I decided to visit the royal capital’s church to collect holy water before I forgot what Meira had asked for.
I sat down, sipped the warm, red tea, and let out a long breath. After how busy things have been lately, this slow moment is wonderfully calming.
「So, you’re doing a festival stall masu?」
「Yeah. Only for the Einzheil festival, though.」
「Well, you sure take on a lot of things, don’t you masu.」
Teresa refilled my empty cup with tea.
There were also baked sweets on the table, apparently offerings from congregants.
They were quite delicious, so I imagine they were expensive. The church is amazing.
「Well, I can’t go myself. I’ll tell the girls who’ll go from here masu.」
「Oh, you’re not coming, Teresa?」
「No. We have a hunting mission masu. The vice captain and I will be on duty.」
「…That sounds rough.」
「Better than being stuck with saintess duties masu.」
Right…..
Both sound bad to me.
A hunting mission means zombies or skeletons, I guess.
Better than bugs, maybe, but still scary….
And saintess duties sound like a bureaucratic headache beyond words.
Teresa has it rough, for sure….
「Master-san! I brought it! Here, the ‘holy stone’!」
With a bang, something was put on the table and a bit of tea splashed. Teresa lightly smacked the vice captain’s head with a satisfied look.
What the vice captain brought was not holy water but a holy stone.
When I explained what I wanted to make, she thought a holy stone would work better than holy water and went to fetch one.
Still, sister who opens doors with her foot… Also, her clothes were replaced the other day, why is the slit still so deep? The slit is so deep that it shows high up on her thigh. Maybe she discovered a taste for showing skin since that day?
「Ah, thanks. But is it okay to have this many?」
「It’s fine, right, Captain?」
「It’s fine masu. No one will notice. We’ll just say we used it on the next hunt masu.」
「Fufufufu. Perhaps divine punishment will come?」
「Bring it on. Let divine punishment fall and fix this body already masu.」
Teresa is treated as a saintess thanks to the blessing of God, which has given her a firm and resilient body. That’s why she’s been assigned to hunting missions.
But still, for a girl, having such a hard body must be unpleasant.
「But, if your body ever went back to normal, what would you do?」
「That’s true… I wouldn’t be able to remain a saint anymore, and the church might fire me as a backlash masu. In that case… I’d become a maid at your place, master-san. You’ll hire me then, won’t you, master-san?」
She even changed her tone and looked up at me with pleading eyes.
「Of course. If that time comes, I’ll hire you.」
Well, naturally I’d say yes.
How could I not?
A maid… a true oasis for the heart.
How many centimeters above the knee should the skirt be, I wonder!
「Yes yes yes! If the Captain leaves, I’ll be the Captain! Goddess! Bring divine punishment upon the Captain! Make me Captain! With a pay raise!」
「You’re way too greedy… Vice captain, you might be the one who gets divine punishment first.」
「Fufufu. In that case… will you hire me too?」
Another pleading look from below!
Now what to do…
If I treat it as a joke, I should say no.
But still… the vice captain might not stand out much, but she’s got a great body.
Breasts: smallish. (Small of large)
Waist: not too thin, nicely toned.
Hips: plenty of volume.
Legs: around 4 out of 5.
How should I put it… everything’s above average.
If I were to make her a maid, instead of seeking healing, she’d inspire… other thoughts.
「Um… why are you thinking about this so seriously…?」
「Ah… no, but… maybe I’m going too far…?」
「Hello!? This is all just hypothetical talk! We don’t even know if it would happen! Are you even listening!?」
「Hm? Oh… sorry. I was wondering whether to go without panties or without a bra.」
「Neither! What are you talking about!?」
「Wait, didn’t you awaken to showing skin?」
「I did not awaken to anything!?」
Huh? That’s strange…
I was completely convinced she had awakened to showing skin.
「…Ah. About the slit, that was cut as a punishment for a prank the other day masu. And by the way, I don’t go without either masu.」
「Ah, Teresa would look better in a normal maid outfit anyway. It’s cuter and would suit you.」
「C-cute…? Is that so masu…」
「Well, but in the end, that sister outfit still suits you the best.」
If she really ever did come to my place as a maid, I should at least get one picture of her in that outfit before she quits.
Yeah. That’s how it should be.
「H-hey? I feel like you’re treating me differently from her…」
「Hm? What’s wrong?」
「Sniff… fine, whatever. I’ll just vent this feeling during the next subjugation mission, so it’s fine…」
「Both of you have missions coming up, huh… Alright, give me a second.」
I turned my back to the two of them and pulled out the small cotton candy machine I kept as a spare.
This one couldn’t make anything too big, but I had built it for experiments and trial runs.
