H28.4.2 Revised.
H28.4.23 Revised again.
2020.8.30 Added missing characters.
① It seems the grilled giant shrimp was to Swan Hilda and Mai’s liking. → …grilled giant shrimp…
For a week after the day I got together with Lyushenne, I went to the Raymond Trading Company with Alicia, whose menstrual cramps had subsided, and finished up my slave trader duties.
Among the slaves I had bought through “Patrol Purchase,” John and Mary, who I had purchased early on, had improved their nutritional state and had filled out considerably.
Seeing them like this, I realized that being a slave trader served as a safety net.
I momentarily thought that perhaps Lester the Cleric from my past life would be pleased from beyond the grave, but he is alive and currently active in the Hero Party.
Incidentally, Maria, whom I bought along with them, had already been sold.
Maria’s purchase price was six gold coins (equivalent to 600,000 yen).
Although she was in a terrible state when I bought her, her inherent qualities were not bad.
Then, refined at the Raymond Trading Company, she was purchased as a maid by a certain merchant house with its main branch in the Imperial Capital Granza, just as I had initially predicted.
Her selling price was twenty gold coins (equivalent to 2,000,000 yen), about three times her purchase price. However, since the direct and indirect expenses, mainly food costs for Maria, amounted to about four gold coins, the Raymond Trading Company’s gross profit was ten gold coins.
Subtracting taxes and employee salaries from this, the profit margin is about the same as that for products sold in typical workshops and blacksmith shops.
From this, one could infer that the Raymond Trading Company operates with a conscientious business approach.
“Even though her appearance is presentable, if only I could have trained her accent and manners, she would have fetched fifty gold coins (equivalent to 5,000,000 yen)!”
However, according to the female employee who was in charge of Maria’s education, she regretted selling her before the training was complete.
With the slave trader duties settled, I headed to the Adventurer Guild with the members of “Princess Harem.”
Today’s adventure is scheduled to tackle the “Arconsun Underground Tomb.”
This underground tomb is a ruin from the ancient magic dynasty era, and occasionally, unplundered stone coffins contain valuable magic tools as grave goods.
Furthermore, all the monsters appearing in this underground tomb are Undead.
Our “Princess Harem” has three users of “Holy Magic,” which is a weakness of Undead monsters, including myself, Mai, and Swan Hilda, making it a profitable hunting ground for us.
As we passed through the doors of the Adventurer Guild, we headed to the usual counter with the receptionist.
“Good morning.”
“Good morning. Welcome. We have a letter addressed to ‘Princess Harem’.”
We received an unexpected letter at the Adventurer Guild reception.
“From whom is this letter?”
“It’s sealed with beeswax.”
“I have no idea whose crest this is.”
“Why don’t you just open it right away?”
I opened the letter then and there and began to read. As I read on, my mood steadily worsened.
“Hal, what is wrong!?”
Lyushenne expressed her concern, and when I handed her the letter to read, she too became angry, a vein throbbing on her forehead.
“What is going on? That Mounam, whoever he is, has not reflected at all!!”
The letter was from Mounam Hans von Ishilia, the third child of Viscount Ishilia, who had caused trouble for us recently.
The content of the letter stated that although they had lost in “force,” “manners” are important for a “Princess,” and this time, he would crush me with “manners.”
“Hal, even if it’s a challenge of ‘manners,’ what kind of competition is it?”
Elise asked with great curiosity about the contents of the letter.
“According to the letter, it’s a table manners contest. He says he’ll be waiting two days from now, in the evening, at the popular seafood restaurant ‘Crescent Moon’.”
“Oh… is that so? Could you leave this one to me this time?”
I decided to accept Elise’s unusually strong gaze.
“In that case, Elise, I’ll leave it to you. Also, it seems they’re preparing seats for us, so let’s not hold back and enjoy the feast.”
And so, the day of the competition arrived in an instant, and we headed to “Crescent Moon.”
“Still, that Mounam fellow is persistent.”
“Truly… but we saved one meal’s worth of expenses.”
“Elise, be careful, Mounam might be planning something.”
“We will make him regret picking a fight with us.”
“Crescent Moon,” a seafood restaurant, was a stylish restaurant built in a crescent moon shape along the river, with a terrace installed over the river.
Near the entrance of “Crescent Moon,” Mounam Hans von Ishilia, the mastermind of this event, was accompanied by two young girls, his entourage, and an elderly lady.
Their attire was appropriate for the dress code, such as tuxedos and evening gowns.
In contrast, we always wore our usual attire: hooded robes and Valkyrie masks on our faces.
Mounam grinned upon seeing our outfits.
“Welcome, you fools of ‘Princess Harem.’ Don’t think you can win against nobility with ‘manners.’ This time, we have invited Teacher Salibana, a Viscountess who teaches ‘manners,’ to serve as the judge.”
