Chapter 124: Cuddle Bell 1
Amid the people evacuating from the stampede, a building resounded with a delicious aroma and the sounds of cooking.
In the Suzuya tavern, Nimi was busily grilling steaks.
Next to her, one of the helpers was cutting the steaks, and the other was putting them ten each into paper boxes they had prepared.
What Nimi and the others were making was rations for the soldiers.
She had previously heard from Raide that on the battlefield there are times when victory or defeat is decided by whether one can eat a meal or not.
Fia, standing at the entrance to the kitchen, smiled and asked Nimi.
"Nimi, when did you make those paper boxes?"
"These are from during the daily breaks. You two also helped, didn’t you?"
"I never thought we would end up using them this soon..."
"Really..."
At Nimi’s words the two helpers looked at each other and laughed with exasperated looks.
Nimi who saw the two also ended up laughing while facing Fia.
However, the hard part had been making sure Raide did not find out.
He, who is surprisingly good with intuition and his nose, notices trivial things and asks about them.
Recalling the times she had been asked, while not resting the hands grilling the steaks she smiled and spoke to Fia.
"When he said the smell of paper was coming from my hands, my heart skipped a beat."
"What is that. Isn’t he too sensitive?"
Fia blinked her eyes at Nimi’s words, then raised her voice and laughed.
Even though one says lovers are important, asking just because the unusual smell of paper was coming from the hands.
Raide might be surprisingly overprotective, Fia laughed.
But when Fia thought back, there had been several occasions where she had been asked similar things by Raide.
After flying in the sky during the day, when she met Raide inside the academy she had been asked "Were you flying in the sky?"
Recalling that, Fia laughed with an exasperated look and spoke to Nimi.
"When I thought back, I also had a similar experience."
"Fufu, being too good with the nose is also troublesome, isn’t it?"
"Yes, truly."
"Nimi, Eima has come, but..."
While Nimi and Fia were laughing together, Aurora poked her face into the kitchen and spoke with a troubled expression.
Pafa and the three songstresses were also participating in [Cuddle Bell] and helping.
They had been doing the work of putting the paper boxes into magic bags on the floor.
Nimi and Fia tilted their heads, stopped the hands grilling the steaks, extinguished the fire, and went out to the floor.
Because they had thought the two had evacuated, Nimi was a little surprised that they had come to the tavern.
Then Eima and her daughter, with uneasy faces, were standing at the entrance to the tavern.
"Eima, and Rinaar as well..."
"Nimi, is there anything we can help with?"
"Nimi and the others are moving for the Instructor’s sake, right?"
Nimi understood from looking at the two’s expressions and eyes.
Because they are the same women, she could understand that the two also cherish Raide.
Therefore the question of why they were not evacuating immediately disappeared from within Nimi.
Fia who walked up beside Nimi was probably the same; Fia looked at the two, smiled with an exasperated look, and murmured.
"Creating [Cuddle Bell] was the right decision, wasn’t it?"
"Yes... Eima, Rinaar, can we have you help?"
At Nimi’s words Eima and her daughter’s faces lit up, and they nodded with happy smiles.
Rinaar headed toward the three songstresses, and Eima approached Nimi, averted her gaze, and made an expression as if finding it hard to speak.
Nimi could sense what Eima wanted to say.
Because Eima’s expression resembled her own expression from before becoming Raide’s lover.
"Nimi... I..."
"Let’s support him together, okay?"
"Eh..."
"Just thinking about it is useless. Raide won’t let you escape, you know?"
To Eima who raised her face with a surprised expression at Nimi’s words, Fia continued while still smiling with an exasperated look.
Eima made a blank face for an instant at the two’s words, but immediately smiled with an indescribable yet slightly happy expression.
Fia took one of Eima’s hands and pulled her toward the kitchen; seeing that, Nimi took a letter from the pocket of her apron.
Then she opened the seal, murmured something, closed the seal again, and put it back into the pocket.
Nimi also headed to the kitchen, smiled, and murmured to herself.
"It’s going smoothly, Erika."
The place is inside a carriage.
Erika opened the letter, read the contents, smiled troubledly, and murmured.
"He really is a troublesome person."
"Erika, what’s wrong?"
Putting the letter away into her magic bag, she shifted her gaze to her mother sitting in front of her.
Elysia was wearing a white party dress, with both hands placed on her knees, and looking at Erika while smiling and tilting her head.
Even her daughter Erika ends up sighing; the dignified bearing and atmosphere overflowing with elegance make one yearn.
