「ロロくん. 今日はララの食事の後、スープの仕込みを手伝ってくれないかな」
「ボクがお店の料理を……？」
「ああ. 君には基本的な仕事は覚えてもらったし、そろそろ次の段階も教えた方がいい頃だと思ってね」
「……うん、わかったよ」

　ミスラから帰ってきてから、ボクは何もすることがなくなった.

　あの『神託の玉』で大陸全土のミスラ教会に向けて、アスティラさんの声明が出されてから、街で見知らぬ人から声をかけられることが多くなり、出歩きづらくなった.
　大体は優しい声を掛けてくる人だったけれど、時折、ボクの姿を見かけると酷く罵声を浴びせてくる人もいた.

　だから頻繁に一人で街に出るのは難しかったし、特にこれといった用事もなかったので、ボクはずっと寝泊まりしているイネスの屋敷の敷地内で、広い廊下を往復するようにフラフラとする毎日を過ごしていた.
　そんな状況をミアンヌさんが耳にして「そんなに暇ならウチの店を手伝ったら」と、このレストランにボクを連れてきてくれたのだ.

　それ以来、ボクはミアンヌさんの夫、ライアスさんのレストランの手伝いをするようになった.
　最初は皿洗いや床の掃除など、誰でもできることをやっていたが、ライアスさんは何も知らないボクに少しづつ料理のやり方を教えてくれ、今では簡単なものなら自分で作れるようになった. 　

　ライアスさんはボクが料理を初めて作った時、筋がいいと褒めてくれた.
　お店には顔見知りになったシレーヌさんとマリーベールさんが、よく一緒に料理を食べにくるので、ある日、ライアスさんがボクが練習で作った料理をこっそり彼女たちに出し、違いがわかるかと聞いたら、二人ともわからないと言った.

　ボクとしては、かなり違いがあったと思うけれど、でもシレーヌさんが「すごく美味しい」と言ってくれたのは、とても嬉しかった.
　自分が何か食べられるものを作って、人に「おいしい」と言ってもらえるなんて. そんなこと今まで考えもしなかったことだった.

　でも、これぐらいなら簡単だし毎日でも作ってあげられる、と言ったら急にシレーヌさんの表情が固まってしまった.
　その時の彼女の心は混沌とした感情で満たされていて、よく真意が読み取れなかったのだけれど……あれはお世辞というやつだったのだろうか.

　次に食べてもらう時には本心でおいしいと言ってもらえるように、もう少し上手く作れるようになりたいと思っている.

「じゃあ、行ってきます」
「ああ、行ってらっしゃい. ララに食事の感想を聞いておいてくれ. 彼女の好みも把握しておきたいからね」
「……感想はあんまり期待しないほうがいいと思うよ」

　今日は、ボクが魔竜(ララ)に餌となる食べ物を持って行ってあげる日だ.
　彼女は山のような図体の割には少食で、数日に一度、ほんの一口食べれば満足らしい.
　ボク以外にララとまともに意思疎通ができる人はいないので、ライアスさんのお店の手伝いを除けば、この『ララへの餌やり』が今のボクの唯一の仕事と言ってもいい.

　リーンから借りた『隠者の外套(ローブ)』という姿を目立たなくできる外套を身につけ、ララの今の棲家となっている王都の北の荒地まで食事を乗せた荷車を引いていく.
　ボクにとっては結構な重労働で、半日がかりの仕事になる.

　最初の頃は、ララには王都の牧場から可哀想な牛や豚を一頭ずつ運んであげていたのだけれど、いつも食肉用の家畜が十分に飼育されているとは限らず、時折都合がつかない時がある.
　そんな時はララにはしばらく待ってもらうのだけれど、とある日、ライアスさんの店に余って悪くなりかけている食材が大量にあるというのを聞き、代わりにそれを彼女の食事として持っていった.

　いつもと違う、と文句を言われないか少し不安ではあったけれど、彼女はこれまで出されたものは全部食べたし、きっと大丈夫だろうと思って、ボクはお店の余りの食材を彼女に食べてもらったのだけれど.

　ララは食材を口に入れた途端に豹変した.
　急に興奮した様子で立ち上がり、辺りに小さな地震が起きた.
　そして巨大な眼を見開きながら『今食べたこれはなんだ』としつこく聞いてきた.

　それはお店で余った廃棄食材だよ……と正直に言うのも気が引けたので、「人が高級料理に使う食材だよ」と、完全に嘘ではないが少し真実をぼかして伝えたところ、彼女は大いに満足し、少なくてもいいから次からも同じものを寄越せ、と要求してきた.
　かなり味の違いがあったらしく、それ以外はもう食べたくない、と.

