30 Years After Reincarnating, It Turns Out This World Was A Rofan?! novel Chapter 21

Polenta refers to a dish made from easy-to-find grains like corn, barley, or chestnuts, cooked into a porridge-like consistency.

While the texture is intentionally coarse, giving it a rough feel when eaten, this is part of its charm. Made from easily accessible ingredients, it’s a popular dish among commoners, as it can be made in large quantities and is quite filling.

However, if prepared properly, it can be as delicious as any other dish, and it provides a strong sense of fullness even when eaten in small portions, making it suitable as an emergency ration.

More than that, it's not just eaten like porridge. When cornmeal or barley flour is added and it’s hardened, it turns into something akin to...

‘A delicious rice cake.’

It becomes a chewy, flavorful corn cake with its characteristic coarse texture as part of its appeal. With a hint of goat cheese and herbs, it’s far from bland. It makes for an excellent and hearty meal.

“This is a clever way of preparing it. I’ve eaten it like porridge before, but this way, it’s different and kind of addictive.”

“I learned this while working at an inn, oh no! I mean, back when I was doing part-time work! It’s so tasty, I’d make it for myself often.”

“Is that so? I’ve never seen it prepared this way. Mind telling me which inn it was? I’d like to try it myself.”

“Oh, uh, the inn probably doesn’t exist anymore. It was, uh, a long time ago.”

“Really?”

“Y-yes!”

...She’s lying.

If you’re going to lie, at least make it convincing.

‘I don’t know what she did before she was possessed, but she definitely wasn’t in the performing arts.’

If she had been, her acting wouldn’t be this terrible.

‘In her own way, she’s as simple as Leira.’

Is this typical of romance novel heroines?

In most romances, the main characters always act like they’re clever but end up getting betrayed and rapidly lose their intelligence. Is she one of those?

‘She’s about on par with the maid, though.’

Over on one side, Leira, having stuffed herself with polenta, was now choking and running around looking for water. She grabbed a bucket, dunked her face in it, and began slurping.

Couldn’t she just drink normally? Does it always have to be this dramatic?

...Watching her is never boring, but it’s embarrassing when others are around.

“Uhm, is she going to be okay?”

“Just ignore her.”

“W-what?”

“I said don’t worry about it. She’s incredibly healthy.”

“...Oh, okay.”

Irene blinked, still watching Leira with a curious look, then ducked her head again when she felt Ihan’s gaze on her.

She now resembled a pitiful soul coming to a loan shark to beg for money.

Seeing this, Ihan wondered.

‘Did I do something terrible to her?’

Seeing Irene tremble like a frightened kitten, Ihan scratched the back of his head awkwardly, as if he had wronged her in some way.

It wasn’t proper manners to just send away a neighbor who had brought a housewarming gift—well, housewarming polenta in this case—especially since they already knew each other.

So, Ihan offered her some tea and had her sit down for a bit.

More importantly, Irene didn’t seem to mind or want to refuse.

In fact, she almost seemed eager, as if she had been waiting for this moment. She sat down, drank the tea, and had eaten most of the polenta she brought along.

She adapted well.

But that only made it more suspicious.

‘This is fishy.’

Honestly, she was too comfortable, which made it suspicious.

Think about it.

There was no connection between Ihan and Irene.

Sure, Ihan had been tasked with investigating Irene Windler, but that was something only Ihan and Isis knew.

And yet, all of a sudden, she had moved in next door.

...It’s particularly strange because the house had been empty just the day before, and now she was living there. How could it not be suspicious?

Ihan’s guard went up as he quietly asked,

“Cadet Irene, I apologize for asking something personal, but may I ask you a question?”

He decided to probe her a bit.

“Huh?”

“I’ll take that as a yes. Why are you staying in such an out-of-the-way place? Given your status, you could live in the dorms, or in one of the properties owned by the Galahad family. As far as I know, the Galahad family owns about 70% of the buildings near the academy.”

“.......”

“I apologize if the question is too forward.”

“No, no, it’s a perfectly reasonable question...”

Although she said it was fine, Irene’s complexion didn’t look good, so Ihan focused a bit more on her, wondering if there was something deeper going on.

After all, he had just read some rather disturbing information about Duke Galahad.

Who knows?

Maybe she’s being mistreated.

Or maybe she was kicked out of the dorms because she’s a commoner...!

“The dorm application period ended before I even knew it existed, and I didn’t want to use the Galahad family’s properties. Honestly, that man gives me the creeps. I don’t want to be anywhere near him.”

“...?”

“No, really, he’s strange! Every time he looks at me, I get chills! He looks like a girl, but his words and actions are so shady! Honestly, I just don’t want to be anywhere near him. That’s why I turned down everything he offered. I didn’t want to get involved, and... oh.”

“.......”

“C-can you pretend you didn’t hear that?”

“...As you wish.”

“...Thank you.”

Thump, thump.