The one meant for the festival stall was in the kitchen so everyone could practice with it, so I couldn’t take that one out.
「Ohhh. So that’s the cotton candy you were talking about earlier masu?」
「Woooow… that’s amazing…」
Now for the experiment.
I had once heard that shaved ice syrups all tasted nearly the same, with only the coloring and aroma differing.
So, what I pulled out was a liquid I had extracted by breaking down only the fragrance of Momomo and Orangé.
I put the liquid into a spray bottle that could mist it, and then spritzed it over the cotton candy from a little distance away.
「Here you go.」
「We can have this masu?」
「Yeah. Think of it as a thank you, too.」
「Yay! Time to dig inssu!」
The Vice Captain didn’t bother tearing it off, but just leaned straight in and bit into the cotton candy.
「Ooooh… the aroma of Orangé clears through my nose, and it’s sweet and delicious…」
「And this one’s Momomo, huh. Such a rich, sweet fragrance, and the fluffy texture is amazing masu.」
I tried some myself, but… it was still a little weak.
Maybe if the color matched it would help the impression, but I might need to do more research.
Back in my original world, you’d color the sugar itself, but I hadn’t gotten that far yet.
「So you’re planning to sell this at the festival stall, master-san? By the way, how much will it be?」
「At bare minimum cost… around 600 nohl, I think.」
I had gotten a bulk discount on the sugar from Meira, so after doing the math, each one cost about 500 nohl to make.
That meant about 100 nohl profit per sale.
「This sweet for only 600 nohl… You’re going to be swamped with customers that day, for sure masu…」
「Yeah, probably. Technically I could charge more for the work and novelty, but cotton candy has always been a kid’s treat. If kids can’t buy it, then it wouldn’t feel right.」
So this time, I wasn’t thinking of making a profit at the stall.
As long as people enjoyed it, that was enough for me.
It was simply a trial, a service price.
「Fufufu. That really is just like you, master-san. Yes, yes. The children of Einzheil are lucky to enjoy something so delicious for so cheap.」
「Indeed… Thank you for the treat. It was delicious, and I’m satisfied masu!」
Since what I had given them was small, the two finished it off in no time, and I collected the leftover sticks with a simple “thanks for the meal”.
「Thanks for the treat. Come to think of it, you didn’t bring anyone else with you today, did you masu?」
「Yeah. They all seemed to have errands to run.」
I had said I would be going to the capital, but it seemed everyone else had something to do today, so I ended up coming alone.
Fortunately, Freed agreed to be my escort, so there wasn’t a problem… but still, I felt a little lonely.
「…Could this be an opportunity? Come now, master-san. Every once in a while it’s good to take it easy. Would you like a refill on your tea?」
「That’s true… I’ve never really sat down and talked with you two before. Might as well relax today.」
Since everyone else’s errands couldn’t be avoided, I had no right to complain. In a way, thanks to that, I was able to enjoy this leisurely tea time with the two of them.
「By the way, will you be attending today’s auction masu?」
「Hmm… I suppose I will, at least.」
There was something I wanted. It wasn’t anything I needed right away, but it would be useful to have.
「Want to see the lineup masu? There are some fine items this time as well masu.」
「You’ll show me? Well, I won’t say no.」
As the one who would be hosting the auction, the Vice Captain naturally knew what would be up for sale today.
While rumors of the highlight items always spread, you couldn’t normally know everything in advance, so it was helpful. Ah, there it was, the thing I wanted.
「So there’s a holy elixir up again this time.」
「The price has settled down, though. Probably around 120 million nohl for one.」
「That means there are a lot of people clearing dungeons, huh.」
Holy elixirs were dungeon conquest rewards, weren’t they?
If they kept showing up each time, then that meant quite a few parties were managing to clear them.
「There are six adventurer parties of A and B rank who keep tackling the same place over and over. It takes a lot of preparation and several days to clear, but even then the rewards are worth it masu.」
I see. Well, clearing it once nets at least 120 million nohl. Even split six ways, that’s around 20 million each…
Of course, even if they keep clearing it, there’s always danger involved… but it must be worth it.
「Still, they say injuries are not uncommon. Who knows how things will turn out in the future. Ah, that reminds me…」
After that, the topic kept changing and we ended up talking for a long time. In the end, worn out from daily fatigue, I apparently fell asleep, and they let me rest in one of the church beds until the auction began.
By the way, what I bought in this auction was a Magic Bag (medium).
When I had lent Aina and the others my gear for quests, Shiro and Wendy had been stuck carrying the luggage, and it had always been on my mind.
If I were there, I could just store things in my magic space, but with shopping for seven people, it was far too heavy.
So this was a necessary expense, not wasteful spending!
TN: By the way, this is chapter 200.
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