Chapter 86
Currently, I'm exterminating rats beneath the castle. My rat-poison strategy seems to have paid off—we've collected enough rats to fill fourteen large hemp sacks.
Each sack holds fifty rats, so that's seven hundred in all. But there are still rats left.
We've scattered more poison and decided to go back down tomorrow.
Since we'd worked up a sweat, I decided to take a bath today instead of washing with water from the well.
But drawing water is a lot of work. I'd like to install an electric pump on the well, but it'd be a hassle if people started asking questions...
Well, I could probably get away with insisting that everything runs on magic and that it's all a secret.
After getting out of the bath, I spent a while thinking.
"Oh, right."
Come to think of it, hand pumps have been imported from the Empire. I saw a demonstration at Marrow-san's company.
That should solve the problem.
I searched Shangri-La for a hand pump—it cost about 20,000 yen.
I bought PVC pipe to attach to it, along with plywood for a base.
PVC pipe was overtechnology, but it would be hidden, so it should be fine.
I covered the well with plywood that had a hole cut in it. I ran the PVC pipe through the hole and connected it to the hand pump. Finally, I bolted the pump to its base.
Everyone was watching me install the pump. Primula knew what it was because she'd attended the pump test at the Marrow Trading Company, but...
"Boss, what's this thing? If you seal up the well, how are we supposed to draw water?"
"It's called a hand pump. It's a mechanism for drawing water from a well. They're popular in the Empire. Right, Primula?"
"Yes. It's very convenient."
I poured priming water into the hand pump and worked it up and down, literally pumping it with a clack-clack.
Then—water came pouring steadily from the iron spout.
"Water's coming out, nya!" "What the heck is this? Amazing! Is it Boss's magic?"
"No, no. It's an ordinary mechanism, so water will come out even if you use it."
"Boss, let me try."
Nyamena moved the lever up and down, marveling at it.
"Amazing! What is this thing? The Empire makes something useful once in a while!"
"It sure does, nya!"
This would make drawing water much easier.
――And then, evening came.
I thought the princess might come again, and sure enough, she did. But something was different.
Behind her stood several men in white, carrying something that looked like a large stockpot.
They wore white coverall-like clothing, and judging by their outfits, I assumed they were chefs.
"Kenichi, I shall treat you all today."
Since the princess said that, I took a table out of my Item Box.
They set the stockpot on it and removed the lid. Inside was a thick, green substance.
"This is... But it smells like curry."
"It is, Boss. This smells like curry." "I thought so too, nya."
"Indeed. The court chefs replicated the spices you gave us."
"What? They replicated them in a single attempt? As expected of court chefs, they are truly extraordinary."
"Indeed. They boasted that they could reproduce them within a few days, so I decided to give them a chance."
"Well? What do you think of our curry?"
The man who stepped forward with a proud look was a gentleman with blond hair and a blond Kaiser mustache. He seemed to be the head chef.
"This is magnificent. Perhaps because of the difference in spices, the only difference is the color—it is otherwise perfect."
"I thought so."
The head chef was extremely pleased with himself, but this really was impressive. They had copied it in one try.
He was probably the sort of person who could identify the ingredients just by eating a dish or drinking a soup.
It was just like Oishin○bo.
"Kenichi, let us all eat this. Bring out that white grain."
"Your Highness is treating us to a feast? I must be using up a lifetime's worth of good fortune!"
"You can spare me those noble-sounding lines."
The princess seemed to dislike such responses, perhaps because she had to hear them all the time.
Still, if I didn't say something like that, people around her might call me rude...
Since this was so sudden, I hadn't cooked any rice, so I bought some packaged rice from Shangri-La. I found a large one labeled extra-large serving, so that should do.
The princess had quite an appetite, after all. I hadn't baked any bread yet either, so I bought some from Shangri-La.
Plates were arranged on the table, and today became green-curry day. My original world had green curry too, so it didn't bother me.
As yesterday, the female knight serving as the princess's guard sat beside her. I wondered if the knight who had quarreled with me had been dismissed.
I took plates of curry over to the beastfolk sitting on the ground, but they seemed hesitant.
"Boss, are we really allowed to eat food made by the court chefs...?" "That's right, nya..."
"Lilith-sama, is this really all right?"
"Of course. It is fine, is it not, Sanbak?"
"If Her Highness says so, then it is."
The head chef bowed deeply. Once permission had been granted, the beastfolk pounced on the curry.
"Delicious! The aroma of these high-quality spices is incredible!" "It smells great, nya~"
I tried some too. Perhaps because the spices had just been prepared, the aroma was vivid.
