She Becomes The Hero In Another World 28 She Gains A Ques

"I never knew that potatoes could be so satisfying." He sighed.

Keith and Gerard glanced at each other, yet neither one had any inclination to tell Prince Christian that he had missed tasting the most satisfying potato dish to date. In fact, at that moment, they were in perfect agreement even without words being said.

Pons.h.i.+eu, on the other hand, was far too busy writing down Robin's instructions for making hash browns.

"Ah, but I wouldn't let them go a day in normal temperatures." Robin instructed. "The oil used to cook them in can easily go rancid if left for too long. Thus, it's best to eat them the day that they are cooked."

"But I thought you said they can last for months in an ice room?" Pons.h.i.+eu asked.

Robin blinked. "Why, so I did...I forgot to mention that if you are storing them in the ice room, that they have to be uncooked. Otherwise, the solidified oil will definitely mess with the flavor."

Pons.h.i.+eu underlined the warning that he wrote at the end of the recipe.

"But, still," Robin glanced at Pons.h.i.+eu. "I'm surprised that you know how to write."

"Are people not well-learned where you come from?" Prince Christian asked.

"No, but there was a time in my land's history which was similar to this land." Robin replied. "Yet, during that time, most of the normal populace were illiterate."

"Ho? Why was that?" Prince Christian asked.

Robin smiled, wryly. "Because a group of people, known as scribes, were more convenient to hire to do all the writing, rather than bothering everyone else to learn how to read and write. Many of the commoners were land-renters instead of land owners, so they had a responsibility to care for the land they lived on. This left them little time to learn reading and writing. And if you add a child's reluctance to learn such boring things, after a few generations, many could not even sign their own name."

She shrugged.

"Of course, now everyone knows how to read and write, at least rudimentarily. The problem is that many people have no time to read the more important things. I'm concerned that one day, instead of professional scribes, we will, instead, have to employ professional readers."

At this, Kenmei chuckled. Prince Christian had been one of those who were reluctant to learn reading and writing. Of course, Prince Christian pretended that he was in no way involved in such a group. "So everyone has education in your country? how do you pay for all that?"

Robin shrugged. "Taxes. The way the government pays for everything else that they own."

"Ah." Christian knew that was true enough. At least, everything that the king currently owned had been paid for with taxpayers gold. While he was curious about Robin's world, he also remembered that he had to explain the situation to Robin.

"Pons.h.i.+eu, can you be a good man and go bar the door? I have something to discuss with Robin that I don't want ending up in other people's ears." Christian felt he ought to get this over as soon as possible.

"Yes, your highness!" Pons.h.i.+eu enthusuastically rushed over to the door to bar it shut. That way, he could review the two wonderful recipes he had just acquired from Hero Robin. He had an inkling that if he mastered the way of making potatoes, he would have many more ways to cook food that he previously did. He also secretly noted down to ask for the recipe for hollandaise sauce later on.

"So, I'm a.s.suming the reason why you wish to talk to me is the result of that little talk you had with the king, today?" Robin asked.

Christian nodded. "It is. I am here to explain the situation that you have been implicated in."

"Implications, huh?" Robin mused. "That means this won't be about pleasant things. All right, let's hear it."

Christian explained the situation, about the previous ten-year alliance being in jeopardy due to the Hero's appearance.

"It's that much of a problem?" Robin asked, surprised. "Well, I know that the usual case has the Hero pitted against the demon king, but knowing that this demon king does not desire war, how could I be at odds against him?"

Keith coughed. "Actually, the current demon king is a female."

Robin paused. "Fair enough...even so, I would never be at odds with a peace-loving demon! So long as they don't look for trouble, they won't find it in me."

"We know that." Christian sighed. "But they don't know that. All that they'll hear, after ten years of silence, is that the kingdom summoned a new Hero. And, knowing what Heroes are summoned for, they'll probably instantly a.s.sume we intend to deal with the demon king."

"...I see. So that's why we need to meet the demon protector diplomats?" Robin asked.

"And we also need to explain things to the population to make sure they don't skip the starting line." Christian added. "That's why we need to visit the main cities on the borders near the demon king's lands."

Robin thought for a few minutes. "Tell me, are any of those main cities near the ocean?"

"Huh? Oh! Yes, there is one. It's our main sea port city, Port Oracle." Christian replied.

"We'll go there first." Robin decided.

"Huh? Why?" Christian asked.

"Because, after all this time, I want to eat some proper sus.h.i.+." Robin replied. "It's best if the ingredients are the freshest."

"Sus.h.i.+?" Pons.h.i.+eu's eyes sparkled. "What kind of food is this?"

"It's somewhat of a controversial food where I come from." Robin replied. "Those who like it, like it. Those who don't, are usually those who can't get past its unusual origins. Personally, I have found no problem with it, as long as it is prepared properly."

"I don't know what sus.h.i.+ is, but I really want to find out now!" Prince Christian agreed. "It is decided then, I will accompany you to Port Oracle."

"You can't forget me, the loyal babysitter!" Keith chimed in.

"Me neither!" Gerard piped in. "I'm traveling with Robin no matter where he goes!"

"You still haven't taught me everything about potatoes!" Pons.h.i.+eu exclaimed. "As your disciple, it would hardly be good of me to not accompany you to learn how to make this 'sus.h.i.+' dish." He added.

"So, everyone here will come with me?" Robin asked. Everyone nodded with a smile. "Very good, then. How soon can we leave?" She asked Christian.

"Er..." Prince Christian remembered that he also had a very long writing asignment that he needed to accomplish before he left. "Shall we leave in three days?" He asked.

' Writing 'I shall not leave without proper permission' ten thousand times will take me a bit to finish.' He thought to himself.

"Three days? Does anyone else have anything pressing to do? No? All right then. We leave in three days." Robin concluded the meeting. "You may unbar the door, Pons.h.i.+eu."

Pons.h.i.+eu went to unbar the door. Now that he had a teacher to learn under, buth Hero Robin and Prince Christian were people he held in high esteem. Thus, he had no problem with unbarring the door, even though Christian had not told him to.

Of course, Prince Christian paid no heed to this. Heroes were considered saviors, completely separate from the king's rule. By all rights, Hero Robin's authority was on par with the king. Thus, Robin was actually higher that Christian in rank.

Prince Christian wouldn't be that much of a dunce to harp on being the one to decide everything. At least, would anyone (who wasn't obviously stupid) put it into their minds to potentially p.i.s.s off a sword master that could dice you into meat cubes? Thus, Robin took charge of the group.

'Come to think of it...; Robin pondered to herself. 'wouldn't this kind of journey be labeled as a quest?' She liked that idea.

"Urgh." Her head rang a bit as her vision began to swim. "I forgot how tired I was."

Quests were all fine and dandy, but at this point, Robin was interested in nothing more than a long and peaceful nap before dinner. She had had a long night, and was almost dead on her feet. Thus, she allowed herself to be herded to her guest room, where she promptly fell asleep in her clothes on top of the covers.