Lord Piel (2)
Lord Piel (2)
How dizzying.
To slap the name Marshall Stew on some chimeric food made by boiling rebate pizza and rebate beer together.
"It's probably all the rage in Piel territory too? It's no exaggeration to say the entire North is in an uproar over Marshall Stew right now."
"Who the hell made such a bizarre dish?"
"Piel's classmate. Second Lieutenant Forest."
A guy whose cheerful personality always stood out.
So that bastard was the culprit.
'I've released poison into this world. Should I not have put out that rebate food after all?'
But the cost-effectiveness of the rebate pizza and beer combo's budget and calories was undeniably broken.
1,000 pizzas with rebate applied cost 50.
10,000 liters of beer cost -50.
In other words, request 1,000 pizzas and 10,000 liters of beer, and the expenditure is 0.
It was a way to supply infinite calories without spending budget, so I released it in bulk.
And they went and named it Marshall Stew.
"This won't do. I'll have to show them what real Marshall Stew is. I'm treating the entire Northern population to a special meal."
Coincidentally, today was payday.
And a Chief of Staff who's secured his budget is invincible.
【Basic budget of 30,000,000 has been distributed.】
【Special strategy budget of 5,000,000 has been distributed.】
【Landris budget of 4,504,355 has been distributed.】
【Remaining budget: 39,506,120】
"This time, we finished subjugating the elves and made the North's name resound throughout the kingdom. We also acquired the Marquisate of Hapscorten, and with the establishment of the Upper House, we've got the central government by the leash. We must hold a grand Triumph Ceremony."
In ancient Rome, a triumph wasn't just a parade.
It was a grand performance showcasing the triumphing general's honor, dignity, and political standing, and the food and entertainment provided to the citizens were also extremely important.
[If the meat and wine run short at a Triumph Ceremony, the general on the chariot becomes the laughingstock of the citizens.]
'I might be a dollar-obsessed ghost trembling over budgets, but when it's necessary, I spend boldly.'
"I will shoot big."
At that, the knights and soldiers standing far behind erupted in a roar of cheers.
Waaaaa! Waaaaa!
Long live General Marshall! Long live General Marshall!
Now I'm a proper Grand Lord of the North too.
I'll shake up public sentiment with a sizzling party performance.
***
"A Triumph Ceremony?"
"Yes, we'll ride the palanquin official residence on a circuit through the North and bestow special meals on all territory residents."
"...Why go that far?"
"Aren't you overdoing it, Colonel Piel?"
Rebecca and Hildea couldn't understand the very concept of a 'Triumph Ceremony parade that shoots huge for all territory residents.'
Since it's a society suffering from chronic food shortages, that kind of triumph culture wouldn't have developed.
"We'll release a mountain of food that the territory residents would never get a chance to try in their entire lives to celebrate the North's victory. All of Ainshuvan will be tightly united as one with pride."
"Now that I hear it, it would create unity, but I still think it might be overdoing it."
"Colonel Piel, you're not planning to give out samgyeopsal, are you?"
"It's not that."
Throwing a samgyeopsal party for 900,000 people with a 39.5 million budget would be bankrupting.
"I'll show them what proper Marshall Stew is."
【Combat Rations Beef Stew (300g)】
【Budget: 3】
【Canned Beef Stew (3kg)】
【Budget: 20】
Without a second thought, I picked the canned stew.
Because bulk cooking is easier, it's cheaper, and the chunks are much bigger.
'Still, is beef alone a bit lacking? Yeah, when would I ever get to do a Triumph Ceremony like this again.'
