Harmony or Discord? (2)
The young noblewomen fanned themselves, covering their mouths as they spoke. “So that thing on the table is what they call a Berk tomato? And the stuff next to it is that hard confectionery—black sugar toast and hardtack?”
“That’s right.”
The young ladies gathered at the Alfred family estate today were busy dissecting the reason for their invitation.
“But why is everyone just staring at it? Are we waiting for someone? It looks like both the family head and Lord Berk have already arrived. Weren’t they supposed to feed each other things they’ve never tried before?”
“Exactly. But I heard both of those items were brought by a mage from the Arean Continent.”
“A mage? So is he going to cook with magic?”
“Who knows? What I do know is that Lord Berk and the Alfred family had grown rather frosty toward each other over this food issue. Apparently this mage is supposed to create a dish that uses both ingredients to help them reconcile.”
“Really? Hmm. I don’t really care about all that. I just want to try something new and enjoy the party already. When is this supposed to start?”
As the young ladies’ irritation mounted and the other guests began to grow restless, the side door of the banquet hall opened. Servants streamed in carrying trays of food.
“Thank you all for coming. There ought to be many fine words and compliments for such a distinguished gathering, but what good would they do? Let’s eat first.”
Baron Adeland, head of the Alfred family, smiled broadly as he took charge as host and immediately suggested they begin with the food.
“We’ll start with a Caprese-style tomato salad as the appetizer, followed by candied tomatoes.”
Speaking with the easy confidence of a host, Baron Adeland began explaining both how to eat the dishes and the stories behind them that he had been told.
“It’s a tomato salad enjoyed in the Capri region of the Arean Continent. The combination of tomato, mozzarella cheese, and fresh herbs is said to perfectly awaken the palate.”
While Baron Adeland smiled as he served the Caprese salad, Lord Berk’s expression was sour, as if he had bitten into something bitter. If they had simply compared the tomato he had provided against the hard confectionery the Alfreds were championing, the tomato—which could be used in countless other dishes—would have been the undisputed winner. It would have been as good as a victory over the Alfred family. But that opportunity had been twisted away, and his mood showed it.
When Lord Berk had gone to see the person making the hard confectionery, he discovered that a butler named Yunkel had learned both recipes from the mage Jinwoo. Somehow Yunkel had proposed creating a single harmonious dish that used both ingredients. At the time, Lord Berk had simply accepted it, but watching Baron Adeland act as if he had orchestrated this entire event made his stomach twist with displeasure. There was nothing he could do but sit there and stew.
“My lord, your face is positively wintry. When old, deep-rooted nobles clash over pride, this is usually how it goes. You knew that, didn’t you?”
“Of course I knew. But that tomato was something that could have drawn every eye in the kingdom. I should have left Ruke with the mage. I got stabbed in the back.”
“My lord, it’s already too late for that. You should lift your spirits. And please try this Caprese-style salad. The way the cheese stretches is quite novel. Oh! Here comes the new dish they call pizza.”
Ruke abandoned even his duty of attending Lord Berk and hurried over to the table where the pizza was being set down.
“This pizza is made by placing dough in a square pan, layering cheese on first, then adding black sugar confection and tomato sauce before baking in the oven.”
Baron Adeland introduced the Detroit-style square pizza to the nobles, cutting it into portions for each of them. He smiled as he looked at the black sugar confection nestled among the tomato sauce on top.
Thanks to Yunkel, we managed to keep all the attention from going to Lord Berk.
Even in his own opinion, the hard confectionery made a decent dessert, but it simply couldn’t compare to the tomato. He made a mental note to reward Yunkel for preventing an obvious defeat, and to give something to the mage who had created this thing called pizza.
“A fruit that’s both sweet and tart? Are there many such fruits on the Arean Continent?”
“Our exchanges have been so limited that it’s hard to say. Still, if they have confectionery as hard as this, their culture and plant life must be quite different from ours.”
“They said they would give us seeds for this tomato fruit, right? I’m going to grow some myself and make this pizza and the candied tomatoes at home.”
“Ah, look—they’re handing them out over there. Berk tomato seeds! I heard Lord Berk asked for them to be named that way.”
“Then Lord Berk’s favorite saying has finally come true.”
“What saying?”
“The one about how he will look up at the world from within the flower garden you see.”
“Oh, I’ve heard that one too. If they plant Berk tomatoes in the flower gardens, it really will be just like that. Ohohoho!”
“Lord Berk’s name is going to spread through flower beds across the entire kingdom. Hahaha!”
As the young noblewomen laughed and chatted happily, the atmosphere in the banquet hall grew warm and pleasant. The goal of tasting unusual new food had been achieved, and with full bellies, the nobles’ eyes naturally turned toward attractive members of the opposite sex. Music flowed, and as the typical noble party got underway, people began to gather around both Lord Berk and the members of the Alfred family.
“It seems no one will be able to match Lord Berk’s network and fame now. To bring something that will spread not just across the kingdom but the entire continent and even attach your name to it—brilliant.”
“Hahaha. We’re only at the stage of distributing the seeds, and you’re already talking about the entire continent. You flatter me. Hahaha.”
