h.e.l.lo
I am really sorry, I just got promoted, so the amount work i have to do increased and also business trips I have to take. please give me 2-3 months to adjust and reorganize myself, I will be back if someone does want to take over any of my projects, they are welcome to as I also know the frustation of waiting for updates.
Again really sorry, will be back anyone can take over and I also welcome you to do so, please just inform me on our discord.
"Oh, Underboss Jin, the meat has been roasted. Here you go."(Roderic)
"Thank you!"(Jin)
"Here you are, Consigliere Gray. We made sure to make this one perfectly!"(Sarane)
". . . Oh, thank you very much."(Gray)
The expressions of the two twins are bright as they hand the warbit meat to Jin and Gray. Jin, who is now called Underboss seemed to like it very much and happily eats the meat he receives. Gray, on the other hand, takes some time to reply. He cannot even put on his fake smile and twitches a little when they say something like that. You know you can refuse it, right? They will just come up with another name anyway, but it might be better. I watch the twins and Jin getting closer to each other while Gray looks off into the distance
It is currently lunch time, and we have secured a place by a river to sit down and eat. The twins, Gray, and Jin sit with each other beside the river and roast the warbit meat. Ballad, Leo, and I are about three meters from them and have started our own fire to make a soup with the warbit bones. I felt that it would be too awkward for Gray to have me sit at the same fire, so I followed Ballad"s advice and used the excuse of starting another fire because it would take too long if we divided one fire to simultaneously cook both parts of the meal.
Rodric and Sarane will not give up on the names they came up for Jin and Gray. Leo was about to beat them to a pulp because of this, but I somehow stopped him and went into negotiation talks with the seniors to somehow convince them to drop the nicknames. I could not get them to change their minds, but I had to do something . . . is what I thought, but Jin came up to us and said with bright eyes,
"I do not mind!"(Jin)
I started to think this would be a bad development when I saw the eyes of the twins shining. They looked at Gray and waited for his reply. Gray still had to act like a gentle and kind prince. Thus, he had to give in as well.
"I do not mind what you call me here, but please do not call me that way in public. It will ruin your reputation, thus, please be careful."(Gray)
As a result, those names became their t.i.tles when they are outside the public sphere with.
Their eyes shined, and their expressions became joyous. They gladly agreed with the terms Gray laid out, and they even said to him,
"We understand! We will call both of you His Highness and Master Jin in public, but in private, we will call you both Consigliere Gray and Underboss Jin!"(Rodric/Sarane)
They both unanimously and in unison said that long line to both Jin and Gray. Even though Gray"s face clearly expressed he did not want that to happen even in private, he got pushed into this when Jin agreed with their terms. The subordinate"s mistakes are for the boss to take responsibility for, thus, he is now being called Consigliere Gray.
He is getting pushed around . . . even though he is the next king of this country.
My chest hurts but for a completely different reason than the other time. This time, I think it is from keeping in my laughter from seeing Gray silently eat the meat while listening to the twins using that name. Ballad was going to be called something like that as well, but each time they tried, he would somehow appear in front of them with an expression that somehow terrified and stopped them. Now they have quieted down and are calling him normally like I do. I have a newfound respect for Ballad who can actually make those twins do something that neither I or the next king could do. I sit next to Leo while thinking how to pick up Ballad"s technique of rejecting them so strongly.
". . . Doyle, tell me they will be fine."(Leo)
". . . I believe that as long as they do not say it in public, they will be fine."(Doyle)
The twins seem to be having fun with Jin and Gray. Seeing them like that, Leo asks me if nothing will happen to them after this training camp is done. I can only reply as such since that is what Gray has agreed to. We both sit with bitter expressions. Leo in particular since they are his precious siblings*. But Leo, even if you ask me, there is nothing I can do at this point. Both Gray and Jin did not properly say no. Thus, if they abide by the terms Gray has given, Gray has to keep his side of the deal.
Not only did they heal the two lumps created by Leo-senpai in a flash using a self-made medicine, they were also talented enough to cure the meat of a freshly hunted warbit immediately and ready it for consumption. It is undoubtedly true, idiots and geniuses do walk a paper thin line.
Jin receives the roasted meat seasoned with that magical drug and immediately says,
"This is amazing! It is delicious!"(Jin)
Gray bites into the meat after Jin says, opens his eyes wide, and freezes for a second.
There will be a big incident if I tell Luce about this . . .
The seniors demonstrated this drug at the town before we left. When we saw the effect of the drug, we were all shocked. The meat we obtain from the demons or even from animals is usually hard and tastes quite awful. We would have to wait several days for it to soften up to be ready for consumption. Most people do not have this type of luxury when they are on the road or hunting. That is the reason most people who cannot use magic or subs.p.a.ce storage procure several days worth of food or rest at towns on the way. However, using Sarane"s [Fast Ripening Meat Drug], it will cause any meat to ripen in no time. The effect of the drug drastically increases the speed at which the ripening process occurs. I do not understand why she made such a thing in the first place, but it is an incredible invention.
