Tear-Soaked Tasting Session - 2
Villar's appearance was like a ray of light to me. Those damn club members had whipped up every possible creation as if they meant to launch a full-blown pastry revolution, and there was simply no way I could finish it all alone. In that situation, having Villar join the fray would clearly be a tremendous help.
If I framed it as a knight cleaning up after his own prince's outrageous behavior, there was nothing to feel guilty about. Besides, as a knight he would eat a great deal, and he was more than qualified to serve as the day's designated disposal unit.
Of course I hadn't called Villar over purely to dump leftovers on him. I wasn't that far gone. I had already planned to meet him today; the mountain of snacks had simply piled up at a convenient moment.
Lucky break.
Whether it was equally lucky for Villar remained to be seen.
I invited him to take a seat—naturally, right in front of the desk heaped with the passionate handiwork of the club members. None of us were leaving until every last scrap was gone.
Faced with a mountain of snacks filling his entire field of vision, Villar wore a distinctly ambivalent expression. The atmosphere suggested he was supposed to eat them, yet being offered such an overwhelming quantity was clearly a first for him. Too bad. A considerable portion of this belonged to his prince.
"With the expo so close, the members' enthusiasm has been considerable. It seemed a shame to eat alone, so I hoped you might join me."
"I am most grateful."
When I smiled and said that, Villar had little choice but to nod. When someone of high rank offered him the chance to sample what they had made, a convenient excuse to refuse was hard to come by.
Leaving the nodding Villar behind, I walked over to the shelf. At the very least we needed something to drink if we were going to keep eating. Those bastards of club members had force-fed me without so much as a drop of water. The more I thought about it, the more it really did feel like food torture. How was I going to get even?
While mulling over methods of revenge against the members, my hand, stretching unconsciously toward the cookie jar, suddenly stopped.
This one's mine.
I hurriedly redirected my hand, pulling out the tea leaves I had stashed away long ago instead of the ones Luise had given me, and began to steep them. No way was I sharing a gift with anyone else.
"With the expo approaching, the Academy has grown rather lively. I do hope our guests from abroad are not finding it too inconvenient."
While the tea steeped I tossed out a suitable topic. The Club Expo was a massive festival within the Academy and, outwardly, a day when outsiders were permitted entry. For the forces of the Three Kingdoms stationed at the Academy to guard key figures, it was an event that inevitably set every nerve on edge.
"Not at all. It simply brings back my own school days, and I find myself getting rather excited as well."
"That is a relief to hear."
I smiled faintly, carried the tea set over, and sat across from Villar. When I offered him a cup he accepted it with thanks, and I watched him quietly.
The expo had been a light topic to fill the time while the tea steeped, yet it was also the very reason I had arranged this meeting. The Club Expo itself was not the problem. The headache was that the Academy would open its gates once the expo began.
He's got quite a bit to worry about.
The Club Expo was a long-standing annual Academy tradition. Neither the Empire nor the Academy had suddenly forced it through; the Three Kingdoms had known the expo would take place around this time when they sent their people. There was no room for a blame game.
But no matter how thoroughly one anticipates and prepares, experiencing something firsthand is another matter entirely. It was like knowing winter survival training was coming and still wanting desperately to refuse when the day finally arrived. Hadn't he just claimed the memories of his school days had him excited?
You could strip away every modifier in front of that word. "Excited" was practically Villar's death rattle, packed full of his true feelings.
Of course he'd be excited.
An Academy packed and chaotic with a massive influx of outside visitors. In that situation, the fear that some misfortune might befall a key figure from his own country would have him burning up inside. Whenever the higher-ups moved, the subordinates fretted themselves sick—that was simply the way of the world.
"I suspect this year's outside guests will outnumber previous years."
At my calm remark, one of Villar's eyebrows twitched slightly. He was no doubt wondering whether this was simply a casual heads-up that attendance might rise by chance, or a notification that the Empire intended to use the expo to expand its forces. It was the former, of course. The latter sort of mutual offense was best avoided.
I had learned of the increased guest list through the Student Council. Since it would be awkward for nobles to simply show up without any notice, the Academy collected the names of visiting nobles in advance during the expo period. Think of it as a reservation system of sorts.
Looking at the list, the numbers were far higher than last year or the year before. With all the unusual variables this year, the crowd had apparently swollen.
"There have been various troubles within the Empire for some time. Now that things have settled into peace, many wish to see for themselves the pillars who will lead the next generation."
