Chapter 32 – Flowers of the North Sea (4)

“Welcome~! “This is the Parencia Academy cafeteria!”

Adela’s store debut was quite successful.
Contrary to my original plan of having them clean up if they couldn’t be of any help, I was quite good at serving customers and making drinks, even if I just had my arms crossed behind the counter.
Occasionally I would steal the bread displayed in the showcase… That should be deducted from your salary.

“Hmm, here’s a cup of raspberry tea and peppermint for you… “Did you?”
“Yes~. Please wait!”

The first person to snoop into the cafe was not a student but an employee of a certain family.
A man who appeared to be an apprentice servant came in startled when Adela, who was pressing her forehead against the glass of the front door, made eye contact with her.
He then ordered two cups of tea, which was completely unsuitable for a man in his mid-twenties, and after tasting them carefully, he left.
They must have tested it first to see if it was a good store.

After that, several more servants came to visit. The tie on his chin—— It seemed like the re-invention of the cravat design came from several families.
As if she had heard rumors about Adela Sylvester, there were some people who swallowed the stomach medicine she kept inside her sleeve for emergencies.
Fortunately, no accident occurred under my watch, and after a few days, students gradually began to visit the cafe.
Adela, too, seemed to be excited as she brewed her coffee with a smile on her face, placed it on her tray, and served it to her guests.

“Enjoy your meal… No, eat it.”
“?”

That way of speaking that sometimes sticks out was also being corrected little by little. Personally, it was a part that I felt very affectionate about, but it seems that Erzsebet did not like it.

“Would you like to order?”
“Oh, that’s… For a moment. “I’m sorry.”
“Choose slowly.”
“Hmm… “Are you a first year student?”
“Yes. “My name is Adella.”

A male student stares at Adela like a deer hit by an arrow.
I don’t know if I’m looking at her face, or if I’m looking at her breasts that stand out as I bend down slightly to take her order, tsk tsk.
Adela, who caught the attention of her guests, was the poisoned chalice itself.
This isn’t good for my future life, but I don’t want to let it go.
Watching their vivid agony from the sidelines was quite an interesting spectacle.

But–

“Teacher. “It’s all sorted out.”

When Adela approached me, it felt as if the poison was overflowing from her and pouring down her throat.

“Teacher~?”
“… Uh, okay. “Get off work.”
“Have you had dinner?”
“I don’t really think about it.”

What? Was he always like this?
It was the same as before, being naive, reckless, and leaning in without a sense of distance, but I couldn’t react to it back the way I had before.
It’s hard to look into her blue eyes as she wraps her arms around her and looks at her.
I was also constantly concerned about the soft lump of flesh that kept sticking to my body every time I lifted my heel because it couldn’t bounce.
In addition, there is a light floral scent that seems to represent the freshness of a girl about to debut in the social world.

“I couldn’t eat dinner either…”

Perhaps even if Erzébet had not warned her not to touch her hair, she would not have dared to touch it.
I immediately got off of her. A little too fast to even think about it myself.

“You ate a lot of bread earlier.”
“No. The ship is all gone. Would you like to touch it?”

Who touches whose where. That’s not something a girl worth talking about would do.

“Okay, get off work. “Because it’s going to be closed.”
“Hmph.”

After forcing Adela out, I stood at the counter for a while, feeling a little self-destructive.
Lately, it felt awkward for her because he often pushed her away like this.

“Whoa… Will I get used to this?”

The store is running well. Make good money too.
Since Adela had solved my problem, as Erzébet said, I should at least not interfere so that she can find a good husband.

However, unlike before, she feels pity for the nobleman who will mortgage her life ——
For some reason it was difficult to answer.

***

‘You’re doing well today too.’

Erzsebet was watching Adela work through Pyi’s eyes.

〈 Assimilation 〉 with a familiar was the most basic magic required for a tamer who commanded a summoned beast.
There are endless ways to use it, so you can not only share your senses, but also use magic remotely or analyze the battlefield from various angles to devise appropriate strategies.

A wizard who treats his summons like limbs precisely controls their actions.
In fact, one of the five Grand Dukes—Duke Meishin—is said to be able to control as many as ten phantom beasts at the same time, but that level was still too much for Erzsebet.
Rather, it was at the level of being dragged by Pi’s movements.

— Piy, try moving a little further to the side. Adela keeps disappearing from her sight.
“Pi—.”

Although she tried hard to communicate her thoughts, Pii ignored most of her master’s requests.
I spent a lot of time picking her feathers or waddling around on the rosewood bar in front of the counter.
She sometimes went to a bowl of water for drinking and to wash her body.

Erzsebet was fine up to that point. But there was just one behavior she couldn’t stand.

— Piy, please listen to me! Why do you always go to that guy!!

Phi kept approaching Louis. She would tap her nails with her beak, as if playing with her, or even push her head against hers.
Luis also felt burdened by Adela, so he just stood at the counter and accepted the joke when Pi came near. She sometimes gives a glossy look in her eyes.

“Oh, what is it?”
“Pi—.”
“Okay? Pet me?”
“Pee—!”
— No, don’t… Hand stains! Please… Hmm!?

