Chapter 114: And Then, Returning to Their Daily Life
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“Haah…”
“Ren-chan, are you really alright?~”
“Ah, yes! I’m just a little bit tired.”
I couldn’t stop myself from sighing as I walked back from the guild to the mansion I was staying at. Almost immediately, Chris-san, who was holding onto my hand, noticed me sighing and asked about my well-being out of concern.
To be honest, I am physically fine but…
“Ren, do you want me to carry you?”
“No! I’m fine! Please don’t do that kind of thing in the middle of a city….”
I knew Sig-san was offering that out of kindness but still!
I might be small but I’m already an adult! Please spare me from being offered to be carried when I said I’m tired!
And please don’t look so disappointed when I refused….
“Ren-kun, would you like to have lunch?”
“That’s right… Since we’re already outside, why don’t we have something to eat first before we go back?”
Right. It seemed a lot of time had passed because of how intense the subject of the examinations were but actually, the exams were all already finished in the morning. As expected from the royal capital, there were a lot of restaurants and the food stalls were overflowing too. I had stayed here for several days but I still hadn’t gotten to explore all the places yet.
The capital was too big to begin with and even within the capital itself, each area had their own local specialties. I wanted to eat all kinds of food while I was here so we had mostly been eating out for the past several days. It felt like the only meal we ate at Fer-san’s mansion was breakfast.
“What kind of food would you like?~ Today is pretty hot so do you want something refreshing? Or something hot or spicy to sweat it out while you eat?~”
“Right… We’ve eaten a lot of refreshing food lately so maybe something spicy?”
Chris-san smiled and said there was a restaurant he wanted to recommend to us. He guided us to that restaurant with a smile and I was served a plate of pasta with plenty of green sauce. At first I thought it was some kind of vegetable based sauce? But it turned out, they made it using vegetables that resembled green chili. Just looking at this dish made my eyes water and I even started coughing fit when the scent hit me.
“Ren-chan, you said you wanted something spicy, right? It’s delicious, you know?~ Come now, open wide~”
Chris-san rolled the paste with his fork and offered it to me.
Chris-san was eating the pasta so happily, it looked like it was really good when he ate it so when he offered it to me, I had no choice but to take up on his offer. Chris-san looked completely fine when he ate so I thought this green paste might be easier to stomach than I had originally thought.
“Yes. Thank you for the food…. UGH! COUGH! UGH! W-WATER!”
I opened my mouth, prepared my resolve to eat this spicy food but the moment the pasta entered my mouth, I lost all of the sensation in my tongue. Even though I only chewed it a few times, my mouth was immediately assaulted by a stinging sensation and I began coughing violently.
What is this?! Is this even something a human could actually eat?!
“Ren! This drink is better than water. Come, drink it up, drink it up. Chris, you should’ve asked them to give Ren something a bit more tame.”
“Ren-chan said he wanted something spicy so I thought… This might hit the spot for him~ I’m sorry, Ren-chan. This one has moderate level of spice so I’m sure you’ll be fine~”
As I was tearing up in pain, Sig-san handed me a glass of milk. I immediately gulped down the milk along with the remnant of the pasta inside my mouth. The pasta should’ve already gone from my mouth but the prickling pain still hadn’t disappeared yet….
Chris-san offered me a different plate of pasta, this one he had especially asked for the spice level to be lower than the previous one. As for spicy food, I had only ever served curry for the three of them and the curry I made was at medium level. I didn’t know Chris-san liked spicy food.
Next time, I should try to make the food spicier to suit his liking….
“Cough…. Chris-san, do you like spicy food? If you do, I will make some spicy food for you next time.”
“Hm~ Not really?~ But I’m fine with spicy things. So no need to worry about it too much~ Ren-chan’s is already so delicious~”
Chris-san said that as he nonchalantly stuffed his mouth with more of that dangerously spicy pasta. He looked as cool as ever, his face didn’t even flinch a bit.
“Ren-kun, that level of spice is definitely impossible for me.”
“Me three.”
“Yes… I do agree it is impossible to reproduce that level of spice at home…”
Fer-san and Sig-san immediately interjected, the panic evident in their faces. The two of them didn’t even try to take a bite out of that paste so I guess spicy food was definitely a no go for them too. They must be feeling worried I would replicate this kind of spicy food at home.
To be honest, had they asked me to make a food with this level of spice, I wouldn’t even be able to taste it when I cooked and the damage around the surrounding area must be too severe to ignore as well… I would just make curry or mapo with a moderate amount of spice.
“What should I do… I’m sure this pasta tastes good but my tongue is completely numb from the spice. I can’t feel anything at all….”
