Semi-retired Adventurer Lives Leisurely

Chapter 105: Flowtier City Tour Part 3

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Alright.
It’s almost time for lunch.

 

It is the Royal Family touring the city.
I thought we would be heading to some place ridiculously fancy and overly expensive, but the restaurant that Cyril guided us to was…..well……it had enough class to where there were no problems as far as guard duty was concerned, but it was a place where ordinary citizens could dine if they wanted to.

 

Cyril: “Hehehe….this restaurant is actually very famous.
The Governor himself would come sneaking out to eat here at times.”

 

Eileen: “Oh, the Count of Flowtier? He is known for his refined tastes of delicacies, so if he has recommended here, it has to be very good.”

 

And as we sat down, Cyril proudly announced this fact to the group, and Princess Eileen nodded in satisfied approval.
………rather, I didn’t know the Governor was known as a foodie.
But now that I think about it, the dinner we had with him when we got the Altohern Mountain pass was impressively great.

 

“Are you ready to order?”

 

And I was already inside the restaurant ahead of the group making sure to scout the area for any suspicious looking individuals, and the waiter came to take my order.

 

Henry: “The Daily Lunch Special, please.”

 

“Thank you.
I will bring it out right away.”

 

The waiter elegantly bowed and walked away.

 

……..hm, he’s not the super friendly type like Lana at the Bear’s Keg Inn, but he’s very professional and walked with grace.

 

Oh yeah.
I didn’t have time to read through the menu, so I just ordered the lunch special, but today’s special is……..croquette.
Nice.

 

Eileen: “So Miss Cyril, what do you recommend we order here?”

 

Cyril: “Yes, yes.
One moment.
I have the recommendations from the Governor himself right here.”

 

From her pocket, she pulls out a memo as Cyril starts reading it off.

 

Cyril: “Okayー this store is famous for it’s croquettes and consommé soup.
They switch out the main ingredients for each daily.
Oh, and during this season in Flowtier, you can’t go wrong with their seafood menu.”

 

Eileen: “I see.
In that case…….let’s see.”

 

Princess Eileen is looking over the menu once again and is trying to make up her mind.
Cyril was also enjoying reading the menu over her shoulder and commenting, “Everything looks so goodー”.

 

Teo: “I will just have the Daily Lunch Special.”

 

Ferris: “Oh, I will have the same thing as Teo.”

 

And the two who are usually unconcerned about these things make their decision swiftly.

 

Eileen: “Oh, the croquette and consommé soup comes with the Daily Special.
Then…….I think I’ll have the grilled cod with herbs, 20 raw oysters, and for the wine……maybe a René Stölln ー white.”

 

That’s way too much food.
And René Stölln is Yuu’s really expensive favorite brand of wine.
I guess she drinks the good stuff.

 

Cyril: “I will have the Seafood Gratin!”

 

Beatriz: “I will have the Daily Special.”

 

Cyril and Ms.
Beatriz also make up their minds and call for the waiter.

 

The restaurant door opened as more customers walked in.
I checked who it was just in case and glanced towards the door.
It was a young couple.
And they held no weapons.

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It was then that I saw through the window…….there was someone standing guard outside of the restaurant, and my eyes meet with Jend’s who bought a sandwich at a random food stand.

 

Jend: “……………….”

 

Thought I can’t hear his voice from here, I can tell what he wants to say with those accusing eyes.

 

……..sorry.
I’ll buy your meal the next time we go out to eat.

 

“Thank you for your patience.
Here is your order.”

 

Henry: “Oh, thank you.”

 

As if to add upon my guilt, the food comes at this exact timing.

 

The main dish is the croquette and some stir fried vegetables.
It also came with the consommé soup and a small salad.
The bread looks very fluffy and delicious.

 

Henry: “Let’s see here.”

 

I try the consommé soup first.
On my first spoonful, a rich flavor fills my mouth.
It was a very delicate and intricate flavor that was hard to put into words with my poor vocabulary.

 

Next, I try the freshly fried potato and ground meat croquette.
As I take a bite, I excitedly juggle the heat in my mouth as I huff out breaths of air.

 

As I finally get it to cool in my mouth and swallow, I enjoy the aftertaste it leaves in my mouth.
I take a bite of my bread before that sensation is gone, and finishing the bread, I tackle the salad.
Although it’s the middle of winter, the salad is crunchy and washes down the taste of the croquette swiftly.

 

My hands won’t stop.

