Kays Translations
Just another Isekai Lover~
Chapter 38: A Banquet Before the Battle
At Count Kelvim’s direction, the central square had been filled with dishes until it resembled a banquet.
An entire cow was butchered, and Flora, the other cooks, the butcher, and the townspeople applied all their skill to preparing it. Great pots of different stews lined tables around the square.
A brick grill occupied the square’s center, with thick slices of meat cooking over a wire rack.
Gilbert hurried toward Flora beside the pots. The rich aroma filling the town tormented his empty stomach.
“I made a classic stew: stock from beef bones and vegetables thickened with a flour-and-butter roux, then combined with wine and ripe tomatoes and simmered with plenty of meat, potatoes, and vegetables.”
Flora’s cheeks flushed as she happily recited the recipe.
“As promised.”
Gilbert tasted the stew she offered and devoured it in moments. Its gentle flavor warmed and satisfied his entire body. When he looked up, Flora was smiling happily at him.
“Over there’s a refreshing oxtail soup seasoned with salt and aromatic vegetables, made by the butcher’s wife. Beside it’s the cook’s sweet and spicy stew with hot peppers and maltose. They’re all delicious.”
Gilbert couldn’t help watching Flora as she explained everything in a bright, buoyant voice.
While he stood entranced, a mercenary approached from behind and threw an arm around his shoulders.
“Gilbert, why are you standing here? If you keep daydreaming, the food will be gone.”
The mercenary, already cheerful from drink, had become a good friend.
“What’s this one?”
A private soldier who had fought beside them that day pointed to another pot.
“That’s tendon and shank stewed in whey! The village headman taught me the recipe, of which he’s very proud.”
“Whey ……”
“I, I see, whey ……”
Gilbert, the mercenary, and the private soldier all recoiled, faces twisting. The day’s battle remained vivid. Nevertheless, because Flora had cooked it, Gilbert took a cautious bite. Thorough cooking had removed the troublesome smell.
“…! It’s delicious…!”
“Really? It truly is delicious! What’s this—the meat melts in my mouth!”
“Incredible. The flavor is erasing my nightmarish memories of the day.”
Everyone became absorbed in eating, and Flora laughed happily as she watched.
—Flora’s happy face makes me happy too. I’m glad to be alive…
Gilbert gazed at her in a daze.
At the square’s center, Count Kelvim stood and raised a wooden cup of wine.
“Tomorrow our preparations begin in earnest! Eat your fill today and recover your strength! Let us show them the might of the people of the old north!”
The townspeople answered Count Kelvim’s call with a cheer.
The despair caused by the day’s undead attack had already begun to fade.
Carrying a mountain of bowls filled with different stews, Gilbert and Flora approached the table where Lionel and the others sat.
There, a priest of the Western Grand Church poured drinks for Dolph and Barbara.
“This is the finest day of my life. I’ve met the legendary blacksmith and magic user.”
Dolph and Barbara gave the drunken priest mischievous smiles.
“And now the old blessing and new blessing are together. Blessings strengthen one another. Power born when prayers converge is amplified by those prayers themselves. I can’t believe I’m witnessing it…”
The priest, surely quite drunk, spoke with tears of joy in his eyes.