Just a little more idle talk before we get to the point…
"Klye, we've received a thank-you letter from the Gradius family, but—"
"Mm—ah, just put it somewhere over there."
"...Make sure you actually open it later, okay?"
Eva placed an absurdly lavish envelope on the desk.
Unlike Hunters, nobles and merchants were quick to send letters, which was a real pain. On the Clan Master's office desk, multiple unopened letters had already been left sitting.
I glanced at the wax seal on the topmost envelope, emblazoned with the Gradius family crest, then averted my gaze.
I had no reason to accept a thank-you letter in the first place—besides, wasn't it arriving way too fast?
As my certified Level rose, the number of letters reaching me had been increasing by the day, reaching a staggering volume.
Especially once I'd taken the position of Clan Master and basically stopped leaving the Imperial Capital, it became pronounced—letters begging for some kind of assistance, invitations, thank-you letters, challenge letters, résumés—nothing but letters that brought no joy and could lead nowhere, piling up endlessly.
I knew I'd have to open them eventually, but my hands just wouldn't reach for them. I'm the type who puts off anything unpleasant again and again.
Recently, because I'd neglected them for so long, Eva had started opening some on my behalf and even sending replies. Apparently that had actually improved my reputation, so maybe my approach had been correct after all.
"Well, I am busy, you know..."
"...Letters addressed to the Clan or the Party are one thing, but I'm not sure it's appropriate for me to carelessly open personal correspondence... there's a chance they could contain confidential information..."
No way. I had no secrets from Eva. If she'd been watching the usual me, she'd know that.
If I had even one saving grace, it was that I kept no secrets. Eva let out a small sigh, her gaze falling on the bundle of accumulated letters despite all her careful curation, and said quickly: "It seems that Eclair was quite taken with the cake you offered, Klye."
Ah, right. It seemed I had one more saving grace after all.
I nodded emphatically, full of confidence.
"Well, obviously."
"..."
Not to brag, but I knew every last dessert shop in this capital. From cafés to Western-style patisseries, I'd visited each and every one on my own feet. The only places I didn't know about were shops in areas like the Decadent District that Eva had told me about. And the cake I'd prepared for Ark's visit was one I could recommend with full confidence.
It was a new creation from a Western-style patisseries I'd visited when I first came to the capital—a place full of fond memories.
Due to its remote location, it had been nearly deserted when I first visited, but now there was always a line—you'd wait and still barely manage to buy anything. Service and flavor both deserved three stars. I was on a first-name basis with the owner.
If someone asked me to recommend a weapon shop, a dojo, or an information broker, I'd be stumped—but when it came to cake shops, I had answers galore.
Eclair was a noble, and precisely because of that, everything she ate was high-end. She probably wasn't familiar with the flavors of common fare. It's not like using premium ingredients automatically makes something good.
But to think that my selection would actually captivate the tongue of a young baroness... It felt like my abilities had been acknowledged for the first time in ages, and I was genuinely pleased. Hunters apparently ate so many coarse meals that their palates had gone dull—they rarely agreed with me on anything.
I noticed Eva staring at me and quickly cleared my throat.
"Yeah. I'm not big on sweets, but there's nothing in this city I don't know about."
Hard-boiled, right?
"...I suppose so."
But wait—so this meant I might be gaining a new cake companion? I'd thought she was just another troublesome noble's daughter, but it turned out her tongue was quite refined after all.
I couldn't exactly bring her along as a Tino substitute, but I certainly wanted her to introduce me to shops frequented by the nobility.
Well, that was a separate matter.
I decided to deal with all the letters on my desk in one go.
"Just give them all some kind of inoffensive reply. Turn down all the commissions and invitations... I am busy, after all."
Eva looked at me with cold eyes.
It felt bad to send replies without even opening them, but reading text always made me drowsy. More importantly, letters from the powerful and the merchants were all written in stiff, roundabout language, and honestly most of them went right over my head even when I did read them. Entrusting it to my capable Sub Clan Master caused the least friction.
If it were up to me, I'd have her handle all of it before it even reached my desk, but apparently Eva's sensibilities deemed that a no-go.
"...I don't have anything scheduled, but..."
"...I need to keep my schedule open. Also—doesn't everyone think it's crazy how many letters they send to just one Hunter? Are other Level 8s this busy too... Our primary duty is supposed to be exploring the Treasure Hall, you know."
I really didn't want to get tangled up in troublesome power struggles, and dealing with crafty, scheming merchants was terrifying.
When the letters first started coming, I'd assumed the numbers would naturally dwindle if I just ignored them, but there was no sign of that happening. As if I didn't already have my hands full with my own affairs.
I yawned, and my eyes happened to land on the all-white puzzle mounted in a frame on the wall.
It was something Eva and I had completed together. Apparently, you were supposed to draw your own picture on it at the end, but I'd been too lazy to ever get around to that part.
"Ah, right. And... I should probably get around to painting that picture soon. Hmm, but where do I even start..."
I had neither artistic talent nor any wealth of imagination. First of all, I'd have to buy art supplies. The more I looked at that puzzle, the more I wanted to scold my past self for ever buying a completely blank one.
As I furrowed my brow and tilted my head, Eva spoke as if trying to change the subject.
"By the way, Klye—the cake you served Ark still has some left over."
"Huh? Ah, I forgot. How many slices?"
"Two slices. I put them in the refrigerator."
In an instant, my thoughts shifted to the cake. The puzzle could wait for another time... It wasn't like anything bad would happen if I didn't paint it.
But two slices... that was an awkward number. I'd treated Ark and the others and Eclair to cake, eaten one slice myself, shared one with Eva—two slices remained.
An autumn special. Who knew when they'd be available again. This was a serious problem. No time for reading letters.
I could give them to Riiz and Citry, but those two weren't big on sweets. In fact, most Hunters didn't have the palate to appreciate delicate sweetness.
After agonizing over it in all seriousness, I got tired of thinking as usual and gave up.
"Tino. Tino's the only choice."
"...Tino is the only choice...?"
A kind Mastaa. And hard-boiled, too.
Tino was one of the rare Hunters who could actually appreciate sweetness—a fellow cake connoisseur.
Two leftover slices of the new cake. It was barely an exaggeration to say they'd been left over specifically so Tino could enjoy them.
Two slices for Tino and me. Perfect timing. Tino would be happy, and I'd get to repay Riiz and the others for all the trouble I'd put them through. One way or another, I'd been causing that junior of mine nothing but grief. I'd been feeling bad about it, you know.
Today—I'm sharp.
"Eva, would you mind wrapping them up for me? I'm going to bring them to Tino's place."
"Huh? Right now?"
Good grief, Eva just didn't get it.
If I didn't bring them soon, the cake's flavor would start to decline!
"! Understood. Please wait a moment."
Perhaps realizing she'd been looking at me with exasperation, Eva quickly straightened her posture.
No need to be that flustered... Eva was excellent, but she always took things too seriously.
It had been quite a while since I last visited Tino's place, but it was near the Clan House so I remembered the location, and for some reason I had a spare key. Right—Riiz had sort of claimed it as her own...
Ideally I'd have an escort, but the route to Tino's house was well-trafficked enough that I'd manage.
I got ready to head out for the first time in ages, saw myself off under Eva's suspicious gaze, and left the Clan House in high spirits.
I'd been showing nothing but pathetic sides of myself lately. Time to let them see what a competent Mastaa looked like for once.