Book 9: Chapter 1: Part 2

Here’s the chapter, enjoy~

Part 2

Sensing danger, I left the kitchen and played with Night and the others to relieve my fatigue. Then, for some reason, Lexia-san, who had black scorch marks all over her body, came to me with a smile.

“Yuuya-sama, it’s ready!”

“Err… are those scorch marks…?”

“Oh, this? Don’t worry! It was just a little mistake!”

A little…?

I was too afraid to ask what happened next, but I didn’t hear any explosions, so I guess it wasn’t too disastrous.

Behind Lexia-san, Luna turns white as if she has run out of steam, but she must be okay. Let’s just hope so…!

“Ah, I have prepared for Night and the others as well, so don’t worry about it!”

“W-woof…”

“Fugo.”

“Pi?”

Night looked somewhat bewildered, as did I. Akatsuki seemed to have realized something from Lexia-san’s appearance and now wore a peaceful expression like a bodhisattva.

Ciel is twisting his head curiously as if he still doesn’t understand… W-well, I guess it’s okay…!

“Fuwaahh… It’s finally done, huh….? Good grief, to make me wait so long…”

“Limit. My stomach won’t stop rumbling.”

Ouma-san and Yuti seemed to be unconcerned about Lexia-san’s condition from the start. It’s amazing…

Merl-san and I looked at each other, made up our minds, and moved to the dining table.

Then, Iris-san had prepared all the dishes and was waiting for us.

Originally, my grandfather and grandmother lived in this house together, but since my grandmother passed away, my grandfather had been living alone.

I used to come and visit them often, and my grandpa had bought this big table for me to have dinner with him. At the time, I thought the table was too big for the two of us, but my grandpa had taken the trouble to prepare it for me in case my friends came to stay some time.

Thanks to this, we were able to have a large group of people around the table: me and Yuti, plus Iris-san, Lexia-san, Luna, and Merl-san.

Incidentally, Ouma-san and Night and the others have their own plates and luncheon mats, which they always use to eat their meals.

“Oh, you’ve come.”

“I’m sorry you had to go through all this…”

“No problem! I already told you, right? It’s the master’s role to take care of the apprentices. But Lexia-chan’s cooking was so creative that it made things difficult.”

Iris-san told me with a distant look in her eyes, perhaps remembering the time of cooking. U-um, what kind of cooking did you do to make that Sword Saint say that much, Lexia-san…!

Well, Iris-san’s cooking method is also quite unique.

As I took my seat, Iris-san and Lexia-san’s eyes lit up brightly.

“Yuuya-kun, can I sit next to you?”

“Yuuya-sama! Excuse me for sitting next to you!”

“Eh?”

I was surprised by the words that were said at the same time, but Lexia-san and Iris-san faced each other with smiles on their faces. But even though they should be smiling at each other, their appearance was somehow frightening.

“Lexia-chan? I think you should give up your seat here to me, Yuuya-kun’s master.”

“No, no, Iris-sama. I’m very close to Yuuya-sama and even asked him to marry me! I’ll sit next to him here.”

“No, wait a minute. If Lexia and Iris-sama can’t decide, I’ll be the one to take──.”

“No! I won’t even give it to Luna!”

“W-wait a moment! D-d-did you just say marriage? Yu-Yuuya-kun! What the heck does that mean?”

“Eehh?”

The situation was so chaotic that I was taken aback because I didn’t expect it to come crashing down on me.

It’s true that when I first met Lexia-san, she asked me to marry her out of the blue, but I guess that was like a suspension bridge effect, and now we’re friends… or it should be.

In the first place, there was no way that an ordinary person like me could be matched with a princess like Lexia-san.

“N-no way… B-but, when I look at the way Yuuya-kun is acting, I think your proposal ended in failure, don’t you think so?”

“Ugh!”

“Fufu, it seems I got it right, doesn’t it? By the way, I’ve seen Yuuya-kun naked before!”

“”Eeeeehhhhhh!?””

“Iris-saaann!”

The way you said it! That’s going to cause a huge misunderstanding!

After being trained by Iris-san, Iris-san herself gave me a massage, and I’m pretty sure I was only naked on the top half of my body at that time…

But it was really just my upper body! And it’s not like I’m the one who offered it!

Lexia-san and Luna shouted in astonishment at Iris-san’s tone-deaf remark, and Merl-san also widened her eyes.

When I hurriedly tried to clear up the misunderstanding, Lexia-san looked at me with tears in her eyes.

“──fair.”

“Eh?”

“──That’s not fair! I want to see Yuuya-sama naked too!”

“Lexia-saaan?”

That’s a horrible thing to say!

When I was no longer in the mood to eat, Yuti sat down next to me with an unconcerned look on her face.

“””Ah!”””

“Pointless. Hurry up and eat.”

“I don’t want to be bothered by your petty squabbles. How long do you intend to leave us here?”

“”…..””

Overwhelmed by the presence of not only Yuti but also a slightly irritated Ouma-san, Iris-san, Lexia-san, and Luna sat down on the empty seat quietly.

Seeing this, Merl-san also sat down at the last available seat, and we finally began to eat…

“Here, Yuuya-kun?”

“U-um… Iris-san?”

For some reason, Iris-san offered me a spoon with an amazing smile. The spoon was topped with a dish that Iris-san had made this time.

“Um… I can eat it myself…”

“No! You have not yet recovered your strength, right? So, be quiet and let me take care of you.”

