kscans

Chapter 451 - The Event's Results

"Now, I will announce the results..."

At the cafe that served as the headquarters for the clan "Mont Blanc," the female members of Parfait's group were gathered around a table.

Only Chris, dressed in her maid outfit, remained standing, holding a piece of paper as if about to make an announcement. Just as everyone leaned forward in anticipation, Chris opened her mouth.

"The one that won an award was Ginny's 'Omelette Rice: My Favorite is My Life'."

At Chris's words, everyone let out a collective "Ooh" of admiration.

The voting period for the Hestia Festival was over, and the tallying period had also ended. The system was set up so that individuals would be notified before the public announcement.

And so, a letter had arrived for the clan, stating that Ginny's dish had won an award. They had received a considerable amount of in-game currency, so everyone was delighted.

Unfortunately, Parfait's "Curry I First Made for My Father," Natsu's "Tower of Babel," Chris's "Aim for Muscle, Ultimate Protein Dish," and Rick's "High School Butler's Teatime Set" narrowly missed out on winning. They had managed to gain a certain number of fans, but not enough to reach the top ranks, and this time they only received a participation prize.

"It seems the stall sales at that time were extremely effective," Wilnel said, impressed.

Ginny nodded with a beaming smile.

"Exactly. As expected, Ashley-sama is the best. Seriously, amazing. I think it's safe to say the illustration that even closet fans would want to pick up was wonderful. It was worth practicing."

"That might be true, but this victory was built on a great sacrifice. In fact, I think this result is all thanks to Rick-kun."

There was a reason Parfait said this.

During the stall sales, the idea of having Rick sell the food while wearing a butler outfit had come up, and Parfait had told him to run.

However, Rick had come to the stall with a deep frown on his face and had changed into a butler outfit without a word. According to him, it was the most efficient way to sell the dish.

(He was a real man. A real man, Rick-kun...!)

Rick, who had cast aside some of his pride to sell omelette rice and strive for an event prize, could be called this time's MVP. The effect had been immense. Female players had flocked to buy it all at once.

Most likely, Parfait thought, Balbara, who had been shocked by the sight of Rick, had contacted all her acquaintances. She had seemed to be sending voice chats while hyperventilating.

Perhaps they were used to this kind of thing, but everyone had lined up neatly, and no riots had broken out, which could be called ladylike. However, the fact that no one ate the omelette rice with Ashley's face on it was scary to Parfait. In a cooking event, it meant that no one had chosen it for its taste.

That had led to this result, but Rick, who seemed to have lost something important in the process, had been taking a break from the game recently. He was acting normally at school, so there was no problem. But he had said, "I'm a little tired," with a weary look, so she had given him a chocolate bar as a token of gratitude.

Rick wasn't particularly fond of sweets, but he had accepted it and thanked her, so he must have been extremely tired. Parfait was very grateful to him.

And Ginny seemed to understand that, as she nodded at Parfait's words, "built on a great sacrifice."

"Of course, this is all thanks to Rick-kun's selfless efforts. It was great that he changed without a word, but his slightly grumpy expression was a perfect homage to Ashley-sama... He must have read Heart-Pounding Pandemonium in great detail...!"

"That was his genuine reaction."

The deep frown and lack of words were undoubtedly genuine. He wasn't imitating Ashley, Parfait was sure of it.

"Anyway, since we won thanks to Rick-kun's hard work, let's try not to burden him too much in the future."

"Understood. Next time, I will ask Abel-kun. If my predictions are correct, Abel-kun could pull off Maxwell-sama from Heart-Pounding Pandemonium...!"

"Ginny-chan, aren't you a little too honest with your desires?"

"Desire has no limits. Yes, it is the great sin permitted only to humans...!"

"She's starting to sound like Natsu-chan... why did Natsu-chan just pull out a notepad?"

"I shall use that line later! To master the Dark Side, one must start from things like this!"

Parfait disliked the idea of a diligent Dark Side, but she was starting to think these two were a lost cause. She made a silent vow to be on Rick's and Abel's side when the time came.

"By the way, have you decided how to use the prize money?" Wilnel asked, her voice full of curiosity.

They had received a decent amount of money for winning. Parfait wanted to improve the base, such as the furniture in the cafe, but she believed that Rick had killed a part of himself to expand their passive income.

They had to do various things to automatically earn enough to cover the land tax, but that also cost money. She had been thinking of using the prize money for that purpose.

So far, they were earning money through farming and animal husbandry, but it still wasn't enough to cover the land tax. If Rick were here, he would probably come up with all sorts of ideas right away, but he was currently in the process of mental recovery.

So, Parfait decided not to start anything new, but to simply expand on the basics.

"I'm thinking of buying a cow and a chicken."

"A solid investment. Unlike in reality, as long as you have feed, they can produce various things, so it's a natural choice."

She felt like this wasn't a conversation young women of her age should be having, but she decided to set that aside for a moment.

