Chapter 24

With Catherine taking the lead, the three of us headed to a dessert place that, for some reason, was familiar to me.

‘Ah, this place…’

As soon as we stepped into the shop, memories of the familiar interior flooded.

This place was also one of the locations for events in the game.

It wasn’t a shop with an exceptional name. If you were to say it was a “cake shop in the Blackwood Market,” most people would, more or less, understand what you’re referring to.

It was a place that didn’t hold much significance in the story itself; honestly, it was more like a location for collecting character CGs *1.

You can’t enter the Blackwood fiefdom with the protagonist’s party until after you’ve claimed Lilith, so CGs related to her probably aren’t present.

“Hey, they say the strawberry cake they sell here is delicious! Um, you both don’t happen to hate strawberries or anything, do you?”

“I like them, Senior Catherine.”

“Me too.”

“Haha, well, that’s a relief…”

Even if someone dislikes strawberries, who could outright say so to that innocent face? At the very least, they would make an effort to like them.

The only maids whose personalities were so shattered that they could make such a remark were probably Ariana and Alicia.

Since we couldn’t afford three separate cakes with the maids’ salaries alone, we pooled our money together and ordered a slice of strawberry cake.

We sat around one of the tables with our slice of cake and chatted about various things.

“This strawberry cake looks even prettier up close! I learned that these are usually eaten by young ladies…”

“Oh, really? Li-Lilith, are these things usually only eaten by noble ladies…? Um…?”

“…Hmm, I’m not sure, even if you ask me.”

What does it matter if noble ladies or maids eat it?

Of course, realistically speaking, desserts like this were luxury foods that even pooling the monthly salaries of three maids wouldn’t cover.

This is a fantasy world more than it is a medieval one. Besides, claiming something is impossible to eat isn’t quite right either.

The Blackwood fiefdom is vast enough to have its own capacity to produce milk and eggs.

Strictly speaking, the sugar shortage could be seen as a flaw. Still, if you compensate by using less sugar and instead compensate with the natural sweetness of strawberries, it wouldn’t be entirely impossible to buy.

Of course, the fact that this shop sells desserts made in such a manner to even the commoners was somewhat strange, but I didn’t see any particular issue with it.

‘This is a place to collect CGs, after all.’

No matter how much it claims to be an SRPG, “Luminor Academy” was an adult romance game at its core.

It was a game for those who would willingly play three more hours just to collect CGs of their favorite characters eating strawberry cake rather than those who would give up, complaining about those just being pixels on a screen.

For now, I decided to enjoy the dessert before me without thinking too deeply about it.

“…Hmm.”

…The taste is, well, decent enough.

If I were Lilith in the game, I would have probably shown all sorts of ecstatic expressions, claiming it’s the first time I’ve tasted such delicious food.

However, having had proper strawberry cream cake in my previous life, this dessert seemed a bit bland but still decent enough to eat.

“Mmmm~! It’s so soft~!!”

On the other hand, Isabel was savoring every precious bite with several joyful expressions.

If they had made this scene into a special CG and distributed it, wouldn’t the sales of “Luminor Academy” have increased by about a thousand copies?

Despite being engrossed in such a thoroughly materialistic gamer-like appreciation, I could hear Catherine’s slightly anxious tone.

“Li-Lilith…?”

“Yes?”

“I-Is something wrong…? D-Does it not taste as good…?”

…Ah.

Come to think of it, today’s outing was meant to stop Catherine’s selfless favor repaying. If I showed any dissatisfaction, she would feel sorry for me and would likely continue returning the favor as before.

It was important to show that I was thoroughly satisfied here.

“No, Senior Catherine. It’s so delicious that I was momentarily at a loss for words, thinking about what to say.”

“I see…?”

“The cream melted like clouds on the soft bread as light as a feather, along with the fresh and smooth sweetness of the strawberries. I’ve never tasted such a fantastic dish in my life.”

“I-I see… I’m glad… Li-Lilith, please eat plenty…”

“By the way, Senior Catherine, aren’t you going to eat?”

“I-I’m okay. Just watching you eat is enough for me… Even last year, when I was with Ariana and Alicia…”

“…”

…As soon as I heard about her past, which somehow reddened my eyes, my words halted mid-air, and I could not speak for a moment.

Damn, those two bastards.

Hearing Catherine’s self-confession was enough to wipe out any sympathy I might have had for the bitches who had been taken to the northern frontier.

Before I knew it, my hand naturally cut my remaining share of the cake and brought it to Catherine’s mouth.

“Senior Catherine, you should eat more.”

“Uh, um…? I-I’m fine…”

“Please hurry up and eat it. I’ve had enough.”