“It’s not that serious.”

I’m not so tired that I can’t eat by myself, regardless of how exhausted I am. But Iris-san ignored my words and offered me a spoonful.

“Don’t worry about that; just eat.”

“What do you mean?”

“Yuuya-sama! You have to eat the food I made too!”

“Eeh? Uhh?”

This time, Lexia-san also offered me a spoon, but what was on it was a mysterious purple object that I couldn’t figure out how it was cooked. Moreover, the food on the spoon looked like magma, with bubbles bursting out of it, even though the spoon that was held close to me was filled with cold air. What kind of cooking did you really do?

As I was puzzled in a different way from Iris-san’s offer, a third spoon was offered to me from another direction.

“Eh?”

“…Eat up. I’ve made it for you.”

Luna’s cheeks flushed with embarrassment as she held out the spoon.

As the three spoons approached me, I was confused as to what to do, and Merl-san, who was watching the scene, muttered. 

(This planet… no, is it the culture of the world beyond that door? It’s very interesting that you would offer a piece of your food… to another person.”

“Delicious. It’s delicious.”

Looking at Yuti and Merl-san, who were going at their own pace, I felt a lot of envy, but I kept thinking desperately about how I could get out of this situation.

＊＊＊

“Err… what the heck happened while I went shopping?”

“…There were various things. Various things…”

Kagurazaka-san looked at me with a puzzled expression as I finished eating Iris-san’s homemade meal, and instead of resting my body, I was mentally exhausted.

This may be the first time I’ve ever had a meal that exhausted me to this extent…

By the way, Kagurazaka-san’s meal was also prepared for her while she was out shopping, and when she finished eating it, we finally got to see the clothes she had bought.

“I think I’ve bought clothes that will suit everyone, so check them out for yourself.”

“So these are clothes from the other world!”

“This is amazing… It feels different from linen and silk… The design of the clothes is also very different from our world.”

“Yes. What can I say…? It doesn’t look very comfortable to move around in, though.”

Lexia-san and the others held the clothes that Kagurazaka-san had bought in their hands and observed them with great interest.

Speaking of which, there are no clothes made of chemical fiber in the other world, and in this world, you don’t have to worry about being attacked by monsters, so most of the clothes are made with the priority of design rather than ease of movement.

But even so, some Earth clothes are easier to move in than they look, and there are also clothes like jerseys and gym uniforms that are designed for movement, so I guess it’s hard to say.

Well, the purpose of this trip was to allow Lexia-san and the others to go sightseeing normally, so I asked Kagurazaka-san to prepare some fashionable clothes that were common on Earth.

“I’ll try it on right away!”

“Eh?”

When Lexia-san said that, she suddenly started to take off her clothes!

“W-wait, Lexia! Don’t change your clothes while he is still here!”

“Eh? Why not?”

For some reason, when Kagurazaka-san desperately tried to stop her, Lexia-san had a strange expression on her face.

Luna pressed her forehead in response to Lexia-san’s actions.

“This fool… Mai, forgive her. Lexia is royalty, you know. She doesn’t have much of a sense of shame about it, probably because she’s used to having people take her clothes off for her.”

“Ah… well, even nobles have similar customs, but not all of them, you know? I don’t know if Lexia-chan is special or if it’s her father’s education policy, but I think she hasn’t learned these things properly yet.”

Kagurazaka-san’s eyes widened at Luna and Iris-san’s explanation.

Considering how her father, Arnold-sama, doted on Lexia-san, I think Iris-san’s words were not a lie.

“T-the other world, or rather the royal family, is amazing… but that’s not the point! Because bad things are still bad things. You too, don’t just sit there and do nothing, get out of here right now!”

“Y-yes!”

With Kagurazaka-san’s words, I left the room as if I had been shot.

After spending some time interacting with Night and the others, Kagurazaka-san gave me permission to come back.

Then…

“What do you think, Yuuya-sama?”

“I don’t know what to say… I feel strange because I’m not used to wearing normal clothes, but it’s surprisingly easy to move around.”

“Yes. It’s easier to move than I thought… I think I can handle an enemy attack in this.”

In contrast to her usual gorgeous dress, Lexia-san has the air of a secluded young lady, and Luna is wearing a skirt instead of her usual pants.

And Iris-san wore a shirt with a large opening at the chest, giving her the air of a mature woman.

All of them were wearing Earth clothes in a very fashionable way. I-it’s amazing…

“…I know I picked it out myself, but doesn’t it look too good on everyone? It’s on a level that most celebrities can’t compete with.”

As Kagurazaka-san said, each of them had their own unique atmosphere and an overwhelming aura comparable to that of the top model Miu-san.

As I was being pressured by the three of them, Lexia-san came close to me.

“So, what do you think?”

“Y-yes. I think it looks great on everyone…”

I thought so from the bottom of my heart, but I was too embarrassed to praise them face to face, so I managed to squeeze it out, and Lexia-san gave me a slightly dissatisfied look.

“Mmm… I would like to hear some more from you, but… oh well! More importantly, let’s go see the world where Yuuya-sama lives as soon as possible!”

“H-hey!”

“Ah! It’s not fair, Lexia-chan! Yuuya-kun belongs to me, his master!”

“No! He belongs to me!”

“I don’t belong to anyone!”

“Geez… I wonder if this is going to be okay…”

While Luna sighed behind my back, Lexia-san and Iris-san took my arm, and we went out of the Earth’s house.