The People Who Work in the Royal Capital

Azu and I walked through the Royal Capital at night.

The food stalls and street vendors that bustled along the roads from morning until evening had all packed up for the day, leaving the streets feeling rather lonely.

Thanks to the streetlamps powered by fire magic stones, the main roads were reasonably well-lit.

Most people seemed to have gone home, as there was almost no foot traffic.

With so few people around, there'd be no point keeping a stall open, so shutting down was only natural.

"It's gotten late. Want to grab something good to eat before heading back? The stalls are closed, but restaurants should still be open."

"That sounds nice. But from here, it might be a bit far."

The castle was a good distance from the area where restaurants were clustered, and it was quite a walk.

Going all the way there, ordering, waiting for the food to be prepared, eating, and then heading home… it would be terribly late by then.

"We didn't tell everyone we'd be late, either, so heading straight home might be best."

"Fair point. But I haven't eaten anything proper since that afternoon tea, so I am hungry."

My body hadn't done much physical work, but I'd used my brain extensively, and it felt like it was crying out for fuel.

I wanted to at least put something small in my stomach as we walked toward the portal.

Then I spotted a single food stall that was still open.

An enticing aroma drifted from it, stirring the appetite.

Both our stomachs growled at the same time.

"Ah, ahaha…"

Azu pressed a hand to her stomach and laughed sheepishly.

"Perfect timing. Let's stop there."

"Agreed."

The stall had a counter with seats, so we could sit while we ate.

A lot of stalls were standing-only, so this was a welcome sight.

We approached and called out to the owner.

She was a woman of a certain age, but the apron and cap looked perfectly natural on her.

She'd probably been doing this for a long time.

"Room for two?"

"Of course, of course. Have a seat and I'll have it right out. There's only one thing on the menu, so it won't take long."

"Got it."

Azu and I sat down.

True to her word about there being only one item, there was no menu on the table, just wooden forks standing in a holder.

The only other thing was a box of chili powder, presumably for adjusting the flavor.

This stall was probably aimed at people coming and going through the portal.

Even when the Royal Capital was asleep, there were still a fair number of portal users.

At this hour, civilian access was restricted for security reasons, but anyone with authorization from the capital could pass through without issue.

Incidentally, Yohane's title of government official meant the restriction didn't apply to him.

"Here you go. That'll be one silver coin for two."

"Oh, this looks good."

I paid the silver coin and took our food.

It was a dish of boiled noodles in hot broth, topped with various ingredients.

I see. As long as the broth and noodles were prepared ahead of time, she could serve it up quickly.

It felt a little pricey for street food, but considering we could get a warm meal at this hour, it seemed like a fair deal.

Azu and I dug in together.

The broth was hot enough to burn, so we blew on it to cool each bite.

There was proper meat in it too, which was satisfying.

Adding some of the chili powder midway through gave it an addictive kick.

Being hungry as we were, we polished it off in no time.

"That was delicious."

"Sure was. Hard to believe it was just a food stall."

"Thank you for the meal, Master."

"Don't mention it."

We stood up from our chairs and returned the bowls to the owner.

"That was great."

"Thank you for your patronage."

"Do you actually get customers at this hour?"

"Hehe. Well, you two just came by, didn't you? When night falls the noisy Royal Capital goes quiet, but there are still people working out there. I do this because I want to serve those people a warm meal. It's not easy, but I manage. I have regulars too. See?"

She looked in a direction, and sure enough, a group of men were heading our way.

They looked like they'd just gotten off work.

"Filling their bellies before heading to work or going home, huh. I'll stop by again if I get the chance."

"I'll be here."

She bowed to see us off.

We passed the incoming customers and left the stall behind.

All kinds of people living in the Royal Capital supported and kept this enormous city running.

It wasn't something that could be reduced to numbers on a ledger. I felt that keenly.

We used the portal to travel to Kassad.

Unlike the Royal Capital, at this hour Kassad was truly deserted, not a soul in sight.

The only people who'd be out were either eccentric types or responding to some incident like the statue affair.

We made our way home by the faint glow of what little lighting there was.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside to find Orleans sitting in the living room, reading a book.

And there was someone else.

… For some reason, Ramiza-san was there.

She was dead asleep on the table, her ample chest squished flat against it. Didn't that hurt?

"Azu-sama, sir, welcome home. You're late tonight."

"I'm back. Where are Elza and the others?"

"They haven't returned yet, but they sent word through the communication device that they'd be a while longer."

"I see… So why is Ramiza-san here?"

"Ramiza-sama arrived around dinner time. Apparently she hadn't eaten anything for several days and had nothing at home, so she came asking to be fed."

"Got so wrapped up in her research she forgot to eat again, huh."

Ramiza-san was different from Kanon. She lost track of food and sleep because she was having too much fun.

That was exactly what made her such a brilliant alchemist, but… well, coming over for a meal was fine.

She helped us out regularly, so this much was part of her charm.

She could have eaten at Kazusa's Cat's Paw Inn, but she must have decided she couldn't last that long.

"So you were keeping her company, Orleans. Thanks."

"Not at all. The dinner I prepared had leftovers, so it worked out nicely."

"Ugh… sorry about that."

"? There's no need for you to apologize, sir. This way the food didn't go to waste."

I'd thought she might be chiding me for not letting her know I'd be late, but Orleans was simply stating facts. She hadn't meant anything more by it.

Right, that was just how she was.

We worked together to carry the sleeping Ramiza-san to the guest room and put her to bed.

In this state, she wouldn't be waking up until morning.

I'd have to toss her in the bath once she woke up.

"How long did Elza and the others say they'd be?"

"It seems they encountered a magic stone vein in the labyrinth they entered for their quest, and it's taking time to extract everything."

"Now that's a find. Can't blame them for being late."

In labyrinths, after defeating a certain number of monsters, a room would sometimes generate where large quantities of magic stones could be harvested.

It was a lucky event: high-quality magic stones without any combat required, which meant good money.

When other adventurers were present, to keep it from turning into a scramble, the discoverer got priority but had to split the haul. But if you had exclusive access, you'd want to carry out as much as you possibly could.

They'd probably posted one person as a lookout while the other hauled loads nonstop.

"At this rate, they won't be back anytime soon. I was hoping to pick up a quest from the Viscount, but…"

Thinning out the labyrinth.

I'd wanted to get to it sooner rather than later, but…