'Yashiro-san!

Jeannette is coming at full speed in her own way.
She seems to be in a great hurry.

'Thank God ......, you weren't imprisoned.'

Hmm, I guess I didn't convey the message correctly.

I was going to ask him to bring me a lunch box at lunchtime, but when I suddenly returned to the sunlit pavilion...

The door 'clanged'.
The girls were changing their clothes.

--I was about to have an incident like that, so I asked the ham girl who was helping Estella clean up the garden to give her a message.
She said, 'I'm in jail, please bring me lunch.
And the result was ......

'Well, I'm in jail and I can't get back to the sunny-side up pavilion, so I need you to bring me a lunchbox.' The message was received from .......

Well, ...... is not wrong, but it's an iridescent message that can be interpreted in any way you like.
I kind of expected that.

'So, you guys are saying, "Finally, ......! And'
'Okay, can you be more specific about the 'everyone'?
'Oh, no. You're all just worried about me, right?

I'm not happy about being worried.
And Jeannette seems to have come in quite a hurry, too. ...... I guess she couldn't say it wasn't possible. d*mn.

'So, um, here's your lunch. I put in some fried river fish, Yashiro-san's favorite.

Haha...... bringing me my favorite food, that's a real visit. You haven't been caught.

'How's it going over there?
'Yes, sir. Everyone seems to have regained their strength for now, and can move around normally.
'I see.
'Right now, they're doing 'light exercise' under Delia's guidance.

I'm sure it's not a light exercise when Delia is leading it. ...... No, it's probably light from Delia's point of view, but from our point of view, it must be a level of exercise that could be classified as hard training or hard work.

'I'm sorry I called you here before lunch.
'No, sir. Actually, I'm going to have lunch a little later.

In order to restore their stomachs to normalcy after a long period of unbalanced eating habits, the trio of idiots are eating multiple light meals, spaced out over time.
Eating several small meals at once is reasonable from the viewpoint of digestion. However, I don't like it so much because I can't enjoy the feeling of satiety.

'From tomorrow, it will be a normal diet class. There were no abnormalities in Regina-san's checkup.
'You're here, Regina?
'Yes. She came early in the morning because she knew that if she suddenly did something reckless, her body would break down, and she's still watching over us together.

Oh, ...... that guy.

'And Norma-san said she would teach everyone how to cook simple dishes that can be done at home, so lunch is left to Norma-san.
'What's Imelda doing?
'Let's see, ............, "Look at your perfect, nice body and make it your goal,"' she said, wandering around in front of you in her swimsuit, .......'
'What the hell is he doing, ......'
'But, maybe that's why everyone is so excited.
'I'll get even with him! Is that it?
'Yes ......, something like that.'

Well, if you're that energetic, you'll be fine.

'I'm really glad you found out before it was too late.'
'Yes, .......'

Muttering, Jeannette pulled her chin up and dropped her gaze to the ground.
Is she feeling sorry for herself for not noticing, or is she feeling sorry for forcing her to take care of them? ......

'You have nothing to be sorry for, do you?
'No. I don't know if I can ever forgive me. ...... This is also a selfish feeling. ......'

He laughed ......, a laugh that was clearly unreasonable.
I'll give you a word for that.

'Ginette'.
'Yes?
'Please repent.
'Ah, ............. Yes. I repent.'

To face my sins, to remember them, and to one day forgive myself.

'I'm glad. I'm glad you remembered me.

She hugs herself tantalizingly and looks up at me as if she's peering into my eyes.
Stop it. You'll want to take her away.

'Thank you for .......'

She bows her head and says, 'hehehe ......' with a shy smile on her face.
Hey, is this something I can take home with me?I want to keep it by my bedside.

...... What?
No, no, no.
I was almost thrown in jail.
Let's change the subject for now.



'Do you feel any strange guilt for taking a break from the Sunken Pavilion?'
'Yes, I do. ...... Well, it's a strange feeling, but...'

Is this the first time since the store renovation that the Sunlit Pavilion has been completely closed?
It was a food stall during the expedition to the 35th district.

