Chapter 165
Tea
Three days after the evening party in the castle . We were invited to the Risner mansion in the Capital .
“Tak.u.mi-kun, thank you for coming . ”
“Long time no see, Cedric-san . ”
“”h.e.l.lo~!””
“h.e.l.lo, Allen-kun, Elena-san . You seem to be doing well . ”
“”We are well~!””
Allen and Elena who greeted Cedric-san then proceeded to greet Theodore-kun and Latis-kun .
“Oh my my, did Allen-kun and Elena-san become a little more sociable?”
“It seems to be more towards other children, but they have been acting on their own more than ever before~”
“As I thought, a child’s growth period really is eye opening~”
“Yes, truly . ”
I constantly feel like that in regards to the children’s growth .
Right at this moment, Allen and Elena are happily talking with Theodore-kun and Latis-kun . Even though they were clinging to me the last time around~
“I see . Cedric-san, I believe that you already heard from Isaac-san, but… you have become our guardian without your consent . ”
“Nono, if it’s to be a guardian of you and the children then I would do it happily even without His Majesty’s command . ”
It was the first time we met since he officially became our guardian, so when I conveyed him that, Cedric-san said that he would gladly become our guardian even if not ordered to .
Just as he said, Cedric-san has been taking care of us in one way or another since we met .
“… However, I am sorry for not being able to carry out my duty during the evening party . ”
But, Cedric-san who has accepted being my guardian together with Matthias-san apologized for not being by my side at the evening party .
“Not at all! You must have it difficult after coming to the Capital with things like courtesy calls! Please, don’t mind it!”
I panicked and conveyed to Cedric-san that there’s no need to apologize .
“Courtesy calls were same as always so I had no problems with that, but I was swarmed by people curious about the Dungeon you have found in our territory… I have ended up surrounded more than usual . ”
“Ahh, the Dungeon…”
To avoid people swarming me, Cedric-san has apparently made sure not to approach me at the evening party . Certainly, when the Lord of the territory where a new Dungeon was discovered came to an evening party… he would certainly attract many curious people around him . It has not been officially announced that I was the discoverer, but the n.o.bles present at the previous audience know .
I thought I was surrounded by many people at that time, but… seems that I was naive .
“… Thank you very much for your consideration . ”
Recalling the scene that could have happened at the evening party, I frowned . Cedric-san giggled .
“Father, let’s move to the room and have tea . ”
“Allen-kun and Elena-chan brought yummy snacks!”
At that time, Theodore-kun and Latis-kun suggested moving the place .
“Indeed . Tak.u.mi-san, Allen-kun, Elena-san, this way please . ”
“Yes, thank you very much . ”
“”Yess~””
When we moved to the salon, Cedric-san immediately gave instructions to prepare tea .
“Huh?”
When I shifted my attention to the cup in front of me, there wasn’t a brown liquid with a tinge of red, but a yellowish liquid instead .
At opportunities like this, it would be generally the black tea that’s served, but… this seems to be a different beverage . But, it’s in a cup, not a gla.s.s, so it’s not fruit water, is it?
“I got hold of my favorite tea leaves, so I had that tea prepared . ”
“Your favorite tea?”
“Yes, it’s made outside the country, so I can enjoy it only occasionally . The tea leaves themselves are apparently the same, but they have their unique manufacturing method . The taste is a bit unusual, but I thought of having you give it a try . ”
“Heeh~ I am looking forward to it then . ”
I decided to try the tea right away .
“N!?”
The moment I drank that tea, I opened my eyes wide in surprise .
“”Onii~chan?””
“Tak.u.mi-san? Is it perhaps not to your liking? It is a tea with a peculiar bitter taste after all . If that’s the case, you don’t need to be reserved . I will have something different prepared for you . ”
Cedric-san who was concerned about my reaction suggested preparing a different kind of tea .
“N, not at all! I’m fine . It’s very delicious! I was just surprised because this is tea that I was looking for . ”
I conveyed my impressions to Cedric-san in panic .
Because far from liking it, it’s the tea I was looking for! No, intended to look for .
I mean, this tea tastes like green tea——Sencha at that! Well, the bitterness is stronger and it’s not green in color, but yellowish enough to be considered golden .
“Where did you obtain this tea, Cedric-san?”
“This tea? The producing area is in Gretia, but the store that sells it is——”
When I asked which store sells this tea, unexpectedly, Cedric-san said that it was Russel-san’s store!
As I thought, he did have green tea among that huge selection of teas!
“The stock is not large, yes? Are they still selling it?”
“Let’s see . I don’t think there are many who buy it, so they should have some left, if lucky . ”
“I will have to take a look on our way back then . ”
“There’s no need for that . Let’s send someone to confirm right away . ”
As soon as Cedric-san spoke, a servant left towards the store .
“”Delish~? Can try?””
“Ah~ it might be a tad bitter for you two, I think . ”
“Bitter . ”
“Bleh~”
Seeing me wanting the tea leaves, Allen and Elena thought it was delicious and tried drinking the green tea .
Well, the flavor would be too bitter for children, so they honestly stated their dislike .
“Father, what about us?”
“I think you guys would find it too bitter as well . ”
“Is that so?”
“I dislike bitter things . ”
Theodore-kun and Latis-kun who were interested checked with their father, but as I thought, they don’t seem to like bitter things too .
“Well, there’s no need to force yourselves to drink . Theodore-kun, Latis-kun, how about some sweets?”
“I’d like to eat some!”
“Want!”
“Allen too~”
“Elena too~”
When I asked whether the children who were making bitter faces wanted to eat something sweet, they immediately raised their hands up .
“Hahaha~ Now then, what would you like?”
“Chocolate!”
“Pudding!”
While thinking about what to give Theodore-kun and Latis-kun to eat, Allen and Elena promptly stated their requests . But, rather than wanting to eat it themselves, it felt more like they wanted to let Theodore-kun and Latis-kun try it?
“What’s that, Tak.u.mi-san?”
“New food?”
“Indeed . You two have probably never eaten it before~”
“Whoa~ how fun . ”
“I want to quickly try it!”
“That’s right, Tak.u.mi-san . Please, let us give it a try quickly . ”
I think I heard Cedric-san’s voice while talking to Theodore-kun and Latis-kun, but… well, let’s not mind it .
“This is pudding and that is chocolate . Give it a try . ”
“””Ohhh~”””
The Risner father and sons started with the pudding .
“””Delicious!”””
The three finished their puddings in no time and then extended their hands for the chocolate .
“””!”””
“”Delish~?””
“”It’s delicious!””
“This is wonderful!”
Seeing the three’s expression loosen from deliciousness, I also became happier . After that, we talked about our recent happenings and what went on in the Risner fief . The time pa.s.sed in a blink of an eye .
While returning, Allen and Elena said goodbye to Theodore-kun and Latis-kun with lonely expressions .
Well, I would like to meet with Cedric-san once more before he returns to his fief~
Ah, by the way, the servant who was sent to Russel-san’s shop was able to purchase Sencha and Cedric-san gifted it to me, so I was able to get my hands on green tea leaves .
On the other hand, Cedric-san was very pleased when I taught him the recipe for pudding instead of the ice cream recipe which I thought would be unsuitable during winter .
“That was fun, wasn’t it?”
“”Yeah, it was fun~””
We returned to the Ruven family’s house in a carriage on the verge of the sun setting down .