The spice completely decimated my taste bud. I couldn’t taste anything…. I knew this pasta was moderately spicy compared to the first one Chris-san gave to me but I still couldn’t taste it at all. The fact that Chris-san even mentioned this one was moderately spicy meant that his plate was very spicy in comparison. Even though Chris-san was kind enough to recommend it to me because I said I wanted something spicy….
“I heard spicy food can be evened out with sour food. Would you like me to order something sour?”
“Please…”
I nodded my head at Fer-san and he ordered lemon sorbet for me. After eating the lemon sorbet, I somehow managed to revive my decimated tongue back. And so, the four of us enjoyed a delicious meal together before returning to the mansion.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“Today too…?”
“Why of course! I’ve come with all kinds of hairstyles that would suit Ren-sama so please leave yourself in my hand while you stay here!”
“Haah…. I’ll be in your care then…”
This morning, I washed my face early in the morning and when I returned, Corey-san was already waiting for me with a brush in her hand and some hair ornaments in her other hand.
I guess at this point I should just give up and let her do her thing…
“Oh, before we get to my hair, let me change my clothes first.”
“Please wait a moment! Come this way, please.”
“Huh…. This is….?”
“Yes. We’ve prepared something that we believe will suit Ren-sama very much.”
As I was about to let myself in her expert care today, I remembered I should’ve changed my clothes first. I was heading for my magic bag that I had put beside my bed when Corey-san stopped me and handed me a nicely folded piece of clothes.
“Whoa… Thank you very much. I will try it on right away.”
“Yes. Well then, I will turn my back now…”
I already told Corey-san I wouldn’t be needing help in changing my clothes so I was glad she chose to respect my wish by turning her back to me as I changed. I walked to my bed, put the folded clothes on the bed before I took off my nightclothes. Then I started taking the neatly folded clothes from the top pile. The bottom was light blue denim jeans with 7/10 length. It was a simple pair of pants so I was able to put them on relatively fast. Up next, the top….
Erm…..
“Excuse me…. I’ve put it on but…”
“My! I knew it would look good on you! Please sit down here so I can do your hair.”
“Doesn’t the clothes look a bit too cute for me….? Does it really suit me?”
“Why of course! We knew lovely clothes would look good on Ren-sama!”
“Haah…. I see…”
I told Corey-san that I had already finished putting the clothes on and she immediately turned her face to me and started praising me excitedly. Still keeping her buoyant energy, she then urged me to quickly sit on a chair in front of the mirror.
The top I was wearing was a white short-sleeved parka with a pale pink short sleeved v-neck shirt underneath. I was fine with the colour scheme and all but… On the ear part of the parka, there was a pair of rabbit ears.
I’m not putting the hoodie part up though!
The parka itself was on the longer side but what concerned me was this part on the bottom that looked suspiciously like a fluffy tail.
I mean, don’t you think this kind of clothes is too cute for me to wear? No matter how you stretch it by calling me cute, isn’t it still too much?
I voiced my concern to Corey-san but it seemed she already expected my response since she immediately clasped both of my hands and once again, assured me that this clothes looked good on me.
That’s right… In the first place, I’m not being recognized as an adult in this world after all. Maybe they think it is only natural to dress me up in cutesy clothes… Well… They’ve gone out of their way to prepare these clothes for me and I think a man wearing pink actually looks stylish too.
I thought to myself as I sat in front of the mirror, trying to escape from reality for a bit.
“Now then, if you will allow me!”
“…. Yes.”
Corey-san looked like she was having fun as she combed my hair instead of curling it like yesterday. Her hands wouldn’t stop moving even for a second. She expertly braided the hair above my ears and pulled it back, gathering two braids in the middle. The braids were weaved around a red ribbon that reminded me of an alice headband. She let the rest of my shoulder-length hair to flow freely.
This ribbon but with a small braid.
This…. Don’t I look perfectly like a girl? But… If I tell Corey-san to change my hairstyle at this point, I doubt she will listen to me…
“And we’re finished! Today’s theme is 『Since we can see his collarbone today, let’s hide his nape instead!』.”
“What kind of theme is that….”
I don’t know what to say now because of how you proudly declared that theme without any ounce of hesitation! Well the low cut v-neck does expose my collarbone a little bit but I’m a man! I don’t think a guy needs to worry about having his collarbone exposed, right?
“To be honest, I really want to put some makeup on you but I know Ren-sama will definitely refuse it. Now then, shall we head to the dining room for breakfast?”
“Please spare me from makeup….”
Corey-san said she wanted to put on makeup on me but I vehemently refused and I stood firm on my decision on this matter. She then escorted me to the dining room and there, we saw the three of them were already waiting for me. Of course upon seeing my whole getup today, they all praised me excitedly.
I feel complicated now… I don’t know if I should be happy or not about all of these….
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
T/N: I guess alice headband is basically all headband that resembles alice in wonderland. The basic one.
