「Milord. Speaking of which, during the break, I went to see the okonomiyaki stall, and the kid cooking there was sweating quite a lot…」
「Ah, so you saw her too, Mizera. Apparently, he ran out of magic power and couldn’t produce a cooling breeze. I’m planning to go adjust the flow once the stall closes today.」
If I don’t fix the magic power circulation soon, he’s going to collapse at this rate.
「When you do, may I also…」
「Of course. I want you to come along for study, Mizera.」
「Understood. …Thank you.」
She really is so diligent.
Honestly, I should learn from her.
Alright, time to get back to work selling cotton candy!
「Welcome――」
「Fufufu. You seem to be having quite a good time, don’t you?」
「…I gues….」
Our customer arrived with a ‘very’ pleasant smile.
Yes, an extremely… fixed sort of smile.
And just when I’d resolved to give it my all, now I suddenly wanted to close up shop and go home.
「I never would have thought… you of all people would be running a stall, hm?」
「Uh, well… please, come inside first…」
「Indeed.」
Once everyone finished their lunch break and Aina and the others changed into yukata, the number of customers increased noticeably thanks to the festival atmosphere, but…
it seemed we’d also attracted an ‘uninvited’, or rather ‘unintentionally forgotten’, guest.
Better to have her inside than causing a commotion out front, so I invited her in, but now what do I do!?
「Um, Iris… it’s not like I ‘forgot’ or anything…」
「Oh? Is that so? You spoke to the people at the church, yet said nothing to ‘me’, and still claim it wasn’t because you forgot? I see, I see.」
Ugh!
Right, Iris often visits the church. She must’ve heard from Teresa or the others about our stall plans.
「I am… so hurt. Truly… heartbroken…」
「Wait, that’s not…..」
「’Sob’… ‘hic’…」
She’s actually crying!?
「No, really, I’m sorry! I was just so busy that it completely slipped my mind!」
「You always treat me so coldly! Do you have any idea how much of my heart you’ve already stolen away from me…!」
Ughhh!
That’s a dangerous thing to say!
People are misunderstanding!
That family over there just covered their kid’s eyes after hearing that!
「When I awoke, I thought surely you would come to greet me… ‘sniff’… and yet, you never did… until I came to find you myself…」
Ah, please don’t look at me like that!
It’s fine! This is a ‘wholesome’ shop!
Hey, you girl over there, don’t look at me like I’m some kind of creep!
And you, guy, don’t hug your girlfriend and give me that look like ‘you’re not like me!’
「That is why I have come… to seek ‘thy sweetness’… without tasting ‘thy sweetness’, I can no longer be satisfied…」
Noooo, that’s not what she means!
This is all just a misunderstanding!
Please, don’t clutch your children so protectively!
She skipped some words, please, someone clarify!
Context matters! Words matter!
「I, I’m truly sorry! For now… how about calming down with some cotton candy?」
「Mm… I shall eat…」
Still sniffling, Iris took a seat and accepted the cotton candy.
As for me, I was quietly pushed to the back so I wouldn’t scare away any more customers…
「It’s sweet…」
「Sorry, really… I didn’t mean to forget you…」
「…Very well. I shall forgive you this time… but from now on, whenever a new sweet is made, thou must inform me first, understand?」
Sigh… yeah. From now on, whenever I make a new dessert, Iris gets the first notice.
I sat down and pulled out one of the failed batches of cotton candy to snack on.
Then Iris slid off her chair and sat right on my lap.
「…This is my special seat.」
「Hey. Shiro’s glaring at you.」
「I care not today. Hold me.」
「Yeah, yeah… hey, don’t eat ‘mine’.」
「I care not… I rushed over at lightning speed to finish my work, so thou should show more appreciation.」
Her tone was a bit sulky…
Come to think of it, she said earlier she was too busy to attend the festival.
Now that I look closer, she’s trying to hide it, but there are dark circles under her eyes.
Jeez… did she really push herself this hard just to eat sweets?
「I worked hard. Therefore, pat me.」
「Alright, alright.」
「Mmm… bliss…」
She leaned her body against me, quietly eating cotton candy.
The only sounds were the noise of the festival outside, and the occasional soft ‘suck’ of her fingers.
「Here, drink this.」
「Hm? What is this?」
「Medicine. You’re running a fever. Not feeling well, are you?」
「…Mm. My thanks.」
Her body had been warm since earlier, so I handed her a vial of the same blood-circulation tonic I gave Mizera. She nodded and began to drink it down.
