Chapter 169: Presentation, Part 2
From noon onward, it was the women’s turn to experience the bathhouse.
Olivia, Marl, and Ashera held a hurried discussion, and Ashera was added to the group of guides.
In the end, seven people entered together.
Mother, Marl, and Ashera served as guides, while the Sandra family was represented by Olivia, the first wife, Olivia’s younger brother, and the second wife.
The young brother looked embarrassed when he saw Marl and Ashera.
Young man, enjoy your final paradise.
In another two years, you’ll be allowed to bathe only with crowds of hairy old men.
“Okoya. I asked if you wanted to come in with me…”
“Brother Louis… But…”
We’d apparently been introduced earlier, but the incident involving all that killing intent had been so memorable that I hadn’t listened.
It seemed the young brother’s name was Okoya.
“Think of it as your final privilege and go with them. They won’t let us join no matter how much we might want to.”
Louis laughed as he said it, and then the second wife approached.
“Oh? I’ll bathe with you anytime, little Louisbell…”
“Wh-what are you saying?! And don’t call me ‘little’!”
“That’s what you get for teasing Okoya. Okoya, I’ll go in with you. That makes it alright, doesn’t it?”
After teasing Louis, the second wife turned and spoke to Okoya.
His face turned red, and he walked toward the bathhouse holding her hand.
Louis and I looked at one another with indescribable expressions.
“Okoya, huh? The boy has rather refined tastes…”
“Does he? I’m worried about his future.”
Louis and I exchanged another pair of wry smiles. Behind us, Count Sandra was smiling wryly too.
About thirty minutes later, Okoya emerged from the bath alone.
The women didn’t come out until two full hours had passed.
We’d actually changed our plans so that dessert would not be served immediately after lunch, but only after the women finished bathing.
Even after drinking cold milk, steam was rising from their heads.
The maids immediately handed each of them a small cup of sorbet.
“This is the dessert from lunch. Because it’s cold, we decided to serve it now.”
At my explanation, everyone timidly brought the sorbet to her mouth.
This time, I’d made my favorite flavor: honey and lemon.
They all ate with astonished expressions.
“Does it suit your tastes?”
At my question, the Ice Witch recovered from her surprise and spoke first.
“Al. Just how many things have you been hiding…?”
“Aldo. I want more.”
“Brother Al, I want more too.”
“Aldo, this is delicious.”
Even the women who said nothing demanded more with their eyes.
The first and second wives were looking at me the same way.
“Dinner’s dessert will be pudding. If you could forgive me with that…”
Pudding…
At the word, the women’s faces filled with brilliant smiles, and they finally released me.
Ashera and Marl explained pudding to the first wife, second wife, and Olivia, who had never tried it.
It was about four in the afternoon.
I quickly fled into the kitchen before I could excite the women any further.
Dinner was supposed to be frankfurters and fried chicken, but that combination was too heavy.
Some of the fried chicken could be eaten with the tartar sauce I’d served at lunch. For the other half, I would make a sauce from soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar and turn it into yurinchi-style fried chicken.
It should taste wonderful with alcohol.
If possible, I would’ve liked to join them with some sake…
Once I started cooking, it took longer than expected.
I prepared the caramel for the pudding, then called Ashera to help when it needed cooling.
“Alright. Only the yurinchi sauce and grated daikon remain. I’ll make the sauce, so grate the daikon, Ashera.”
“Understood.”
Ashera peeled the daikon and began grating it.
Incidentally, I’d made this grater myself.
When I asked Borg for a hard, rust-resistant material suitable for cooking, he recommended blackened iron.
Apparently, if I shaped the grater, then heated it above one thousand degrees, the iron would turn black and become resistant to rust.
I didn’t really understand the process, but I worked the iron plate he’d given me and heated it. The result seemed to function, so I decided it was good enough.
Somehow, we finished every dish by around five thirty.
Just as at lunch, I followed the maids carrying the food and explained the dishes to everyone.
“Like the hamburg steak at lunch, these frankfurters also use meat scraps. They are made by stuffing seasoned minced meat into pig intestines. In addition to their flavor, they keep well as preserved food.”
When I finished explaining, about half the people made unpleasant faces.
The fact that the dish used internal organs—even only the casing—seemed to bother them more than the minced meat.
“You may eat this delicately if you wish, but the most delicious method is to spear one with a fork and bite into it.”
Mother and Ashera immediately bit into theirs as instructed.
They’d already eaten them in the labyrinth, and frankfurters sometimes appeared on the Blue Ring family’s table.
The remaining guests watched the others eating happily and tried biting into theirs.
Juices burst from the centers, making them stare in surprise.
“Aldo, it’s delicious.”
“I’m glad you like it, Olivia.”
After Olivia spoke, the first wife, who’d hesitated longest, bit into her frankfurter like everyone else.
It must have been better than she’d expected. Her eyes widened as she stared at it.
Then came fried-chicken time.
Everyone ate however they pleased: plain fried chicken, pieces dipped in tartar sauce, or bites of yurinchi.
The yurinchi was especially popular with Grandpa, Father, Count Sandra, and the second wife, who were drinking alcohol.
