Chapter 22: I was mistaken for the owner of a hot dog shop.

Countless thoughts passed through my mind in an instant, but soon I settled on a decision.

‘Why not just tell the truth?’

Why should I lie about something I’m not guilty of?

I spoke about the conversation I had with Martina, and Gilbert nodded upon hearing it.

“I see. The third princess said that, did she?”

“Yes. So, my participation in the tournament has nothing to do with her. But why do you ask?”

“I can only say it’s not by my will.”

Not by his will?

I immediately understood the meaning behind his words.

‘So, it’s the king’s command.’

If anyone could manipulate the will of the kingdom’s knight commander, who casually calls even the princess ‘princess,’ it must be the king.

It seems that the king wants this victory celebration to proceed without any disturbances.

When I think about it, it’s quite natural.

No power-hungry individual would want a civil war to break out immediately after a hard-earned victory.

It seems that this victory celebration will pass peacefully.

I nodded.

“I understand. Let’s just enjoy the festival and leave quietly.”

“If only there were more people like you, I wouldn’t have to suffer.”

“Seems like there are quite a few who want to stir up trouble at the festival?”

“It would be a relief if it were only a few! There are so many troublemakers making it unbearable. Those who love to twist words are openly inciting things, which makes it worse.”

‘Those who love to twist words’ is a derogatory term for nobility.

I expressed my sympathy to Gilbert with a hint of regret.

“You must be going through a lot.”

“The way to ease this suffering is!!!”

“Oh, I won’t be joining. Please train her instead of me, that retired guy over there.”

“Hmm? You want me to make Victoria a knight?”

“No, I just want you to teach her a bit until the tournament. I’ll be sightseeing at the festival.”

“Oh, I see. Looks like you’re looking for a woman to go sightseeing with?”

“She’s my little sister. Anyway, can you do it?”

Gilbert nodded without hesitation.

“That’s easy. You won’t be bored for a while.”

“Thank you. If you ever stop by my restaurant, I’ll make sure to treat you properly.”

Gilbert smiled lightly and nodded in response.

And just in time, Victoria regained her senses.

“Ah!”

“How are you? Have you learned something?”

“Yes! I think I understand what happened now!”

“Good. Then, until the tournament, learn from this old man.”

“Yes!”

“That’s the spirit!! Come at me again!!!”

Great, one thing solved!

I left behind Victoria charging at Gilbert and stepped out of the royal training ground.

Now that the biggest purpose of coming to the capital was settled, all that was left was to enjoy.

I remembered Selly, who had been eagerly looking forward to the festival.

‘Should I go back and take care of Staren instead of Selly, and tell her to go enjoy herself?’

I thought for a moment but shook my head.

Selly would probably dislike being told to go on her own.

It would be better if I just bought something that would let me feel the festival atmosphere and head back.

Having made up my mind, I headed toward the main street.

There were already street vendors lined up on the road catering to travelers who had come to the capital.

The variety of vendors was vast.

From skewers that immediately come to mind when thinking of festival food to full-fledged barbecues and sweet snacks.

Things that would normally be sold only at specialty shops in Hilton were being sold by these street vendors.

I couldn’t help but admire the sight.

“Sure enough, it’s different in the capital.”

Alright, should I buy something good from these?

With so many options, there must be something worth getting!

Thinking this, I started looking around at the vendors.

And 30 minutes later.

I failed to find a decent shop.

“How is it that out of so many shops, none of them are any good?”

The quality of the street vendors was hopeless.

Skewers that had been grilled until dry and tough sandwiches that had become rock hard until a customer came along!

The calzone they were selling barely had anything inside, and the pretzels were dry and tough, not chewy at all.

Of course, I knew.

The quality of food sold by street vendors during the festival period is always about the same.

But still, isn’t this a bit too much?

I wasn’t asking for much—just something that would let me enjoy the festival atmosphere and give me a decent taste!

After eating all the food I had bought (I couldn’t bring myself to throw it away), I made a firm resolution.

“This won’t do. I can’t feed something like this to someone who’s expecting a festival!”

If anything, I’d rather cook it myself than serve this kind of food!

Sure, it would be a bit strange to cook while on a trip, but I certainly didn’t want to eat this food.

With my mind made up, I headed to the grocery store.

The grocery store, next to the spice shop, had a wide variety of ingredients.

“Welcome!”

Yeah, this is definitely better in the capital.

With such a variety of ingredients, there shouldn’t be a problem finding what I need to cook.

I gathered ingredients while thinking about what I would make.

“Well, first off, Staren is a yakitori enthusiast, so I can’t leave that out.”

