The lunch Ayame-san brought was a box packed full of hearty sandwiches, definitely filling.
Since she’d even handled the bill, we decided to take breaks two at a time.
That said, we couldn’t actually leave our post, so we were quietly eating in the back, sitting down out of sight.
「Haaah…」
「Still feeling down?」
「Because…」
「Come on, it’s fine. At least we get to eat lunch together like this.」
「Yeah, but still…」
Well, sure, it doesn’t really ‘feel’ like a festival when you’re stuck behind a booth….
And eating with such a gloomy look, brows furrowed and all, would make even good food taste dull.
「Hey, this is pretty good.」
「…Feed me.」
「You’ve got your own. …Here.」
「Ahhh. …Mmm. It’s good.」
Looks like her mood’s coming back.
She even scooted closer, leaning her shoulder against me as we quietly ate while watching everyone else work.
Then suddenly, Sorte shot to her feet.
「My lord, my lord! Stand up, quick!!」
「Wh-what’s wrong all of a sudden?」
She grabbed my free hand and pulled me up, pointing ahead.
「There, there! Look at the stage!」
The stage?
You could see it clearly even from here… Oh, there’s a girl standing up there.
She’s holding… a spear?
Maybe a performance piece? That thought had barely crossed my mind when,
『Kyui!』
A high-pitched sound echoed through the square, centered on the stage.
It was a sound I’d heard before, and everyone within earshot turned toward the source.
「That sound… was that a ‘Harpya Whistle’?」
「Yes! Exactly! The real Harpya Troupe came this year!」
The Harpya Troupe… sure enough, the girls on stage were birdkins.
Feathers sprouted from their arms and shoulders, and long tail feathers trailed beneath their skirts.
Every swing of their spears produced a clear, ringing note, and the melody woven through their dance was breathtaking.
Sorte gazed at them, completely entranced.
So this must have been what she’d wanted to see with me.
「Amazing…」
The music was beautiful, but the choreography was just as captivating.
…Especially the skirts.
They had to be elite fighters too,
though despite their intense, sweeping movements, not once did the fabric lift high enough to reveal what was underneath.
Impossible. With moves that sharp, something ‘should’ have shown by now…
Unless, no, no, that’s just my imagination running wild.
Before long, the performance came to an end, and the girls stepped down from the stage.
The entire area erupted into applause.
Even the people lined up at my stall joined in, and though business had come to a temporary halt, not a single person complained.
「Haaah… They really were wonderful… The layers of sound, the harmony with the dance… Everything about it was first-class…」
「True enough. That was a spectacular performance.」
「Right?! I wanted to see that with you, my lord! The real Harpya performers are just incredible!」
Sorte was absolutely elated.
She waved her arms around and squealed with delight, practically glowing from joy as if a long-held wish had come true.
And she was right, it really had been amazing.
But still,
「Even so, if I had to compare them one by one, I’d say you’re still more beautiful, Sorte.」
Her face turned red in an instant, just like Mizera’s had earlier.
I almost checked to see if steam was coming out of her head.
「Wh–what are you saying?! Th-they’re professionals, you know!?」
「Even so, you were more beautiful.」
「F-fuh… yaa… Th-thank you.」
She was so flustered she even slipped into formal speech, bowing her head slightly.
I chuckled and gently rested a hand on her bowed head, and though she let out a quiet ‘yaa’, she didn’t push my hand away.
「…Hey. Isn’t that a bit sneaky?」
「Oh, Mizera, you see it toossu? Sorte-tan’s always playing sneakyssu.」
「Indeed… I should’ve taken her spot for lunch. I let myself be fooled by that gloomy act…」
「Then tonight… let’s cancel Sorte-san’s turn.」
「Hmm. Dog goes on the quest alone.」
Small murmurs carried from the front line, barely audible, but definitely there.
They couldn’t raise their voices while serving customers, of course.
Unfortunately, Shiro was guiding people through the line at that exact moment, which made the situation even worse.
「Hmm… my lord. More… head pats.」
Completely unaware of the silent hostility aimed her way, Sorte spoke in a sweet, pleading tone.
Each word made the invisible pressure from the front grow heavier, but the lovestruck girl remained blissfully oblivious.
「…What a difficult man you’ve become.」
「Well, the girls adore him. Guess he’s earned a bit of trouble to go with it.」
「True enough. But the other men out there won’t know that… I worry one might stab him someday.」
You know, thanks to you two, we can’t even sit on proper chairs, we’re eating lunch on wooden crates here.
I’m not saying ‘move’, but maybe just… stay quiet for a bit, huh!?
「My lord?」
「Ah, well. It’s about time we switch out for the next lunch shift, right?」
「Yeah, but… just a little longer. Okay?」
Ugh… I really can’t resist that face…
Alright. I’ll think about the consequences later.
For now, I’ll just give in and spoil Sorte, who’s rubbing her head against me with such an adorable, pleading look.
Ugh… I’m so full I can’t take another bite…
After that, for some reason, I ended up having lunch with everyone one-on-one.
It seemed like a huge waste of time, but apparently, everyone agreed it should be that way.
And… yeah, I got fed.
By all of them. Every single one of them.
Each sandwich was pretty hefty on its own…
Mizera, blushing as she did it, made me think I couldn’t take any more, but I still ate it.
By the time it was Wendy’s turn, I was seriously at my limit, but she noticed right away and didn’t do it.
Still… she looked kind of disappointed, like she wanted to.
So… I asked her to feed me myself.