'Thankfully, there are many people who care about YODAMARI-TEI. At the same time, there are many people who also want to take care of you. If I can be of help to such people, I think that taking a break is not a bad thing. ...... Recently, I have come to believe that.

In the past, Ginette had been somewhat afraid of taking a break from the Sunlit Pavilion.
She may have thought that if she closed the store, it would disappear.
At least, when he was running the store by himself, he would never have closed the store. No matter how many customers did not come. No matter how rough the weather was.

But Jeannette has changed.
And at the same time, the sunken pavilion changed.

You can understand that now.
A day or two off won't make the sunny house go away.

Jeannette has risen to a higher level as the manager of the Sunlit Pavilion.
She's getting tougher.

Well, he's still a failure as a manager because he doesn't pay attention to sales and profits at all.

'But I'm thinking of visiting Grandma Mum after this ......'.

Grandma Mum says that drinking tea at the sunny pavilion is her daily routine.
Ginette says that she feels restless when she doesn't see Grandma Mum's face. It must be a routine for you, too, to drink tea with Grandma Mum.

'Also, I'm going to check on Magda.

Norma was going to prepare lunch, so Ginette would have time.
Magda will be happy if Jeannette shows up.
.................. Ha!

'Ginette, Cantartica is dangerous.'
'Huh?

There's a customer there who's been looking at Ginette with an evil eye.
I can't believe you'd let Ginette go to a place like that alone. ......

'I think I'll go too. Do you want to have dinner with me?'
'Oh, no. I'm sure you're busy at lunchtime, so I thought I'd take a look at you and go home. ...... Norma said she'd cook for me, too.'
'Oh, is that so?

Well, if you go quickly and return quickly, you'll be fine. ............ No, but drunk people are bad. ...... When you think about it, Magda and Milly I'm also worried about Magda and Milly. .................. Okay!

'There was a mace in the armoury here, you can take it with you!
'No,......, I'm not very good with that stuff,.......'
'Then I'll teach you!Change into comfortable clothes and meet here again!
'Yashiro-san, please calm down. You'll be fine. Okay?

Sweet!You're naive, Jeannette!
I'll show you how sweet you are right here, right now!
I'm going to shackle you from behind, and then I'm going to ...... shove those two big bulges ............ out of your face!I'm going to be imprisoned if I do that.

'...... Okay. But be very careful. If a stranger calls out to you, don't follow him. Even if they offer you sweets, don't take them.
'Um, Yashiro-san, ...... I'm not a child, okay?

Idiot!
I'm telling you this because you're more defenseless than most kids!

'If a suspicious, mysterious, top-notch chef said, "I'll teach you a new cooking recipe," you'd follow him!
'Let's see, ...... a top-notch chef isn't a mystery. ......'

It doesn't matter!

'Besides, what I'm interested in is the recipes that Yashiro-san teaches us. I'd like to put the dishes that are suitable for the sunlit pavilion in the sunlit pavilion.

...... That means that the dishes I advocate are suitable for the sunlit pavilion. In other words, the colors of you and me are the colors that are typical of the Sun Goddess Pavilion. ..................

'Gofufu!
'Yashiro-san!
'No, it's ...... fine. ......'

I feel so embarrassed all of a sudden!
I'm so embarrassed!

Yeah!That's right!
Ginette's not a child!
She'll be fine!
And Magda's here too!

'Well, give my regards to Magda for me.'
'Yes, sir. Um, Yashiro-san, how long will it be before you're back?

'Jinaepu, I'll miss you so much, please come back soon!

............?
What was that mysterious cute creature's voice just now?
I didn't say that!


Because Jeannette would never say such a thing by mistake!
You're getting a little carried away, me!

'Hey, I've got some stuff to do here. I might be late.'
'I see. Well, I'll finish bathing you all before then.
'I'm leaving early!I'm leaving now!
'No, you can't!There are a lot of women here today, so the baths will take a long time!I'm sorry, but please come back as slowly as possible.'
'Okay. I'll be back around eight o'clock at night. ...... but don't come back around seven o'clock!
'I'll lock the door, you keep talking like that!

