Chapter 284 – A Troublesome Kid
Espie was angry at Slayer’s edgy attitude.
It made me wonder how they could end up as lovers after an encounter like that, but anyway, Espie was in a bad mood.
I wondered how I could appease her, but it was surprisingly easy.
“Fish ish, sho gooooooood~!”
The messroom on board the ship.
Not only the crew members, but also the passengers like us, who were traveling, were enjoying their meal, and some were drinking and making noise in the spacious room.
Among them was Espie, smiling as she stuffed her small mouth full with the seafood dishes on her plate, one after the other.
“Oh, you’re quite the eater, missy. Here, try this one, too. This is a grilled shellfish~”
“Woow, big shellfish! Wow, they’re all open and squishy ~!”
“Hehe, the broth’s boiling. And you don’t need any extra seasoning! The flavor is enhanced by the heat, and it’s best to eat it as it is!”
“Wow! Wow, wow! Digging iiiiin! Ah, ah, ahm, ahm! Hafu’hafuhafu… still, it’s delicious!”
“I’m most happy when you simply say it’s good like that. Okay, go ahead and try this one too!”
I wonder, do seamen just like to serve food?
Well, it was the same at the fishing port.
But unlike back then, now that I see Espie eating with a genuine smile, the smiling seamen feeding her one after another, I felt abandoned.
Well, I’m glad that Espie’s mood has improved.
Besides……
――Have you never eaten cake?
――Un! I only eat hard meat to strengthen my jaw and medicinal drinks.
She can eat even more delicious food.
As long as she smiles and says it’s delicious, that’s fine.
So I think Espie is in good hands.
When she throws a tantrum, I get quite nervous because her original power is pretty dangerous.
On the other hand…
“Now… is that guy here…”
The edgy kid I met earlier was not in the messroom.
Had he already finished his meal?
Espie was being treated by various grownups, and it seemed like she’s having fun, so maybe I’ll leave her alone and go see him for a while? I’m curious.
『Tis surprising.』
「Hmm?」
『Honestly, I do not know how involved he was with you, and I thought it would be a wait-and-see affair for a while, but I did not expect you to actively engage with him.』
「Hmm? Hmm~…… well…… I know we’re going to get tangled up anyway, so…」
Sure, I myself wondered for a moment why when Tre’ainar told me, but the reason was simple.
――Big brother!!
Espie really opened up to me now. She trusts me. Maybe it’s because I know that she’s attached to me.
I can’t even think of her as a stranger anymore.
That’s why……
—We’re not married. We haven’t had a wedding ceremony. That’s why we have no children. You can only get married and have a wedding if you get permission from each other’s families.
This all leads to those words in the future… or rather, in the present day.
『I see.』
Tre’ainar laughed and seemed to agree with my idea.
“Oh. He’s going to be my little sister’s future husband, right? If that’s the case, I should know what kind of guy he is… if he’s a jerk…… kuhahaha, something like that.”
If he’s a scoundrel, why would I allow the marriage? I’m not that excessive, and I don’t have any intention of doing that.
But. As for whether or not to allow it, I just thought I should know what kind of guy Slayer is, or rather, what kind of guy he was.
『Hmph. Even so…』
「What?」
『Your little sister will get married first… in comparison, you have yet to have any experience with the opposite sex, fuhahahaha.』
「What!? Th, thing is, she’s actually older than me… I mean, even I have people who I might marry in the future, like Kron, Shinobu, Sadiz!」
『…… tis about time to include that princess as well, is it not? All the same, I feel pity for her…』
「…… ah~…… ah~…… um~mm….. I don’t think I feel that way yet…」
No, I think the princess is indeed beautiful and a good woman. But~ she was just a childhood friend, and a thorn in my side for too long, so I was not very conscious of her as a woman… I think I am a little harsh in that area, but… while thinking about it, I opened the door of the messroom to look for him.
“…… Huh?”
“Ah…”
That was unexpected.
As soon as I opened the door, that kid was right there… Slayer stood.
But, the other party quickly averted his gaze from me with a blank expression on his face.
“Yo.”
“…………”
“You’re here to eat, right? Come on in.”
I asked, thinking that he had just arrived, not that he had been there the whole time.
But, Slayer looked away and…
“I’m not going in. It’s too noisy right now.”
“Hah?”
Surprisingly, he was about to turn on his heel and leave without going in.
Because it’s too noisy? Well, it’s true that now everyone was focused on Espie, and the grownups were drinking and enjoying themselves, but was the noise really that loud?
But. Was it really that much to worry about?
“Why? You’re hungry, aren’t you?”
“Hmph, I don’t like noise when I’m eating… I also see a crowd of people…”
Although he was expressionless, I could tell that he was in a bad mood just by the glint in his eyes.
I mean, how old is he?
“Anyway, don’t talk to me. I don’t want to be around those idiots.”
“H, hey, like I said, come eat…”
“I said, I don’t want to right now. You must be stupid to ask me twice. I’m not that hungry——”
――Ku~~~~~?
“…………”
“…………”
“Ah, h, hey…”
“It’s nothing.”
And right after he said what he wanted to say, I heard a small guttural sound in front of me, but Slayer just walked away with a quick pace.
「He’s gone…」
『He seems to have great skill, but is quite the troublesome child…』
「Yeah. He’s kind of cool… but surprisingly uncool… maybe like the old Rebal.」
I was rather convinced when I said it myself.
Come to think of it, Rebal used to be like that.
Me, Fu, and the princess would forcibly drag him out to play, and he would sigh about this and that, but he would always go with us…
“Shhaaahh!”
I couldn’t leave the hungry kid alone like that, so I decided to go after him.
I shouldn’t go empty-handed… do I bring a plate with something to eat?
『Then child. You still have that, do you not?』
「Hmm?」
Saying that, Tre’ainar grinned…
『That item you bought at his store in the present era, right? The portable food I invented.』
In the camp, I was Curry, and in the city, I had cake with Espi, and still sitting unused in my bag, something Tre’ainar was supposed to have invented.
Come to think of it, I bought it at his store in the modern era, but I hadn’t eaten it yet.
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