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ED: LonelyMatter
Chapter 1 – A Hectic Start to the School Year
Part 1
The day after I went with everyone to visit the New Year’s shrine.
Suddenly, Luna said something like this.
“Come to think of it, Lexia, Don’t you need to go home?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing much, but even though you’re living here at Yuuya’s house right now, you’re still a princess aren’t you? The New Year is a busy time for royalty, with all sorts of duties. As a member of the royal family, shouldn’t you be heading back to the kingdom?”
“That’s totally fine! My brother can take on public duties now, so there’s not much left for me to do.”
“I don’t think so. I can just picture Owen getting a stomach ache over this.”
“A-ahahaha…”
Luna was right. Did Lexia-san really have no work to do?
As I was thinking that, Lexia-san seemed to notice something and shot Luna a sharp glance.
“Luna, don’t think you can say something like that and send only me back to the castle while you go off to flirt with Yuuya-sama. It won’t work like that!”
“I didn’t mean it that way, but if you were the only one going back, that would actually be a big help.”
“No way! If I’m going back, Luna’s coming with me!”
The two of them were bickering amiably as usual, but I was concerned by Luna’s words.
“Um, Lexia-san. I don’t know what your duties as a princess are, but since it’s the New Year, wouldn’t it be better to pay your respects to Arnold-sama?”
“See? I told you so.”
“What!? Even Yuuya-sama!?”
Lexia-san looked shocked by my words.
Despite everything we’ve been through, I was able to spend the New Year’s holidays with my family, and I really do think time spent with family was important.
Then, looking somewhat reluctant and pouting, Lexia-san muttered softly.
“Well… I suppose so. I haven’t been in touch at all lately. I guess I should at least show my face for the New Year.”
She lifted her head abruptly and turned her gaze toward Luna and me.
“Now that it’s decided, let’s head over right away!”
“Huh!? Oh, right now!?”
“Yes! Father must be waiting for me, after all!”
“So, even though you knew you were keeping him waiting, you didn’t plan on going home?”
Upon hearing Luna’s words, I gave a wry smile and sighed.
“Well, since we’re at it, I’d like to go say hello, too.”
“Of course! Why don’t we announce our engagement while we’re at it?”
“What!?”
“Like that’d happen, you idiot.”
Luna smacked Lexia-san’s head with a loud thwack for saying something so outrageous so casually.
“Ouch! What’s with that? I didn’t ask you, Luna!”
“Shut up. If you keep going on like this, we’ll never leave. If we’re going, let’s get ready already.”
With that, Luna dragged Lexia-san along and began preparing to head for the royal castle.
＊＊＊
After finishing our preparations, we narrowed down the group heading to the royal castle to five people: me, Lexia-san, Luna, Night, and Akatsuki.
We decided that it would be a nuisance to show up in a large group, so we chose members who were already acquainted with Arnold-sama.
I could have used teleportation magic to reach the royal castle in an instant, but I hadn’t yet revealed such magic publicly to the world yet. So, we teleported to a secluded spot near the capital and walked the rest of the way into the city.
Then…
“It’s been a while since I’ve been to the capital!”
We managed to reach the capital safely.
…Well, when we entered, a soldier at a checkpoint looked at Lexia-san, gave a startled look, and hurried off to contact the royal castle, so it did cause a bit of a commotion.
At least it didn’t turn into a bigger deal than necessary.
Seeing the soldier’s reaction, I realized just how royal Lexia-san truly was.
The soldier offered to escort us to the royal castle, but Lexia-san declined, saying she wanted to look around the city. So, we ended up walking to the castle ourselves.
Then, Luna let out a sigh.
“You should’ve just let them escort you…”
“What’s wrong with that? We’re back for the first time in a while, so it’s okay to look around the city, isn’t it? Right, Yuuya-sama!”
“Y-yeah, you’re right. Though, there are a lot more people on the streets than when we were here before.”
Perhaps because it was early in the New Year, the city was even more bustling than before, and there were many more stalls.
As I was surprised by the crowd, Lexia-san explained,
“It’s the middle of the New Year Festival season, so people from other towns are gathering in the capital.”
“The New Year Festival, you say?”
“It might be a little different from Japan’s Hatsumode*, but many countries in this world hold festivals to celebrate the New Year.” [T/N: The first shrine or temple visit of the New Year.]
“I see.”
Similar festivals were held on Earth, too, so I guess the culture of celebrating the New Year was the same everywhere.
As I walked along thinking about that, Lexia-san seemed to spot something. Her eyes lit up, and she started running.
“Ah! That!”
