Volume 9 Chapter 7 Delicious Clam Pasta For Everyone
I wash the clams that have been soaked in salt, splashing them in fresh water.
The clams' shells rub against each other, making a funny squeaky sound.
After spitting out a lot of sand and salt, the clams look like they're shining like jewels.
As I finish washing the clams and get ready to chop the onion, there's a knock, knock on Lobelia's door.
I wipe my hands and quickly jog over to the door, pat, pat.
Eir-Eir and Ms. Famine, along with Nel-Nel, seem tired from playing in the sea and the bath, all curled up on the cushions by the window, using big Nel-Nel as a bed, sound asleep.
Dad and Sir Stefan are taking a bath, and it's 5 in the afternoon.
This time of year, as summer approaches, the days are long.
Evening light still streams in, bright enough to feel like it's just stepped into the border between day and night.
When I open the door, a cool evening breeze rushes in, ruffling my still damp hair.
"Lyd-Lyd, we're here!"
"Lydia, did you catch any clams?"
Standing there are Mx. Margaret and Mr. Tsukuyomi, holding a bottle of alcohol.
"Good evening, you two. How did you know I went clam digging?"
"Lydia stands out, you know. The folks at the market told me you were out there. They said you were with a guy. You always seem to have a different guy with you, and the old ladies were wondering if you're okay with that."
"Th-that sounds bad...!"
"What's wrong with that? It's just the way a popular girl is."
"I'm not popular..."
"Well, anyway."
"Anyway... Mr. Tsukuyomi, I wish you wouldn't deny it..."
"What's the big deal? It's not like you're gonna die from rumors."
"That may be true, but..."
Mr. Tsukuyomi and Mx. Margaret step inside the shop.
Ms. Famine seems to notice their presence and lifts her head slightly, but quickly closes her eyes again, losing interest.
"Lydia, when it comes to clams, it's gotta be sake-steamed, right? Sake-steamed clams go well with alcohol. Do we still have bamboo shoots? Stewed dishes also pair nicely with sake."
"Lyd-Lyd, I brought some yakitori, yakitori. You like yakitori, right, pup?"
"Puppy... Dad."
"That suspicious holy beast."
While sitting at the counter, Mx. Margaret hands me a bag. It's full of yakitori.
"Lydia, look, it's octopus. Octopus. I thought you'd only have clams, so I brought octopus too."
Mr. Tsukuyomi gives me another bag. A big octopus is squirming inside.
"Thank you so much!"
I'm really happy to get food, so I say my thanks.
Sir Stefan is kind, so he probably won't get mad even if more people come over; he might even be happy about it.
I think it'll be fine to let everyone know about the visit after I get out of the bath, so I head back to cooking.
Mx. Margaret rummages through the kitchen and brings out some glasses for drinks.
Since this place feels like home to Mx. Margaret, I'm grateful for the glasses.
While I'm grilling the yakitori I got, I chop up some onions.
Just as I'm putting the grilled yakitori on a plate, there's another knock on Lobelia's door.
"Huh...?"
"Lyd-Lyd, you're not open at night, right?"
"Yeah, Mx. Margaret told me it's dangerous to go outside at night, so I make sure to stay inside... and the shop is only open until noon, and since I went to get clams today, it's a day off."
"So, could it be another friend?"
"Who could it be...?"
I didn't have any plans with anyone today.
When I open the door, there stand Mr. Lucian and Sir Ciel.
"Mr. Lucian, Sir Ciel...! What brings you both here? You two seem to have become really close all of a sudden."
"Well, it's not exactly like that."
"Today, His Majesty went out saying he was going to Ms. Lydia's place to ask her to attend the coronation, but he hasn't returned yet, so I came to pick him up. I figured it wouldn't be right to let His Majesty walk the night streets alone."
"Ah, that's right!"
Mr. Lucian and Sir Ciel work at the palace, so they know that Sir Stefan is at Lobelia.
I ended up keeping Sir Stefan here. I must have caused some worry.
"Sir Stefan joining me for clam digging..."
"Clam digging?"
"You know, picking up clams in the sand, Ciel..."
"Yes, we dug up clams in the sand with a rake. We got a lot!"
Mr. Lucian tilted his head, and Sir Ciel covered his mouth and muttered.
When I formed the shape of a clam with my hands, Mr. Lucian gently rubbed my head with a smile.
Sir Ciel remained silent, covering his mouth and lowering his gaze.
He seemed to be trembling slightly. I wonder if he's feeling unwell.
"Ms. Lydia... You're so cute, it's overwhelming."
"Ciel, snap out of it. You're acting like a lovesick fool."
"How can you stay so calm, Lucian?"
"As an older and composed man, I'm trying my best to maintain his composure."
"But is it wrong to find something cute? Ms. Lydia is adorable."
"Sir Ciel... I'm happy."
I smiled, feeling a bit embarrassed. Sir Ciel and I are alike. He seems to like clams too. I'm glad.
I also think clams are the cutest among shellfish, so I agree.
I'm relieved that Sir Ciel has something he finds cute besides cats. If he loves clams that much, I should have invited him to go clam digging too.
"Oh, so many new members for the Lyd-Lyd's fan club'."
"I think our conversation didn't make sense at times, but is it just me?"
"No, I felt the same way. Don't worry."
Mx. Margaret and Mr. Tsukuyomi laughed.
I realized we had been chatting for a while, so I invited Mr. Lucian and Sir Ciel inside Lobelia.
