The following day, we threw ourselves back into preparing for the Harvest Festival. The heavy labor was left to the townspeople, while the rest of us focused on repairing the wedding attire.
“Heave-ho!”
Fran, who was hopeless when it came to sewing, had joined the townsfolk in the physical work instead.
“It’s a relief that the damage to the clothes isn’t any worse than this. At this rate, we should be able to finish the repairs in a day.”
“I’ll help as well.”
“Shiro will do her best too!”
“Horn too!”
Fortunately, the wedding garments had been stored in a different location, so they had escaped with only minor damage. If we concentrated, we could have them ready in no time. Sue and the others were busy meeting with the event organizers, so for now it was just the four of us working on the repairs.
Stitch, stitch, stitch.
Needles moved steadily through cloth as we carefully mended every tear. At the very least, the outfits needed to hold together throughout the wedding ceremony, so we made sure not to cut any corners.
Then, just as we settled into our work, some welcome reinforcements arrived.
“We’ll help too.”
“Leave this sort of thing to us.”
The speakers were the town’s middle-aged women. Apparently, they had been looking for a way to contribute, and when they saw us beginning the repairs, they decided they had found the perfect opportunity.
“Ooh! That’s so fast!”
“Amazing!”
“Haha, well, we’ve spent years mending our husbands’ and children’s clothes.”
“This much is only natural for us.”
As expected of the town’s veteran mothers, they repaired the garments at a pace so impressive that even Shiro and Horn stared in amazement.
“The Harvest Festival’s group wedding is always one of the biggest events of the year.”
“They announced the participants ahead of time. I heard there will be five couples this year.”
“It doesn’t matter whether they’re newlyweds or getting remarried. Good news is something everyone should celebrate together.”
It was clear that the women were looking forward to the wedding ceremony just as much as anyone else. The townspeople truly had their hearts set on this festival. That was all the more reason for us to keep pushing forward and make sure neither the dark organization nor the Human Supremacy Cult could ruin it.
“Actually, one of the couples in the group wedding is a friend of ours.”
“They’ve been together for years and even have children already, but they’ve always been too busy to hold a proper ceremony.”
“This time, their wish is finally coming true. They’ll get to have the wedding they’ve been waiting for.”
I understood immediately. If someone close to you was taking part in the ceremony, of course your enthusiasm would be on a different level.
Thanks to everyone’s efforts, the clothing repairs were completed by noon.
“We’ll help with the cooking too.”
“With this many people, there’s no way you’ll be able to feed the whole town by yourselves.”
When it came time to prepare the communal meals, even more of the town’s women gathered around.
“Well, this is a perfect chance to learn how to make such an unusual dish.”
“The cooking method is simple, and best of all, it makes generous use of the Margravate’s local specialties.”
“It would be great for both the townspeople and visiting tourists.”
The energy these women had was truly incredible. Most of them worked at restaurants and eateries around town, and they seemed eager to take advantage of this opportunity to learn how to make the dishes I was preparing.
“So, young man, you don’t mind us learning your recipes?”
“Not at all. They’re not exactly a secret. Besides, whether a dish turns out delicious in the end depends on the cook’s skill.”
“Well, that’s an interesting thing to say. We’ve got plenty of confidence in our cooking abilities, so we’ll make sure they’re delicious.”
“That’s right. Leave it to us.”
That was how I had always felt in the other margravates as well. If people could make the dishes well, I wanted them to learn as many recipes as they liked. In fact, I thought it would be fascinating if, over time, each region developed its own unique variations and seasonings, transforming the dishes into something distinctly local.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com
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