How To Suck Honey With Extras [EN]: Chapter 114

125. Meeting and Favors as Planned (6)

‘Ah, now that I think about it, I don’t have any clothes…’

Come to think of it, I left all my luggage behind, so I don’t have any clothes to change into.

I only grabbed the bag in a hurry, but there are no clothes inside.

Now that I think about it, I hung everything out to dry after doing laundry.

As I was wondering if I should ask them to bring my luggage back, the maids seemed to understand my concern and told me not to worry, as if to reassure me.

“Are you worried about clothing? If that’s the case, you don’t have to worry.”

“We’ll prepare it right away.”

“……Pardon? Prepare what?”

“Leave it to us!”

The maids confidently led me away.

The master is unrestrained, and so are the maids.

What a wonderful family.

They even gave me clothes and neatly arranged my attire.

“……Do you usually give clothes in situations like this? Huh? Come to think of it, how does the size fit so well?”

“Lady Elenia often brings guests on a whim, so we tend to have preparations for such occasions.”

“Ah, I see~ Hmm? So, guests are often dragged here without even changing their clothes?”

“It doesn’t happen that often.”

“It’s only about once or twice a year these days.”

“It’s definitely less this year.”

……That’s exactly what ‘often’ means, though.

It’s probably just that this young lady is eccentric.

Anyway, thanks to them, I was looking neat and tidy, and I followed their guidance, walking down the hallway again.

It seems that Lady Elenia is already waiting for me, so all I have to do is go find her.

Let’s start properly this time.

No matter what, first impressions are important.

Being swayed around isn’t a good look.

I need to make a proper deal, too.

Let’s do it right, me!

‘Ah, it would be good to add that.’

Just as it occurred to me, I decided to acquire an ability that would be useful for my purpose before my audience with the Lady.

A minor ability I’m getting just in case.

It’s a trait that some merchants or demagogues who are strangely good with words are born with.

The effect isn’t that powerful.

It just makes the other person listen more attentively to what you have to say.

An ability that unconsciously interferes with the other person to make them pay attention.

And on top of that.

Let’s evolve it into a higher-level ability in the affinity category.

It will be helpful.

<'Transformed into 'Powerful Favorability'.>

‘It would be more helpful to acquire a subtle ability like this than an excessive mental interference ability.’

Unlike the name, the actual effect is just that you give off an impression of being a likable person.

At this level, it’s just within the realm of talent, so there’s no need to be suspected.

It’s just an ability that subtly helps without the other person noticing.

This is just right.

I can also avoid wasting too many points.

I arrived while acquiring something that would be helpful.

“……Huh?”

As soon as I arrived at the audience location, I tilted my head in slight admiration.

The place I was guided to was a garden.

A garden with various flowers and a refreshing, gentle breeze.

‘It’s quite well-maintained. The gardener’s skills are impressive.’

In a place like this, I can have a more refreshing conversation than in a stuffy reception room.

‘However, it doesn’t really suit a formal audience.’

At this rate, it feels more like I’m just here to hang out.

And in the middle of the garden, there is a table with three chairs placed according to the number of people.

In other words, there will be three people at this table.

Two of the chairs are already occupied by guests.

“So, you’ve finally arrived. I’ve been waiting.”

“……Ugh, she actually brought him. It wasn’t a joke.”

Two women, muttering words with slightly different atmospheres and meanings, turned to look at me.

Lady Elenia and the spiritist, Lussel Elbeid.

‘So Lussel was staying here too…….’

I was half-certain of their relationship back then, so there’s nothing to be surprised about.

More than that, what’s with that damn elf’s reaction as soon as she sees me? How rude.

Well, it doesn’t matter how she sees me.

I carefully paid my respects first.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Elenia. I am…….”

“Enough. Aileen, how many times are you going to greet me in one day?”

However, she waved her hand dismissively before I could even finish my sentence.

I can’t even give a proper greeting.

I actually practiced a bit. I’m a little disappointed.

“There’s no need for long speeches. Aren’t we just wasting each other’s time?”

“Still, I need to at least have the proper appearance so that I don’t get glared at by other people.”

See! The maids over there are glaring at me right now.

“Ah, so you’re observing etiquette for your own sake, is that it?”

“It’s safer that way. I don’t want to be targeted by others for no reason. I like to get by smoothly.”

“Haha. You’re saying quite peculiar things. Right now, you are a guest. A benefactor, at that. No one will say anything to you.”

She said firmly and arrogantly.

“Or if there is someone who is dissatisfied, they will have to achieve the same level of merit as you. So don’t worry and sit down.”

“Indeed…… In that case, I will accept the discourtesy.”

If you put it that way, there’s nothing I can do.

I sat down as invited.

‘Now…… the question is whether I should bring up the matter, or if she will first?’

For now, it would be safer to wait for Elenia, who is a noble, to speak first.

Above all, she’s the one who came to find me.

That means she has her own intentions.

‘I can guess a few purposes, but if I bring them all up first, they’ll all sound strange.’

Let’s wait.

As soon as I sat down, the maids immediately brought tea and some snacks for me.

I was wondering, but I’m really being treated like a guest.

I guess I can just drink the tea.

