“…I was deceived.”
A warm morning.
Everyone is gathered in the dining hall, sitting quietly for breakfast.
However, unlike usual, the expressions of the children, excluding Ellie, are notably stiff.
“I can’t help it. If we don’t eat the fruit quickly, it’ll spoil right away.”
I know the reason why the children are wearing such stiff expressions. Especially seeing Rune and Iris with the most rigid faces suggests that they are quite unhappy with today’s breakfast menu.
We usually have meat for breakfast, but today’s menu is a fruit salad with all the meat removed.
“There’s no meat at all.”
“Don’t make such a disgusted face, Iris.”
“But there’s no meat….”
It’s a situation that feels quite familiar. I have a feeling that Iris will throw a tantrum and leave the dining hall soon.
But there’s no need to worry. I won’t make the same mistake again.
“If you want to blame someone, blame the World Tree for dropping this huge amount of fruit. I did nothing wrong.”
“Ugh….”
Shifting all the blame for this onto the World Tree.
Though it might be a bit awkward since it seems to understand human speech for a tree, I’m sure the kind-hearted World Tree will understand if I say it was unavoidable for the children.
Honestly, since I’m just stating the facts, I don’t think the World Tree will have much to say in response, either.
“I clearly said we would eat meat for three meals a day….”
“Hmm? Who spread such a rumor?”
“Iris said that… Lady Levynia can only cook meat, so we eat meat every day….”
“…There is some slightly inaccurate information mixed in, but still, there’s no need to be too disappointed. We will definitely hold a party to welcome Rune today.”
I’m planning to have a party for Rune this evening.
It may just be a small welcome gathering among ourselves in the church, but I’m preparing plenty of dishes she hasn’t tried yet, so I’m sure she won’t be disappointed.
I’ll show the children that I can cook well, not just meat.
“So, can we eat a lot of meat then?”
“It seems Rune is more interested in meat than the welcome party…?”
“Yes. I want to eat meat too.”
“…I’ll prepare as much as I can.”
The conversation has taken a slightly different turn than I expected, but that’s okay.
What’s important is sincerity.
“But, what is the nun drinking?”
After wrapping up the situation somehow, I slowly raised the cup I was holding and brought it to my lips.
At that moment, Iris, who had been staring at me intently, tilted her head slightly to the side, looking curious.
“What?”
“The nun has no salad. What are you drinking?”
At Iris’s unexpected question, my body tensed up.
Because what I’m drinking right now is beast’s blood.
Usually, I would have a regular breakfast with the same menu as the children, but—
“…….”
Since returning from the elf village, I have been suffering from quite severe anemia.
It seems to be a side effect of using too much blood to utilize my skills, so today I decided to substitute my meal with beast’s blood just for today.
I was secretly sipping it, making sure the children couldn’t see what was in my cup—
But I never expected that she would ask about the nature of what I was drinking at that timing.
“…Water.”
“Don’t you eat salad, nun?”
“I’m just not feeling it today.”
“You said that even if you’re not in the mood, you should have breakfast.”
“Adults are fine. I have already finished growing.”
Upon hearing my answer, Iris’s expression became even more puzzled.
It felt as if her expression said it was unfair, and I had no choice but to awkwardly turn my head to avoid Iris’s piercing gaze.
“You ate meat just fine….”
“Adults can do that. That’s the privilege of being an adult.”
With that response, I downed the contents of the cup all at once without any hesitation.
Given that I’ve been replenishing blood using the blood transfusion skill, the very act of drinking blood feels not only unfamiliar but also rather unpleasant and repulsive.
“Ugh….”
I can’t hide the expression it demands.
My brow furrows uncontrollably, and my lips shrink back as if I’ve eaten something inedible, twisting my face in pain.
Regret for not using the blood transfusion skill surged late, but still, there was no choice—it’s a much more efficient choice to drink blood directly.
“Why are you making such a face while drinking water…?”
“It’s too cold… My gums are a bit weak….”
Iris seemed even more suspicious of my clumsy excuse, and now her eyelids began to flutter rapidly.
Today, the gazes of the children on me feel uncomfortable.
“Iris—.”
