Side: Labiris

The second day of the Festival.

This is a story about when we all met up and went out to eat.

"Nu, where are we going?"

Deriyu seems hungry and a little impatient. The way she speaks makes it obvious.

Also, she suddenly jumped on Yuki a while ago. I wonder what happened?

His younger brother, Raie-san, along with Anna-san and Lily-san, are all looking at Deriyu with awkward smiles. It must’ve been something funny. I'll ask about it later—I'll get revenge for what happened the other day.

"We're almost there." (Yuki)

In the end, about half of the usual members happened to be together, chatting about what everyone did today.

"Milly, weren't you at work?"

"About that, Ellis, listen to this—everyone's so kind! Actually..."

"Oh, how enviable! Meanwhile, I've been pushing all my work onto my subordinates."

"Eh? Are you in a bad mood?"

"No, I'm just a bit irritated. And maybe jealous that you got to be with Yuki-san since morning."

"You are in a bad mood!"

Just as Milly said, Ellis does seem a little upset.

But we can't say much either—we've also been with Yuki since morning.

"Huh? This area is the edge of the commercial district, right? Was there anything around here, Tori?"

"Hmm, according to the map, there are only rented residences for people running businesses in the commercial district. Normally they'd go back to their homes in the residential area, but since it's late, they can't use [Transfer] warp, right?"

"Right. These are rental houses, so were there any store applications here?"

The two—both knowledgeable about Weed's geography and security—tilt their heads curiously.

Ara~ara, so Tori and Riel didn't know about that place. Fufufu, I'm looking forward to this.

"By the way, it just occurred to me, the [Transfer] has a time restriction, but what do you do if, for example, someone gets injured?"

Lulua asks the question with concern. As someone who works at the hospital, it's only natural.

"That's not a problem. There are guard monster soldiers at the teleportation warps, so they can either teleport the person directly to a hospital or handle it on the spot with a healing magic soldier. (Riel)

"The [Emergency Transfer Warp] hasn't been used at all though, has it? Did you forget about it, Lulua?" (Tori)

"Ahh, now that you mention it, yes. I forgot since I've never had to use it. Thankfully, no one's been seriously hurt lately."

Speaking of which, Yuki made that warp system for emergency hospital transfers.

However, for the past six months, no one has suffered any major injuries. Even blacksmiths rarely need it, since each smithy has its own healer.

"Fumu fumu, so Labiris knows this area too."

"You too, Lutz?"

"The commercial district is my garden, after all. I know every shop here."

"As for me, I heard it from Yuki."

"I see. Then it's no surprise you'd know."

Of course, Yuki knows this place—because he's the General of the shop we're heading to.

It's a place that sells all kinds of festival foods—takoyaki, taiyaki, yakisoba, cotton candy, ramen, and more. It's well-known among those familiar with the area.

"We're here." I gently turn Yuki's head toward the group.

I'll leave the introduction to him.

"Is this the place?"

"Etto... it's a slightly large detached house, isn't it?"

That's right. At first glance, it looks like just a large house—so ordinary that people usually walk past it without noticing.

"Ohh, General Yuki—Representative Lutz and Labiris-sama are here as well, eh?"

The entrance curtain suddenly parts, and an old man appears.

"Yo. It's the festival today, so we came to eat."

"Heee... wait a sec—now that I look closely, aren't almost all of you Representatives!?"

"Don't worry about it. Most of them are commoners—and also my wives. Some of them happen to be princesses, though."

"No, no—even if you say that so casually... You're the only person I know with multiple princesses as wives, you know..."

Yeah, I agree.

There's no one else like Yuki.

"Seraria, Lulua, Shera—any problems here?"

"None at all."

"I don't mind."

"Since it's Yuki-san's recommendation, I'm looking forward to it."

"W-Well then—welcome to the Experiment Hall."

As the old man says that, he lifts the curtain aside.

"Experiment Hall?"

Seraria tilts her head curiously.

"Just go in—you'll understand."

With that, Yuki takes Seraria's hand and walks inside. The rest of us follow.