Jeannette turned red and waved her arms around.
No, you see, we're all anemic, we're all limping, and we all need help with the bath!Helping with the bath is hard work!You need a man's help!

But it's a little depressing to be locked out. ......
I'm not sure if I'm going to be able to do this, but I'm sure I'll be able to do it.

'Okay. If I finish my errands early, I'll kill some time in Cantalucia.'
'Eh ......'.

Ginette suddenly looked forlorn and fidgeted with her fingers.
'What is it?

'Oh, even if that ...... mysterious first-class chef says, "I'll treat you to a very delicious meal for free," please don't ...... fill up, okay?'

I thought top chefs weren't a mystery,.......

'Yes, they are. It looks like you haven't cooked at all today,......, so I'm going to ask you to make my dinner a big one.'
'Yes, sir. That's the plan.'

Cooking is Jeannette's vocation, hobby, and life's work.
I don't want you to get stressed out because you can't cook.

'Besides, it's also a strategy to show Yashiro-san how delicious he eats so that everyone will remember the joy of eating.

Ginette's strategy is so childish and deceitful. ......
I don't think they're going to restrict their diet too much anymore.

The look on their faces at that time was one of serious impatience.
They must have realized that it was almost too late and are now desperately trying to get back on track.
They may have made a few mistakes, but they are not basically stupid. If you tell them they're wrong, they'll get back on the right track. That's why so many people are willing to help us.

'Well, I'll do my best to use my head and keep it hungry.
'Exercise, isn't it?
'The brain is the most energy-intensive part of the human body.

If you work it hard enough, you'll almost collapse from hunger in just a few hours.
In the past, when I wrote a book on the scriptures of a certain new religion, ............, I ran out of gas after writing a manuscript of 100,000 words in one day.
The brain seriously eats up energy. I think it's nothing compared to a marathon.

'So, if we all study together, will we get hungry?
'Yeah, you'll be less hungry, but if you eat, you'll get fat.
'Is that so?

You'll be hungry, but you won't be consuming calories.
In order to consume calories properly, exercise is more suitable.

'Well, I'd better get back.
'Oh. Thanks for the lunch.
'No, thank you. It was fun.

'It was fun to make lunch. He said these words with a happy face, as if they would be followed by something like that.
Well, I'd better get this sunlit pavilion open as soon as possible.
Let's get all this over with quickly.

He grabs his lunch box by his side and turns around to head for the basement where the prison is located.

'Oh, um, Yashiro-san, ......!

I was about to walk away when Jeannette stopped me.
When I turned around, her big eyes were staring at me, and she seemed a little impatient, a little regretful, or perhaps 'Oh ...... I stopped her. Ginette was biting her lip, giving off a 'what should I do ......' vibe.

What the hell?
You look like you've got something to say.

'Um,......, about what you said earlier,.......'

'Earlier?

'...... peeping?'
'I'm not talking about the bath. And please don't peek.'

No?
And I guess I'm not allowed to use ...... d*mn it, I can't use the 'Oh, I'm sorry!I can't use the 'I accidentally did it' strategy!

'Let's see, ......Cantartika and ......'.
'Are you talking about boobs?
'We didn't talk about that, did we!

No, you did!


There are a lot of dangerous males with big titty mania around, and they want you to take the mace!
...... Oh, you didn't say the boob part out loud?

'............Come, dine with us at ......'
'Oh, you mean that.'

But since Norma said she would prepare for Jeannette, the two of us can't eat together. I have my own lunch.

'Don't worry about it. I'm just saying.'
'No, no!I'd love to meet you at .............'

By all means?

'If you get a chance, would you like to ...... have dinner with me sometime ............?'

......?
That's ......

It's not uncommon to have dinner with Jeannette.
It is difficult to eat with her because of her work, but she does eat with him when he donates money, and even when she is in the restaurant, she eats with him if there are no customers.

But this is a different story.
This is ......

'In Cantartika, huh?
'Um,......, anywhere is fine,.............'

I mean, that's ......

I'm not sure if this is an invitation to go on a date or not.

Ginette and I are going to have dinner together at a place that isn't the Sunken Pavilion. ............