‘Tea…… Come to think of it, is this the first time I’m tasting a drink that nobles drink?’

I cautiously took a sip of the tea.

I smelled the aroma and tasted the liquid in my mouth, rolling it around on my tongue.

And I gave an elegant impression with a smile.

‘I have no idea!’

I confess, I don’t know anything about tea.

In reality, I was a fan of the thousand-won Americano [a cheap, readily available coffee] sold in front of the company, and that was just for the purpose of caffeine replenishment.

‘……Well, it’s better than that, I guess.’

I savored it again.

I felt like I could say something better than before.

I could feel a rather fragrant aroma and a warm feeling inside my throat.

It probably tastes expensive!

I apologize to the many people who cultivated these tea leaves, but that’s all I can say.

“How is it? Do you like it?”

“……I think it’s good. Maybe.”

I pretended to like it appropriately.

I don’t actually dislike it.

However, even if the aroma is good, my preference is for something that tastes strong, whether it’s bitter or sweet.

More than that, it’s unnecessarily fragrant, so my mouth feels empty.

That’s probably why there are snacks and sweet breads.

As soon as I saw the snacks, my stomach seemed to tremble slightly with a strange sense of hunger.

‘Come to think of it, I haven’t eaten anything today yet…….’

Lady Elenia came early, so I was dragged here without being able to prepare.

Thanks to that, it looks unnecessarily delicious.

Slurp.

Whether she noticed my condition or not, Lady Elenia casually offered.

“You don’t have to hold back.”

Your consideration is truly amazing!

Then I won’t hold back.

I willingly reached for the snacks.

It’s like a dog being allowed to eat after being given permission, but I don’t really care.

What should I eat~ Should I chew on something like a cookie first?

Anyway, judging by the atmosphere, it doesn’t seem like they’re going to bring up anything important right away.

Only the Lady herself and Lussel are drinking tea, exchanging strange glances with each other.

They look at each other, then look at me, and then look at each other again.

‘What is it? What is it? Did you guys have some kind of discussion beforehand without me?’

Let’s eat and think. I’m lacking sugar right now.

I carefully picked up a suitable snack and took a bite.

Crunch.

A strange sweetness is felt each time the well-baked flour crumbles.

Of course, compared to the snacks I ate in modern Earth, the stimulation of that sugar is somewhat weak, but this isn’t too bad either.

Above all…….

‘Come to think of it, is this the first time I’m eating proper snacks since coming here?’

The most decisive thing I miss in this place is the repertoire of things to eat.

Of course, thinking that there isn’t much is a common misunderstanding.

The people here are also humans with mouths and tongues.

They also naturally want to eat delicious things.

……It was all lacking according to my standards.

However, this is just because the standards of the memories and tastes of modern Earthlings are high.

Besides, it’s not like there are no snacks at all here.

If you go to the market, you can sometimes buy low-quality bread with honey, dried fruit, or snacks, although they’re not cheap.

However, I was disappointed after trying them. And they’re ridiculously expensive.

‘Compared to that, this feels like the first proper snack I’m eating.’

That’s why I’m a little touched.

‘Come to think of it, I want to seriously dabble in these kinds of luxury goods someday…….’

However, my cooking skills are just what I’ve done while living alone, and I barely know how to make snacks.

Should I promise myself to do it as homework someday?

Let’s leave it as something to do slowly once my comfortable life is secured.

As I was thinking that, I had already sucked five of them into my mouth.

Oops, did I eat too much?

For the record, the number of snacks they have eaten so far, excluding me, is zero.

……It seems like I’m the only one eating.

It looks like I’m starving myself on a regular basis.

Should I restrain myself? First, I’ll repackage my image…….

“It doesn’t matter. Hmm, do you like these kinds of things? Then I’ll have them bring other things.”

Forget about repackaging.

As I’ve said many times, I tend not to refuse when offered.

Because I think that’s the attitude of a human who enjoys life properly.

Above all, it seems like feeding me itself is part of the purpose for some reason.

It’s like they keep wanting to feed me something.

I decided to just go along with it and leisurely ate what they brought.

Delicious~ Delicious~.

“You eat well, as expected? Good, there’s more, so don’t hold back.”

From this point on, I also felt something strange.

‘……Aren’t you going to talk? More than that. Why do you keep trying to feed me?’

Did they put something in the food?

But that’s probably not the case. They’re not the kind of people who would do that.

It feels like they’re observing something.

Is it a hobby of the nobles?

Is there a trend of enjoying watching others eat?

After eating leisurely and sharing only useless stories.

As if wanting to finally move on to the main topic, Lady Elenia paused for a moment to gather her thoughts and said.

“Aileen, first of all, I would like to express my gratitude once again for the help you gave me last time. I wanted to say that first. Accordingly, I was thinking of giving you a little reward, but do you like it?”

A reward?

I finally noticed.

From the clothes they seemed to have prepared right away, to the strange feeling of offering me food.

Was there a reason?

“……Could it be that the snacks are for that?”

“Actually, there was some advice that children like to eat.”

“Who said such baseless things?”

Instead of answering, she glanced at Lussel.

Lussel didn’t say anything, but she avoided my eyes.

“……More than that, a child.”

Don’t tell me, have I been treated like a kid until now?