"Welcome! There's a room in the back."

"Ou, we'll borrow it."

We enter a hall that looks like an inn's banquet room.

"Here's the menu, General."

"Ou, thanks."

Yuki hands out the menus to everyone.

Everyone opens them and starts reading.

"Umm, 'tonkotsu ramen'?"

"...Inari sushi speciaru?"

"Yakisoba?"

"Takoyaki?"

Leaving aside the one who pronounced it strangely, this place is actually the source of the foods served at the festival.

"This is where we test out dishes. Since there's a festival now, I asked them to try these recipes. They can use them if they pay a small fee. It's not much, and it's profitable enough for festivals."

"Hee~ I didn't know that."

"I see. So that's why your ramen appeared at a food stall, Yuki-san." (Shera)

"I'm busy, after all. Aside from the popular sushi, I don't have time to introduce smaller dishes, so I set up this shop to have clerks learn them. I hand over the recipes and let them test them here. If they turn out well, they're added to the Experiment Hall menu and sold. Of course, you can also eat them here."

So that's how it works.

Yuki teaches cooking here and spreads it to the public.

It's also to test whether the food suits Weed's local tastes—hence the name Experiment Hall.

"As expected from Yuki-san. But there are so many dishes, I don't know what to pick." 

"I agree. I don't really recognize the names of these dishes." (Kirue)

"Let's see. Let me take care of this—drinkers, raise your hands." (Yuki)

"""Here~!"""

More than half raise their hands. Well, there are a few kids too.

"Then yakitori and alc♦hol drinks are the classics—Excuse me, I'll order."

He orders various kinds of yakitori and drinks.

"And... oh right. Ooyasan, we have kids here too."

"There are? It's not finished yet, but perfect timing."

After ordering, we wait.

"Um, it's still too early for us to drink, right?"

"Shera-chan, we're not children desu!!"

"We're Nii-sama's wives nanodesu!!"

"Asurin-sama, Filia-sama, please calm down. I know you're ladies, but when you drink alc♦hol, your actions become... less ladylike. Therefore—" 

Kirue tries to persuade them while Yuki explains to Shera:

"Right. That's why I asked for a few prototype dishes. If you don't like them, just say so—they're still in testing."

"Okay. But I doubt Yuki-san would recommend something bad." (Shera)

"Still, don't force yourselves, okay?"

While chatting, a delicious aroma fills the air.

"General, thank you for waiting. Yakitori, beer, and omelet rice. Each has a different sauce—please let us know what you think."

The old man sets down several plates—each omelet wrapped beautifully.

"Onii-chan, what's this?"

"Nii-sama, how do we eat this?"

"Um, Yuki-san, is this called omelet rice?" (Shera)

"This dish wraps seasoned rice inside an omelet, and you enjoy it with different sauces. I like this one. Asurin's is ketchup-style, Filia's has cream sauce, Shera's has lettuce, mine is beef stew, and the last one is curry."

"It's true! There's rice inside!"

"It's delicious, desu!!"

"It really is. It's so good."

Everyone happily eats their omelet rice.

Now, I should eat mine too. Which one should I try? The one with red sauce looks tasty...

"Is it good? I'm glad. Want to try mine?"

"Amu~ It's delicious, Onii-chan!!"

"Nii-sama, me too!! Me too!!"

"Um, Yuki-san, me too!!"

Ara~ara, they've turned into little chicks begging to be fed. I'll have him feed me later too.

Then, I scoop up a spoonful and eat without hesitation—

"—Ah, wait, Labiris!! That's—!!" 

Yuki tried to stop but it's too late. The omelet is already in my mouth—

"—!? Hot~~~~!!! Spicy~~~!!!?" 

Apparently, I ate the spicy one—made for people who like intense flavors—and it didn't suit my taste at all.

After that, I happily ate the others' omelet rice while being fed by Yuki like a little chick.

By the way, that spicy omelet rice became popular with Milly and Naruja, and it'll soon appear on the bar's menu.

I hate spicy food. But it was the first time I realized what I liked and didn't like.