Upstart Pastry Chef ~Territory Management of a Genius Pâtisserie~ - Chapter 76

Chapter 76: Back in Arnoldt

After finishing our journey through the sky, we descend from the dragon carriage.

“We’ve finally returned.”

“Yes, it’s our usual forest. It smells nostalgic.”

Tina, the silver-haired fox-eared girl, sniffs happily and murmurs.

Having completed our aerial journey on the dragon carriage, we safely return from the territory of Lenaril, one of the four dukes, to my village in Arnoldt territory.

Though it’s only been about a week away, it feels quite sentimental.

We land on open land cleared by cutting down trees for settlement.

According to the dragon handler, dragons seem to make their nests wherever they please, so letting them roam freely here should provide a suitable living environment.

Well-trained dragons apparently don’t run away.

“Kurt, the luggage is heavy.”

“Sorry, but please bear with it. The village isn’t too far from here, so rest assured. Besides, Chloe should be fine with that distance.”

Chloe, the blonde elf, grumbles.

We start walking towards the village from where the dragon landed.

We decided to carry the souvenirs Duke Lenaril provided as much as possible.

Of course, the three of us can’t carry everything, so we’ll call for help later, but we’re doing this to save ourselves the trouble.

Chloe reluctantly starts walking, saying, “Can’t be helped.”

“Sorry about that.”

“I’d be happy if tonight’s dinner could be a bit extravagant.”

“Sure, no problem. Though it’ll be Tina doing the cooking. It doesn’t feel like coming back unless we eat Tina’s food. Tina, can you handle it? If you’re tired, I can cook.”
“It’s absolutely fine! Kurt-sama, I’ll keep cooking for three days and nights if you’ll eat it! I’ll splurge today!”

Tina pumps herself up, wagging her tail. Her determined attitude is amusing, and I can’t help but chuckle.

After about fifteen minutes of walking, we finally reach the village.

The villagers are all outside, making a commotion.

I start to feel anxious, wondering if something happened.

“Big brother Kurt! It’s serious, really serious!”

A mischievous-looking boy in his early teens runs towards us, panting.

“What’s wrong, Johann?”

He’s Johann.

He’s the boy who took care of the orphans in the town of Eclava, under the rule of Count Fernande.

By chance, I had taken him and the other orphans under my wing and brought them to Arnoldt territory.

He’s smart, well-liked by the orphans, and has great leadership skills. He’s someone we can rely on.

“A dragon, a dragon appeared! This village will be burnt to ashes in no time if we don’t escape quickly!”

I can’t help but smile wryly.

It’s understandable for them to be surprised. Dragons are feared as a kind of disaster.

While they don’t need to eat, they have a strong territorial instinct. They might destroy human villages just because they find them bothersome or noisy when building their nests.

Damage caused by young dragons who have grown up and left their nests has been occurring in various places.

“It’ll be okay. That dragon is properly trained.”

“Dragons getting attached to humans? I can’t believe it.”

“It’s true. I actually rode back with that dragon.”

“Wow, in the city, they use dragons as transportation? That’s cool, I’d love to ride one.”

It seems like the fear of dragons has disappeared and curiosity is starting to show its face.

“I think you’ll have the opportunity. After all, that dragon is mine. If I ever go to Eclava, I intend to use it.”

“Huh, you didn’t just get a ride here, big brother Kurt, you got a dragon! Amazing! Dragons, they’re not something even the high nobles have! I’ll go tell everyone.”

With that, Johann starts running.

He then begins explaining to each anxious villager.

The villagers, who were just in fear moments ago, start getting excited and expectant.

The lord bestowed such an honor as receiving a dragon. It’s enough to anticipate the future development of Arnoldt.

The news spreads rapidly.

Even those who were out on the frontier for settlement return, sensing something’s up.

Perfect timing. Let’s give a brief greeting and report on the return.

“Everyone, attention!”

I raise my voice and clap my hands.

The villagers all turn to me at once.

“First of all, I’m back. Sorry for being away for a while. I’m glad to see everyone looking well.”

The cheerful villagers welcome me back in unison.

It’s heartwarming to see so many people happy about my safety.

“I was away on a task entrusted to me by the duke… Well, the king’s next in line after the duke. And I’ve successfully completed that task. As a reward, I was given a dragon carriage. It’s much faster than horses and can carry a lot of cargo. Plus, it’s safe. There are no bandits or monsters in the sky.”

My joke earns a chuckle from a few people.

“Until now, we had no choice but to buy expensive goods at the whim of traveling merchants. But now, we have the option to go buy things ourselves. We can buy what we need much cheaper than before.”