 

The Bear’s Keg Inn meals are good, but this is a different kind of deliciousness.

 

In five minutes or less, I finish my lunch special.

 

……..hmm….it’s delicious, but there’s not enough volume in the meal.
Well, it’s hard to move around in a full stomach, so I guess it’s just right.

 

“Thank you for your patience.
Here is your order.”

 

And as I eat, Cyril’s table also gets their order.

 

Princess Eileen was enjoying her raw oyster appetizer and wine, and her eyes sparkled as the main course appeared.

 

Cyril: “Wowー this looks good!”

 

Eileen: “Oh my.
The plate arrangement is equally amazing.”

 

As Princess Eileen admires the food, she took out the photograph machine.
Is she taking a phot of the food? Is it…..fun doing that?

 

“Sir, may I take this plate away for you?”

 

Henry: “….ohー yes, please.
And can I also get coffee and the baked cheesecake?”

 

Since I’m here on guard duty, I can’t give up my seat.

 

But this is a popular restaurant.
I can’t just sit here without ordering more food, so I got myself dessert.

 

………..so please, Jend.
I know it looks bad, but I’m just playing my role here.

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And so…

 

Though Jend looked quite miserable, I made the excuses in my head as I continued to eat.

 

<<<<>>>>

 

As we all filled our stomachs to the brim, the next Tour Spot is a little bit of a walk to get to.

 

This is part of Cyril’s amazing Tour Strategy to help us walk and digest the food.

 

We exit the restaurant that was near the center of Flowtier and head towards the West Gate.
With the freshly fallen snow and decorative flowers, it is quite the enjoyable walk.

 

And there’s a lot of gift shops in this area that targets tourists, so Princess Eileen was able to casually window shop as we walked by.

 

Well, I understand how you want to go in and out of these shops that catch your interest….but from a guard’s standpoint, it’s a little difficult.
But I can’t complain with just this.

 

So, Princess Eileen bought gifts for everyone at the Palace.
She bought 10 boxes of Flowtier’s famous Flowtier Cookies which are cookies sprinkled with candied flower petals.
She also bought Flowtier Wine for herself, and some sort of wooden decoration that I didn’t understand.

 

Since it will be too much to carry around for the rest of the day, we had the items delivered to the Governor’s mansion.

 

Since Princess Eileen still looked like she was from a Noble Family, we were not specifically questioned about where we were sending the packages to or why.

 

Eileen: “Oh, Cyril.
We’re going outside of the city? In that case, are we going to the Lake Lukan?”

 

Cyril: “Yes! If you’re talking about one of the main tourists attractions, it is definitely at the top of the list.”

 

Eileen: “That’s true.
It’s been selected as one of the top 10 most famous lakes to visit in all the continent.”

 

I can hear them chatting behind me.

 

……….I didn’t know about the Top 10 Most Famous Lakes.
It’s the first time I heard about it.

 

As we exit the Western Gate, we proceed west of Flowtier.

 

We head slightly south from there, and we see the river that is connected to the Altohern Mountain, and cuts through the Flowtier City.
This river flows into a lake that is west of Flowtier.

 

The water will then flow southward and irrigates the smaller towns in the Flowtier Count’s territories.

 

This territory is one of the Alvenia’s productive agricultural regions, and a large part of it is thanks to its access to this water resource.

 

(Henry, how does it look outside?)

 

(Yeah, there’s nothing out here.
I took a look around, but there’s nothing dangerous.
I’ll go ahead and take a look around Lake Lukan.
You can just take your time to get there.)

 

(Yes.
Oh, but please wait for us at the Lake Lukan’s Information Board.)

 

I got directions from Cyril through our godly equipment called the “Link Rings.”

 

? Hmmm, I think on the way to Lake Lukan from the Flowtier West Gate, there was a billboard that had info about the origins of the lake or something.
But why there?

 

(Hehehe.
It’s to be able to guide you to a secret spot that only the local residents would know.)

 

(………are you technically from Fezard?)

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(You can be a local resident of as many places as you like.)

 

Well, I guess? From Cyril’s age, she probably spent more time growing up here, so I’m sure that Flowtier feels naturally like her home now.

 

Anyways, I walk to the Information Board as I was told and wait there.

 

During this particular season, the water of the Lukan Lake is crystal clear and you can see the lake bottom.
That alone makes it quite beautiful, and there are portions that are frozen artificially to make it into a temporary skating rink, and there are plenty of people heading out of the West Gate towards that area.

