After finishing his report to Second Prince Andrew, Rest headed to the tent that had been assigned to him.
As a count, Rest had been given a rather spacious tent, complete with a bed, table, and chairs inside.
(A bit like glamping, I guess… A change of pace like this now and then isn't half bad.)
Since the tent was close to where Andrew was stationed, soldiers patrolled all around, so safety wasn't a concern either.
If he asked, they'd probably have a meal prepared for him in no time… It was shaping up to be a comfortable camp.
"Oh, Rest! Welcome back!"
"Welcome back, Rest!"
"Viola, Primula… What are you two doing here?"
Waiting for him in front of the tent, seated on a pair of simple chairs, were Viola Rosemary and Primula Rosemary.
They were the sisters of House Rosemary — and Rest's fiancées.
"We came to support you! Though… Father wouldn't give us permission to join the frontier development."
"He did grant us permission to come here, provided we help with things like taking care of your daily needs."
"Ah, I see…"
"I'm here too, Rest!"
The girl sitting beside the two of them waved her hand at him cheerfully.
She was the girl who had been investigating the central plains with him just a little while ago… Yuri Cattleya.
"Yuri too… Why are you here?"
"Well, some of my father's subordinates were posted around my tent, keeping watch. It was getting uncomfortable, so I slipped away and came over here."
"Your father… You mean the Marquis Cattleya?"
「Yeah. He's trying to make me a caged bird all over again. But… that's not happening!」
Yuri crossed her arms and puffed out her cheeks.
「I know that if I go back home, I'll just be locked up in my room again! I've already decided — I'm absolutely not going back!」
「……」
「So today, I'm planning to stay at Rest's tent. That's fine, right?」
「Huh?」
Rest heard her right — where did she say she was staying?
He asked her to repeat herself, but… Yuri beamed with a full smile and said, 「Thank you!」
It seemed she had taken Rest's 「Huh?」 as an affirmative answer.
「Come on… are you serious?」
「Haah… I guess there's no helping it.」
「……I'm really glad I came today.」
Rest was dumbfounded. Viola and Primula looked exasperated, but it didn't seem like they intended to drive their friend Yuri away.
Honestly, Rest had reservations about letting a woman who wasn't even his fiancée stay in his tent.
Still, he did think of Yuri as a friend and genuinely liked her, and if she was in trouble, he wanted to help her out.
(Well… I guess it can't be helped. Viola and Primula are here too, so nothing could possibly go wrong…)
「Rest, you must be hungry, right? Let's go ahead and get a meal going!」
Yuri took the initiative to start a campfire in front of the tent and began preparing food.
「I used to cook for myself at the academy dorm, you know. For how I look, I'm actually pretty good at cooking.」
「…Huh, that's surprising. Do you have a specialty dish or anything?」
「Grilled meat and grilled fish. And grilled vegetables!」
「………」
That was Yuri's confident assertion, but... just that answer alone made it perfectly clear that she was by no means a good cook.
She glanced at the Rosemary sisters, and they immediately nodded back.
「I-I'll help too, okay?」
「Me as well. Please let me.」
Viola and Primula joined in, and the three of them began cooking over the campfire.
If they asked the servants, the ingredients would be brought to them.
They'd probably even prepare the finished dishes, but... pointing that out to the three girls in front of him would be hopelessly tactless.
(Well, outdoor cooking is part of the camping experience. Might as well not interfere...)
「Y-Yuri! Use a knife for that!」
「Oh, it's fine. My fingers are sharper than any knife.」
「At least drain the blood first! It'll taste bloody!?」
「No bugs, please! Just because they're edible doesn't mean you should eat them!?」
「Wh-Wait... what is that?! Where did you even find that mysterious creature?!」
「It's fine, it's fine. I just bit into it earlier and there was no poison, so it's no problem!」
「………」
She was starting to get very uneasy.
For thirty agonizing minutes, we waited in suspense.
The dishes, arranged on wooden plates, were set before Rest.
"Th-this is..."
Soup pasta and salad, steak with herbs... Surprisingly, proper dishes appeared before us.
The food emitted a fragrant, appetite-stimulating aroma of spices, and my stomach growled in protest against its emptiness.
"That looks delicious... Honestly, I had no idea what to expect..."
"I-I'm just as surprised. I can't believe something like this could be made from those ingredients..."
"So that's what it looks like when it's appetizing..."
"Those ingredients?"
Viola and Primula were saying something suspicious.
Just as my appetite had finally started to stir, my hand froze on the spoon.
"Mm, it's yummy! Today's a huge success!"
Meanwhile, Yuri was shoveling food into her mouth, bite after bite.
At the very least... there really didn't seem to be any poison.
"It's delicious..."
Once I actually tried it, it was perfectly normal—no, better than normal. It was delicious.
The stew was great too, but above all else, the steak was catastrophically good.
There was nothing off about it. The meat was plump and tender, and the fibers burst apart with a satisfying texture in my mouth before melting away.
It was like the fattiest, most premium tuna belly. Honestly, this might be the finest meat I've had in this entire world.
"Hey... this meat is insanely good. What kind of animal did this come from?"
"…………"
"…………"
When Rest asked, silence was the only reply from the sisters.
The two were quiet for a while... but before long, as if they couldn't bear the silence any longer, one of them spoke up.
"Th-there's no poison, it seems. Really."
"Yes... I don't think it's something that's inedible..."
"...What the hell is this, seriously?"
The meat's true identity was a "Corrosion Beast" that Yuri had brought back from the plains, but it would be a little while before Rest realized that terrifying fact.
It was the moment when what would later be counted among the world's seven great delicacies—"Sabnock Meat"—first touched a human tongue.