「…It’s delicious, for medicine.」
「Of course. I pay attention to flavor too.」
「Putting effort into the strangest things… though I do like it sweet.」
「It doesn’t even use sugar, you know. Impressive, right?」
「That ‘is’ impressive… how did you manage it?」
「Fufufu. The secret lies in how you draw out the natural sweetness of the ingredients, Iris-sama.」
Looks like her mood had finally improved.
As I continued explaining how I’d refined the blood-circulation tonic, drawing sweetness from honey and vegetables to make it even tastier than Mizera’s batch, Iris quietly ate her cotton candy and listened with a gentle smile.
「Um… Master」
「Hm? What is it, Wendy?」
「Well… there’s a customer…」
「Oh my, if it isn’t Iris」
「Tch… Sicilia. You’re still here?」
Sicilia-sama’s here!?
And as always, what a magnificent chest she has!
「Of course I’m still here. When I heard Einzheil was hosting a festival, I decided to extend my stay. Besides, I heard you were opening a stall… I was looking forward to it.」
And noticing my gaze, she crossed her arms and lifted her breasts upward for emphasis, what a professional display!
「Wendy, you can leave us. This one is far too busy trying to win back my favor.」
「Eh, but…」
「What a troublesome master….needing to appease someone’s temper. With me, such efforts would never be necessary, you know?」
Crack.
I could almost ‘hear’ the air itself fracture.
The relaxed atmosphere from earlier instantly vanished, replaced by a suffocating tension.
「Awawawa… awawawawa…」
Only Seren’s visible panic brought any comfort to this deadly scene.
So much for the dignified image she always tries to project…
「Oh? What’s going on here?」
And there’s Origol. Great. If you’ve been standing there this whole time, ‘do something’.
You’re the lord of this city, the ‘festival organizer’, for crying out loud.
「Can’t you see? This man has fallen head over heels for my charm. His manhood has been swelling ever since, trying to tempt me.」
I’m not!
My son is not that shameless!
Though… technically speaking, the evidence is hidden under Iris’s skirt right now.
「Hmm… yet his eyes are clearly drawn to ‘my’ chest. That bulge must be because of ‘these’, no?」
…No. Nope.
Definitely not.
「Hmph… Flat-chested granny.」
「What was that? You spoiled little brat.」
Sparks flew, literally and figuratively.
The air between them crackled, and even the stall workers had frozen in place.
Only one person could stop this now: ‘the lord herself’.
Come on, Origol, show us what a true leader looks like, for the sake of this festival’s success!
「Hey! Hey now! You two, hold up a sec!」
Oh, good. Nicely done.
Keep going.
Just… ‘please’, don’t make things worse.
「Hahaha! Because onii-chan here belongs to me! So, what’s with the two of you getting all fired up without me?」
…Oi.
Don’t go reacting ‘exactly’ as I expected you to.
The whole point was to surprise me, to defy my expectations so your reputation would soar, you know?
Come on, betray me more…!
「A mere lord should keep quiet.」
「Indeed. Are you sure you wish to anger me? If you do, that little arrangement of ours might just be canceled.」
「Hah! Onii-chan here is an important citizen of Einzheil! Of course I’ll protect him, and of course I love him! Besides, I’ve already seen him in ‘full battle readiness’!」
Nnnngh!!
Origol-san?
How about you zip that mouth of yours, yeah?
That was about the ‘hot springs’, right? Just to be clear!?
The three of them locked eyes, and the air turned tense enough to spark.
And somehow, ‘I’m’ the cause of all this?
I mean, I don’t belong to anyone, so how the hell am I supposed to solve this?
「Good grief… what are the three of you doing? You should really be more aware of your positions, and of how others are looking at you.」
Amid the deadly tension, a calm, icy voice cut through like a splash of cold water.
A savior had arrived.
「Ayame, huh. You’re late.」
「Yes. Since Iris-sama finished her work far earlier than expected, I had to distribute the documents to several departments. Leaving the capital without an escort… please try not to worry me so much next time.」
「Hmph, I ‘did’ mention in my letter that I’d be traveling with the church members. There was no problem, so forgive me.」
Wait, you ‘left Ayame-san behind’?
That’s dangerous, you know!?
「And you, if possible, please notify us beforehand next time. That way we can prepare more thoroughly.」
「Yes… I’m sorry…」
「…I said ‘if possible’. You’re not at fault, so don’t worry.」
Maybe because I sounded genuinely remorseful, Ayame actually defended me for once…
Wait, is this… ‘dere’? Did she just ‘dere’?
「What are you staring at? Imagining something disgusting again? Shall I crush it underfoot?」
Ah, nope. False alarm.
And by “crush”, what exactly are you planning to crush, Ayame-san?
Please don’t. There are only two of them.
Please don’t look at the jewels of life!
…Anyway, thanks to Ayame, the situation finally settled down, but man, that was terrifying.
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