Chapter 939: How to Spend the Year-End and New Year Holidays 8
As dusk fell, we returned to Carlos-san’s mansion. As expected, with the Spirit Festival coming up the next day, work in the garden was still underway, but Nancy-san had prepared a splendid feast for us.
“I wonder if they’re behind schedule……usually, that kind of work would be finished by sunset, wouldn’t it?”
Naris kept glancing outside as she sawed meat off a huge bone with a grating sound. Hearing this, Hilda-san gave a wry smile.
“Both dark elves and ogres have good night vision, and they can set things up even without lights……so they figure they’re safe until dawn”
“Ah……when you put it that way, night vision is kind of a cheat, isn’t it? Their concept of a day is totally different from ours”
“Either way, we can’t exactly stay awake all night, though. Even though we’re still going through trial and error, this is usually the point where we give up on making further fixes and adjustments, so I hear there are quite a few foremen who have their crews rest during the day the day before and start bringing in extra hands around this time☆”
“That’s such a sneaky way to work……!”
“But since that’s how things tend to run, it can’t be helped☆ Besides, tinkering with things right up to the last minute isn’t really a good idea anyway”
But night vision, huh……I definitely envy that. I can’t function at night without light. It’s not impossible to walk along a night road by moonlight or starlight, but that’s limited to populated areas at best; unpaved, overgrown paths are dangerous, and running around is out of the question. And light requires fuel. ……Well, in my case, there are plenty of light mages around me, but for those without that ability, staying up at night to do anything means incurring fuel costs. The general consensus is that this is a waste. You can’t just stay up late aimlessly forever. Life follows the sun’s rhythm, and in winter, our active hours inevitably become shorter. However, for night-vision races who are free from such restrictions……as long as they have the stamina and motivation, their days are much, much longer than those of non-night-vision races. It’s a subtle but significant difference. ……Also, I envy them for never having to face the situation where it’s too dark to see a woman’s naked body in any room, no matter how late at night. ……As I sipped my drink while thinking about such things, Anzeros gave me a worried look.
“Why do you have such a serious look on your face?”
“Oh, no, I was just thinking that Talc’s culture really is fundamentally different……”
“Did it taste so weird that you had to think about something that complicated?”
“No, it’s not the drink. It’s just that while I was listening to Naris and the others……”
The drink is very delicious. The Trot and Elven wines I usually drink are good too, but Celesta’s wine is……how should I put it? Saying it’s bold might sound negative. Maybe I should say it’s bold and uninhibited. Every time I get to enjoy fine wine here at Carlos-san’s place, the somewhat unexpected flavors, aromas, and strength broaden my narrow perspective on wine.
“Hey, Human. Are you enjoying yourself?”
“Carlos-san”
“Sorry I couldn’t stop by earlier today. I knew right away that the dragon had arrived, but I was just about to head to an important meeting”
“……Ah, no, you didn’t have to go out of your way like that”
“I was thinking the same thing”
Carlos-san is just too honest. Still, he let out a deep sigh.
“……Why on earth would you bring a princess from another country here without an appointment?”
“Uh……”
“It’s fine because Nancy-san handled it well, but if this had happened before she was able to move about freely, it would’ve been a huge scandal. While I was grinning and greeting other merchant guilds, if something had happened to a princess who’d made my place her base without my knowledge, it wouldn’t have been just about the Spirit Festival, would it?”
“W, Well, maybe I should’ve gone somewhere else. Like at Cosmos-san’ place?”
“That would have completely ruined my reputation. A distinguished guest ignoring the mayor and the colony leader to holed up in a brothel?”
Yeah……. What am I supposed to do?
“Well, I was with him, so it’s fine, isn’t it, Big Brother?”
“Dianne. Listen, right now I’m trying to teach this guy what it means to act with a little more self-awareness”
“By the way, Andy, from Big Brother’s perspective, the model answer is 『Don’t wander around aimlessly until I’ve properly greeted you, just wait with the princess』”
“O, Oh, I see”
Now that you mention it, that makes sense. Setting aside the fact that we showed up unannounced and without an appointment, that really is the best way to avoid causing trouble until Carlos-san fully understands the situation and issues some instructions or comes up with a plan.
“Well, since my sister-in-law and I have things firmly under control, it’s just nitpicking as far as today is concerned”
“You’ve been taking some serious jabs at me lately, Dianne”
“Andy is my man, so isn’t it obvious what I’d do if he were being unreasonably bullied by you?”
“Is it really that unreasonable!? Am I making such unreasonable demands!?”
Well, I understand Carlos-san’s desire to urge me to exercise restraint and self-awareness. He must have been pretty frazzled during that recent upheaval, after all.
“You’d better not take advantage of the fact that Andy’s on your side. When it comes down to it, Andy’s the type to take action”
“What do you mean, take advantage? I’m just making sure this guy doesn’t do anything irresponsible”
“Don’t you think you’re the only one who believes you’ll get off with just a minor scratch even if you piss Andy off? If you keep being so snarky, it wouldn’t be surprising if he snapped eventually. It’s about time you stopped treating him like some kid”
Dianne is giving me a serious warning. But could you cut it out a bit? Isn’t that just treating me like a total nutcase?
“You don’t have to threaten me like that……”
I’m at a loss as to how to talk some sense into her. Just then, Nord-san appeared out of nowhere, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Huhuu. Dianne just wants to spoil him even more”
As if it were the most natural thing in the world, Nord-san wrapped her arms around me from behind as I sat there.
“But if Big Brother keeps picking on him like this every single time, he’ll end up hating his own family home, the very place he’s supposed to feel at home. Everyone except Big Brother is spoiling him, after all”
“B, But this is my house! I’m supposed to be the star of the show here!”
“Oh my, a dictatorship? So does that mean you want me, Hilda-neesan and Dianne to move out of this house?”
“I didn’t say that! What’s with you? If I don’t speak up, this guy’s definitely going to get too big for his britches! He’s already stolen several of my sisters, and on top of that, seeing him grinning from ear to ear while indulging in a life of debauchery right here in my own home, of course that pisses me off!”
“What a petty little man”
“Uwaaah!”
Carlos-san was defeated. He went off somewhere, crying. ……Well, I thought I was learning a lot from him every time, though…….
“I feel like I’ve been spoiled enough, though……”
“Considering the contributions you’ve made to this house, this town, and this country, there’s no way Big Brother should be acting so high and mighty. Pull yourself together”
“Exactly. I’m no Sitar, but my contributions are high enough that even if you went around hitting on our sisters and maids indiscriminately, no one could complain”
“That sounds like behavior more suited to a tyrant”
Or maybe he’s some kind of vengeful spirit or something. ……Just as I was feeling a little put off by this, the head maid, who had been standing nearby without me noticing, bowed politely and whispered to me.
“Since ancient times, such behavior has actually been said to be a way of building good relationships”
“Eh……”
“You’ll understand if you think of it as a transaction. The side that receives ample satisfaction in return for their efforts, and the side that provides it……as long as both parties can make that transaction work, there’s absolutely no reason to criticize it. It’s on a grand scale, but you could call it a fine business deal”
“…………”
“So……even though it’s the Spirit Festival, tonight is still just the eve. I was thinking of inviting you to our maids’ dormitory”
“Eh?”
What do you mean?