Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~ - Chapter 43

Chapter 43: A Mysterious Visitor

Three months have passed since Farne arrived, and it’s already autumn.

The honey production has been extremely smooth, with new queen bees settling in one after another in the new hives, and new bees being born.

If the bees can withstand the cold of winter and the shortage of food, we’ll be able to harvest an incomparable amount of honey compared to before.

The raspberry orchard has also expanded significantly thanks to the children’s efforts. Additionally, blueberries, which bloom when raspberries don’t, have been introduced as food for the bees.

And the chickens have multiplied nicely.

It’s about time for the grown chicks to start laying eggs. When spring comes, we’ll be able to enjoy eggs in earnest.

I was in my room, working on the accounts.

It’s been more enjoyable than usual. After all, it’s the first time since coming to this village that I’ve been able to keep the books in the black. It fills me with joy.

“Tina, you’re doing it wrong.”

“Ugh, it’s difficult, Kurt-sama.”

This time, I wasn’t just keeping the accounts methodically by myself; I was teaching Tina how to do it.

I’ve already taught her the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, and now I’m teaching her how to keep the books.

Once Tina gets the hang of this, things will be much easier. Honestly, I’d prefer to delegate the administrative work to someone else and focus on new things.

“Kurt-sama, excuse me for interrupting.”

As I was doing that, Farne appeared. At first, she used to be nervous every time she entered my house, but now she seems quite familiar with it.

She’s not wearing a dress, but rather a well-tailored outfit that allows for easy movement.

She’s getting quite accustomed to this village as well.

Her main job is to research the advanced agriculture we’re implementing in my village and send the information to Count Fernande on the frontier.

For that purpose, she doesn’t hesitate to join the villagers in manual labor.

Of course, it’s not just for free.

I demand something reasonable in return. It’s about time we hear back from Farne.

“Oh, welcome, Farne. Could you wait a bit? I’m a bit busy with the accounts right now.”

“Yes, of course. You’re doing the accounts… Hmm, maybe I can help with this. Let me borrow it for a moment.”

Farne swiftly starts writing with her pen.

She reads the documents next to her and writes in the accounts.

As far as I can tell, she’s quite accurate.

“Oh, Farne, I didn’t know you could do this.”

“I’ve been involved in managing Count Fernande’s territory. I can handle this much.”

That’s reassuring.

Count Fernande’s domain is on a completely different scale from my village.

With that, the complexity of the accounts should increase as well. Her abilities are beyond reproach.

“If you don’t mind, I can help with these tasks. Kurt, you should focus on starting new things without worrying about money. That would make things even better.”

“There’s no need for that. I’ll do it!”

Tina snaps at Farne.

“Tina, you’re smart and you’ll probably get the hang of it, but aren’t you already doing servant’s work and even teaching beekeeping on top of that? If you keep taking on more, you’ll be overwhelmed. Kurt, Tina, I believe you should delegate tasks to others when possible.”

Certainly, as Farne says.

I seem to have gotten into the habit of pushing Tina too hard without realizing it.

I’m still quite overwhelmed.

I need to reflect on this a bit.

“Farne, can I trust you with this?”

“Yes, of course.”

While it’s generally not wise to show outsiders the contents of your wallet, the person in question is practically in the clouds. Whether they know or don’t know, if they have malicious intentions, that’s the end of it.

Besides, I trust Farne.

“And Farne, about the matter I asked you for, is everything going well?”

“Yes, given the size of what I’ve received from you so far and the recent incident, my father graciously agreed.”

“That’s good.”

I grin.

With this, our dreams take a big step forward.

“What exactly did you ask for, Kurt?”

Tina asks.

“I asked for a few things needed to start selling sweets. There was a letter of apology from Count Fernande, so I arranged for a shop in the trading city of Eclava and other outlets outside of Count Fernande’s territory. And I asked that no tariffs be placed on my sweets. Normally, these things would be difficult no matter how much money you have.”

“Is that so… That’s amazing.”

When spring comes, the honey harvest will skyrocket. And we also have a stable supply of eggs.

We’ve managed to grow more wheat than we can consume in the village.

In other words, we now have something to sell in this territory. So, I want to sell it and turn it into money.

But selling goods, especially on the scale of a territory rather than as individuals, is quite challenging.

Thanks to Count Fernande, we’ve managed to overcome most of those challenges.

So, it’s not unreasonable to expose the skills I have.

“As Tina says, it’s amazing. But Tina, don’t misunderstand. This isn’t a handout from Fernande. It’s a rightful reward for Kurt’s efforts. Kurt, who ensures that the reward is given, is the amazing one. My father also said that he’s more than happy with what he’s received.”

Tina’s eyes sparkle with admiration upon hearing this.

Anyway, we’re one step away from making the village significantly richer.

◇

“Big brother Kurt!”

A boy bursts through the door energetically.

It’s Johann, the leader of the children we once found in the city.

He’s well-liked by the other kids and does an excellent job of rallying them together.

“What’s wrong, Johann?”

“It’s serious! Um, there’s a woman we don’t know collapsed in our raspberry orchard!”

“That’s serious. Let’s go.”

Following Johann’s lead, I dashed out.

◇

Guided by Johann, we made our way to the raspberry orchard, where a group of children had gathered.

In the center lay a woman, collapsed.

“Mmm, mmm,” she groaned, her face pale.

“An elf, perhaps?”

She was a beautiful woman with golden hair, her ears longer than a human’s, and her attire unfamiliar to these parts.

I knew of elves, but seeing one like this was a first.

“Are you alright?” I asked, but she didn’t respond.

I conducted a check-up.

Her consciousness seemed intact. She should be able to get up normally, but…

“I’m too hungry to move.”

She explained succinctly, providing the reason for her immobility.

Upon hearing that, we felt a weight lift off our shoulders.