Chapter 2: Princess Mia...Opens Her Eyes to a Cosmic Truth!

“Huh? Mushroom...stew?”

Unable to believe what he’d just heard, Keithwood’s mind went blank for a second. A few minutes ago, everything had been perfectly fine. Now, it was a full-blown emergency. The sheer abruptness defied comprehension.

Wai— What? But...how? We were discussing security during the Holy Eve Festival?

It was rare for Rafina to voice frustrations, so when she did so during the meeting, it had gotten the attention of everyone present. Her concerns were well-founded too, and everyone had agreed with the need for additional precautions.

So why? Why are we talking about mushroom stew now?

Crisis had struck, and it had done so without warning.

It had all begun with the student council convening to discuss the issue of security during the Holy Eve Festival.

“There will be lots of traffic in and out of the island that day, and much of it will be guests and foreign visitors. I’d of course like to assure everyone that we’ll have impeccable security measures in place, but...”

Her hesitant tone spoke for itself, but she nevertheless proceeded to explain the challenges she was facing.

Well then. I see no country has it easy.

Standing a few steps behind Sion, Keithwood let out a quiet whistle of a sigh. It was the same everywhere. The old dogs were the most reliable...until they had to learn new tricks. Lifelong expertise was nearly always accompanied by mental calcification; the more veteran, the more inflexible their thinking, and the likelier they were to commit a grave error. Experience, he lamented, could be such a mixed blessing.

The challenge was that these old fossils still had value, but said value had to be extracted with care. Their skills, however rigid, could be put to good use. The ability to optimally allocate and utilize all human resources was a trait required of those in positions of leadership.

I sure don’t envy her position right now. I wonder if there even exists a decent solution to this problem... he thought with the kind of casual interest afforded only to those who weren’t personally in the hot seat. The casualness of said interest was, however, short-lived.

“Hmm... In that case, why don’t we go mushroom hunting?”

The student council president proceeded to light a fire directly under his rear. Heck, her suggestion didn’t even make any sense! What did she mean by “in that case”? In what case? There was no logical connection to be found whatsoever.

Keithwood swallowed, forcing his complaints back down for the sake of propriety, and urged his mind to work harder. This was Mia talking. She was the Great Sage of the Empire. His own master, Sion, admired her greatly, and he’d been personally impressed by her on multiple occasions himself. Surely there was some deep wisdom to her suggestion. There had to be. Sweet suns high above, he hoped there was...

He prayed silently for the swift elucidation of this imperceptible wisdom, because he couldn’t shake the worrying feeling that it might not exist.

When it comes to mushrooms, Princess Mia has a tendency to...lose her head.

For some reason, she had an intense obsession with mushrooms, and it baffled him to no end.

Is this some kind of “the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach” thing? No, that’s too ridiculous...

With worried brows, he silently studied her, waiting to see how this would play out.

“I’m sorry, Miss Mia, but could you perhaps explain your idea a little further? I’m not sure I understand,” asked a similarly puzzled Rafina.

Rather than explaining, Mia simply nodded and said with supreme confidence, “Please, just leave this to me. I guarantee that the key to victory lies in a bowl of exquisite mushroom stew!”

If you want someone to listen to you, you have to grab them by the gut!

Mia recalled a few lines she’d recently read in a book borrowed from Chloe. It had said, “Appetite is the most primal of desires for all humans. By taking control of the appetite, one can thereby gain dominance over the person.” The passage had deeply resonated with her.

“This book contains a fundamental truth of human existence!”

Moved by the book’s profundity, she’d devoured it. As a result, her brain had evolved from romance mode to gourmet mode, allowing her to engage in mental fermentation. The final distillation of those efforts was the ultimate idea she just presented as a solution—exquisite mushroom stew!

That fellow in charge of security—Santeri, was it? He won’t stand a chance against mushroom stew!

And that wasn’t all. The Great Gastronome of the Empire would hardly settle for an idea with only one goal. This one was two-fold.

And feeding him will serve as a dry run for the night of the Holy Eve Festival...when we can get the student council together for a private stew party!

According to the Princess Chronicles, Mia would ask the princes to guard her during the festival, only to evade them and sneak off the island. She’d contemplated what would cause her to do such a thing and managed to produce a hypothesis of sorts.

“Something’s going to happen...and whatever it is, it’s going to make me want to leave the island.”

It wasn’t much. Frankly, she wasn’t sure if she believed it herself. Her knowledge of her own tendencies made her doubt the likelihood of her going for a midnight stroll on horseback. Being someone who could see herself objectively, she knew she was a cautious, prudent person. Now, the validity of both those clauses was perhaps debatable, but...

“Even if a caravan bearing the most exotic pastries stopped near the lake... Knowing what I know, I’m pretty sure I still wouldn’t go...” she’d muttered, figuring she couldn’t possibly be lured by mere sweets.

Then she’d read Chloe’s book, and her eyes had opened to a cosmic truth.

“Even someone with lots of self-control like me might find that their willpower falters before the primal desire of appetite.”

For example, if she got a taste of a scrumptious delicacy the day before the festival, and someone then asked her to go get another bite the next day, could she resist? What if it was really tasty? More so than even that hare stew she’d once had? She rubbed her tummy. At the moment, she was full. She could resist. But what if the time came, and she happened to be extraordinarily hungry? Might she slip out, foolishly figuring that now that she could ride Kuolan properly, she had the ability to escape from the odd bandit or wolf?

“I’m definitely not a glutton...but still, I’m not sure if I could control myself. This is, after all, a primal desire I’m up against. Raw human nature. I bet lots of people would end up listening to their gut in a situation like that. And that...sounds exactly like the kind of thing those devious Serpents will try to exploit! Hmph, you can never let your guard down around them!”

What could she do to solve this dilemma, then? After much consideration, a thought occurred to her.

“Assuming this problem occurs because I voluntarily choose to leave Saint-Noel...don’t I just have to make sure whatever’s happening inside is more appealing than the outside? I could, say, get them to prepare lots of really tasty food in the academy so I’d be more tempted to stay put...”

Her conclusion then...

“My only way out of this is to throw a mushroom stew party with the student council!”

Thus, Project Mushroom Stew Party, courtesy of Mia, was quietly put into motion.