Chapter 199. Now, Spring Again
Under the Nortaris tax code, a corporate tax is applied to businesses. This corporate tax is generally levied at a rate slightly lower than the income tax, with various deductions available.
This is because it takes into account the social value that businesses create—employment, economic circulation, and the like.
In short. It was not at all strange for Y&P Trading Company to be organising a food festival for Nortaris.
Of course, this decision had been calculated by Penelope.
She had received confirmation that in exchange for holding the festival, a portion of the regional Northern taxes would be waived. Jurgen was the type to pay every tax down to the last penny, but…
"Even so, that was a bit much."
Penelope was not so deeply devoted to the Royal Household. Besides, it was also an occasion to unveil Y&P's new menu items to everyone—a decision that was profitable in more ways than one.
But whatever her true motives might have been. The aromas drifting across the square were nothing short of extraordinary.
The sizzle of meat browning on the grill, the sweet fragrance of onions caramelising in butter, and the deep, heavy scent of sauce.
A culinary festival, as it were.
5 o'clock in the morning. Y&P Trading Company's temporary headquarters, set up in one corner of Nortaris Central Square. Penelope was leaning against the terrace railing, looking down at the busy scene below.
At this Nortaris Festival, nearly fifty thousand citizens were expected to gather. And Y&P Trading Company intended to serve a meal to every last one of them.
Had it been her first time, even Penelope would have felt overwhelmed… But well—hadn't she already had the experience of mass catering to four times that number at the Birthday Banquet?
"Table arrangement for Zone A complete…… Securing the serving line flow for Zone B. Good."
Penelope had run the entire process—from the moment a dish was made to the moment it reached a guest's hands—through a simulation in her head. Still, there was nothing quite like checking in person.
"Right, shall I do a walkthrough?"
Penelope tucked her checklist under her arm and headed downstairs. It was time to inspect the kitchen, which resembled a warzone.
The first area she reached was the patty-forming station.
And do not be surprised.
It was semi-automated, no less.
An automatic forming machine designed by Serena. Meat and ingredients were fed in through the top opening, then the press below would activate and produce perfectly round patties of exactly 200 grams each.
It looked simple at a glance, but it was anything but. It was a marvel of precision engineering—adjusting pressure in real time according to the viscosity of the meat to preserve the optimal texture.
Serena's technical abilities had by now reached a level Penelope could not even begin to comprehend.
"……."
Serena stood with her arms crossed in front of the machine, fixing a sharp gaze on the discharge opening where the patties were coming out. There was no trace of her usual slightly scatterbrained self.
"Serena."
"One moment, I'm in the middle of calibrating the margin of error."
As Penelope approached, Serena raised a hand to stop her without taking her eyes off the machine.
"Margin of error? They're coming out perfectly fine."
"No. The humidity has gone up slightly, I think—the mixture has gone marginally too soft. This really isn't easy."
Serena grabbed a spanner and pressed herself against the machine, then in an instant had tightened and loosened something.
"There. Perfect now."
Only then did Serena push her goggles up onto her head and turn to look at Penelope.
"What brings you here?"
"You look rather impressive today."
"Ahem, I've always been impressive."
Serena's nose went pointy with pride.
"Current defect rate: zero. Production speed: one hundred and twenty percent of the target. As long as the meat is fed in on time, there'll be more than enough to stuff every last person in this city."
When had she become so dependable? When they had first met, she had been terribly timid, and rather rude.
Penelope found herself suppressing a smile at the sight of Serena speaking with one hand on her hip, hmph.
"Reassuring. But Serena."
"Yes?"
"Your dark circles have dropped all the way to your chin."
Serena flinched and pressed her hands to her own cheeks.
"I-I've been pulling all-nighters for a few days! Setting up this machine!"
"I know. You've worked hard."
"Ow!"
Penelope gave Serena a pat on the shoulder.
"I'm counting on you right to the end."
"……This is really not at all like you, Penelope."
Serena narrowed her eyes, sensing something suspicious. Penelope grinned and turned her steps toward the next station.
The next area Penelope reached was the cooking station, where the carefully made patties were being grilled.
―Tsssssss!
Dozens of enormous iron griddles were spread out, and thousands of patties were sizzling away on top of them.
Commanding this vast cooking line was, remarkably, a girl of small stature.
"Line Three! The heat is too high! The outside is burning and the inside isn't cooked through!"
"Oh! Yes! Chef!"
It was Brigitte. Brigitte was sauntering between the griddles with her hands clasped behind her back, issuing orders to dozens of cooks.
As Brigitte strolled along, one cook caught her eye. He was flustering away at a pace well behind the others.
"Would you mind stepping aside for a moment?"
"N-No! I can do it!"
"I meant I'd like to demonstrate!"
The hand gripping the spatula moved in a dazzling blur. With every light flick of her wrist, the hefty patty spun through the air in an instant.
"See that? It's not about force—it's about rhythm."
"As expected, you are a-amazing, Master!"
"Oh come on, I'm not your Master."
The cook bowed his head with moved, reverent eyes. Penelope watched the scene with her arms folded, finding it rather entertaining.
Brigitte's culinary skill had always been of the highest calibre in Britannia—that went without saying.
But lately she had taken to directing people just as naturally. In the beginning she had been the one flustering when chefs crowded around hoping to learn from her.
"Oh! Penelope!"
As Penelope approached, Brigitte lit up and bounced on her heels, waving her hand.
"Brigitte, keep that up and you'll put on weight."
