292-Calm daytime




 
 A light knock on the door wakes me up with a bang.

 At first, I lifted my upper body out of bed and stretched absent-mindedly. Then, as I rubbed my eyelids swallowingly, I heard the door knock again.

'Master Alfried, it's Meena! It's time to wake up! It's just before noon!

 I heard Meena's voice like that from the hallway.

 I'm free today, so it doesn't matter how much I sleep in Eric's mansion. Let's ignore this place and politely ask him to leave.

''Oh, um, I think it's time for you to wake up in a healthy manner, but...''

 I don't know if she thinks I'm a raccoon or not, but Meena keeps talking to me.

 Strange. Meena shouldn't be talking like a maid's mirror. That kind of thing is Saara's responsibility.

 I'm sure Meena must have some element of comfort in me getting out of the bedroom.

'You haven't eaten breakfast yet, have you? We'll have refreshments in the big room, okay?

 Mmm, I certainly didn't eat anything because I woke up early in the morning and went to bed twice. To be honest, I'm still feeling hungry. I can't sleep when I'm hungry.

 But it's a little annoying that things are going the way Meena wants them to go.

''Hmm, well, bring some snacks here...''

 This way you don't have to move around and you can go to sleep three times as soon as you have a snack in your room.

 Hmmm, it's the best thing about being able to relax and stay in a place where you're traveling.

 It's not that I'm in a transition, I can come here at any time in an instant, so I'm in no hurry to play outside just because I've come all this way. I'm just going to do what I want to do right now with this place.

'Oh, I knew you were up! But, um, this is a mansion, so I don't think we can have a snack in the bedroom...

What are you talking about all of a sudden? Why would Eric and the others care about that?

 In fact, they even said it was okay for each of us to finish our own meals in the bedroom or the big room if we were tired, like yesterday. Such a family would never get angry just because they ate a light meal in the bedroom.

 Does Meena want to let me out of the room, even lying about it?

 When I'm a little dumbfounded in my mind, Meena sneaks her face out the door.

''Um, Alfried-sama. Can I come in for a moment?

Yeah? Okay.

 When I allow it, Meena walks into the bedroom and approaches me.

 From Meena's vibe, it seems she doesn't want me out of the bedroom for a rogue reason.

'Um, actually, Eric-sama has been wandering around the hallway for a long time now.

Eric?

 Curious, I peeked through the door into the corridor and saw someone who looked like Eric hurriedly hiding in the shadows at the end of the corridor.

''........What the hell is that guy doing?''

'Since you've been wondering about Master Alfried's room this morning, perhaps you'd like to play with him? See, I'm free for the day.

Do you want to play with me? Then you could just ask me out like any other--

 As I was about to say that, I suddenly realized that I didn't have many friends. If I could do that naturally, I wouldn't have so few friends.

 Well, it's probably because I was asleep that it was difficult to invite him, but you don't have to worry about that now.

 If I were in the opposite position, I would either ask the maid to wake me up, or I would get in directly.

 Before, it would have been the former, but now that I've identified myself as a bad friend, I'm the latter without reservation. I'll be able to wake you up without hesitation.

''When we were going to see a play together in the royal capital, they invited me to come over.

 I'm sure that from Eric's point of view, he was quite brave enough to ask her out at that time.

 It's a good thing that is smiling and delightful, but I doubt it's possible to attack Alecia-san with that.

'Isn't it because we've become friends that it's harder to ask her out casually?

 Well, there's a section where Eric is trying to put me in a position where I'm like a rival.

'd*mn, it can't be helped.

'You're going! Master Alfried!

No, I'll just skip the snacks and go to sleep three times.

 As I move away from the door and go back to the bed, Meena rushes over and grabs me by the shoulder.

'Wait, Alfried-sama, that's poor Eric-sama! Here, let's head up to the big room and meet you like it's not?

"Well, I'm so tired from practicing day after day, I'd like to relax in the mansion for a day, at least today. Meena, who works, would understand this feeling, right?

'Mm, that's for sure. When I had a day off too, I would stay in the house and take my time and do nothing - and how could you know, Master Alfried?

I'm just trying to be considerate of other people's feelings.

Then let's be considerate of Master Eric's feelings.

 It was a perfectly good argument for Meena.

 To be honest, I'd like to sleep three times as much as I do because there's a chance I'll be taken out if I meet Eric, but there's a limit to what I can do when I'm in the same mansion.

 I'm also hungry, and for now, Meena takes me into the big room with her.