　それ以来、ララにはライアスさんのお店で余った食材を食べさせるようになった.
　ボクとしては運ぶ量も減るし、可哀想な生き物の鳴き声を聴く機会も減るし、とても助かるのだけれど.

　Mr. Lias laughed and said that Lara was quite a gourmand for being able to taste our food, but I wondered if he was really right.
　I've seen her occasionally bite into a rock or something in the area and say, "It's delicious.

　I don't know much about it, but ...... today, I'm pulling a cart as usual, carrying leftover food for my girlfriend (Lara).

　Mr. Lias always makes a slight modification to the food before he brings it out.
　Each time, he changes the seasoning slightly to find out what Lara likes.
　This time, he asked me to check her reaction.

　I think he wants to know if it's sweet or spicy, better or worse than before, but ...... Lara usually doesn't even say "it was good" and ends up eating it without saying a word, so I can't expect much from her.

　Today was no different.
　After she finishes eating, she always clears her throat and talks about Noor.

　Lara still misses Noor as usual.
　She tells me every time she wants to see me again.
　But her sense of time is very different from our sense of time, and she says that her master has his own reasons, and that she can wait hundreds of years for him to come.
　No matter how much I tell her that Noor is human and will not live that long, she says, "My master cannot be that weak. He will live at least twice as long as me.
　It seems that he can't understand that the creature he thinks is stronger than him will die before him.



　Every time we have dinner, we chat about trivial things, but lately she (Lara) likes to talk about her memories of Mithra. My master (Noor) was great as always, but that little guy who controlled the light, he was pretty good too.
　I think she was talking about Inez, but unusually for Lara, she seemed quite fond of the others. It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

　...... It seems that he enjoyed that battle very much.
　He is very insistent that I should call him if I ever have such an opportunity again.

　I don't want to see anything like that again.


　　　　I'm back.


I'm back.
How was Lara's reaction?
Nothing today.
...... Oh, well. Next time, I want to make her say, 'That's good.

　For Mr. Lias, feeding Lara is something of a challenge.
　As Mr. Lias folded his arms and groaned a little in frustration, he heard the door of the store open.

"Huh?　Sirène. And Mariebert.
...... is here.
"I'm here to eat.
Welcome to .......

　When I greeted the girls, Mariebert smiled back, but Cyrene didn't look at me and looked out the window.
　I wonder if she doesn't like me after all.
　As usual, her mind is a mess, and I can't read her emotions.

"Hello, Sirène, welcome Mariebert. You've been coming around a lot lately.


...... Oh, yeah?　The food here is delicious.
Thank you. It's nice to have a young customer. ...... Oh, you're with us today, aren't you, Maryjane?
Hello, Mr. Lias. Good to see you.
Take your time, all three of you. I'll have your tea ready in a moment, and you can take your seats.

　Unlike at night, when the restaurant is full of reservations, it is a little busier during the day, as people are coming in from outside.
　The three of them quickly took their seats and I brought the tea that Lias had made to their table.
　But Sirene kept staring out the window.
　Or rather, the angle of her neck is bent in a strange direction all the time while she drinks the tea.
　...... I wonder if there is something wrong with Sirene today.

You're not too good at ...... deceiving me, Cyrene.
You're going to get mad at me later for saying that, Meligene.
But ...... isn't this too much?　It looks like a malfunctioning magic doll (golem).
This is the first time I've ever seen such a thing in my life, and I've never seen anything like it.
"──── I hear you. Both of you.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.

"Yes, Rollo. I need you to get the ingredients for the soup out of the back storage and chop them up. I'll show you how to prepare it and let the girls have a taste. It's going to be a lot of work moving all those boxes around in the warehouse.
Yes. I've got my gauntlets with me today.
Okay, thanks.

　I immediately took out a silver gauntlet from my luggage bag, attached it to my arm, made sure my fingers worked as intended, and headed for the storage room at the back of the kitchen.

　This silver gauntlet was originally borrowed by Sigil, a soldier of the Mithraic nation.
　After the commotion was over, I tried to return one of the baskets and the dagger I borrowed, but Sigil, for some reason, did not accept them.
　On the contrary, he handed me the other basket and told me to take both.

　When I asked him why, he just said, "I'm not the one who needs it right now. You use it." That's all he said. I didn't really understand his intentions, but ...... in the end, I just thanked him and took it.
　It was the first time I had ever received something from someone in that way, and I was very happy about the feeling.

　I'm sure you'll be happy to hear that.
　It made me feel as if I had become stronger.
　Of course, this is not the case in reality.

　But it helps me a lot to be able to carry a heavy box full of food like I can now without any difficulty.

This is ...... a good place to start.



　He takes the boxes out of the warehouse and places them in the kitchen, then selects the ingredients he needs and places them on the table.
　He then grabs a knife from the kitchen and starts chopping the ingredients on the cutting board.
　This work goes much better with the gauntlets that Sigil gave me. The gauntlet is very useful for chopping ingredients if you adjust it properly, though it can be powerful enough to cut off the whole cutting board if you are careless.