“I can say with certainty that this fruit called the Berk tomato will spread like wildfire. I really must learn your methods, my lord.”
“Indeed. Lord Berk truly is extraordinary.”
The nobles all praised Lord Berk, envying his cleverness in naming the tomato and spreading it that way. Although he had been annoyed at having the spotlight stolen from him as host, the envy and praise from everyone else soon lifted Lord Berk’s mood again.
“That’s why I’m thinking of trying Lord Berk’s method myself. I plan to send a ship from Pearl Harbor in the south to the Arean Continent.”
“Are you planning to trade? Importing tomatoes?”
“No, not exactly trade. I’m thinking of bringing back fruits that don’t exist on our Entrick Continent, giving them my family name, and spreading them.”
“Ah! Then fruits bearing the Fuller family name would spread across the kingdom and make your name known. I’d like to get in on this too. Hahaha.”
These were nobles from Booktoria, where goods from across the wealthy Shuzel Kingdom flowed. They all had the luxury of time and resources. What such privileged nobles coveted most was fame and renown. Of course, both could be bought with money. But rather than spending recklessly to boost their reputation, attaching their own or their family’s name to a new crop seemed a far better way to gain prestige. They decided to commission people heading to the Arean or Doniria Continents so as not to fall behind the others. The Berk tomato had become the spark that ignited a new wave of crop discovery.
“Young Master Scolid, are you eating pizza again?”
The maid knew that the third son of the family had particularly enjoyed the pizza at yesterday’s banquet.
“Yes. I need to eat it while we still have tomatoes. But… it doesn’t taste the same as yesterday.”
“Pardon? The family chefs definitely learned the exact method while preparing it yesterday.”
“I know. I watched them too. But it doesn’t taste the same. And…”
Scolid didn’t say it aloud, but after eating the pizza yesterday, the constant pain that wracked his entire body had vanished. The moment he ate it, the agony simply disappeared. That was why he had asked the chefs to make pizza again today using the remaining tomatoes and mozzarella. Yet not only did it taste inferior to yesterday’s, but the pain-relieving effect was gone as well.
“Young Master, perhaps that’s only natural. Even if Mother’s stew and stew bought outside are made the same way, they never taste quite the same, do they?”
“That’s true.”
Scolid agreed that even identical recipes could produce different flavors. Still, he wanted to taste that flavor again—the one delicious enough to erase the pain that tormented his whole body.
“The butler Yunkel said it was two hours by carriage, right?”
“Yes. Surely you’re not thinking of going there yourself to eat?”
“I would if I could, but that’s not possible. Summon a training knight who rides well.”
***
“I come on the orders of Young Master Scolid. Is that not possible?”
“Sigh. For now, go stand in line over there. You need four whole pizzas?”
Jinwoo felt sorry for the dust-covered knight who had galloped here in such a hurry, but he wasn’t the only one. Five people had already arrived and were waiting. These nobles were sending people to buy pizza and other foods even though there was no delivery culture or “Delivery Nation” here.
“M-Master, I’m so tired. I’ve been making nothing but tomato ketchup since this morning.”
“Me too! Why am I the one putting toppings on pizzas and baking them in the oven?”
“Want to switch with Michelle and do the dough instead?”
“No, that’s too exhausting.”
Though they didn’t complain as openly as Yanne and Sezanne due to their positions, Michelle was sweating heavily while kneading dough, and Tilt looked exhausted from chopping firewood to keep the oven going. Jack was equally frantic, running between nearby farms to secure vegetables for toppings and flour.
“Young Master Scolid paid one gold for four pizzas.”
“Lady Pieli paid ten silvers for pizza and Caprese.”
But the moment the money from the nobles for the pizzas and cooking fees was divided among them, everyone stopped grumbling and moved with renewed energy. However, when over ten academy students who had stopped by on their way to the capital the next day demanded pizza, Jinwoo had no choice but to throw up his hands.
“Master, you smell like tomato ketchup all over.”
“My arms won’t go up anymore.”
“My grip has no strength left.”
After two days of forced business, everyone was in a groggy state. With more people coming for pizza today after yesterday, the rumors would spread even further. Tomorrow might bring an even bigger crowd.
“Let’s gather more people. It’s not planting season yet, so we’ll hire idle workers from the surrounding farms. When planting time comes, we’ll bring in the poor from Booktoria to work.”
“Master, does that mean we’re settling down here?”
Yanne’s question left him with a dilemma. Having always wanted to run a restaurant back on Earth, this forced food service situation was exhausting but also genuinely enjoyable. However, even though it was winter, a request had come from the capital, Daiven, asking him to stop lingering in one place and reform his mercenary group.
“Semi-settlement, I suppose. We’ll turn this place into a tomato production farm, then find a house along the main road and open a pizza shop there.”
“A proper shop, then.”
“That’s right. And once tomatoes start being grown elsewhere, we’ll open a shop in the capital Daiven as well. There are other things I need to do, so I can’t settle in just one place.”
Only then did Sezanne realize she had never asked why the mage Jinwoo had left the Arean Continent and come here. It seemed he had some purpose, but she had never inquired.
“For now, let’s start by making a Berk Pizza Shop for Lord Berk.”