AWDC Chapter 62

The King arrived in the village accompanied by influential figures like Lord Midland and Lord Gregg.

The entire village turned out to welcome them, but being a small village, they lacked sufficient manpower. They greeted the King in a flurry of activity, but some mistakes were unavoidable.

The King arrived by ship, but the gangway of the luxury vessel didn’t match the village’s barge. They hastily prepared stairs and platforms, but they couldn’t hide their clumsiness. There were too many attendants, and even at the welcome ceremony, there weren’t enough chairs.

In reality, Roy and I were in charge of the village’s ceremony, so we were constantly on edge.

Everyone in the village formed a human wall from the pier to the plaza to welcome the King. In my previous world, people would wave small national flags in such situations, but the concept of a national flag didn’t exist in this world yet.

Even so, the King and his attendants couldn’t hide their surprise at the continuous wall of smiling, waving residents.

“So many people have come to welcome me?” The King’s face gradually relaxed.

Afterward, we had the honor of the King attending the welcome ceremony and the defense corps’ review at the plaza.

Under John’s command, we marched in perfectly aligned ranks. There had never been such a ceremony in this world. The sight of people marching in sync, with their arms and legs moving simultaneously, looked like a single living creature.

The unified clothing and the order of height in which they marched was truly a magnificent sight.

By this time, the number of corps members exceeded 100, and Tom’s eldest son was among them.

“My son looks quite dashing, doesn’t he?”

“He really does. I was worried he might make a blunder in front of His Majesty.”

“No, no, he was splendid.”

“Yes, he marched with such dignity.” Margarita and Salomé joined in Tom and Cathy’s conversation, praising the proud figure of their son.

The King was also in high spirits.

“For such a small village, they have trained so well.”

I suggested this review when the King’s visit was decided.

One reason was that there were few things for the King to see in the village. The other was to boost the morale of the defense corps.

Prince Charles’ army collapsed due to low morale. I aimed to improve the corps’ morale by having them appear in the review.

The honor of being able to meet the King in person was sure to inspire the corps members.

“The streets of this town are wonderfully constructed,” the King said, touring the town in a carriage from the pier, seemingly satisfied with the village’s prosperity.

Around this time, the village’s main street was lined with merchants setting up large shops. They were eager not only to purchase paper, lamps, mirrors, and axles, but also to sell their wares. In fact, the village lacked almost everything.

Since long ago, this village had relied on external sources for many things, such as daily necessities, clothing, tableware, and furniture. However, the village didn’t have money, so business wasn’t possible. With the creation of specialty products such as paper, glass, and axles, the village thrived and became wealthy. The merchants hadn’t overlooked this change.

When the Mulan Inn first advanced into the village, there were only two other restaurants. Now, there were over 20 restaurants alone. They were bustling not only with villagers but also with merchants and craftsmen from outside. In addition to restaurants, clothing stores, general stores, and hardware stores were also opening one after another. It was only natural that the merchants would advance onto the main street to be more visible.

This trend would likely continue.

After completing the welcome ceremony, the King began to tour various parts of the village.

This included the glass workshop, the blacksmith shop manufacturing axles, and the paper mill. Honestly, I wanted to keep the manufacturing sites secret, but if the King wanted to see them, I had no choice but to comply.

However, neither the King nor his attendants were interested in the manufacturing technology itself. I arranged as many products as possible to be prominently displayed. The King played along with my intentions perfectly.

“Oh, this large mirror is wonderful. Placing it in the palace would captivate many people.”

“This lamp is stylish. I haven’t seen anything like it even in the capital.”

“Paper can come in these colors?”

“This has gold leaf mixed in, doesn’t it?”

“If we use these axles on our carriages, they won’t break down?”

The King’s attention was drawn to the products made in the workshops, and he didn’t look at the work sites.

Afterward, the King and his entourage entered the hotel.

“This is quite a nice guest house, isn’t it?”

“We call it a hotel in the village.”

“What is a hotel?”

“It’s a facility for welcoming distinguished guests, but in this village, noble people rarely visit. So, we usually allow merchants to use it as well.

Of course, we have prepared a large hall, a large dining hall, and other facilities to satisfy noble guests.”

The visiting dignitaries looked at the hotel with curiosity as we explained.

After resting and recovering from the journey, we held a banquet in the large dining hall.

“Cheers!” At the lord’s signal, everyone drank their fill of alcohol.

Before the guests was a large quantity of meat, eggs, fruit, and bread. The guests were deeply impressed by the variety and quantity of the food.

In fact, the cuisine in this world was limited in variety, and I, as a reincarnated person, didn’t find it very delicious. I myself had lived in poor places overseas, so I wasn’t very knowledgeable about cooking. Even so, I knew a few meat and egg dishes.

What I insisted on was making the food easy to eat. The meat in this world was simply too tough, and you had to chew it many times before it could pass through your throat, and your jaw would get tired before you could swallow it. Beef in particular was slaughtered from animals used for plowing, so it was very tough and difficult to bite. I soaked the meat in baking soda, and when it was still tough, I repeatedly pierced it with a needle to cut the tendons and made hidden cuts.

The beef was lightly seared, sliced, and seasoned with salt and pepper. The pork was stewed until it was tender. I also prepared dishes using ground meat. River fish was coated in breadcrumbs and fried in oil. In other words, roast beef, braised pork, hamburgers, and fried fish. None of these would be considered high-class dishes in my previous world, but in this different world, they were novel and, above all, easy to eat.

“This will make the hotel’s food famous,” the cooks were eagerly trying to learn cooking tips from me. Now, the results were before the King.

Once flour could be made, bread could naturally be made as well, which greatly changed the village’s food situation. Before the water mill was built, villagers could only afford to eat bread a few times a year, even if they grew wheat. Now, they could eat bread whenever they wanted. I also taught them to add baking powder when kneading the dough to make it soft and fluffy. That’s why the bread in this village was fluffier than bread elsewhere. The bread served at the banquet was also fluffy and soft, made in the village.

“This is delicious!”

“This meat is tender!”

“How did you season this fish dish?”

“The bread is soft too!”

The King was, in a way, a curious person. He had never eaten anything so soft and easy to eat before, and he couldn’t help but ask questions.

The lord, who was attending to him, was in a difficult position. He couldn’t answer the King’s questions and called me over with his eyes.

“Your Majesty, this meat is beef that has been tenderized with baking soda and then grilled.”

“The pork has been stewed for a long time.”

“This is called a hamburger. It’s made by mixing ground meat with onions and other ingredients and grilling it carefully.”

“This thick omelet is made by repeatedly layering eggs mixed with honey and sake and grilling them.”

For a while, I ended up explaining things to the King and didn’t get a chance to eat my meal.