บท 78: Chapter 77: A Welcoming Feast and a Brawler's Intervention
"Before we begin, as the lord of Dondegarm, congratulations are in order. To Jinma Kotori, for saving this city twice, achieving black rank, and defeating the guild master, Eugus Gallofree, in a duel as a starting adventurer. A toast to the bright future ahead of him and his new party, Twilight Sky. Cheers!"
""Cheers!""
With our wine glasses in hand, we clink them together and begin our feast after Ms. Tephalia's opening.
We are currently in Ms. Tephalia's manor after cleaning ourselves up at the bathhouse and a hop, skip, and a jump through [Portal]. The moment we stepped in front of the gate, the Centaur post guards there immediately recognized me and were told of our revival before they let us in without question. One of them led us inside where one of the Lamia handmaidens was nearby to direct us to the dining hall from there. I made sure I got us there early enough to the appointed time with the help of my smartphone back at the bath.
With Ms. Tephalia sitting at the head dressed in a modest but exuberant gown fit for a lord, I sit right next to her with Ume on my other side. The rest of the party is split evenly into both sides of the table. Aside from me and Kenaka, the only other males are the Centaur guards standing at attention with their backs against the walls, acting vigilantly for any signs of a potential threat.
I feel awkward having them all just standing there and not eat with us. Even everyone in my party other than Ume was tempted to do the same, but it seems Ms. Tephalia remembered how I wanted Ren and Erizora to join the two of us for breakfast yesterday and figured the same case would apply to this feast. Everyone's names are on cards that were placed in front of our seats when we came inside the dining room. I recognized my own name in Padimonian after seeing it once earlier. Even Mametama and Kenaka managed to get high chairs to sit and eat with us at the table in cub forms.
"Ms. Tephalia, I speak for all of us that we thank you for inviting us to this feast," I say. "I just wish we had more time to find the proper attire for the occasion." Sure, the new black blazer and slacks that Lili made for me could barely pass off as formal, but everyone else's clothes definitely stand out in a noble's presence.
"Oh, nonsense, it is quite all right," Ms. Tephalia says with a wave of her hand. "This feast was rather a last-minute occasion and aside from Jinma's two new familiars, the rest of you are renowned saviors of this city during the raid and will be respected as such."
"I thank you for your kind understanding, Ms. Tephalia," I say while bowing to her.
"And please, drop the formalities when it's just us in the room. This is a feast in your honor, Jinma. Just relax and enjoy the meal."
{So, it's fine to be casual if it's only me and the party here with her, while I have to address her formally in public. Makes sense, but what about the guards here?} "Right, I will take you up on that."
<"There are no signs of poison in any of the food, Milord. I guarantee it in my Poison Detection skill as a Huntress,"> Mametama relays in my mind.
{Thanks, Mametama.} It's as if everyone was waiting for me to take the first bite in our meal before everyone else followed.
The meal, by the way, is surprisingly curry with rice and many side dishes like vegetables and bread with butter spread throughout the table. Well, curry originated from India, if I remember right, and if it's a Lamia with a similar line of attire that's lording over Dondegarm, I suppose it wouldn't be too surprising to see something like this. I just couldn't help but think back on all the times I had to have curry for a number of days back home to maintain a food budget as I took my first bite.
A good punch of spiciness fills my mouth as I savor the flavor. There's a sense of authenticity in its presentation as well as the taste that makes this unique compared to my own home-cooked ones in Japan. As expected of cooks that work in a lord's manor. Unless it's similar to a tasteless poison like what I had in yesterday's breakfast, I can confirm that there is nothing spiked in the food as Mametama informed me.
I told Mametama ahead of time through Telepathy to check any of the food on the table when I found out she had a Poison Detection skill, something only certain magical beasts or classes they're in are able to learn. I know Ume and I have nothing to worry about with our Poison Nullification skills but after our little episode in Tephalia's breakfast yesterday, I wanted to make sure the others weren't under any risk.
I look over to my right and see everyone in my party are a little more aware of their table manners than usual, despite a few of them struggling more with the curry's spiciness than the rest of us. I did tell them that we should be a little more formal than usual before we got here but it seems keeping a straight face despite the burning in their mouths makes it slightly difficult. Ume, the one who lacks in table manners the most is especially struggling with how much she's gripping the spoon to eat her meal with … a little too hard and awkwardly considering how I'm seeing it warp a little. I had to stop and show her how to hold it properly then and there and apologize to Tephalia for ruining her tableware.
Kalline seems to be the only one of us who has her act together as she eats with poise and dignity, probably something Eugus drilled into her adventurer training should she encounter any nobles, and Kenaka and Mametama were only given bowls of curry without rice for the two of them to eat out of.
~~
Things relaxed a little over the course of dinner. It started out with me talking about how I came to Dondegarm before the raid happened, and then the others added in their own commentaries as time went by. After we were finished with dinner, they brought out a pudding dessert made of some ingredients that were unfamiliar to me, even if they sound like things similar to what we had on Earth. It had an incredibly amazing mixture of spicy and sweet flavors even with its cold temperature. Everyone was getting a kick out of it. I was thinking spicy dishes are a bit of a theme here in Dondegarm as I recall the kebab I had with Ren and Erizora yesterday also having a sort of spice that was coated on the meat.
