We decided that even if we were attacked by an ambush, we would be able to get through it without difficulty, and the three of us entered the tent.

There was a geometrically patterned carpet, and in the center was a man who looked like a warlord, sitting on a simple chair. He was fat, but his eyes were sharp.

I'm pretty sure he's the king's little brother.

「King of Vernia, Black Cat of the Wind, Alec.」

In the case of kings and royalty, I'm the one with the higher status, so I stand and make my name known.

「Umu. I am Baan-Toran, the King's little brother, who has been entrusted with this land by the King. You have come all the way from Vernia, and I do not like formal greetings. Why don't we sit down and have a drink together?」

「I'll have some.」

I sat down at the desk on the floor, received a square cup filled with sake, and sipped the white liquid.

It's slightly sour and tastes like bitter Calpis. It also has the aroma of alcohol, so it's definitely sake.

「Hmmm, what kind of alcohol is this?」

Frowning, Serina did not seem to like it.

「It's made from fermented goat's milk. If it's not to your taste, then take the milk.」

The king's little brother ordered, and the servant of the Toran gave her another cup.

「Ah, this one tastes better!」

「That's good. Now, I heard that today you will be making sweets from sugar and offering them to me.」

「Yes, we'll make the best sweets!」

Saki put her arms around me with great enthusiasm.

「That's fine. However, my subordinate insisted that we can't have a stranger make the food that the royals eat. It's not that I don't suspect that King Vernia is trying to assassinate me, but I'd like you to cook it where I can see it.」

「All right. You don't mind, do you? Saki.」

If there was too much sugar, the Toran would have something to say about it, but I'm sure Saki would be able to cover it up.

「Of course! I'd also like you to prepare the other ingredients, like flour and eggs.」

「Very well. I'll get them ready.」

Immediately, a place was prepared and about five cooking stoves were set up in the open air. A large number of Toran soldiers and people were sitting around them, watching the cooking.

「And now, ladies and gentlemen...　The first round of the Toran Pastry Maestro Competition! Let's see who's going to make His Royal Highness' palate roar and reach the pinnacle of sweets!」

For some reason, Letty is playing along at the side. I'm not sure why Letty is doing this, but I'm guessing that she's already talked to Toran about it, since she hasn't been kicked out by Toran's soldiers. I'm sure that Saki was planning to liven up the scene and caught Letty with about ten copper coins.

「I, A (Ace) Rank, a genius mage who graduated from Austin Academy of Magic in the seventh place! Letty, the Bluish-purple witch, is sending this message. As for the commentary, we have Hannah, the beautiful rapier user from the Black Cat of the Wind, and Marilyn, the King of Bad Food who can eat just about anything. I look forward to working with both of you.」

「Yes, thank you very much.」

「Hurry up and feed me!」

「No, no, no. We're just getting started, Marilyn-san, and I've been told that plates will be passed around to us in the live audience, so please wait a little longer. Now, in the special studio, the challengers are already getting ready. Nene-saaaan, the studio assault reporter? Can you give us a sense of the scene?」

「Y-yes! L-let's see, on the workbench, Serina, Ione, Saki, and Fianna are already sifting flour and making sweets. The head chef at Toran-san adds to the flour ...... .Is this goat's milk? He put the white liquid. 『I can't lose to those little girls!』 Auhh, and he's very enthusiastic!」

The head chef with the long hat is cooking while staring at Serina and the others, but it doesn't matter who wins. If I can use it for Cerberus' portion.

Serina is smiling and winking at the audience, waving her hands in a vain attempt to be affectionate, but she's an idiot.

「Thank you for the report. Now, the clash of pride against pride for the prestige of the nation, it's already getting interesting! This program is brought to you by Ichinomiya Shokai, a company that always loves smiles and money. Hannah-san, the commentator, and the Kingdom of Vernia group.......Is it correct to say that these are orthodox cookies? To tell you the truth, I heard about it from the challengers yesterday.」

「Correct, well, Ione is good at making cookies, so I think she will go with that. However, I think Serina and Saki might make something different.」

「Ohhhh, I wonder if there will be a secret recipe that will surprise us? I'm really looking forward to it. On the other hand, the head chef of Toran, ......, what's that? He's throwing in a new ingredient! Something thick and white was thrown into the bowl in large quantities!」

「It's yogurt. In this region, there's a traditional snack called babilsaak, which is cooked like fried bread.」

「Ohhh, fried bread? As expected of the commentator, Hannah, you know a lot. Speaking of fried bread, I also like doughnuts, which are rings covered with sugar powder!」

「Me too!」

Doughnuts. I haven't had a doughnut in a while, but I hear I'm going to get a chance to try one, so I'll look forward to it.

「Now, at the other table, Saki is pouring a bowl of thick dough into a mold. This doesn't look like fried bread or cookies! Next to her, Fianna is also pouring a lot of water into the mold. What's going to come out of this? I can't take my eyes off her!」

「Oh, that's look good!」 「I can't wait to eat it!」 「Come on, chief cook~!」

It seems that each person is making a different kind of sweet.

While the crowd around me was heating up, I decided to quietly watch the girls work. Then the King's little brother, Baan came to talk to me.

「King Vernia, it's quite a turnout, let's make a bet.」

「A bet? What do you want to bet on?」

「It's no fun to bet money and goods. How about the loser give the winner a virgin?」

「Houh, a woman, huh.」

The king's little brother seems to be quite fond of them. I―― decided to ask him about it in detail.