Volume 1 Chapter 21 Lobelia Diner House, Closed For Today
Below is the edited version of the provided text with the character gender changes applied:
Today, Lobelia Diner House is closed.
I put up the closed sign since morning, and Mr. Lucian, who comes every morning, hasn't shown up.
He mentioned that it might take a while to deal with the Gilfernia beetles that are increasing from the western forest to the Mariah temple, so I think they haven't returned yet.
Since Mr. Lucian isn't here, the knights don't come either, making the restaurant very quiet in the morning.
Not many people use the restaurant for breakfast anyway.
That's quite a luxury.
"So, ... the mysterious Demon King is studying Tears of the Rose, huh?"
Sitting at the counter, Mx. Margaret is elegantly sipping milk tea.
Even on their day off, Mx. Margaret is different.
They sometimes come to visit, so I get to serve them. I have to take good care of my landlord.
"What is Tears of the Rose?"
Next to Mx. Margaret is Mr. Tsukuyomi.
He has long black hair and covers one eye with a cloth. He's a merchant who crossed the sea from the Wakoku country on the ship Kujira No. 1.
Mr. Tsukuyomi sells soy sauce, sake, tea, and other seasonings that are not common in the kingdom at the market.
He also deals with seafood and dried goods.
He's a friend of Mx. Margaret.
Today, he's wearing unfamiliar clothing. A bright red kimono with a huge octopus design.
Mr. Tsukuyomi seems to like octopuses. They usually wear octopus patterns.
"Is there no Tears of the Rose in Wakoku Country?"
I asked Mr. Tsukuyomi.
Mx. Margaret only has milk tea in the morning, but they eat properly.
They prefer rice over bread and are having the usual fried egg and practical sausage on rice for breakfast.
Since I thought today would be a day off, I didn't go shopping at the market.
Since they said it's fine with whatever ingredients I have, I made something for them.
While they're munching on rice with chopsticks, I also serve vegetable soup.
I pour some hojicha tea as well.
I don't take money from Mx. Margaret, but I do take money from Mr. Tsukuyomi, who comes sometimes. They eat a lot.
"The falling monsters from the red moon, Rubrum Lunne (Crimson Rose Garden), are called Tears of the Rose. It looks like the red moon is crying, dropping red tears, so it's called the moon's tears."
"Hmm. You know a lot, little lady. We don't have anything like that in Wakoku country. Of course, the moon looks like 2 are floating. It's not exactly peaceful, but monsters don't fall from the moon."
"Is that so... It's strange, isn't it?"
"Well, it's a much smaller island nation than the kingdom. So, there's probably no place for the moon to drop tears."
"Is that how it is...?"
I tilted my head.
"Why would the moon cry? Does it have a grudge against the people of the kingdom?"
"Who knows? I don't know. It's us who want to hold a grudge. Because of the regular Tears of the Rose, new monsters keep appearing no matter how many we defeat, it's really frustrating."
Mx. Margaret said, resting their chin on the counter.
In the morning, they always look sleepy. It seems they're not good with mornings.
"Monsters attack towns and people randomly, so the mages of Saintwise put up barriers to protect the towns. It's to keep the monsters out."
"Um, well, it's said that praying to Goddess Alexandria will end the Tears of the Rose, and that's why priests and pilgrims travel to various temples throughout the year to offer their prayers."
"Oh, that sounds a bit suspicious."
"It's not suspicious! My sister, Francois, has the protection of Goddess Alexandria... She can heal all kinds of illnesses, curses, and injuries..."
"Your sister, huh? Just hearing about her makes her sound like they have a bad personality."
"Yeah, little lady. Something about it feels fake. If it were true, there wouldn't be any sick people in the holy city, right? But that's not the case."
At my explanation, Mr. Tsukuyomi grimaced, and Mx. Margaret shrugged.
"Well, that's because of my father's policy... He says we shouldn't show Goddess Alexandria's power openly. So, Francois can't use magic very often..."
"Are you saying that she really can't use that magic?"
"I don't think that's true... When I lived with Francois, she once brought a little bird back to life that almost died from eating rat poison..."
I'm not trying to defend Francois, but the power of the goddess said to reside in the Rest priest family is within them.
Many people from the priest's family saw the miracles that Francois performed.
I was also watching from behind a pillar.
