As I was looking at my status screen, I heard a rattling sound coming from the direction of the tunnel, and Lucio appeared with a wagon. It is Upa who is holding Lucio’s bridle.
“Mio informed me that the tunnel is open. I guess we can now head out.”
“Yes, we can indeed go now…. But Upa, are you going with us?”
“I won’t let you say no this time. The capital is far away, and there might be robbers along the way. If I’m with you guys, I can prevent any unnecessary trouble from happening.”
Upa carries a long sword on his back and is already ready to travel.
Hmmm…. Perhaps with the tough-looking Upa around, fewer people will try to bother us indeed.
“But it’s still too early, right? It’s still before dawn you know.”
“That’s better. This way, we can leave without being seen by the guys at the checkpoint. We can make Earl Dantes think we’re still on the island.”
Knowing my brother, it’s possible that he might come to interfere with the delivery. He probably wouldn’t send troops into another territory, but he might have them pretend to be ruffians and launch an attack on us.
In that case, we should indeed leave immediately.
Everything is ready, and the wagon is loaded with wine and our luggage.
“Okay~, Char will carry the wagon to the main road!”
This is in the forest, so we really have to do that.
Char lightly lifted the wagon with all our luggage in her shoulders and starts walking forward. Lucio, who is looking grumpy from just waking up, follows after her.
“Well then, everyone, we’re going.”
I said goodbye to everyone and started walking through the forest where the pigeons began to chirp.
The weather continued to be fine and our trip went well. We arrived in the capital in two days without any major problems. Normally, it would take three days, but thanks to Char, we arrived earlier. For most of the journey, Char pulled the wagon.
She even carried the tired Lucio and placed him on the wagon, and the passers-by were very surprised by that scene.
Well, it’s to be expected because a little girl is carrying an adult donkey with ease. It’s usually the other way around after all.
“Father, there are a lot of human presence!”
Char, who is walking cheerfully in front, told me excitedly.
“Well, we are almost at the Capital after all.”
“Ooh~! There are countless people in the Capital.”
“That’s right. Char can tell huh.”
“All the different voices, all the different smells, I can feel them all!”
“Char, it’s about time you took turn pulling the wagon with Lucio. If we keep going like this, a bunch of curious onlookers will start gathering around us.”
If there is a young girl pulling a wagon with a donkey on it, onlookers may gather and we may not be able to move forward.
After walking for a while, the walls of the city finally came into view. It is Luidas, the capital of the Kingdom of Floodland. The population is about 30,000.
The main industry here are the magic stones produced from huge dungeons. It’s been a long time since I’ve been to Luidas.
It was two years ago that my late father brought me here. At that time, I was told, “When you turn 16, you have to make yourself known to the high society.” But then my father passed away, and those plans fell apart.
Well, it would be wrong to expect anything from Alexei-oniisan.
You never know what life will bring. Just like now, someone like me even gets invited to a Royal wedding reception.
We went straight to Earl Simpson’s villa. When we arrived at the Simpson villa, we are greeted by Eugenie and Earl Simpson. While we are in the Capital, we are supposed to stay here.
“Welcome, Cedie. You’ve finally arrived.”
“Thank you. Well, we arrived a day ahead of schedule.”
Earl Simpson laughs and appeases us.
“Eugie has been worried about you for a long time. She’s been hanging out by the window all day, looking for you.”
“Father! I’m not sitting at the window all day!”
Eugenie puffed out her cheeks, but I’m sure she was worried about me.
Earl Simpson then asks me.
“Did your trip go well?”
“Yes. We didn’t have any trouble, except when we were leaving.”
“When you are leaving? What happened?”
I explained to Earl Simpson what had happened between me and Alexei-oniisan.
“And so, I dug a tunnel that leads to your territory, please forgive me.”
“No, no. I don’t mind that, don’t worry about it. I’ll go and check it out some time.”
“I’ll accompany you then. Also, I have a suggestion for you.”
“Oh, a suggestion? Since Cedie is suggesting it, it must be something interesting, isn’t it?”
“Actually, there is such a thing called Magic Railway……”
That afternoon, I explained the concept of the railways to Earl Simpson and Eugenie.
We rested at the villa of Earl Simpson and delivered the wine to the royal palace before evening. I’ve finally lifted a weight off my shoulders after fulfilling my big task.
With nothing in particular to do, we just wandered around the streets, taking in the sights in the Capital. Then we arrived at Deckels Square.
The plaza is packed with street performers and onlookers, kiosks selling newspapers and cigarettes, and food stalls. There are many such squares in the capital.
“Father, it smells so good.”
Char sniffs around as she moves her arms restlessly. She must be excited to see such food stalls for the first time.
“What do you want to eat? You’ve worked so hard, so I’ll buy you anything as a reward.”
“Uoooh! Hmmm….which one should I choose? There are so many, I can’t decide!”
As we looked around, we heard a cheerful voice calling out to us.
“Welcome, welcome! Would you like a donut? Donuts are the newest sweet at Luidas!”
They are frying donuts at his food stall. However, it is not the ring shape one that I was familiar with in my previous life. They are small lumps of donuts.
It’s looks like……, yes, satur andagi!
I think it’s a snack from Okinawa.
“Father, Char wants to eat donuts!”
“Okay. I’d like to try it too, so let’s buy some.”
As I approached, the man at the stall raised his hand happily.
“Welcome, my boy. Would you like a donut?”
“I’ll buy two. Do you sell only one type here?”
When I asked him that, the uncle looked puzzled.
“A donut is a donut. There aren’t any different kind.”
“……Is that so?”
In my memory of my past life, there were all kinds of donuts. Some had a chewy texture, some had cream in between, and some had some mysterious golden grains sprinkled on them.
As if his interest was piqued, the uncle asks,
“When you said other type…. what other donuts are there?”
“Well, let me think…… uhm, how about one with jam inside?”
I think it’s called jelly donuts.
When I was a kid in my previous life, there was a time when I thought that jelly donut is a donut with jelly inside. But the jelly wasn’t jelly at all, it was jam.
If you put jelly in a donut, it will melt while it is frying.
“Donuts and jam……”
The uncle listens to me and thinks deeply.
“Uhm, I want two donuts.”
“Oh! My apologies.”
He handed us a donut on a skewer.
It tastes kind of nostalgic. It’s crunchy on the outside, sweet, greasy —a truly sinful taste.
Char gobbled it down with glee.
“By the way, boy, do you have any other ideas?”
“Hmm…… how about drizzling cinnamon sugar, lemon-flavored sugar coating, or custard cream in between?”
That seems to be easy to do. Chocolate is a luxury item, so it would be impossible to serve it at a food stall. It will no longer be a price that ordinary people can afford.
“I see. I learned a lot. Thank you very much.”
The man thanked me, then he handed me and Charles another donut as a free gift.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
Previous ⚜ Table of Contents ⚜ Next
Yume Neiji's Works 
And like that, the donut revolution occurred.
LikeLike