And so, they decided to go to the Tamer Guild today to buy a cow and a chicken. Agreeing to go right away, they all headed to Azuma, the capital of the Eastern Country.

Although the event was over, the excitement had not yet died down, and many players were still running stalls. With the new ability to create original dishes, a wide variety of international cuisine was being sold.

And perhaps influenced by that omelette rice, there were many dishes with pictures drawn in ketchup. It seemed there were even omelette rice dishes with female characters drawn on them, and everyone seemed to be enjoying buying them.

In the midst of all this, they saw Balbara hopping from stall to stall. When she noticed them, she ran over. And without so much as a greeting, she suddenly grabbed both of Ginny's hands and her eyes welled up with tears.

"Thank you... thank you so much...!"

"We are comrades who worship the same favorite. So, please direct your thanks to Ashley-sama. Let us fill the world with Heart-Pounding Pandemonium."

"Yes, I'll pay a ton. I'll only be able to eat bread crusts until my next payday, but my heart is full, so I'll be fine."

"Since you're cutting down on food expenses, paying for content is practically free."

"I know, right?"

"No, no, that logic is flawed, isn't it? Please eat properly."

Parfait could only think, "What is 'paying for a manga character'?" but she decided to assume it meant paying the author, Shirokuro. She didn't really want to know the details.

"And please give my thanks to Ashley-sama—um, I mean, Rick-san. I was the only one who got to shake his hand at the end... I can fight for another ten years with this. I'll never wash this hand again."

"I understand. Ah, I took screenshots and a video, so I'll send them to you later."

"Huh? What, are you a god? A goddess, perhaps?"

"No, I am but a humble evangelist."

"You two, calm down. And Balbara-san, please wash your hands in the real world. You don't have to in virtual reality, but still."

Things were getting so ridiculous that Parfait couldn't help but butt in. For some reason, Balbara and Ginny looked at her as if they didn't know what she was talking about. She was sure she wasn't wrong, but their stares were so intense they made her wonder if she was.

Parfait couldn't quite keep up with Balbara and Ginny's enthusiasm, but she understood what it was like to be a fan of something. She was a fan of animals herself. She had bought every kind of animal-shaped cookie she could find, but she couldn't bring herself to eat them.

Balbara bowed to Ginny a few more times and then headed off to another stall. She probably still had a lot more to buy.

Pulling themselves together, they headed for the Tamer Guild.

When they entered the guild, many players were boasting about their pets as usual, but there was another kind of excitement here.

The event had made it possible to create original dishes, and that had extended to the food you could give to pets. So, people were selling all sorts of things under the guise of "food your pets will love."

Some of it looked more luxurious than what people ate, but it was quite interesting just to look at. There was even a dish called "Royal Nekomanma Deluxe," and Parfait was tempted to buy some.

"Parfait-san, after buying the cow and chicken, will you still have money to spare?"

"Wilnel-chan? Of course I will, but is there something you want to buy?"

She had received the prize money, but most of it was thanks to Rick, so she couldn't use it. Also, she had been focused on the event, so she hadn't earned much from dungeons lately, but Parfait did have some money she could spend freely.

"Let's buy tomatoes. If possible, I'd like to buy seeds and seedlings from the Farmer's Guild too."

"That's fine, but why?"

The Hestia Festival event was over. Thanks to the large clans providing them, the supply of ingredients was stable. Some things were even cheaper than before the event started, but tomatoes hadn't dropped in price that much.

So, buying them now didn't seem like a particularly good deal. Parfait didn't understand why Wilnel had suggested buying tomatoes.

"I apologize if I am mistaken, but I believe the price of tomatoes will go up tomorrow."

"Um, why?"

"Because tomorrow, all players will learn that Ginny-san's omelette rice won an award. I suspect that the act of drawing pictures with tomato ketchup will become a trend. There were quite a few at the stalls earlier."

Parfait remembered that was true. Now that she mentioned it, there had been several shops like that.

"There were a lot, but will it really become a trend?"

"It is merely speculation. Also, it would be difficult with other condiments, so I thought the demand for tomatoes would increase."

"Now that you mention it, that seems possible."

"Also, more people might come to buy Ginny-san's omelette rice. You said you won't be running the cafe yet, but selling takeout food is an option. For that reason, I think we should secure some tomatoes."

"That might be a good idea."

After all, no one who bought that omelette rice actually ate it. The only one who did was Diite. It couldn't be a cafe menu item, but takeout was possible. And it would be good advertising for when they eventually opened the cafe.

Realizing this, Parfait acted immediately.

"Let's spend all my money and buy up tomatoes. Oh, not the prize money, my personal money."

"That decisiveness, as expected of you, Parfait-san."

The ever-prudent Natsu and Chris wondered if that was a good idea, but Ginny said, "Life is always all in...!" and handed all her money to Parfait.

If you spend money, you just have to earn more. With that in mind, Parfait first bought the cow and chicken, then immediately headed for the Farmer's Guild.