Bell couldn't eat curry, so I opened some bird meat and cat food for her. My Item Box was full of rats like a mountain, but they couldn't be eaten because we'd used poison.
"It certainly does have a vivid spice aroma. My spices have been sitting for quite some time since they were made."
Besides, those were mass-produced. The spices gathered for the royal palace were probably all top grade.
"Naturally. Sanbak, have we created a new specialty of the castle?"
"Indeed, Your Highness."
"So I can watch the nobles' frustrated faces again."
Royalty really did seem to enjoy teasing the nobility.
"What do Anemone and Primula think?"
"It's delicious! Kenichi's is delicious too, but this is delicious as well!"
"Yes, it is. The spices they used must have cost enough to make one's eyes pop out..."
"You are remarkably perceptive. We used a generous amount of very valuable spices."
The head chef's eyes flashed—this really was the royal palace.
"Then we cannot exactly popularize this in the city..."
The royal capital had a spice syndicate to begin with, and only the wealthy could afford to use spices.
"Kenichi, is there any of that meat soup I ate yesterday left?"
"Yes, there is, but..."
"Give some to Sanbak."
I took the pot of beef stew out of my Item Box, ladled some into a bowl, and handed it to the head chef.
The man took a bite with a spoon and cried out in astonishment.
"This is delicious. What richness and umami, spreading through my mouth..."
"Well? It is quite delicious, is it not?"
"Hmm... There is plenty of meat and vegetables—the thickness comes from flour, and the sauce and this sourness... What could it be? It seems to be the sourness of a vegetable or fruit..."
I didn't know the ingredients in beef stew either. I'd read somewhere that ketchup was used in something, so perhaps that was the source of the sourness.
But there didn't seem to be any tomatoes in this world, so they would have to substitute some other fruit or vegetable.
Still, if someone could copy curry, demi-glace sauce probably wouldn't pose a problem.
While we talked, the princess kept asking for more curry. I bought more rice and had Anemone heat it up.
"So, Sanbak. Do you think you could make the same dish?"
"I believe so..."
"Excellent. Add that dish to the royal table as well. Munch, munch."
"Yes, Your Highness!"
"But, Kenichi."
"What is it?"
"Is there any food in your Item Box that Sanbak might be unable to reproduce?"
Oh, come on. She was bringing that up again.
"Lilith-sama, that is a rather mean-spirited request."
"He is always boasting that there is no dish he cannot make."
What was she going to do if this talented man quit because of her?
Well, if she issued a royal decree ordering him not to quit, he would have no choice but to obey.
I thought for a while, then bought some chocolate from Shangri-La.
It was made by the famous Go○iva and cost 5,400 yen for twenty pieces. When I pressed the purchase button, a golden box dropped out.
"What is that?"
The princess's eyes lit up at the golden box that had appeared before her.
"Have this as a dessert."
When I opened the lid, chocolates of various shapes were arranged in square compartments.
"What?! Dessert, you say?! Wait a moment! I must finish eating this first!"
The princess had been devouring her curry, but the chefs watching her wore complicated expressions.
Listening closely to their whispers, it seemed she normally didn't eat their food with this much enthusiasm.
They seemed to have concluded that the princess didn't think very highly of the food they usually prepared.
When the princess finished her curry and set down her spoon, a maid hurried over and wiped the area around her mouth.
"So this is dessert... I've never seen anything like it."
The princess picked up a chocolate from the center of the box with her fingers and popped it into her mouth. You could probably tell something about her personality from which part of the box she chose.
"Mmm, mmm—oh! It's sweet! The richness and sweetness melt across my tongue! What on earth is it made of?"
The princess's eyes widened as she rolled the chocolate over her tongue.
"I believe it is made from plant seeds, vegetable oil, milk, and sugar—but unfortunately, I did not make it myself."
"Mmm!"
The princess popped another chocolate into her mouth, then held out the entire box to the head chef.
He picked one up and brought it to his mouth as well.
"Th-this is an incredibly deep sweetness and flavor... It is quite bitter, but perhaps that creates this deep richness. B-but I cannot picture the ingredients used at all..."
The head chef lowered his head, cold sweat running down his face.
"Well? Do you think you could make something identical?"
"That sounds like a rather cruel challenge..."
"Does it? Sanbak?"
"No, Your Highness. It is the duty of a court chef to prepare whatever dish the royal family requests—but..."
"I believe the head chef is having difficulty identifying the ingredients because they are not found in this country."
"That would make sense. If there is nothing remotely similar in our country, such a thing could happen."
"Heh-heh... Your Highness, it pains me to say so, but with my current abilities, I must admit that reproducing this exactly would be difficult."
"Oh? Even you cannot make something, ha-ha-ha!"
The other chefs were given chocolates as well, but all they could do was tilt their heads in confusion.
Of course they were confused. It was an unknown confection.
The princess seemed to be having fun, but she was being rather mean.
Seeing the chefs seriously troubled made me feel a little sorry for them, so I bought something called cacao nibs from Shangri-La as a possible hint.
A paper bag dropped out. Apparently, it contained crushed cacao beans.
"These seeds are the ingredient. They are highly nutritious and are also used as medicine."
The head chef took some cacao from the paper bag and put it in his mouth.
"Th-this is bitter even by itself... But it has a crisp texture and richness. To elevate this into such a refined confection, whoever came up with it must have been no ordinary person."
Come to think of it, who invented chocolate? I had never heard the story. I had read something about indigenous people somewhere drinking it, though.
The chefs formed a circle and began a discussion, arguing back and forth about what to do.
"Kenichi! I want some too!" "So do I."
Anemone and Primula were asking for chocolate.
I bought a slightly smaller box of the same Go○iva chocolates. The princess murmured at the golden box that appeared again.
"Is this box made of paper? Did they cover it with gold leaf? This is far too elaborate for a mere box of sweets."
"Would it not please kings and nobles?"
"Indeed, but... I imagine many people would want the box alone."
"Mmm, it's sweet and delicious..." "What an intoxicating aroma and sweetness—one piece alone could make me a slave to this confection."
I offered some chocolate to the beastfolk, who had been watching.
"Huh? No thanks, Boss."
"What is it? Does it smell unpleasant?"
"It's not that... If I eat something even more delicious, I might never be able to leave Boss's side..."
"Myaa~ Is Tiger planning to leave Kenichi's side? Leave the rest to me, nya."
Myaree reached for one of the chocolates.
"I never said anything like that!"
"Myaa! It's sweet and delicious! Sweet and delicious!"
She kept repeating herself. Maybe she didn't have a very extensive vocabulary.
But as soon as Myaree ate the chocolate, she suddenly threw her arms around me.
"Hey, Myaree, wait a second! We're in public!"
"Blackie, what the hell are you doing in front of me?!"
"That has nothing to do with someone who's leaving, nya."
"I never said I was leaving!"
Nyamena popped the chocolate I'd handed her into her mouth.
"...It really is sweet and delicious, sweet and delicious... Damn it—if this is a reward, I might end up doing anything Boss tells me."
"How did you get there?"
The princess, who had been watching me interact with the beastfolk, burst out laughing.
"Ha-ha-ha! Indeed. This is a dangerous confection. The noblewomen addicted to its flavor might open their legs just to get more."
"Lilith-sama, please! You shouldn't say things like that as royalty."
"It is quite possible, you know? If Sanbak fails to reproduce it, this bewitching confection will exist only inside your Item Box, will it not?"
"That is true. But if we make it a royal-palace exclusive, the other nobles will be unable to lay their hands on it."
The palace chefs seemed to be highly skilled. If they could obtain the ingredients, they might reproduce it surprisingly quickly.
"I see... For now, I will buy this confection and a sample of its ingredients. How much?"
"Hmm... Three gold coins (600,000 yen), including the ingredients?"
"You are certainly taking advantage of me... But it cannot be obtained anywhere else. Very well, I shall pay."
"Thank you."
Nyamena, who had heard the conversation, looked shocked.
"Gold coins for sweets... I ate something unbelievable..."
This was literally a golden confectionery bribe.
"There's no going back now, nya. Nyahaha."
"It's no laughing matter, Blackie. I might dream about this for the rest of my life..."
Had it really affected her that much?
But watching the beastfolk eat the chocolate reminded me of something.
Wasn't chocolate bad for cats? But beastfolk were people, not cats, and onions had been fine for them too.
I watched them for a while out of concern, but they seemed perfectly fine.
"There are twelve pieces in this box, so if we call it two gold coins (400,000 yen) in total, that means at least three small square silver coins (15,000 yen) per piece..."
Primula immediately calculated the unit price, muttering to herself. Anemone was delighted, but the beastfolk wore complicated expressions.
Perhaps the price was simply too far removed from reality.
"Kenichi, leave those people be. What has happened with the rats?"
"They're in my Item Box, but... Do you really want to see them after such a delicious meal?"
"It cannot be helped. I must inspect them and pay for them."
"Understood."
I took the hemp sacks of rats out of my Item Box. There were fourteen sacks packed full of rats—and five giant rats.
"Eeeek!"