「…You really are a man.」
「Indeed. A true man.」
「…I think you’re just an idiot.」
Ayame-san… there are battles a man can’t run from.
Moments when he must rise to meet a girl’s expectations…
But I really can’t anymore…
「My liege, are you alright? Can you drink some water?」
「Ugh… maybe just a little…」
Please, just something to wash this solid mass down.
Honestly, I want to lie down.
Even if my stomach acid comes back up, I just want to feel a little relief…
「You’re lying down? Then lift your head a little so it doesn’t flow back…」
Aina gently lowers my head onto her lap. Her kindness warms me to the core.
「Sorry, Aina… I don’t think I can handle your feeding right now…」
「It’s fine. This alone is reward enough.」
Aina softly places her hand on my head and strokes it tenderly.
「You should eat too, Aina.」
「I already had one sandwich, so I’m fine. Besides, you worked hard again this time. You should rest a bit.」
「Nah… I can’t sleep here while everyone else is working…」
「They’ll forgive you. I didn’t get to go on a festival date with you either. And since you’ve been pushing yourself, even if your break goes a little long, no one will complain.」
Aina raised her voice slightly toward the end, but no one at the front objected.
If anything, I could feel the sudden sharpness in how everyone moved, they were working even faster.
「See? You can nap a little now. But if you turn into a cow, it’s not my problem.」
「Even if I do, treat me kindly, okay?」
「Of course. Even as a cow, I’ll still love you, my liege.」
I didn’t expect her to respond like that, so I blinked in surprise as my face grew warm.
「Oh? Looks like I won today, my liege.」
「Yeah, you got me this time… I’ll love you even if you turn into a cow too, Aina.」
「…Are you saying that because my chest is as big as a cow’s?」
「Yeah. I’ll handle the milking.」
「So, I’m a dairy cow now…?」
We both chuckled softly, and I closed my eyes.
Aina gently stroked my head.
「You’ve worked hard, my liege.」
Ah… you too, Aina… I tried to answer, but her touch was so soothing, and after staying up late last night, I drifted off almost instantly.
※
Mmm… nghh. I must’ve slept twenty or thirty minutes.
Even so, I felt refreshed, my strength and spirit fully restored.
With renewed energy, I dove back into work with determination.
Still, the flood of customers hadn’t slowed down in the slightest…
「What a sight this is… I thought I might grab some cotton candy when I had a free moment, but… looks like that won’t be happening.」
「Indeed. He truly is capable…」
「I’m not giving you any.」
「I never asked. I’ll just make him want to bring it to me himself.」
「Hmph. You do remember he’s one of my potential suitors, right? Sorry, I forgot to mention that.」
「You’re choosing your husband out of sheer stubbornness now? That’s absurd.」
「It’s not absurd. And really, I don’t care who my husband is, as long as he’s someone I like.」
「…Well, neither of us holds much political sway anyway. In that case, I wouldn’t mind taking him as my husband either. I’ll add him to the list of candidates.」
They were talking nonsense behind me again, but I ignored them.
No time to deal with that right now.
「Two more done!」
「Yes! Here you go, two orders ready. Sorry for the wait, everyone!」
Thankfully, no customers had complained about the long wait yet.
But it was only a matter of time…
Some of the kids were already starting to get restless in line.
And honestly, at this pace, we might run out of ingredients soon…
It’d really hurt to have to apologize to everyone who waited so long.
「Yo, onii-chan! Looks like business is booming!」
「Origol? Sorry, I don’t have time to deal with you right now.」
「Aw, that’s cold… I came here to help you, you know? This is the part where you’re supposed to cry tears of gratitude, hug me tight, and drag me off somewhere dark.」
Why the hell would I drag you off somewhere dark?
And quit making that sleazy face! You’re ruining the cool image you had yesterday!
「…I wish you’d finish up soon desu wa… I’m so…. sleepy…」
Eh… that’s Meira….right?
The dark circles under her eyes are terrible, and her cheeks look sunken…
「Festivals… I hate festivals desu wa… I couldn’t enjoy any of it at all… work, work, work…」
「A-are you okay?」
「Ah… yes, I’m fine desu wa… but please, take me to the hot springs, won’t you?」
「Y-yeah. I promise… I’ll take you.」
When I said that, Meira gave a faint smile…
Just what in the world happened to her….?
「Ahahaha… o-okay then, time to get back to work!」
Clearing her throat, Origol pulled out the same microphone she used during the opening ceremony and turned to face the waiting line.
『Ahem! Everyone in line for cotton candy! I’m pleased to announce that the cotton candy sold at this stall has been officially recognized as one of Einzheil’s specialty products! Thanks to Meira-chan, who negotiated the ingredient supply routes, it’ll soon be available regularly in Einzheil! So don’t worry, you’ll be able to enjoy it even after today!』
The ingredient supply routes… so that’s why Meira looks so worn out!
She gave me a weak thumbs-up, but there was no strength in it at all!
Hey, hey! Are you seriously okay!?
「Meira-chan realized that, judging from the amount of sugar we’d gone through, we were about to run out of stock, so she ran all over to make sure we wouldn’t.」
「I… did my best…」
Meiraaaaaaaa!!
Alright, later we’ll hit the hot springs and get you properly relaxed!
Heck, I’ll even throw in my ‘SPECIAL massage’!
After Origol’s announcement, quite a few people left the line.
The ones who remained were mostly from other regions or those who wanted to try it first before it became trendy, but with this, it looked like we could finish serving everyone before the day ended.
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