Chapter 304 The Night of the Clan Gathering
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
(Kazumi’s POV)
”Are you really going to your new place starting tonight?”
After dinner, Aluda speaks up.
It’s because Asuka said, “I’ve mostly finished unpacking at the new place, so I’ll be sleeping there starting tonight”.
”It’s right next door. In fact, it’s closer than Karina and Gieze’s house. Plus──.”
Asuka looks at me as she says this.
”──the only bath I can use anytime is here, and I want to have my meals here. Well, I’m thinking of having my nighttime activities with Gorge at the new place.”
Asuka and Gorge exchange smiles.
”…Well, that sounds about right.”
I chuckled wryly.
”Karina and Gieze’s house is like that too, but it has a huge bedroom.”
Liz laughs while pouring wine for Simona next to her.
”U, um, I actually think it’s unnecessary even as a bedroom…”
”Yeah, maybe we should just put it up for sale, Karina.”
Sister-in-law Karina offers her empty glass to Hiroya to fill, while Gieze snacks on thinly sliced potatoes.
”Don’t say that; you can stay here anytime. It’s a house we just bought, after all.”
I admonished her in an exasperated tone.
…Sister-in-law Karina and Gieze, are they doing a fist pump over there?.
”Ah, we… just checked out of our lodging──.”
”Reckon it’d be alright if we bunked here tonight…?”
Romy and Gunilla at the end of the table timidly raised their hands to ask.
”Of course! There’s a room available on the third floor… but, Gunilla is big, so would it be cramped for 2 in the guest bedroom?”
”How about the cylindrical room that I and Gorge were using?”
”That works. We’ve already moved our stuff out and tidied up.”
As I was thinking about which room to choose, Asuka and Gorge made a suggestion.
”That’s right! That one is a 3-person room, and it’s spacious and easy to use.”
”Exactly! And some folks, they’re hittin’ up on a room all to themselves, yeah?”
Dorothy clapped her hands, and Liz shot a glare at Simona.
”We’re guests, after all. We deserve at least that kinda treatment, right?”
”Seems like you only call yourself a ‘guest’ when it’s convenient, huh, SimSim?”
”Seriously. You always say, ‘I want to become a clan member soon’.”
Simona downed her wine in one gulp, and Martina and Eluda also glared at her.
”Anyway, Meluda and the others are properly using the 3-person cylindrical room…”
”Right?”
Even Meluda and Aluda were giving Simona the same look.
”W-well… Simona is the advisor for ‘Rose Hip,’ and there are visits from members, right? So a big room is better.”
Feeling a bit sorry for Simona, I decided to help her out.
”I… I’m also in the cylindrical room on the second floor──sorry about that…”
””””Ms. Hanna is fine!””””
Almost everyone at the table chimed in eagerly.
”You’re about to have a baby, so a big room is just right for you.”
Toldo, who had opened the door to the backyard and was puffing on a pipe outside, spoke in a gentle tone.
”R-really?”
”If you want, I could buy a whole house…”
Aluda, Eluda, and Meluda ran over to Toldo, pushing him out to the backyard and closing the door.
”…Don’t worry about it, Ms. Hanna. Grandpa might be getting a bit senile.”
Aluda bowed her head to Ms. Hanna.
”…Could you let me out?”
From the other side of the door, Toldo’s pitiful voice could be heard.
”Grandpa, why don’t you just sleep in the workshop?”
”It’ll be warm once the furnace is lit.”
Eluda and Meluda were relentless.
”K-Kazumi… should we go prepare the cylindrical room on the third floor with Rena?”
As I watched Toldo knock on the door with ‘pitying eyes,’ Rena took my hand.
”Noo is going too~.”
”Suu will help too.”
”Uu, I’ll prepare new sheets~.”
”Thank you. ──Aluda and the others, make sure to let Toldo in before he catches a cold, okay?”
I said this to Aluda and then headed to the third floor with Rena and the wolf maids.
* * *
(Gunilla’s POV)
”I’ve heard about this…”
Romy placed the tea on the table and quietly spoke to me.
