Persephone and Kureha both laughed out loud at that.
"Alright, come on, let's eat!"
"Try my new stew recipe: chicken cream hotpot and charcoal-grilled cheese fondue!"
Laurier looked down at her bowl. The freshly ladled stew was rich with cream, still steaming. Potatoes, carrots, broccoli, and onions sat in the thick, creamy broth, giving off a fresh, mouthwatering aroma.
"Oh! This is good!"
She scooped up a spoonful, blew on it a few times, and popped it in her mouth. The flavor bloomed across her tongue instantly.
Leon watched her enjoy it, the corner of his mouth curling up.
"Cream stew paired with Dungeon sweet berries. Perfect combo!"
"And this is a flavor you definitely can't get on the surface."
Persephone took delicate, elegant bites, casting an approving look at Leon.
"That's Demeter Familia for you. When it comes to food, we never cut corners! And this chicken cream hotpot idea of yours is actually brilliant. It balances out how cloyingly sweet those Dungeon berries are. Paired together like this, Adventurers might finally stop turning their noses up at them."
Jeanne and Rose exchanged a glance and smiled.
"So those sweet berries have never really been popular with Adventurers?"
Rose said this and tentatively popped a raw berry into her mouth. One bite and her brow immediately furrowed.
"Oh god, that really is sweet!"
Persephone laughed watching her and explained softly:
"Exactly. Lady Demeter has actually tried improving them many, many times. Those uncommon fruits you see on the market? Most of them were originally bred from this Dungeon red berry."
The moment she said that, it clicked for everyone.
"Those? Don't they sell for a pretty steep price?"
Persephone puffed out her chest proudly, her slender neck lifting slightly, chin raised.
"Of course they're expensive. They're cultivated from Dungeon ingredients. Whether it's taste or nutritional value, they're a cut above ordinary fruit. Add in the limited supply, and you've got a very premium product. And the prices you see? That's because Orario is the source. When foreign merchants and nobles buy them up and ship them back to their own countries, the price can increase tenfold. Easily. So count yourselves lucky!"
Everyone stared, speechless.
Leon especially. He'd always known Demeter Familia was wealthy. They were Orario's preeminent agricultural faction, after all. But he'd never imagined that after Lady Demeter and Persephone successfully adapted native Dungeon crops for surface cultivation, the resulting products would be worth this much.
"Damn. Doesn't matter what world you're in, tech is always king."
Leon shook his head in admiration, and his thoughts drifted back to his own skill.
Hand of Omnipotence, huh. Once I get a bit stronger, it'll be time to bring out what it can really do.
A sharp glint passed through his eyes as he quietly resolved himself.
"Hey, hope we're not interrupting?"
A voice from the dense woods broke Leon's train of thought.
Everyone turned toward it.
Finn, Riveria, Ais, and two unfamiliar young people were walking out from the trees.
"Leon! It's been a while!"
Leon stood up with his bowl, bent down slightly to shake Finn's hand, and smiled.
"'A while' is a stretch. It really hasn't been that long. You were just too busy dealing with Valletta last time to notice us."
Finn blinked at that, then seemed to remember something and laughed in spite of himself.
"I'd completely forgotten if you hadn't brought it up. You could've at least said something before we finished cleaning up the battlefield. You didn't even stay for the victory banquet."
Then his tone shifted, and he shot Leon a knowing, guy-to-guy grin.
"But I heard you almost landed that Far Eastern noblewoman from Astraea Familia. Yamato Rindou, right? I even saw Miss Gojouno after the battle, and the look on her face was, well... you know."
He rose up on his toes, completely ignoring Riveria and the other women present, clapped Leon on the shoulder, and said with a look of pure admiration and envy:
"Nice work! That's what a man should do. Forget what the haters say. Just be yourself, do what you want, and if you're building a harem fair and square, then own it! Let 'em talk!"
Leon: "..."
Dude. Finn. Buddy. Read the room.
You're saying this in front of everyone? You trying to get me killed? You want them to tear me apart?
Jeanne, Rose, Kureha, Persephone... their killing intent is already off the charts!
Leon was absolutely certain that if looks could kill, these women would have flayed him alive a hundred times over by now.
Feeling the mood turn glacial and the suffocating pressure bearing down on him from every side, Leon forced a dry laugh, shook the hand Finn was still holding, and scrambled to change the subject.
"You guys have been traveling a while. Camp just went up, right? Since you're here, grab some food. I know conditions are limited down in the Dungeon, but you know how it is with us Demeter Familia. We don't mess around when it comes to cooking. Plus, I snuck in some low-proof wine this time. Lady Demeter brewed it herself. Try some!"
He grabbed Finn and dragged him away, shamelessly talking up his own cooking skills the whole time, putting as much distance as possible between himself and the visibly seething women with their ice-cold stares.
"Hmph!"
Jeanne let out a cold snort, then turned to Riveria, and her expression instantly switched back to a polite smile.
"Riveria! You came too!"
Watching her flip between moods so effortlessly, even the elven princess found herself privately impressed by how much Jeanne had grown.
It seems being around Leon is... formative, no matter how you look at it.
That's what she was thinking, though outwardly she maintained her elegant smile and nodded to Jeanne.
"I couldn't exactly let the Familia captain and expedition commander wander off alone during an Expedition. So I tagged along. As for these three..."
Riveria stepped aside and introduced Ais and the two young people to Jeanne's group.
"You already know Ais Wallenstein, so I won't bother with introductions."
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