Side Story 1. The Eastern Expedition (1)
The southern part of the Empire is a tourist destination.
This was true even before the heart of the Empire moved from the old capital to the new capital in the south.
Nobles who had fled their frozen lands with only their families.
Wealthy rchants who were temporarily resting from their trade until the cold north wind subsided.
What greeted them was the scorching heat, so ironically, the demand for mages from the Blue Magic Tower was highest in the winter.
Anyway, one of the most popular tourist attractions in this southern part of the Empire was the sunrise.
“They say the intense sunlight of the south holds life force. So nobles call it the elixir of youth given by Luark.”
Alina muttered.
In the depths of the Wolfskrig Cathedral, in the exclusive prayer room that only she, the officially recognized saint, could use.
Although the cool night air flowed in through the wide-open window without a single candle, strangely, the stone floor, which should have been cold, held a gentle warmth.
Although there was no one to hear, the muttering continued.
“It's a superstition. The sun gives life force, but it also damages the skin. Although we have received the holy light of Luark and His grace, the light of the sun, a re creation, cannot be the sa….”
Of course, it wasn't really a monologue.
It was, so to speak, a prayer.
To be precise, it should be called a consultation rather than a prayer.
Because for her, the object of prayer was only Luark.
Although it might seem like she was talking to herself in the empty air to others, in the eyes of the saint, the pure white spiritual being sitting on the window sill was clearly visible.
A spiritual being in the faint shape of a person, made of pure white light without a single speck of dust.
Luark's angel said.
- Don't beat around the bush. So what do you want to say.
“……”
- What's the problem. You don't lack anything, do you? The war to unify the Empire is over. Both you and your husband are doing well. Luark has promised to give you a child around this ti next year.
The angel grumbled.
Well, it was true.
It had been five years since Ash ascended the throne and married her.
The Empire, once split into five, had entered a period of stability after the unification war.
Emperor Ash, who had started a new dynasty, had sent pioneers to all four corners of the land.
On top of that, he had tirelessly raised a punitive force and had even gone on an expedition to the East.
He said he could not stand by and watch the people of that land suffer in pain after the Eastern Emperor, who had been tempted by a demon and tried to destroy the world, had disappeared.
Anyway, the emperor was still strong.
Alina's life as a saint and empress was also without lack.
But.
“...As a wife, I'm not making any progress.”
- ?
“How can I beco a better, more lovable, more beautiful wife and be a source of strength to my dear?”
- What are you talking about?
“So, now that my dear is away on the Eastern expedition, this is my chance. When he cos back, ta-da, I want to show him my… yes, my developed self as a wife! What would that be?”
- ……Haaah.
Alina suddenly thought.
Although I can't see his face because he's a ball of light….
- How should I know?
Isn't that angel making all sorts of faces right now?
“You're an angel, aren't you?”
- Does it say in the Bible that angels get married?
“No, but. You always bring perfect advice and prophecies when the great figures in the Bible are in trouble, don't you? And you also listen quietly at tis, don't you?”
- The advice and prophecies were just relaying what Luark said. Since He hasn't said anything special, it ans you're already doing well. And I've listened quietly a lot, haven't I? Didn't you ask the sa question last week?
“...If you don't like it so much, you don't have to listen.”
- This saint is saying sothing scary again. Are you trying to get fired? Forget it. It's quitting ti. I'm going.
The angel disappeared.
Alina let out a small sigh and stood up.
Still, he's a good angel.
He was like her guardian angel, who had visited her dreams since she was a child and taught her miracles one by one.
Thanks to him, she was able to be of so help to her dear, and also show more of Luark's light to her faithful brothers and sisters.
A gentle sunlight began to seep into the dark prayer room.
The sunrise of the southern part of the Empire.
“Thank you, Luark, for giving another new day.”
After finishing her prayer, she left the church.
Although the angel had not given her an answer, for so reason, she had a feeling that she would find one.
And a saint's intuition is rarely wrong.
[Mistress? Let's have breakfast! Breakfast!]
Because as soon as she returned to the Imperial Palace, a certain inspiration flashed through her mind like lightning at the voice of 'Kkumteuli,' the servant her dear had left behind.
The most traditional way a wife can please her husband.
That's right.
Food.
***
[W-well, it's not a bad idea, but. Th-still]
“Still?”
[Uh, no, it's a good… a good idea. Whatever it is, you have to try it at least once.]
One of the common misconceptions is that most clergy are naive and clueless.
It's the opposite.
Clergy are very perceptive.
In the first place, it's a job that deals with people.
Unlike God, who has a clear path of word, prayer, obedience, and worship, people have no right answer, so one has to be so-called 'perceptive.'
The more high-ranking clergy who deal with nobles, the better they are at this ability to read the room, and Alina, as a saint, was no different.
[Yes. Well… you have to try it. Right, Tick-Tocky?]
[Ti-ti-tick-tock-kwek?]
Therefore, I knew.
That the tentacles waving in the air, and the statue of a goddess whose arms holding a spear were ticking like the hour and minute hands of a clock, were both quite embarrassed.
That embarrassnt must be due to her rock-bottom cooking skills.
Alina, like a saint, put her hands together and smiled sweetly.
“Really? If so, let's go to the kitchen right away.”
[Uh? Uhh. I'll guide you right away. Uh, Tick-Tocky, you have to call the others, right?]
Well, it doesn't matter.