”Mr. Toldo is… the famous blacksmith ‘Toldo Freeberry’, right? ──You know, Ms. Eluda and the others are blacksmiths, right? Is he their grandfather…?”
Romy shifted her gaze to Noriss and Lotta sitting next to her.
”Yeah, that’s right. He’s the ‘best blacksmith in the kingdom’, Toldo Freeberry.”
”Exactly. …Usually, he just seems like ‘a lewd old man’, though.”
Noriss and Lotta replied with laughter.
”And… the woman sitting next to Mr. Hiroya over there──she introduced herself as Sasha Zett. Could it be…?”
”Yeah. She’s the leader of the Zett Merchant Guild. She met Ms. Liz and the others when her previous father passed away.”
Romy was surprised by Lotta’s answer.
”…Even such amazing people are clan members…”
”I wonder if Ms. Sasha is a member? …It’s definitely true that they’re family, though.”
Noriss tilted her head slightly.
”Either way… both of them are famous.”
”Romy is quite knowledgeable, huh?”
I was impressed by Romy.
”…Before going to Reedull’s town from my hometown, I spent some time in the Royal Capital…”
Romy looked down a bit.
…Does she have some unpleasant memories?
”How terrible… to throw an old man out into the cold…”
The dwarf grandpa, who was finally let into the dining hall, brushed the snow off his shoulders.
”Mr. Toldo is at fault. It’s no wonder his grandchildren are angry.”
Ms. Sasha laughed cheerfully while leaning against Mr. Hiroya.
”Even though they’re famous, they’re not at all pretentious. They’re good people.”
I watched the two of them interact and chuckled.
* * *
(Karina’s POV)
”H-Hiroya… c-can I have some wine, please…”
I offered a glass to my cute little brother.
I had noticed that Lady Sasha’s gaze on Hiroya had a strange intensity to it.
(The leader of the merchant guild that our clan often uses… I heard she met Hiroya when her father passed away.)
Hiroya smiled and poured the wine for me.
(But why does Lady Sasha look at Hiroya with such heated eyes?)
”W-what is your relationship with my brother, Ms. Sasha?”
I asked directly, fueled by the alcohol.
”Hey, Karina, are you drunk? You might be drinking too much.”
Gisela pulled on my arm from the side.
”G-Gieze… I’m not… I-I’m still… not drunk! I’m just curious about the relationship between my brother and Ms. Sasha…”
I shook off Gisela’s grip and took a sip of the wine in my glass.
”Mr. Hiroya is my only ‘man who can be close to me’.”
Lady Sasha said, placing both hands on her chest.
(Ah… I sensed it.)
”He is a precious man who can heal both my body and soul.”
Lady Sasha sent another heated glance at Hiroya.
”I-I see… my brother is a wonderful man… so… I’m proud… too…”
I finished my wine and stood up.
”H-Hiroya… thank you for keeping me company──Gieze, let’s go to the bath.”
I held back tears and took Gieze’s hand as we headed to the bath.
* * *
”Mr. Hiroya’s charm isn’t something that just started, right?”
”You should really stop relying on your brother so much… It’s only going to hurt you in the end, you know?”
”I-I-I’m Hiroya’s… Ah, his sister. …I-I-I want to be by my brother’s side more than anyone else…”
(Damn it… I’m still saying things like this…)
”I, I mean… That’s just an excuse, m-m-my true feelings are…”
At that moment, Gisela placed her index finger on my lips.
”…For now, let’s suppress those feelings, Princess Karin.”
Gisela smiled gently.
”First, you are Princess Karin… We both need to become independent adventurers.”
Saying this, she hugged me.
”To be honest… I’m also attracted to Lord Hiroya. As a woman, I also want to be held by Lord Hiroya.”
Yeah.
I kind of knew that, Gisela.
”But… First, you need to become independent and learn to protect yourself without relying on others. Love and romance can come later, it’s not too late.”
”Yes… y-you’re right, Gisela…”
”Well, I might be a little impatient…”
Gisela laughed.
”I-I-I… I-I-I might be a little impatient too…”
”Then, let’s work hard… You need to become independent first.”
Gisela and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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