Chapter 190

Chapter 190 – Bear-san Brings Out the Birthday Cake

When the party began, Zelef-san’s cooking was brought out .

Wow, so this was the food made by the royal head chef . I had eaten some of his regular dishes before, but I had never had the chance to try his party food .

All sorts of delicious-looking foods were lined up on the table .

The food was arranged beautifully . It was colorful and pleasing to both the eyes and nose . It was definitely not just a regular lunch set .

Once all the food was set down, we were told to help ourselves, so everybody engrossed themselves with eating .

I didn’t know what the proper etiquette was, but I assumed I could just eat normally .

When I looked at Fina beside me, I saw that she also looked troubled and was looking at me . She shouldn’t look at me, I had no idea how to properly eat at a noble’s party, either .

All we could do was watch how other people ate and mimic them .

「Should we just eat like Noa?」

I offered an option .

We were both sitting diagonally across from Noa, who was enjoying her food using a fork and a spoon .

Looking at her eat, it became obvious to me that nobody should complain as long as we didn’t eat like total slobs . Also, they would most likely tell us what we were doing wrong, and we could just fix it then .

Good manners or not, I wanted to taste Zelef-san’s cooking now that I finally had the chance to, so I should eat carefully anyway .

To start with, I drank some of the delicious-looking soup .

It was different from the soup made by Anzu, but it was just as delicious .

I should ask Zelef-san to teach me how to make party food sometime . Maybe I should also ask Anzu to show me how to make some of her dishes as well . Then I could eat it whenever I wanted .

As time passed, my arms, legs, and neck got more and more chilly, so I couldn’t sit still . The Bear Suit really was the best, since it adjusted my body temperature . All I had to do was ignore its appearance . I really missed its fluffiness .

Also, I had to be careful to not dirty this dress, since I was just borrowing it . I had to be extra careful as food would most likely leave a permanent mark .

I had no idea how much a dress like this cost, but I was pretty sure it was expensive . Well, it wasn’t like I couldn’t pay for it .

Noa most likely wouldn’t tell me to pay even if I got the dress dirty, so I probably didn’t have to worry about that anyway .

Still, I noticed Fina was also afraid of dirtying her dress, as she was only taking small bites of her food and was barely able to eat anything .

「So, Misa, you’ve finally turned 10 years old today…」

Misa’s mother said, turning to her daughter .

「Yes, I’m now the same age as Big Sister Noa . 」

「Yes, but in a couple of months, I will turn 11, so I’m still your older sister . 」

Noa declared that she was still the older sister, even though they were of the same age now .

True, being born first made her the older one, so it didn’t matter if they were the same age now .

「If only I was born a year earlier . Then I would have been your older sister instead . 」

Misa said, a bit dejectedly .

That reminded me, Fina was also 10 years old . When was her birthday?

Thinking about the environment Fina grew up in, she probably never got to celebrate her birthday . Maybe I should discuss throwing a surprise party for her with Terumi-san .

When I first came into this world, Fina had been the one who had helped me the most .

Yeah, that seemed like a good idea, I really should keep it in mind .

Zelef-san and Botts-san were also attending the party . The maids who had brought out the food sat down nearby and joined in on the feast, while Botts-san held a critique session with Zelef-san .

They were discussing things like the seasoning, whether the taste was strong or light, if other ingredients could be substituted into this dish, and so on .

Botts-san’s hands had healed enough that he could now somewhat use a spoon and fork again .

However, everytime he raised one to his mouth, he lightly flinched in pain . Even so, he seemed to be having fun discussing the food with Zelef-san .

It didn’t seem like he could hold and use a kitchen knife yet, though . Cooking demanded a lot of precise movements, after all .

Noa was having fun talking with Eleanora-san, who she hadn’t seen in a while, and Cliff, who had been busy lately as well .

I heard Noa ask about Shia, who was at the capital, and the conversation quickly turned from what Shia had been doing lately, to what I had been like when I acted as her guard . Why had the conversation turned to me?

Normally, wouldn’t they talk about themselves, since they hadn’t met for a long time?

After some more time passed, Noa handed Misa her present . As I began to wonder what it was, Misa unveiled a ribbon .

That was a cute present for a 10-year-old . I was glad her present was appropriate for her age . The way I looked at the two noble girls would have probably changed if she had received something expensive, like gemstones or dresses .

I had thought that it was likely to happen since they were nobles, but seeing Noa’s present made me realize my worry had been for nothing .

As I started planning the timing to give Noa my present, I noticed Fina looking at me, like she wanted to ask me if something was wrong .

Our presents to her were the cake and two plushies .

We were now at the midpoint of the party, with most of the food already gone .

Maybe it was time to bring out the cake soon?

「Misa, can I have a minute?」

「Yes, what is it?」

「Fina and I have a present for you, too . 」

「A present?」

「It’s a dessert, and we would be happy if you ate it . 」

From the Bear Box, I took out the two-layer cake Fina and I had made, and placed it right in front of Misa .

Misa seemed very curious as she had never seen cake before .

The cake was beautifully lined with strawberries, and Fina had even written 『Happy Birthday』 with strawberry cream in the middle .