We currently do have drugs and other methods to make food last longer, but for someone to think of the opposite is both surprising and innovative. The process of speeding up the ripening of materials is actually very useful for adventurers and surveyors of territories. Eating is something everyone needs to do, but having it also taste good is always a welcome trait .
Thinking of the uses of this drug . . . this would create enormous wealth for whoever was to sell this officially. To make such a groundbreaking item and having talent that backs it up, while also being able to keep developing new medicines worthy of praise from anyone . . . It is just that the people who made it have such bad personali- wait no. They are nice people, have a good head on their shoulders, and do know both common sense and courtesy . . . They just have the need to designate everyone in terms of family for some reason . I do not know why, but it is very strange.
"The world is full of wonder."(Doyle)
"So, you believe what I said about those two?"(Leo)
"Yes."(Doyle)
"Master Doyle! Here is the soup!"(Ballad)
"Thank you."(Doyle)
While thinking about the twins and talking with Leo about it, I have come to accept what he said before. I was going to talk about them a little bit more, but Ballad has finished the soup. thus, it is time to eat. He is waiting for my opinion with hopeful eyes. If I say it is bad, he will say that he must go on journey to study culinary arts from experts. Since I do not want this to happen here, I give him my honest opinion.
"It is delicious."(Doyle)
As I say that, he puts the soup in four more bowls and heads towards Gray and the others to deliver the soup. As I was follow Ballad with my eyes, they met with Jin"s and he notices me happily.
"Master Doyle, Leopardo! Please come over here, let us all talk together!"(Jin)
"Yes, Underboss Jin is right! Let us all eat together!"(Rodric/Sarane)
As I am about to put the soup in my mouth again, I hear shouts from Jin and the twins calling for us all to eat together.
". . . Well, what will you do?"(Leo)
"I have to accept, it would be weirder to refuse?"(Doyle)
While waiting for my judgement, Leo asks me about what I am going to do. I say I have to go and I get up.
Gray finally looks this way and turns his eyes towards this direction. It is quite awkward I have to say, but it cannot be avoided. I feel if I do not go at this moment, I will completely sever our connection as friends. I have to clear up whatever problem is causing trouble between us at this camp.
"Let"s go."(Doyle)
When I say that, Leo gets up, comes up to me, and puts his hand on my head. He ruffles my hair, pushes my head down a bit, and brings his head in close to mine.
"What are you doing!?"(Doyle)
". . . Don"t try to act so tough,"(Leo)
Leo says something in a whisper and heads towards the twins. He kicks Rodric and sits in between the twins. As I see Leo take a seat there, I wonder why he said that to me and slowly come to a stop.
. . . Has he been beside me this whole time for that reason?
Leo has been beside me and taking care of various things for me this whole time during the camp because he noticed my anxiety . . . I feel extreme embarra.s.sment from having noticed that just now. Leo is always being a big brother isn"t he. I feel a sort of sibling love that I feel I cannot repay.
Wait . . . was it obvious that I am having problems with Gray?
Ballad cooking at a separate fire with a bad excuse, and Jin who keeps bothering me to come over to his side were both done with a specific purpose in mind. Even the twins . . . Actually I do not know about that. Whether they are just going with the flow or have actually noticed it but that is besides the point. The possibility of everyone noticing it . . . How stupid am I for not noticing it? I recall this morning and Ballad"s words from the match and feel my embarra.s.sment increase even further.
It just become harder to go!
Blanc being extra close to me this morning and the expressions on Luce"s and Eleanor"s faces were all of because of this reason. I remember the words of Ballad after my match with Lute and feel even more embarra.s.sment than before. I feel like running away because of how confident I was in my acting.
I thought I pretended to be fine well, but I was horribly mistaken. Everyone noticed that I was in a terrible state. Even though I meant to do it as a way of making everyone not worry about me, I made them worry even more. Moreover, they just silently watched over me and protected me. That adds to that feeling of embarra.s.sment again.
I felt as though the only way to get rid of this feeling would be to scream at the top of my lungs, but if I did that right now, I would be labeled as a complete weirdo by everyone. Thus, I keep it in my thoughts. As I look at everyone while thinking about these things again, I see Gray staring at me.
He does not divert his gaze this time and keeps looking at me. He seems to have noticed my situation and grins at me.
"How long are you going to keep me waiting Doyle? Come on and sit down."(Gray)
With a grin he says that. I cannot say anything back to him. I finally notice that he seems to have been waiting for me to notice all the people who have been worrying about me . . . I really want to run away from this place now.