Okay. Okay, okay.
I understand the situation.
Well, you know. I think Jeannette needs to try something from another restaurant once in a while.
Know others, know yourself. Isn't that important?

So, it's a good thing, this.
Dinner with Jeannette.
It's just something we do as usual, but in a different place.
It's nothing to worry about. It's part of the job.
You could say it's an investment for profit.

Yeah, all right.
Let's go. To dinner. With Jeannette. Just you and me.

Let's go!Let's go!
'...... yes. ...... please.'

Ginette bowed and ran off.
She was very slow, but she was desperate.
Her arms were swinging from side to side. He could have improved his time a little more by just swinging back and forth. ...... I watched him go, thinking about something unimportant.

That's right.
Next time you get a chance, I'd love to see you from the front, Ginette's all-out sprint......






I let the breeze blow outside for a while to cool my overheated brain.
Once you're inside, all the time is at stake.
Breathing, eye contact, breathing. You have to consciously control all of it to get what you want.
That's the kind of battlefield you'll find behind this door--the prison.

'...... Good. Switch complete.'

There are times when meeting Jeannette forces me to turn off my con man switch. It's hard to do. I guess it's his sycophantic aura that does it.
I replace the air in my lungs and wake up my brain cells one by one.

He pulls out a bunch of keys that he keeps in his pocket.

Currently, there is no guard to watch over this dungeon by Estella's authority.
Therefore, all four doors are locked tightly.
In order to get out of the dungeon, you need to have the key to the dungeon and to break the four doors, which is not easy. It is not easy to get out of the jail, because it is a jail where important suspects are imprisoned.

That's why the guards were removed and left to me.

But this operation will be compromised by everyone but me.
Until he talks, no one but me is allowed in or out.
But from what I can tell, it's not going to be that long. She seems like a straightforward person, that monkey woman.

I unlocked the door, went inside and locked it.
I repeated the process three times and descended the stairs leading to the basement.
As I did so, she spouted off a few well-placed epithets.

'd*mn it, ......, why do I have to ............ use you like this?

He opened the last door at the end of the stairs, complaining loudly and rudely.

'It's ....... I know, I know. Say something about ....... Hey!



And then he locks the door.
Then he clicks his tongue.

You look back and see the guard's desk in front of you.
You can't see it from the cell, but you can see the cell from here. That's the position.
A prisoner's desire to escape is aroused when he can see the exit from his cell. I think it's a good position.

You put the keys on the desk and take the tray with lunch for the monkey lady that was given to you above and head for the cell.
The monkey woman in the cell was still crouched with her back against the wall.

'Hey, lunch!

I call out to her, but she doesn't respond.
But she must have heard my voice. 'Dinner's served.
This phrase, which is less independent and full of the feeling of being forced to do something, makes the other party think that I am being forced to be a watchman, together with the small play I made in front of the door earlier.
After that, if I give them occasional hints of my inactivity and lack of motivation, the monkey women will surely bite.

There are things you can talk about if you're badgers in the same hole.

I mean, how do you get in here?

There is a long, narrow door in the cell to hold the food tray, but I'll pretend not to notice it.

'We'll just have to open the cell. ......'

The monkey woman reacted slightly to these words.
That's right.
If an ignorant and stupid man who is not willing to do his job unlocks the cell, it is a chance to escape from prison.
But I don't want you to get hurt, so I'll tell you beforehand.

'In case you're wondering, killing me won't do you any good.

Stand with your hands open so that your whole body is clearly visible.

'The key to the door, it's not here.

--It's on the desk over there. He pats the monkey girl on the waist, who doesn't know what to do.
It's a show of empty-handedness.

This is where the little trick comes into play.
I've been forced to stand guard here, and I'm not given a key so that I can screw up if I'm blatantly unmotivated. ...... is how the monkey woman constructs her own story in her brain.
As proof of this, the monkey woman, who had been unresponsive, clicked her tongue.

The monkey woman, who had been unresponsive, clucked her tongue and turned her face away from the wall.

Open the cell and let the food in.
You can be a little more aggressive. ...... Well, don't be hasty.
Close the cell as soon as possible.