"W-Weight? W-Why would you suddenly say something like that……"
"Wipe that off your mouth and then talk to me."
Penelope pointed a finger at the corner of Brigitte's lips. They were slick with oil, and there was demi-glace sauce smeared along the edge.
"How much have you been sneaking?"
Brigitte hurriedly wiped her mouth on her sleeve.
"I-I was doing a taste check! Quality check! Quality check!"
"Oh dear, oh dear."
Brigitte seemed to choke on her own words mid-excuse and swallowed with a loud gulp. Even as a genius chef, there was apparently no helping herself in the face of delicious food.
Penelope reached up and ruffled Brigitte's hair. The way she carried on was simply too endearing—there was nothing else to do.
The day's culinary festival was a success.
The North, where interest in fine food had only just begun to ignite, was exactly the right setting for it. Steaming Butter Garlic Rice, thick demi-glace sauce, and Hamburger Steak to go with it all.
The Hamburger Steak that Y&P had prepared with such care disappeared to the very last piece, into the mouths of the citizens.
Under normal circumstances it would have been something she couldn't even dream of attempting, but by now she had accumulated the know-how through hard-won experience. Penelope, Brigitte, and Serena—each carried out their duties in their own place without a hitch.
Not that the work itself became any easier, of course.
"Uuuugh…… my back is going to snap……"
"I'm dying. I'm actually going to die at this rate……"
The festival ended in full swing.
The sun was already slowly sinking beyond the western mountain range. Penelope, Serena, and Brigitte were lined up in a neat little row on the terrace steps of the Y&P Trading Company's temporary headquarters.
They were the driving force behind the day's festival, but the state they were in now was that of utter stragglers.
"The machine was perfect, though. Not a single breakdown."
Serena muttered as she sprawled flat out on the landing.
"I designed it myself, but honestly, it really was the best."
"Yes, yes. You've worked hard, Serena."
"Oh! Cola! My blood sugar was just dropping."
Penelope smiled and pressed a cold cola bottle to Serena's cheek. Serena let out a cry of delight and drank it down in great gulping swallows.
Beside her, Brigitte was nibbling away at a dish on a plate. An oversized Hamburger Steak grilled from the leftover ingredients.
"Brigitte, how does that even fit in you? Just smelling it would be enough to fill someone up."
"Funny—you'd think after smelling food all day you'd get sick of it quickly……"
"That was work and this is a meal. Work and personal interests should be kept separate."
Brigitte answered with the happiest expression in the world as she ate her Hamburger Steak.
"And besides—gulp—you can only find room for improvement if you actually eat it!"
"You really are something."
"Hehehe."
Penelope pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed the sauce from the corner of Brigitte's mouth.
Bound by a mixture of exasperation and fondness. They were no different from family now.
Serena gazed into the distance and said,
"Even so, today was really something, wasn't it?"
"You saw—everyone was eating so happily."
When they had been preparing twenty thousand servings at the Birthday Banquet last time, it had felt almost like being in the middle of a war. There had been no room to observe people's reactions.
But this time was different. In the familiar North, with adequate preparation.
Everyone had eaten Y&P's cooking with enjoyment. This rewarding feeling was something only those who had done it could understand.
"Doing something like this every once in a while seems nice."
"Honestly, I did feel proud. I'm not usually the type to care about that sort of thing."
"Is that so? It might not be bad to do this regularly."
Light, casual small talk.
"Of course! We can't do it for free. You'll need to give us a bonus."
"A bonus? I gave you one last time too."
"I need quite a lot of research funding this time."
"Me too! I want premium beef instead of cash! Meat, not money!"
"All right, all right."
Penelope gave a wry smile and rose to her feet. She stood up and brushed off her skirt with a pat.
"You're leaving already? Stay and chat a little longer."
"I can't, I need to work too."
Penelope would have liked nothing better, but it was not to be. Preparing for what came after this festival, steering Y&P—these were all Penelope's responsibilities. There would no doubt be a mountain of documents piled up waiting for her when she got back to the office.
Rustle.
Just then, Brigitte pulled something from her pocket and held it out to Penelope.
"Penelope, please take this."
"Hm? What is it?"
"It's the best one from the batch I grilled earlier. You haven't eaten a single meal all day."
It was a warm Hamburger Steak wrapped in baking paper. Even while running around all day, she had been keeping an eye out for the fact that Penelope had gone without food.
"……."
"Please eat it and keep your strength up!"
"Really……"
Penelope ruffled Brigitte's hair and headed for the office.
The quiet office with all the staff already gone for the day. She set the warm Hamburger Steak Brigitte had pressed into her hands on top of the desk.
Her gaze drifted naturally to the spot across from her.
The place where Jurgen had always sat in quiet concentration, reviewing documents and mulling over recipes. Now there was nothing left but an empty desk, standing there alone.
A whole year had passed, so by now she ought to have been used to it…… But that empty seat—she simply could not get used to it.
In all that time, Penelope had become a fully-fledged representative of Y&P Trading Company, had grown the business to more than twice its original size, and had become the head of a company with thousands of employees.
Even so, she could not simply wallow in sentiment.
Just as Jurgen was working diligently at his duties as Minister of Internal Affairs, Penelope had her own work to attend to.
"Uuugh…… I don't want to work……"
Penelope leaned back against the backrest of her chair.
Beyond the window, a single belated firework—announcing the close of the festival—bloomed across the night sky.
The long winter had ended. Spring had truly come at last.