Chapter 25:【Geno, the errand boy for the civil servant’s room, saw it】

Author note:

This is the story of the day Henry made a promise to go to the neighboring village with Mai.

I've finally written about Mai's appearance.

***

“Geno!　The tea's gone cold. Please make  me some more.”

“Yes,  right away.”

　I’m the one who does chores in the civil officials’ rooms. I think I’m pretty smart for a sixteen-year-old. All the civil servants always seem to be busy.  The tea I'm re-brewing has gone cold while they were busy working

　But I’m not going to complain. As the fourth son of a general merchant, I am grateful to be able to work at the castle even as a chore boy. It adds some prestige to my career. If it weren’t for this job, I would have been groomed by now to be a son-in-law to someone whose face I did not know from some other family. 

“Howler-sama, would you like me to brew you another pot of tea?”

“No, thank you, I’ll drink this. Oh yes, Geno, let me give you a cookie.”

　With that, Head Civil Officer Henry Howler handed me a paper package.

“Cookies?! Thank you!”

“You must be exhausted from all the running around you do all the time.”

“No, it’s nothing!　This is nothing!”

“Oh, well. Great.”

　I was very happy to receive the praise. I don’t mean to be picky because it’s my job, but Howler-sama is the only one who always praises me when I do my job.

　Everyone says that Howler-sama is scary because of his lack of expression, but that’s not true. He sometimes smiles, even if just a little. When he smiles, I can tell.

　Recently, he has become more relaxed. Sometimes he smiles while drinking tea. Something good must have happened.

　The errand boys have a break from 12 noon to 1:30 in the afternoon. I grabbed some cookies and ran over to Mol, who was working as an errand boy in the magic department.

“Mol, would you like to go to dinner with me?”

“Yeah, let’s go. We have to go quickly or they’ll run out of the popular dishes.”

　The two of us trotted off to the dining hall. Mol likes stewed pork. After finishing my lunch of bread and stew, I took a cookie out of its wrapper.

“Oh, cookies. They look high quality.”

“I think they’re fine cookies. Howler-sama gave them to me.”

“That’s nice. The civil servants are very kind.”

“I don’t know. When they are busy, they are all in a frenzy. But the Head civil official is a calm person. He has never once spoken in a harsh voice. Why?”

　Mol chuckled.

“You know, the magic department, they’re not mean to me, but they don’t remember my name. They just call me ‘you’. I’ve been working here for three years.”

“Wizards are unique, aren’t they?”

“Yes, they are. Wow, these cookies are delicious. They have nuts in them.”

“This one has tea leaves in it. I love the aroma.”

“It’s very crispy and flaky. The buttery aroma is really good.”

　After finishing the cookies, I returned to work and thanked Howler-sama.

 “Thank you for the cookies. They were some of the best cookies I have ever had.”

“You like it?  I’ll buy some more for you.”

“Really?　Thank you very much!”

　Howler-sama’s eyes moved just a little. That was Howler-sama’s own kind of smile.

　A little later, Howler-sama went out for lunch. Perhaps he doesn’t like crowded restaurants, so he staggers his lunch break every day. While I was watching him leave, another civil servant gave me some instructions.

"Hey, Geno! Please deliver this purchase order to the Gato Construction Company on the main street. While you're there, go to Aldo's Plastering Company and tell them to send us the estimate as soon as possible."

"I got it"

　On my way back to the castle after running two errands, I saw Howler-sama coming out of a shop at the end of an alley. I instinctively hid in a nearby alley.

　I couldn’t help but hide in a nearby alley, After all, Howler-sama was clearly smiling as he walked by.  It was the first time I’d ever seen him smile like that.

“What happened to Howler-sama?”

　　The door opens and a beautiful woman sees him off.

“A errand boy must not take any interest in the private life of a civil servant.”

　I was warned by the personnel officer on my first day of work. Apparently, it’s because I take care of receiving and delivering letters. So I thought, “No, don’t do that! But then I ended up going to the store.

　I couldn’t see inside the restaurant because of the lace curtains, but it was called “Hideaway.” I wonder what kind of restaurant would bring such a smile to the face of Howler-sama. The food must be delicious, but I wonder if it is very expensive.

　The next day at lunchtime, I told Mol about it secretly, and he knew the name of the restaurant.

