Category: Isekai Nonbiri Sanpo Tabi

Just as I was thinking it was about time to start preparing lunch, a beastman approached me carrying a large iron plate.

“Hey kid, is this the kind of griddle you need to make those ‘takoyaki’ things?”

“Amazing… you actually made a takoyaki griddle. In a single day, no less.”

“Hahaha! Something like this is child’s play for us.”

Looking at the takoyaki griddle capable of cooking twenty pieces at once, I could practically feel the beastmen’s overwhelming determination to eat takoyaki.

So, I left the grilled meat to Toria-san and had Ao handle the okonomiyaki-like dish while I focused on making takoyaki.

Besides octopus, I also used meat and cheese for the fillings, and for the sauce, I decided to substitute yakisoba sauce. Using replacement ingredients, it looked like I could somehow pull it off. As I kept turning out batch after batch of takoyaki, Kent-chan watched my cooking with sparkling curiosity written all over his face.

“Round! Round!”

“That’s right. You eat them once they turn nice and round like this.”

“Round bake!”

The first serving was ready in no time, so I prepared plates for the former lord, Emilia-sama, and Kent-chan.

“Here, be careful. They’re hot.”

“Yaaay!”

Kent-chan eagerly stabbed a takoyaki with his fork, just about to claim the honor of being the very first to taste one—

—and then it happened.

Snatch. Chomp.

“Mm. This is excellent. I like how easy it is to eat.”

“Ahhh! My round snack!”

To everyone’s disbelief, the Margrave had casually plucked one away from the side and eaten it himself. No matter how hungry he was, that was crossing the line. Poor Kent-chan, who had been so excited to get the very first bite, immediately drooped in disappointment.

“My dear, how could you do such a thing?!”

“You’ve always been gluttonous, but this is where you should’ve yielded to your son!”

“My, my… Young Master truly hasn’t changed at all.”

“A-Awaaaah…”

The members of the Margrave’s household had entered full outrage mode and dragged the Margrave away somewhere. Everyone watching could only wear expressions that said, Well, what did you expect?

With the troublemaker now gone, Kent-chan’s tasting session could finally begin properly.

Thanks to all the commotion, the takoyaki-like snacks had cooled down to the perfect temperature as well.

Munch.

“So yummy!”

“I’m glad you like it. Make sure to eat slowly, alright?”

“Okay!”

Kent-chan grinned from ear to ear as he happily devoured one takoyaki after another. Watching over him, Sue and the others smiled warmly while wiping the sauce from around his mouth.

“Mmm, this is pretty fun. You don’t know what’s inside until you bite into it.”

“They’re all round, so ‘Round Cakes’ huh? I kinda get what Kent-sama was trying to say now.”

And just like that, the takoyaki snacks gradually became known as Round Cakes, little treats where discovering the filling inside was part of the fun. Well, it was an easy name to remember, and the roulette-like surprise element probably made them entertaining too.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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The next day, Maria-san and the Margrave accompanied us to the construction site as well.

“Ehehe!”

“My, my. Kent-sama is clingy as ever, isn’t he?”

Incidentally, Kent was beaming from ear to ear while being carried in Maria-san’s arms. The reason, once again, was that Kent’s uncanny danger-avoidance instincts had come into play.

“My dear, today you are not to run off on your own. Stay beside Father and me at all times.”

“It seems I still need to teach you what it means to be a proper Margrave.”

“Yes…”

That was because the Margrave had found himself trapped between Emilia-sama and the former Margrave first thing in the morning, enduring an impromptu lecture. The Margrave was incredibly intelligent and possessed a wealth of knowledge, so I really wished he would show at least a little more restraint in his behavior.

“Hahaha, the lord never changes.”

“Think his wife’s gonna chew him out again this time?”

“More importantly, those bruises are definitely from punishment.”

The townspeople hardly paid any attention to the sight of the Margrave being scolded. And as far as the townsfolk were concerned, Maria-san was already treated as the former lord’s wife, so they immediately guessed that the Margrave had gotten himself reprimanded by her again.

With that, we arrived at the plaza and began working, dividing up our roles just like yesterday.

After preparing the ingredients for lunch, I went to help Ao.

“Shun-sama, I shall assist you again today.”

I was truly grateful that Toria is helping again today.

Come to think of it, the Margrave and Toria were siblings, yet their personalities couldn’t have been more different.

With that thought in mind, I finished the food preparations and moved on to helping Ao.

“Wow! It’s so beautiful.”

“If we mix in artificial flowers too, it’ll look almost real.”

We planned to use real flowers on the stage, but we also decided to add artificial ones to make everything feel even more vibrant and extravagant. We combined and stitched fabrics together in intricate ways, and Ao skillfully used her tentacles to craft the artificial flowers with remarkable precision.

Meanwhile, Toria-san carried the completed flowers over to the craftsmen. Aside from that, Ao and I also worked on making various props for the stage performance.

“Uuh.. I’m starving…”

“My dear, it’s still far too early for lunch.”

“Ow, ow, ow! Don’t pull my tail!”

Yeah… a full-blown married couple comedy routine was unfolding right in front of me, but I decided not to pay it any mind. In fact, there were still two whole hours before lunch, so even I thought it was too early to start preparing the meal.

For now, the Margrave would just have to endure it.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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And the moment the church representatives saw the goddess statue that Ao and I had made, they suddenly dropped to their knees and began praying.

“Oh my goodness! To encounter such a magnificent statue of the Goddess…”

“It perfectly embodies the gentle grace of the Goddess.”

“It feels as though we are standing before the Goddess herself…”

The clergy were offering prayers while tearing up with emotion.

Oh, seeing him so moved made both Ao and me a little embarrassed.

“Uhm, Father, we would like to donate this goddess statue to the town church after the harvest festival. Would that be acceptable?”

“It would be our highest honor. To be able to enshrine such a divine statue… it would be a great pride for our church.”

The priest, still unable to stop his tears, nodded vigorously at Emilia-sama’s suggestion.

Hehe… actually, this isn’t the end.

Ao and I went on to carve a slightly smaller angel statue beside the goddess. We put a bit of extra effort into it, wishing blessings upon those who would be getting married. Since the design was simple, it only took the two of us and Ao about thirty minutes to complete.

“Oh… this is also wonderful. It feels as though it is bestowing blessings upon those attending the weddings.”

The angel statue also received great praise, and we were told it would be displayed in a corner of the church as well. Then, a nun approached us somewhat hesitantly, looking apologetic.

“My Lord, Emilia-sama, we sincerely apologize, but would it be possible for you to create a smaller goddess statue as well? Actually, we’ve decided to rebuild the church, and we will need a new statue of the Goddess for it.”

“Yes, that much is fine. Since it’s a rare opportunity, let’s have them make something with real passion put into it.”

“Thank you very much. We will, of course, cover the costs.”

“We’ll sort out the details later.”

Hearing the conversation, both Ao and I felt our motivation rise.

We should make a goddess statue that will truly delight the townspeople. That said, the harvest festival preparations took priority for now, so we decided to make it after the festival ended. With today’s work safely completed, we began heading back to the mansion.

By the way, Kent-chan had slipped into an afternoon nap at some point, and was now sleeping soundly in a corner of the stall, watched over by the former Margrave.

“…Welcome back.”

“““…”””

At the entrance of the mansion, the exhausted Margrave greeted us weakly.

And behind him stood Su and the others—silently radiating an unmistakable atmosphere of “we have things to say, but we’re holding it in.”

When we returned to the mansion, the Margrave was there to greet us, except now he had a bruise on his face. Everyone except the former Margrave, Emilia-sama, and Kent-chan was left speechless.

“…I gave him a bit of a corrective lesson for his mischief. Thanks to that, all the paperwork is finally done.”

“Maria-san, thank you. You’ve truly been a great help.”

Emilia-sama and Maria-san spoke calmly, but it was clear now that the “corrective lesson” had been very real.

By the way, under the former Margrave’s orders, we were not allowed to use healing magic on him. Meaning, by tomorrow, those bruises would probably look even worse.

Well… that was definitely going to leave a mark—in more ways than one.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Sizzle… sizzle….

The okonomiyaki was coming along nicely as it browned on the griddle. The sauce was yakisoba sauce, but it still gave off an incredibly appetizing aroma. If we had mayonnaise, it would be perfect—but eggs are probably expensive in this world, I thought.

“Oniichan, is the yakisoba ready yet?”

“It smells so good!”

“I want to eat it!”

“Just a moment—I’ll cut it up now.”

Drawn in by the smell, Shiro and the others peeked over with sparkling eyes.

Since it was convenient, I served the okonomiyaki-style dish into the containers Ao had made.

“Be careful, it’s hot.”

“““Haaah, so yummy!”””

Shiro and the others were beaming as they happily devoured it. Nearby, Sue and the others were also casually enjoying it without hesitation. When a dish can make children smile like that, the adults aren’t going to stay quiet either. One after another, they came to receive portions of what I had cooked.

“Ooh, this is really good. The fluffy batter is packed with plenty of vegetables and meat.”

“If this were after work, I’d be washing this down with ale in one hand.”

“The meat’s great too. Honestly, with a dish like this, you could easily earn back what you spent working.”

It seems that in my past life, people from western regions often ate okonomiyaki as a snack alongside alcohol. Maybe people in this kingdom, especially those from the western areas, share the same kind of sensibility.

Either way, I was relieved that everything—including the meat—was a huge success.

“Shun, let’s add this flour-based dish to the stall menu.”

“It looks like it could be a main item. The prep doesn’t seem too difficult either.”

“Yummy!”

In addition to the former Margrave and Emilia-sama, even Kent-chan gave his full approval. Well, it is simple to prepare, so adding it to the menu shouldn’t be a problem.

And just like that, we finished lunch without issue.

“After this, I was thinking of helping Ao. Is that alright?”

“Yes, I will assist you.”

After finishing the post-meal cleanup, I decided to go help Ao.

The group in charge of the wedding preparations—mostly the women—were laughing and chatting excitedly, and the atmosphere around them was far too lively for me to casually step into.

I had dragged Toria-chan into my group as well, but in this case it was better to stay out of Sue and the others’ way.

“Just need to carve this part down, right?”

“Yes. Then I will clean up the wood shavings.”

Following Ao’s instructions, I began using wind magic to carve down the base section, while Toria-chan gathered and cleaned up the resulting scraps.

Yeah… it felt like I was properly doing adventurer work for the first time in a while, and it was honestly quite rewarding. It’s not that I dislike cooking—but in both the eastern and northern frontier territories, it had been nothing but cooking, cooking, and more cooking.

Just then, the cat beastman who had gone to the church arrived, leading three people toward us.

One man and two women.All of them were wearing church robes, so there was no doubt—they were affiliated with the church.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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Chop chop chop chop chop.

“Toria-chan, you’re really skilled with a knife.”

“Is that so? Thank you very much. My mother taught me everything I needed to know about attendant skills.”

Toria-chan’s knife skill is excellent—she sliced through meat and vegetables one after another with smooth precision. With Ao absent, she had become an unexpectedly valuable asset. Thanks to her help, all the preparation work for the staff meals was completed in no time. We stored the cut ingredients in an item box for theft prevention, finishing all preparations perfectly.

The imitation tandoori chicken was placed inside a cold-storage magic device and set aside where it wouldn’t be seen from the stall. It still needed time for the flavors to properly soak in. So for now, Toria-chan and I decided to go check on the wedding-related preparations out of curiosity.

“…Wow, it really looks like a goddess. What a magnificent wooden statue.”

What Ao had been working on after being called from the stall was a wooden statue of a goddess for the temporary altar—carved from a single thick tree trunk using wind magic.

Toria-chan looked completely entranced by the lifelike sculpture.

But thinking about it… me, Shiro, and Ao had actually met a real goddess before.

“This is the most impressive goddess statue I’ve ever seen. It would be a waste to only use it for the harvest festival.”

“Then let’s donate it to the town church. With a wooden statue this magnificent, I’m sure the clergy will be delighted.”

“It’s so pretty!”

Ao’s goddess statue received overwhelming praise from both the former Margrave and Emilia-sama. Kent-chan also raised his hands with a bright smile, clearly delighted.

“Could someone go to the church? We need to get permission right away.”

“Emilia-sama, I’ll go.”

“Thank you.”

A cat-beastman craftsman pounded his chest and dashed off.

With a statue like this, the church would surely be pleased.

Meanwhile, Ao—clearly not satisfied yet—continued adding finer carvings, steadily improving the statue’s detail further and further. At this rate, it might become one of the main highlights of the entire harvest festival.

“Looks like Sue and the others are still in their meetings. Then we should start grilling the meat soon.”

“Yes. I will assist you.”

I returned to the stall and began preparing lunch together with Toria-chan.

Mmm… the delicious smell was already starting to spread through the plaza.

“Today, let’s make okonomiyaki. We already have yakisoba, but this time we’ll go heavy on the cabbage and try topping it with yakisoba sauce as well.”

I decided to try another flour-based dish. With ingredients this good, even a small amount of effort turns into something delicious—that’s the best part.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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And just like that, everyone began moving according to their assigned roles.

Sue and the Shiro’s group followed the staff in charge of the wedding preparations and began their meetings. The former Margrave, Emilia-sama, and Kent-chan started discussing something with the site supervisor.

“Alright! This year we’ve got that kid here, so let’s make the stall twice as big as usual!”

“Indeed. It may as well be twice the standard size.”

“Um… you don’t have to push yourselves that hard, you know…”

“Shun-sama, that much would still be no problem for you.”

“Toria-chan too… what are you saying…”

As for me, I was setting up the Margrave household’s stall with Ao, but the craftsmen and Toria-chan were so enthusiastic that the structure had grown into something absurdly large.

Honestly… this stall might even be bigger than the one in the northern frontier territory.

The craftsmen were clearly used to construction work, and before long, the stall was completed at astonishing speed.

Then it was time for a test run, so we started grilling meat and yakisoba.

Sizzle… sizzle…

“Wow, amazing!”

“That’s incredible!”

“As expected of the Champion Slime!”

As for Ao, she’s using wind magic to skillfully process leftover wood into dozens of forks, spoons, and knives. The craftsmen and Toria-chan were completely thrilled, watching its control of magic with sparkling eyes.

Even more astonishingly, the wooden spoons were sturdy enough to cut through grilled meat.

By the way, Ao had somehow already started being called ‘Champion’. Well, it was true that it had won the martial arts tournament, and in the Western Margravate, even slimes were respected if they were strong.

“Alright, the test batch of grilled meat and yakisoba is ready. Ao, make the wooden containers.”

At my call, Ao gave a wave of its tentacles in acknowledgment and began carving wood into slightly larger containers—perfect for serving takoyaki-style portions. We then piled the grilled meat and yakisoba into them and handed them over to the craftsmen for tasting.

“Wow, this is really good. Even though it’s simple, it tastes different from our usual grilled meat.”

“The yakisoba is amazing too! As expected of the Lightning Chef.”

“Shun-sama, this is incredible! It’s delicious! Please give me seconds!”

The craftsmen were extremely pleased with everything we had made, which made me feel a little relieved. Toria-chan was also very satisfied with the food, casually asking Ao for seconds without hesitation.

Alright then, next, we should prepare the imitation tandoori chicken we made earlier. If we cook it now, it should be perfectly ready by lunchtime.

Just then, Shiro came over to me.

“Shun-oniichan, we’re borrowing Ao, okay? They said they need help building the altar.”

“Then I will assist with the cooking instead.”

Ao was also skilled in woodwork, so it would definitely be useful for altar construction.I resumed food prep together with Toria-chan.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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“I suppose it would be unreasonable to leave everything entirely to Shun, so I’ll at least listen to your requests.”

Emilia-sama added a bit of reassurance, but I was still feeling completely deflated.

Then, for some reason, Shiro raised her hand energetically.

“I want takoyaki!”

“““Takoyaki?”””

Ah… right. Along the way, at the coastal barony, I did say I’d make takoyaki.

But with just Shiro’s explanation, no one here would understand it.

So I somehow forced myself to recover and started explaining properly.

“Takoyaki is more like the name of the dish. You cook a batter-based food on a special iron griddle. The griddle has small round indentations—about the size of two or three fingers. You pour the batter in, then use a pick or something similar to rotate it continuously, shaping it into a sphere as it cooks. Inside, you can put meat, seafood… or even cheese if you like.”

“Hmm… so the key is the iron plate with round indentations, I see.”

As I explained, the former Margrave and the craftsmen gathered around, nodding with interest.

“Hmmm…”

“Alright. Can you guys make a griddle like that?”

“This much is easy. We can process just about anything, after all.”

The craftsmen responded immediately to the former Margrave’s prompt.

Sigh. This is definitely turning into I’m going to have to make takoyaki for real, isn’t it?

Just as I was thinking that, Shiro added something unnecessary again.

“It’s served on little wooden boats!”

“A wooden boat? Shun, what does she mean?”

“Well… you take thin wood shavings, cut and interlock them at the edges to form a simple container. Takoyaki is often sold in those.”

“Hmm… I see. Hey, bring me some slightly thicker planed wood.”

At the former Margrave’s order, they quickly brought over appropriately shaved wood materials. Using them, they began forming simple containers. And then—the atmosphere around us changed.

“That’s actually quite good. We’d need purification with basic cleansing magic, but there’s no need to carve out proper wooden bowls.”

“As long as you have people who can use basic life magic, the quantity won’t be an issue. And since it isn’t for soups, it can be reused for other things as well. If it gets dirty, just discard it—easy disposal too.”

The craftsmen and attendants nodded, clearly impressed.

Somehow, something that started as “Shiro wants takoyaki” is now turning into a full-scale production plan for festival food stalls. It seemed that Emilia-sama and the former Margrave were giving surprisingly high praise, but in truth, the point they were most impressed with was probably the idea of disposable containers.

“Shun-sama, that’ amazing! To think you could come up with something like that!”

“Wow!”

And for some reason, Toria-chan’s evaluation of me had skyrocketed. She clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling with admiration.

…But really, it was just me applying knowledge from my previous life.

Kent-chan, on the other hand, didn’t seem to understand what was going on at all. He was just copying everyone else’s reactions, thinking it must be impressive because the adults said so.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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We set off from the mansion and made our way toward the plaza on foot, everyone walking together.

“Yaaay, I’m with Oneechan!”

“Yes, I’m very happy to be with Kent-sama as well.”

Kent-chan was walking hand in hand with Toria-chan, both of them smiling brightly. As for Toria-chan, even though she carried the blood of the Margrave household, she never stepped outside her position as an attendant.

That was likely heavily influenced by her mother, Maria-san.

“She’s smiling more now. I suppose Maria-san recovering has something to do with it.”

“Indeed. Maria was on long-term medical leave due to a chest illness. Toria must have been relieved.”

From what I heard, Maria-san had been suffering from a chest-related illness and had been in treatment for about a year. The former Margrave had been deeply worried as well, occasionally visiting her to check on her condition.

“Oh, isn’t that the former Margrave? With your daughter and grandchild today?”

“She really does look like her mother—what a beautiful girl. Completely different from that rowdy son of yours.”

“Hah, well, that’s because Emilia-sama keeps him on a tight leash.”

“Can’t argue with that. As long as Emilia-sama is around, the Margrave household is safe.”

It seemed the townspeople were well aware of Maria-san and Toria-chan’s circumstances.

The things they casually said to them were honestly quite outrageous—but since neither of them seemed to mind, neither Sue nor I said anything either.

And just like that, we arrived at the plaza without incident.

“Wow, it’s as big as a martial arts tournament venue!”

“There’s even a stage.”

“Are they going to do something here?”

The plaza was already bustling with workers constructing something, and just like during the martial arts tournament, large spectator stands were being built all around. Amidst the activity, the person in charge of the site approached the former Margrave and Emilia-sama.

“Oh, good work. How’s the progress?”

“It is proceeding without issue Sir. We are about to begin setting up the temporary altar.”

“This year’s harvest has been excellent, so we must offer even more gratitude to the gods than usual.”

So the harvest festival really was just a week away, and preparations were going smoothly.

A “temporary altar”?  So maybe it’s used to report the harvest to the gods?

“You probably don’t know this, but weddings are held during the harvest festival. It’s said that love comes to fruition alongside the harvest—it’s a kind of good-luck tradition.”

“Oh, that sounds really lovely.”

A harvest festival wedding—honestly, it was quite an interesting tradition. Sue and the others, being girls around that age, had their eyes sparkling with excitement. Apparently, many ordinary townspeople would attend as well, all gathering to celebrate the bride and groom together.

It was easy to see how much everyone in the city looked forward to it.

“Sue and the Shiro-chan group, I’d like you to help with the behind-the-scenes work for the weddings during the harvest festival. It’ll be good practice for your own weddings in the future.”

“““Yes, please let us do it!”””

“““We’ll do our best!”””

Right. I remember even in my past life, weddings were often something handled by women. Sue and the others, as well as Shiro’s group, were completely fired up by Emilia-sama’s request.

I guess marriage really is something many women dream about.

Wait. What exactly am I supposed to be doing?

“Shun, you’ll be helping with the Margrave household’s food stalls. Toria will be assisting you. You’ve run stalls in many regions, and above all, you’re known as the ‘Lightning Chef’ you see.”

“Eh?”

“Shun-sama, I will do my very best to assist you.”

“Hahaha. I’m counting on you, Shun.”

“Huh?”

Emilia-sama…. I was hoping to do something other than cooking…

But judging from her smiling face, Toria-chan’s eager expression, and the former Margrave looking on from the sidelines with arms crossed—there was no way I could break through that fortress.

“Ugh.”

Once again, I crumpled to the ground.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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The next morning, a woman and a young girl arrived at the Margrave’s mansion—both dressed in attendant uniforms. The woman was a stunning member of the angel tribe.

“Pleased to meet those I haven’t yet had the opportunity to greet. I am Maria, the chief attendant. I would like to sincerely thank you all for treating me.”

The angel woman who introduced herself to us was Maria.

Yes… as expected of the former Margrave’s so-called “mistress,” she’s breathtakingly beautiful. She’s tall, with short, neatly cut blonde hair, and a gentle, refined smile. And on top of that—her figure was nothing short of remarkable. It was hard to believe she was a mother of one.

“I am her daughter, Toria. I am grateful for your treatment of my mother.”

The girl introduced herself politely.

She’s apparently ten years old, a half-blood of the angel tribe and beastman. She had long blonde hair, with little dog ears that bounced slightly as she moved, angelic wings on her back, and even a tail. With all those traits combined, it would be immediately obvious who her parents were the moment anyone saw her. A rather… unmistakable lineage.

“Maria-san’s position is officially recognized by the Margrave household. Well, that’s regarding the former Margrave, not the current one, so there are no issues.”

Ah… Emilia-sama was smiling as she said that, but there was absolutely no way the current Margrave could ever get away with cheating.

“Now then, you will be continuing document work. We are heading to the festival site, so please take care of things here. Maria-san, I apologize, but I leave it to you.”

“Yes, leave it to me. If anything happens, may I handle it without restraint?”

“Yes. Please act without restraint.”

“Understood.”

“Eeeek…”

Maria-san casually produced a whip from somewhere and began to twirl it with a sharp whoosh sound. The Margrave’s reaction was so extreme that it was obvious—he must have been disciplined with that in the past when he caused trouble.

Emilia-sama and Maria-san were exchanging faintly dark smiles, but somehow, the Margrave household didn’t feel unstable. In fact, it was surprisingly… functional.

“Alright, let’s go. We’re heading to the plaza today, so we’ll walk together.”

““““Yaaay!””””

After finishing morning training and breakfast, the former Margrave stood up with a brisk motion. Apparently, he had gotten bored of riding in a carriage—because Shiro and the others, along with Kent-chan, raised both hands in excitement.

“Your Excellency, uhm… is it really alright not to assign any guards?”

“Ah, right. Then we’ll just have Shun and the others act as our escort.”

“Shun and his group are skilled adventurers. They’re stronger than most soldiers anyway.”

“Ooh! Then I’ll protect everyone!”

“Fran will do so too!”

“Horn will do her best.”

And just like that, for some reason, we ended up being assigned as escorts for the former Margrave, Emilia-sama, and Kent-chan.

Not just me—Sue and the others were also smiling wryly at the situation. Honestly, the two people in front of us were definitely stronger than us in the first place.

Still, that’s how it went.After that, we prepared and set out from the mansion.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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The tasting itself had finished in the morning, so in the afternoon I returned to helping sort the Margrave’s paperwork.

“Haaahhh…”

“Your Excellency, if you don’t push through here, Emilia-sama will ban you from dinner as well.”

“Right. I’ll do it.”

Sue and the others were gradually learning how to handle the Margrave.

The moment they brought up the existence of Emilia-sama—an absolute authority for him—and Kent-chan, he would instantly switch into a serious mode. And when he did, his abilities were genuinely impressive. Once in “serious mode,” he sorted through the documents at a frightening speed.

The real question was how long that mode would last.

Still, somehow, he managed to scrape through on both stamina and willpower, and before long, the massive pile of documents had been completely cleared away.

“Come to think of it… this is the first time I’ve ever seen this office clean.”

“It was usually buried under paperwork.”

“Haaahhh…”

At that point, the exhausted Margrave aside, Sue and I were looking around the now-clean office. With some free time between shifts watching over the Margrave, we had joined the butler and attendants in cleaning the room.

Thanks to that, the office had turned into a very pleasant, refreshing space.

Creak.

“Waaah—it’s so clean!”

“Hm. Not bad at all. Quite well done.”

As evening approached, Kent-chan and the former margrave came into the office after being out. Both of them seemed pleased by the neatly cleaned room—but they completely ignored the Margrave, who was now slumped over in a state of total exhaustion.

Rattle-rattle-rattle.

“Yes, yes, a clean room really does make things go smoother.”

And then—just like the day before—Emilia-sama entered the room, pushing a cart piled high with documents. That must be the results from today’s field work. It was almost the same amount as yesterday, but since we had also cleared the backlog from the previous day, tomorrow’s workload should finally be lighter.

At least, in theory.

“At any rate, the urgent documents are finished for now. So from tomorrow, instead of watching over the Margrave, Shun and the others will be going out with me on field inspections. A special attendant will handle the Margrave.”

“A special attendant? There’s someone like that?”

“Yes. He used to serve the former Margrave—she was, in a sense, like his mistress. She fell ill and was on medical leave for a while, but Horn-chan healed her. The townspeople are fully aware of the ‘mistress’ situation, so there’s no problem at all.”

So… a publicly accepted former Margrave’s mistress and attendant in service to the household huh.

If such a person exists, then they might actually be able to stop the Margrave when he goes off the rails.

“Oh! I know! She’s a really beautiful lady!”

“She’s said to be from the celestial tribe, just like Horn!”

“And she also had a child with the former Margrave!”

Hey, Horn just casually dropped a bombshell there. 

So it wasn’t just a mistress situation—they even had a child?

“Hahaha. When my wife passed away, she helped support me through my grief. The child has no claim to succession of the Marquis household, but I have properly paid child support.”

“Oneechan is really beautiful!”

Laughing heartily, the former Margrave explained the circumstances, while Kent-chan proudly praised the attendant’s child. It was certainly a complicated family situation, but since all parties involved accepted it, it didn’t seem to be a problem at all.

“.…Haaah.”

In any case, someone please hurry up and bring the Margrave back already.

This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeneijiworks.com

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