"I'll Catch Up Later, So Go On Ahead!" I Said, and Stayed Behind in the Dungeon for Five Years. When I Returned to the Royal Capital, for Some Reason, I Had Become a Great Criminal, So I Decided to Retire. But Outstanding People Keep Gathering Around Me Though... - Episode 27: The Royal Confection Festival

Episode 27: The Royal Confection Festival

“Actually, I have a suggestion. Lisel, take a look at this.”

I showed Lisel a certain flyer. Lisel glanced over it and muttered quietly.

“This is──a contest for artistic confectionery?”

Written on it was the outline for the artistic confectionery contest held in the royal capital──〈Royal Confection Festival〉.

A prestigious festival held every year in the royal capital for confectionery artisans. It is a competition to contest the “beauty of the form” and the “taste” of sweets. It gathers artisans, apprentices, and chefs employed by nobles from inside and outside the country.

The judging is extremely strict. It factors not only on appearance, but taste, theme, originality, and the background of ingredients are also subject to evaluation.

“The Royal Confection Festival has three categories: the Craft Division, the Creative Division, and the Practical Division. Wouldn’t it be good for you to enter the Craft and Creative Divisions, Lisel?”

“I see… But, what exactly is the difference between the Craft Division and the Creative Division?”

“Hmm. I think, probably, the Craft Division is purely about the quality of the visuals? Like, it requires the beauty of a crafted object. The Creative Division probably needs originality and a sense of story.”

That part wasn’t written on the flyer. For now, we’d have to infer the details of each division and just try making something. Still, this contest was a traditional one, now at its 10th time. For a first-time participant, winning might be hard right away—but I did think this was a place where Lisel could shine.

“What do you think? Want to try it?”

“…Yes. If Haru-san says so, I’ll do my best!”

—

And so, Lisel decided to participate in the Royal Confection Festival.

The deadline was short, but Lisel already had a lot of ideas stored in her notebook. So she should be fine.

Then, I went to report the situation to the boss.

“Boss. I told Lisel the truth.”

“…I see. I’m sure she was hurt.”

“Yes. But I suggested she try entering the Royal Confection Festival.”

“Royal Confection Festival? Ah, that contest. I was invited too, but I focus on flavor. So I had no interest. Still, I do admit Lisel’s originality is something special. Haru, that was a good suggestion.”

“Yes. The appearance is definitely extreme. But the fact is, it’s made with amazing technique. It’s possible she could even win.”

“No way… but well, trying hard is a good thing.”

Then, I decided to ask the boss something else.

“Um. About Lisel’s bread—would it be alright if my friends tasted it too?”

“Ah, I don’t mind. Having a variety of opinions is good. You can use the kitchen freely on your days off.”

“Thank you very much!”

—

And so, the day off came.

The friends I called were──Luster and Sharo. I had been wondering how to contact them. But luckily, they happened to be in town.

I figured these two would give honest opinions without holding back.

“Luster-san, Sharo-san. Thank you for coming today.”

“Mhm. Looking forward to Lisel’s bread.”

“Hmph. I’ll be strict, okay?”

“Yes! Please, give your honest opinions!”

Lisel immediately started cooking.

We waited at the living room table for the sweet bread she would prepare.

“Haru. Lisel’s bread… what’s it like?”

“Yeah. I’m curious too.”

“Ah—well, it’s faster to just see it than to explain… yeah.”

It’s hard to express Lisel’s art in a simple way.

After a little while, the sweet bread was completed.

With a nervous expression, she brought it over—but then, we were shocked upon seeing it.

“Eh…?”

“What is that?”

“A bird… maybe?”

A bread shaped like a giant bird. It was spreading its golden wings wide.

The whole thing appeared to be made from croissant dough layered many times; each feather was delicately folded in. The glossy finish likely came from honey and egg yolk coating. The baked color even gave off a divine aura. However, as usual, the coloring was vivid. And mysterious ominous purple thorns stuck out in places—but it was just too detailed and refined.

“Since this is for the Craft Division, I focused on intricacy! How is it?”

“Mhm. I think it looks cool.”

“This is bread…? The detail is incredible… I think she could really win this. Don’t you think so too, Sensei?”

“Yeah, I think so… but Lisel, this is still a prototype, right?”

“Yes. Just before fine-tuning. If I submit this to the contest, I’ll focus more on feather details, adjust the angle of the wings. I also want to sharpen the thorns and color scheme a bit more. Maybe give it more dynamic movement. But this time, I made it just to test the overall frame.”

“……”

No, seriously, isn’t this amazing?

It still had some odd elements. But by focusing on detail this time, it turned out really well.

We tried the bread, and the taste was also completely fine.

And finally──we got to see her entry for the Creative Division.

“Hmm… this is──amazing.”

“…Lisel really made this? It’s kind of unbelievable…”

“…This is seriously incredible.”

We were all impressed when we saw the prototype for the Creative Division.

It wasn’t just bread anymore—it was truly a work of art.

But Lisel herself didn’t seem satisfied. She was reflecting seriously on it.

At that moment, Sharo let out her honest thoughts.

“Hey. If you can make things like this, do you really need to stick to bread? With your talent, you could do paintings or sculptures too.”

Ugh… honestly, I had thought that too.

But surely Lisel had her own reason for sticking with bread.

Lisel responded with a slightly wistful expression.

“That’s true. You may be right. But even so, for me, bread is something special. Back when I was little, I felt out of place and was really down. My dad made me an octopus-shaped bread that I liked. Even though I thought taste was the most important, he made it visually fun, too. I think I admired that about him. That’s probably where everything began for me.”

“I see… well, that’s a good thing.”

“Mhm. That’s a nice memory.”

“……”

Th-the boss…!?

I never imagined that the boss’s well-meant gesture back then would lead to this.

Even the boss himself probably doesn’t realize that something from way back became Lisel’s origin.

But… it was clear that, just like me, Lisel had something special in her heart about bread.

I felt a sense of closeness to her.

—

After that, the four of us discussed more points to improve, and finally──

Lisel faced the day of the Royal Confection Festival.