“Wait, Lexia-san!”
“Doesn’t she have any sense of her royal duty?”
We hurried after her and arrived at a food stall selling skewered meat.
“Skewers from Gourmet Bull?”
“These are super delicious!”
“Huh…”
The name alone made the skewers sound delicious, and the smell made my stomach growl.
Then, the stall owner, who had noticed us, called out,
“Hey, ladies, how about it? Want to grab a bite?”
“Since we’re here, let’s go ahead and eat!”
“But we’re keeping Arnold-sama waiting…”
“It’s fine, it’s fine! We’ll see him later anyway! Uncle! Give us enough food for everyone!”
“Sure thing!”
In the end, Lexia-san pushed the conversation forward and ordered enough skewers for everyone, including Night and Akatsuki.
The stall owner started grilling the skewers as soon as the order was placed, and an even more delicious aroma began wafting through the air.
Wow, just the smell made me want to eat them with rice.
The meat from the Gourmet Bull monster looked like high-grade Wagyu beef with beautiful marbling, raising my expectations even higher.
Once grilled, the stall owner quickly sprinkled salt on the skewers and handed them to us.
“Here you go! The Gourmet Bull skewers!”
“Thank you!”
After paying for them, we moved to a less crowded spot and dug right in.
“Huh!? Th-this is really good…”
“I told you so!”
Just as Lexia-san said, the skewers were incredibly delicious. Seriously, they were absolutely delicious.
It was not that I was used to eating expensive beef, but the fat melting smoothly in my mouth and the meat’s savory flavor were truly delicious.
Most impressive was that, despite being overflowing with fat, it wasn’t greasy at all—it was light and smooth. I was amazed and realized that this was what they mean by “fat you can drink.”
Well, it’s no wonder it’s called “Gourmet.”
“Do you guys think it’s delicious, too, Night and Akatsuki?”
“Woof!”
“Fugo~”
The two of them ate the skewered meat and looked quite satisfied.
Then, Lexia-san let out a happy little cry after taking a bite of the skewered meat.
“Mmm~! This is it! You can only get this flavor at the New Year Festival!”
“That’s true. I’ve only ever seen Gourmet Bull skewers at the New Year Festival.”
“Is that so?”
When I looked at Luna in surprise, Lexia-san explained.
“This is the season when Gourmet Bull tastes the best. Apparently, Gourmet Bull is fattest right after the New Year and gets leaner from there. So basically, you can only eat it around New Year’s.”
“Oh…”
So, there was only a limited time of year when it was delicious.
I had the impression that seafood and vegetables had peak seasons, but I never thought the same applied to meat. It feels strange to think about it that way.
Maybe I just didn’t know, but maybe even Earth beef has a peak season.
“Even though it’s only once a year, there are plenty of gourmet bulls, and they aren’t that expensive. It feels like a slightly luxurious food for common folk. Seasoning it with just salt really brings out the flavor of the meat, doesn’t it?”
“That’s true…”
A Yakiniku-style sauce would probably go well with it, too. However, as Lexia-san said, I feel like salt is best for this meat.
Then, Luna suddenly voiced something she’d just realized.
“You sure know a lot about such common food, don’t you?”
“Well, I used to sneak out of the castle a lot as a kid to eat it!”
“…That Owen guy must have had a stomach ache back then.”
Hearing Luna’s words, I nodded to myself.
As I enjoyed the skewers, Lexia-san peered at my face.
“How is it, Yuuya-sama? Earth’s cuisine is delicious, but this world’s food is pretty good, too, isn’t it?”
“I suppose so.”
In the real world, ingredients and seasonings have advanced through various technologies. In this other world, while seasonings could be improved, I think the quality of the ingredients has the potential to surpass those on Earth.
Monsters were actually tastier than ordinary animals. I wondered if it was something within the monsters themselves. Maybe their magic affected the flavor?
I was thinking about this when I suddenly remembered something and asked Lexia-san.
“Come to think of it, the stall owner didn’t realize you were a princess, did he?”
“Obviously not every citizen knows my face. There are probably people who don’t live in the capital but came here for the New Year’s Festival. Besides, I turned down having guards just because Luna is here. Since I’m not wearing a dress, people probably wouldn’t recognize me anyway.”
As she said, although everyone was dressed in clothes from another world, the outfits were simple. To anyone unfamiliar with her, Lexia-san probably just looked like an ordinary girl.
“Come on! It’s the New Year Festival, after all, so let’s go look around some more!”
“Ah, wait a sec!”
We had just finished eating when we hurriedly chased after Lexia-san, who had suddenly started moving again.
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