Volume 4 Chapter 1 The Morning Of The Holy Night Festival
On Christmas Eve morning, I was decorating the store with wreaths and snow globes that I bought with Sir Stefan the other day.
The store looked bright and cheerful just by adding a few little decorations.
In the kitchen, Lady Emilia brought a fancy, fluffy cat bed for Ms. Famine as a thank you gift for some crabs.
This cat bed is placed on a new shelf by the window.
It looks like a real bed, with a soft feather comforter on it. It's a white bed, just like something a lady would sleep in.
They also delivered a fancy golden cat bowl for Ms. Famine.
It's a deep plate that looks really nice. Ms. Famine ate salmon stew from the golden plate and then lay down on the cat bed, looking pretty satisfied.
Eir-Eir eats anything.
Ms. Famine likes seafood.
My dad likes meat.
Eir-Eir always eats happily when I cook, but Ms. Famine and my dad sometimes eat and sometimes don't.
When I worry that they might be hungry, my dad says, "Me and the kids live differently than humans, so we don't need to eat 3 meals like people do." It seems like they see meals as more of a treat.
Eir-Eir got a fluffy, dome-shaped room that looks like an egg, and my dad got a red cushion that looks like a king's throne to put on a round chair.Lady Emilia said these were from Lady Anna and Sir Stefan.
I heard that Sir Stefan will become king in the new year.
Lady Emilia said she wants me to join the coronation ceremony.
If there's a coronation ceremony, I guess I'll have to wear a dress.
Today is Christmas Eve.
The main event of the two-day Christmas celebration is tonight, and there's usually a dinner party at the castle every year.
This year, because of various issues, including Sir/Mr. Zeere still not feeling well and the attack at the castle and the Great Temple incident, Lady Emilia said the dinner party has been canceled.
It feels a bit sad to have a year without the Christmas dinner party.
But instead, they say there might be fireworks at the castle to celebrate.
After decorating the store, I baked Eir-Eir-shaped snowman cookies for Christmas, made pumpkin pudding for Eir-Eir, and baked Tarte Tatin for Ms. Famine.
Then I roasted a chicken for my dad in the magic stone oven──this takes a while, so while it was cooking, I went outside to give out Eir-Eir-shaped snowman cookies to the kids.
Since it's Christmas Eve, Lobelia is closed today.
Recently, we've been having a crab fair, so we've had a lot of customers and it's been really busy.
Everyone loves crabs.
Plus, Elgard crabs are fancy and hard to get, so they're really special.
Some people who don't look like commoners came to eat.
Crabs don't really fit in a casual restaurant, but we have a lot of them.
They're all packed in the Elgard instant freeze storage box.
One of the customers, Kate, who works with ice magic stone storage, was interested in the instant freeze box and wanted to take an empty one home, so I gave her a few.
I was wondering what to do with the empty boxes, so it was helpful.
The new menu is also popular, and people from Leonsroar and Saintwise enjoyed the dishes named after Mr. Lucian and Sir Ciel, while Mr. Tsukuyomi and Mx. Margaret were really happy with the fox udon.
Mr. Michael and Olive also came and were very pleased with the octopus dishes.
After the Great Temple attack, we took a break for a while, but Lobelia was back to being as lively as ever, or even more.
It was super busy, and while I was cooking, Eir-Eir bounced around cheering me on, and Ms. Famine lay lazily by the window, always watching me move, making me feel relaxed.
My dad was basically sleeping on a round stool in front of the magic stone stove in the kitchen.
So, we decided to take a break on Christmas Eve.
Since I'm the only one working at my restaurant, I can take time off whenever I want.
The crabs did a great job, so we made a lot of money.
Plus, we still have plenty of crabs left.
We have more than enough for the New Year's festival.
After I finished handing out cookies to the kids, they called me "not a bad big sister" and "good big sister." They called Eir-Eir "Round Rice Cake," Ms. Famine "Golden Sparkle," and my dad just "Dad".
When I got back to the shop, the roast chicken was cooking nicely, so I took it out of the oven and let it cool since it was still hot.
Whole chickens are hard to eat, so I just roasted a few chicken legs.
The nice smell of rosemary and the crispy skin of the chicken filled the shop.
This is for dinner. I quickly had lunch and saved the big meal for later when we can all eat together.
When I say "all," I mean Eir-Eir, Ms. Famine, my dad, and me.
Just the 4 of us.
On Christmas Eve, you're supposed to spend time with family and loved ones.
My parents asked if I wanted to come back to the Rest priest's house today, but I said no.
They hadn't seen each other in a while, and I didn't want to interrupt their time together.
It's not that I don't like them, but it's just... I don't know.
Even though I'm already 18, I still feel like a kid when they treat me that way, and it makes me uneasy.
When I talked to Mx. Margaret about it, they said, "That's just puberty. It's normal. You're already independent, so it's okay to have some space from your parents."
She also said, "The Head Priest might cry, so at least show your face for the New Year's festival".
While I was putting away the roast chicken, pumpkin pudding, and tarte tatin in the pantry, someone knocked on the door.
"...Lydia, are you there?"
I heard Mr. Lucian's voice.
I thought everyone from Leonsroar and Saintwise would be busy with castle security on Christmas Eve.
I opened the door with Eir-Eir and Ms. Famine on my shoulders.
Mr. Lucian was standing there, not wearing his Leonsroar uniform.
He had on a white shirt, a tie, and a long black coat. He looked stylish today.
"Good morning, Mr. Lucian."
"Ah, good morning."
It was almost noon, but it still felt like morning, so I greeted him.
Mr. Lucian smiled kindly and returned the greeting.
"Happy Christmas Eve!"
"Ah, happy Christmas Eve!"
"Um, what brings you here today? Did you come to eat?"
"No, um, I was hoping you might want to spend some time together if you're free."
"Together? With me?"
"Yeah. In Bernard Kingdom, Christmas Eve is for spending time with loved ones, right? There wasn't a Christmas Eve in Kirschtein. It's a festival to celebrate the goddess's visit, so that makes sense. I never really thought about what to do before, but when I woke up this morning, I wanted to see your face."
"Uh, um, thank you."
Mr. Lucian always says things that sound like pick-up lines, so I try not to think too much about it, but it makes me a little shy.
"If you don't have plans, would you give me some of your time?"
"I don't have plans, but... I don't think that's a very nice way to ask."
"I'm serious. Always serious about you. There's a Christmas market on the main street. Want to check it out?"
"Y-yes... thank you for inviting me. I'll get ready, so please wait a moment."
Mr. Lucian is a friend, but when he says things like that, it makes me a bit more aware of him.
I accepted his invitation while feeling a mix of shyness and excitement.
"Pumpkin pudding."
"Tarte tatin."
Eir-Eir was bouncing on my head, and Ms. Famine was playfully tapping my cheek with her paw.
I couldn't really tell what they were thinking, but it didn't seem like they were against going out with Mr. Lucian.
Please bookmark this series and rate ☆☆☆☆☆ on here!
Donate me
Support Me with USDC
(ERC20)
Support Me with XLM
(Stellar Lumens)