"Is that so? Even to my eyes, which remain here constantly, new talents appear every time. I can only imagine how astonished those coming from outside will be."
"Well now, hearing that makes me feel rather proud for no reason at all."
When I mentioned the "various troubles" that an Imperial noble would rather not speak of, Villar's expression softened markedly. By bringing up even the unpleasant matters, I had made it clear that the increase in outside guests was pure coincidence, free of any other intent.
"In fact, there is something I would like to ask of you, Sir Villar."
"Please, speak freely."
With a far more relaxed face, Villar nodded. That expression was about to grow even more comfortable. I was not usually one to extend this sort of consideration, but looking at Villar—he seemed like a condensed embodiment of every civil servant's lament—I made a special exception.
"As I mentioned just now, the crowds at this year's expo will be considerable. That means a good number of people are likely to flock to our club booth as well."
At those words Villar's expression stiffened a little. His duty was to protect key figures amid those very throngs that would crowd the booths.
He had already heard there would be many outside guests and could guess as much, but there was a world of difference between thinking it through alone in one's head and being told to one's face, You're going to be run ragged, my friend.
"Which is why I hoped that you, Sir Villar… and, if possible, the others from the Three Kingdoms might lend us a hand."
"Lend a hand, you say?"
"Yes. The more hands we have inside the booth, the better. Would that be possible?"
It would be. Or rather, even if it were not, they would somehow scrape together the manpower and come running. Had the Three Kingdoms side made this proposal first instead of me, it would have been a request requiring them to get down on their knees and bow their heads.
Under normal circumstances the forces of the Three Kingdoms would have had to hover near the booths as mere escort power, engaging in endless staring contests with other nobles and the troops guarding them. Just thinking about it was exhausting.
But if they accepted my proposal, they could remain at the booth as participants in the Club Expo itself. No need for pointless posturing, and the key figures they had to protect would be right in front of them. It offered fully justified close-protection under a perfect pretext; refusing would have been strange.
See? The light had returned to Villar's previously hardened eyes.
"We already owe the Inspector a great deal. How could we refuse so small a request?"
"Haha, thank you. I was worried whether we could manage properly during the expo, but now I feel much more at ease."
A mutually satisfying deal was struck. The forces of the Three Kingdoms gained legal escort rights with virtually zero risk of clashing with the Empire, and I had secured manpower to keep an eye on those hopeless club members in my place. If those idiots wandered outside the booth and collided with some other noble, I would be the one stuck cleaning it up. I had no desire to see that spectacle.
Moreover, by showing this kind of consideration, the likelihood that the Three Kingdoms side would yield or cooperate when I needed them later rose considerably. As long as there was no real loss, stacking up favors like this was simply good policy.
Perhaps feeling relieved, Villar picked up one of the snacks piled on the desk and put it in his mouth. One of Luise's cookies.
"…A unique flavor."
After chewing a few times, Villar fell silent for a moment before speaking in a low voice. True to a knight, his reaction was far more restrained than the gently raised club members. Those ones had been frantic not to let it show that the taste did not suit them.
But if Villar ever let that sort of thing show and then heard, Actually, Ryutis made that one, he would be hit with the ultimate "you-can't-say-anything-now" trap. A pitiful position to be in.
"Isn't it? I rather like the taste myself."
Of course I had no intention of telling him who had made what. That way Villar would eat everything evenly.
At my smiling face Villar offered a small smile of his own and quietly finished the rest of the cookie. Once again: none of us were leaving until every last bit was gone.
The performance of the day's disposal unit proved satisfactory. Whether it was a knight's high basal metabolism or something else, he ate well. When I told him I would send whatever the club members made tomorrow over to the Three Kingdoms side as well, Villar quietly lowered his eyes and said he was grateful. No doubt he was happy at the thought of sharing delicious snacks with his subordinates.
Or not. What did it matter? If they wanted to work inside the booth, they would eat whatever they were given. A disposal unit had no right to be picky about food.
"There are more people to eat them now, so feel free to make as much as you like."
And so I declared it boldly in front of the gathered members. Now that I had a way to handle any quantity, there was no reason to hold back. Leftovers could simply be sent straight to the Three Kingdoms side. With all those mouths over there, how could they fail to handle snacks made by a mere six people?
They couldn't. These crazy bastards had cranked out snacks at factory production levels.
Through the communication orb, Villar's eyes looked utterly bleak and sunken.