<h4>Chapter 26: Even If I Lie</h4>
After I finished breakfast, I went to the kitchen for the second time.
Chloe, who apanied Colt the chief, has already gone for preparing the construction. They’re extremely busy arranging the vigers’ gathering under the pretext of offering a mass prayer to end the disease in the afternoon today.
My part is to check the amount of pastries. I must make around 200 portions.
Light Snow Silk Crepes are being made all at once by pouring into the stone board. Truth be told, this pastry is made not just to treat everyone as a medicine, I also put the possibility of selling it in Margrave Fernande’s territory into consideration. It’s a highly original and incredibly delicious pastry that can be produced inrge numbers, using kudzu as the ingredient that no one has ever seen before. There’s no way it won’t sell well.
However, since it won’tst long, I’m going to have to go to the store and make it there personally. It won’t be a regr product, but a special limited once a month menu. There should be that way of selling too.
“Kurt-sama, I’ve brought a lot.”
“Thanks, Tina.”
I asked Tina to bring a lot of broad leaf bamboo grass (<i>sasa</i>).
“What are you going to use these for?”
“A substitution for tes. As expected, there are not enough tes for two hundred people, and they can’t just be handed over by hand.”
The sasa is washed with water, and the Light Snow Silk Crepe is put on top of it.
“It’s really pretty. cing it on top of sasa leaf makes it look more delicious than being put on a te.”
“There’s a good bnce between the translucent pastry and sasa. Besides, the scents won’t sh. Moreover, sasa won’t decay and it also has the effect on defeating the source of illness.”
In Japan, there’s a culture of wrapping <i>mochi</i> and <i>sushi</i> in sasa, because it has the benefit of making the food longsting, other than due to the appearance and convenience.
One by one, the sasa leaves are lined up on top of the tray I created using earth magic arte, then the Light Snow Silk Crepes are ced on them.
“Kurt-sama, I’m helping too.”
Tina starts helping out. She washes the sasa and lines them up on the tray, so I can focus on cing the Light Snow Silk Crepes on them.
“It’ll be good if everyone eats Kurt-sama’s pastry.”
“You’re right. Let’s believe it’ll happen.”
With that, the two of us continue the work in silence.
?
After finishing the preparation step, we left the kitchen with the trays. We’re delivering the pastries. While going to the pastry’s storage area that Colt told us beforehand, my eyes caught sight of the altar installed at the center of the vige.
It makes me think of huge campfire, the way those wooden frames are being arranged. They’ll probably use fire. Sparing a sidelong nce for them, we deliver the pastry to a building that’s an arm away from the za. It’s covered with damp cloth so that it won’t be exposed to sunlight. There are water jugs filled with plenty of water nearby. It’ll prevent dryness and preserve the coolness.
After making round trips, we’ve delivered all the pastries and met up with Colt and the others to sync our awareness.
?
The day yields to the afternoon; it’s finally the prayer time. All the present vigers are gathering in the central za of the vige. Tina and I are watching from the corner of the za.
On the raised tform, Colt exins the current state of the disease’s spread, then he signals the beginning of the prayer. The altar arranged at the center of the za is thick with mes. The elves around it are offering prayers simr to Buddhist prayers while being d in white <i>hakama</i>. Around them, all the vigers who aren’t sick from the disease are praying. Everyone wears a serious face. Most likely, they don’t really think that the disease matter will be solved by praying either. But even so, this is the only thing they can do. They’re cornered to this extent.
“Kurt-sama.”
Tina squeezed my hand. She can feel the unusual unease and helplessness in the air.
“It’ll be all right. I will figure it out.”
I squeeze her hand back. It makes her smile.
After the prayer ends, it’ll be my turn atst.
For Tina, for Colt, for Chloe, there’s absolutely no room for failure.
?
After a while, the prayer ends. Colt ascends the tform for the second time.
“Everyone, thank you for taking the time toe in this busy hour. I wish that your prayers will reach the heavens as well.”
Colt’s voice resound in the vicinity. His voice shows his sincerity in his wish. That feeling seems to reach the vigers as well, because they’re making docile expressions.