「What a beautiful dessert . 」

Misa’s mother commented on the cake .

「Yes, it almost seems like a waste to eat this . Wait, how do we even eat it?」

It’s a large two-layered cake, meaning it would be hard for one person to eat the entire thing, so I told Misa to split it up and share it with everyone .

「We are cutting it?!」

「You can’t eat it unless you cut it and split it up . 」

「Uuu, but that will ruin the words you wrote on top . 」

Fina got embarrassed when Misa said that .

「We will be happy as long as you don’t forget the writing and taste the cake . 」

「Okay, I’ll remember it!」

Misa nodded and gave the words written on the cake a long stare, then gave us permission to cut it .

As I put the knife into the cake, however, Misa quietly cried out 「Ahh…」in a sad voice .

We had to cut the cake, so I really hoped this wasn’t too hard on her .

「Yuna-san, Fina, did the two of you make it yourself?」

Noa asked us while I was still in the middle of cutting the cake .

「Fina didn’t know what to get you for your birthday, so I suggested we should make a cake together . Cakes are tasty, so we thought you would be happy to receive one . 」

「Uuu, that’s not fair . I wanted to make a cake with you as well . 」

Noa pouted .

「Okay, do you want to make it with us next time?」

「Really? It’s a promise, okay!?」

「I… I want to join in as well . 」

「Okay, how about we all make a cake together, like when we made the pudding?」

「Would that really be okay?」

「Yes, of course . In exchange, I will have the two of you keep the recipe a secret . 」

「Okay!」

Just as we made that promise, I finished cutting the two-layered cake into eight slices, perfectly splitting the writing as well .

The slices went to Misa, Misa’s parents, Gran-san, Eleanora-san, Cliff, Noa, and Fina .

I didn’t want any, so I didn’t cut a slice for myself . Fina looked at me like she wanted to ask if I was really okay with that, so…

「I have the cake Elena-san and the children working at the shop made for me, so you don’t have to worry about me . 」

I took Elena-san’s cake out of the Bear Box and passed it around to the others .

It wasn’t a two-layered cake like Misa’s, but they both followed the same recipe, so the taste should be more or less the same .

Once the cake was successfully passed along to everyone, we all started to eat it together .

「It’s delicious . 」

「Yes, it really is . 」

「I’ve eaten one before, but this one is better . 」

「I really wish you two would have let me join when you made it . 」

Gran-san and Misa, who had never eaten cake before, complimented it first, followed by Noa and Cliff, who had already eaten it once .

「Yuna, if you can make such delicious food, why don’t you become a chef instead of being an adventurer?」

Gran-san asked, probably because he didn’t know much about me .

「Old Man Gran, she already owns two shops of her own, and does other types of businesses as well . 」

「Really?」

「Her shops are so popular that even my own daughter is a regular . 」

「Of course, the food at Yuna-san’s shop is really good . 」

「Big Sister Noire, that’s not fair!」

I didn’t know about that . Either way, excitement was brewing over me even though it was Misa’s birthday party .

Noa proudly boasted about how delicious the food at my shop was while Misa enviously listened to her stories .

She kept saying, 「That’s not fair . 」, but continued listening anyway .

I looked over to Zelef-san and saw Botts-san and Meshun-san were in shock after tasting the cake .

「This is delicious . I already thought about this after tasting her pudding, but just who is this young lady? 」

「She is an adventurer, but also a chef I respect very much . 」

Zelef-san answered Botts-san’s question .

I wished he would stop telling people how much he respected me…

If the fact that the royal head chef respected me spread, it would surely be troublesome for me .

Also, I wasn’t a chef .

「I just don’t understand how something like this can be made…」

Botts-san said as he scooped up some cream with his spoon and ate it .

「I learned how to make it from Yuna-dono, but I can’t teach you . 」

I felt like Zelef-san was giving off a sense of superiority there .

Botts-san looked a bit upset by Zelef-san’s attitude and turned to me instead, but I ignored him .

I couldn’t teach him how to make it, after all .

I had only started selling it recently, and I was planning to serve it at the shop in the capital that was opening soon . If the method of making whipped cream spread in this town before I started selling it at the capital, that could be a problem for the sales there .

I turned back to Misa, who had just finished listening to Noa boast about me . I also noticed her plate was already empty .

She looked like she still wanted more, but there was other food remaining, and a slice from a two-layered cake was double the size of a normal one, so she would get a stomachache if she ate more .

Yeah, it would be problematic if people got stomach aches, so I decided against taking out more cake .

If anybody wanted to eat more, I could always bring some out tomorrow . Zelef-san had made so much food for us, and it shouldn’t be wasted .

「It was really good . Thank you, Big Sis Yuna, Fina-chan . 」

「We put a lot of effort into it, so hearing you say that makes me happy . 」

Fina also looked quite happy when she heard Misa’s compliment .

Now, we just had to give her the bear plushies .

Author Note:

I’m sorry for cutting off a chapter in the middle of the party .

I wanted to write until she gave the plushie, but I couldn’t do it, so the chapter is a bit shorter this time .