Tutu

“Then, I’ll be waiting for you here in town.”

It was Nelfia who exchanged those parting words with Zodia. When we returned from Geadland, Zodia would be the only member of the troupe heading to the royal capital.

The purpose, of course, was to exchange information with King Zeuracia. The visit was timed to coincide with Nelfia’s return, since Nelfia was in charge of handling the negotiations.

However, Zodia wouldn’t travel with us. Zodia would make the journey separately.

I invited Zodia to come with us, but apparently, for various reasons, it was more convenient to travel separately. Right, Sazaby doesn’t know Nelfia is the point of contact, either.

I also thought the troupe could travel to the capital and wait for Nelfia there, but the traveling troupe Le Pu Zea apparently made a point of not performing in towns that were too close together.

They had a clear policy for how to sell their performances.

“Besides, we’ve only just arrived in Ruelue. We still have to perform for everyone here for a few more days. Some people will be coming to town soon, looking forward to hearing us.”

If that was the case, there was no need to pressure them. Pressuring a traveling troupe that loved freedom was taboo.

And so we set out from Ruelue. Sazaby and the five new recruits were looking rather green. They must have drunk quite a lot last night. My wallet had gotten pretty light, too.

“If you can’t pace yourself with alcohol, how do you expect to handle a sudden deployment?”

Ryuzel scolded them harshly. He kept at it the entire way. For some reason, Sazaby was getting an earful right along with them.

Of everyone who’d spent the previous night carousing, Dick was the only one still full of energy. With Ryuzel in full-on lecture mode, Dick took the lead in his place.

I could hear Ryuzel berating the others from behind, telling them to take a page out of Dick’s book. But Dick probably hadn’t drunk much at all, had he?

By the time Sazaby and the five recruits started drooping from their hangovers and Ryuzel’s lecture, we arrived in Geadland.

I’ll skip the usual scene between Zackhart-sama and Lufa.

We left Lufa with Zackhart-sama and headed for the naval headquarters.

The new recruits and Sazaby had had enough by then, and left early to rest at the inn. What had they even come for...?

In the end, just the four of us—Ryuzel, Nelfia, Dick, and I—made our way there at a leisurely pace, adding to the bustle of the market.

The naval headquarters was on the opposite side of the market from the Third Knight Order’s garrison. Beside the building stood a dock even larger than the headquarters itself. Maybe this was where Drew had worked for a time.

Once we entered the headquarters, I felt as though the salty smell of the sea had grown stronger. They’d already been told we were coming, so when we spoke to the receptionist, we were shown straight to the back.

“Hey! Is this the first time I’ve seen you since that deployment to the Golber waters? Been a while... though maybe not that long!”

Northvel-sama welcomed us with his hearty, booming voice.

“What a fine room,” Ryuzel murmured, as if he couldn’t help himself.

Even I, who knew next to nothing about furnishings, widened my eyes at the orderly room. Expensive pieces were displayed throughout, but not so ostentatiously as to be in poor taste.

It was a delicate, elegant room, utterly unlike what you’d expect from his boisterous appearance.

This man really is incredibly meticulous at heart.

“Well, sit down!”

As he spoke, Northvel-sama began preparing the tea himself.

The fragrance of tea leaves wafted through the room.

“This is quite fine tea, isn’t it?” Nelfia remarked, and Northvel-sama smiled happily.

“You can tell? It’s the finest stuff from the Eastern Islands. My men don’t understand a thing when I give it to them! It’s a pleasure to brew tea for someone who appreciates it.”

With practiced movements, he set cups down in front of us.

I took a sip. A soft floral note came through with the aroma as it filled my nose. It was also more astringent than the tea I usually drank.

I didn’t know the first thing about tea, but Nelfia and Northvel-sama were narrowing their eyes in satisfaction, so it was probably delicious.

After we’d enjoyed the tea for a while, it was finally time to get down to business.

“All right, then. What is it you want me to bring back from the Eastern Islands?”

The no-preface question was typical of Northvel-sama.

“Have you heard of a vegetable called Tutu?”

“Tutu... I might’ve heard of it, or maybe not... What kind of vegetable is it?”

After I gave him a brief explanation,

“Ah, I’ve eaten that before. It’s just an ordinary vegetable. A little sweet, and it gets nice and fluffy when you stew it.”

“If you know it, that makes this easy. I’d like some Tutu seeds. Ideally, they’d be in a condition that would let us grow them once you brought them back...”

“What, are you taking up farming? If you want to make money, there are better things than that.”

I wasn’t trying to make money. I didn’t know if it would be useful, but it might become one of our bargaining chips.

“I happened to try it when I was a kid, and I liked the taste quite a bit. So I wondered if we could grow it in Rudek.”

That was a lie. I’d eaten it much later—in a future far beyond this one.

“But I don’t know if it’ll grow anywhere outside the Eastern Islands. You might not know this, Roa, but the climate there is totally different from here. They might all rot, and that’ll be the end of it.”

“Well, if that happens, I’ll just have to give up.”

That was another lie. I knew full well it would grow just fine. In fact, it would grow almost too well.

“Well, all right. If the shipowner wants it, I’ll bring some back. It’s not that difficult a request. But something like that could’ve been handled by letter.”

“If you didn’t know what Tutu was, we’d have to go back and forth with letters several times. I figured it’d be faster to come in person.”

“That’s true! I like that kind of efficient thinking! All right, then, I’ve officially accepted the request. The rest is something to look forward to when I get back. But are you heading home already?”

We told him we’d be staying in Geadland for a few days and that we had others traveling with us, among other things.

“Oh, so some of them have never seen the sea... All right, then, can you clear your schedule for tomorrow?”

“We’ve finished what we came for, so that’s fine. What about you, Nelfia?”

“Of course. I’m free, too.”

When he heard our answer, Northvel-sama nodded with satisfaction,

“Good! Then I’ll take you all on a luxurious voyage!” he said, inviting us along as casually as could be.