【Canned Beef Stew (3kg)】
【A taste of strong satiety given by large chunks of beef, potatoes, carrots, and onions】
【Budget: 20】
【Canned Chicken & Vegetable Stew (3kg)】
【A light taste filled with chicken, peas, corn, and carrots】
【Budget: 18】
【Canned Pork & Beans Stew (3kg)】
【A rich taste composed of pork, white beans, and tomato sauce】
【Budget: 15】
【Canned Lamb Stew (3kg)】
【An exotic taste with lamb and herbal spices】
【Budget: 22】
【Canned Fish & Cream (3kg)】
【An uncommon and light taste of the sea with white fish, potatoes, and cream sauce】
【Budget: 19】
【Turkey & Rice Stew (3kg)】
【An easy taste prepared by loading soft rice porridge with large chunks of turkey meat】
【Budget: 17】
'Sending it.'
【Requesting supply of Canned Beef Stew (3kg).】
【Requesting supply of Canned Chicken & Vegetable Stew (3kg)....】
【Requesting supply of Canned Pork....】
After confirming the supply was complete, I stepped out of the palanquin official residence to receive it.
"Corporal Baren."
"Sir! Corporal! Baren!"
"From this moment, you are a second lieutenant. Your position is Staff Officer of the Ainshuvan General Headquarters."
In this world without non-commissioned officer ranks, that's a 2-rank special promotion from corporal to second lieutenant.
I can now exercise this level of personnel authority too, huh.
The soldiers were quieter than I expected.
A reaction as if they'd seen this coming.
I continued speaking into the loudspeaker.
"We will hold a Triumph Ceremony celebrating the North's great victory for all 900,000 residents of Ainshuvan! Varen, can you splendidly carry out this momentous duty?"
The sturdy Varen swallowed dryly and answered spiritedly.
"Please entrust it to me! I will execute it without a single hitch!"
"Good. The Commander-in-Chief will wait here at the palanquin official residence until the Triumph Ceremony party preparations are complete! We'll start with the territory of the West Main Hall and move eastward!"
"Yes!"
"Then I will give you the food needed for the party."
I raised my hand.
【Will you receive the unreceived supplies?】
'All of it.'
Plop! Plop plop! Plop plop plop!
***
Supply Department Class-A Corporal Baren recalled the moment he first met Piel.
A tall and slender build, yet a delicate constitution that made one wonder if he could even catch a boar.
Skin so white and fair as if he'd never been exposed to sunlight his entire life.
But Piel, whom he'd presumed to be a sickly scholar, was backed by the colossal support of his maternal family behind the scenes.
Now, everyone acknowledges it.
That if Piel hadn't come, the North would have collapsed and met its destruction long ago.
Currently, Piel is a sacred and inviolable entity, regardless of whether you're a commander, officer, or soldier.
A thorough atmosphere of restraint where even jokes like 'How rich could the Marshall family be?' aren't permitted.
Though the former Corporal Baren oversees the supply vault, no one ever attempts an under-the-table poke like 'just slip me one keg of beer.'
That is the stature Piel currently holds in the North.
But now even that immense stature was crumbling.
By the monstrous amount of canned food scattered on the ground with a single gesture from Piel.
"Uh...?"
"Ah...?"
"This is...?"
A full 1 million cans of 3kg meat stew.
1 million 200-liter beer kegs.
At the staggering quantity of supplies, not only Varen but even the eyes of the knights and soldiers wavered.
Rebecca and Hildea were no exception.
"C-Colonel Piel...."
"...Piel, that thing there, don't tell me, is it all meat? There are meat pictures drawn on the surface?"
"That's right. It's 1 million 3kg meat stews."
Thud.
The sound of someone's legs giving out and collapsing could be heard.
But no one laughed.
Because it was that mind-boggling.
A few weeks ago, before crossing the river here, Piel had released and left behind a tremendous amount of flour, square pizzas, beer kegs, and more.
In terms of sheer volume, that time was overwhelming.
But.
'A million 3kg meat stews...!'
'He's using all this for a Triumph Ceremony party? Surely not, right? He must be distributing it to the territory residents to save and eat sparingly over time, right?'
That's what everyone thought.
That only a portion would be used for the Triumph Ceremony, and the rest would be given out to each household to prepare for winter.