To add a bit of a festival feel, I thought I could make hot dogs and corn salad, that would be perfect.

No, since there’s no ketchup, should I combine the hot dog and corn salad?

That way, I could just make some mayonnaise, and with the rest of the ingredients already available, it wouldn’t require much work.

Having decided on the menu, I presented my chosen items along with the gold coins, and the shopkeeper, who received the gold coins, smiled broadly and exclaimed.

“Thank you, sir! But, do you think you can carry all of this?”

“Uh… Could I get just one box?”

“Of course! The box is free!”

I had unconsciously bought way more than I intended, just like I always do.

Habits can be quite scary.

But since Staren eats well, I’m sure everything will be fine.

With a large box full of ingredients, I left the grocery store.

And at that point, I realized something.

…But where am I going to cook this?

I had always lived in restaurants until now, and even during my adventurer days, I could cook anywhere as long as I had a fire, so I had forgotten about it—but now, here I am, in the middle of the capital.

Moreover, with the festival in full swing, every restaurant is packed during this time.

In other words, I can’t just walk into any restaurant and borrow their kitchen.

“Could it be that I can’t cook because I don’t have a kitchen, not because of the ingredients?”

This is a crisis I never imagined!

Sweat ran down my face as I realized that I might have to throw away all the ingredients I had bought after so much effort.

Then, fortunately, help arrived.

“Excuse me, sir!”

“Hmm?”

“Aren’t you open for business right now?”

“That’s right, we’re closed.”

“Then, would you sell me everything you have? I’ll pay generously!”

“Hmm? You want to buy all of this? You’re not buying the food itself?”

There’s always someone ahead of the curve.

I quickly finished the transaction with the vendor who was wrapping up his sales and bought the street cart.

At first, he seemed hesitant, but once I offered to pay double the price, he smiled and sold it to me.

As expected, the answer is always more money…

Anyway, with this, I’m all set.

I pulled the cart near my lodging and began preparing to cook.

“First, I should make the mayonnaise.”

The yakitori sauce is easy to make, so that’s no problem.

Making homemade mayonnaise is simpler than expected.

You just need egg yolks, lemon, and oil.

The only challenge is that it takes a lot of effort to make it from scratch.

But I have the strength to handle that labor.

My body, hardened from years of adventurer life, is indomitable!

“I didn’t become an adventurer just for this, though.”

Anyway, everything I need is here, so let’s give it a try.

First, separate the yolk from the egg whites, and put the yolk in a bowl.

Then, slowly add the oil to the yolk while stirring vigorously.

“Alright, it’s coming together.”

It starts thickening to the consistency of a typical mayonnaise.

Now, add lemon juice and salt to season it, and mix it all together.

Once you add the lemon juice, it thins out quickly, so you have to stir fast again.

Stir until the consistency is right.

“Alright, done.”

Mayonnaise is ready.

I can make meringue cookies with the remaining egg whites, I suppose?

Next, I’ll make the corn salad.

The recipe I used to make in my past life had mustard sauce, but since I have mustard but no mustard sauce right now, I’ll go with a slightly different recipe.

This one is also very simple.

Mix mayonnaise, sugar, vinegar, lemon juice, and salt together, then add boiled corn, boiled peas, and chopped onions.

Once it’s all mixed together, that’s the prep work done.

“Now, let’s see how the sausages sold in the capital taste.”

I lit the grill, then placed the sausages and bread with slits in them on top.

The sausage sizzled with a cheerful sound as it cooked.

Ssss—

“Alright.”

The smell is perfect.

It’s not just meat that’s been mashed together; it actually smells like a well-made sausage, with spices blending in beautifully.

No wonder it was expensive; there’s a reason for it!

Well, even though it was expensive, it wasn’t as costly as what I’d pay at Hilton.

Maybe because it’s the capital, the food prices are higher, but the spices, which are rare and expensive, were actually cheap.

I didn’t overspend.

This is all rational spending.

Then, I placed the sausage on a freshly toasted bun, topped it with the corn salad—

And a corn salad hotdog was complete.

As mayonnaise was added to the steaming sausage, the combined aroma of the sausage’s meat and the rich scent of mayonnaise created an irresistible fragrance.

Even though I wasn’t hungry after snacking on bits and pieces, I couldn’t resist the smell!

I swallowed my saliva.

‘Should I take a bite just to taste it?’

Yeah, I still have plenty of leftover ingredients, so why not.

Just as I was about to take a bite of the hotdog, I heard a child’s voice in front of me.

“Mom! I want that!”

The child was pointing at something, urging their mother.

And the child’s finger was pointing directly at my hotdog.

Wait.

I’m not selling these!