Naturally, the head chef had prepared salad and soup as well, so we ate those alongside the food I’d made.
About an hour later, the pudding arrived.
“Here is the pudding you’ve been waiting for. Scoop it up with a spoon.”
Mother, Clara, and Ashera had already begun eating before I finished speaking.
I was about to take my time when Ashera, Clara, and Mother—who had already finished—fixed their eyes on my pudding.
I shrugged, ate a single bite myself, then fed the rest to them as though dropping food into the mouths of three baby birds.
“Do you truly like it that much?”
Mother, Ashera, and Clara nodded vigorously at my question.
Behind them, Olivia, the first wife, and even the second wife were nodding too…
I couldn’t understand it.
After the meal, we allowed a little free time so everyone could socialize.
Mother and the second wife were excitedly sharing stories from their adventuring days.
Both had earned titles and possessed some fame. They had acquaintances in common, and old stories quickly blossomed.
Terrifyingly, the two agreed to accept a request together sometime.
Louis and I would surely be forced to participate…
We exchanged wry smiles and sighed together.
While I was speaking with Louis, Ashera called me over.
I excused myself and went to her.
As expected—or perhaps inevitably—Olivia was there beside her.
“Aldo. Was my presence a nuisance?”
“No. I’m happy to speak with you, Olivia.”
Ashera was smiling and showed no sign of anger.
She grew wary or jealous around Naga and Rosa, yet Olivia was acceptable…
I couldn’t understand where she drew the line.
“Aldo, are you reluctant to marry me?”
That was astonishingly direct, but I didn’t want to evade the question.
I would tell her honestly what I believed.
“What I told Count Sandra was the truth. I genuinely have no complaint about you. I simply can’t take responsibility for two people. I intend to make Ashera happy even if I have to cling to a stone with my teeth, but supporting two wives is more than I can bear…”
“I see…”
“I’m sorry…”
“Then if I can take care of myself and possess the ability to earn my own living, there will be no problem.”
“What? How did you reach that conclusion?”
“That is the summary of what you just said, is it not?”
“Huh? Hmm… It technically is, but it isn’t nearly as simple as you make it sound…”
“You’re right. At present, I honestly cannot claim that I could become a commoner and do everything for myself. But two years from now, when we graduate from the academy, I will have learned everything expected of a commoner’s wife.”
“Olivia… Why me? Is it because I was your first dance partner? Because I saved you from the orc horde?”
“Why…? Then let me ask you the opposite question. Why Ashera? Why won’t I do?”
“Because… I love Ashera…”
“I am the same. It is because I love you, Aldo…”
“Are you serious?”
“I do not believe I am strong enough to say such a thing as a joke.”
I looked at Ashera.
She smiled and nodded.
There was something I wanted to ask her too.
“Ashera, why is Olivia acceptable? What makes her different from Rosa or Naga?”
“Because she seriously loves you.”
“Is that all?”
Honestly, I was shocked…
It made Ashera’s feelings for me seem almost casual.
“Aldo isn’t someone I can keep all to myself. In that case, I would prefer someone who truly loves you and can get along with me…”
“You could keep me to yourself…”
“Do you truly believe that?”
“…”
“It isn’t something I began thinking recently. I’ve always known. Because Aldo is sincere, you’ll surely try to belong only to me. But even if you become a commoner, you’ll leave your name in history someday. When that happens, the people around you won’t leave you alone. But I don’t want them bringing you someone I dislike. I know I’m being selfish. This is the greatest compromise I can make…”
“…”
“…”
“…Olivia would truly be alright?”
“Yes. I want Olivia.”
I sighed and looked at Olivia.
Perhaps this would’ve been different in the past, but now there was the matter of the “new race”…
The reality was that I couldn’t honestly say Ashera alone would be enough.
If fewer than ten members of the new race remained after my death… they would probably be absorbed into another race.
I didn’t know what abilities the “new race” would possess, but the power of a single individual was ultimately small.
People called me strong, yet if someone ordered me to cut off every relationship and live entirely alone from this moment forward, I would probably die in a ditch somewhere in the mountains.
After considering everything, Ashera’s answer was probably the best solution available in our present circumstances.
But taking a wife selected by Ashera…
It was so different from the future I’d imagined that I couldn’t answer immediately.
“Understood. I’ll think about it seriously. But I don’t believe I can give you an answer right away…”
“Alright…”
“Could you give me some time, Ashera, Olivia…?”
“Alright.”
“I understand. But please remember that I am serious.”
“I will. Thank you for loving someone like me.”
For the moment, I could only force out those words of gratitude.
Count Sandra’s party returned home safely.
Perhaps sensing the atmosphere, Louis didn’t approach me again afterward.
Olivia behaved bravely and continued smiling, but now and then, a sorrowful expression crossed her face.
Alone in my room, I lay on the bed and thought about the future.
With my overheated mind, I came up with the demonic idea that “El could marry a hundred women…”
But the only future I could imagine after saying it aloud was one where Marl and Ashera punched me.
I would discuss this with Ashera, El, and Marl.
Perhaps Olivia would one day join those conversations too…