'Okay, work is done. Let's eat.

Without telling anyone, you sit there alone.
I spread out Ginette's special lunch box and ate it as usual.

'Oh, it's ...... Gori.'

The fried river fish that Jeannette had mentioned was actually gori, and I was frankly thrilled.
Gori, a small river fish, is my favorite food. Delia brought it for me? Thank goodness.
By the way, we had an appointment for a night fishing. I'll join you when I get things done.

'It's delicious...... so delicious......!

It has a nostalgic taste and reminds me of many things.
...... Oh, no. I'm going to cry.
...... We used to fight over it.

I want to go home.' ......

For a moment, I thought I wanted to go back to the sunlit pavilion.
Somehow, I wanted to properly tell them that the food was delicious.
I wonder why. ...... Is it because I ate Gori's fried chicken? ...... Or is it because I have the restriction that I can't leave until nightfall?
The desire to go home is more pronounced in situations where you can't go home for some reason than in situations where you can go home at any time.

Yeah. That's it.
I guess Jeannette diminishes the impostor in me.
'I want to go home' came out of my heart.

Well, I guess that's a plus.

After all, it's just me and the monkey lady here, and we're both thinking the same thing right now.


'I want to go home'.


I ate my lunch without uttering another word.
It was delicious.
If it hadn't been in such a humid place, it might have been even better. I was a little disappointed to think so.

After the meal, I lay down on the floor.
The floor was cold and hard, made of rough stones.
I don't think I can sleep well in this place.

There seems to be a cot made of straw and a blanket in the prison, but ...... I don't think I can sleep well.

'Hey, can I borrow a blanket?

After turning over a few times, he raised his upper body and asked the monkey woman.

'It's cold, the floor. You're not going to sleep yet, are you?

She throws a question at him, but he ignores it as a matter of course.
After staring at her for a while, she lets out a sigh of '......' and lies down on the hard floor.
I turned my back to the monkey woman and slept a little.




What I'm doing now is a modified version of the psychological warfare used by some major powers to get their spies to talk.
It's very simple: stay close to the person who stubbornly refuses to talk. That's it.
The captive will become cautious and retreat into his shell. The more you provoke it from the outside, the thicker and sturdier the shell becomes.

The only way to deal with those who are cautious is to let them do as they please. There's no other way. As long as you exclude the use of torture.

This is also used in counseling closed-minded children, don't force them to talk, just be there, don't do anything. Just be there. And yet, if there is danger, they will protect them and watch over them at all times. And they don't interfere more than necessary.

When dealing with those who are closed-minded, there is no need to make them think you are on their side. Just make them think that you are not an enemy, that's all.
It can be a stage set, a background, anything. If you can make people realize that you are not harmful, change will naturally occur.

When you enter a hotel room for the first time, you may feel a little nervous, but if you stay there for a few hours, you will relax before you know it.
When people realize that there is no one who can harm them, they become less cautious.
When people become less cautious, they will take further action.
People are creatures that unconsciously seek a comfortable place to live.
And--

We can't help but seek shelter.

The shyest children are the most reluctant to say goodbye after they've made friends.
The more cautious they are at first, the more dependent they become once they've forgiven.

When people are in the same space, they feel a sense of familiarity. Especially to those who will not harm them.
Whether this feeling of closeness is a cute one of 'this person will be my ally' or a scheming one of 'this person will be my friend' is another matter.


'Hey ......, hey!

How long had I been asleep?
I don't know how long I've been asleep.
But the voice I've been waiting for awakens my consciousness in an instant.

d*mn, you're late.
My body's all cracked up from sleeping on the hard floor.

'Hey, wake up, ......!

A husky voice called out to me in a whisper, throwing the hard bread offered as a meal.
Don't throw your food. You'll eat it later.

I feigned laziness as I sat up and saw the monkey woman clutching the prison fence and glaring at me.

'Do you want to make a deal with Aashi?

In the face of a biting prey, I desperately bite back the smile that threatens to leak out of my mouth,......, and clench my fists in my heart at the much faster-than-imagined catch.