“…”

“It’s my request. Will you refuse after I’ve insisted?”

“…”

Seeing Catherine hesitating as she stared at the cake being pushed towards her, her mouth slowly opened.

Without hesitation, I pushed the slice of strawberry cake from my fork into her mouth.

“Is it good?”

-Nods.

With cheeks stuffed full of strawberry cake and a happy expression, Catherine munched away. Somehow, perhaps due to her petite stature, she almost looked like a cute little hamster.

‘… They’re probably having a great time, laughing and enjoying themselves while leaving behind someone who eats so well.’

As I sincerely wished Ariana and Alicia, those two girls, to “work” at the northern border for a long time, I observed Catherine eating.

Suddenly, Isabel tapped my right shoulder and spoke.

“Lilith, Lilith.”

“Yeah?”

“…”

In response to her call, I immediately turned my gaze towards Isabel, but she remained silent, her mouth slightly open as if she had something to say but stopped herself.

Unable to comprehend Isabel’s behavior, I could only stare at her with a puzzled expression.

“…”

“…”

“…Isabel?”

“…”

“Do you, uh, have something to say…?”

“…No, it’s nothing.”

With a somewhat awkward expression, she picked up her share of cake and quietly savored it in her mouth.

I couldn’t quite put my finger on it for some reason, but I sensed a hint of dissatisfaction from her.

… Women’s moods are just impossible to figure out sometimes.

We spent more time together after snack time at the dessert shop.

We strolled through the shopping district, browsing various clothes and jewelry.

If we came across some tasty street food while walking, we would buy one to share among the three of us…

…or we would sit near the park and engage in various conversations, and before we knew it, half a day had passed in the blink of an eye.@@novelbin@@

‘Surprisingly, this isn’t so bad at all.’

In truth, I didn’t have high expectations when we first decided to come to the town together.

As a guy joining in on girls’ fun, I didn’t expect to have much fun, and I thought I would just go along with them for half a day and call it a day.

However, thanks to Catherine, who surprisingly knew a lot about the fiefdom, Isabel and I were able to explore various places within it.

Time seemed to pass so quickly that I found myself enjoying the time and thinking,

‘Time really does fly when you’re having fun.’

“So, where should we go next? There are a few places we probably haven’t been to yet…”

“I think we should start heading back towards the city entrance now. It seems like it’s almost time for our appointment.”

“Agreed. Senior Catherine, thanks to you, I really enjoyed our outing today.”

“Same here. If it were just Isabel and me, we probably would have wandered around near the city entrance and spent the whole day there, but thanks to you, we had a fulfilling day.”

“R-Really…? I’m glad I could help…”

“We’re really grateful.”

“Hehe, I’m glad…”

…Well, with this, Catherine’s attempts to repay me with gratitude will probably mellow down by a lot in the future.

In my opinion, this was enough repayment. Even I, as a guy, spent the day without realizing how time flew by.

Truth be told, I felt a little disappointed when we first came out to the city.

Instead of spending this rare outing opportunity like this, I would have preferred to go to the mountains and level up.

Now that I’ve already enjoyed everything, I don’t regret it anymore.

‘Leveling up, huh… There will be other opportunities.’

Since I’ve learned that being a debt maid doesn’t necessarily mean being confined to the mansion, perhaps the next opportunity will come sooner than expected.

If I continue to build the head maid’s trust in me, I might even get permission for outings that don’t necessarily have to be in the city.

It’s certainly better to calmly go out like today and receive permission rather than sneaking off to the mountains and risking getting caught and disciplined later.

Let’s stay calm. Let’s stay calm.

Increasing mana capacity, leveling up, and acquiring skills are essential, but the most crucial thing is still being ‘inconspicuous.’

I should be careful, primarily because of figures like Ethan and Harold.

“Wasn’t the city entrance this way?”

“W-We should hurry up a little, shouldn’t we? W-What if the coachman leaves us behind and goes ahead…?”

“We still have some time, but let’s pick up the pace a bit.”

I didn’t want to see him delayed because of us.

He had already granted us a favor by letting us ride with him in his carriage, and to do them harm would be one of my greatest regrets.

As we hurried across the shopping district towards the city entrance…

…a remark that couldn’t be ignored echoed behind me.

“AHHHH! It’s a m-m-m-monster!!”

…Monster?

T/N

CG is short for ‘computer graphics.’ In the context of visual novels, these refer to special full-screen static images of characters, memorable scenes or route endings, and specific events that are unlocked by progressing through the story. Think of the ending picture after a Hangout Event in Genshin.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading, and see you in the next one!