Chapter 127
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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 127 – Fruit and “Fruit”
“No, Ain-sama? Now is not the time to talk about fine fruits and such.
Dill’s point was also valid.
“Oh, sorry. The situation was so unexpected that I couldn’t think of anything else.”
“I understand how you feel, but…”
The two of them could only smile wryly, but gradually, the partic.i.p.ants began to speak out.
Many voices could be heard asking, “What happened? Did the Crown Prince do something?”
——What should I do? Ain thought.
Even for Ain, it was a sudden situation, and he couldn’t make a decision, but after seeing the situation, Olivia opened her mouth.
“This is the future king of Ishtalika. It is a symbol of the power of Crown Prince Ain. The Crown Prince has inherited the blood of the Dryads, and among the few Dryads that exist, he has been blessed with an even rarer power. For this reason, such a great tree was born because the Crown Prince wished for it.”
Until a moment ago, Olivia also showed signs of being shaken.
However, when she saw Ain in trouble, she started to speak up with this explanation.
“The Crown Prince is not only a hero for slaying the sea dragon, but he also has influence over the natural world. He brings the rich blessings of nature to this land of Ishtalika, which was unified by His Majesty the First.”
Olivia, who almost never raised her voice, unusually raised her voice as if she were giving a public speech.
“The Crown Prince himself celebrated this memorial tree planting. When you leave, take one of these fruits with you.”
Olivia smiled at the end as she finished speaking, and for a few seconds, the place was enveloped in silence.
Ain was worried about how the people would react, but his fears were unfounded.
“His Royal Highness the Crown Prince… could be the second coming of His Majesty the First!”
“Our hero who gives us the blessings of nature… I am simply amazed by his accomplishments!”
“Glory to our Crown Prince!”
Surely, the fact that Ain had always been popular also played a role.
Besides that, it was also true that Olivia’s speech was also a success. Ain thanked her in his heart.
——I’ll have to thank her properly later, Ain said in his heart.
“O-Olivia-sama… Is it really okay to say such things?”
Martha asked Olivia in a quiet voice.
“Yes, it was actually something Ain did. But still, it’s huge… I’ve never seen a ripple tree like this before.”
It easily exceeded 10 meters in height, almost reaching 30 meters.
Even the tallest ripple trees don’t reach 10 meters. That’s why this abnormal growth was so shocking.
“It’s huge, but… what in the world did you do, Ain-sama?”
After hearing Olivia’s words, Martha now asked Ain.
“I just told it to grow. I’ve grown too, so I feel a sense of kinship.”
Martha put her hand to her forehead as she looked at Ain, who grins.
Ain was now the demon king with Dryad blood. He thought that might be the reason, but he didn’t say anything about it.
“Hahh… Excuse me for a moment, Ain-sama. Mother, I’m going to borrow a ladder.”
It was always the same.
Especially for Dill, it was normal that Ain did something unexpected, and he was already used to it.
Dill went to borrow a ladder because Olivia had asked him to bring her some fruit.
“Thank you, Dill. I’ll be counting on you.”
After seeing Dill off, Ain returned his gaze to the Ripple Giant Tree.
——Still, it’s huge.
“Hey, Ain.”
“Yes? What is it?”
Then Olivia called Ain, looking happy.
“That ripple. It looks delicious.”
“The tree is big, but the fruit is big too. And it’s a nice color…”
What were they talking about? It seemed that this mother and child immediately started talking about the taste.
Martha sighed deeply as she watched Olivia, who had been so panicked a moment ago, adapt so easily.
“Shall we take some home? It’s a shame to waste it, so let’s send some back to the capital as a souvenir.”
“Yes, I think so. I think my father will like it.”
“If it’s delicious, we’ll try it at the castle as well. Martha-san, do you think it’ll be okay?”
“Yes. I think it will be fine.”
Listening to their carefree conversation, she began to feel rather indifferent.
That was because she knew that Ain was the cause, and it didn’t seem like an emergency.
“I’m back. I borrowed a big ladder, so I think it should reach… What? Is something wrong, Mother?”
“…No, it’s nothing.”
When Dill returned, he looked at Martha, who looked tired and confused.
The knight then climbed the tree with the ladder and picked the abundant fruit, which he then distributed to the partic.i.p.ants.
＊＊＊
It was evening, and Ain’s group finally returned to their inn.
As Ain had hoped, they picked some fruit from the ripple tree and brought it back without damaging it.
