206 - - Episode 204 Rumors

Finally, he settled down at the inn and summoned Bell and his friends. He sent them on a walk with Frere and Moon, who were curious about the labyrinth city.

"Sylphie, how is that soldier?"

"He's just hanging around in his room, getting frustrated and saying, 'I'm being set up!　"He's making a lot of noise."

I don't think he was framed. I think he was just used as a pawn to harass the first squire. I don't think it's the same as setting me up.

So you don't think he's going to try to get his hands on us again?

"Yes, he's always bad-mouthing the first squire, and he's going back to King's Landing to complain, so I doubt he'll come back unless he's talked into it by the first squire."

...... Am I the only one who thinks it's 50-50 that they'll come back?　Well, that first squire had a look of absolute unforgiveness on his face, but he can only harass me to this extent, which means he's cornered because the Lord is missing.

"I'm sorry, but could you keep an eye on him until we leave the labyrinth city?"

"Okay, I'll keep an eye out."

"Yes, please."

I'm tired of all this, so I think I'll just relax a bit until dinner and talk with Sylphy and Dine.

We spent some time talking about what to do when the painter comes tomorrow, and how to explain Gina to Martha.　

****

"I brought you dinner."

At dinner time, Martha and Mr. Kark bring the food to Sarah's room. Are you eating orc cutlets today?

"Today we have a new menu that you taught us. Try it, we have two special dishes for you."

"Thank you very much. A new menu? I'm looking forward to it.

"Yeah, let him know what you think of it later. By the way, you said you wanted to learn how to cook.

Yes, of course.

What do you want to do, Sara?

"Yes, please."

He's extremely motivated.

"Can I ask you to do this for me?"

"Yeah, I'll take care of it."

"Oh, and my new apprentice, she is the daughter of a diner in the labyrinth city, and she would like to learn how to cook from Mr. Toruku, if she can.　Of course, we will not allow you to serve our menu in the cafeteria without permission."

"Hmm, the girl from the diner is the one you kidnapped. Is she training to be a bride?"

Martha's eyes light up. A switch has been flipped. But we have to talk about this, don't we? I was about to make an excuse when the savior appeared.

"Mom, I'm busy, please come back soon!　Your customers are waiting for you!"

Mr. Kark came back after bringing the food and picked up Martha. Very good boy, I'll give you some pocket money later.

"Yes, of course. I'm sure you'll make the right introduction, but let's just talk to her first, okay?"

Yes, I will come and say hello when I get back.

"Okay, I'll see you later."

For the time being, I've gotten over the current situation, but if I go to greet Gina together, she'll probably make a fuss then, so I guess it won't make much difference. But it's a good thing that the conversation is over before the food gets cold. Let's be positive. We'll move one of the beds into storage, add a table, and put the food on it.

"Shinmenyuu", "kewoo", "new taste", "koooo", "kuze", "......"

Bell and the others are interested, so let's hurry up. If we cut the new menu in half, we can all eat. I'll take the food out of the magic bag and replenish the halved portions.

"Then you can eat!"

Sylphy, Dine, Belle, Sarah, and Fuchu all get their hands on the new menu at the same time. Everyone loves new things, don't they? Well, I'll eat from the new menu first.

You can get a general idea of what's on the menu by looking at the slices, but one is a cheese ruff-bird cutlet. The other is probably a mille-feuille cutlet with oak meat. The millefeuille cutlet has a paste-like substance between the layers of meat. You can tell just by the smell. It's grated garlic.

I sense Mr. Toruku's unwavering devotion to garlic. I'm okay with it because I love garlic, but I wonder if the customers won't get tired of it.　If you don't like garlic, you will have a hard time choosing this inn and its food. I have a feeling that they are very selective about their customers.

Well, I guess that's what Mr. Toruku is concerned about, so there's nothing I can do to worry about. I can hear Belle and Sara saying it's delicious, so let's start with the cheese ruff-bird cutlet.

The crunchy crust is pierced through to reveal the plump louvred meat, followed by a mouthful of rich cheese. This cheese is delicious. I wonder if they chose a cheese that would not overpower the meat, for it has a strong but rich flavor and taste. I'll ask him later where he gets it from.

Next is the millefeuille cutlet. The ...... thinly sliced oak ribs softly melt in your mouth, mingling with the sweet oil and garlic. It's nice to bite off a thick piece of oak, but this is just as good.

"It's the same meat in the same dish, but just sliced into thin slices, it gives a very different impression."

Sylphy murmurs in admiration. I'm glad to see her reaction, since I'm the one who taught her how to make this dish, even though it was Mr. Toruku who made it.

** I'm glad to hear this reaction from Sylphy.

"Master, I'm home."

