The misunderstanding was cleared up without issue, and Origol was dragged away just as she was, by Souma and Walkas, who had come to retrieve her.
They had probably brought a carriage. There’s no way they’d let her walk through town dressed like that. At least, I really hoped not.
As for Iris, she had business to attend to afterward and was returning to the capital.
Apparently, she had only stayed this long because she refused to leave without eating ice cream.
That was so very Iris, always doing whatever she pleased.
It was then, as we were seeing her off, that she spoke up.
『I have a favor to ask you… At this timing, it may be hard to refuse, but if it is truly impossible, I you can say no. Next time thou come to the capital, would you make some sweets for my friends?』
It was, uncharacteristically, a straightforward request.
Normally Iris would have said something like, “Bake sweets next time! I gave you a bigger house, so the least you can do is that, hm?” That would have been more like her.
But she seemed troubled, and since I would be going to the capital anyway, I accepted her request.
And now… where am I?
「Master! This momomo fruit is really sweet!」
「Oh, I’m coming」
We had all come to an orchard.
I had gone to the morning market looking for something tasty Iris might like, but nothing stood out.
That was when the old lady who always sold us vegetables and fruit said.
『In that case, why not come to my farm? Freshly picked fruit will taste even better』
And so, here we were, fruit picking.
…Of course, this being another world, it wasn’t going to be just ordinary fruit picking.
「Hey! Wait! Let me eat you properly!」
「Renge! It went that way!」
「Got it! Give up alreadyssu!」
Right in front of me, the three from the Red Line were chasing fruit around.
If vegetables could grow legs, then of course fruit could run too.
They were rolling, hopping, even shooting off like fastballs, each one fleeing in its own way.
As for me, I simply trapped the still ones inside my Invisible Jail, then plucked them calmly before they could escape.
「Lord, that’s cheating」
「There’s no way I could catch them otherwise… Call it brains, not cheating」
When I had tried chasing them on foot earlier, I couldn’t catch up at all.
If I stopped running, that limple would stop too, and if I dashed, it would speed up again.
It felt like it was mocking me the whole time.
But when I placed an Invisible Jail right in its path, it tragically slammed into it and got squashed…
「Mmm! The Bananana is so sweet. Here, lord, have some」
「So it’s called a Bananana, huh. I thought it was just a banana… but there’s an extra “na”. This could work well in shakes」
What Shiro was munching on looked exactly like a banana, but apparently it was a Bananana.
It had a high sugar content, yet the texture was just like a banana, so it seemed easy to use.
「Fuhahaha! Grapebursts are nothing to messu!」
Renge was snatching up every single grape-like fruit being fired in scattershot bursts, without missing a single one.
「Hah…!」
Aina lunged forward and grabbed a flying Papapine with both hands.
「Heave-ho!」
And Sorte casually caught a Mamamango one-handed.
「Wendy, let’s eat together」
「Yes. Thank you」
Wendy had been chasing fruit as hard as anyone, but ended up failing alongside me.
So Sorte shared her Mamamango, and the two of them happily enjoyed it together.
She had said, 「If I used magic…」 but I had stopped her just in case.
「By the way, don’t you have Strongberries?」
「We do. Want to see them?」
Would the small Strongberries also run and jump around like the others?
We were led by the farmer’s husband to a greenhouse with an open roof, where the berries grew normally from the plants, looking just like ordinary strawberries.
Huh? So Strongberries don’t move?
Or maybe they were nocturnal?
I reached out my hand to pick one when,
「Ah! Watch out!」
「Eh?」
Before I could even react to the man’s shout, a sharp impact struck my palm and knocked it back.
「Owwwwww!!」
A moment later the pain followed.
What the hell!? What just happened!?
「You mustn’t reach out carelessly! If you try to force them off, they’ll fire their seeds!」
「S-seeds…?」
I see. It had shot its seed because I reached out.
But still, that impact was nothing like what you’d expect from a tiny seed.
Even though I wasn’t bracing myself, it had knocked my whole arm back.
…So that’s why they’re called Strongberries.
「Then… how do you even harv- …?」
When I looked over at the old man, for some reason he was bowing his head to the plant in a full dogeza.
「Please! I beg you! I humbly ask that you offer yourselves to me!」
Ah, so you’re supposed to ‘ask’ them!
That’s actually pretty simple.
As he raised and lowered his head again and again, little by little some of the Strongberries began to drop into the bag in front of him.
But their movements were sluggish, almost saying, “Tch, fine, I guess we have no choice.”
「…That’s how it is. The rest is up to you」
Standing up, the old man showed off the bag of fruit he had obtained with a sharp look on his face… though at this point, no amount of posturing could make him look cool.
Still, I understood the gist of it. Now it was my turn.
Left alone in the greenhouse, I first tested whether or not I could communicate with them.
I slowly stretched out my hand.
Sensing their wariness, I stopped halfway.
「If you understand my words, fire a seed」
A moment later, a Strongberry launched a seed toward me.
But it intentionally missed my hand.
That must mean it understood.
Good. In that case, I’ll show you my negotiation skills.
Dogeza will be the last resort.
If I want to enjoy you delicious fruits at your best, I’ll have to give it my all…
I set a bucket of water and a collection bag in front of me and backed up a little from the plants.