The maids watching them screamed.
"Were all of these beneath the castle?"
"There are still some left, so we will go down once more tomorrow."
"Hmm... The upper levels are glittering, while below is overflowing with rats—truly, my castle in a nutshell."
"Your Highness, if I may be so bold—the rats seem to be coming from garbage being dumped underground. You should consider changing that practice. Rats carry many diseases, and with this many of them, the castle itself could become a source of an epidemic..."
"You are absolutely right. The kitchen produces the most garbage, does it not, Sanbak?"
"Yes, Your Highness!"
From what I heard, even the lower kitchens, which prepared meals for the several hundred guards and knights in the castle, dumped all their garbage underground.
Of course the rats would multiply if they did that. It was a no-brainer.
Worse, they had apparently thought it was convenient because the garbage never overflowed, no matter how much they dumped.
As if that could possibly be true!
I remembered a story I'd seen online about a well where corpses disappeared.
A man would commit a murder, throw the corpse into a well, and it would vanish before he knew it.
The punchline was that after he killed his irritating mother and threw her into the well, the corpse remained there forever.
But leaving that aside, we needed to think of a way to process kitchen scraps aboveground so the rats wouldn't multiply any further.
I suggested to the princess that we mix soil and sawdust to make compost.
"What? Fertilizer?"
"Yes. We could use the fertilizer in the castle's flower beds or make a vegetable garden in the rear courtyard. Then the kitchen could use fresh vegetables."
"I see... It is worth considering. Even so, seven gold coins (1.4 million yen) for the rats, five gold coins (1 million yen) for the giant rats—a total of twelve gold coins (2.4 million yen)—that was expensive."
"There are still rats left."
"In your estimation, how many more are there?"
"Three to four hundred rats. I have no idea how many giant rats there are."
"Good heavens..."
As the princess and I discussed what to do next, the maids gathered around her.
"Your Highness—wouldn't it be better to ask about what we discussed yesterday?"
"What? You want me to ask about some wild tale when we do not even know whether anything is there?"
"But there is definitely something there." "I think so too..." "I always feel as though something is watching me..."
What could they possibly be talking about?
"Lilith-sama, what are you talking about?"
"Ah—please listen without laughing. The maids and the others claim that something has taken possession of the castle."
"I see—the matter of the ghosts and wraiths we discussed yesterday. Indeed, judging by what the beastfolk say, there is certainly something here..."
"I see."
"Then, once we finish exterminating the rats, shall we discuss that matter again?"
"Yes! Please do."
The chefs who had been listening behind us began murmuring among themselves as well. They said they often sensed some sort of presence too...
"But neither Anemone nor I have magic like Turn Undead or Purification."
"Boss, only special people can use magic like that."
I'd just been guessing, but such magic really did exist. Apparently, few people could use it.
Well, we'd think about that later.
------◇◇◇------
――The next day, we went underground again and collected seven sacks of rat corpses and two giant rats.
I hadn't counted the exact number, but we'd received another five gold coins and two silver coins. That brought the total to seventeen gold coins and two silver coins.
The princess awarded us our payment.
"Your Highness, to receive payment from Your Highness herself is an honor beyond measure!"
"Indeed. You have done excellent work."
Divided four ways, it came to four gold coins (800,000 yen), one silver coin (50,000 yen), and five small square silver coins (25,000 yen) each.
"Also, Lilith-sama, what shall we do with this enormous quantity of rats?"
"With so many, disposing of them will be difficult."
"Shall I leave them in my Item Box and dump them somewhere deep in the forest?"
"Would you do that? You would be a great help."
――Though in reality, I dumped them into the trash can on the status screen. Since we'd killed them with poison, it would be disastrous if they reached the market or were eaten by other animals.
The trash can was the best option. That finished distributing the money among the three people who had helped me this time.
"You should take a larger share, Boss." "Yeah, nya."
"I can't do that. All right, everyone—are you okay with leaving it in my Item Box?"
"Sure. That's the safest place." "Fine, nya." "Yeah."
Carrying gold coins around would make us an easy target. Besides, once people found out you had money, more people would start hanging around you.
"But once we return to Astrantia, you should deposit it with the Guild. If I die, you won't be able to take anything out of my Item Box."
"Ha-ha-ha. If that happens, it happens."
"I still have everything I deposited with the Guild, nya."
"Besides, while we're staying with you, there's nothing to spend money on. We get delicious food and alcohol, and you even provide our weapons."
"That's right, nya~"
It was a relief that we had exterminated the rats without any major trouble.
Still, if ordinary people had gone inside, it would have been quite difficult.