'Honestly, I never thought that Lucia would come again. I thought that she'd be done after tricking us once. It's not easy to muster up the courage to come again. However, I don't intend to bring the deed up again. I can tell that Veirya doesn't plan to pursue the matter. Moreover, Veirya treats Lucia very well. She did immediately agree to Lucia's request last time, after all. Consequently, I'm not in any position to talk.'
I returned home in the evening. Honestly, I really admire Lucia. I feel awkward sitting opposite Veirya for just ten minutes, but I saw Leah sitting next to Lucia cheerfully kicking her feet, so I think Leah and Lucia get along relatively happily.
I glanced at Lucia. I was very astonished.
'Are elves just that way? Lucia had a very flat chest. She has very slender hips and a very cute face, but her chest is too flat, isn't it…? It's genuinely out of sight. As a matter of fact, Leah's look bigger; Leah's have already started to pop a little.
"Hello, Lucia."
I put my cloak down when I entered the house. I greeted Lucia and she looked up at me with an incredibly happy smile. She responded, "Hello, hello. I'm very happy to see you again. Veirya must really like you for you to have survived next to her until now."
Veirya had a drink of tea. She then said something that shocked Lucia enough to give her goose bumps, "I want him to be my husband, but he refused."
Lucia gasped. She looked at me, absolutely stunned. She covered her mouth as she widened it with surprise. She trembled as she asked, "Wh-What did you say…? Y-You're getting married?!"
"Married?"
Veirya looked at Lucia with confusion. I smiled helplessly, and then explained, "That's not it. It's just that Veirya wants Leah to call her Mama. Previously, Anna said that Leah would have to call her Mama if we got married; hence why she suggested I be her husband, thereby making Leah call her Mama."
"As if I'm calling her Mama!!"
Leah loudly objected. Lucia hopelessly laughed, "Now that you mention it, I do indeed feel that it's something Veirya would do… But, why is Veirya so persistent? Why does Veirya care so much about Leah?"
"Very cute." Veirya gave a very simple answer. She glanced at Leah and after a pause, went on, "I'm a better mother than that woman."
"Are you still stuck on that…? I guess it's fair, though… Mm… How shall I put it? It's not really our place to comment on your personal business, but Leah, you don't have to be afraid of Veirya. Veirya is very good at fighting, but if she considers you her friend, you're a very cute kid."
Lucia rubbed Leah's head with a smile. Leah just snorted. Veirya turned to face me and with an expressionless look said, "I'm hungry."
"All right."
I nodded, and then went to the kitchen. Not long after I entered the kitchen and rolled my sleeves up, Lucia nimbly snuck into the kitchen. She curiously watched me from behind. The kitchen isn't spacious, so when Veirya and I are both in the kitchen together, we can't turn around. However, the kitchen didn't feel squishy in the slightest when Lucia was in here with me. Lucia is very agile. Every time that we were about to collide, she nimbly dodged out of the way. She curiously and intently watched my every step. When I put vegetables into the stew, she rushed up behind me and gently pinched my face. With a smile, she said, "I never thought that you'd be able to cook, as you're a man. Frankly speaking, nobody in our adventurer team could cook. We just bought rations then boiled them in water. I never knew that you could cook. Let me try; let me try; let me see how it tastes."
Although Lucia was tightly glued to my back, my heart didn't race, and my body didn't react. I scooped up a spoon of the meat stew and held it up to her mouth. She cheerfully had the serve then nodded with delight, "This is great! This is great, but I think it's a bit bland. Yeah, a little bland."
She took out a small bag from her pocket and opened it. She happily asked, "This is a flavouring that we produce in the elven lands. It's very easy to use. You just need a few pieces and it'll give your meat soup a very rich flavour. How about it? Want to give it a try?"
I lingered for a moment, and then checked out the few small granules that resembled pepper. They were green, however. Also, they seemed to be solid. Lucia's ears twitched with joy. She wasn't planning to ask for my opinion again. She grabbed a few and tossed them in.
The green granules exploded in the soup. An odd fragrance aggressively dispersed and sealed my mouth before I could shout to stop her. I scooped up a spoon. The soup that originally only had the taste of meat instantly had the taste of a spice. The plain flavour was immediately enriched and refreshing.
Seeing my stunned reaction, Lucia proudly puffed her flat chest, ""Hum, hum! This is our unique elven flavouring. It's amazing, isn't it? Out of consideration of our friendship, I'll give these flavours to you. However, I want to try this, too."
Lucia snatched the spoon in my hand and had a taste. She then abruptly grabbed my hand, tossed the spoon into the pot, and then excitedly dragged me along as she ran out of the kitchen. Leah and Veirya spun around at the same time to look at the two of us. When Leah saw Lucia come running holding onto my arm with excitement, she panicked and shrieked. As for Veirya, she maintained her emotionless expression.
Lucia clung tightly to my arm. She looked at Veirya with an incomparably bright smile and exclaimed, "Excellent!! Veirya! This man is excellent! I want him. Veirya, what do you want? I'll swap with you. I want him!!"
"Noooo!!!!"
Leah screamed before Veirya could speak. Leah sprinted over to my side and tightly hugged my other arm before desperately trying to pull me toward her with all of her might. She yelled, "No! No! No! Papa is Leah's Papa! Leah won't give Papa to anyone!!"
"Leah, if you want, you can come live in the elven lands, you know? The four seasons in the elven forests are just like spring. There won't be anywhere so cold. Plus, there's lots of tasty food to eat there. Come live with your Papa."
"Really…?"
Leah seemed to instantly defect…
"No deal." Veirya stood up at that moment. She looked at Lucia with an absolutely serious look and repeated herself, "No deal."
"Veirya…"
I looked at Veirya, feeling somewhat moved. But nonetheless, Veirya looked at Lucia and added, "If he's not with me, I'll starve."