 

Cyril: “Henry, sorry to make you wait.”

 

And after waiting a little bit, Cyril and the others came.

 

Henry: “No problem.”

 

Cyril: “But yeahー if you think about it, is there any purpose to this guard duty?”

 

Don’t be so frank.
I’m also losing steam doing this silly job so seriously…..
But honestly, there is not a hint of danger in sight.

 

Even so….

 

Henry: “It’s better if the whole thing ends up being pointless.
Besides, don’t say that kind of stuff in front of the Requester.”

 

Eileen: “Oh, even for myself, the Tour itself is the main goal.
Henry, if you’re bored, why not join us?”

 

And Princess Eileen offered a problematic out for me obliviously.

 

Henry: “PーPrincess Eileen, that is……..Ms.
Beatriz, could you say something to her?”

 

Beatriz: “You’re speaking to the representative leader of the knights who praised Her Highness for becoming an Adventurer for showing how a true Royal Noble should act.
Would you like me to continue?”

 

That’s right! I forgot that these people severely lacked a sense of danger for the Princess in the first place!

 

With a smile, Ms.
Beatriz confirmed that no one else was around us.

 

Beatriz: “Well, if the Princess gets abducted or something happens during an expedition, I will do what I can to save her, but if some misfortune falls upon her, then that’s that.”

 

Henry: “RーReally? You are okay with that?”

 

She has become an Adventurer of her own will.
I will praise her for any heroic deeds accomplished, but she also needs to be able to wipe her own ass.”

 

I guess she was more strict than I initially thought.

 

And Princess Eileen nodded in agreement as well to Ms.
Beatriz’ words.

 

Eileen: “Of course.
I will make sure to wipe my own ass.”

 

Ferris: “PーPlease, Eileen.
Let’s refrain from such language, yes?”

 

Regardless of what we’re speaking about, Ferris preferred the exemption of “ass” from the conversation.

 

Eileen: “Ohh, excuse me, Ferris.
There are some women, but in general, the Knights and Adventurers are mostly male dominated, so I tend to pick up things here and there.”

 

Ferris: “But our Party is not that way!

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Eileen: “Oh, that’s right.
You have a rare Party where there are more females than males.”

 

And with that, Cyril clapped her hands to call for attention.

 

Cyril: “Yes, yes.
I’d love for us to continuing chatting, but we have to be getting on our way.”

 

Jend: “Cyril, by the way, where are we headed? If we going to see Lake Lukan, we just need to take this path straight.”

 

Cyril: “Hehe～ well, follow me and see!”

 

And we veered off the path with Cyril and began heading south.

 

The snow has not been shoveled off here, so we’re walking normally onto the snow-laden plains.
Although it’s a little difficult to walk, everyone here is an Adventurer or a Knight.
There’s no one having too much trouble traveling.

 

And we walked like this for a half an hour or so.

 

We were walking around the large perimeter of Lake Lukan and arrived at the Southwest area of the lake.

 

And with that, Cyril points up in a certain direction with a, “There!”.

 

She was pointing at the Altohern Mountain north of Flowtier.
The mountain itself is beautiful, but now, it’s majesty was reflected perfectly in the waters of Lake Lukan and gave the whole scenery a certain mystique with its presentation.

 

It is one of those places that makes you feel the grandiose magnitude of nature.

 

Cyril: “Well, there’s not so many people who come here during the winter soー it’s a bit of a walk, but during the summertime, it’s a very popular location.”

 

Henry: “Yeah, it was definitely worth the walk.”

 

The blanket of snow around us also adds to the beautiful scenery.

 

Princess Eileen had already taken out her photography machine and was taking several pictures.

 

Eileen: “Yes…….thank you so much, Cyril.
This is an amazing sight.”

 

Cyril: “Heheー You’re very welcome!”

 

With Princess Eileen’s compliments and gratitude, Cyril receives it whole heartedly with a big ol’ smile.

 

Eileen: “………….?”

 

Cyril: “? Is something the matter?”

 

For a brief moment, Princess Eileen’s scrunches her face in intent thought.

 

Eileen: “That smile……….no, I definitely have seen it somewhere…..”

 

Princess Eileen taps on her head as she continues to think.

 

After a while….

 

I had an inkling of a guess of what was about to happen and nervously swallowed as I waited.

 

Eileen: “………the Fezard Kingdom’s, Princess…..Silure?”