249 - - Episode 247. At a banquet with the Spirit Kings

The spirit kings built a ball, the keystone of the sanctuary, in the center of the base. The base was successfully turned into a sanctuary, and the emotional meeting between Gina and Fukuchan was a success. At any rate, we are celebrating this momentous occasion, so we take them to the living room and have a banquet.

......I thought it would feel smaller with six more people in the room, but it's not so. The humanoid ones are the Spirit Kings of Water, Earth, and Darkness, and the Spirit Kings of Wind, Fire, and Light are the size of Belle and her friends now, though I don't know how big they used to be. They do not take up much space.

The humanoid Spirit Kings are sitting on the sofa, and the other Spirit Kings are relaxing on the table. The little Belle and Fuchu are doing the same thing, but are the spirit kings okay with that?

"Master, you're going to put the food on the table, aren't you? I'll help you."

"I'll help you, too."

Gina and Sara offered to help. Marco and Kikka are being jostled by the spirits with whom they can now interact, so I leave them alone. They seem happy, so it's okay, right?

"Okay, I'm going to serve the food, so Gina and Sarah can line up. The one with the spirit kings is the table for drinking. The table where we usually eat will be the alcohol-free table.

I tell them that we're going to separate the places, and as I take out the dishes and tableware that Mr. Toruku has prepared, Gina and Sara lay out the food for me. Well, we served more dishes of various kinds than usual, so it was a grand affair, but the menu didn't look any different.

Maybe we should serve the Fire Dragon steak?　It's the anniversary of the sanctuary, and it might be a good start. But I'm afraid to serve something I've never experienced at a banquet. I know it's delicious, but I don't want the meat to take away the impression of all the other dishes.

Hmm?　The king of earth spirits is looking at the food as if peering into it. His body is mineral, so it is hard to tell his expression, but is he interested in food?　I see, for the kings of spirits, the dishes I've laid out here are also new to them.

It's a bit of a foolish idea, but it seems like the Spirit Kings will be visiting us in the future, and it's dangerous to reveal all our secrets today. Let's save the odd one for the future. But we'll try Fire Dragon's meat as soon as we have a chance.

Okay, we've got most of the food out. Now for dessert...it's not ice cream if it melts...right? Pudding loses its taste when it gets warm. It's too much trouble to serve dessert during the party.

"Dine, can I have a word?"

He puts out two empty barrels and calls Dine, who has been hugging Kikka for some reason.

"What, Yuta, did you get lonely because your sister was always spending so much time with Kikka?　It's okay. You're Yuta's big sister.

...... Huh?　I think this is the first time in a long time that I've been annoyed with Dine. Well, let's let it slide for now.

"Ha-ha-ha, thank you. So, Dine, would you mind filling these two empty barrels with ice?"

"Uh-huh, leave it to my sister!"

Pudding and ice cream are placed in empty barrels filled with ice thanks to Dine.

"Yuta, that will melt the ice cream! I'll lend you a hand.

Deene lightly shakes her right hand, and a dome of ice forms on top of the barrel. This will make it harder for the cold air inside to escape.

"Thank you, Dene. "Thank you, Deanne.

You're welcome. I've lowered the temperature quite a bit and left the melted water to pool at the bottom of the barrel, so it should be fine for a while.

Deane seems to have a fast-paced personality that I don't understand, but she is very good at showing her greatness at times like this. I think she is a great spirit.　

"Oh, and then there's the booze. I'll serve you about ten barrels of various kinds of sake, and you can chill them to your liking.

"Wow, that's a lot of booze. Hey, Yuta, can I have a little bit of spirits too?　And let me choose the liquor!"

"You pick the drinks, I pick the drinks!"

Dineh is as happy as a bell. And Nomos, noticing that the barrels have been released, instantly mixes them up.

"Okay. I'll give you a bunch of barrels, and you can choose ten of them. And Dineh, you'll have to talk to Nomos about the spirits. It's a strong liquor and you'll need to let it sit for a while, so think about how much you're going to serve.

"Okay, okay..."

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

A large number of sake barrels are piled up in front of them as they nod. Before they know it, the spirit kings of wind, fire, and darkness are mixing in with the sake selection. It seems that these three are the most fond of alcohol among the spirit kings. I'd like to talk to the king of spirits, but I'm afraid he won't like me if I talk to him now.

Based on the opinions of the two Great Spirits and the three Spirit Kings, ten barrels of sake have been selected and the rest are stored. At the moment of storing the barrels, the five spirits look disappointed. At this rate, they will probably ask for more when they finish drinking.

** "What are you doing?

"Well, thanks to the help of the Spirit Kings and the cooperation of everyone, this place has become a sanctuary. Since today is a happy day, let's eat, drink, and make merry! Let's have a toast!"

The spirits and Gina and the others respond to my call with a toast. I was nervous. I wouldn't normally do such a thing at a banquet, but the king of the spirits of the wind said, "It's a happy day, and the lord of this land needs to give his greetings!　I was scared. The king of the wind spirit was obviously amused and seemed to be a prankster.

After the toast, we watch the banquet that has started. Gina and her friends are enjoying the food while taking care of Fukuchan and the others who have become visible.