"Welcome back Gina......, you look really tired, what's wrong, are you okay?"

Gina came to report her return. What's wrong?　With Dolly with me, it shouldn't be too much to expect something to happen. I look at Dolly and she is smiling. It doesn't sound like anything bad happened.

"Well, when I went back to my parents' house, there were all kinds of rumors going around that I had been kidnapped or married off, and the guests were asking a lot of questions.

"I didn't know the rumors were so widespread. I was told by the innkeeper that he kidnapped Gina. Why did that rumor start?"

So that's why the landlady was smiling when I told her about the master. I'm sorry, Master. My father was in a bad mood after I left and that's why the rumors started. I explained it to my friends, but I didn't tell all the guests, so some of them who didn't know me guessed wrong."

...... So you're saying that one day Gina suddenly disappeared from the diner and Mr. Pete had a rough day and the rumors started. I asked him about the details, and he said that the fact that I went to pick up Gina and take care of her stuff also played a part in the rumor.

"Didn't Pete and Daniela deny it?"

"He denied it, but he said the rumor spread faster than it did."

So the guests must have been asking a lot of questions when Gina showed up.

"Oh, yeah. Well, if you keep denying rumors, they'll eventually go away. How are Pete and Daniela?"

"Yeah, after all the questions from the guests, my dad and mom kept asking me questions, and I was going to come back earlier, but they kept me here, so I got here late."

I know it was kind of hard. Mr. Pete must have asked you if you did anything strange. He doesn't seem to trust me. Daniela, I don't know about you, but she seems to like to talk, so I can imagine she had a lot of questions.

"I'm sorry you had a hard time. I'm sorry you're tired, but we still have a job to do."

"Work?"

"What do you mean by 'work', the innkeeper here?

Gina, who understood what I was going to do with my words, looked at me with a faraway look. The contrast with Bell and the others who are playing with Dolly who has returned is great.

"Actually, Gina wanted to learn how to cook from Mr. Toruku, so I asked Martha to teach her. "Actually, Gina wanted to learn how to cook from Mr. Toruku, so I asked Martha to teach her. Is that okay?"

"Thank you, Master!"

You seem very happy. That's good, but she seems to have forgotten that she's going to learn how to cook, so we'll have to remind her about the ordeal.

"But as I told you before, Martha misunderstands me. She didn't trust me when I told her, so you'll have to do your best to clear up the misunderstanding."

Suddenly, Gina's face becomes more honest. Good, because Martha might swallow me up if I don't speak calmly.

"Well, it will be a while before the innkeeper settles down, so you can rest in your room until then.

"...... then, I'm going to get some rest."

Gina went back to her room. She looked a little dizzy, but I hope she's okay.　Maybe he could see how formidable Ms. Martha was, even though they had never met before. I just sit back and cheer her on in my mind as if I were a stranger. I'm sorry for being an unreliable teacher.

While I was relaxing, I received a message from Marie. She said that the painter can come tomorrow. Gina and Sara are going to learn how to cook, so I asked her to come after noon. She also said that she would offer me the place where I had stayed before to paint. She has been very kind to me, and I may need to increase the amount of materials I deliver to her.

But will I be able to finish the painting in one day?　Sylphy,Dene,Nomos,Dolly,If,Vita,Belle,Rain,Tulu,Tamamo,Flare,Moon,Fukuchan,Uri,Mame,Sheba,Puru...... will be like a big family before you know it.

You are going to have two painters for us, but I am a little worried. I'll check how fast they can paint before I start. Oh, we should invite Merle and Meral too. More people are coming.

***

"I see your name is Gina. I'm Martha, nice to meet you."

"Oh, uh, well, uh, nice to meet you. ...... please."

Gina's got a snappy smile. I remember that Gina becomes a "kami kami" when she tries to use honorifics.

"What's wrong?　You don't have to be nervous, okay?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Actually, Gina is not good at honorifics, and when she tries to speak honorifics, she gets all stilted.

When it's just the two of us, there's no problem, but at times like this, it's hard. Maybe I should practice using honorifics.

"Oh, you mean that. I'm like this too, don't worry about it, just talk normally."

Well, Martha spoiled me. For a moment, I thought that Martha and Torque might be able to teach Gina some honorifics, but I guess I was naive.

"Oh, thank you."

Gina and Martha, perhaps feeling a little more at ease, began to talk a little more. The conversation is centered around the food.

"Well, let's have a little girl-to-girl talk, Yuta, you can go back to your room!"

"What?　Why is that?"

"It's important to be with other women!"

Gina's looking at me with the eyes of an abandoned puppy. .......

"Well, I'll leave you to it."

Sorry Gina, good luck. Don't worry, Sheba will be watching over you.