　The cutting board and the knife make a nice sound, and the meat and vegetables are cut into small pieces in an interesting way.
　I like this process very much.
　Maybe I'm starting to like the idea of making something to please someone else.

　When I finally finished chopping the ingredients and took a breath, suddenly there was a scream in the store.

...... ah ......!　...... ah, ah, ah, ah, ah, ah!

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're looking for.

I'm not sure what to make of this.　There you are, ......!

　Did you find ......?
　You'll be able to find a lot more than just a few of them.

──── No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. Let's calm down first, Meligene (me). First, check. Fact checking is important. ...... Hey, Rollo. Do you have a minute?
"Yes.

　I put down my knife and walked to the table where she was, still wearing my apron, when Ms. Meligene approached me.
　As I approached the table, she suddenly became eerily quiet.

"...... It. It's called the Giant's Baskets. It's a cage-shaped magical device to assist in the movement of the fingers and arms.
I don't know what it's called, but ...... that's how it's used.
Can I see that?　...... Yeah, definitely. This is the Giant's Baskets. ...... It was discovered in Mithra over two hundred years ago. Hey, where did you get that? ──── No, that's not important right now. How do you get it to work?
How did you get ......?
You just used it to chop up some meat on a cutting board, right?　In the event that you have any kind of questions regarding where and how to use this, you can call us at our own webpage.
"............ somehow?

　I was asked how I use it, but I was able to use it without being conscious of it, so I can only say so.

　It's a good idea to have a good idea of what you're doing and how you're doing it.

I'm not sure what to do.　It's the one I've been looking for!　It's the one I've been looking for!



　Ms. Meligene let out a near scream that seemed to be squeezed out of her throat.
　Naturally, everyone in the store looked at her in surprise.
　Still, Ms. Marygene didn't care about those stares, and quietly looked at Ms. Cyrene sitting next to her, and said.

I'm sorry, Cyrene. Give it to me, Rollo.
"...... What?　Merry?　What are you talking about ......?　What are you talking about, ......?
No, it's okay. That's not what I meant. I'm just going to borrow ──── for a little while (・・・・・). Okay?　Okay?　It's okay, right?

　Maryjane's eyes glittered sharply as she stared at me.

　It's a good idea to take a look at the details of your own personal life before you make any decisions.
　...... I wonder what this is. It's too messy.

I'm not sure what to say. I'm not sure if you're interested in making magic tools or not.　...... You're definitely talented. I guarantee it. Hey, come work with me!　I'll teach you everything you need to know!　Okay?

　Ms. Meligene came at me with a teacup in her hand.
　Every time she took a step forward, hot tea splashed on the floor.

I'm sure you've heard this before, but I've never made any kind of tool before and I don't think I'll ever be able to.

　It is true that the talent to handle magic tools has been said by Mr. Oken before.
　I'm sure you've been told that you have a talent for handling magic tools before, but I think that was a talent for using them, not for making them.

"Oken!　To that onji?　Then, that's it!　You're an instant asset!　I'm not going to be able to do that.　I'll get permission to enter later!

　I'm not sure what to do.
　...... Now?

But ...... I'm a demon, you know.　I'm not sure if it's a good idea, but I think it's a good idea.


"Oh, yeah, that's right. But I don't really care about demons or non-demons right now. I'll tell you what!　We'll welcome you!　Please, come with me!　We're in a huge deadline crunch right now. ──── We're just a little short on staff!　Come on. I'm not scary, am I?　Don't worry, I'm not scared at all. It's really a safe, healthy, and very homey place to work. ......?

　With each word, I feel that Ms. Meligene's power and the density of her lies are increasing.
　But she seemed to mean it when she asked me to come with her.
　It's almost as if she's asking for help from the bottom of her heart.
　...... What should I do?

...... Lias, are you ready to help me with the store today?　I've finished chopping the ingredients for the soup.
Oh, okay. I'm done chopping the ingredients for the soup. - Oh, okay. I guess I should teach you how to make it some other time.
"Yes, thank you, ....... We're good to go, Miss Maryjane.
Whoa!　Thanks a lot!　Okay, Marybelle, Cyrene. I'm sorry, but I've got more important things to do than have tea. I'll take Rollo and go now. I'll pay for today's meal. Have whatever you want.
Yes, sir!　Have a good day!
...... What?　...... What? ......?
Invite me again!

　While Sirene looked on blankly at our exchange, Meligene grabbed my arm with tremendous force and dragged me out of the store.

　On that day, I was half-abducted and taken to the magic tool laboratory in the royal capital,────, after which I began to work with Meligene while helping Lias at his store.