As I was struggling to hide my distorted expression and churning stomach, Rune, who had timidly complained about the salad just a moment ago, suddenly began to speak softly with a calm expression.
“If you keep chewing this, it tastes like meat.”
Rune shows Iris a vegetable speared on her fork with her small, chubby hand.
With that, Iris’s interest naturally turned to Rune.
“Try it, it’s delicious.”
“Liar. How can vegetables taste like meat?”
“It’s true… Ellie eats it deliciously.”
“Ellie likes vegetables. That’s why she eats it well.”
From a glance, it seems like they’re deliberately trying to change the subject to divert Iris’s attention away from me.
Rune was subtly shifting the conversation to prevent Iris from focusing more on me, and Iris immediately responded, leading to a fairly lengthy discussion about vegetables.
“…….”
Watching the two of them in silence, I couldn’t help but solidify my resolve to make Rune the definite main character this evening.
She must be quite disappointed that the meat she was looking forward to for breakfast didn’t appear.
Nonetheless, I found Rune’s subtle assistance to be endearing and incredibly lovely.
“Oh, right. Levi, I have something to tell you.”
“Yes?”
At that moment, Aizen, who had his mouth full of salad, suddenly turned to me with wide eyes.
“I want to camp in the forest with the kids today.”
My head went blank for a moment due to Iris’s persistent nagging, so I didn’t immediately understand Aizen’s words.
No, I unconsciously heard him with one ear and let it slip out the other.
“From lunch today until lunch tomorrow.”
However, I gradually started to react, furrowing my brow at Aizen’s bold statement that followed.
“Camping?!”
“Yeah! You’ll let us, right?”
“But why all of a sudden…? It’s only been a few days since we returned to the church….”
At my flustered question, Aizen responded with an innocent smile.
“I really liked what I saw and experienced at the elf village. This time, I want to camp in the forest.”
“But still, this is too sudden… And you just said we would have a welcome party for Rune today.”
“Don’t worry about that. We can have the welcome party while camping.”
I was taken aback.
I already knew Aizen had quite an adventurous spirit, but it had only been a day since we returned to the church, and I just said we would hold Rune’s welcome party this evening….
“No. If you said we would do it a few days later, I would allow it, but today is just too sudden, and everyone is tired.”
“Huh? I’m not tired at all!”
“Of course, Aizen, who always has overflowing energy, would say that. But Ellie, Iris, and Rune right now….”
Ellie, who had been quietly eating next to Aizen, suddenly had her eyes shining brightly.
As if she was secretly looking forward to camping.
“Ellie seems to be full of energy, doesn’t she?”
“…?”
Compared to Aizen, Ellie is quite on the reserved side.
But to think she would actually be interested in camping….
“It sounds fun… I want to try camping too.”
“Ellie…. Camping isn’t as romantic as you might think. There will be more hard days than fun ones….”
“But if we all work together, can’t we manage somehow?!”
Ellie surprisingly had a cheerful disposition.
Upon reflection, although she often would whine a bit to me, she has never expressed any complaints or grumbled beyond that even once.
I didn’t realize it before, but perhaps Ellie also has an adventurous spirit rivaling Aizen’s.
But—
“Still, no means no. No matter what anyone says, today’s main character is Rune. If you just decide things recklessly….”
“I want to go camping too.”
“I want to too….”
In that moment, I doubted my ears.
I could understand Iris wanting to go, but how could Rune, an elf, also want to go camping?
“Rune, why…?”
“The welcome party in the forest…I’m honestly a little excited.”
The atmosphere suddenly shifted toward Aizen, becoming more and more heated.
Everyone was laughing and enjoying themselves talking about camping, which looked nice, but I was left staring blankly in the corner like a deserted island, and all sorts of worries began piling up like a mountain.
“I guess there’s no helping it… Then once we finish preparing, let’s all head to the forest.”
But the mood was already leaning heavily towards Aizen, and even Rune had said she wanted to go camping.
There was nothing I could do in this situation.
With a deep sigh escaping my lips, I muttered in a small voice when Aizen’s cheerful voice suddenly reached me again from right next to me.
“Oh, right. I should have mentioned this earlier, but I forgot.”
“What?”
“Levi, don’t come along. We’re just going to go among ourselves this time.”
