Thinking that today marks the final day of the festival makes me feel strangely sentimental.
From the preparations to everything that happened… so much has gone on.
Even now, looking at Mizera, blushing bright red and shrinking into herself, I can’t help but feel that way.
「Ufufufu. I told you this would happen, didn’t I?」
「Hmm. Shiro knew too… kind of.」
Right now, Mizera, her face completely red, is surrounded by everyone wearing mischievous grins.
She’d been restless since morning, and apparently, she’d been worrying about when to tell everyone what happened yesterday.
She ended up missing the right moment over and over, and by the time we reached the tent, she finally blurted it out, leading to this situation.
「Congratulations, Mizera! But yeah… I mean, it was bound to happen.」
「That’s right. You could say it was inevitable. Anyway, congrats, Mizera.」
「I’m totally on boardssu! Let’s form the ‘Pai Alliance’ to stand against both the Flat-Chest(Chipai) Union and the Big-Boob(Oppai) Coalitionssu!」
「Y-Yes… th-thank you very much…!」
Her face was red all the way up to her ears, bowing her head repeatedly, it was honestly adorable.
Her fair skin made her blushing even more noticeable, and at this point, she couldn’t possibly get any redder.
Now she was being bombarded with questions about last night… I hoped she could handle it.
「I see, so Mizera got hugged tightly too! I did as well, you know. It’s a little hard to breathe, but that’s part of what makes it so nice… it fills your chest with happiness, doesn’t it?」
「Y-Yes… th-that’s right…」
「A confession under the stars while looking at the city lights… how romantic.」
「Y-Yes…」
「Hmm, was the milkshake good?」
「It was… warm, and delicious…」
Her embarrassment must have reached its peak, because even her answers had become faint and halting, almost like she was about to disappear.
「Master? Be honest, how was it yesterdayssu!?」
Oh boy, now they’d turned their attention to me.
Well, Mizera was in no condition to answer properly right now anyway.
「Hm? She was cute. You know, kind of… clingy and sweet.」
「Oh? How adorable.」
「C’mon, that’s not what I meantssu! You know, master, your ‘specialty’!」
My specialty, huh…
Yeah, I can already guess what they’re implying…
「No, we didn’t do anything.」
「Eh!? You mean you ‘didn’t’, masterssu!?」
「What’s that supposed to mean…? We just talked while watching the city, that’s all. We were close, though.」
「W-Wait, milord! Don’t say any more!」
「I know, I know. It’s our little secret.」
「Saying it like that just makes it sound even more suspicious!」
Hey, I didn’t mention how she didn’t want to leave and asked me to feed her the milkshake instead.
So technically, I’m still in the clear.
…Though if this keeps up and they keep prying, I might accidentally spill it myself.
「So, what’s the plan for today? Wanna come around the festival with us and our lord?」
「Yeah. Mizera declined during the meeting before, but now that things are like this, we should make it fair.」
「N-No… I’ll pass…」
「Aha! Guess you’re already full from yesterdayssu!?」
Renge was clearly over the moon about forming the “Pai Alliance”, her excitement still going strong.
Honestly, she acts like a drunk old man sometimes.
Wendy, on the other hand, just kept smiling quietly with that graceful ‘ufufu’ laugh… though I couldn’t tell why she was so pleased.
「Mizera. It looks like what we talked about before might really happen.」
「W-Wendy-sama!? Th-that talk about doing it… together…」
Mizera froze mid-sentence and turned toward me, eyes wide.
I had no idea what they were talking about.
…Well, I didn’t at first, but judging from Mizera’s reaction and Wendy’s knowing smile, it had to be something ‘lewd’. No mistake.
I can’t wait to see what she’s planning!
「Why are you grinning like that!? It’s not happening, got it!?」
「Eeeeh……」
「Eeeeh」
「W-Wendy-sama, don’t look disappointed too! And why are you so eager about this!?」
「Because it would make Master happy….」
「That’s your reason!? What about… modesty, or a normal sense of morality!?」
「Of course, I have those… but if it brings Master joy, that’s what matters most.」
Mizera just stood there, mouth agape and frozen in disbelief.
In contrast, Wendy and I both smiled cheerfully.
「…Maybe I made the wrong decision.」
「Ufufu. Do you really think so?」
「…No. I suppose I’ll just have to get used to it little by little.」
「Exactly. You’ll adjust in no time.」
「That’s what’s normal around here.」
「Haah… I thought normal life was supposed to be wonderful, so why is the place closest to me the most unusual of all…」
That can’t be true.
I’m just an ordinary man who lives an ordinary life, loves ordinary things, and simply wants an ordinary kind of happiness.
