CH 49

「 Have this jerky. 」

「 Dried plums. 」

「 How about wine? 」

「 Smoked trout. 」

「 Would you like some cheese? 」

Everyone offered various foods.

「 Nah, I can’t finish all that. 」

I refused.

「 There’s still grilled salted fish, so you can get one each. 」

Our job was to carry the food on our trip to the forest, and to bring the materials on our way back. Even though they said to each his own, Retze, Ash, Butler and I agreed to share Dean and Chris’s portions, and I also brought extra, too, plus my own portion, of course.

We were supposed to do the miscellaneous chores, but Silver-ranked Dean and Chris were also doing work, and they didn’t have many requests, let alone complaints, so it’s been easy for us.

「 You can just hunt as usual later, too. 」

I raised the salted fish that had been grilled nicely and showed it to them.

I only managed to catch one, but the others got three to four each, and they also shared theirs with me so I could sample both herb and salt grilled fish. They gave it to me, so I won’t say it’s bad.

「 Yeah, we’ll fish and hunt, too. 」

Dean happily took a piece, and the others followed.

I brought a lot of smoked foods, dried vegetables, flour-based foods, and flavorings. I【 Teleport】to the forest beforehand and checked the things growing here, plus Dean and the others said they’ll hunt for meat, so let’s have them do their best.

「 So delish. 」

「 How scrumptious! 」

「 Tasty. 」

Alright, go guys, if you think that’s yummy then cultivate your palates and show me stuff that are really delicious. People would definitely look for more delicious foods once they were captivated by delectable foods.

「 …. Delicious. 」

Ash only commented after she was done, probably because she was so well-mannered.

「 The saltiness is really good. It seems it will still be flavorsome even if the ingredients change. 」

「 Yeah, it goes well with tomato sauce too, you know. 」

I munched the grilled salted trout while replying to Butler.

「 Tomato sauce, is it? 」

The gut was cleaned properly, and it was roasted from its back. It’s a light and delicate fish, so I roasted it from a distance and upside down to prevent the oil from dripping out of its belly. The back part was crunchy and the body was soft thanks to that.

「 Tsk! Even the river fish that Jean roasted seems more delicious. 」

Dean was gripping the grilled fish skewer tightly, but I won’t exchange mine, you know.

「 You could’ve been a great bride….it is truly unfortunate, Twilight. 」

「 Stop getting frustrated over somebody else’s gender. 」

Chris makes it sound like he’s serious, so of course I hate that.

「 Oh right, Jean, what’s your type? You don’t like my lil sis, right? As I thought, is it the chest? 」

「 Stop lifting your chest like that! 」

「 Mm…Dean-dono’s chest is superb. 」

Ash looked at her own chest after blurting that out.

「 Ash…… 」

I don’t know how to answer that!! Girls aren’t supposed to get envious of that kind of chest! It’ll be troubling if yours is like that!

Butler looked complicated, but I probably had the same expression on my face.

「 It’s not that I’m being a snob, but you see, I’m still repairing my relationships with people so I don’t really know. Anyway, love will have to come after. 」

Yeah, I’m serious.

「 What, you don’t trust people? 」

「 Well, you could say that. Plus, I’ve been confessed to — as a prank. 」

I affirmed what Dean said. Actually, it’s not that I don’t trust people, it’s just that only untrustworthy folks surrounded me, and I felt like it’d be a disaster if I trusted them.

「 Oh, so you’ve been told after, that she didn’t mean it? 」

Retze looked at me with pity. He’s right, though.

「 I can’t imagine Twilight being played like that. 」

「 The confession was all good, but it must’ve been really embarrassing when they mocked you? 」

Chris and Dean were discomfited.

Ash and Butler were silent. Well, they probably couldn’t join in, considering the gender and the age gap.

「 The first time was when I was six. Second time, 10 years old. Third time, I was 14. Different people every time. 」

「 Bft! Three times, huh. Aren’t you cursed? 」

「 Three in a row, what an unusual case. Not all women in the world are like that, you know? 」

「 Yeah, I get that. I’m aware that it’s a special case, so I’m trying to change my ways. 」

Retze looked really worried, but then, it’s all my sister’s fault.

Sis setup the first one. She didn’t show up during the second time, but the girl was the younger sister of Sis’ friend. I was only ten and Sis was 15. I knew it was her doing right away, because the people who could get involved were only a handful. Sis didn’t seem to have any influence on the third, but I’m positive she had a hand in it.

Since I knew that the first time was Sis’s prank, I only pretended to fall for her tricks during the second and the third time. I was actually baffled why Sis assumed that I didn’t remember anything when I was a kindergarten. Well, my parents were like that, too. If I didn’t remember, then I probably got caught for real.

Oh, now that I think about it, Sis’s friends who came with us during that fireworks festival were the girl who confessed the first time and her brother, huh. They’ve been friends forever with Sis, so I’m not sure if they’re dense, or just besties. Since I encountered them from time to time, it was probably the latter; so I absolutely won’t go near them.

Anyway, I was healed by Dinosso’s daughter’s ‘like’, which was pure.

「 How to say this, do cheer up, alright. 」

「 Thanks, Chris. 」

I’m actually perfectly fine. It’s the old me who was pitiful, and besides, do something about that

jaw-rubbing spirit before you make that grim face, will you?

I am already used to its presence, but that mismatch is wayyy too funny, I can’t keep this poker face any longer!