Mr. Lucian brought a fancy set of high-quality tea leaves as a gift, while Sir Ciel gave me a bundle of specially cultivated vegetables from the Mage's Guild.
It seems this is part of the research done by everyone at Saintwise. They're working on creating disease-resistant veggies to boost food production in the Kingdom.
Sir Ciel and Mr. Lucian helped out in the kitchen.
Since we had the chance, I asked Sir Ciel to use magic to remove any sand that might still be in the clams, and I asked Mr. Lucian, who's great with a knife, to chop the onions.
In the meantime, I started preparing the octopus I got from Mr. Tsukuyomi, coating it and frying it up.
I think fried octopus is the best. With Sir Roxas not around, there wasn't time to simmer, so I decided to fry the octopus and make tempura with the leftover bamboo shoots.
I transferred the crispy, golden-brown fried octopus to a platter, sizzling and bubbling away.
The bamboo shoots were already boiled, so I just needed to fry them until the coating was crispy; they didn't need to be cooked through.
Once I finished plating the tempura and fried octopus, I added butter and some sake to the frying pan to steam the clams.
The clams were cooking in the pan, and it was cute how the lid kept popping open.
"Clams, looking good, smells nice!"
I placed half of the steamed clams on a plate in front of Mr. Tsukuyomi and the others.
The other half went on a separate plate, and I poured the clam broth into a bowl, adding a bit of water to thin it out.
While I added more butter to the pan and sautéed the onions until they were soft, I boiled the pasta.
As I was boiling the pasta, there was another knock at the door.
"Mr. Lucian, could you watch things for a moment? Is that okay?"
"Ah, leave it to me. No problem."
With Mr. Lucian in charge of the kitchen, I headed towards the door.
Mr. Lucian's "leave it to me" feels more reassuring than Sir Roxas's.
──As I opened the door, I found Sir Roxas and Sir Rail standing there, just like I had imagined moments ago.
Next to the somewhat tense-looking Sir Roxas, Sir Rail was waving cheerfully as usual.
"Good evening, you two! Sir Rail, you didn't come in through the window today."
"Yeah. Heroes usually come in through the window, but today I'm with Roxas. We came in a proper carriage."
"It was tough getting my brother into the carriage. Anyway, Lydia."
"Yes, welcome, Sir Roxas."
"Ah, um. The other day, I accidentally got your clothes wet by dropping them in the river. So, I came to apologize today."
"I see. I heard the whole story from Roxas. It seems I caused trouble for the princess and scared her... though I don't think that's true, but since Roxas is so worried, I came to say sorry."
"I'm not that worried...!"
"You said you had no face to show Lydia, and you were gloomy every day."
"That's not true."
"Sir Rail, thanks for dropping the bread when you almost got lost the other day. Sir Roxas, I thought you were angry since you left so suddenly last time..."
"Bread? I don't know what you're talking about."
"I'm not angry at all."
I think it was Sir Rail who dropped the bread in the bamboo grove, and I felt like Sir Roxas was a bit angry.
Anyway, I invited both of them inside.
Sir Roxas and Sir Rail brought gifts to apologize, including a fancy soap set from the Girard family, a special Eir-Eir type Magic Stone lamp, and a premium coffee bean set from the Girard family. I was really happy.
"Looks like the Lyd-Lyd Guard has grown again."
"It's the same usual crowd."
"Ah, you two are drinking. Can I have some too?"
Sir Rail sat down next to Mr. Tsukuyomi and Mx. Margaret, starting to drink.
Sir Roxas offered to help in the kitchen, so I asked him to sit next to Sir Rail and just watch.
Mr. Lucian transferred the boiled pasta into the frying pan along with the cooking water and lightly sautéed it with onions.
Feeling grateful for Mr. Lucian's smooth skills, I took over the cooking.
I poured the clam broth back into the frying pan, turned off the heat, and added milk. I mixed it well with the residual heat, then added the clams back in, lightly seasoning it with salt and pepper.
I sautéed it on low heat and tore small pieces of fresh sheep cheese to add in. Just as the cheese started to melt──
"...I thought I heard some noise, and everyone is here."
Sir Stefan, who had just finished his bath, and Dad, who was being carried by Sir Stefan, came down from the second floor.
"Stefan...! W-What's going on? Why are you taking a bath at Lydia's house...!?"
Sir Roxas jumped up in a hurry, knocking over glasses and bottles, making a loud crash.
"Speaking of which, Lydia is also in the bath... what on earth is happening..."
"Sir Roxas, it's His Majesty Stefan, so it's fine."
"Roxas, Stefan is okay."
"...Yeah, that's true."
Mr. Lucian and Sir Rail chuckled as they spoke to the trembling Sir Roxas. Sir Ciel nodded a bit hesitantly.
"That's exactly what I was wondering too."
"Looks like today is the day when a lot of kids come over."
While holding Dad, Sir Stefan said with a troubled expression. Dad wagged his tail like a puppy.
Noticing the delicious smell, Eir-Eir, Nel-Nel, and Ms. Famine also woke up and jumped onto the counter from the windowsill.
"It's ready! Tonight's seaside dish is creamy clam pasta!"
The cute pasta was completed with clams that had popped open in the shining white soup.
Clam cream pasta, fried octopus, bamboo shoot tempura, simmered vegetables, grilled chicken, and veggie sticks were all laid out on the table as we said "Thank you for the food!" together.
The beginning of the first summer started with Sir Ciel's visit.
And in the second year of Lobelia──a new summer was about to arrive.
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