“…Still, building a bath in a hut would be difficult, wouldn’t it?”
Even Miyako, a former corporate slave office lady, didn’t possess such skills.
Admittedly, walking the considerable distance to the natural open-air bath every day was a bit of a hassle. But no alternative solutions came to mind.
The next day, as Miyako was pondering the bath problem, a carefree voice reached her ears.
“Hello! Today’s recommended set is none other than ultra-luxurious seafood, delivered fresh.”
Shanly, the continental merchant who came by every noon as usual, cheerfully pulled out a large red fish. She still looked like such a young girl that it was hard to believe she was thirty. The 4000-year history of the continent was no joke.
Seeing the large fish dangling from Shanly’s hand, Miyako panicked.
“W-wait, a fish? I can’t cook something like that…”
“Hmm? What’s wrong, Miyako?”
Shanly waved at Fuuka, who had popped her head over Miyako’s shoulder, saying “Hey theree♪”
“Mmm-hmm, you promised to subscribe to the recommended set, right? Should I go around telling everyone about you two being here?”
Swishing the big fish back and forth, Shanly grinned slyly. Apparently, the donkey pulling her wagon was actually descended from a famous steed called the Red Rabbit, renowned as the continent’s fastest.
So, if she got serious, spreading rumors about Miyako and Fuuka throughout Miyako’s hometown would be the work of a moment for Shanly. A mere moment.
“Ah, that’s malicious…”
“Did you say something?”
“Nothing at all! ughh”
Just as Miyako was completely cornered.
“Hey, Miyako?”
“What is it, Fuuka-chan?”
Turning around, Miyako saw Fuuka holding a book.
Local Cuisine of the Attica Region.
That’s what was written on the cover.
Now that she mentioned it, there was a book like that on the shelf. It was quite an old recipe book.
The fact that she’d even looked through something like that showed just how hardworking—or rather, bookwormish—Fuuka was.
“Local cuisine…?”
“Yes. The foundation of commerce is local production for local consumption. That fish is also a species caught in the seas of the Attica region.”
“Wow. As expected, Fuuka-chan, you’re so knowledgeable.”
“…! W-well, I just happened to see it in an encyclopedia at the mansion! It’s your hometown, yet Miyako doesn’t know anything about it!!”
“Fuuka-chan, your face is all red.”
“Miyako!!!”
“Ehehe, sorry for teasing you.”
Even her puffed-out cheeks were incredibly cute.
Fuuka glared daggers at Miyako, then began negotiating with Shanly in the continental language.
Once things reached this point, Miyako was completely left out.
“And so, we’ll take that fish, Ms. Shanly.”
“Heeey, thank you as always☆”
They saw off Shanly as she waved goofily and departed in her wagon.
In Fuuka’s hands were the splendid fish and—
“What’s that, Fuuka-chan?”
“As you can see, it’s a stone.”
—a stone she was holding.
“Fuuka-chan, is this okay?”
Miyako came out of the hut holding what she’d been asked to prepare.
It was the fish, neatly scaled and gutted, with leafy vegetables, all stewed in a pot and transferred soup and all into a wooden bucket.
A bucket full of soup…
“Yes. That’s plenty. My side is looking good too.”
Fuuka, who had been poking at the campfire, stood up holding something with fire tongs. It was a heated stone.
It was the smooth paperweight stone they’d bought from Shanly, thoroughly washed and cleaned. Heated in the campfire for over an hour, it was super-hot; scorching hot though you couldn’t tell from its appearance.
“…If I pressed this against Miyako, it would be very hot, I’m sure.”
“W-wait, hey, don’t say scary things!?”
“I’m joking. Just because you suddenly appeared in the royal capital and stole the important task of marriage with the Reinhardt family from me doesn’t mean it’s okay to press a hot stone against you.”
“…Uuuh.”
“Moreover, let’s overlook the fact that you’ve abducted and confined me here.”
“A-abduction, maybe, but not confinement!?”
“Being brought to such a rural place without even a horse is practically the same as confinement. Miyako, could you place that wooden bucket here?”
“O-okay.”
She set down the bucket.
Being told this again made Miyako feel a bit like she’d done something wrong.
But if Miyako had gone through with marrying Klaus Reinhardt as planned, Fuuka would have met a tragic end.
Besides, marrying that good-looking-but-completely-insane man was seriously out of the question.
“Now then, let’s begin.”
“Okay. Fuuka-chan, what are you going to use that hot stone for anyway… Whoa!!”
Sssssssssssssssssssss!!
“! It seems it worked quite well.”
The inside of the wooden bucket, where the piping hot stone had been thrown, began bubbling and boiling.
A delicious aroma filled the hut.
“Eating this while it’s hot is apparently the local cuisine of the Attica region. Fufun, even I can manage this level of cooking!”
“Ehehe, yeah! That’s right, you’re amazing, Fuuka-chan!”
Even though preparing the contents of the bucket was mostly Miyako’s work…
It was wiser not to mention that.
Miyako held her head, thinking how unbearably cute Fuuka was, researching the local cuisine of Miyako’s hometown.
“…But this is a bit…”
“We made too much, didn’t we?”
The bucketful of soup—or rather, stone-boiled stew—was too much for two girls’ stomachs.
Munching on the fish, Miyako thought.
Stone-boiled stew… stone boiling.
Hot stone with water. Hot stone, water, boiling.
…A bath!
“Fuuka-chan! We might be able to build a bath at our place!”
“Huh?”
“I’m sure I can make a wonderful one! I’ll work hard so you can feel truly happy!”
—Overflowing with her “strike while the iron is hot” spirit, Miyako didn’t know it yet.
That this “Operation: Build a Stone-Boiled Bath” would cause quite the incident.
And Fuuka didn’t know it yet either.
That a spy dispatched by the Hamilton family was trying to locate this hut.
Next time, a new character appears!
I’m happy that the long-suffering attendant guy from the previous chapter who has to deal with Klaus was more popular than I expected!!
Boys being toyed with by their masters are cute.