[V9C10] Enjoy You Little Rascal

That evening, the group returned to Elliott’s mansion to eat dinner, and Monica was still clutching her stomach due to the unbearable atmosphere.

There were only three people seated at the dinner table: Elliott, Benjamin, and Monica. Ryn remained standing behind Monica in her maid outfit, maintaining impeccable posture.

Elliott frowned at the sight of Ryn, but ultimately decided to ignore her. He likely lacked the energy to make any more sarcastic remarks.

“Only five days until the festival… Or rather, practically four days now. And in that period, I have to finish all the preparations, help Benjamin recover from his slump, somehow motivate the Songstress, and placate the spirit…”

Elliott suddenly began muttering to himself, then placed the silverware down as he held back a migraine.

“This is impossible. There’s just no way…”

Monica tried to think of a solution, but nothing came to mind. She knew nothing about governing a town, nor did she have any idea how to go about motivating Benjamin or the Songstress.

(If Ike was here, maybe he could give some good advice… Ugh, but Ike is pretty harsh on Howard-sama…)

Monica held back a migraine of her own as she nibbled on bits of bread.

Meanwhile, the musician in a slump was the only one enjoying the meal, twirling the contents of his wine glass as he spoke.

“Elliott, there’s something I’d like to ask of you.”

“What is it? I’ll do whatever it takes to get you out of that slump.”

“Well then, could you tell me about your favorite tea and pastry shops in town? Also, a flower shop with splendid bouquets would be nice too, preferably run by a lady beautiful enough to inspire a song. Oh, and I want to visit the place with the most beautiful view of the town, as well as somewhere with a clear view of the sky, and…”

Elliott quickly raised his hand to interrupt Benjamin.

“If you want to go sightseeing, I’ll have a subordinate guide you.”

“That’s not the same, Elliott. I want to hear it from you. Show me all of the town’s wonders!”

“Unfortunately, I’ve been swamped with work since my arrival. I visited the festival-related venues a few times to check on the progress, but that’s about it.

Benjamin placed his wine glass down and looked directly at Elliott. The musician’s face seemed unusually serious.

“All right, I’ve decided. Elliott, your schedule for tomorrow is an entire day of sightseeing. You shall treat me and Lady Everett to the fullest of your abilities!”

“What!? Don’t be ridiculous, the festival is only four days away! I still have a mountain of work that needs to be done…!”

“Fret not! I shall inform the servants right away about your change of schedule!”

Immediately following his declaration, Benjamin stood up and rushed out into the corridor. His booming voice could be heard a distance from the dining table.

“——Excuse me, madam. It seems your master will be taking me on a tour of the town tomorrow! Look forward to the souvenirs! Oh, you there, listen up. Tomorrow, Lord Howard is…”

“Ugh, dammit, Benjamin… Stop dragging me into your nonsense!”

Elliott groaned and covered his face with both hands, until he noticed someone patting him on the shoulder. It was Ryn.

Elliott glared at Ryn through the gaps between his fingers.

“Sorry maid, but I don’t have the patience to deal with your banter right now.”

“It is considered bad manners to lean your elbows on the table during a meal.”

“…”

Though still frowning, Elliott obeyed and removed his elbows from the table. It was likely his disciplined upbringing that drove him to obediently comply when faced with a valid argument.

Meanwhile, Ryn continued standing behind Elliott, silently staring at Elliott’s plate with a poker face.

“Also, it seems you have left the mushrooms almost untouched,” Ryn added.

“I don’t like mushrooms.”

“Why is that?”

Ryn’s question drove Elliott to scoff, as if the answer was obvious.

“Because they have gills.”

That answer left Monica puzzled. Why would the presence of gills make someone dislike mushrooms?

Coincidentally, Monica had always been a fan of mushrooms, so she finished all of her portion. The main dish was chicken with a side of sauteed mushrooms and chestnuts, and the texture of the mushrooms was simply sublime.

However, Elliott looked down on the mushrooms with disgust, as if refusing to consider them as food.

Ryn tilted her head sharply to the side.

“I believe the gills of mushrooms should be perfectly edible.”

“Maybe so, but just looking at them makes me sick to my stomach.”

Ryn returned her head to its original position and reached from behind Elliott to pick up his fork.

“In that case, there should be no problem as long as you close your eyes. Allow me to feed you, Elliott-bocchama.”

Ryn skewered a mushroom with the fork and brought it to Elliott’s mouth, causing him to flinch.

“Open wide, here it comes.”

Elliott grimaced, glaring at Ryn with utter disgust. However, Ryn was not the type to falter under a simple glare.

“Rest assured. I have a great deal of experience in feeding infants.”

The comparison to an infant caused Elliott to grow furious.