“Let's go there. That's the shop the people in the magic department go all the time.”

“But what if it’s too expensive?”

“Let’s just have some tea then and go home. But I don’t think it’s that expensive. The members of the Magic Department don’t spend money on food. If they had money, they would buy expensive spell books and materials for magic tools.”

“I see. Okay, let’s go. Even if it’s expensive,  if it’s just tea, we can manage it with our salary.”

　And today, as soon as it was noon, we left the castle and arrived at the "hideaway."

　Most of the seats were taken. There are not many tables. The tables were so spaced out that it would have been better if they had been placed closer together.

　We were shown to a small table for two near the wall.

“Please take a seat here. Today’s daily special is fried white fish and sweet potato. It comes with salad, soup and bread.”

　The owner is tall and slender. Her brown hair is tied back in a single bun. She has big eyes and a small mouth. She’s a beautiful woman. She has shiny cheeks and hair like an aristocrat, and when you get close to her, you can smell just a little bit of her goodness. She must have been working with water all day, but her hands are not rough at all. Why is that?

　We sat down at the seat we were shown to and were surprised to see the menu. It was cheap. Prices were like those you’d find in a restaurant for the average person. And there were a lot of dishes I’d never seen before. The person who came in after us ordered before even sitting down, saying “Three of the day’s specials,” and “I’ll have tomato-flavored noodles.” I guess there are a lot of regulars.

　We decided on the cheapest daily special, and Mol raised one hand.

“Are you set?”

“Two daily specials, please.”

“got it”

　For some reason, I was offered cold water. I wondered if this water was free. I was not sure, but I drank it. I was nervous and thirsty, so it tasted good.

“Thank you for waiting. Deep-fried white fish and sweet potato.”

“Wow!”

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

　I couldn’t help but shout out. A big piece of deep-fried fish is served on top of fried potatoes. It is accompanied by a lemon, which is expensive in winter. It’s extravagant. Looking at the people around me, I saw that they were eating the fish in pieces after squeezing a lot of lemon on it. Some people ate the fish without cutting it, putting it between pieces of bread.

　We immediately cut up the fish and put it in our mouths.

“Hot! Delicious!”

“Here. Wow, that’s good!”

　Inside the crispy batter is fluffy white meat. The accompanying salt is mixed with dried herbs. It is also served with a sour cream flavored with basil, both of which are very tasty. The golden broth is also delicious, as are the steamed vegetables served in a small bowl. All Mol and I could say was, “Delicious.”

“Geno, isn’t this fried food very light?”

“Now that you mention it, you’re right. It’s completely different from the fried food in the street stalls.”

“It’s delicious, cheap, and a great place. I could even order some tea here.”

“Let’s order tea. Let’s splurge once in a while.”

　The tea was also surprisingly cheap. Moreover, two small cookies were served on the saucer. We tried them and looked at each other. They tasted just like the cookies Howler-sama had given me.

“ Howler-sama bought the cookies here. I wonder how much they cost?”

“It’s posted over there. They are cheap.”

　The cookies come in packs of five or ten, and are a little cheaper than the cookies you’d find at a sweet shop.

“I’m going to buy a package of ten cookies for my sister and mother to eat.”

“I’ll get one for myself.”

　We bought cookies, too, and left the store feeling very satisfied. The owner of the “Hideaway” smiled and said, “Please come again.”

　Even now, Howler-sama gives me sweets from time to time. They are sweets that aren't even posted on the walls of the "hideaway”. But I can tell when I eat them. All of the sweets are the same in that they are not too sweet and have a very nice aroma of flour and butter.

　In other words, he must be a regular enough to get sweets that are not on the menu.

　Mol says his sister and mother have asked him to buy them some more. I eat them carefully, one a day, as a reward for my hard work.  I’ll go to the hideout again when I get my pay. I promised Mol.

　I wonder if Howler-sama goes to the “hideout” every day. I don’t want to ask because I shouldn’t, but I have a feeling that he does.

　And there is one more thing that is really bothering me.

That is, does Howler-sama likes the beautiful owner of “The Hideaway”?　That’s what I mean. Because, I noticed that every day, without fail, he has a very happy smile on his face every time he comes back from a meal.

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