“In this ce, there is something that I wish to tell you. Already many of you know this, but my daughter, Culrina, who left this vige with a human, has passed away. She seems to have been defeated by disease. The same disease that took the life of the human who took Culrina with him.”
The vigers who heard those words were visibly shaken; their faces darkened. Tina’s mother should be a popr person adored by this vige.
“Also, Culrina has brought a child into this world. My grandchild. Her daughter’s name is Tina. She’s born as a Lunar, and looks like the spitting image of Culrina. That Tina hase to this vige. Let me introduce her at this ce, along with another person who came with her.”
The vigers made argermotion. Then, Tina and I climb to the tform. From the side, she looks like Culrina. She’s an exact resemnce. Or so what everyone is whispering about.
First, Tina starts to speak.
“Nice to meet you. I’m called Tina. I’m very happy to be able toe to my mother’s hometown. To me, she told me a lot of things about the spirit vige. It’s a ce of joy, a great ce. I’m very sad that a disease has stricken a vige that wonderful.”
Tina conceals her face. She truly feels sad. And it’s because she’s sincere that her feelings can reach the vigers.
After pausing for a while, she speaks again.
“The truth is, my objective toe to this vige isn’t to visit my mother’s hometown. Chloe left the vige in order to borrow the strength of a human doctor to save the vige, and she had a fateful encounter with Kurt-sama, who is beside me. Kurt-sama took care of me when I was lost on the roadside after losing both of my parents, and hired me as his servant. To help Kurt-sama as his assistant, I came to this vige.”
As the story changes course, the vigers be baffled. Tina continues in the middle of that.
“Kurt-sama came to this vige in order to cure the disease of the vige. However, his medical treatment was rejected because this vige couldn’t borrow a human’s strength. If it’s Kurt-sama, he can definitely cure the illness. I wish, you will ept Kurt-sama’s treatment. Please.”
Tina lowers her head. However, the reactions from the vigers are bad. I can pick up the voices by strengthening my hearing range with mana.
[A human doctor?]
[If he truly can heal the illness, if it’s true.......]
[It has to be a lie. There’s no one in the vige who can do anything about it.]
[It’s unthinkable to borrow a human’s strength.]
[Hear, hear. I’d rather die before I’d throw away my pride.]
[But, if he can save nee-chan, even if he’s human, then]
The negative opinions, those who doubt me, make up more than half of the crowd. Very rarely, there are voices who express their willingness to borrow my strength even if I am human.
Well, it’s as I imagined. It’s difficult to make them ept medical treatment through a frontal attack.
“Tina, it’s okay. You’ve done well.”
I grasp Tina’s shoulder while saying that.
“Kurt-sama.”
“It’s all right. Leave the rest to me.”
Tina has done her part really well. From now on, it’s my responsibility.
“Nice to meet you. I am Kurt?Arnold. I’m a human doctor. I came to this vige upon Chloe’s request. Let me tell you something first. As Tina said earlier, I could definitely cure this illness.”
I strongly assert my words. There’s argermotion than before, then all their interest is pointed at me all at once.
“However, regretfully, I was told that you wouldn’t borrow a human’s strength, and I couldn’t lend my hand. To protect that rule, I am told that those who have the resolution to be banished from the vige can be healed. After this, please state it if you intend to do so. You don’t have to worry after being banished from the vige either. It’s in a human vige, but I’ll prepare the ce for you to live and work. This has gone through your vige head’s, Colt’s approval.”
This is the precaution if the pastry does fail. In the event that the pastry still cannot persuade everyone, I informed them that I’ll still save them, at the very least.
“I want to save lives. However, I’m not allowed to. To be honest, my heart is torn apart. .......I have the power to save you, but I can only watch the residents of this vige die. It makes me feel miserable and helpless.”
Like how Tina did it, I show them the sincerity in my words. No matter how small it is, if it can make them trust me.
“That’s why, at the very least, for the sake of all the vigers here, I wish to do what I can. I am a doctor, as well as a pastry chef. Using the ingredients in this vige, I made a pastry that none of you has ever seen before. I wish to present this pastry to you. After presenting the pastry, I’ll be viting the vige’s rule and thus will leave this vige along with those who wish to get my medical treatment even if they have to be banished from the vige. I’m sorry, that I cannot do anything other than this.”
