Novel Full Chapter 593: A Friend’s House
Chapter 593: A Friend’s House
"...So Olivia, where are your parents?" Aqua asks as I sit down on Olivia’s couch. The two of us came to visit her now that night has fallen.
"Lycoris, Aqua, I have to tell you—Mom and Dad went out. Dad took her on a date, and they’re going to be away for the night. Dad got a good pension from surviving the war back in the day, so it happens sometimes," Olivia says as Aqua shrugs.
"That’s fine. What were you and Lycoris going to do?" Aqua asks, sitting down next to me. She asks the question in a slightly territorial way but is trying to restrain herself.
"We were going to study a bit and socialize to get closer as friends. I even have some magazines! They’re a recent thing—some strange entertainment the Demon King created, and they’re a lot of fun." Olivia seems tense as she explains, clearly not wanting to provoke Aqua’s jealousy.
"...I-I... Do you want something to eat? It’s getting pretty late... a-and I cook well..." Olivia smiles at the two of us, a bit embarrassed.
"Of course! I’d love some!" I say cheerfully, trying to help her relax and keep Aqua from grilling her with weird questions.
"...If Lycoris wants some, then I’ll have something too. But if it’s meat, I’d rather it be raw, or close to raw—still with blood," Aqua says a bit arrogantly, but that’s just how she is, so I don’t say anything.
"I’ll do my best... b-but I don’t think the quality will be the same as the castle’s..."
"Don’t worry about it. Food is food. As long as you’re careful, the flavor doesn’t have to be perfect," Aqua says—something nice for a change—and I nod in agreement.
"Yeah! The fact that you’re cooking for us is enough!" As soon as we agree, Olivia heads to the kitchen. Meanwhile, I look around the house. It’s very ordinary, tidy overall, but nothing special. Still, from what I’ve heard, before Mother Pandora existed, things were pretty grim, and everything has improved a lot.
"Sister Aqua, compared to the Elf King’s domain and the old human kingdom, is our kingdom’s standard of living good?" I ask curiously. Master Mikael doesn’t talk much about the human kingdom when I ask.
"From what I’ve studied, yes. Our kingdom is well above average, but that’s due to three factors. First, extremely tyrannical laws that only work because Mother Pandora exists to enforce order, and no one would dare challenge her."
"Second is a massive improvement in quality of life! Normal food is free, water is free, general medical treatment is free, and work earns money that can be spent on luxuries and entertainment."
"So everyone has a relatively decent standard of living, which they can improve by working. And since everyone wants an even better life, they work hard."
"And third is obviously technology—stuff Mother made along with that alchemist who makes Azazel’s toys. By the way, did you know that in other kingdoms, people actually pay for basic necessities!?"
"Seriously!?" I ask, incredulous. People have to pay for basic things that already exist? Food, water, and general medical treatment—of those three, only medical treatment isn’t something you can just find anywhere, but you could manage with enough people who know healing magic.
But food and water are natural things. Doesn’t it seem ridiculous to pay for something that exists naturally? I understand paying for well-prepared meals—you’re paying for the chef’s effort and skill, not just the ingredients—but paying for basic, ready-made food just sounds absurd.
"Yeah. Apparently, it used to be like that here too, before Mother Pandora solved some of the problems. But of course, there are downsides too. For example, under our laws, a lot of things get you the death penalty, while in other kingdoms, there aren’t as many offenses that carry that punishment."
"Hmm... so stricter rules in exchange for a stable life..." I’m not sure what to think about that, but I suppose as long as it’s working, it’s fine. Besides, it seems our kingdom is only stable because Mother Pandora worked so hard to stop chaos from breaking out randomly.
"Why the sudden curiosity, Lycoris?"
"Ah... it’s just that Mother mentioned the Elf War... are you planning to go?" In a month, we’ll be on break, and we’ll be away from the academy for quite a while.
"Go to the war, huh? Yeah, I think so. I’m definitely going. I’d especially love to smash the Elf Princess’s face in." She gives a very malicious smile as I continue talking with her.
The sounds of pots and cutting soon fill the air, followed by the sizzle of frying. Before long, we hear Olivia calling us to eat, so we stand up and head to where she’s setting the table.
