Chapter 237 - Isn't it That my Baths are Cursed?

I stand in the kitchen in place of Lilia-san, who rather than being unable to cook, she has no experience in cooking itself. First of all, I quickly sliced the meat of the boar, but this seems to be pretty good meat, as I was able to cut it quite well without the knife getting stuck in its tendons. Lightly sprinkling the sliced meat with salt, I put it aside for a while to let it adjust with the seasoning, and in the meantime, I start preparing the vegetables. Since I intended to fry them together with the meat, cutting them too small would blur the taste, so I cut the vegetables a little larger and threw them into the pan, starting with the ones that are hard to cook. While stir-frying the various types of vegetables, mixing them together, I throw in the meat when it's time, and the sound of popping oil gives off a fragrant smell in the air. When the color of the meat changes, it's to do the finishing touches… I took out the "yakiniku sauce" that I bought from a shop and seasoned it a little bit. …This completes the Poor College Student's Specialty Cooking: Stir-fried Meat and Vegetables… No, I didn't cut corners in any way at all. To be clear, improvising with the current ingredients is too difficult for me… But it should be fine if I fry them all. If I fry it and pour the sauce on it, it should generally be delicious. After that, I decided to prepare a soup as well since eating just a stir-fry feels too lonely… Taking out the "soup Sieg-san made for me" from my magic box, I nonchalantly transferred it to a bowl. No, it isn't like I'm cutting corners… This is just the best option, given the circumstances. Even if the heavens and earth are turned upside down, there's no way that the soup that I would make, using ingredients I'm unfamiliar with, could ever be a match for the delicious soup made by Sieg-san. In fact, it isn't even worth comparing them… So, this is a decision based on wanting Lilia-san to eat good food, and it isn't like I'm bad at making soup or anything like that, okay? And while I, a Japanese, would like to eat some rice, Lilia-san… or rather, the people of this world don't really like rice that much, so I'll just take out some bread here. Of course, the bread I took out are those delicious ones I bought from a "bakery". No, I won't bake bread or anything like that… It takes an awful lot of time to bake, and the last time I tried so hard to bake on my own, I created a demonic substance in the form of a black apple pie. Let's just leave the baking to the professionals. Unnn, I know I was condescendingly saying to leave the cooking to me, but I feel like the only thing I've made is just the vegetable stir-fry… But well, let's just leave the trivial details behind. O- Of course, what I made may be my specialty, but I don't have all the ingredients I know for making it wasn't on hand… By the way, I'm really good at making sandwiches and fried eggs. Saying that makes me embarrassed though… [Lilia-san, it's ready.] [Already!? Amazing… Kaito-san is an amazing cook huh.] [...] She started looking at me with honest, admiring eyes!? Just receiving those looks is impossibly making me feel like running away, you know!? I'm sorry, all I did was just the stir-fried meat and vegetables! Cooking is something that will require practice in the future, but anyway, now that our meal is ready, I sit down at the table with Liliasan and begin eating. Lilia-san takes a sip of the soup irst, and gives me a lovely smile. [It's so delicious. It's almost as delicious as the soup our chef made.] [T- That's great.] I'm sorry, I didn't make that… The person who made that was the one who's a very good cook. And next, Lilia-san reaches out for the vegetable stir-fry that I made, and seeing that made my anxiousness reach its peak. This is bad, this is really bad… I mean, no matter how I think about it, compared to Sieg-san's soup, my vegetable stir-fry is a few steps inferior in taste. As a noble, she's used to eating good food, so it might not be to Liliasan's taste… It's not that I would be troubled if she found out, but even though I was condescendingly said to leave the cooking to me, I feel embarrassed if she knows that I asked for the help of Sieg-san's cooking. Without realizing my anxiety, Lilia-san brought the fried vegetables to her mouth… and tilted her head. A- As expected, she didn't ind it tasty… [U- Ummm, Lilia-san?] […It has an unusual lavor. It's the irst time I've tasted something like this.] […Eh?] [It's a little salty and has deep lavors, but it's really dangerous.] […I- Is that so…] Lilia-san had never had yakiniku befooorreee!? Indeed, there are yakiniku shops in this world, and yakiniku sauce is widespread but… Thinking about it, Lilia-san is a former princess and currently a Duchess… She's a full-ledged noble lady, and what should I say… This might be the irst time eating something like this whose lavor is being brought by the sauce. A- At least, it doesn't seem like she dislikes it, as Lilia-san proceeded to eat her meal somewhat