After we finished our questions to Alice, we decided to ask for the opinion of someone nearby for the time being, so we moved to Lilia-san’s mansion and asked for Lilia-san’s opinion.
Since it was Kuro’s request, Lilia-san immediately made time for her to listen in her office.
[……New possibilities for baby castellas…… is it?]
[Unnn. That’s why, I want to hear your opinion, Lilia-chan.]
[I understand what you’re saying, but I don’t have much experience eating baby castellas to begin with, so I’m not sure how much help I can be……][Eh? Is that so?]
[Yes, I didn’t have many opportunities to participate in festivals and the like, nor do I have many chances to leave the royal castle other than to work for the Knight Order……]
Now that she mentioned it, that does make sense. In the first place, Lilia-san is a former princess, and according to Luna-san, she’s quite a sheltered person. Lilia-san does like skewers, but it seems that she herself didn’t go directly to buy them, having Luna-san and the others buying it for her, so I guess she doesn’t really have the experience of going to a store to buy something.
[……S- So that’s how it is…… Lilia-chan had such a painful past…… I’m sorry for not realizing it.]
[……Eh? Painful past? Ah, no, how does that lead me to having……]
[Milady, please accept my sympathies…… For you to not have eaten much baby castellas, the favorite food of Underworld King-sama, that’s no different from losing 70% of the happiness in life.]
[Is it really that bad!?]Kuro, for some reason, looked really sad for Lilia-san, while the zealot profoundly agreed with what she said. Of course, neither Lilia-san nor I live our lives in such a way that baby castellas account for 70% of our happiness.
But even amongst such ridiculous phrases, Lilia-san responded in a disciplined manner.
[……Lilia-san, you don’t need to mind what these two are saying that much.]
[I- Is that right……]
[Look, Kuro. We’re asking about the possibilities of baby castellas, right?]
[Ahh, that’s right. I was just at a loss for words when I heard about Lilia-chan’s tragic past…… I’ll send you lots of baby castellas next time.]
[Don’t do that, I’m feeling sorry for Lilia-san……]
Ignoring a certain someone’s outrageous terrorist-like remarks, we returned to the topic of the possibilities of baby castellas. After looking as if she was seriously pondering about it, Lilia-san spoke.
[……How about…… making them feel high-class?]
[……I see. I used to think that baby castellas should be sweets for the masses. However, this may have led to my vision narrowing. By daring to go in the opposite direction, we could certainly arrive at new possibilities.]
[Eh? Ah, yes! That’s right. That’s the only thing I can come up with…… but what about you, Luna, Sieg?]
After giving her own opinion, she passed the topic to the two people who were also in the room, Luna-san and Sieg-san, and after the two of them seriously thought about it, Luna-san spoke first.
[This isn’t an opinion about baby castellas itself, but what about considering what you eat with it? For example, even if you’re eating the same cookie, drinking different teas together with it would result in different tastes, so I suppose the same can be said for baby castellas.]
[I see, that’s a novel idea. Indeed, modifying the baby castellas themselves isn’t the only way to change their taste. One can try a different approach by focusing on what you drink or eat with it. Thanks, Lunamaria-chan, that was very helpful!]
[Ahh…… How precious……]
Luna-san, who was thanked by Kuro with a big smile on her face, had an indescribable expression on her face…… and even though she was still standing, her consciousness had been blown away somewhere. It seems like she had fainted from too much joy…… As expected of a zealot.
At that moment, it looked like Sieg-san had also come up with something as she spoke.
[……Kuromu-sama, did you know that there are baby castellas made from the Fruit of the Spirit Tree in Rigforeshia?]
[Yeah, you’re talking about those that were sold only in the Sacred Tree Festival, right? I’ve bought and eaten them a few times.]
[Then, have you ever had one made with the leaves of the Spirit Tree?]
[……Eh? I don’t think I’ve tried that before…… Does that thing exist?]
[Yes. Though I say that, I myself just heard about it, but it’s a baby castella made by brewing and kneading the leaves of the Spirit Tree with the dough. People who like it apparently really like the taste…… so I was wondering if you could sharpen delicacies through that direction……]
[I see, a flavor may not be universally appreciated, but there are some flavors that stick strongly with some people…… That certainly is one of the possible paths.]
Hearing Sieg-san’s words, Kuro nodded, looking interested. Lilia-san, Luna-san, and Sieg-san, it seems like getting the opinions of these three people seemed to have been quite helpful for Kuro.
……However, this doesn’t mean this is over yet, so next time, we’ll visit Dr. Vier’s clinic which is also in Symphonia’s Royal Capital.
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [Ohh~~ This is a very different development from the LN. Indeed, back when this happened in the LN, Lilia wasn’t very close to Kuro and was very nervous, but since they’ve become close after they went swimming in the beach, she doesn’t seem to be nervous at all…… They’ve also never visited Vier like normal. After all, in the LN, this happened before their reconciliation.]
