"Hey, I heard there's going to be a dinner meeting with the bigwigs tomorrow."
"A dinner party in these times, huh?"
Austin's capital, Winn. Government dining hall.
This is where aristocrats who know the limits of luxury receive "hospitality" every day.
"They say the new Chief of Staff will be meeting with the Prime Minister. They want us to prepare a lavish meal."
"Come on now. We're practically out of ingredients."
The government dining hall is essentially a restaurant exclusively for nobles.
Only true VIPs can come here, where the best chefs in the country gather, and high-end ingredients are collected.
…But due to the ongoing war, food supplies became scarce and the government dining hall had fallen into a situation where they couldn't even prepare decent meals.
"It's fine as long as it looks luxurious at first glance. How about roast beef?"
"Like we can serve that! There are hardly any dairy cows left."
"How about a colorful vegetable salad?"
"The only vegetables we have are wilted ones in jars from the Sabbath. Only wheat and potatoes are grown around Winn."
"Then how about we decorate and serve some bread?"
"Even bread is scarce."
Austin is now facing a serious food shortage.
The supplies of luxury goods from the occupied Flamer cities had stopped, and they could barely get anything other than wheat and potatoes.
"I'm counting on you, head chef. The Prime Minister will be attending tomorrow."
"You can't make something out of nothing."
At this time, potato bread was the staple food of Austinites.
Making bread using wheat alone was considered a luxury, so it was common to mix in potatoes to bulk it up even though the taste suffered.
People also gnawed on wild plants from the nearby area and shared the few canned goods they had to stave off hunger.
"Hey, chef. This flour isn't refined."
"Use it as is. It bulks up more that way."
"Are we really serving the nobles crumbly black bread?"
Food distribution had become rationed, and good bread was no longer available in households, leaving only poor-quality bread full of fillers.
The river fish had been overfished, the wild game in the mountains had been hunted to extinction, and now people were starting to die of starvation.
This was the reality of Austin in the final stages of the war.
"Won't the nobles get angry if we serve them such food?"
"Then get us something better to serve them."
"Speaking of which, we still have some jams and sauces from Flamel. Let's use those to cover it up."
"Even the jam you put on bread is a luxury item nowadays."
They couldn't serve a decent meal even in the venue where the Prime Minister would dine.
Austin was fighting to the very last drop of blood.
"This is just too much. Can't we at least get permission to slaughter one dairy cow?"
"You want to further reduce the already scarce milk supply?"
"That's right. I heard that a dairy cow died of disease the other day. Do we have any meat from it?"
"You idiot! Didn't you learn that eating a cow that died of disease will kill you?"
The chefs were racking their brains, desperate to find a way to serve some kind of meat dish despite the lack of ingredients.
"Do we still have any domestic wine left?"
"There's plenty of the Sabbath's Vok in stock."
"That stuff isn't even drinkable."
Even if the food was bad, as long as the alcohol was good… or if they could make the decorations look luxurious…
The chefs continued their discussions as they prepared for the Prime Minister's meeting.
Amid the dire food situation, the chefs were also fighting desperately.
"…Umm, excuse me."
"Huh?"
As the chefs were exchanging opinions like this, a girl in a white dress appeared at a table in the dining hall.
"What's the matter, miss? Unfortunately, we're closed right now."
"Yes, I am aware of that."
It was a small, expressionless, quiet-looking girl.
Without the typical haughty air of a noble, she was probably a commoner girl.
"So, what can we do for you?"
"I'm scheduled to perform at tomorrow's dinner party. I have permission, as you can see."
"Oh?"
"I'd like to take a look at the stage."
"Ah, I see."
The chefs listened to her explanation and nodded in understanding.
The paperwork she presented for stage inspection was also legitimate.
"You're going to entertain the guests with a performance?"
"That might actually be a good idea."
The government dining hall had a stage where performances could be held by theater troupes.
Given the current food shortage, raising satisfaction through means other than food was a smart move.
Whoever planned this, it was a nice idea.
"Miss, what kind of performance are you doing? If you need any instruments, let us know in advance."
"My performance is a puppet show, so I'm fine."
"Oh, a puppet show, huh…"
With a slightly proud expression, the girl took out a strange-looking fox puppet from her bag.
It looks like it has been used quite a bit and showed signs of age.
However, to be honest…
"It's kind of… plain, isn't it?"
"Plain?"