Indeed, life in Arnoldt territory couldn’t be sustained with only locally produced goods.

Necessities like salt had to be purchased from traveling merchants who came once a month.

Since these merchants took the trouble to come to such remote and dangerous places, they would inflate their prices to compensate for their efforts and lack of competition. Frankly, their pricing was akin to extortion.

However, going to the city to buy goods themselves posed significant risks, so we had hesitated until now.

But from now on, we can fly there with the dragon carriage. We’ll be able to purchase a large quantity of goods safely and at an overwhelming speed.

It’s a tremendous boon for my territory.

The villagers may not fully grasp the intricacies, but they understood perfectly well that they could buy goods at cheaper prices, and they were ecstatic.

“That’s not all. The taxes we pay to the country will be waived for the next few years. We’ll be able to keep the wheat we grow for ourselves. The amount we send to the main estate will remain the same, but it’ll be much easier for us.”

That’s what it means to have no taxes.

Since there’s little circulation of coins in Arnoldt, taxes are paid in kind.

The collection of wheat will cease. It directly translates to a better standard of living.

The villagers’ eyes shine with excitement. …But I have to dampen their spirits a bit.

“I have a request. Would you be willing to entrust me with the wheat that was supposed to be paid as taxes?”

Yes, I had intended to use the surplus wheat for purposes other than returning it to the villagers.

The villagers look skeptical.

“Of course, it’ll be used for the good of this village. I’m going to open a sweets shop in Eclava. I want to sell sweets made from our wheat there. I won’t make you lose out. I’ll earn enough money to buy several times the amount of wheat I use, and I’ll use that money to enrich the lives of this village. So, I want everyone to invest their wheat in the success of the shop I’m going to open.”

In addition to the wheat intended to be paid as taxes, the village only has enough wheat for their own consumption.

As it stands, even if we were to open a shop, we’d have to buy ingredients from other villages.

That wouldn’t truly make it Arnoldt sweets.

I was adamant about using ingredients from Arnoldt.

I wanted to proudly sell products nurtured by Arnoldt’s land as specialties.

Otherwise, it would be meaningless.

I could have ordered this, or I could have simply not mentioned that taxes were no longer required.

But I chose not to. I didn’t want to betray the villagers who had trusted me and endured hardships to cultivate this barren land.

The villagers ponder in silence.

Wheat is as precious as their lives. Asking them to use it as chips in a bet is quite something. Resistance is to be expected.

The villagers exchange glances with each other, then smile.

And a man steps forward.

It’s Solte.

My dependable right-hand man who became the representative of this village in my absence.

“So, young master. What should we do? We’re opening a shop, right? With just you, Miss Tina, and the young master, we’ll be short on manpower. Tell us anything. We’re in too!”

“Yeah!”

I catch my breath.

I anticipated they would allow the use of wheat.

But I didn’t expect them to willingly come forward and offer their help like this.

A warm feeling fills my chest.

“Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank us, young master. You’re working hard to make this village prosperous. It’s only natural for us to help. We want a better life too. We trust you, young master. Your actions so far have earned that trust. So, if this is the path you’ve chosen, we’ll support you with all our might.”

Other villagers chime in with similar sentiments one after another.

I clench my fist tightly, holding back tears of joy, and with the biggest smile I can muster, I speak up.

“Still, thank you. I’m lucky to have such good villagers. Let’s make an announcement here. Starting next month, this village will produce the finest sweets made from local ingredients and sell them in Eclava! We’re still in the process of selecting people, but some will be assigned to work in the shop full-time. Let’s all work together to make Arnoldt much richer than it is now!”

I no longer ask for their help.

I simply declare that we’ll do our best.

Cheers erupt.

The motivation is high, we have proud local ingredients, the tariffs that hindered trade have been abolished, and we have the official endorsement of Duke Lenaril, which is crucial for advertising.

But above all, we have the best villagers.

There’s nothing to fear.

There’s no way we’ll fail.

“Tomorrow, we’ll hold a tasting event for the sweets we’ll sell in the shop right here! We’ve been working hard to make delicious sweets that are affordable, easy to produce in large quantities, and have a long shelf life. Everyone, come and enjoy!”

A different kind of cheer rises this time.

It seems everyone is looking forward to my sweets.

What we’ll serve tomorrow is our flagship product that we’ve been nurturing for a long time. It meets the minimum requirements of being affordable, easy to produce in large quantities, and having a long shelf life, all while being delicious.

With determination, let’s make enough for everyone in this village.

If I can’t satisfy these people, there’s no way the shop will succeed.

Besides, I have a strong desire to make them happy myself.