Occasionally, Rio would come across a food item or ingredient that
didn't exist in the Strahl region, but did exist on Earth, making him secretly
react in astonishment.
"What's this...?" After spotting an item he simply couldn't let go of, he
turned to ask Alma to identify it.
"Those are the grains from threshing rice husks. It's one of the products
from threshing, and we eat it by boiling it or frying it."
The word she had used wasn't the exact same pronunciation as the
Japanese word for rice, but from the description of how it was prepared, there
was no mistaking it.
"While we have ingredients that are prepared in a similar way, this exact
thing isn't available in Strahl."
"It was originally grown in the Yagumo region, after all. If I recall
correctly, it was brought into the village over the long course of history and
we started cultivating it."
"I look forward to both cooking it and eating it."
Thus, they chatted as they worked until they had put most of the food
away in the pantry and returned to the living room. Latifa had been talking
with Sara and Orphia while they cleaned up, allowing her to open up and feel
a bit more relaxed compared to when they first arrived.
"So, umm... Master Rio. Which rooms shall we sleep in?"
After tea had been prepared and everyone was sitting on the sofas for a
breather, Sara brought up the topic rather timidly.
"...Huh?" Rio gawked at Sara's words.
"Eh? Umm, the head elder... Elder Ursula didn't tell you anything?"
"Uh, tell me what?" He had an inkling of what was going on, but asked
anyway to settle his heart.
"We were told to live with Master Rio in this house and attend to you
two..."
Sure enough, Sara's words were exactly as Rio expected.
"...Whaaat?! You're all going to live with us here?" Latifa responded
with amazement after a few seconds to think.
"Yes. Will that be a problem?"
"W-Will it?" Orphia asked, prompting Latifa to look up at Rio sitting
next to her.
"No, that's..."
Rio's expression conveyed a sense of disapproval. Though they were all
young boys and girls, it was one boy to four girls — just imagining it made
him feel weary.
"Erm, is it too much to ask after all?" Sara asked Rio with an anxious
face.
"...Umm, is everyone here okay with that?" Rio asked. "I'm a man —
and a human one at that, you know? If you came here on an order, then
please don't force yourselves to do this."
His thinking was that Sara and the others might not want to live together
with a stranger like him.
"We're completely fine with it! Master Rio is a savior. And we can't
apologize enough for how terribly we treated you. So we'd like to repent for
our actions through this!" Sara insisted heatedly, with Orphia and Alma
nodding at her side.
"Ah, no, but... I don't need repentance or anything." Rio said, shrinking
back.
"I-I understand that we may be a nuisance to you! We were actually
worried that Master Rio would be the one to oppose this... It's true that we
were told to do this, but we're happy to follow through with it! We want to
get along more with Latifa, too!" Sara expressed wholeheartedly to the best
of her ability. Rio could sense the determination within her; she wouldn't
back down easily.
The silence in the room continued for a moment, until....
"Lord Rio, I'm coming in." Ursula appeared in the doorway.
"Ursula..." Rio shot her a questioning glare, wondering if all of this had
been her doing.
"I overheard part of your conversation. Regarding the topic of living
together with the girls, Lord Rio, I would like to humbly request this of you."
"Even if you say that... isn't it undesirable for them? Sara and the others
are of the same bloodline as the council members of the village, right?
There'll be bad rumors if they live with a human like me." Rio whispered in
Ursula's ear, having briskly stood and approached her.
"All the more reason, then. Rumors about Lord Rio and Latifa are
already spreading through the village. If the village council were to treat you
like the plague, those negative rumors would be even worse." Ursula shook
her head dismissively.
"Will it really be all right?"
"It shall be. As a head elder, I guarantee this. This is an action we've
taken for Latifa's well-being. Lord Rio, you intend on leaving the village one
day, no? Then it would be undesirable to continue this dependency she has
developed towards you. You need individuals beside her who can be her
guardian, her friend. While those girls still have a long ways to go, they're all
good girls."
It was exactly as Ursula said. If he were to consider Latifa's future, Rio
had to be less protective of her.
"...You're right. Both Latifa and I would greatly benefit from this."
"Oho! Then may I take that as a word of acceptance?"
"Yes. If it's not too much trouble for Sara and the others..."
Thus, it was decided that Rio and Latifa would live together with the
spirit folk girls.
That night, to celebrate their new life together, they decided to hold a
modest feast. The attendants were the new residents of the house — Rio,
Latifa, Sara, Orphia, and Alma — and the three head elders, Ursula, Syldora,
and Dominic, for a total of eight people. As the evening approached, they
went about preparing the feast in the kitchen. Sara, Orphia, and Alma took
charge of the cooking, while Rio asked to help out.
However, sure enough...
"Master Rio, please take a breather," they all told him.
"We're going to be living together from now on, so there's no need to
accomodate me so much. We'll all just get tired that way, don't you think?
And I'd prefer it if you stopped calling me 'Master' too," Rio told them with
a forced smile. The three girls looked at each other.
"Then, umm... Would it be okay to just call you Rio?" Sara asked on
behalf of the group.
"Yes, that would be fine. Then let us do the housework in a similar
fashion. We can decide the specifics another day, so let's just cook together
for today. This way we can check each of our skill levels at cooking too."
"I want to eat Onii-chan's cooking!"
Rio's suggestion made Latifa excitedly jump into the conversation. The
three girls — especially Sara — seemed concerned about assigning chores to
Rio, but Latifa's final word made them cave to his wishes. Then, after
discussing who would be making what, they finally began preparing the food.
As a matter of fact, Rio was desperate to cook.
There were so many ingredients in the pantry that weren't available in
Strahl, so he wanted to try to remake as many of Earth's foods as he could.
Latifa would surely be ecstatic too. He would only make western foods that
children liked — pasta, omelettes, and meat patties.
With skillful hands, he completed the cooking all the while avoiding
getting in the way of the others, making Sara and Alma widen their eyes with
awe.
"Fufu, this is fun... Cooking with everyone," Orphia said, preparing food
and grinning happily.
"Rio... is as good at cooking as Orphia." Alma said. She was still a little
reluctant to call Rio without a title.
"I-I won't lose either!" Sara said enthusiastically, tackling the ingredients
even more seriously.
In no time at all, a feast was upon them. The living room of their new
house was soon buzzing with life.
"Gahaha! Your food's great, kid!" Dominic laughed heartily, gulping
down the alcohol in his metal cup.
"The ingredients are all items I'm very familiar with, yet the dishes are
all new and innovative. I'm surprised to experience something this good at
my old age."
"Yes, what wonderful skill. My favorite is this egg dish with tomato."
Syldora and Ursula smacked their lips at Rio's cooking.
"I prefer this one here with potato and cheese. Its perfect with alcohol.
Alma, what about you?"
"I like the meat dish best. It looked very difficult to make, but the taste is
definitely worth it," Alma replied as she munched on a patty.
"Ehehe, all of Onii-chan's cooking is delicious!" Latifa beamed proudly
as she ate the pasta.
"Rio, teach me how to make it next time," Orphia requested pleasantly.
"O-Orphia, isn't that rude?!" Sara warned her in a panic.
"Sure, I don't mind. In exchange, teach me how to make some of your
village's dishes too."
And so, one way or another, their life in the village had a fairly good
start.