Then I sat on the ground to lower my eye level.
Alright. From here on, it’s a serious match between you and me!
What I brought out was a slice of pure white shortcake.
Just sponge and whipped cream, a simple piece I had prepared to eat later together with fruit.
「Now then, this is called cake. In terms of sweetness, it surpasses you by far. As you can see, it’s pure white and beautiful… but in both taste and appearance, it lacks color」
Of course there was no reply.
But I felt as though I heard a faint “hoh.”
「You must have your pride as well. If your fate is to be eaten, it’s only natural to resist. But deep down, you’ve realized it, haven’t you? Why you shine with such sweetness, why you bear that crimson color」
『……』
I took their silence as tacit agreement.
To an onlooker, I probably looked like a lunatic giving a sermon to plants.
But I couldn’t afford to care.
「So then… if you truly have confidence in your flavor, why not bloom gloriously? Sitting atop this cake, showing off your overwhelming presence and beauty… wouldn’t you like to be enjoyed by adorable girls?」
I waited.
I understood that accepting the fate of being eaten would take time.
But if it were me… between the choice of being eaten or rotting away, I would choose to be eaten, to bring a smile to a cute girl’s face.
So I decided to trust them and wait.
After a long silence, a single Strongberry dropped, bounced, and landed in the water bucket.
「…I thank you for your brave action. Don’t worry, I’ll keep my promise. You’ll be eaten by a beautiful girl in the most beautiful and delicious way」
I opened my palm, and the Strongberry, having finished its bath, hopped onto it.
『I leave it to you』
I thought I heard that voice.
「Master, what are you doing?」
「Shiro. I’ve got the greatest cake here, want to try it?」
「The greatest cake? …Mm, I’ll eat」
「Then wait just a bit」
『So this is my destiny』
「Yes, and she’s my precious girl, with courage and spirit second to none. For a brave one like you, she’s the perfect partner」
「Lord?」
Sorry, Shiro, but I’ll ignore you for now. Facing this seriously would be too much.
The only thing left for your courageous self is for me to remove the stem.
No other preparation is needed.
Even with just that, the Strongberry was beautiful. And when it took its place atop the cake, it shone like a jewel.
「Oooh! Lord, the Strongberry is sparkling!」
「Yeah… it’s beautiful」
Compared to the Strongberries the old man had gathered earlier, its brilliance was completely different.
If they’re alive, then naturally their condition affects their flavor too.
That’s why I believed the moment they willingly, eagerly chose to be eaten would be when they tasted the best.
「Ah」
「Cake first」
「Hmm. Delicious」
「Then now, together with…」
I carried the cake, topped with the Strongberry, to Shiro’s mouth.
Up until the very last instant before disappearing into her mouth, the Strongberry never lost its glow.
And just before vanishing, it said, 『See you again』 to its companions.
「Mmm! So delicious! At first it’s a little sour, but right after that it becomes wonderfully sweet! It’s the best I’ve ever had!」
Shiro’s eyes sparkled, as though she had inherited the glow of the Strongberry itself.
「It was good?」
「Yeah! It was delicious」
After finishing properly with a “thank you for the meal”, Shiro sat down beside me.
I was supposed to continue with the task, but… no, this wasn’t the time to hesitate.
This was a chance.
「That’s what she said. I won’t ask what you thought about what just happened. But the chance is only now. We don’t know when we’ll be back again」
One after another, they began to jump into the water bucket.
Still, the truth was there weren’t that many of them.
「Alright, you guys get into this bag. It’s not just Shiro, there are still plenty of cute girls out there」
I decided I’d use these ones when Iris served sweets to her friends.
Now then… as for the ones left behind… compared to the earlier ones, their color was slightly duller.
In other words, perhaps these were the ones without confidence.
If that was the case…
From my magic storage, I pulled out a jar of jam.
「This here is jam, made by boiling you together with sugar. I won’t lie to you. To make it, you’ll be cut, crushed, and boiled. A cruel way of cooking, isn’t it…? But even you, who lack confidence, can become something that brings smiles to many more people」
「Hmm, very delicious. Goes with ice cream, and with bread too. Shiro loves it」
Perhaps sensing my intent, Shiro gave support fire.
Thanks to that, a large number of Strongberries, though still looking unsure, jumped into the water bucket.
But even then, their flavor wouldn’t improve as they were.
「Don’t worry, you too will shine. Picture it! Cute girls happily stuffing you into their mouths! Imagine yourselves being taken in by those soft, plump lips!」
Little by little, the Strongberries began to shine.
That’s right! You can do it!
With this, I’d secured some first-rate Strongberries.
Iris’s royal friend… most likely a noble.
And since there was no way I could serve something halfhearted to a noble’s table, having such high-quality ingredients was truly a blessing.
…Though if that friend turned out to be male, well, nothing could be done about it. I’d just have to apologize in my heart.
As for the remaining Strongberries, they were probably female in gender.
So when I set the condition of being eaten by a handsome hero, they threw themselves into the bucket at incredible speed.
By the time the old man returned, I had gathered so many, each offered a match that suited their preferences, that he scolded me, saying I had taken far too many.
…Maybe I had gotten carried away.
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