Translator: Haruto.

“Phew! I’m exhausted!”

The next morning, Haruka-san and I had a few mock duels. She’s what you’d call a prodigy, capable of learning everything I teach her in a heartbeat.

“You were wonderful, Haruka-san. And you too, Alize-san,” Mia praises us before handing me a towel.

I wipe my sweat off and say, “I think that’s enough training for today. Pushing yourself too hard on the first day won’t do you any good.”

“Understood! Thank you so much for these lessons!” Haruka-san exclaims as she bows down to me.

She then begins wiping off her sweat with the towel Mia just gave her and asks, “Um… This afternoon… could you please allow me to show you around the capital?”

“I’d be more than grateful to have you as a guide, but are you sure? Is it okay for a princess to walk around town like that?”

I tilt my head questioningly, and Haruka-san nods in approval.

“There’s no way someone will dare pull anything funny when I’m accompanied by two of the Great Heroes and their esteemed master.”

Ah, right, Mia and Lulune are heroes. They’re just like family to me so I tend to forget they’re actually big shots. “I suppose you’re right. Although, we don’t even know if they want to come with us yet.”

In response, both Mia and Lulune jump in excitement.

“It’d be my pleasure! I’ll go wherever you go, Alize-san!”

“I’m coming, too! I’m afraid of what Mia might do to you if I’m not around, Alize-san.”

Well, it looks like they’re tagging along.

Afterward, we changed into more comfy outfits and began our excursion around town.

***

“Are you three hungry, perhaps?” Haruka-san asks as we walk down Main Street.

The people around are watching us intently but they’re also making sure to keep their distance. Their eyes are filled with respect, admiration, and all sorts of favorable emotions.  

“Yeah, I really worked up an appetite with all that training earlier,” I answer, nodding my head repeatedly.   

“Me too. I’m starving,” Lulune chimes in.   

And a second later, Mia raises her hand and begins jumping up and down, as though she wants to get our attention, “Yes! I’m actually in the mood for something sweet! I’d like to have a taste of the most delicious sweets in town!”

Haruka-san smiles and responds, “Very well, sweets it is. There’s a pancake shop that’s quite popular in the capital right now. How about we go there?”

And so, with a large crowd still shadowing us, we head straight to the pancake shop.

“Ohh! You can even catch the smell of the sweets from the outside!”

“It’s true! And there’s also that pleasant smell of butter in the air!” Mia nods happily in response to what I just said.

She’s right. That’s definitely the delicious smell of butter. Perhaps that’s what is making my stomach growl.

Haruka-san looks at me, giggles, and opens the door of the pancake shop.

“Let’s go in already, shall we?”  

“It feels kind of weird to have a princess open the door for me,” I say.  

“Hehe. Truth be told, you’re the only people I’m allowed to do this for.”

Man, I still can’t get used to my new position. I mean, in my mind, I’m just an old guy that used to live out in the sticks until not too long ago.

We all hurry into the store and a waitress approaches us to show us to our table. Her movements are somewhat awkward, revealing how nervous she is and making me feel kind of bad. I’m afraid that the stress of having to serve two heroes and a princess will cause her a stomach ache or something like that.

“P-Please come this way…”

After we arrive at our table, we take a seat and have a look at the menu. As expected of a pancake shop, the menu is full of various types of pancakes and their respective drawings. There’s one with strawberries, one with cream, et cetera.

“I think I’ll have the one with strawberries…” I mumble.

“You’ve always loved strawberries, Alize-san. I’m glad to see you haven’t changed,” Lulune says.

She isn’t wrong. The things I love have remained pretty much the same for the past ten years.  

“Me too! I’ll order the one with strawberries!” And just like she used to ten years ago, Mia orders the same thing as me.

“Hmm, what should I have?” Lulune still hasn’t decided, it seems.

Haruka-san points at an item on the menu and says, “Please allow me to recommend this one.”

It’s a set of pancakes with red bean paste, or so the menu says.

“Red bean paste, huh? What’s that?” I ask.

And instead of Haruka-san, Mia answers, “Red bean paste is a sweet ingredient which comes from the same land as soy sauce, Sapientia!”

“Oh, this is my first time hearing about it. I still remember the soy sauce you had me taste years ago, though. It was delicious.”

Mia loves everything related to food, so she’s pretty knowledgeable about this kind of stuff.

“Okay, I’ll have that one, then,” Lulune says, completing our order at last.

While we waited for our food, we started chatting about the past.

We reminisced about the first time we dove into a dungeon, that time we swam together in a river, and the nights when Lulune would get so scared that she’d slip into my bedroom. Mia would often catch her in the act but instead of stopping her, she’d just imitate her.

Listening to our old stories, never once did Haruka-san look annoyed. Rather, she seemed to enjoy it dearly. And as I started picturing my eventual reunion with all the five girls I regarded as my family, a smile naturally appeared on my face.

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