"For now, give me a cup of tea.

I understand!

 For now, I ask for a cup of tea as a wake-up call, and Meena begins to prepare it with a familiar hand.

 Inside the room, you can hear Meena pouring the tea, a cool breeze comes in through the open window, and the white curtains sway softly.

 The weather today seems to be clear and sunshine is shining on the sofa by the window.

'Yes, it's a nice morning,'

It's almost noon, sir. Yes, tea.

 I muttered in a daze, and Meena offered me a cup of tea, smiling slightly.

 I lift the teacup and savor the aroma of the royal feed before taking a small sip.

 The mild royal feed flavor pierces through. I savor it on my tongue as I swallow, and the warmth spreads through my stomach.

 It's a special drink when you wake up in bed. Maybe it's because I've been drinking it all day, but I can't start my day without it.

 Biting into the taste of the royal feed, I try to take another sip.

'Alfried, it's me! May I come in?

 There was a knock and a voice at the door that interrupted the slow morning. It sounds as if it's as if it's just now coming in, but I know that it seems to have been waiting for me all along.

"..........

Oh, hey! I know you're here! Not long ago, you were having a conversation with a maid just now!

 As I was ignoring him for now and trying to keep quiet, Eric started barking.

'God, you're being a pain in the morning. All right, you can come in.

 I give up and say, and Eric comes in, muttering something like, "No, isn't it noon already?

 Apparently it's because I woke up before noon, but I still don't get the feeling that it's morning.

Can you get me a cup of tea, too?

The only thing I can offer you right away is a royal feed, is that correct?

'Yeah, fine - royal feed? ...Kohon, that's fine.

I'm sorry, sir.

 At first you didn't seem to care about the drink, but when it came to the royal feed, your eyes changed color. It's easy to tell.

"Hey, hey, do you always drink the royal feed in your house?

Yeah, we live in a house where Erna's mom is a tea drinker and she's too picky.

'Ugh, I'm jealous. To be able to drink such a fine product on a daily basis...

 It's no wonder Eric says that. I was also surprised when I saw the price in the royal capital.

 It's not impossible to buy a nobleman's price, of course, but if you buy it continuously enough to drink every day, you'll be flying away with quite a lot of gold coins.

 However, if you care about such things, you won't be able to enjoy it, so I don't care about money.
I don't know.

Come in.

Oh!

 When Meena offered it to him, Eric immediately picked up the tea cup and began to enjoy the scent.

'Mmm, what a pleasant aroma. You will be able to get a good idea of what you are looking for. It's the right aroma to be called a fine tea.

 Eric made such a polite comment and then slowly took a sip.

''Mmmm, delicious. It has a more robust aroma and taste than I've had in the past. Nice work by the maids serving it.

'Ugh, do you understand, Master Eric! To work as a maid in the House of Sowlett, it's important that you can do your chores, but most importantly, your tea brewing skills! If I can't do this, I'll have to practice brewing tea forever...

 I'm not sure if it's because I'm happy to get Eric's words, but Meena sounds like she's crying with emotion.

'I know. I've practiced it so many times myself.

You too? But you're still a bit of a hard man for your calm parents to make you practice until you're able to bring out the best in you, aren't you?

We're loose with the loose ends, but we'll tighten them where we can.

Well, we're pretty much the same way there.

 On the other hand, if you do the tightening part right, you won't get angry.

 As long as you can grasp that, you're pretty free, which is why I love our family style.

 Anyway, now that we've had our tea and settled in, it's time to have a light meal.

'Oh, Meena. Can you bring me a snack?

'All right. Would you like me to bring you something for Master Eric?

I've had my breakfast, and I've had enough of the Royal Feed.

Oh, I see. Well, I'll go get it.

 Meena tries to leave the room without telling me a certain thing, so I say a few words to get back at her for bringing me to the big room.

'Royal Feed and our cookies go well together,'

'Mmm, well. If you enjoy the Royal Feed better, I'm sorry, but I'd like that.

Well, uh, they ran out of cookies yesterday, so...

 Huh, there's no way Meena, who loves cookies, wouldn't leave some for the trip home. And I saw Meena hiding a small wooden box. I'm sure those are cookies.

Hm? I'm pretty sure there was a provision in the carriage, right?

Ugh, what - yeah, that's right. I'll go get it.

 Meena almost shouted why, but she held on tightly before Eric was there and left somewhat sadly.

 Well, I'll call it magic on the way home and give you a random cookie, so forgive me.