…Though maybe the fact that I’m ‘seeking’ it already makes me anything but ordinary.
※
Up until a moment ago, we were all laughing and chatting excitedly, but once the festival began, everyone instantly switched gears and got serious about their work.
Having a clear on-and-off switch is definitely an important trait when it comes to working.
However…
「Yes! Two orders, right? That’ll be 1,200 Nohl. Please step to the left and wait for your order!」
「Got two more orders, boss! Oh, here’s your change, 800 Nohlssu!」
「Sorte! I’ll restock the ingredients!」
「Thanks! Aina, take out the finished ones!」
「Got it. Looks like Master’s side is ready too.」
「Thank you for waiting. Please be careful not to choke on the stick, okay?」
The line!
Just won’t end!
Apparently, word had spread among the adventurers since yesterday, and that incident had drawn a lot of attention. Now, it seemed like half the residents of Einzheil were coming to visit our stall.
And then there’s the classic “line-begets-line” effect.
When something’s popular, people naturally want to try it for themselves.
Plus, our prices weren’t particularly high, so that only fueled the crowd even more…
「Hmm. The end of the line isn’t here. It’s around that corner over there.」
「Okay! Last in line is this way, everyone!」
I couldn’t even see the end of the queue anymore.
To top it off, even Seren-san had started helping us.
Meanwhile, Sicilia-sama and Iris were elegantly enjoying tea together in the back.
I couldn’t exactly tell ‘them’ to lend a hand, but since Ayame-san was handling the guard duty alone, she let Seren-san help us instead.
「It never ends… It never ends…」
「My lord, stop complaining and keep your hands moving!」
「They ‘are’ moving… but I’m seriously going to get tendonitis at this rate…」
I’d already lost count of how many I’d made today.
I’d gotten so used to it that I could craft them perfectly without even looking anymore.
Just from the feel of it, I could tell which part was thicker or thinner…
「’I’m’ the one who wants to cry…! I really thought… I’d finally get to walk around the festival with my lord today… But at this rate, we won’t even get a lunch break…」
「Can’t be helped. If we took a break now, there’s no way we’d keep up with this crowd… It’d be unfair to the people who wouldn’t get to eat.」
「I know, but still… ugh. There was something I ‘really’ wanted to see with you today…」
Sorte sighed wistfully, her tone filled with sorrow, though her hands kept moving without pause, which made it hard to take her sadness at face value.
Still, to think there was something she wanted to see that badly…
Now I’m curious what it was.
But yeah, looking at the line, there’s no way we can afford to take a break right now…
「Too bad for you too, Mizera… It was the perfect chance.」
「I don’t really mind. I’m happy enough just talking to so many people. Everyone’s been so kind… though, it ‘is’ a problem when the line stops moving.」
Mizera said it was troublesome, but the smile on her face said otherwise.
It was probably thanks to yesterday’s incident, residents of Einzheil were constantly stopping by to chat with her.
But at this rate, I won’t even have time to grab lunch…
Guess I’ll have to send Shiro back to pick up something quick.
Sorry to whoever’s at the end of the line, but I’ll have them hold a sign that says “This is not the end of the line”.
「Ah, um…」
「Hm? Oh, it’s the tanuki gatekeeper girl. What’s up?」
「It’s from the captain, a little something for everyone. She thought you might have trouble getting lunch…」
She let out a tiny grunt as she struggled to lift a heavy-looking wooden box toward me. When I took it, it really was pretty hefty.
Captain… that must mean Ayame-san, right?
Wait, she bought lunch for us?
That can only mean one thing. ‘Dere mode unlocked’. It’s finally happening!
「What are you smiling about? There isn’t one for you.」
「Ouch. Brutal. Guess I was way off.」
Spring still feels a long way off for me…
And seriously, no lunch for me?
「Eh? But Captain Ayame said there were seven portions, right? She said Sicilia-sama, Iris-sama, and herself didn’t need any…」
Seven?
That’s Wendy, Shiro, Aina, Sorte, Renge, Mizera, and me. Seven in total!
See? She ‘did’ get one for me after all.
「Th-that’s not it. This is… uh, Seren’s portion.」
「Seren doesn’t need one. She stuffed herself with meat before coming here, you saw it too.」
「Ghh… Fine! Yes, there’s one for you too. Eat it however you like!」
「Alright! Thanks, Ayame-san. Hey everyone, Ayame brought lunch for us! Let’s rotate shifts and eat one at a time.」
Thanks to Ayame-san, the lunch problem was solved.
But looking at the ever-growing crowd, if this keeps up, we might still be here when the ‘evening’ shift starts…
Leave a Reply