I, reincarnate as the leader of the villainous knight order

Chapter 110: The Importance of Meals

About a month after leaving the royal capital, the signs were there.

Upon arriving in a certain town, the Third Knight Order bought some ingredients and prepared lunch outside the town as usual. It was just like camping. The reason was simple: the food they cooked themselves tasted better than what they could get in town.

Suddenly, the Saintess ran out of the town, heading towards us with a near-crying face. Despite only riding in the carriage and not exercising, she seemed even thinner. Axel and a high-ranking priest chased after her frantically.

“Saintess! What happened?!”

The saintess stopped in front of us. The high-ranking priest, who had come as a messenger, questioned her. I also wanted to know. I had a vague idea, though.

“I’ve told you many times, haven’t I?! Let me help! I’m at my limit! Captain Justin, please let me eat here too!”

Come to think of it, she had offered to help with cooking several times, only to be refused each time. She kept being told it was not something she should do. It seemed she had finally reached her limit with the boring travel and terrible food. The high-ranking priest… Fernan, if I recall correctly. He looked at me as if blaming me, but that didn’t help.

“Priest Fernan, the Saintess is very particular about her food. She can’t be satisfied with the common taste. She finds the food she makes herself much tastier, which is why she can’t stand the food served to her. She’s become so thin from enduring it all this time…”

I looked at the Saintess with a gaze full of pity. The members of the Third Knight Order, except for Orel, were staring at me intensely. It’s probably because they had never heard me speak so politely.

Fernan must have noticed how thin the Saintess had become. His eyes started to swim with anxiety. He had tasted the Saintess’ cooking at the Great Temple even if it was only for a few days. Therefore, he should know the level of taste she was expecting.

“Justin! What’s going on? Oh, it’s Eleanor! Is Eleanor going to eat with us too?”

Noticing something strange, Jest came over. The Saintess’ face lit up as if she had found a savior.

“Jest, I want to eat with you too. Is that okay?”

“Yeah! Let’s eat together! Right, Justin?”

Jest looked up at me with a sparkling smile, and the Saintess looked up at me with a pleading face.

“Ah… Priest Fernan, please allow the Saintess to join us for lunch.”

The Saintess joined her hands in prayer and looked at Priest Fernan with pleading eyes, echoing my words.

“I understand… Captain Axel, please ensure the Saintess’ safety here.”

“Yes, leave it to me.”

Though Axel replied crisply, he was probably inwardly delighted at the prospect of eating here too. The people from the Holy Kingdom returned to town.

“Thank you, Jest!”

Once Fernan and the others were out of sight, the Saintess hugged Jest. I couldn’t blame her; I’d struggle too if I had to endure the previous food for a month. My subordinates seemed to share the same sentiment, giving sympathetic looks to the Saintess and Axel.

“Well, two more servings shouldn’t make much difference. It’s almost ready, so find a place to sit.”

“Yes!”

“Two more servings…? Is it okay if I have some too?”

Axel asked hesitantly.

“Do we really need a guard with this many knights around? Just standing there watching us eat would be tough. Besides, I’ve heard the Great Temple has started adopting the Saintess’ recipes. The temple knights must be struggling with the food on the journey too. Think of it as a perk of guarding the Saintess.”

“…Thank you… I’ll gratefully accept.”

Axel smiled wryly, seemingly at a loss for words. It appeared complaints from the temple knights were indeed a reality. But buying enough supplies for the journey in this town would be too much.

“Axel, after we finish eating, ask the Saintess for the recipes and write them down. Show them to the innkeepers and ask them to prepare the food. Explain to them that it’s a new recipe starting to spread in the capital. If you don’t want to write it down every time, just collect the recipes afterwards.”

Even in a small town or village, they should be able to manage the herbs for a single meal. It would be troublesome if this kept happening.

“The meal is ready. It’s hot. Please be careful, Lady Eleanor, Captain Axel.”

””Thank you!””

Orel handed over a wooden soup plate with bread placed like chopsticks to the two of them. Such considerate care as expected.

Since there are no trays used in the dining hall to reduce the amount of washing, this is the basic style when eating outside.

“Eleanor, let’s eat together!”

“Well, I shall dine with you too.”

“Jest! Jest’s mom!”

“You may call me Jeanne. Since I will be accompanying you to the Holy Kingdom, let us get along well.”

“Yes, Jeanne!”

It seems like Jeanne and the Saintess will get along well. It looks like Jeanne is grateful for the saintess’ help when Jest was manipulated. It should be safe to see them off to the Holy Kingdom.

“Huh? Jest, aren’t you going to drink the soup? And that bread… is it different from ours?”

“Hehe, this is soft bread that Justin made for me and my mom.”

Actually, during the week the Holy Kingdom delegation was staying, I taught the chef the recipe and left the natural yeast preparation to him. I made and brought the bread for Jest and Jeanne, who don’t normally need to eat.

There were some comments that it was awkward to eat in the dining hall while Jest just watched without eating.

So, since I prepared food so that the two of them could eat together, there is no bread to share with the envious Saintess. Well, she soon savored the Knights’ cooking and whispered, “Happiness…” so it should be fine.