"Hmm... what’s that purple liquid on the meat?" Aqua asks, sitting down in a chair while I take the seat opposite her.
"It’s a sauce Mom makes. Dad uses it on fried tentacles. I don’t know how to cook many things, so I made a recipe for caramelized roasted tentacles..."
"Oh, Shogo’s stuff!" I say with interest. Thanks to Shogo, problems like famine were overcome. Shogo produces milk and meat nonstop to feed the population.
"Yeah. Even though my dad is still a soldier, he’s almost retired due to some complications, so sometimes he sells fried tentacles just for old times’ sake..." She finishes serving all of us.
"..." Aqua and I start eating. The flavor is... pleasant, I guess. It tastes like tentacle—something I’ve had before. Nothing special.
"...Lycoris, you don’t like it?" Olivia asks, seeing my completely neutral expression.
"It’s not bad, just very ordinary. Have you ever thought about using coarse salt? Like, pierce the meat, throw in coarse salt, and while the tentacle is still alive and regenerating, the salt will get inside it." When I say that, Olivia looks surprised.
"That could be an interesting idea..." She says as she starts eating too. Meanwhile, Aqua finishes everything quickly. She always eats way too fast, so she’s done in no time.
"...Aqua?..." Aqua makes a strange face, so I call out to her.
"Ah, fuck... the sauce you used was made with blood, wasn’t it?" Aqua says to Olivia, who tenses up.
"W-Well, yes, that’s what gives it flavor... M-Mom uses it during caramelization because succubus blood—"
"And you used the concentrated version?" Aqua says with a frustrated expression, and Olivia seems to realize something.
"Huh? A-Ah... s-sorry, I didn’t realize. Normally, when I cook with Dad, we make a lot..."
"Aqua?" I look at her, confused. She notices and gives a smile.
"Succubus blood is an aphrodisiac. Small doses don’t do anything, but she didn’t dilute the ’sauce’ she used on the tentacle. Obviously, she overdid the recipe, and now I’m getting insanely horny under this table."
"I... I was just nervous about cooking for two princesses... I didn’t think I’d mess up the recipe..." She looks down, and I wonder what Aqua’s going to do.
"...The food was at least good... Lycoris, finish your meal! And Olivia, where’s the bathroom?"
"A-Ah, it’s over there! T-That door across from my room is the bathroom," Olivia says quickly, and Aqua stands up and heads over. I stifle a laugh at Aqua, who’s trying to keep her composure but can’t quite hide that bulge in her clothes.
"Olivia, only you could mess up like this! Hahaha!" Olivia sometimes gets a little distracted and ends up messing up small things.
"Sorry. It’s my first time cooking without my dad. Usually, I just handle some of the ingredients."
"It’s fine. At least Aqua seemed to like it. She prefers things more straightforward, so serving tentacles was a good choice! Better than serving regular meat," I try to cheer her up.
"Aqua should be back soon! Since your parents aren’t here, and we’re trying to strengthen our friendship, once I’m done here, how about we go read that magazine you mentioned?" I say, starting to eat faster to finish.
"Yes! I’ll fix this!" She stands up without finishing all her food, while I quickly finish mine. I could eat more—at least fifteen to fifty more plates—but I don’t say anything. I know most people don’t eat as much as I do.
"Let’s go! I promise it’s fun." She takes my hand and starts pulling me toward her room. I glance at the bathroom door where Aqua went, wondering if she’s singing to cure herself of the food’s effects.
’Her voice is so good...’ I love listening to Aqua sing. Her voice is majestic, perfect, and very pleasant to hear.
"Here, this is my room." She says, opening the door. I look around, and the room is much nicer than I expected. The walls are a soft pastel pink, and the floor is polished, high-quality wood.
There are posters on the walls and a perfect statuette of Mother Pandora. There are also plenty of books, papers, and even some projects of her own.
"Wow, that magic circle over there looks interesting," I say, entering the room and approaching the paper.
"It’s... I want to give my parents a better life! I’m an adult now, so I should take on responsibilities. I want to earn a lot of money, so I’m trying to become skilled at crafting relics. It’s a useful job, it pays well, and I enjoy it."
"Now, let me show you the magazine I mentioned."