The Reluctant Temple Feast
The temple folks apparently didn't want to give any work to our inn. The city official who came over on Hildeva's orders said they'd originally planned to get food from everywhere except the inn. But no one else could handle the volume, so at Hildeva's urging, they had no choice but to include us.
The head priest—that guy's got some serious lingering grudge. Well, can you blame him? Getting humiliated right to his face like that, it'd be weirder if he didn't hold a grudge.
Anyway, they said the menu didn't matter as long as we made a ton of it and it tasted good. So I sent Della out to scout what the other places were planning. No point in overlapping menus.
Della came back soon enough, and after hearing the list, I decided on our dish: bouillabaisse, a stew made with fish and all sorts of seafood. You fry up spices and small fish, add water to make a thick broth, then toss in various fish and simmer it long. The longer it cooks, the deeper the flavor. Perfect—we'd start now and keep it going right up until the event kicked off. With the thing starting tonight, we'd have plenty of time to extract every bit of taste.
Good timing too; we'd been eating nothing but meat and potatoes lately, and I'd already gotten some fish from Mollo. This was the perfect use for it.
Speaking of which, those bastards only told us about the evening event this morning. Jerks.
I hauled out a basket of fish and got to work prepping them with Della. Off with the heads and guts, scrape off the scales, trim the fins that get in your way—then pile 'em in an empty basket.
"Hehe, look at this, Master."
Della held up a massive catfish. The dumb-looking thing had its mouth open wide, chomping on something like a tiny anchovy.
"Looks like it got caught mid-meal and died. Poor thing."
Della didn't sound pitiful at all as she smashed its head with a cleaver.
"Hey! Idi! Get over here!"
"Uh... y-yeah...!"
Idwild shuffled into the kitchen and lit the brazier as I instructed. She could control the flame's intensity perfectly, which made her invaluable for cooking. The only downside: she sweated buckets if she stood by the fire too long.
While Della finished prepping the fish, I hefted a massive cauldron onto the brazier. Once it heated up, I told Idi to dial back the flame a bit. On low, I dumped in olive oil, a mess of spices and ingredients, and sautéed them all together. The aroma hit, and Idwild smacked her lips.
"Smells so good..."
Once everything was cooked through, I added water and cranked the heat. The ingredients bubbled furiously, building the stock. Meanwhile, Della finished the fish and grabbed a sieve from the shelf—she clearly knew the bouillabaisse drill. She set a big bucket on the floor and placed the sieve over it; I lifted the cauldron and poured. The stock drained into the bucket, leaving the solids in the sieve.
Della hauled the sieve's scraps to the backyard to dump. I put the cauldron back on, tossed in the prepped fish, and said,
"Idi, crank the heat."
"O-okay..."
The flames roared up, licking the cauldron's edges, and the fish started sizzling right away. I poured in the strained stock and stirred evenly with a long ladle. Normally you'd add lobster, shrimp, clams, all sorts of seafood here, but fish alone would have to do. A shame.
I stirred through the blasting steam until I had to step back.
"Now low again."
"Got it..."
Smelled great, seasoning seemed on point... Now just simmer low and slow, then cart it to the temple.
"Whew, hot."
I wiped sweat from my forehead with my sleeve and turned—Idi's shirt collar was soaked dark. She peeled her black hair off her face, met my eyes, and quickly dropped her arm tight against her side.
"What're you doing?"
"Worried I smell sweaty..."
"Yeah? C'mere, lemme check."
I grabbed her arm as she backed away, pulled her close, and sniffed her nape. She curled up like a hermit crab at my teasing. That's when Della walked in from the back door, saw us, and dropped the sieve.
"Oh my...! Sorry!"
She bolted outside.
"L-let go... Bertrand..."
Idwild wriggled free, hugged her chest like she was crossing her arms, and fled the kitchen. Just like that, both waitresses were gone.
We had to head to the temple later, so we ate an early dinner. The richly simmered bouillabaisse had a profound depth from the long cook time, and Della and Idi ate with satisfaction.
"This is so good. Whatever we had in Bue must've been garbage."
"Me too... first time eating something like this..."
After dinner, I hitched up the lazy donkey that'd done nothing but loaf. Slapped the cart harness on it and loaded the cauldron. The girls' eyes went wide when I casually lifted the heavy thing. I secured it tight with ropes so it wouldn't tip, then climbed into the driver's seat.