──Hey, big sister!
──Don't stay over there, come here!
──Big sister, you don't have any magic, right? So, magic is rare for you!
Francois, who had noticed me hiding, said with a smile.
It felt like she was teasing me without any bad intentions.
Just remembering it made my hatred boil──.
"──With healing magic, you can't cure diseases. There are limits to breaking curses too. When it comes to deadly poison, ...detoxifying with magic is almost impossible in most cases."
Sir Ciel, sitting on a chair at the workbench, said in a calm voice.
He tilted his head as if thinking, and the jewel on his head swayed.
I remembered the jewel of Sir Ciel that I had in my apron pocket.
Just that thought made my irritation and sadness strangely fade away.
It was really, strange.
Thinking about how I had made my first friend──maybe it was a bit silly to be angry about the past.
"So, Sir Mysterious is researching the Tears of the Moon to solve the root problem."
Mr. Tsukuyomi said.
"Sir Mysterious is..."
"The Mysterious Demon King, Ciel Vermilion. You don't know, Lyd-Lyd? He's famous!"
"Even I, from another country, know about him, and here you are..."
"...Sir Ciel, you were famous, huh?"
Mx. Margaret and Mr. Tsukuyomi exchanged glances and sighed, like, "Oh dear."
I hurriedly turned the handle of the meat grinder.
The minced meat comes out, squishy. It's fun.
This morning, Mx. Margaret came to play with Mr. Tsukuyomi and brought a chunk of pork and sausage casings as gifts.
While talking with the two of them, Sir Ciel arrived and said,
"I want you to make a dish that lasts a long time. I'll buy a lot and check its effects at home, and I want to eat it too."
So, that's why I'm making sausages.
"Do you remember a few years ago on the day of Tears of the Rose? A huge fairy dragon appeared from the moon in the north of the kingdom. It was so powerful that it looked like another moon. The one who defeated it alone was Ciel Vermilion. Because of the beauty of that battle, Ciel came to be called the Mysterious Demon King."
Mx. Margaret said, making a card appear in their hand with magic.
"...I don't really like that name. It's embarrassing at my age."
Sir Ciel sighed deeply.
I think it's a nice name, but I guess it's embarrassing for him.
"Is that so? Lucian is called the Star's Fallen Reaper, and he seems to enjoy it."
"Reaper...?"
I repeated Mx. Margaret's words.
That sounds ominous. Grim Reaper is a bit scary.
I think Mr. Lucian could be called a battle-hardened womanizer or something.
"The minced meat is ready. Now, I just need herbs, lemon, and spices. And for Sir Ciel, who likes spicy food, I'll mix in some chili powder to make it a bit spicy. Sir Ciel, what size do you want the sausages to be? Should they be a realistic size?"
"Every day, eating the realistic sausage that Lucian suggested is a bit... Also, I envy how Lucian gets Ms. Lydia to put it on the restaurant menu."
"Then, please tell me how much Sir Ciel knows. Making sausages is fun. Want to try it?"
"Is that okay?"
He looks happy.
I think I prefer the size that Sir Ciel likes over Mr. Lucian's crushed sausage.
"...I wonder how much she really understands, Margaret."
"About 30 percent, I'd say."
"How much does she understand?"
"If my guess is right, Lyd-Lyd probably understands that a man's desires are similar to sausages."
"So, that's why she wants to crush them. She probably hasn't seen it before... Right now, she thinks we're just talking about sausages."
"Yeah. It's interesting, so I'll keep teaching her this half-baked knowledge, Tsukuyomi."
"Leave it to me."
Mx. Margaret and Mr. Tsukuyomi seem to be having a fun conversation.
I wonder if the strange power will not be in the food if Sir Ciel makes it, but I still handed the sausage filler to him.
Mx. Margaret starts shuffling a card made of magic.
"Oh. A tank, huh? Its meaning is victory, courage, strong will..."
Sir Ciel turns the handle of the sausage filler.
Round and round.
Round and round and round.
Round and round and round and round.
Hmm, I wonder if he's not overdoing it a bit.
"Er, Sir Ciel, it's a bit... too much..."
I understand, it feels good to have the meat go in and fill up your slender intestines, I get it. But, really, aren't you packing it in a bit too much...!
I looked up at Sir Ciel, flustered.
Sir Ciel smiled happily.
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