"Varen, in this Triumph Ceremony, you must consume all of these. I will not tolerate even a single can left over."
Baren nearly collapsed as the strength softly drained from his legs, but he clenched his teeth and endured.
He remembered his younger sibling who had died of illness long ago.
It was an illness that could have been fully overcome if only the nutrition had been sufficient.
Enduring the blurring before his eyes, Varen answered valiantly.
"I will prepare so that everyone can eat until their stomachs burst, without a single one left!"
***
Baren first cooked the amount for the palanquin soldiers and knights here to eat.
It was for practice and to confirm the taste before the party preparations.
The smell wafting from the meat stew, generously filled with large chunks of meat and all sorts of vegetables, drove the soldiers mad.
"E-Even the look of it is different...."
"This is stew? Why can't I see any water? Wasn't stew originally mostly water with a few shredded bits of meat?"
The massive cooking was finished.
Hildea and Rebecca tasted it first.
The gazes of thousands of troops were all focused on the fingertips of the two female generals.
And the two women, who blew carefully on the spoonfuls of meat and vegetable chunks before putting them in their mouths, were speechless for a while.
Piel broke the silence with an indifferent voice.
"How is the taste?"
"...It's an astonishing taste."
"...Delicious. So delicious."
"O-Of course it's no match for samgyeopsal, steak, or the Marshall Burger. But...."
"It's an amazing taste that would scoff at a king's banquet, and yet you have this much of it? You're going to bestow a dish that could be the main course of a royal ball on ordinary territory residents without exception?"
The two women were plunged into shock.
A stew that even a king would fall in love with.
From the chunks of meat and vegetables that chewed tenderly and melted in the mouth, to the umami-rich thick broth that graced the flavor to the fullest.
"This is... a very special dish fit for a king to proudly present to his vassals at a grand royal banquet."
"You're really saying you'll serve this to ordinary territory residents?"
Hildea and Rebecca ceaselessly heaped praise as they busily scooped up the stew.
The hungry knights and soldiers also received rations of '1 can each (10 servings)' and began to eat.
Screams and joy erupted from all around.
"Delicious! So delicious!"
"Th-This is stew? How can stew be like this?"
"Marshall Stew is completely, completely no match at all in taste! Compared to this, that stuff was an embarrassing taste no matter where you brought it!"
The meal was over in an instant.
Even though they'd eaten 10 servings per person, everyone was patting their stomachs, unsatisfied.
Among the knights and soldiers, there wasn't a single person who didn't lick their bowl clean.
If Piel hadn't quietly stopped them, Hildea and Rebecca would have almost licked theirs too.
Piel, who had been benevolently watching the dining scene, stood up and spoke into the loudspeaker.
"Everyone listen well."
Instantly, everyone snapped into rigid military discipline, assuming a sharp posture and straining their ears.
"This is Marshall Stew. Understood?"
Baren nodded in a daze.
Now that he'd tasted it, he understood.
That the unit pizza-beer stew was like a brick biscuit next to a snack bar in front of real Marshall Stew.
***
Piel, Hildea, and Rebecca didn't move right away but stayed a while at the palanquin official residence.
Following Varen's orders, the cooks and knights took the stew cans and rebate beer and scattered all over Ainshuvan.
Going forward, they would announce the Triumph Ceremony and prepare for it.
Only when all preparations were complete would the palanquin official residence move.
Every time the splendid palanquin official residence, borne by thousands of soldiers, made its procession, a group party with Marshall Stew and unlimited beer would be held in that region.
Everyone would eat and drink their fill of a dish even a king would drool over, loudly praising Piel's generosity.
"Hmm, but what do we do while waiting here until then?"
"You have us. We'll give you a mana massage."
While the knights, soldiers, and territory residents all worked together, sweating bullets to prepare the Triumph Ceremony.
Piel leisurely received mana massages from the two women and idled away at the palanquin official residence.