happily. …What can I say, unnn… I feel relieved. After inishing our meal and putting away the dishes, I guess it's a good time for me to take a bath. [Lilia-san, would you like to take a bath irst?] [Eh? A- Ahh, y- yes. I- I- I guess so!?] […Lilia-san?] I thought what I said was a very normal thing for me to say to her, but for some reason, Lilia-san looked very lustered and her face was getting redder and redder. […P- Please wait for a bit. M- My heart isn't ready yet…] […E- Errr… Yes?] She's just going to take a bath, why does she need to ready her heart? Not understanding the meaning at all, I tilted my head… And with a face so red that it looks like steam is about to come out of her ears, Lilia-san spoke. […H- How about… K- Kaito-san go in irst?] [Eh? Huhh… that's ine with me but…] [I- I'll try my best… n- n- n- not to keep you waiting…] […Unnn?] What is this? I really don't know what Lilia-san is talking about. Even though I'm still wondering why, since she asked me to take a bath irst… I don't really mind that, so I agreed and quickly got ready. Meanwhile, Lilia-san looked down with a bright red face and seemed to be mumbling something but… when I tried calling out to her, she was so lustered that she couldn't hold a conversation at all. So, for the time being, I decided to just talk with Lilia-san after she calms down, while I head for the bathroom. It isn't as large as the one in Lilia-san's mansion, but it's large enough for one person to take a bath in. The wooden bathtub has a nice atmosphere, which is very attractive for the Japanese me. I'm sure that this wood is different, but it feels just like the bathtub made of cypress wood I bathed in back in Rigforeshia… How should I say this… it feels like a wonderful Japanese style bath. Washing myself clean, I then soaked in the bathtub and relaxed, stretching my arms and legs. Ahh, that feels great… It feels like lately, I seem to be prone to encountering problems while I'm in the bathroom, so I was always feeling lustered while I'm taking a bath. It started with the mixed bath with Isis-san and Kuro… In Rigforeshia, Rei-san and Fia-san would use all types of strategies just to try and get me and Sieg-san to bathe together… And in the Divine Realm, that mixed bath with the four Goddesses. Well, thinking back on those times again, I don't know how I was able to endure it. However, in that regard, it's Lilia-san who is with me today… If it's the modest Lilia-san, she wouldn't think of bathing together, even if we're lovers already, so I don't need to worry… […U- Ummm, Kaito-san…] [Eh? Lilia-san? What's the matter?] As I was thinking about this, for some reason, I heard Lilia-san's voice from the other side of the door. Asking her back, wondering if she had something urgent to say, a brief of silence passed before Lilia-san replied with her voice trembling. […I- I'm sorry t- to keep you waiting… I- I'm inally ready…] […Ready? Ummm, Lilia-san… What in the world are you…] [E- Excuse my intrusion!] [Wha!?] As I was having a bad feeling about the conversation that shows unusual signs around it, the door was opened and Lilia-san appeared, a single towel wrapped around her body. Eh? What is this? What the heck… is happening now? Dear Mom, Dad——– The irst night at the summer resort with Liliasan, we inished our meals that were seasoned with a hint of deceit on it, and I'm now taking a bath but… for some reason, Lilia-san also came inside. I don't really know why, but could it be that it was just as I thought——— Isn't it that my baths are cursed? ~~ A certain act, in a certain place ~~ L-san: [Listen, My Lady. You have become Miyama-sama's lover, but undertaking such a relationship also entails you with things that you must do.] Naive: [Things that I must do…?] Prankster: Yes, My Lady has never been in a relationship before, so I could understand why My Lady doesn't know about it… But this is an act that has always been done between lovers since ancient times.] Love Experience Zero: [W- What in the world could that be…] Idiot: [… It's mixed bathing.] Innocent: [… Mixed… bathing… Eh? Eeehhhh!?] Soft-shell Turtle: [I understand your surprise, However, if you don't do this, you can't truly say that the two of you are lovers!] Moon: [N- No way… Is that the case…] Mimidoshima: Yes, all the lovers of the world go through this actions and even deepened their relationships through this… I heard from my mother that she also went through this.] Pure: [… Is… that so… W- Well then… I- I will also…] Devil: [There's no need to rush… but you mustn't let an opportunity escape it presents itself! It's an ordeal you'll have to eventually overcome… So, when the times comes, bring out your courage!] Angel: [… I- I understand… I- I will do my best.] (T/N: Tsuki to Suppon / The Moon and the Soft-shell Turtle is a phrase that means when someone is as different as day and night. In Japan, the moon is a symbol of beauty, whereas it's said that the soft-shell turtle have an ugly face. Mimidoshima refers to a young woman with a lot of supericial knowledge about sex.)