Chapter 302: When We Got Back to Our Base

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――Come to think of it, when we returned to our base from the bay town trip, I introduced Shikibu to Mr. Amato and we decided that he wouldn’t follow us around anymore in favor of staying on our ranch. Our trips tend to be dangerous. Moreover, Shikibu won’t feel lonely as long as the Ryokus are around, and since he got emotionally attached to Mr. Amato, things concluded with us assessing that it would be safer and better for Shikibu to live at our base.

“Eh? This guy isn’t a Ryoku, but a real spider?” At first, Mr. Amato was confused, but once Shikibu greeted him with a series of clicking sounds, “Ah, you got a different voice indeed. Okay, nice to meet you,” he readily accepted the newcomer and led him to the grazing pastures.

…Even so, a different voice? I mean, the Ryokus use my voice, but I kind of don’t think that Shikibu is making much of a voice in the first place?

Oh well, whatever.

＊

The Taking It Easy members refused to take rooms in our mansion. So far as it goes, I led them around the estate when they arrived at the base together with us for the first time.

But, all of them cried out, “”””Staying in Char will do!””””

Are they afraid of strangers or something? But I mean, if they spend all their time together with their siblings and cousins, it’ll make searching for spouses or even just lovers increasingly harder. I really wonder whether they’re actually planning to ever marry.

I answered while folding my arms and worrying, “Alright…. Well, if you guys are okay with that, so be it… But, use the bath in the mansion.

I lectured them to properly wash and bathe themselves.

＊

When we came back to our base after things calmed down at Bennyboy’s store, the maids appeared in front of me while fidgeting around. For even the head maid, who usually was a pillar of calmness, to be so restless was extremely unusual.

“What’s wrong?”

Once I asked the head maid, she straightened herself and cleared her throat.

“…Presents from Lord Arios Summersol have arrived.”

“Who’s that?”

It looks like some stranger sent me presents.

“Lord Arios Summersol is the esteemed son of the Ducal House of Summersol,” the head maid told me.

But, I don’t know anyone like that.

“Send them back. Accepting presents from some random stranger would be scary, so I won’t do it.”

Even though I ordered so, the head maid didn’t say, “As you will,” as she’d usually do, but instead stared at me as if she had more to say.

“Hmm? Is there anything else?”

“………Lord Arios Summersol is your uncle, Lady Indra.”

Ah.

I remember. That guy with the punchline of being my mother’s younger brother although I initially thought that he was trying to make a pass at me, huh?

I clapped my hands together.

“So he wasn’t some stranger. I did meet him at the capital.”

When I said so, the head maid appeared to be very relieved.

“But, we don’t have such a close relationship that we’d send stuff to each other. Send it back.”

When I added as much, the head maid looked at me as if wanting to say something more once again.

What? Does she want me to accept the presents?

“……He has added a letter to his presents, so would you be willing to consider matters once more after reading it first?”

――Hmm, the head maid doesn’t want to send back all the stuff?

＊

Since I apparently had no other choice, I accepted the letters from the head maid, headed back to my own room and read them.

…Still, I have to say, he’s sent quite an amazing number of letters. Moreover, each of them contained many pages.

Once I opened them――――――yeah, somehow, they’re quite passionate. Sure, I am a beautiful girl, but his letters are brimming with long-winded, endless praises of me, as if he’s regarding me as a very lovely, sheltered noble lady.

I read all of those dense and long letters, but they all shared the same vibe.

Also, I suppose he sent some sort of gift together with each letter. According to the letters, it’s dresses that might suit me, accessories that could look nice on me, or hair ornaments that will possibly fit my hair well.

Certainly, it’d be scary to send back all of it. I mean, wouldn’t he buy even more amazing stuff and send it over, if I send his presents back?

――Just as I was pondering about that, I heard a knocking on my door.

The head maid and some maids behind her carried a great number of gift boxes into my room.

Oof.

“Those are the presents by Lord Arios Summersol.”

The head maid totally looked like she didn’t want to send back any of it.

“It seems to be clothes and accessories. Since I get the feeling that he’d send over even crazier stuff if we returned these, I’ll be a good girl and accept them.”

As soon as I said so in resignation, the head maid and the other maids broke into broad smiles.

＊

Now that it was decided, I instructed them to unwrap the gifts and store everything in the closet.

“Lady Indra, please confirm your presents as well.”

Because the head maid rebuked me like that, I obediently watched the whole procedure.

“……Is this the sort of image…my uncle has of me?”

I mean, one of the boxes contained a frilly, baby-pink dress.

Me wearing this? Really? No joke?

The head maid and her staff drew back from it…not.

“It seems like it would look very lovely on you, Lady Indra!”

“Please allow us to help you put it on! We will gladly assist you!”

The maids claimed that it’d suit me and the head maid nodded as if agreeing with their opinion.

For real?

“This one here looks like it would suit you perfectly as well, Lady Indra!” Sally held up the accessory to show it to me.

…This is yet another very cute item…a head dress that’s similar to a bonnet. Its design isn’t bad, but it’s rather questionable whether it would fit me. It appears like it’d suit Primrose much more.

I think I prefer cool designs a lot more. Steampunk stuff and so on.

Don’t you think that my current outfit suits me nicely? …is what I wanted to ask, but the the maids got all hyped, exclaiming that the bonnet would definitely look great on me.

And then they had their way with me and dolled me up.

Yeah, sure. Why not…

＊

“――So, for this reason, things have turned out as you can see.”

After the maids dressed me up in all sorts of combinations, they eventually settled on a terrifying lolita outfit, so when Sword came to pick me up as ordered by the head maid, I lined up arrays of excuses.

Sword always put on a somewhat complicated expression when he saw me wearing a dress. However, this time he didn’t just look troubled, but outright froze while being speechless.

Only after the head maid cleared her throat loudly, and while at it, tapped him lightly did he come back to reality.

Sword stared at me with a face full of sympathy and pity.

“……You’ve got it tough as well, huh?”

I deeply nodded at his words.

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