Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~ - Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Return

“Kurt, thank you for saving this village. I truly appreciate it from the bottom of my heart.”

The next day, I stood facing Colt in front of his mansion.

He’s wearing a faint smile.

Besides us, Tina and Chloe are also present here.

“I acted only to obtain the finest fruits as a confectioner, and for Tina’s sake. Plus, I couldn’t have saved them with just my power alone. Without your decision and assistance, I would have been at a dead end.”

It’s not modesty, it’s the truth.

There are clear benefits, and if it weren’t for Colt’s help, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything.

“Still, thank you. As promised, I’ll give one-tenth of all the crops available in this village every year.”

I tilt my head.

Wait, did I just say something weird…?

“You mean one-tenth of the Pinaru fruits?”

“No, I wouldn’t say something that stingy. It’s one-tenth of all the crops available in this village. Papuru, Lamma, Yona… We grow various things here, so let’s give a bit of each. And also the weed Kurt called Kudzu. You can take as much of that as you like too.”

Papuru is like grapes, Lamma is a crop like rice. I’ve never heard of Yona, but it’s undoubtedly something wonderful.

It will definitely be a weapon for exporting sweets.

“It’s a very attractive proposition from our perspective, but are you really okay with this?”

I’m being a bit too upfront. It makes me feel a bit guilty.

“We have excess crops that we use as fertilizer in the spirit village, so it’s fine. When you grow crops with the water created by elven magic, they always yield abundantly.”

Just having a stable water supply is a tremendous advantage for growing crops, but to have such an effect on top of that. It’s quite enviable.

“Well then, we’ll gladly accept. However, it’s a bit too much, so we’ll also send some gifts from our side. The crops from the spirit village are wonderful, but there are also many amazing things in human towns.”

“Oh, I’m looking forward to it. I’d love some delicious sweets. The transparent sweets Kurt made were absolutely delicious.”

“I’m glad to hear that. I’ll treat you to a different kind of sweets next time.”

We smile at each other.

It’s about time to leave. It’s a shame, but we need to wrap up the conversation soon.

“Kurt, you’re leaving already? Couldn’t you stay a bit longer?”

“No, I can’t do that. I have my own territory to govern as well.”

I’ve been away from the village for quite some time.

There are many things to worry about. I need to prepare for the winter and make arrangements with Count Fernande beforehand, among other things, besides devising recipes. There’s a lot to do.

I want to get everything sorted out before the snow piles up and we can’t cross the mountains anymore.

“That’s too bad. We wanted to express our gratitude to the village as a whole.”

“I’ll accept your feelings for now. We’ll save that for another time.”

My conversation with Colt comes to an end.

Before leaving the spirit village, I need to make one final confirmation.

“…Tina, are you really okay with this?”

I ask Tina, who is standing beside me.

We talked about it yesterday, but I wanted to hear it again in this setting.

“Yes, I’ll return to Arnoldt with Kurt-sama. While this village is nice, I believe my place is with Kurt-sama. But, I think this village is a good place too. However, I’m Kurt-sama’s partner, and my hometown is that village.”

Tina smiles shyly.

I had told Tina that she could stay in this village if she wanted to.

With relatives around and in this prosperous village, Tina could have been happy.

But Tina chose to be with me.

“Thank you, Tina.”

“Th-thank you… I-I mean, I just feel happier being with you, Kurt-sama.”

Tina’s face turns bright red as she stammers.

She chose me after all. I have to make her happy, no matter what.

“And what about Chloe? You don’t have to force yourself, you know.”

“I’m not forcing myself at all. Everyone else just ate some sweets. But I invited Doctor Kurt to the village from the beginning, and asked for my mother’s treatment. That’s clearly breaking the village’s rules. So, it’s only natural for me to leave the village.”

Chloe declares cheerfully.

“I’m sorry for causing trouble. It was wrong to make it necessary for you to leave the village.”

If I had been a bit more considerate, Chloe wouldn’t have had to leave the village.

“W-wait, wait a minute, it’s a joke, it’s a joke. I’m not leaving the village because of some rule or anything. Uncle Colt said we just need someone to stay in touch with Kurt. I volunteered for that because I want to go. I mean, you know, there are so many delicious sweets to eat here compared to the spirit village!”

Chloe rambles on quickly, her cheeks slightly flushed.

I feel a bit relieved. I don’t like the idea of forcing anyone.

It’s really helpful that Chloe is coming along. If we’re going to be sourcing fruits long-term, a liaison is essential. Plus, Chloe’s water magic is quite useful in various ways. There may be opportunities to rely on her abilities as well.

Tina squeezes my hand tightly and looks at Chloe.

“I won’t give you away.”

She says softly.

“Haha.”

Chloe wipes off her cold sweat and manages a dry laugh.

I instinctively pat Tina’s head, and she closes her eyes with a happy expression as I do so.

◇

And then, the time for departure arrived.

Our luggage is already packed.

Several young elves from the spirit village and fox-beast people from Lunarl have arrived. They’re the personnel Colt arranged for us.

They carry large baskets on their backs, filled with plenty of fruits. They thoughtfully brought them since the three of us wouldn’t be able to carry many fruits ourselves.

Additionally, Chloe is going to spend some time in Arnoldt with them. According to Colt, they are hardworking and straightforward young individuals.

As we reach the gate of the spirit village, many villagers are there.

Despite the healing, we employed somewhat forceful methods. It wouldn’t be surprising if some of the villagers hold a grudge against me.

They start speaking. I brace myself for the worst.

But their words are…

“Thank you, big brother.”

“The sweets were delicious.”

“I owe you my life. You’re my savior.”

Warm words are poured out one after another.

My eyes start to well up.

“Take this, it’s the wine I made.”

“And here’s some jerky that just finished drying. Take it as a souvenir to Kurt’s village.”

“Here’s some top-grade Pinaru. You don’t see Pinaru of this quality often in the village.”

“And our cheese is exquisite.”

One after another, they insist on giving us souvenirs.

Rice wine, wild boar jerky. Exceptionally large Pinaru, chunks of delicious-looking cheese, and more.

Our luggage is getting stuffed to the brim.

It’s good. My feelings have been conveyed properly.

Politely declining the items we can’t carry, I turn around as they disappear from view.

“I’ll definitely come back! And when I do, I’ll treat you all to delicious sweets again!”

I shout.

It’s not just empty words for the moment.

It’s a sincere pledge from the bottom of my heart. I’ll definitely come back, and next time, I’ll treat them to purely delicious sweets without any excuse of medicine.

From the village, I hear words of waiting, of assurance. I’m sure of it.

And thus, my journey in the spirit village comes to an end.

Here, I obtained not only ingredients for sweets but also many other things.

I’m glad I came here. I truly believed that from the bottom of my heart.