Chapter 249: The Battle in the Dining Room

――――The 46th day of training.

Adelheit managed to survive the turbulent night somehow. However, the price is too great. Nell is having a hangover and she still hasn’t woken up even though it’s almost noon.

「…… I guess it’s not a price or anything.」

If I was drunk as well, we would have made the same mistake as before. Drinking is terrifying.

「What’s with that difficult face? Haha, I know, your sneak visit into Nell’s room didn’t go well last night, right? Don’t worry, something like that ain’t a big deal!」

「Don’t say something misleading in the dining room, Alezel. Also, I don’t want to hear that from you who have never had a boyfriend.」

「Y-You! There’s no person who talks about personal matters in the dining room, you know!?」

There is, the person right in front of me. Well, a day has passed after that and the other Great Eight Demons started to arrive one by one. Sitting in front of me in the grand dining room of Nell’s mansion is my old friend, Alezel Quitet. She is the only guest we invited to the ceremony, and she will be staying with us during her stay in Adelheit.

「More importantly, I heard from Lily that you accidentally mentioned about our marriage at the meeting. Hmm?」

「A-Ahahaha…. Well, it was a figure of speech. It might or might not have come out of my mouth….」

Hey, your eyes are shifty, you know?

「Really, what a slick fellow. Well, let’s leave it at that. Instead, Alezel, you have to cooperate, okay? After all, Nell might get really angry depending on how this ceremony goes.」

「Trust is the most important thing for a merchant. I will definitely make up for this blunder. Still, you sure came up with a drastic measure, Deris. I’m sure it will fulfill their wishes, but… it’s definitely not something you do at a wedding, you know? Are you really sure?」

「In a sense, I think it will be a ceremony that is unique to us. When Nell wakes up, we will make a final confirmation. We will start preparing after it’s approved.」

About the promise I made with Agalia and others last night, it requires a little preparation, so I demanded cooperation from Alezel, the origin of the matter. Without compensation, of course.

「Yep, if we have the top quality product from Made in Zex and the power of Deris, we can manage somehow, I think?」

「…… Am I going to do it too?」

「I want to help too, but I ain’t cut out for this. It’s the right person in the right place thing. Besides, it will be our first collaboration work! Ain’t it wonderful?」n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

I feel like I’m being made fun of a bit, but it’s certainly not a role for Alezel. Yeah, it’s going to be original collaboration work.

「Have you prepared baby products? If you want, the Quitet General Trading Company can prepare it at a reasonable price.」

「Isn’t it too early for that? We aren’t even married yet, you know?」

「There’s no such a thing as too early. Also, there’s nothing better than being prepared. Besides, if you prepared it now, it will be hard to go back, right?」

「That’s right, but let me focus on the ceremony for now.」

Somehow, the current Alezel’s eyes are like Haru’s hunter’s eyes when she’s facing the opponent in battle. Just how much are you going to make me buy? Even though her Job is not a merchant, she’s stronger than her real Job, really.

「Lunch A for three people is ready! Please serve it!」

As we were talking, I heard Haru’s lively voice from the kitchen. Before I knew it, there are some servants in the dining room, and I realized that it’s time for lunch.

「It’s already this time, huh. Alezel, what about your meal? Are you going to eat here?」

「I will~. The voice just now, it was your disciple’s voice, right? I heard that you are making her take care of everyday necessities just because Lily is useless.」

「…… You see, people have things they are not good at.」

Lily was forcing herself with her acting, so she’s resting now. To be precise, she’s sleeping in my former house, which I brought to the yard of the mansion. She said that she recovers three times faster if it’s my bed, and she seems to be enjoying something in exchange for her reward. I want her to recover by the time of the ceremony, so I’ve decided to ignore her as long as she doesn’t do anything serious. I won’t ask her what she’s doing.

「I also heard the rumor that her cooking ability is transcendental, so I wanted to try it once. I’m looking forward to it~」

「Don’t try to scout her just because it’s delicious. She’s my precious disciple.」

「Ahaha, I won’t. What I want is the recipe. I heard that your disciple came from another world. In other words, her cooking uses a lot of knowledge and skill from that world. Depending on the situation, I will even pay her…!」

She’s starting to get involved in the food and beverage business, huh. Well, it will be useful for the elf resort that I and Nell have visited, and it’ll be beneficial for me if delicious food is being well-known. Even Haru has been teaching the chefs here for free.

「Then, I will tell Haru. I’ll have them bring some food to your room, so if there’s anything you’re interested in, I’ll prepare the recipe. You owe me this, okay?」

「Really!? Deris, I love you~! Marry me!」

「H-Hey, don’t come closer….」

However, it’s a different story when it comes to Alezel. Alezel, who has a strong merchant disposition, will prioritize trust, so she hates debt. Setting aside money, if I make Alezel owe me, it will definitely be useful later. With this, there will be no shortage of scrolls and magic items for a while. Fuhahahaha.

「…… Hey. Why are you grinning when Alezel hugged you and asked you to marry her? Are you going to marry Alezel?」

It was a calm tone, but a very threatening voice. I can feel a terrible bloodlust from my back. I can feel it. I and Alezel then slowly turned our faces in that direction

「「G-Geh! It’s the knight leader…!?」」

I and Alezel are dead―― just kidding, Nell-sama forgave us after we explained it properly.

「I feel like we’ve talked about that before…. Isn’t it fine? I approve.」

「Kay, I’m gonna prepare it.」

「Please.」

Nell seemed to be in a bad mood after her hangover, but she gave her permission for my plan. That’s what I love about her. However, some of the servants began to be crushed by the overwhelming pressure from Nell, so we moved place to the guest room. While we are at it, let’s tell Haru about the previous talk.

「Shishō, I’m sorry! The kitchen will become a battlefield from now on, so let’s talk later after things have calmed down! Is the prep work finished!?」

「Chief, please check it!」

「Okay. Then, Shishō, I’ll see you later!」

「Y-Yeah, see you later….」

When I look at the kitchen from the outside, the cooks are moving around Haru for some reason. …… Is it my imagination? The old man who’s asking Haru for a checking, wasn’t he the chief?