he’d been training, but he had refused with a smile, insisting on helping.
Perhaps the Monster Subjugation Force had a rule that whoever ate had to clean up.
“If only we could have a restaurant with your recipes. Preferably near the royal castle.”
As Dahlia placed sparkling water and lime on the low table, Volf muttered with a bitter expression.
“What’s wrong? Why bring that up all of a sudden?”
“Lately, the food at the mess hall has been... well, with so many people and limited time, they’ve been relying on dishes that can be stored at room temperature. I’m grateful we have food at all, and I know it’s a luxury to complain, but... after eating something delicious here, I can’t help but think about it...”
“It’s getting hotter, too. Some dishes are harder to prepare in advance now.”
The royal castle was vast. The number of knights and soldiers using the mess hall must be enormous. Cooking and storing food for so many people must be incredibly challenging.
But surely they had some magical tools to assist, right?
“Don’t they have large-sized magic stoves or refrigerators in the mess hall?”
“From what I’ve seen, there are just slightly larger versions of regular magic stoves, lined up in dozens. As for refrigeration, they have cold storage rooms—basically entire warehouses kept cold. They have meat and such, but there’s nothing to cool individual dishes.”
“It’d be great if they could get large magic stoves or refrigerators. Though I imagine only the royal castle’s magical toolmakers or mages could make something like that.”
“I’m not sure about the royal castle’s magical toolmakers... I’ve heard they focus on academic research, but I don’t know the details of what they make.”
“Magical tools for academic research”—that had a certain allure.
Fantasy staples like rings of invisibility, flying carpets, teleportation circles, or item boxes might be in development.
Or perhaps they were researching dullahans or cursed swords. Maybe even grand projects like creating floating continents or the philosopher’s stone.
It was all very intriguing.
“Could you make large magical tools, Dahlia?”
“No, that’s beyond me. If I were to make one with enchantments, it would require quite a bit of magical power. Plus, if the tool can’t be moved, I’d have to make it on-site, which would require a lot of focus.”
“But you’re good at focusing, aren’t you?”
“I’m average. And I’m not confident I could concentrate well in the royal castle...”
She had been to the royal castle twice, and both times she had been extremely nervous. With everything that had happened, it was a place she’d rather avoid.
“You’ll get used to it if you go enough times.”
“Just the thought of going that often is exhausting...”
Volf laughed, but the gap between him, who lived and worked there, and her, a commoner, was too vast.
Dahlia decided to change the subject entirely.
“That smoked bacon from the formal delivery was delicious. What store was it bought from?”
“It’s bacon made from a big pig from a pig farm on the eastern road. The assistant manager at ‘Black Pot,’ the place we went to, told me about it. The unit has decided to start buying from them too.”
Dahlia remembered the restaurant near the port and nodded.
A place like that would know all sorts of delicious ingredients.
The assistant manager had also been part of the Monster Subjugation Force, so he must have considered shelf life and other factors when making the recommendation.
“That’s great. It seems like something that would be delicious even during expeditions.”
“Yeah, no doubt everyone will love it. After the formal delivery, Captain Grato took the expedition stove to the waiting room and started frying it right there... It turned into ‘crowd-pulling bacon.’”
Well, that was inevitable. With such a delicious aroma, of course people would gather.
Dahlia wondered if they had enough smoked bacon to go around.
“Thanks to that, everyone was extra motivated during today’s big wild boar training.”
“Is it because pigs and boars are similar?”
“You could say that. Big wild boars are common in the eastern mountains. A herd usually has just one dominant male, and the younger males get driven out. Sometimes those young males wander into pig farms.”
“Is it to claim territory?”
“Apparently, for management and meat quality reasons, pig farms mostly raise female big pigs. So, to the young males, the farms look like great places to find mates. The farms have security, but sometimes too many big wild boars show up. We get called in for extermination during summer and fall.”
“I see, so it’s a search for brides.”
With that smoked bacon at stake, it made sense that the training was intense.
Still, Dahlia felt a little sorry for the young big wild boars.
Perhaps the big pigs might even find love across species.
“Well, not exactly brides... One male big wild boar can take over twenty female big pigs. If too many of them show up, the pig farms would have to shut down.”
Correction: extermination was absolutely necessary.
For the unit’s expeditions and to protect that smoked bacon, the big wild boars had to be dealt with.
“Also, the producers said that smoked big wild boar bacon has a wild flavor that’s in a league of its own.”
“Smoked big wild boar bacon...”
“If we bring the big wild boars straight to the farm, they’ll process them cheaply. We’d want to take them down without damaging the meat, though...”
Although he was smiling, Volf’s eyes weren’t those of a knight—they resemble those of a predator.
No, perhaps all the unit members had the same look after hearing this.
“...Good luck with the training.”
Dahlia silently prayed for the big wild boars’ souls.
“About what Dominic-san said earlier... are you planning to become a baroness?”
Volf suddenly looked up as he squeezed lime into his sparkling water.
“I’ve started to think it would be nice if I could. It might be presumptuous of me, but... you’re close to earning yours, right?”
“I could get it in a few years, and since I have my family, I could push for a recommendation now if I wanted. But...”
“Is it too much trouble?”
“That’s part of it, but I’d feel bad surpassing my seniors in the unit. I haven’t contributed enough to deserve it.”
“But being a Scarlet Armor is a huge contribution.”
“The Scarlet Armor is flashy, but in my case, I just fight on the front lines. I’ve never been seriously injured, unlike shield-bearers like Randolph. The supply team faces just as much danger. If retiring seniors could get a barony, they’d receive stipends too...”
Volf had been in danger of being carried off by a wyvern, hadn’t he? Dahlia almost said it but stopped herself.
“If I became a baron, I’m not sure if things would get noisier or quieter.”
If Volf became a baron, would the number of noble daughters seeking matches or suitors decrease or increase?
For someone who found romance troublesome and had no interest in it, an increase would be the last thing he wanted.
“For you, Volf, maybe it’s better to wait until you’re sure it’s the right time.”
“Maybe so. Hey, how about we both become barons together when you do?”
“...Our jobs are too different for that kind of thing.”
For a moment, Dahlia almost said, “You don’t have to.”
Ten years as a Scarlet Armor—how many years did he have left?
Would he avoid injury? Would he be safe? Would he survive and come back to the tower?
Saying such things would only trouble him.
Swallowing her words, Dahlia forced a smile and took a sip from her glass.
Tonight’s lime sparkling water tasted bitterly sour.
“If you get a title, are you thinking of moving to the noble district?”
Volf’s sudden question caught Dahlia off guard.
A barony was only for one generation. Even if she took on apprentices as a magical toolmaker, they couldn’t inherit her title.
While it was technically possible, moving to the noble district was something she had never considered.
“No, my father stayed in the tower even after becoming a baron. If I ever get a title, I plan to stay here too.”
“That’s good to hear. So, even if you become a baroness, can I still come visit you here?”
Volf smiled, looking relieved, and for some reason, Dahlia felt the same.
She stopped forcing her smile and answered sincerely.
“Of course. You’re always welcome.”
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