The beautiful color and rich aroma could be recognized even without peeling the skin. And what was even more surprising…
“It’s amazing… It’s so beautiful and so big.”
Olivia held the fruit carefully in her hands as if to protect it.
“……”
The way she held it made it seem unseemly, but that was because his own heart was unseemly.
Ain thought this and shook off his unclean thoughts.
“It’s many times bigger, Ain.”
“Yes, that’s right. It’s really big and I was surprised.”
Just as Olivia praised its size, this wavy fruit was very large. It seemed to be about 4 or 5 times the size of a normal one, and he was really surprised when he picked it up.
“Martha, would you cut it for me?”
“Certainly. Please wait a moment.”
When Martha received the fruit from Olivia, she placed it on a plate and began to cut it with deft hands.
Dill, by the way, stood guard outside the door.
“…Wow, the juice and aroma are amazing.”
As Martha put the knife in, a golden-colored juice gushed out.
In proportion to the juice that came out, a more fragrant aroma spread throughout the room than before.
The aroma was so strong that it could almost be considered a small aroma in itself.
“It is also full of nectar. I really can’t understand how it grew so magnificently in just a few seconds.”
Martha used the knife carefully, looking puzzled as she cut the fruit into pieces.
The ripples that can be eaten at the castle are selected and delivered for their high quality.
Even though it was supposed to be the case, the ripple Ain grew seemed to be of a much higher standard than the ripple at the castle.
“Well, I’ve finished cutting it, so please enjoy it.”
“I’m sorry, Martha. But could you cut me another one, please?”
“…It’s okay, but it’s quite a lot, isn’t it?”
“It’s fine. It’s not for me and Ain to eat.”
Martha tilted her head, wondering what Olivia was talking about.
“I can tell without eating it. Isn’t that true for you too, Martha?”
“Yes. I’m sure this ripple is the best of its kind.”
They looked at the aroma, the fruit juice, and the nectar. Even without eating it, these people with discerning palates could tell that it was something special.
“That’s why. It’s a rare opportunity, so Martha and Dill should eat some. It’s a good time, so you can eat some while you’re on break.”
“Oh, I see. That’s a good idea, Mother. Since it’s like that, please let Dill eat some too.”
Ain also immediately agreed, supporting Olivia’s words.
“Well then, I’ll take you up on your kind offer and have one.”
Martha quickly slid the knife across the board and finished cutting another.
“Here you go, Ain-sama, Olivia-sama.”
Martha wiped the juice from her hands and placed the plate with the cut ripples on top.
The aroma grew stronger as it came closer.
“Yes, thank you. I’ll call you if I need anything, so go and rest for a while.”
“Very well. Then I’ll take one and go, Ain-sama.”
“Okay. I’m sorry if it’s not delicious, but I’ll see you later.”
It probably wouldn’t be bad.
Martha knew that, so she smiled quietly and headed for the door.
“It’s just an ordinary fruit, but when you look at it like this, it’s like a luxury ingredient.”
“You’re right. Let’s try to eat it first.”
Taking Ain’s words as a cue, the two of them took a fork and put a wave in their mouths.
“…..”
“…..”
After putting it in their mouths, the two of them continued chewing silently without saying anything.
The freshness of the juice that spreads with each bite, the soft yet crunchy texture. The crowning glory was the rich nectar, a n.o.ble sweetness reminiscent of precious metals.
“Hah… so this is what Ain tastes like.”
Olivia said after finishing a slice with a look of ecstasy on her face.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and her voice was seductive.
“Y-yes, it’s Ripple that I raised…”
If she said it tasted like him, Ain would have to send out various danger signals.
“But it’s similar, right?”
“Depending on how you ask, it’s a bit dangerous, or something like that.”
He couldn’t say more, so he hoped she understood.
“Ara, ara, what has Ain got in his head? …Fufu.”
Olivia seemed to be in a rare state of good humor, even in recent years. This was probably due to the fact that she could spend a lot of time with Ain.
…But the way she licked the juice made it look like she was trying to do something.
“That was delicious. …Well, let’s eat it all before it spoils.”
Olivia’s gesture was worth considering.
However, the fruit was the star of the show for the moment. Hearing Olivia’s words, Ain reaches for his fork again.
“This is really delicious.”
“Yes, I suppose so. But maybe the other saplings planted will not grow.”
Olivia, who had just taken a bite of the second piece, replied after swallowing.