As a side note, the infant who Ryn had experience feeding was Leonora-chan, the eldest daughter of the Miller family, who was soon to turn two.

Ryn continued in a gentle tone, as if instructing a child.

“Now, Elliott-bocchama, enjoy it like the mischievous little rascal you are.”

Elliott opened his mouth, undoubtedly in an attempt to berate Ryn rather than eat the mushroom. However, the moment his lips parted, Ryn prompted shoved the mushroom through. This was a lightning-fast move, practically invisible to the human eye.

Elliott let out a muffled grunt and covered his mouth. Even so, his disciplined upbringing ensured that he would not spit it out.

Though his mouth was still covered, Elliott could be seen chewing the mushroom as he continued glaring at Ryn with slightly teary eyes.

Meanwhile, Ryn nodded in approval with her usual emotionless face.

“Well done, Elliott-bocchama.”

Elliott swallowed the mushroom, then downed a glass of wine in one go to cleanse his palate. After one final glare at Ryn, he stomped out of the room.

As Monica watched the scene in panic, Ryn merely gazed straight at the door through which Elliott had exited.

“It seems Elliott-bocchama has a habit of disliking things before trying them.”

(…Ah!)

Suddenly, Monica realized it. Perhaps Ryn was trying to teach Elliott a lesson.

(I was like that too.)

Monica had been bad at interacting with others, so she actively avoided doing so.

Much like Elliott had complained about the mushrooms having gills, Monica had, in the past, made many excuses to avoid social interaction.

Ryn was probably trying to teach Elliott not to judge a book by its cover. This lesson applied not only to his dislike of mushrooms, but also to his job governing the town.

…Or so Monica thought, until she heard Ryn’s next words.

“Louis-dono said that anything becomes edible as long as it is cooked and has enough jam. The next time Elliott-bocchama avoids eating something, I’ll recommend trying it with jam.”

“…Huh?”

Apparently, she had been reading too much into it.

Monica put on a wry smile and glanced at the corridor. There was no sign of Elliott returning any time soon.

After confirming she was alone with Ryn, Monica inquired about something that had been bothering her.

“Um, Ryn-san… Did you go outside today?”

“No. I remained on standby, brainstorming a hundred comforting praises for Elliott-bocchama. Shall I share them with you? First, ‘your droopy eyes are very radiant.’ Second…”

“Erm, m-more importantly…”

While Monica was somewhat curious about the rest of the hundred, she had something more pressing to confirm.

“Do you know anything about the spirit the town calls the Envoy?”

“No, nothing at all.”

Her response was completely straightforward, lacking any hint of deception.

Monica had never been good at recognizing when people were lying, but Ryn tended to speak her mind, so this was likely the truth.

“Today, next to the temple in the woods… I encountered a wind spirit.”

Monica went on to explain the events of earlier today.

Though the spirit had not revealed itself to Monica, its intentions were clear. The spirit declared that it would call a storm on the day of the festival.

Ryn stared back at Monica expressionlessly, causing Monica to avert her eyes and fidget with her fingers.

“So, um… Because of that, I…”

Monica lowered her head to Ryn and apologized.

“…I’m sorry, Ryn-san. I suspected you of being the culprit. I thought you might have gotten angry at what Howard-sama said, and wanted to scare him a little…”

Ryn expressed her surprise by tilting her head sharply to the side.

“Me getting angry? For what?”

“I mean, um… Howard-sama disrespected the Spirit King of Wind, and wanted to get rid of the temple…”

Ryn returned her head to an upright position and placed a finger on her chin in thought. The gesture seemed pretty unnatural, as if she was simply imitating something she read about in a book.

With her finger still on her chin, Ryn turned back to Monica.

“Silent Witch-dono, for reference, what would you do if I were to say that the king of this country was an unremarkable man?”

Caught off guard by the sudden question, Monica answered with the first thing that came to her mind.

“Uh, well… nothing…?”

“Indeed, I believe my response would be rather similar. I do not particularly care if someone mocks the Spirit King of Wind. After all, I have never even met him.”

“I-I see…”

“I suppose other spirits may respond differently, however.”

That made sense. There were humans like Cyril who would erupt with anger if they heard someone insulting royalty, as well as humans like Monica who didn’t really care. Spirits likely differed on their opinions as well.

“Nevertheless, calling a storm is certainly not a peaceful gesture,” Ryn continued.

“Right… the spirit seemed really angry at humans for ‘stealing my brethren’ or something like that…”

Ryn once again tilted her head. The motion was so forceful that Monica grew anxious that her head might fall off.

“That spirit may be someone I know. I will attempt diplomacy tomorrow.”

“P-Please do!”

Louis must have anticipated that something like this might happen, and that’s why he sent Ryn here.

Monica paid her respects to the absent Louis for his support.

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