1057: Cooking at Bulbora

While we were busy eating at the harbor, a crowd of people was quickly gathering up, attracted by the smell of curry… or not. They must have been curious as to what was going after the sounds of combat disappeared.

Word spread about the crowd at the port, so people began gathering here one after another.

We couldn’t just give Gamudo food and leave everyone else empty handed. Many of them were acquaintances we met during the cooking contest.

As a result, we kept the food pouring out of our storage. The place soon started looking like a cookout.

People were unloading the rations from Raydoss ships, cooking up beans and other cheap foods. We even had Urushi grab some fish from the sea in front of us. This ended up making us busier than we were while fighting.

Random cooks and members of the Cooking Guild showed up with even more foodstuffs in the middle of the event, evolving it into a huge, several thousand person cookout.

No clue where it came from, but there was now a huge metal pot so big that they needed a ladder to reach the top. Some guy used a spear to stir the contents, a soup that could serve hundreds of people. It reminded me of an Imoni soup party in Yamagata.

The port was filled with smiles. I’m sure many lost their loved ones and livelihoods in the earlier battle, but they still forced themselves to keep smiling. They must know that getting depressed would serve no purpose.

What’s more, none of them were fighting over food. Everyone shared with their neighbors peacefully. I think I just now realized how strong the people of Bulbora were.

「Fran. I heard that you not only passed out food but also beat up the guys from Raydoss. Thank you.」

「Mecham.」

Fran was sitting at the edge of the harbor and looking out at the sea while eating curry, when an old man spoke out to her. Old man Mecham, one of the Cooking Guild’s most important members as well as Fran’s mortal enemy.

I think she views him as more of a rival than most adventurers.

「About the food… You sure passed out a lot, but are your stocks okay?」

Mecham may have no clue how to fight, but he was a professional when it came to cooking. Just one look at the food served out, and he must have understood the considerable price of the ingredients used.

Fran, however, shook her head.

「Don’t worry about it. We’re using stuff we took from the enemy, and I can always hunt more magic beasts.」

「…I see. But this is something that would normally be our guild’s job. If you ever have any problems related to cooking, come to me. I promise to help.」

「Nn. Okay.」

Mecham did not offer any money. Though it’s true that the city will need mountains of funds to repair the damage, I think he was taking Fran’s wishes into consideration.

「Fran-san, thank you so much. The children are feeling much better now.」

The next person approaching us was Io-san from the orphanage. It seems someone went to the orphanage and informed her about the cookout, so she brought the orphans with her.

I thought that was a little too careless of her, but I guess they had several adventurers escorting them. It’s also not healthy to keep children underground for too long.

Everyone knew Amanda was looking out for them, so none of the ruffians would dare bother them. In fact, it seems many members of the crowd were keeping an eye out too.

They, as well as Fran, were happy to see the children eating their meals with smiles on their faces.

「Where’s Charlotte?」

「She went north.」

「For the fight with Raydoss?」

「Oh no, not that. She went to Dars.」

Rather than joining the war in the north, it seems Charlotte was simply visiting the port town of Dars. There was some sort of festival to pray for a good harvest, and she had been invited to dance for the event.

「To Dars? When?」

「She left about a week ago, so I think she should be in Dars by now…」

Didn’t we hear that Dars already got captured by Raydoss…? Is Charlotte safe? Fran seemed to be getting worried too.

Without saying a word to Io, we headed for the corner where the adventurers had gathered. Now that the Seedran sailors were all detained, the adventurers were recharging themselves with food before starting the salvage effort for usable supplies and materials.

「Gamudo.」

「Fran, what’s wrong?」

「I want to know what’s going on in Dars.」

「…Come over here.」

I guess it’s not something he can talk about openly. Gamudo took Fran a little further away.

「To be honest, I got no clue what’s really going on up there.」

「No messages?」

「None. I tried sending one from my side, but no response. If what the prisoners say is true, it’s probably already too late…」

「I see…」

Given the circumstances, we couldn’t just pass it off as “no news is good news”. By all accounts, they were pushed into some situation where they could no longer communicate.

「A number of Bulbora’s adventurers went to the festival in Dars.」

Charlotte’s request was not an individual request for her, but a request between the guilds. It seems they had dispatched ten people to Dars, including guards and such.

Among them were some more of our acquaintances, the three members of the Scarlet Maidens as well as the alchemist Eugene. The Scarlet Maidens acted as guards, and Eugene was planning to perform a lecture at Dars.

「Fran, what you doing next? I’d appreciate it if you stay here a while, but I doubt that’s happening, right?」

「I’m going to Alessa.」

「I see… Before that, can you take care of one request for me?」

「Request?」

「Yeah. I want you to check on the rest of the coast, including Dars. What do you say?」

Just when the terrible scars left by Linford had finally healed, the city of Bulbora was pushed to the brink once more. There’s no way they could afford to send any more adventurers out.

The magic tool for communication was already reduced to ashes by the bombardment soon after Gamudo’s attempted call to Dars. Reaching the outside world was no longer possible.

In that case, Gamudo thought the most reliable way to gather information on other locations was to ask Fran. She was an adventurer from the outside who boasted incredible speed.

And although Fran probably didn’t realize it, Gamudo probably intended to distance her from Alessa. Going to Alessa would get her involved in the war for sure.

He’d much rather give her a request to gather info about the other ports and cities. I think that’s his ulterior motive here.

『Fran, I think you can take this request.』

（But… I want to know if Alessa is okay.）

『We already heard how many adventurers headed north, right? Klimt, Amanda, and Jean are already there in the first place, and Forrund and Felmus went too.』

（I see…）

Though Fran knew Alessa would not fall so easily, it seems she could not help but be a little worried about her friends. However, she now found someone in more immediate danger.

In the end, Fran decided to accept Gamudo’s request.

「Nn. I’ll go check on Dars.」

「Sounds good, but you’d better not rush in alone. If you find a ton of enemies, don’t do anything rash and just report back to me. Got it?」

「Nn! No problem!」

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