Chapter 114: And Then, Returning to Their Daily Life
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“Haah…”
“Ren-chan, are you really alright?~”
“Ah, yes! I’m just a little bit tired.”
I couldn’t stop myself from sighing as I walked back from the guild to the mansion I was staying at. Almost immediately, Chris-san, who was holding onto my hand, noticed me sighing and asked about my well-being out of concern.
To be honest, I am physically fine but…
“Ren, do you want me to carry you?”
“No! I’m fine! Please don’t do that kind of thing in the middle of a city….”
I knew Sig-san was offering that out of kindness but still!
I might be small but I’m already an adult! Please spare me from being offered to be carried when I said I’m tired!
And please don’t look so disappointed when I refused….
“Ren-kun, would you like to have lunch?”
“That’s right… Since we’re already outside, why don’t we have something to eat first before we go back?”
Right. It seemed a lot of time had passed because of how intense the subject of the examinations were but actually, the exams were all already finished in the morning. As expected from the royal capital, there were a lot of restaurants and the food stalls were overflowing too. I had stayed here for several days but I still hadn’t gotten to explore all the places yet.
The capital was too big to begin with and even within the capital itself, each area had their own local specialties. I wanted to eat all kinds of food while I was here so we had mostly been eating out for the past several days. It felt like the only meal we ate at Fer-san’s mansion was breakfast.
“What kind of food would you like?~ Today is pretty hot so do you want something refreshing? Or something hot or spicy to sweat it out while you eat?~”
“Right… We’ve eaten a lot of refreshing food lately so maybe something spicy?”
Chris-san smiled and said there was a restaurant he wanted to recommend to us. He guided us to that restaurant with a smile and I was served a plate of pasta with plenty of green sauce. At first I thought it was some kind of vegetable based sauce? But it turned out, they made it using vegetables that resembled green chili. Just looking at this dish made my eyes water and I even started coughing fit when the scent hit me.
“Ren-chan, you said you wanted something spicy, right? It’s delicious, you know?~ Come now, open wide~”
Chris-san rolled the paste with his fork and offered it to me.
Chris-san was eating the pasta so happily, it looked like it was really good when he ate it so when he offered it to me, I had no choice but to take up on his offer. Chris-san looked completely fine when he ate so I thought this green paste might be easier to stomach than I had originally thought.
“Yes. Thank you for the food…. UGH! COUGH! UGH! W-WATER!”
I opened my mouth, prepared my resolve to eat this spicy food but the moment the pasta entered my mouth, I lost all of the sensation in my tongue. Even though I only chewed it a few times, my mouth was immediately assaulted by a stinging sensation and I began coughing violently.
What is this?! Is this even something a human could actually eat?!
“Ren! This drink is better than water. Come, drink it up, drink it up. Chris, you should’ve asked them to give Ren something a bit more tame.”
“Ren-chan said he wanted something spicy so I thought… This might hit the spot for him~ I’m sorry, Ren-chan. This one has moderate level of spice so I’m sure you’ll be fine~”
As I was tearing up in pain, Sig-san handed me a glass of milk. I immediately gulped down the milk along with the remnant of the pasta inside my mouth. The pasta should’ve already gone from my mouth but the prickling pain still hadn’t disappeared yet….
Chris-san offered me a different plate of pasta, this one he had especially asked for the spice level to be lower than the previous one. As for spicy food, I had only ever served curry for the three of them and the curry I made was at medium level. I didn’t know Chris-san liked spicy food.
Next time, I should try to make the food spicier to suit his liking….
“Cough…. Chris-san, do you like spicy food? If you do, I will make some spicy food for you next time.”
“Hm~ Not really?~ But I’m fine with spicy things. So no need to worry about it too much~ Ren-chan’s is already so delicious~”
Chris-san said that as he nonchalantly stuffed his mouth with more of that dangerously spicy pasta. He looked as cool as ever, his face didn’t even flinch a bit.
“Ren-kun, that level of spice is definitely impossible for me.”
“Me three.”
“Yes… I do agree it is impossible to reproduce that level of spice at home…”
Fer-san and Sig-san immediately interjected, the panic evident in their faces. The two of them didn’t even try to take a bite out of that paste so I guess spicy food was definitely a no go for them too. They must be feeling worried I would replicate this kind of spicy food at home.
To be honest, had they asked me to make a food with this level of spice, I wouldn’t even be able to taste it when I cooked and the damage around the surrounding area must be too severe to ignore as well… I would just make curry or mapo with a moderate amount of spice.
“What should I do… I’m sure this pasta tastes good but my tongue is completely numb from the spice. I can’t feel anything at all….”