Tephalia really seemed like she was enjoying our company as we talked but I was still concerned over the relationship situation, especially between her and Ume. I needed to talk the two of them together by themselves so we would come to a sort of understanding.
Thankfully, Kalline brought up how we needed to prepare for tomorrow's quest when things started to get late in the evening. At my request, I had everyone but Ume go back to the inn through my [Portal] and told them that we'd catch up with them later. Tephalia seemed to know what I wanted to do, and so she brought us to another room, a meeting room in her manor where she'd speak with important guests.
Ume and I are currently sitting on a lounge couch across from Tephalia on another one, with a coffee table between us where one of her handmaidens prepared some tea just as we were making ourselves comfortable.
"So, Jinma, what is it that you wish to speak of with just the three of us?" Tephalia starts before taking a sip of her tea.
"Well … first, I want to apologize for not coming to you sooner when I found what my plans are. I know we didn't make an appointed time to meet, but I felt I was being rude for keeping you waiting." I bow my head to her after making my apology.
"Oh, it is quite all right. From what I have heard before we even saw each other again, you have been very busy since you left the first time."
"There is one other thing I need to confess, and it's why I have Ume here so I can say this to the both of you." I grip my slacks as I look back up. "I was … going through a lot yesterday morning. Having Ren and Erizora thrown at me for reasons that involve their previous owner repaying a debt, taking in the fact that I killed one of my own kin for the first time, finding out I have this 'Devil Eyes' skill that I shouldn't even have as a human, feeling anxious that I had so many more girls that weren't my family surrounding me than what I was used to, and then there were the effects of Nyra's curse that was making everything hard to think about. Everything seemed to be coming at me in a rush that I felt I had to make decisions right there but couldn't on the spot. Looking back to them, I feel like my mind was still in a blur and not really grasping the reality of the situation as I was making decisions and I want to apologize to the both of you for doing them without a clear mindset. I want to take this moment to make something clear."
I turn to Ume first and make direct eye contact with her. "Ume, when we first talked for real on that field, you opened up things about yourself to me that I can't deny others wouldn't take so lightly if they were in my place. It took me a while to realize who I was talking to before you left, and with how serious you took our talk at the time, I couldn't tell you about someone else already offering a similar proposal before you did. I think I remember mentioning it before but I want to apologize again for not being straight with you of my circumstances sooner."
"Jin …"
I then turn back to our host. "Tephalia, I want to apologize again for making all of that ruckus yesterday and not coming up with a clear answer to the proposal you gave me first before Ume gave me a similar one later on. I feel like we didn't really settle everything after I came back from calming down Nyra's curse affecting me. I know … it may not be fair of me to say this now instead of sooner, but …"
I take a moment to breathe and interlock my fingers with Ume's reptilian ones for assurance. My other hand still tightly grips my slacks.
"Over the time I've come to spend with Ume, I now love her as a woman, and we have been acknowledged by the Immortals as legitimate spouses just this morning. After this quest, with Ume as my primary wife and the rest of my party at my side, I'm going to see the Demon King to find out more on why I possess the 'Devil Eyes' and what sets me apart from others among the Human-Kin. I understand if you don't want any part of it after this, but I've come to like you despite the complications yesterday. I would be happy if we could still get along as friends." I bow my head to her once more after finishing my piece, my hand still interlocked with Ume's.
""…""
The room went dead silent for a while, I feel like I just became the only one in here even though I have someone's hand in mine.
"… Pft."
A noise I didn't expect breaks the silence and it's coming from across us.
I look up and see Tephalia trying to keep herself from breaking out into laughter. I then see Ume doing the same as she looks away from me.
Soon enough, the two of them couldn't hold it anymore.
"Um … what's going on?" I ask, totally confused.
"Goodness, Jinma, I thought you needed to speak to me with something more serious than that. Did you think I didn't know what was going on?" Tephalia asks after wiping a stray tear.
"… Huh?"
"Ren and Erizora filled me in on some of the circumstances with Tephalia while you were preparing for the duel," Ume explains. "I admit my perceptions of her were rather mixed at first, but after we talked a little and she gave me some helpful advice, I think she'd make a good addition to your harem if neither of you has any further qualms with each other."
"And from our 'complications,' as you described them, I figured you'd already have sex with Ren and Erizora first before we saw each other again, but marrying to Umeiyon here was quite a surprise," Tephalia adds.
"So … both of you were already aware of the marriage and I was fretting all over it for nothing?" I ask while scratching my head. "What the heck? I was more on edge with this situation than the duel with Eugus when I saw the two of you together, you know? I don't know if I feel like an idiot or something else for taking this so seriously."
"I'm sorry, Jin," Ume says as she hugs my shoulders and kisses my cheek. "I thought our alone time together earlier had calmed you down enough from the craziness today, but I guess there are things you can't really get out of your mind until they're set in stone, huh?"
"I figured we had our misunderstanding yesterday settled, but I suppose we left the marriage proposal on a vague note. I didn't think you'd still take it that seriously … though thinking back on it, I probably should've seen it coming from how worried you were of the innocent lives involved in the raid the night before. I should apologize for not talking to you about this sooner."
"How about we call this exchange of apologies good and discuss where we'll go from here?"
The girls agreed and we take a moment to drink our worries and uneasiness away with the provided tea that has cooled down.
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