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Volume 4 Snippet 3.3

Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes

「So today I ate with Mark and the others, but……」

「For some reason there were a bunch of octogals stalking us today.」

「And so we gave them a little too much food……」

　Surmising the situation that Avin and Mark discussed, Aearis grimaced. If those octogals of all things were the ones showing up here, they had to have taken a ton of food.

「So what will you be having？」

「Yeah…Just regular cup noodles is fine.」

「And I guess I’ll…go with soba today.」

「Very well. Please wait inside. And what about you, Sister？」

「Right. I felt a bit under the weather this evening and couldn’t eat, so maybe something on the light side.」

　Nodding at Elena, Aearis proceeded to prepare each of their requests.

「It’s kinda weird how we’re all bonding together in this unusual situation……」

「Yeah, all we need is Mother to be here and we’ll have the whole royal family, minus the babies.」

「Although you must admit that it’s a crazy sight with the family gathered in the priestess princess’s room eating instant ramen. And if this was winter we’d be wearing padded kimonos, in all probability.」

　Picturing Elena’s image in his head, the king had a really weird look on his face. Not to be arrogant, but he couldn’t help but find that strange.

　The whole reason Aearis had changed the corner of her room to wooden flooring and put down carpet was to place a kotatsu. She also wanted to put down tatami, but that would have taken longer and she decided instead to turn it into a space for discarding shoes and reclining.

「Thank you for waiting.」

「Thanks.」

「Appreciate it.」

　Taking the cup noodles and cup soba Aearis handed them, Avin and Mark gratefully slurped down. Bean sprouts were added in extra for the soba, but nothing in particular for the cup noodles. There was already a wide variety of ingredients added in, so Avin didn’t really see the need.

「Sister, here you go.」

「Thank you.」

　Elena took her half-size pioneer bird soup, giving thanks. There was also a mug cup with miso in it.

「If this room had a kitchen, I would be able to make some simple meals for everyone……」

「No, come on, that’s no job for a priestess or a princess.」

「Oh? But I always cook in the temple.」

　Now all the royals gathered here grimaced at Aearis. Doubtless, when everything went to shambles, Aearis would be the most dependable candidate, having been the youngest child until recent times.

「So what about you, Aearis? Gonna eat anything？」

「No, I already had plenty today.」

　Aearis said, slurping the miso (in place of tea). This was simply miso, no dashi or anything mixed in, so it was accurate to say she was drinking the stuff. Based on the time, she had assumed eating any more than this was a bad idea. The temple didn’t put much salt on their food and the training was mostly manual labor, so drinking a cup of this extra, plain miso wouldn’t be a problem.

　Then again, this miso Hiroshi was selling to Aearis was low on salt, so there was even less in there than she assumed.

「So Elena, how has your health been as of late？」

「Not good, not bad, I suppose. I have some muscle and weight coming back, but sometimes I let my guard down and eating becomes a hassle.」

　Avin and Elena moved their discussion to the family, talking about things like health and recent events as they skillfully moved their chopsticks to eat the noodles. Occasionally the king, Layotte, or even Mark would chime in. Considering they all used chopsticks better than most Japanese people, this was truly an unusual sight.

「……Oh？」

　Even after they were done eating, the chit-chat continued amongst the family, and then there was another visitor at the door.

「Your Highness, I would think it quite unfair for you to just monopolize all the children！」

「Yeah, what she said. And even without that, Elizabeth-sama is busy taking care of her twins and has little time to connect with family！」

「Please, grant us an equal opportunity！」

　As expected, King Regnas’s three wives had arrived. Apparently, they had caught wind of this from the octogals when they played with the twins. These creatures were seriously not to be underestimated.

「Aearis, might I also have some miso soup?」

「Yes, Mother.」

「Aearis-san, might I have the same?」

「Me too.」

「Of course you may.」

　Responding to the requests of the wives, Aearis presented them with plain miso cups in place of tea.

「This fragrance, this flavor, it’s just so refreshing……」

「Your Highness, I do think that all the residents of this country ought to drink more miso.」

「While there is currently an issue with the amount of miso produced, we simply cannot keep all this to ourselves.」

　The king just nodded with a grimace on his face, noticing how charmed the wives were by the miso soup. Even without their saying so, the king was indeed promoting an increase in miso, soy sauce, and soybeans (which were the raw materials used to make the two others), with Azuma Workshop assisting and giving him the know-how. Still, it took half a year to make these things without quickened fermentation, and even though there were a few shops in the business, these were either people who began making the sauces early on due to Hiroshi or because they got the stock cheap from the forest giants.

　While this quick pace brought on an increase in miso and soy sauce storages, many of them were rotten failures, and it would be several years, or maybe even ten years before commoners could begin using them as regular condiments.

　Rice was no different, and the demand far outstripped the supply. There were also other products that Wulls simply relied on Ortem for. Thanks to that, the village was greatly busy figuring out how to greatly increase the year’s amount of planting, with a fraction of the elves and goblins taking the lead, still quite busy. 

「Elizabeth, how are Redrick and Elize doing？」

「They are growing quite rapidly and healthily. The octogals play with them a lot too.」

「Mother. I have some qualms with allowing those creatures to babysit……」

「No, it’s an unwritten rule that you get all the help you can in raising children. Layotte, once you became a parent, you will also come to understand this.」

　Queen Elizabeth declared confidently. The other two concubines nodded in agreement.

「Elena. There will also no doubt be a time in which you bear children. When that time comes, whether it be us three or the octogals, don’t hold back and try to rely more on others.」

　Elena nodded meekly at her mother’s words. These sorts of family gatherings would continue with frequency even after Avin entered the family and Elena married off elsewhere until Layotte accessioned to the throne.