“Nice to meet you. I am Salibana Keller von Soundan, and I will be serving as the judge for today’s table manners contest.”
Viscountess Salibana greeted us with an elegant curtsey.
“Likewise, nice to meet you. I am Elise, the offensive magic-user of the adventurer party ‘Princess Harem.’ I will be your opponent today.”
Elise promptly responded with a splendid curtsey.
After the verbal sparring in front of the restaurant concluded, we entered “Crescent Moon.”
We took off our hooded robes and handed them to the servers. Naturally, beneath them, we were already wearing tuxedos and evening gowns that fit the dress code.
On the other hand, Mounam and his group seemed unfamiliar with their new, formal attire, looking as if they were being worn by their clothes, and appeared surprisingly out of their element.
Mounam and Elise, along with the judge, Viscountess Salibana, sat at a round table set up in the center, and the table manners contest began.
Of course, when seating, the servers would pull out chairs, so we needed to sit down gracefully.
The rest of us in “Princess Harem” and Mounam’s two female companions sat at surrounding tables, and it seemed we would be served the same course meal as Elise and the others.
The waitresses poured aperitifs into each person’s glass, and the contest commenced.
Today, Elise wore an elegant indigo evening gown that complemented her brilliant silver hair.
Her hair was tied up in a half-up style, and the Valkyrie mask covering her eyes gave her the air of someone who had just arrived from a masked ball.
Elise gracefully raised her glass of aperitif with her right hand, gave a nod to Mounam and Viscountess Salibana, and began to drink.
Mounam seemed to be completely overwhelmed by Elise from that gesture alone, and his movements immediately became awkward.
“Mounam’s movements seem rather awkward and unrefined.”
“Hal, for the third child of a Viscount, that’s about right. Besides, Elise’s opening move is working effectively.”
When I pointed out that Mounam’s demeanor was unexpectedly unrefined, Lyushenne explained that it was typical.
By the way, the two girls accompanying Mounam were glaring at them with stern eyes.
Then, the appetizer was served.
The appetizer today was a marinated seasonal vegetable and red-meat fish. Mounam ate it without any major issues.
Next came the seaweed salad, soup, and bread, followed by the grilled giant shrimp.
This dish was difficult to eat with a knife and fork, and since no finger bowls were prepared, we were in a situation where we couldn’t use our hands either.
However, Elise calmly and skillfully used her knife and fork to remove the meat from the shell, cut it into bite-sized pieces, and ate it elegantly.
Mounam, on the other hand, struggled to extract the meat from the shell.
“The sauce on this shrimp is exquisite.”
“Mm.”
It seemed the grilled giant shrimp was to Swan Hilda and Mai’s liking.
Although not as much as Mounam, I struggled to extract the meat. However, the members of “Princess Harem” ate it elegantly, as expected.
Meanwhile, Mounam’s two female companions seemed to have given up on eating it with a knife and fork and called a waitress standing by the wall to prepare finger bowls.
After a brief palate cleanser with lemon sorbet, the main dish, seabass with herbs, was served.
It seemed Mounam had planned this table manners contest by focusing on difficult-to-eat dishes. However, as the saying goes, “A clever plan can ensnare the planner,” and his failure to grasp his own abilities seems to have been the cause of his defeat.
Thus, Mounam and Elise’s table manners contest ended with Elise’s overwhelming victory, a crushing defeat for Mounam.
“Lord Mounam, I have no comment to make.”
In the end, Mounam was even abandoned by the judge, Viscountess Salibana.
“Damn it… why did it end like this… I simply cannot accept this! Hey, Melinda, Saala, how about a ballroom dancing match next?”
“Lord Mounam, with our skill level, we cannot possibly win…”
“I agree with Saala’s opinion. They are too formidable an opponent.”
As expected, Mounam disgracefully proposed a new competition.
“Stop it, Lord Mounam. It’s unsightly!”
Viscountess Salibana chastised Mounam.
“I have been observing the ‘Princess Harem’ members from the side, and they are indeed all ladies worthy of the title of ‘Princess.’ Please refrain from further embarrassing yourself.”
Thus, Mounam’s group was defeated and left dejectedly.
Still, the fact that the two girls, Melinda and Saala, did not abandon the losing Mounam and followed him, perhaps suggests that Mounam has some redeeming qualities?
Settlement Currency
1 Platinum Plate = 100 million yen
1 Gold Plate = 10 million yen
1 Platinum Coin = 1 million yen
1 Silver Plate = 1 million yen
Normal Circulation Currency
1 Gold Coin = 100,000 yen
1 Silver Coin = 10,000 yen
1 Copper Plate = 1,000 yen
1 Iron Plate = 100 yen
1 Copper Coin = 10 yen
1 Iron Coin = 1 yen