"Oh, no. You see, our stage is pretty big. I just thought a handheld puppet might not stand out."
Hearing the word plain, the girl's face showed a considerable amount of shock.
Seeing her downcast expression, the chefs hurried to make amends.
"N-No, it might look plain at first glance, but…"
"W-Well, it's fine. Don't worry, it'll definitely be a hit."
"Yeah! You're adorable! I'm sure the crowd will applaud."
"Thank you. I'm pretty confident in my performance. I believe it will be well-received."
They didn't want to belittle an entertainer who had come all this way.
Even a puppet show can be exciting if the content is good.
In the first place, it must have been difficult to even secure members for the theater company in the current situation.
It would be troublesome for the chefs if she took offense.
"I'll do my best to liven up the event tomorrow. Please take care of me."
"All right, leave it to us! We'll do our best to serve something good too."
"Thank you. Now, I'll take a look at the stage."
"Yeah, go ahead."
With that, she climbed onto the stage.
She then began to carefully check the width and height of the stage, as well as whether the floor creaked.
It is said that top entertainers finely adjust their performance based on the stage.
The chefs thought she was a meticulous entertainer.
"I'll also do a little rehearsal. Please don't mind me."
"Sure, go ahead."
Eventually, after checking out the stage, the girl proudly stood in the center and prepared her puppet.
The chefs intended to continue discussing the menu for tomorrow, paying no attention to her.
***
"This is a story set in the depths of a deep, dark forest, beyond of reach of man."
However, when the girl began her performance, calling it a rehearsal, the chefs were no longer able to continue their meeting.
"The animals set off on their adventure in rhythm. Here we go, Animal Dance Rondo!"
"Whoa, what's that?!"
"Amazing!?"
The performance started modestly with an introduction, leading into a puppet show featuring animals.
The story itself was ordinary, but the level of expression was astounding.
The movements of the puppets she controlled were so smooth, it was as if they had a will of their own.
"They're moving more than usual."
"No way…"
She attached strings to her puppets, making them dance and move rhythmically.
It was impossible to understand how she was able to convey such intricate movements with just ten fingers.
The comical, dynamic, and dramatic puppet show had the chefs' attention glued to it.
It could truly be said to be the pinnacle of puppetry.
"Shining bright, the summer of my homeland~"
"She's doing a round by herself…?!"
"I've never seen such a trick!"
Her performance didn't stop there. Somehow, the girl started a round all by herself.
The animals continued to dance briskly, almost like a musical, in sync with her song.
And finally, the chefs noticed.
This girl is surely one of Austin's most talented entertainers.
And rightfully so, for she had been honing her puppet skills since childhood as a genuine entertainer.
Ever since she was a child, she had been playing with and manipulating dolls whenever she had free time.
Her skills were so refined that even Arunoma, the star actor from Flamel, acknowledged her as a worthy rival.
"Of course. No half-baked entertainer would be called to the government dining hall."
"We can't just sit back and do nothing after seeing such a performance."
"We've got to show that the star of this dining hall is the food, not the entertainment."
The chefs were impressed by her overwhelming talent as an entertainer.
And at the same time, they felt competitive spirit.
"We can't use white flour, but if we mix jam into the dough, we can add some flavor to the bread."
"By carefully adjusting the oven temperature, we can create the ultimate freshly baked bread…"
"I'm going outside for a bit to gather some fresh wild herbs. At the very least, I want to serve a delicious salad."
If such a young girl could put on such an incredible performance, as chefs of the government dining hall, they didn't want to let her steal the spotlight.
"Thanks to that girl, we've got a fire lit under us."
"The passion of the young is something else."
And so, the entertainer girl and the chefs met.
Though their professions and goals were different, they shared a common purpose: to make tomorrow's dinner meeting as successful as possible.
"Alright, let's gear up for tomorrow's big day."
"Yeah! Let's not lose to that girl, everyone!"
"Ohhh!!"
The shouts of the chefs, all full of energy.
The entertainer girl looked at them curiously.
***
And then, the next day.
The day of the long-awaited dinner had finally arrived.
"Hello, I am Major Iris Valou, the newly appointed Chief of Staff. Pleased to make your acquaintance."
The girl who had been practicing on the stage the day before entered, accompanied by numerous guards.
"Please, Iris-sama. Have a seat."
"Thank you."
You're the VIP?!
The thoughts of all the chefs present were in unison.