While wondering if someday she too could become like her mother, she shook her head, laughed with an exasperated look, and spoke.
"It seems Eima and her daughter have been captured by Raide."
"Fufu, is that so."
"Mother, is that all...?"
"Oh my, Erika also understood and pulled them into Suzuya, didn’t you?"
"That’s true, but..."
"You mustn’t get flustered over just this, you know? Right, Lucia?"
"Kusu, yes."
Lucia, who had the conversation directed at her by Elysia, placed a finger of one hand against her mouth and smiled enjoyably.
Erika shifted her gaze to Lucia sitting next to Elysia and ended up making a troubled expression.
Lucia was wearing a bright brown party dress and projecting an elegant atmosphere.
Normally she has the atmosphere of a kind, calm mother, but looking at today’s appearance reminds one that she was a noble.
When looking at those two older women, Erika inevitably ends up comparing herself.
Even though she is a little nervous about the place they are heading to now, the two are making composed expressions.
If told the number of experiences is different, that is probably so.
But Erika ended up envying the composure the two have that she does not.
Her mother Elysia, looking at her daughter Erika’s expression, smiled enjoyably and spoke.
"Erika will gain many experiences from now on, so think of today as studying."
"I have been away from such places for a long time, so it would be good if I can be of use."
"Fufufu, but you are not nervous, are you, Lucia?"
"Yes... Perhaps because I have resolved myself."
"To stay by that person’s side for life?"
"Fufu, Elysia is the same, aren’t you?"
Erika, looking at the two enjoyably chatting, once again confirmed her own immaturity.
No matter who looks at the current two, they do not look as if they have been away from noble socializing for a long time.
She ends up worrying whether it is because she has no experience, or whether it is a difference in resolve.
The connections that increase every time Raide helps people.
In order to organize all of them she borrowed the name of Suzuya.
Actually the true aim of that is to support him without him noticing.
When starting the new Suzuya, [Cuddle Bell] was also created at the same time.
The members are solidified with Raide’s lovers, and the existence of [Cuddle Bell] is to be kept from his notice.
Of course, those who are probably in love have been made to join after consulting with the lovers.
Wanting to be of even a little help to him, wanting to repay even a little of the debt, [Cuddle Bell] was created.
...Well, it was not something I proposed.
The ones who proposed it were Nimi and Elysia.
When she consulted about wanting to borrow the name of Suzuya, the proposal from Nimi was the beginning of everything.
Thanks to Raide the funds, connections, and information were all in place.
That is exactly why she negotiated seriously with Raide at that time.
In order to be able to move [Cuddle Bell] with the new Suzuya as a cover.
The carriage slowly stopped, the door opened, and the butler peeked his face in.
Elysia took the butler’s hand and alighted, and Lucia followed.
When Erika also borrowed the butler’s hand and alighted from the carriage, a single mansion stood in front of her eyes.
It is the mansion of a certain viscount, where there is a lady whom it would be most troublesome to have move right now.
Noticing the umbrella held above her head, when she looked to the side Minty was standing there smiling.
The three adventurer girls had changed into high-quality clothes for when meeting nobles and were serving as escorts for Erika and the others.
Erika smiled back at Minty, took a letter from her magic bag, murmured something, and put the letter away again.
She gazed at the mansion with a serious expression and followed the backs of Elysia and Lucia walking ahead.
Elysia and Lucia looked at the expression of Erika following behind with only their gazes.
At the daughter who had made an expression as if her resolve was set, Elysia exchanged smiles with Lucia and then faced forward.
Raide had given the opportunity for her, who had been bedridden, to leave something for her daughter.
The body that would originally have just decayed without being able to leave anything had been saved by him.
Although they appear calm, Elysia and Lucia are also nervous.
Elysia organizes various information in her head, and Lucia organizes the information obtained from the brothel in her head.
Information sharing among the lovers is going smoothly thanks to Croana; after that it is only a matter of there being people who can use it.
The ones who volunteered for that are Elysia, Lucia, and her daughter Erika.
The reason they only appear calm is the difference in experience, and because there is a young girl who seems to yearn for them, they were able to keep tensing themselves.
So that Lucia walking beside her could hear, Elysia murmured while smiling.
"[Cuddle Bell]’s first job. We don’t want to fail, do we?"
"Yes, not at all."
The two smiled a little at each other and tightened their resolve inwardly.
Toward the long-awaited place of negotiation, Elysia and Lucia advanced their steps with calm smiles.