The Protagonist's Party is Too Diligent

There's a popular meme about British food being tasteless, but honestly, I don’t entirely agree with it.

Take “Fish and Chips,” the first thing that comes to mind when people think of British cuisine. I mean, it’s a combination of fried food and more fried food. It might get a bit greasy, but it’s not tasteless. Of course, if someone doesn’t like fish, that might be a different story.

When I actually tried it, it tasted pretty decent.

The problem is that this was something I ate in my previous life—in other words, back in Korea.

Even though the origin of the ingredients might differ slightly, I don’t think the taste would be that different if you ate Fish and Chips in Britain. Sure, they might use a bit more oil, and the vinegar they sprinkle on top might change the flavor a bit, but how much could it really differ when you’re just frying fish coated in flour?

Even if we put Fish and Chips aside, I’ve heard there’s plenty of other British food worth trying... or so they say. Honestly, it’s not like anyone needs to defend British cuisine for me. It’s common in the subcultures consumed by nerds to depict certain races or countries as stereotypes. To be fair, I thought British food fell into a similar case.

The real issue is, this world isn’t “Korea” or “Britain.” It’s the “Azerna Empire.”

Right. This is a world that doesn’t exist in reality.

Well, actually, that’s not quite accurate. It would be more correct to say, “a world that doesn’t exist on Earth.”

But here’s the thing.

The game series that features the “Azerna Empire” is called the “Azerna Chronicles,” and the company that made this series is “Millennium,” a Japanese company.

And when it comes to “foreign-made food” in Japanese subculture, British cuisine often makes an appearance. It’s typically portrayed as either something that British people can’t cook properly or as food that is practically inedible.

And one of the inspirations for the Azerna Empire was the “British Empire.”

Even the setting draws from the Industrial Revolution era, a time when, except for the aristocracy, the common folk led rather wretched lives.

That’s right. Most of the food in the Azerna Empire was pretty bad.

Ah, but the meat was generally good. If it was something like a steak—just grilled meat—it turned out well.

Desserts were also quite nice, and so were the tea and cookies served during teatime.

But, of course, those are the kinds of things that only people with money can leisurely enjoy. When you pour money into something, it’s bound to taste good.

Sometimes, when I went out to get a better sense of the geography of Rondarium, I’d buy food from street vendors or small shops. But when it came to cheap street food that cost only a few pence, most of it was barely fit for consumption.

No, really.

If you think of “Fish and Chips,” you might imagine a crispy—at worst, soggy—fish fillet and some fries that are either crunchy or limp but still decent.

But the Fish and Chips in this world? Yeah, that’s not the case.

Industrial Revolution.

A time when everything shifted to mass production.

The “fish” in Fish and Chips—usually cod—was caught in bulk with steam-powered ships.

And the best way to handle all that fish at once? Toss it into boiling oil without much care.

They took low-quality fish, almost spoiling, and fried it in equally low-quality oil. The flour coating wasn’t so much to enhance the flavor but to protect the fish from being soaked in the oil. That’s what the Fish and Chips in this world were like.

People usually peeled off the greasy batter and just ate the fish inside.

Oh, and there’s no boneless fillets like in fish cutlets. You have to pick out the bones yourself as you eat the bland white fish, which doesn’t taste nearly as good as simply grilling it.

It wasn’t just Fish and Chips. Most of the food for commoners in this world was made purely for survival.

Have you ever had a sandwich made by toasting bread and then salting it before stuffing it between more slices of toast? I had the misfortune of trying that once. It tasted like dry, salty bread. I mean, who even thinks of selling something like that? It’s one thing to make it, but to sell it? I hope to God that kind of food doesn’t exist on Earth.

After experiencing that firsthand, I’ve stayed far away from “commoner food” in this world. There was curry from the colonies, but as someone with a deeply ingrained Korean palate, the unfamiliar spices just didn’t sit well with me.

At least there was black pudding, which tasted somewhat like sundae (Korean blood sausage), and sauerkraut from the part of the Azerna Empire that was inspired by Germany, which suited my taste. But neither of those were main dishes. And they were both polarizing foods, so I doubted the “cool beauty” would like them.

“Ta-da!”

Claire, who had gone to get the drinks we ordered, returned with a dish that shattered my image of “commoner food.”

Well, maybe it wouldn’t exactly be considered commoner food?

It wasn’t dirt cheap, but it wasn’t priced for the nobility either. It was the kind of food a commoner could afford if they were willing to splurge. Of course, their meals might be pretty meager for the following week.

Then again, this wasn’t exactly a poor neighborhood. At least in the Azerna Empire, this was one of the safest places.

It was a glass of tropical fruit—likely mango—layered with heaps of whipped cream, more fruit, then even more whipped cream, and finally topped with a variety of other fruits.

In the glass, it almost looked like a cake.

“This is the specialty of this place—parfait!”

It wasn’t just one kind; there were several variations.

“I wasn’t expecting much based on the price, but this is impressive,” Alice said, her voice filled with pure admiration.

“Right? I didn’t expect much the first time either!”

If any of the Azerna Empire’s working class had heard Alice and Claire’s conversation, they might have felt an overwhelming urge to revolt. This world’s... proletariat, if you will, would find this dessert quite an expensive luxury.

