“Kanpai!”
The sound of the toast echoed throughout the pub.
That evening, Izakaya Nobu became the site of a celebratory feast with its regular customers.
It wasn’t a feast planned by Shinobu or Nobuyuki. Rather, it was more accurate to say that the regulars had gathered spontaneously, one after another, and it naturally turned into a party.
The two tables in the pub had been pushed together, and it had taken the form of a standing buffet.
On the tables were dishes that Nobuyuki had put all his skill into making.
“Kanpai!”
Hans and Nikolaus clinked their mugs together again.
No one could remember how many times they had done this already. They were drinking with their arms around each other’s shoulders, spilling the precious lager onto the floor.
Hermina was wiping up at their feet. It was a sight that would likely anger her husband, but the man in question, Berthold, was at the counter, deep in conversation with Nobuyuki and the others.
“But Gernot is something else. To think he investigated so thoroughly in such a short period of time.”
When Berthold mentioned Gernot, who wasn’t present, the regulars sitting at the counter all nodded in agreement.
“He couldn’t possibly have connections at the Imperial Capital’s Brewing Office. I guess it’s his passion for the eel bento.”
“That’s not it, Holger, it seems. It’s not eel, it’s a dish called Napolitan. I heard him say it after today’s council meeting, so I’m sure of it.”
Nobuyuki tilted his head at Lorenz’s, the glass craftsman guild’s member, words.
“That’s strange. We’ve never served Napolitan at our pub… Shinobu-chan, do you know anything about this?”
Suddenly addressed, Shinobu hid half her face with her tray.
“Eh? No, no, not at all. I don’t know anything about Napolitan. Isn’t it just Gernot-san’s misunderstanding?”
“…Now that you mention it, I’ve noticed the bacon for my evening snack disappearing sometimes. Didn’t you say before that you like Napolitan with bacon, Shinobu-chan?”
“Eh, ehehe… Ah, it looks like we have new customers.”
Sensing someone’s presence in front of the glass door, Shinobu seized the opportunity and escaped.
If she said something careless, the many misdeeds she had committed concerning her makanairyori might come to light.
Translator’s Note
Makanai is the staff meals provided by restaurants. In this case she’s referring to her own cooking.
“Excuse me, is Deacon Edwin here?”
A young man, a servant employed by the church, peeked his head in.
Shinobu knew his face, as he had come here several times to fetch Edwin, who had skipped out on his evening prayers.
“Oh, what is it? I told the priest that I would be absent from today’s prayers. After all, I’ve been invited to a celebratory occasion. I couldn’t very well refuse.”
“The priest was quite upset about that, but that’s not why I’m here. This is an urgent delivery.”
With that, the young man took an envelope out of his pocket.
Edwin, who received it, peered at the seal on the envelope as if he were farsighted, then smiled slightly.
“Let’s see… Ah, this is it. It took some effort, but in the end, it was all for naught. Berthold, this is a present for you.”
“From Deacon Edwin to me? That’s creepy.”
Everyone peered at the envelope curiously, but Shinobu didn’t recognize the seal.
However, the regulars seemed to have an idea.
“Isn’t this the seal of the Holy Kingdom…?”
“Godhart-san, you have eel sauce on your lips. Please either eat or talk, but not both. Ah, but indeed, this is the seal of the Holy Kingdom’s Sacred Ministry of Guidance. How rare.”
Godhart and Reinhold, who should be enemies once they stepped outside the pub, were looking at the envelope together. Eleonora had also wanted to participate in today’s feast, but she had an unavoidable engagement and couldn’t make it.
“What’s the Sacred Ministry of Guidance?”
“Shinobu-san, the Sacred Ministry of Guidance is an organization above, above, above the church. It’s where the Holy Father and the Cardinals are.”
“Wow, Eva-chan, you’re so knowledgeable. But why would such a place send a letter to Deacon Edwin?”
Prompted, Berthold opened the envelope, and inside was a single sheet of high-quality parchment. On it, in elegant calligraphy, was written:
“Blessing the marriage of Berthold, son of Benedict, and Hermina, daughter of Franz, in the name of God. Cardinal Hürchteger of the Sacred Ministry of Guidance… Eh? Deacon Edwin, th-this is…?”
“It’s the first time I’ve ever seen Captain Berthold look so surprised. That’s right, it’s a confirmation letter from the Sacred Ministry of Guidance regarding your marriage to Miss Hermina. With this, even if a diocesan archbishop were to raise some objections, they could be dismissed.”
Edwin smiled as he drained his mug of lager, but this seemed like an extraordinary situation.
“Th-there’s no way a Cardinal would write something like this so easily… Deacon, you…”
“That’s why I told you, it took some effort. If you’re grateful, I don’t think I’d be punished if you covered the bill here for a bit.”
Edwin firmly grasped Berthold’s hand, which he offered silently.
There were people who were working behind the scenes, unseen.
Nikolaus barged in with a mug in hand.
“Speaking of things being for naught, there’s Hans.”
“Hey, idiot, Nikolaus, stop!”
“This guy, thinking it was completely hopeless, was preparing a petition for Nobu’s sentence reduction. He’d gathered quite a few signatures, right? One hundred and eighteen?”
“…One hundred and twenty-three. And you were doing the same!”
“Wait a minute, don’t say unnecessary things, Hans!”
They were getting rowdy with their mugs, and lager was splashing around.
“You even prostrated yourself before your ex-ex-ex-girlfriend, the sutler’s daughter, and your ex-girlfriend, the brewer’s widow, trying to forge documents for ale transactions, didn’t you?”
Translator’s Note
the ex-ex-ex-girlfriend was mentioned in chapter 19.
“It’s cooler not to talk about this kind of thing! Why would you do this!”
Nikolaus must have known that the pub didn’t buy ale from anywhere in the old capital. No, he might have even gone out of his way to investigate.
And then he tried to create documents to make it look like there had been transactions.
“Hans-kun, your old man Lorenz was also something else.”
“Holger, you!”
“He even went around to the Backeshoff faction council members to get them on board to stop Izakaya Nobu from being crushed. It didn’t seem to have much effect, though.”
“And you, Holger, were threatening to switch suppliers to the Backeshoff Trading Company, weren’t you!”
Holger’s face turned red, as if he had been caught red-handed.
“…That was because I thought that a trading company that would try to use force to take over such a good pub might not be a suitable trading partner for my guild.”
“Yes, yes, yes, yes, we’ll go with that.”
“Grrr…”
Godhardt and Reinhold, who were watching this and laughing, and Eleonora, who was not present, had prepared funds to counter the Backeshoff company if they tried to buy out the pub. Shinobu knew this.
And she also knew that Eva had been praying to the kamidana every day.
“Hey, Taisho.”
“What is it, Shinobu-chan?”
“We were really lucky to be able to open a pub in this city, weren’t we?”
Nobuyuki didn’t answer, but nodded slightly.
Then, he held up a large serving of fried food on a tempura rack.
“Alright, the kushikatsu is ready!”
Translator’s Note
Kushikatsu is deep-fried skewered meat and vegetables.
The customers cheered, and the freshly fried katsu quickly disappeared into their stomachs.
The banquet that day continued late into the night, and the participants suffered from terrible hangovers the next day.