Gossip at the Downtown Tavern

"--the Heroic Chef?"
"The youngster who obtained nobility in that cursed territory."
While I was enjoying myself at the tavern, some familiar words catch my ear.
Well, more than familiar, there's a 99% chance that they're talking about me.
Even though this is a fairly high quality tavern, the person talking about me stands out from the crowd with his very conspicuous noble outfit.
Rather than my usual noble garb, I am currently wearing a cheap robe to blend in as a merchant.
I heard this place had a speciality fish dish and a white wine that go great together, so I came here as a break from my late night work.
"Just because he has a little talent in cooking doesn't mean he can go around like that, bragging and cozying up to all the upper nobles."
--I don't remember doing any bragging.
Sure, I'll admit to using my cooking to get good connections. But my cooking ability is basically due to my maxed out Cooking skill, so it doesn't feel right to brag about it.
"During the ballroom dance, he even ensnared the ladies and wives with his sweets. Then, he even had the gall to barge into their homes."
Ensnared is certainly one way to put it...
At the very least, I can say for sure that I didn't have any sexual motivations.
"It doesn't end there. According to Sir Keon, his evil influence even extends to Sera-sama at the Tenion temple."
--Who's Sir Keon?
I search his name and find out that he's a temple knight from Earl Bobino's family.
I don't remember for sure, but he was probably one of the knights that came to the Muno territory as Sera's escort.
"To think someone would abuse food to get ahead--."
"Hold on."
"In that case, wouldn't we be able to do it too?"
Food might be good to make connections, but wouldn't it be better to just do your actual job?
"Young noble. If you're trying to copy Sir Pendragon, you should just stop now."
"What was that, you little...!"
I can only see his back from here, but someone interjects into the conversation of the nobles. It looks like it has heated up and is only one step away from violence.
Some people sure do get short-tempered when they've had too much to drink.
"Cease at once. Don't waste any more of my valuable break time."
The old gentleman who was drinking along with the interjecting man stops the nobles with an arrogant tone.
"V-Viscount-sama!"
It looks like the old gentleman is a high-ranking noble. I can't remember his name, but I've seen his face before.
I catch a glimpse of the face of the man who interjected first, and recognize him as one of chefs at the duke's castle.
He's the one who recommended this place to me, so it's natural that he would be here.
A viscount and a chef is a strange pair, but I didn't really care enough to think about why they were together.
"Sir Pendragon's cooking is a miracle--."
The viscount starts talking as if in a trance.
"--Even for someone like me who has been eating gourmet food for years, I simply could not stop myself from taking the next bite. I would not be surprised to find that consomme soup at the banquet of the gods."
"I-it's that good...?"
The nobles are left speechless by the viscount's exaggerated praise.
"A noble saying that much about someone's food? Just how good can it be?"
"Could it be worth its weight in gold?"
The other nearby people seem to have taken interest in the conversation.
By the looks of it, I had thought I might end up being flooded by cooking requests. However, that ended up being a groundless fear.
The class divide is fairly high in the Shiga Kingdom, so it's considered taboo for commoners to make those kinds of requests to a noble.
There were a few that tried to pass me a request indirectly through the merchants, but that was it.
I hadn't even considered that my nobility would protect me from annoyances like that.
As I serve the tavern speciality 'Oyugok-style Blue Trout Meuniere' to the girls, I turn to look at the horizon. I silently offer my thanks to Baron Muno and Nina-san.