Of course, from a noble’s perspective, it was certainly a cheap dish. Especially for Alice, a princess.

“It’s splendid. It doesn’t seem much different from what I saw back home,” Charlotte remarked, her expression showing a bit of anticipation.

Well, “parfait” is a French word, after all. It might be considered just a regular dessert in Belbur, the fictional nation with cultural motifs borrowed from both France and Belgium.

“But we won’t know for sure until we taste it,” Charlotte added with a small smile of expectation.

“To be honest, the bread at the academy wasn’t that great,” Charlotte added.

“Huh?” Alice’s head whipped around.

“What... You mean the food at the academy isn’t good?”

It wasn’t just Alice; even Claire, Leo, and, surprisingly, Mia Crowfield all stared at Charlotte in shock.

“Uh... are you saying you actually liked that bread?” Charlotte asked, wide-eyed in disbelief.

Alice, looking flustered by Charlotte’s words, glanced over at Claire and Leo for confirmation. They both nodded.

"It is good."

In fact, it might even taste better than the bread I had back in Korea. Most of the bread I ate there came from convenience stores, after all. When bread is baked with care, of course, it’s going to taste great.

But Charlotte is from Belbur, the so-called “Kingdom of Taste,” one of whose inspirations was France.

France—a country where even the process of making baguettes is enshrined in law.

If the Azerna Empire is the land of meat, tea, and cookies, then the Kingdom of Belbur is the land of bread, wine, and chocolate.

Granted, the Azerna Empire’s bread should be at the highest level too, especially considering that one of its inspirations is Great Britain, where baking has developed extensively. But it seemed like the game’s creators wanted to give each country a distinct personality. So, officially, Belbur is where the best bread is made, and this fact was even mentioned in the game’s lore. It’s practically common knowledge in this world.

"Hasn’t Alice visited the Kingdom of Belbur before? Didn’t you try their bread while you were there?"

"Oh, uh, yeah, it was delicious. But just because one is amazing doesn’t mean the other is bad, right? It’s more like one is ‘better.’”

"No, not at all. The bread in the Azerna Empire just doesn’t taste good."

By the way, as the name suggests, the word for “bread” in this world comes from the Belbur language.

"Come on, both are good, but Belbur’s is just better."

It seemed Alice, being the imperial princess, wasn’t about to back down easily.

"Saying Belbur’s bread is ‘better’ means that Azerna Empire’s bread is ‘worse,’ and that implies the Empire’s bread isn’t as good. Honestly, objectively speaking, can you really call the food here delicious? All they do is grill, steam, or boil fresh ingredients, that’s it." 𝐟𝚛𝕖𝚎𝕨𝗲𝐛𝚗𝐨𝐯𝐞𝕝.𝐜𝗼𝗺

"W-What!?"

Alice looked absolutely dumbfounded.

"If we’re going by that logic, isn’t Belbur's cuisine sinful for drowning the natural flavor of the ingredients under wine? Don’t you feel sorry for the cows who died only to have their taste ruined by wine!?"

Belbur’s cuisine is famous for its use of wine, even among the common folk. It’s a country with such high wine production that even the poorest citizens can afford to use it in their cooking.

Even in the Azerna Empire, Belbur wine is considered the finest by the nobility and royal family.

"Belbur’s wine is the best in the world, objectively speaking. Of course, dishes made with such ingredients would be the best, too. Besides, the dessert we’re about to eat right now originates from the Kingdom of Belbur.”

“Urgh... Well, the Azerna Empire has plenty of delicious desserts too!”

"But here we are, about to enjoy a dessert from Belbur instead of one from the Empire."

"Well, you can’t eat only food from the Azerna Empire, right?"

"I’d be just fine eating only Belbur cuisine."

"No, that’s not what I’m trying to say...!”

“...Sister?"

The heated debate between Alice and Charlotte abruptly stopped.

Arguing about food is pointless, really. The only reason the British inspiration stands out is because of the game’s setting, but the Azerna Empire also has a German influence.

In this world, sausages are an Azerna Empire specialty. When people think of sausages, they think of the Azerna Empire. So, why get into such a heated debate over bread when sausage is right there?

As long as it tastes good, what’s the problem?

“...Sister, are you... smiling?"

Claire was the first to notice, her mouth agape. Then Leo followed, and lastly, both Alice and Charlotte were equally stunned.

Mia Crowfield looked like she wasn’t quite following what was going on.

“...Sylvia?"

“Is... is the parfait that good?” Alice muttered my name in disbelief, while Charlotte, still shocked, asked me with wide eyes.

Oh, it’s good, alright.

Having experienced the awful commoner food in this world multiple times, I knew how to truly appreciate a meal.

It’s not about arguing over good food. It’s about humbly savoring it.

If someone can eat a sweet and exquisite dessert and not smile, their taste buds must be dead, or they must be devoid of emotions.

...Though, I’m not ready to show such an expression just yet.

Smiling is something to be saved for truly important moments.

Besides...

With a graceful, princess-like gesture, I picked up a napkin and wiped the whipped cream from my lips.

After a small sigh, I murmured, “Again.”

Since we’ve come this far, I may as well savor all of the parfaits in front of me.