I lower my head.
The vigers are looking at me withplicated expression. It seems that at least they have let their guard down, more or less.
“Everyone, Kurt’s pastry is truly delicious. That’s why, please, eat them.”
A strikingly cheerful voice resounds. It’s Chloe.
She appears on the tform out of nowhere. In her hand, there’s a Light Snow Silk Crepe that has been ced on sasa. It’s jiggling while being moved.
On top of that, Chloe scoops it with a spoon. The spoon sinks smoothly, then she brings it to her mouth. She starts chewing in a blink of an eye. She held her cheeks with her two hands, showing a happy expression.
“Yuuup, it’s as delicious as I thought? It’s the first time in my life I’ve ever eaten this kind of pastry.”
Chloe showed with her whole body how delicious the pastry was. The vigers swallowed their drool soundly.
“Hey, everyone. We don’t know when we’ll fall sick. I think that we shouldn’t waste away this chance to eat the best pastry like this. Just epting the pastry won’t break the rules of the vige, right, Colt-ojisan?”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s not included in the rules.”
“Hear that? Ah, but if you won’t eat it, I’ll be eating everyone’s portion.”
Chloe’s words are making fun of them, and the vigerse to their decisions.
“We’ll eat too.”
“As if we’ll let Chloe eat all of that delicious-looking thing.”
Then, theye this way. I smile bitterly, step down from the tform, then bring over the Light Snow Silk Crep on the sasa. Just like our nned arrangement, I bring that to the table and start distributing them.
“Here you go.”
“Oniichan, thank you.”
While handing over the Light Snow Silk Crepes one by one, I secretly cast Heal on them without fail.
At first, there are a lot of vigers who look reserved, but as soon as there are more folks who start eating, their tension is loosened; the vigers put my pastry in their mouths. Then, my poprity shoots through the roof.
“Everyone, make a proper line.”
“This is the end of the line.”
Chloe and Tina help with arranging the line. It’s quite helpful. When the line surpasses one hundred, I start to let out cold sweat. Today, there are about a hundred and fifty folks in this ce. It is the first time that I cast [Recovery] nonstop to this extent.
However, I can only endure. There’s a meaning to cast it on every single one of them.
If I start to lose my consciousness. I’m, totally done for.
When I thought like that, I could feel warmthing from my back. It’s Tina’s hand. She supports me. Just from that, I feel like I can work hard a little bit more. That’s how I feel.
She probably came here because the line flowed smoothly that Chloe could handle it by herself.
Just, a bit, more. Let’s sprint to the finish line.
?
After a while, finally, the Light Snow Silk Crepes are finished being distributed.
“What’s this, it’s jiggling?”
“It’s slippery, it’s plump, it’s sticking to my mouth.”
“But, it’s not sticky at all. When I bite into it, the plumpness feel so good.”
“Not just the texture, the taste is great too. So pinal can taste this good.”
“I can taste paple too. And rice wine too.”
“It’s the first time I ate it, but I feel the taste is so familiar.”
“This transparent skin, how is it made, really? Wish he could teach me.”
The spirit vige’s residents spoke in admiration one after another.
Because it’s a small pastry, one by one, the Light Snow Silk Crepes are disappearing. Even those who have tasted just a tiny bit can’t hold back anymore and simultaneously start following the people around them who have been savoring the delicious food.
All of the vigers finish eating the Light Snow Silk Crepes.
With this, the first hurdle has been passed.
I step onto the tform. Now, let’s throw the bomb.
“Everyone, thank you for eating while showing how delicious my pastry is. Seeing it makes making it all worthwhile.”
Being asked that question, one by one the positive responses rise up. It’s delicious. Thank you. They reply with those words.
“I’m really happy to hear those words. This pastry is named Light Snow Silk Crepe. I made it with love.”
Then I cut my sentence. I speak again at the timing of grabbing their most attention.
“Then, I have to ask forgiveness from everyone. This pastry isn’t just a pastry. It’s medicine. With this, I’ve medically treated everyone in this ce. Sorry for making you break the rules.”
In an instant, silence falls down. Then, great noise dominates the area.