That evening, in the dining hall of the baron's castle.
"Quick, have the guards get ready. Tomorrow, I'm going to inspect all the lands surrounding the Blazing Forest!"
"Yes, my lord!"
The caravan heading to Tulip City would set out the day after tomorrow, and more than ten guards would certainly be needed to escort it. So Nalant planned to finish the inspection he hadn't completed last time.
If they really ran into a magical beast in the Blazing Forest, having more people would give them a much better chance.
"My lord, the magical beast meat is ready." After Quick left, Rose emerged gracefully from the kitchen.
On the tray in her hands lay a piece of magical beast meat, roasted golden and glistening with oil. It was the very meat they had seized from Anthony last time, and Nalant had been reluctant to eat it until now.
As Rose approached, Nalant's eyes widened slightly despite himself.
There was no denying that Rose herself was one of the main reasons her tavern had made a name for itself in Tulip City, alongside its delicious food.
As she walked toward him, the tray seemed to rise and fall with every step. Her maid's uniform looked as though it might burst at any moment, leaving Nalant unsure whether to look at the roast or somewhere else...
That magical beast meat is so round... No, wait... so big... He swallowed hard, then finally forced himself to look away. Even rabbits didn't eat the grass by their own burrows, and Nalant had no desire to become one of those lecherous, depraved noble lords.
"Please enjoy, my lord!" Rose didn't notice anything amiss. Ever since becoming the castle's head cook, she had recaptured the feeling she'd had when she first opened her tavern. Every movement was confident and graceful.
"Mm!" Nalant nodded, then turned his attention to the magical beast meat.
Its distinctive aroma had already filled his nostrils, and its golden, appetizing appearance made his taste buds cry out in anticipation.
He picked up his knife and fork, cut off a piece of the roast, and eagerly popped it into his mouth.
Smack!
"Whoa! So this is what magical beast meat tastes like? No wonder it costs a gold coin per pound!"
An explosive sensation filled his mouth.
Its texture was smooth without being greasy, and its unique spices blended with the rich flavor of the meat. Nalant was certain it was the most delicious food he'd ever eaten apart from the Strengthening Fruit.
As the meat went down, the magic power it contained began to nourish his whole body, filling him with the soothing comfort of soaking in a hot spring.
"Rose, this magical beast meat is delicious!" After savoring the flavor, Nalant gave her heartfelt praise. He was truly glad to have a cook like her.
The meat itself was delicious, of course, but Rose's cooking was just as important.
A lord's life felt all the more complete when he could enjoy food like this every day.
"Thank you for your praise, my lord. It's an honor to have earned your approval!" Rose bowed respectfully. Nalant was glad to enjoy her cooking, but she was even more grateful to have met a lord like him.
Nalant quickly set about finishing the magical beast meat.
"My lord!"
Just as Nalant had finished the entire pound of roast and was wishing there had been more, Vivian suddenly arrived in the dining hall with Lilia.
"Mm, Vivian, what is it?" Nalant didn't remember asking her to come. And seeing that Lilia's eyes were red, he knew something must have happened.
"My lord, Lilia made a serious mistake. She was tidying your study just now and accidentally dropped one of your books into a basin of water!"
It turned out that Thomas had sent Lilia to clean Nalant's study. As she wiped down the bookshelf with a cloth, she accidentally knocked a book into the basin.
Lilia had been terrified. Books were valuable in this world; even the cheapest one cost four or five silver coins.
Panic-stricken, Lilia had immediately told her older sister what had happened.
Vivian hadn't dared to delay and had brought Lilia straight to apologize.
"Mm, which book was it?" Nalant wasn't too concerned about the books in his study. He hadn't brought them with him; they had been left behind by other nobles.
He occasionally looked through them, but most were personal biographies of noble lords or knightly novels, neither of which suited his taste.
He wanted to find books about the history of this world or its people and geography, but there were very few of those.
"My lord, this one!" Lilia carefully handed him the book.
Nalant took it and looked at the cover: Biography of Baron Doke.
"Mm, it's fine. Lilia, just dry the book later. Make sure the pages don't stick together."
They had fished it out in time, so it hadn't gotten too wet. Only the two edges of the cover had absorbed much water.
Nalant suspected that Baron Doke had been one of the former lords of Storm Territory in recent years. Nobles liked writing biographies like this to show off their great achievements, and often had extra copies made to give to other nobles they knew.
The book was of little use to Nalant; it was just something to fill the shelves.
"Yes, my lord. Thank you for your kindness!" Lilia answered softly. The worry on Vivian's face finally began to ease.
Nalant was about to hand the book back to Lilia.
"Hmm?" But the next moment, he spotted faint writing beneath the lower part of the cover. "Why are there words inside the cover?"
Through the damp cover, Nalant could see lines of tiny writing underneath. At first, he thought he was mistaken, but when he looked more closely, he realized they were definitely words. He also noticed a barely perceptible bump in the cover.
Could there be a hidden compartment inside? Nalant suddenly remembered that the system still hadn't given him the Battle Qi secret technique for completing the salt mission. The more he thought about it, the more likely it seemed.
Nalant immediately picked up the small knife he'd used to cut the meat and carefully slit the edge of the cover.
Then he slipped a finger inside and gently pulled out a piece of parchment about the same size as the book.
"Blazing Three-Sword Slash?"
"Haha, it really is a Battle Qi secret technique!" Nalant looked at the writing on the parchment, his face lighting up with joy.
Not only was it a Battle Qi secret technique, it was a fire-type one, perfectly suited to his training.
"Lilia, you can take the book. Just dry it out!" Since it was mealtime, Nalant didn't examine the parchment in detail. He carefully tucked it into his clothes, then handed the book back to Lilia.
"By the way, Vivian, this bottle of perfume is for you and Lilia to share!" After giving her the book, Nalant handed Vivian the perfume he'd prepared earlier.
He'd planned to give it to Vivian that afternoon.
The perfume smelled wonderful. Though Nalant wasn't used to wearing it himself, he could give it to Vivian and the others and enjoy the scent whenever he was near them.
Besides, the perfume was inexpensive to make. As long as he had ambergris, he could produce it continuously, so Nalant was quite generous with it.
"Thank you, my lord!" Vivian's eyes filled with gratitude. Not only had her lord refrained from getting angry with Lilia, he'd even given her a bottle of precious perfume. There was truly no other lord like him.
"Rose, this is for you and Sherry!" After Vivian left with Lilia, Nalant took out another bottle.
"Thank you, my lord!" Rose had smelled the enchanting perfume on Sherry that afternoon. She hadn't expected the lord to give her a bottle, too, and she was thrilled.
Back when she ran a tavern in Tulip City, she'd been a regular customer at the perfume shop.