Idi would stay to watch the overnight guests; Della and I were temple-bound. Della hopped up, but the donkey wouldn't budge under the full cauldron plus two people.
"I'm not that heavy..."
Della pouted, so we ended up walking.
The road in front of the temple had several long tables set up. Piles of food from other places were already there: big round loaves of bread, hunks of boiled meat, that sort of thing.
I greeted the restaurant and bakery owners who'd brought it. They eyed the heaping cauldron of bouillabaisse and licked their chops.
No priests in sight; city officials were handling all the prep.
"Bertrand!"
As I set the cauldron on a table, Hildeva approached with a bright smile.
"No priests, all officials doing the work. On a feast day."
"You know how they are."
Hildeva adjusted her glasses with a sigh.
"At least the Saintess showed up."
I looked where she pointed: Celereja the Saintess was helping officials light candles on candelabras.
"So, what'd you bring, Bertrand? Oh? Bouillabaisse?"
"You like it?"
"Love it! I devour the stuff. And if you made it? No contest."
Hildeva's smile curved her eyes into crescents.
"Boss...?"
Someone called from the side. I turned—a yellow bob-cut Illian Sergeant was staring at me.
"Oh? Squad leader."
"Boss..."
She approached with a voice thick as if she'd been crying.
"Boss..."
"Heard you were back in town. I stopped by once, but you seemed busy."
"I... was gonna visit the inn... but never found the time..."
Illian looked ready to burst into tears. Hildeva blinked in confusion.
"Nice seeing you."
"Y-yes...!"
The petite woman gazed up at me, eyes glistening.
"Go command your squad."
"Um... Boss... that..."
She hesitated, like she wanted to say something.
"What?"
"N-nothing...!"
She shook her head and hurried back to her squad. The guards helped prep under her orders.
"Now they're pulling in soldiers. Someone'd think it was a coronation."
"Yeah. But what can you do? Priests gonna priest."
Prep wrapped up, and soon citizens flooded in. First big event since the Golruk cleanup—everyone was buzzing. Nothing fancy, just free food, but still.
The temple forecourt filled up fast. Back when I first arrived, you'd only spot gloomy stragglers here and there. Population boom was real.
In the lively chaos, the temple doors opened. The head priest and some young priests emerged. The crowd hushed.
The head priest climbed the podium, cleared his throat, and launched into a rote, boring speech. He cut it short—too much hassle—and ducked back inside. The young priest took two platters for their share.
Celereja glared daggers at him from across the tables, face twisted in disgust.
Now the real feast: people lined up, grabbing food in their own bowls to eat on-site or take home. It vanished in a flash. They'd rationed small portions to go around, but the crowd was huge. In the end, the officials and guards who ran the thing had nothing left.
I called over Hildeva and Illian, offering to feed them all at the inn. Can't say it enough: good with officials? Always pays off.
Della fetched the cart; I loaded the cauldron. Then to the officials and Celereja, who was helping clean up.
"Saintess. Coming to the inn tonight?"
"Why?"
"Got dinner ready."
"...Fine. I'll go."
Her tone was blunted—maybe from last time. Still sharp compared to most, though. What a personality...
Della and I got back first and prepped a simple meal—stir-fried meat and veggies, bread, cheese, set out in the hall. No time for fancy.
Soon the officials and guards filed in. But no Celereja. Figured maybe Kali was holding her up again, so I checked outside—no sign in the yard.
"Administrator. Saintess didn't come?"
"Dunno? Haven't seen her."
"Squad leader. The Saintess?"
"No idea."
What the...? Maybe she had temple cleanup and would show late?
I stood frowning in the rowdy hall.
"What's wrong? Something up...?"
Idi approached; I turned to her.
"Gonna step out a sec. You two hold the fort."
"Okay... don't worry..."
I grabbed a horse from the stable, hopped on bareback, and spurred it through town to the temple.
The front was spotless. No wandering Celereja.
I dismounted, tried the door—barred from inside. So I smashed it open. The thick bolt snapped like a toothpick; doors flew wide.
The nave was dark and empty. But light leaked from the head priest's office door at the back.
I approached. Sounds from within: punches, or something striking flesh.