The spice completely decimated my taste bud. I couldn’t taste anything…. I knew this pasta was moderately spicy compared to the first one Chris-san gave to me but I still couldn’t taste it at all. The fact that Chris-san even mentioned this one was moderately spicy meant that his plate was very spicy in comparison. Even though Chris-san was kind enough to recommend it to me because I said I wanted something spicy….
“I heard spicy food can be evened out with sour food. Would you like me to order something sour?”
“Please…”
I nodded my head at Fer-san and he ordered lemon sorbet for me. After eating the lemon sorbet, I somehow managed to revive my decimated tongue back. And so, the four of us enjoyed a delicious meal together before returning to the mansion.
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
“Today too…?”
“Why of course! I’ve come with all kinds of hairstyles that would suit Ren-sama so please leave yourself in my hand while you stay here!”
“Haah…. I’ll be in your care then…”
This morning, I washed my face early in the morning and when I returned, Corey-san was already waiting for me with a brush in her hand and some hair ornaments in her other hand.
I guess at this point I should just give up and let her do her thing…
“Oh, before we get to my hair, let me change my clothes first.”
“Please wait a moment! Come this way, please.”
“Huh…. This is….?”
“Yes. We’ve prepared something that we believe will suit Ren-sama very much.”
As I was about to let myself in her expert care today, I remembered I should’ve changed my clothes first. I was heading for my magic bag that I had put beside my bed when Corey-san stopped me and handed me a nicely folded piece of clothes.
“Whoa… Thank you very much. I will try it on right away.”
“Yes. Well then, I will turn my back now…”
I already told Corey-san I wouldn’t be needing help in changing my clothes so I was glad she chose to respect my wish by turning her back to me as I changed. I walked to my bed, put the folded clothes on the bed before I took off my nightclothes. Then I started taking the neatly folded clothes from the top pile. The bottom was light blue denim jeans with 7/10 length. It was a simple pair of pants so I was able to put them on relatively fast. Up next, the top….
Erm…..
“Excuse me…. I’ve put it on but…”
“My! I knew it would look good on you! Please sit down here so I can do your hair.”
“Doesn’t the clothes look a bit too cute for me….? Does it really suit me?”
“Why of course! We knew lovely clothes would look good on Ren-sama!”
“Haah…. I see…”
I told Corey-san that I had already finished putting the clothes on and she immediately turned her face to me and started praising me excitedly. Still keeping her buoyant energy, she then urged me to quickly sit on a chair in front of the mirror.
The top I was wearing was a white short-sleeved parka with a pale pink short sleeved v-neck shirt underneath. I was fine with the colour scheme and all but… On the ear part of the parka, there was a pair of rabbit ears.
I’m not putting the hoodie part up though!
The parka itself was on the longer side but what concerned me was this part on the bottom that looked suspiciously like a fluffy tail.
I mean, don’t you think this kind of clothes is too cute for me to wear? No matter how you stretch it by calling me cute, isn’t it still too much?
I voiced my concern to Corey-san but it seemed she already expected my response since she immediately clasped both of my hands and once again, assured me that this clothes looked good on me.
That’s right… In the first place, I’m not being recognized as an adult in this world after all. Maybe they think it is only natural to dress me up in cutesy clothes… Well… They’ve gone out of their way to prepare these clothes for me and I think a man wearing pink actually looks stylish too.
I thought to myself as I sat in front of the mirror, trying to escape from reality for a bit.
“Now then, if you will allow me!”
“…. Yes.”
Corey-san looked like she was having fun as she combed my hair instead of curling it like yesterday. Her hands wouldn’t stop moving even for a second. She expertly braided the hair above my ears and pulled it back, gathering two braids in the middle. The braids were weaved around a red ribbon that reminded me of an alice headband. She let the rest of my shoulder-length hair to flow freely.
This ribbon but with a small braid.
This…. Don’t I look perfectly like a girl? But… If I tell Corey-san to change my hairstyle at this point, I doubt she will listen to me…
“And we’re finished! Today’s theme is 『Since we can see his collarbone today, let’s hide his nape instead!』.”
“What kind of theme is that….”
I don’t know what to say now because of how you proudly declared that theme without any ounce of hesitation! Well the low cut v-neck does expose my collarbone a little bit but I’m a man! I don’t think a guy needs to worry about having his collarbone exposed, right?
“To be honest, I really want to put some makeup on you but I know Ren-sama will definitely refuse it. Now then, shall we head to the dining room for breakfast?”
“Please spare me from makeup….”
Corey-san said she wanted to put on makeup on me but I vehemently refused and I stood firm on my decision on this matter. She then escorted me to the dining room and there, we saw the three of them were already waiting for me. Of course upon seeing my whole getup today, they all praised me excitedly.
I feel complicated now… I don’t know if I should be happy or not about all of these….
ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー
T/N: I guess alice headband is basically all headband that resembles alice in wonderland. The basic one.
