At a shop in the Royal Capital of Symphonia Kingdom, Elise, a fortune teller, had finished her morning business and closed the shop for a lunch break.
As a High-ranking Demon, meals aren’t mandatory for her, but Elise likes to eat as a preference, so she cooks and eats three meals a day just like the Humans.
Just as she was thinking about what she was going to cook today, thinking about the ingredients in her magic box, the space slightly behind her blurred like static and Alice appeared.
[……This is the worst. Why, of all the times, are you going to shop up before my meal? What, it’s gonna be something troublesome anyway, isn’t it? You coming here directly must mean that, which is just the worst. Since you’re gonna make my food taste bad, just state your business and get out of here.]
[You’re as acrimonious as ever…… Can’t you be a bit kinder like you do to Kaito-san? I mean, when he shows up during lunchtime, you even prepare meals for him, right?][It’s not like Human-san brings any harm to me after all. However, in Shalltear-sama’s case, your appearance means there’s gonna be troublesome orders…… It’s only natural that my response between you two would be different.]
[Hmmm. Well, I did come bringing orders with me, so I can’t exactly refute you.]
Facing Elise, who responded with a look of heartfelt displeasure, as if to say she was the same as ever, Alice looked at her with an astounded smile. Incidentally, Elise’s reaction when dealing with Alice and Kaito actually does differ.
To be more specific, while she’s sharp-tongued, but reasonably welcoming when Kaito visits, when Alice visits, she seriously feels displeasure because she’d likely bring with her a troublesome order.
[……Haahhh…… So, what is it?]
[Yes, I have a few things I want you to investigate, and they’re in your area of responsibility and are suitable for you……]
[Alright. Is it urgent?][No, it would be great if it’s finished within 10 days, but there’s no rush.]
However, Elise is relatively earnest among the Ten Demons and almost never refuses orders like these. Though her mouth speaks a lot of complaints, she rarely rejects the missions themselves, making her a much more reliable subordinate than a capricious succubus like Lilim when it comes to assigning tasks.
And because she has no fanatical feelings towards Alice, she’s different from the annoyingly overzealous fanatics when given orders by Alice, making her an easy person for Alice to entrust with her work.
[Alright. I’ll do it.]
[Well then, I’ll be counting on you….. Oya? You’re brewing tea, that’s unusual, isn’t it? Aren’t you a trueborn coffee drinker?]
[You already know what’s going on, don’t play dumb every single time. I have a principle to make good use of the things I receive.]
Currently, Elise is preparing to brew tea alongside her meals, and the reason for this is to brew and drink the tea made from the original tea leaves blend given to her by Kaito..
[That’s nice~~ You making some for me too?]
[Get the heck out of here.]
Hearing the words Alice told her with a teasing smile, Elise threw sharp words towards her again.
Coincidentally, at the same time, Vier was enjoying a cup of tea with Funf, who had come to check on her during her lunch break at her clinic in the Royal Capital of Symphonia Kingdom.
[This tea has a nice flavor, doesn’t it? Kaito sure has good taste.]
[Unnn, unnn. I used to drink herb tea more often, but now that Miyama-kun has given me this, I’ve come to like black tea too.]
The two of them engaged in light-hearted chit-chat, discussing all sorts of things such as Kaito’s tea brand., but as their conversation progressed, Funf’s expression began to slightly darken.
This was because, as their conversation led to them talking about Vier’s life, Funf sensed a troubling trend for her.
[Ah, errr, you seem to be having fun, Vier.]
[Unnn. Ahh, speaking of having fun, it reminded me of when Miyama-kun brought me these tea leaves before……]
[Ah, wait, Vier…… I- Is this gonna be long? L- Look, don’t you have to look after your clinic in the afternoon?]
[Ahhh, it’s alright, Funf. I’ve used Barrier Magic to slightly tamper with this place’s flow of time, so we can talk as we please.]
[……I- I see……]
Upon hearing the words Vier said with a bright smile, Funf’s smile stiffens, an indescribable expression visible on her face. This is because Vier, having officially started dating Kaito, tends to be love-struck, and combined with her original personality, her love amplifies significantly, so when the conversation turns to Kaito, she happily goes on at length about him.
……Yes, in short, she openly shows her deep affection for Kaito.
[We ate herb cookies together at that time, and maybe it was because Miyama-kun had tasted that herb for the first time, his reaction was so cute……]
[I- I see……]
[……And then, Miyama-kun gave me clear herbs…… After that, we used the cups that Miyama-kun brought me…… Miyama-kun’s reaction at that time……]
[……………….]
Funf listened to Vier’s endless love stories with a distant look in her eyes. She’s very happy that Vier, who had been looking gloomy for so long, is now smiling happily like this. Be that as it may, continuously being subjected to an endless stream of love stories can be mentally taxing.
However, watching Vier so happily makes it difficult for Funf to interrupt and stop her midway……. so with a complex expression on her face, seemingly close to resigning to her fate, Funf continued to listen to Vier talking.
Only hoping that Vier would at least wrap this up in about an hour or so……
<Afterword>
Serious-senpai : [T- That’s strange? Isis certainly is just like that, but even though Kaito isn’t there, she’s speaking really fondly, emitting a sweet atmosphere around her? I hope this is just my imagination…… but she’s kinda dealing chip damage here……]