Belle and her friends are ...... not good, Belle, Rain and Tamamo are rushing to the dessert corner as fast as they can. At that rate, they will be full only with desserts. Even if there is no nutritional problem, we should make sure to eat dessert after we have eaten our meals.

"Belle, Rain, Tamamo. Dessert comes after you eat your dinner. When you finish what you have now, you should eat your food and then have dessert.

"Yes!" "Cue!" "Coo-coo!"

Very nice replies from all three of you. But we should have had dessert after we finished eating. I thought it would be better to put desserts on display since the Spirit Kings are here, but I ended up making Belle and the others endure. I'll reflect on that.

Well, the sobriety table is fine. How about the drinking table?　...... Yes, we've only just started, and with the unusual food, it's not all about the booze. Sylphy and the others are explaining things to the spirit kings, so it seems to be all right. Let's say hello to them while we're at it.

"Spirit King of Wind, I am sorry for interrupting your drinking. I would like to greet the Spirit Kings again. ......"

I talk to the king of the wind spirits, who is holding a cup in both hands with his tiny body and drinking with a gulp of his drink.

"Once again, you don't have to be so serious about greeting me. You can call me Wind.

You're making it sound so formal. I was nervous even when I was a human king, but this time I'm the king of spirits. I'm indebted to the spirits. It would be unfortunate if I offend them and make the relationship with Sylphy and the others awkward.

May I say hello to you, Mr. Wind?

"You're still stiff. You can call me Wind, and you don't have to use honorifics. The other spirit kings are just like me.

......impossible. I can't. The wind spirit king in front of me is a mini-dragon and he's so cute. If I call him that and stop using honorifics, I'm confident I'll be treating him like Belle and the others before long. However, since they don't seem to like it, one of us should make a concession.

Either I should stop using "mama" or I should stop using honorifics. ...... I think it would be less formal for both me and the king of spirits if I stop using honorifics.

"Okay, I'll talk normally, just let me put 'sama' on. I'll talk to you normally, just let me put 'sir' on...except when I'm in my big dragon form, but in my current Wind-sama form, I'd treat you the same way I treat Belle and the others. Oh, should I be more polite in my speech?

"The way you speak is fine as it is now. I don't think it would be right for me as a spirit king if you were to treat me like Belle and the others do, so I don't mind if you add 'sir'.

Thank you. That's very kind of you.

"You're welcome. That's how you greeted me. I forgot we hadn't even been introduced. It's too much trouble, so let's do it all at once.

"Yes, that's right. Well, let me introduce myself. I am Light, the Spirit King of Light. Do as you please.

What a cute little creature. A fluffy ball rabbit is saying "concubine" and "good luck" in a cute voice.

"Light... As king of the spirits, I'm concerned about their pretty faces. He's talking like that to show a little dignity, but don't let it bother you."

"Wind, don't talk nonsense!"

Light-sama, the jade rabbit, is hitting Wind-sama. He's quite cute, but ...... that way of talking, was he making a character? It's a tearful effort. But if that's the case, I guess I'd better give up trying to touch that fluffy thing. I'll hurt his pride if I accidentally touch him too much.

Mr. Light. Please take good care of her.

"Well, good luck with that."

"Okay, I'll be next. I'm Dark, the Spirit King of Darkness. Yuta, it's nice to meet you. And spirits are very delicious. I wonder when the distilled spirits will be ready?

The Dark Spirit King is called Dirk. Like Wind-sama and Light-sama, it's named after the attributes of wind, light, and darkness.

But Dark is a little shadowy and has a great style. She's a suspiciously bewitching beauty, but that line just confirmed it. She was involved in the selection of drinks earlier. She must be a drinker just like Sylphy and the others.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Dirk. Well, I don't know when we can say that the distilled liquor is ready since it is said to be kept for 10 or 20 years. It takes about three years for them to become drinkable, so even spirits that are laid down at the bottom of the ocean, where they mature quickly, I'd give them another four months."

"I see, so I can come and have a drink then, if you don't mind.

"You are welcome to come anytime. You are always welcome.

......No, I agreed reflexively because a beautiful woman was going to visit me. Thinking about it calmly, I think I gave a troublesome reply.

"I'll come and have a drink with you.

Mr. Wind came to join the conversation.

"If that's what you want to talk about, I'm in. I'm Fire, nice to meet you!"

Fire King Fire, whom I had not yet greeted, joined the conversation. It seems that the Spirit Kings of Wind, Fire, and Darkness love to drink. I feel like I'm in trouble.

"Well, Fire-sama, please take care of them. So, I wonder if it's okay for the king of spirits to come here casually..."

"It's not like I'm going to be here for a long time, so that's not a problem. I just come here for a drink when I have time in the name of inspecting the sanctuary, so don't worry about it.

I care!　I can't say no, but I'm very curious!

"...... Okay, I get it. I'll ask Sylphy and the others to contact you when I'm ready to drink spirits."

Three spirit kings nodding in satisfaction. You know, it doesn't really matter what your position is when you like to drink. No, it's more troublesome when you have a certain position to take care of. I'm a little tired even though I haven't finished greeting everyone yet.