Lewis seemed to like animals, as he touched them here and there with his rough hands, almost as if tapping them.
The problem was that the repercussions were passed on to Erzsebet.
Tenacious and provocative hand movements, as if scratching a cat’s skin. If the same thing was done to human skin, it would definitely turn red, but Pii, which is not an ordinary bird, actually liked it.

“Is this okay too?”
“Pee—!”
— Wow!?

The fingers that were tickling the beak and the top of the head come up the back of the wing and dig into the feathers.
Erzsebet hurriedly broke off the fairy tale when she felt the soft chest hair being dug into her chest.

“Huh, hah, hah…”

Inside the carriage with the sunset glow pouring down. Fortunately, Everett had Carl’s training left today and was following along.
Ergé Bett’s whole body twisted at the unpleasant sensation he had felt a moment ago.
A joy that cannot be explained by just caressing the cheek or behind the ear.
In severe cases, my back hurt and tears came to my eyes.

At first, she searched books to find out why she had this strange feeling, but she found it difficult to find any information about taming magic in any magic book.
The answer I managed to find was in a book by Professor Robert Danilen, an authority on zoology.

[For some birds belonging to the parrot family, the entire body, including the head, is an erogenous zone. You need to be careful about stroking carelessly.]

“Nonsense…”

Her shame overwhelmed her and she covered her face with both hands in her carriage.
Lewis: Not only did I feel good about the man’s touch, but I was also sexually excited.
It was truly an unprecedented shame.

“I can’t do that. Pay close attention to Pi… Ha, I don’t have the capacity to listen. “It would be better to warn that man.”

I was already exhausted from a tiring day’s work.
Immersed in the weary sensation of her slowly cooling body, Erzébet closed her eyes and rolled onto her back in exhaustion.

“Okay, tomorrow… Ha, tomorrow is Professor Roylen’s group assignment meeting again… Then, even on a sandy morning… Back then, I woke up an hour earlier…”

Her face, which had become as red as the sunset, sank again, and even her chest, which had been breathing heavily, moved to sleep with her.
A comfortable rest that lets go of all the worries that have been holding on to her mind.
By the time she woke up in front of her mansion, she looked much clearer than usual.

***

“Here’s a cup of Viennese coffee.”
“Yes, I will bring it to you right away.”

Lately, Adela has been a little more sullen than before. The reason was none other than Lewis.
Things were good until she started working in the canteen.
Because it gave her the opportunity to be closer to her teacher a little longer.

However, once she started working, Lewis didn’t even look at her properly.
Just before opening or when customers left for a moment and the two of them had time alone, he would hop into the concession stand through the door inside the counter.
The way he spoke also became more awkward than before.

“Teacher. “That apron is untied.”
“Hang again.”
“Can’t you do it? There was cream on his hands…”

Adela used the excuse that her apron was undone to get closer to Louise.
Even though she was annoying, I liked the kindness of her as she kindly untied all of her laces and pulled them lightly once.

Kuuk.

“What are you doing, you?”
“Ha… “It’s easier this way.”

Adela leaned against him, even though she was conscious of being a little cheeky.
As he placed her buttocks on his strong thighs and tilted his head back, he felt the strong scent of Lewis.
It was also nice to lightly rub her head, which Ergé Bett had worked so hard to set, against her chest.
I wanted time to stop like this.

“Okay, that’s it.”

Widely!

But Lewis deftly tied Adela’s apron around her slightly bulged waist and pushed her away.

“Go get some coffee. “The guests are waiting.”
“Chii, I understand.”

After tasting her happiness for a moment, she fell with regret. Even as she made her coffee and headed to her table, Adela’s gaze never left her Luis.
He was also playing around with the bird that Erzsebet had entrusted to him.

Is that bird better than me——?

Just as I was reminding myself that it was strange for me to feel jealous of a bird, someone burst open the door and came in.

“Princess?”
“Ha… You’re doing great, Adela. “I stopped by to run some business.”

Erzsebet, who was breathing a little more excitedly than usual, headed to the Dazzagozza counter and placed the pie that Luis was touching on her shoulder.

— You come here for a moment.
— What’s going on?
— Okay, let’s go somewhere just the two of us. Because I have something to talk about.
— … Then let’s go to the second floor. Please follow me.

In their conversation, Adela heard one annoying word.
Second floor.
Adela remembered. The day Riv Labre, who can sometimes be seen across the street, followed Luis up to the second floor.
At that time, she was being dragged and beaten by Ansen.

It was not my intention to impose an unreasonable causal relationship.
Only this time, he was left alone to watch Louise disappear with another woman.

The teacher definitely said that smart people are good——
Even though I try so hard, why isn’t anyone paying attention to me?

“Hey? “Can I order from here?”

Maybe she just hates me. Maybe she kept her distance from it because she thought it was a nuisance.
Her heart was torn apart. She’s been hiding something she shouldn’t have, but now she may not have much time left.

For Adela, the loss of the person to whom she had given her precious heart was the greatest sadness in the world.

“Okay, just a moment. For a moment… Wait for me.”

She let out her first forced smile and then sat down behind the counter.