In Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom, you'll be involved in the Hateno Village Election. Find out here how to handle the delicate situation and ensure Hateno will get the mayor they deserve.
As you travel through Hyrule, you'll sooner or later end up in Hateno Village. If you remember the village from BOTW, you'll notice a few changes: there are mushrooms everywhere!
Not only do they decorate the street, but quite a lot of people are wearing mushroom hats as well. Soon you'll learn that the designer Cece has returned home and opened up a shop in her hometown Hateno. She challenges the current mayor Reede, forcing an election. And you can very much influence this election.
Starting The Hateno Mayoral Election Quest
Starting the quest isn't that hard. You'll probably do it by accident, if you stumble across Cece's shop. There, you're chosen to be the lucky one to be let in after a group of fans is turned away.
Now you meet the famous and extravagant Cece and her last piece, a fabulous hat. She's interrupted by mayor Reede entering the shop, and in a cutscene you learn they have their differences concerning the future of Hateno. Their dispute results in Cece running for mayor, challenging the current incumbent, Reede.
To finish the Quest, you'll have to complete five side quests first:
- Team Cece or Team Reede?
- A New Signature Food
- A Letter to Koyin
- Cece's Secret
- Reede's Secret
You don't need to finish the quests in any particular order, so no need to strictly follow our list.
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Team Cece or Team Reede?
Of course, it's in your hands to decide this election! If you talk to Cece again after Reede storms off, she will inlist you to help her campaign – no matter who you actually support. She hands you eight Hylian Shrooms, which you're supposed to hand over to Reede's supporters to convince them Cece would be the better choice. So of course people already dressed in her clothes are excepted from this, as is Reede's family.
So as you go off to bribe townsfolk for Cece, you'll find them at different locations throughout the village.
- Tamana is found by the entrance of Hateno village, either sweeping her broom at night or looking after her chickens during the day
- Uma can be found next to Hateno school during the day and near the Zanmik Shrine at night
- Medda is on the northern side of Hateno, at daytime, at his tomatoe farm and at night on the southern side at his house
- Leop is near Cece's shop, by the bulletin board during the day and at night at the inn
- Worten works at the inn day and night, you'll always find him somewhere there
- Dantz can be found at the stables, northeast of Hateno at Hateno Pasture
- Tokk is also found at the Hateno Pasture in the morning and walks up to the Hateno Village Research Lab where he stays until night
- Koyin is at the docks beside Hateno Pasture if you haven't retrieved a letter in a bottle from the lake; if you have done this already, Koyin is inside her Home at Hateno Pasture
If you have finished this quest, Cece is very delighted with your work and rewards you with a Big Hearty Truffle – enjoy cooking a delicious meal with that!
- If you'd like to know how Link's meals could taste, why not try some recipes from this Zelda Cookbook?
A New Signature Food
You will find Reede in his home, the big house on the hill. He is noticeably stressed by the upcoming election, but he also already has an idea of how he can convince people of his merits. As the name of the quest suggests, he wants to create a new signature food for the city. His grandfather once worked with a cheese maker, but Reede can't remember his name. But you maybe have an idea.
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A Letter to Koyin
During the Team Cece or Team Reede Quest you've met Koyin. She accidentally dropped a message from her great-grandpa (conveniently, the message is in a waterproof bottle) in the lake and doesn't know how to get it back. You, of course, can reach it if you get close enough to use Ultrahand. How you get in reach is up to you – build a raft, a boat or just create ice platforms.
The bottle contains a forgotten cheese recipe which Koyin will make. To show her gratitude she'll reward you with a piece of her newly created Hateno Cheese, which you shouldn't eat, as you'll need it. With that cheese, you finished the small side quest and can head on to Reede to proceed with the A New Signature Food Quest.
- To find out more about Hyrule and it's secrets, besides cheese, you can take a look at this Hyrule Historia !
If you have completed the quest and return to Reede, he will smell the aroma of the cheese he remembers from his childhood. Reede will buy the cheese from you, and from this point on, you can also buy the cheese at the general store in Hateno.
But what would an election campaign be without a political mudslinging session?
Cece's Secret
You maybe already started this side quest by speaking to Sophie outside Cece's shop. They're sisters, and you'll learn that Sophie is concerned about Cece sneaking out at night. Although she tried to follow her by herself, she wasn't able to go unnoticed and now asks you for help. So be sure to be as sneaky and stealthy as possible, if you follow Cece at night.
She will lock herself inside the silo, so you have to climb the wall and enter through a small space above to uncover her secret: eating vegetables. This may be very anticlimactic but Sophie is so relieved about it that she hands you ten Ironshrooms.
Reede's Secret
Clavia, Reede's wife is concerned about her husband sneaking off at night, locking himself in the shed. For this one, you'll have to be more creative to get in.
If you jump into one of the town's wells, you'll enter a small cave system underneath Hateno. Down there, you'll still stumble across some enemies to fight. You can either navigate down there on your own and ascend at a venture until you get the right spot just beneath the shed, or just use the coordinates of the shed, which is located at around 3414, -2083, 0104.
In the shed you can find Reede's notebook, with his dark secret: pumpkins. To be more specific; Reed seems to be experimenting with a special type of pumpkin based on Cece's design. Clavia too is relieved (and also a little bit annoyed with her husband) and hands you ten Hylian Tomatoes as a reward.
Completing The Hateno Mayoral Election Quest
Finishing this one is nearly as easy as starting it. After you completed all the quests above, The Mayoral Election will update and – if it's daytime – you can speak to Sophie again, which will start the election.
Now that everyone has gathered to listen to the candidates, another cutscene unfolds where Cece's and Reede's secrets are revealed and both discover that they're on the same side: both of them just want the best for Hateno. After realizing that, they compromise and work out a way to secure Hatenos future.
You can visit Cece after all that once more and receive a reward that isn't food; she'll hand you her masterpiece! The hat has not the best stats, but it's fabulous. Also, Cece from now on sells armor, and you'll be able to buy rare clothing and armor from her, including the pieces you've sold or lost, which is probably the best reward.
If this was your first time in Hateno, because you never played Breath of the Wild, you might enjoy our recap of it:
