Outing with Al-sama
““Al-sama, which way should we go?””
“Haa!?”
We’d suddenly decided to leave town, but since it was all so spur-of-the-moment, we hadn’t actually decided on a destination yet.
“You came out here all eager, and you don’t even have a destination in mind?”
““Yup!””
In response to Al-sama’s exasperation, Allen and Elena just beamed brightly and nodded.
““What should we do, huh~””
“It’s just a day trip, isn’t it? Then the mountains are a bit too far… how about that forest over there?”
““That sounds good~ —Al-sama, is that okay?””
“… Yeah, I don’t mind.”
Thanks to Kaiser’s suggestion, our destination was settled and we started walking toward the forest.
And almost immediately after—
““Ah!””
Allen and Elena spotted something and dashed off.
“Hmm, herbs or monsters… which is it?”
“There’s no monster presence, so I believe it’s herbs.”
“… Wait, Takumi, Kaiser, are you two really that carefree about this?”
“Well… no need to rush, you know~”
“Easier said than done—”
Even though Al-sama had been with us in a dungeon before, he still wasn’t used to how the kids acted.
““There were lots of them~””
Before long, Allen and Elena came running back, cheerful as ever, as if Al-sama’s worries didn’t matter at all.
“Haa!?”
“……”
And they brought along about six Pastel Rabbits.
Al-sama let out a cry of shock, while Najack-san was struck speechless.
“So it was monsters, huh~ Their presence is so faint I couldn’t detect them.”
“Hahaha~”
Even a Leviathan couldn’t sense them, so how were Allen and Elena able to? As always, it was a mystery.
“Al-sama, about the plan to keep Pastel Rabbits at the castle—would it be okay if their numbers increase?”
“… Huh? No, it’s not a problem if they increase, but… they’ll increase?”
I figured adding more to the Pastel Rabbit petting area would be good, so I brought it up. But Al-sama only looked puzzled.
““They’re right here, you know?””
“Yes, but… these ones?”
““Is that bad?””
“It’s not bad, but won’t these Pastel Rabbits dislike it? And anyway, untamed ones would normally just run off, wouldn’t they?”
“They won’t run~”
“See, they’re not running, right?”
“Haa!?… They really aren’t. Wait, why!?”
Pointed out by Allen and Elena, Al-sama observed them closely and was dumbfounded. Normally, Pastel Rabbits took time to warm up to people, but these were already tame.
One of the six even rubbed against Al-sama’s leg, as if asking to be petted.
““Al-sama, hold it, hold it!””
“Eh?”
““Come on, Naja Nii too!””
“Me as well?”
Allen and Elena forcefully made Al-sama and Najack-san hold the Pastel Rabbits.
With three each in their arms, both looked a little lost on what to do.
“It’s fine, isn’t it? We’ve never seen a Pastel Rabbit run away and hide.”
“No, that’s not normal!”
“Well, even if you say that…”
Even if asked why this happened, I really had no answer~
“By the way, did you let Najack-san know about Kaiser and all the other stuff?”
Since I couldn’t explain the rabbit situation, I cut that topic short.
And then I remembered I hadn’t checked if there were any secrets I shouldn’t mention in front of him.
“To Najack-san? I’ve told him most of it.”
“Most? So there are things you’ve kept secret?”
“No, Najack-san is my guard, and he’s tied to the Ruven family too, so I was told I could share everything. It’s just, about you, Takumi… there’s so much that I may have forgotten a few things.”
“……”
Is there even that much information to forget?
… Surely not that much.
“So basically, no restrictions?”
“Yeah, you can think of it that way.”
I’d always thought it, but really, Najack-san was someone the royals trusted a lot.
““Ah!””
““!””
As I was thinking about him, Allen and Elena cried out again and ran off.
That made Al-sama and Najack-san both flinch.
“Hmm, looks like herbs this time.”
“Allen, Elena, what did you find?”
““We found Iceblossom!””
“Nonono, that can’t be right! Iceblossom doesn’t grow until it gets colder! Even I know that much!”
With “ice” in its name, Iceblossom’s growing season was obvious even without much herb knowledge. No wonder Al-sama recognized it.
“Well, it just reaches its peak in winter. Doesn’t mean it can’t grow now.”
“Even if it does, you don’t just stumble across it that easily!”
“Then I guess we were lucky.”
“… Luck, huh. So this is that ‘remarkable good fortune’ people keep saying you lot have.”
Al-sama seemed to convince himself, but sagged in defeat.
We hadn’t even been gone from town that long, and we weren’t even in the forest yet… but he already looked exhausted.
“Al-sama, you okay?”
“Now that I think of it, when I went into the dungeon with you before, it was like this too.”
“Was it?”
“It was!”
Hmm, the dungeon trip, huh. As I recall… that was when we stumbled on the back route.
““Al-sama, do you want the Iceblossom?””
“Hm?”
“Last year… I think? The castle was short on them, so Felix-sama bought them from us. So if you need them again, we can sell them.”
Allen and Elena’s words weren’t clear enough, so I hurried to explain.
“Ah, I see. I don’t know about the current stock, so let me check after we return, then give you an answer?”
““Yeah, that’s fine~””
“Still, since it’s before their season, they’re probably short again. So most likely we’ll want to buy them. It’d help if you don’t sell them elsewhere.”
““Got it~—Here you go, Oniichan.””
Allen and Elena handed the Iceblossom to me while agreeing with Al-sama.
So, as usual, the stock management and selling was my job.
““Ah!””
“What is it this time!?”
““Lily Grass~””
“Good, that’s a common herb!”
Now Al-sama was extra jumpy every time they cried “Ah!”
““And also~””
“Also!?”
““Lightgrass!””
“Lightgrass? Never heard of that! Takumi, tell me that’s a common herb!?”
“……”
I couldn’t bring myself to say Lightgrass is actually fairly rare.
So I just averted my eyes from Al-sama.
What do you think about this chapter?