That grotesquely shaped servant with a regular octahedron on top of its tentacles owes her.
Although it wasn't of his own will, as he was a tool, he has a history of being held in the hands of a necromancer and extracting negative thoughts from countless people.
In that process, it was she, as a novice priestess, who had to forcibly keep the dying people alive.
It was already a difficult ti as a novice priestess.
The mory of that ti remained as a trauma for a very long ti.
It was a good thing Ash ca and saved her, otherwise, wouldn't she have beco a wreck or t a more terrible end by now?
[Wouldn't it be okay if we just put a lot of sugar? If we can sohow numb the taste buds with honey and sugar….]
While Kkumteuli was muttering as if half-possessed, they had already arrived at their destination.
The Imperial Palace kitchen.
A treasure trove of the finest ingredients.
From the tenderloin of a snow reindeer presented by the newly appointed Northern Archduke, to various rare spices painstakingly procured as the developnt of the Great Desert of the Vampire Archduchy progressed, to the mysterious fruits sent by the queen of the Fairy Kingdom out of concern for His Majesty's health, and so on.
Literally, ingredients that are hard to find unless it's on the emperor's table are stored sacredly.
The problem is Alina's hands that will handle these precious ingredients.
“……”
It's not that I don't know.
That I have no talent for cooking.
However, the Bible said that one should not easily judge one's own limits.
Ash, whom Alina loved, was also a living witness of such a life.
And most importantly, if she were alone, she might not, but now she has helpers with her.
Clatter!
The kitchen door behind her opened, and servants of all shapes and sizes poured in.
Carrying the head chef and a few cooks, tied tightly to chairs.
[Oh, you're all here! You all heard from Tick-Tocky, right?]
[Kiiing!]
[You said it was a cooking practice? But is that a skill that should be taught to that woman?]
[Tick-tock!]
[Om nom nom.]
[Still, the palace cooks are here. If there's a will to learn….]
[Srr-rr-rr?]
The constantly clattering spinning wheel and thread, the beetle with a shiny carapace, the black eyeball with white pupils floating around, and so on.
They were once Outer Gods who had been with Ash in the form of Sacred Relics on this land, and now they were spirit-like beings who served as servants in charge of various household chores in the Imperial Palace.
One of them, a pendulum-shaped servant nad 'Ding-Dong,' jumped up, opened a thick book, and placed it in front of Alina.
“Imperial-style court stew?”
[Ding-dong!]
He shouted confidently.
Alina stroked her chin thoughtfully.
Although it was not a dish that her dear usually enjoyed, she calculated that since it contained various ingredients, at least one of them would suit His Majesty's taste.
And most importantly, it's an 'easy' dish where you just have to throw everything in and boil it, right?
***
Since its reconstruction a decade ago, the Fairy Kingdom has always been an ally of the Empire.
This was because the queen of the Fairy Kingdom, Calania Len Sharenta, was a comrade-in-arms from the sa rcenary band as the emperor.
Although not well-known to the public, they were so close that even after becoming emperor and queen, they would et with all the mbers of the band once a month if there was nothing special going on.
Of course, on the surface, they used the excuse of a regular diplomatic eting.
“Wait here. Even as allies, we cannot bring troops into the Imperial Palace.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
Today, too, Karen visited the Imperial Palace.
She knew that the emperor was not there.
Ash was on an expedition beyond the World's Wall mountain range, to the desolate land of the distant Eastern Empire.
Still, a few acquaintances, including Bart and Brol, remained in the Imperial Capital, so she intended to visit them to exchange information.
‘There's also the cute Alina… hmm?’
It was the mont she thought that.
Karen unconsciously stopped the hand that was heading for her quiver.
She imdiately ducked.
Before her head could properly register it, her senses, which had sensed danger, instinctively caused her body to move.
As an elf, she trusted her senses.
An enemy?
No.
But her senses are warning her.
And very fiercely.
In an instant, her sensitive five senses and the information carried by the spirits entered her mind, and at the sa ti, the elents that could be a threat quickly passed through her brain.
‘Ambush? No. A trap? Not that either. Not magic either. Perhaps poison?’
It's ambiguous.
I couldn't completely deny it.
I actually did feel sothing similar to poison.
Karen slowly stood up, one hand on her quiver.
‘Skywind. Can you bring all the scents from the surroundings?’
- Understood.
The wind spirit gathered the scents of the surrounding area in the gentle breeze.
After concentrating for a mont, she could clearly feel what had been stimulating her wariness.
It was the scent of so compound.
Probably a combination of ingredients.
“……”
Alina tilted her head.
An instinctive wariness towards food.
Did they use a poisonous fish or herb?
That wasn't it either.
What was certain was that it was too… chaotic a scent to be a simple food sll.
A strangely mixed sll of sweet and fishy, sour and sothing burning and acrid stimulated her nose.
It also slled like sothing that would co from a failed alchemist's laboratory where all sorts of magic ingredients are mixed and boiled.
‘…What on earth is this?’
One thing was certain.
That this sll, if not imdiately, could be a potential danger in the future.
The elf's senses were telling her so.
She moved her steps, suppressing the sound.
And before long, soone's shout from a distance reached her ears.
[Co on, mistress! Don't worry! Failure is the mother of success! How about this 'Kraken Leg Ink Risotto' this ti?]
“I-is that okay?!”
“……”
Sohow, they are familiar voices.
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