“It made a lot of noise when it was sucking up water. It must be sucking up all the nutrients in the soil as hard as it can…”
“Maybe we should add some fertilizer or something.”
Now that it’s been mentioned, it’s true.
In fact, it would probably be bad for the giant ripple tree as well if the soil lacks nutrients.
“Yes, I should tell Martha about this later.”
With growth like this, it didn’t matter if you have any gardening skills or knowledge, but it didn’t hurt to do what you could.
“I wonder if grandfather and the others will be happy about this?”
“Fufu, of course. I think they’ll ask you what you did to make it grow like that, though…”
As Olivia said, this was the only possibility.
However, since Sylvird knows the story of how he became the Demon King, he might accept it surprisingly easily.
As for Ain, he didn’t understand the principles either, so that was about the only explanation he could give.
“I’m sorry for always causing him trouble.”
Ain said with a wry smile.
“Don’t worry. Father seems to enjoy it, one way or another.”
Although Ain didn’t know it yet, there might be a part of him that felt that way from his daughter Olivia’s perspective.
And so Ain and Olivia enjoyed that particular taste of ripple as they slowly enjoyed their conversation.
＊＊＊
After that, Ain would do some light work, then have dinner, then take a bath, then go to bed.
That was the plan, but it fell apart halfway through.
“…Hahh, it’s a nice hot bath.”
He had dinner a little early, and since Olivia said he should go first, Ain took a bath first.
Perhaps because it was earlier than yesterday, most of the seascape was a ruby red.
“Yes. I can see why mother speaks so highly of it.”
He leaned over the edge of the bathtub and took in the view that stretched beyond the window.
“Yes, it is, isn’t it? I wanted to see this view with you, you know?”
Suddenly, a soft, warm fruit pressed against his back.
It wasn’t a water balloon, and it wasn’t hard flesh. Such a special feeling was transmitted down Ain’s spine.
At the same time, a hand was placed around Ain’s neck, and her face was brought close to her ear.
“What? M-Mother? Eh… ehhh?!”
“Yes, it’s your mother.”
Olivia was in such a good mood that he wondered what was really going on.
She was not drunk, so here she was, completely normal.
“What’s going on all of a sudden…?”
“Huh? But yesterday Ain said that if I wore a bathing suit you would take a bath with me.”
“I did say that, but that was yesterday…”
“I didn’t hear anything about that. Did Ain say it was just yesterday?”
As Olivia says, Ain didn’t say anything about it being limited to yesterday.
It was just a quibble, but it was strange how it sounded like a normal argument when spoken in Olivia’s tone of voice.
“Well, I mean, I think that’s what Mother meant…”
“No? That’s not it. Because I didn’t say a single word like that, did I?”
Ain shivered a little as Olivia’s voice tickled his ear.
Olivia’s body moved in sync, and the object pressed against his back trembled slightly.
“Aah… hey, don’t struggle, okay?”
——And please stop using that s.e.xy voice.
He couldn’t say it, so he just thought it to himself.
Feeling sad as a man, Ain wondered if he would have to rely on the virtual a.s.sistant Katima in his mind again today.
“Hahh… I really like taking baths.”
Olivia, who had no idea what was going on in Ain’s mind, soaked in the warmth of the bathtub while hugging Ain.
“The view is nice, and it also lets me get close to you. With something like this, I can do my best in everything.”
…..
“Yes. As Mother says, sometimes it’s good to have a moment like this.”
Suddenly, the conflict he had felt earlier disappeared.
He remembered the time of his birth and his time in Roundheart.
Considering his circ.u.mstances up to now, perhaps this kind of conflict was nothing.
As he listened to Olivia’s words, he lost himself in such sentimental thoughts.
After all, they are an irreplaceable and precious family.
“Oh, it’s untied. I’m sorry, but could you please take the bathing suit, Ain?”
The bathing suit comes into view in front of Ain, floating on the rippling surface of the water.
The object that had hidden Olivia’s chest until a moment ago now came into Ain’s view.
“Here you go, Mother.”
With a well-mannered tone of voice, he picked up the bathing suit without looking at it and handed it to Olivia behind him.
“I-I’m sorry, Ain.”
Then Olivia stepped back and seemed to put the bathing suit back on.
Of course, Ain didn’t think about turning around.
——I take back what I said earlier. Welcome back, my struggle. You came home early, didn’t you?
And so Ain’s second day came to a lively end.
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