Chapter 503 – Soto’s Tea Party
Kehma’s daughter, Soto, has naturally blended into the village of Gollen.
Today, she holds a tea party to make more friends. She was using the Dancing Doll Pavilion inn dining room.
“I’m papa’s daughter, Soto Gollene! Please call me Soto-chan!”
Besides Soto, the tea party partic.i.p.ants were Niku, Maiodore, Michiru (an apprentice sister), and s.h.i.+kina, totaling five people. The seats are empty because it’s not a busy hour; the time was perfect for holding such an event.
Served on the table are tea and pudding.
“I’m Maiodore s.h.i.+a, Kuro’s fiancée.”
“I’m Michiru, an apprentice of the Beddishm Sisters!”
“… I need to introduce myself too? I’m Niku Kuroinu.”
“I am the eldest daughter of (the great) Dain Kukkoro, the head of Kukkoro family; my name is s.h.i.+kina Kukkoro. Don’t you glad to have me here?”
By the way, Soto’s full name is [Karinisoto Gollen Masuda LabyrintHeart], but since she is present herself as the daughter of the village chief, she usually omits it.
Cid from the neighboring village of Drago also abbreviates his long name to Cid Pavuera, and Maiodore, who holds the highest position of the tea party partic.i.p.ants, has a long middle name that she doesn’t use unless she’s on a very prestigious occasion. And then there’s this ‘s.h.i.+kina’. {compared to those two, her t.i.tle is nothing}
“I’ll be giving out a pair of socks, a sign of friends.h.i.+p! Don’t worry. They’re all fresh from the dungeon.”
“That’s very kind of you, thank you.”
Maiodore and the others received the new socks from Soto.
They are not wrapped and are bare, but the quality is certainly very good.
“By all means, please try it now! Oh, and I’ll collect your old socks!”
“Soto-sama. Master has asked me not to wear them to the tea party today.”
“Uuu, sis? No, papa… I’ll remember that.”
Just when Soto was about to unleash her perverted nature, Niku stopped her.
For some reason, Soto’s eccentricities – namely, her sock collecting hobby – had been tolerated until now, but that was because they were limited to Kehma’s subordinates, the slaves Niku and Ichika, and the dungeon monster girls, in other words, her relatives. You could say that it was tolerated because it was limited within her family.
It would be safer not to let her do this to anyone outside our family. Thanks to Niku, it looks like we can start the tea party without any problems.
“Kuro-sama is Soto-sama’s older sister, right?”
“Yes! Now that you mention it, That means I’m also your sister… Oh, but… Mai-chan is my sister’s fiancé, right? should I call you sister-in-law?”
“sister-in-law…?! Yes! Please do!”
Maiodore was delighted.
“For me, I’m more surprised by the fact that Master already had a daughter.”
“Well, isn’t Kuro-sama also Kehma’s child? That’s not so surprising.”
“…? But the family name is different, isn’t it? And Kuro is a dog beastman. She clearly from a different species.”
“Kuroinu is a name I got from my mother; I had a different mother from Soto-sama.”
“Oh, I see. Kuro-chan is an illegitimate child? Master must have his consideration then.”
s.h.i.+kina was convinced by Niku’s excuse. By the way, her father is also different, but I’ll keep that to myself. Black hair is rare, so if you don’t make it clear, they’ll automatically a.s.sume that we are related.
Next, Michiru, who had dutifully changed her socks, spoke to Soto.
“Soto-chan, Soto-chan!”
“What is it? Michiru.”
“Are you a Beddhist?”
“That’s right! I’m a Beddhist!
“Yayyy!”
“Yayyy!”
Soto and Michiru exchanged high fives. They hit it off immediately, then Michiru gently hands Soto a freshly removed sock hidden from Niku’s sight.
“Soto-sama, I, Michiru, want to ask some favor for the upcoming church event.”
“Kukuku, aren’t you a wise one. But okay, I shall speak to my papa for you…” {tln2}
Such exchange between two corrupt officials was happening; thankfully the item that was exchanged is socks, not a [s.h.i.+ny yellow candy]{gold} keeping the scene like a child play.
In addition, both of them are just doing it for fun, so there should be no particular evil scheme. I hope.
“…but still, the pudding in this inn is really perfect. I’ve been trying to recreate it at home since I got the recipe.”
“My Lady, when did you get the recipe?”
“Well, I’m Kuro’s fiancée, after all?”
“How nice…”
“Why you say that? You can always come here to eat, can’t you?”
“Michiru-dono, I will eventually return to my family home in the imperial capital. …I wish to stay here for another ten years.”
I was beginning to worry about Sikina’s marriage. Will she be alright? But I shouldn’t. Maiodore said it clearly. She’s an elf, and it’s another family business. There’s no point in worrying about it.
“Indeed, the Capital city is quite far from here.”
“It would be a good idea to hire a storage specialist who will be responsible for delivering meals from this place.”
“I see. someone like Wataru?”
“Oh, is that what the brave Wataru does, Kuro?”
Apparently, purchasing rice here and transporting it to the Imperial Capital is part of Wataru’s job. {tln3}
…For the record, they can and did brought as much as they want to the Imperial Capital using the dungeon function, but they seem to be using Wataru as a cover. (Well, exporting rice is one of the most important sources of income for the Cave of Desire, including the rice that is being s.h.i.+pped via the White Sands.)
“Hmmm. I wonder what kind of socks the hero Wataru wears as he travels around the empire…”
“Soto-sama…”
“I-I know! Not today right? not today.”
Soto is reprimanded by Niku.
“Niku, it doesn’t bother me, okay? I’ll accept Soto-chan’s love, too, because that’s what a Beddhist Sister is for!”
“You’re so cute, Michiru! I love you!”
“Michiru! The way you called Kuro-sama is kind of…”
“… I’d rather be called by that name, you know?”
“That won’t do, Kuro-sama! It’s a little vu-vulgar… bu-but when we are married, I’ll call you that in our bedroom… Until then, please forgive me!” {tln4}
Maiodore’s face turns red.
It’s easy to forget that ‘Niku’ means ‘meat’ (prost.i.tute) because our family casually called her Niku every day.
“Pst, Soto-chan, Mai-sama smells good.”
“Right, she’s so cute, I like her.”
“Ah, you are indeed Master’s daughter!”
“Wait! Three of you, what do you mean by that!”
“…Would you like some more pudding?”
Just like that, they naturally accepted Soto as their friend. …natural if we consider she’s Gollen Village Chief’s daughter.
TL note:
…Haku must be the one who granted such a cool name to Soto…
2: that escalated quickly.
3: WATARUUUUUUUU!!! One of the most tragic hero, ever!
4: is this children’s tea party…
I struggled in that last line, it read like this in raw “they normally accept Soto, normal? In a sense that she’s Gollen village Chief’s daugther.”