Rurin's Grocery Shopping (5)

But Mrs. Rayne, upon seeing the girl’s photo, shook her head. She had never seen the girl and had not heard of any lost children.

The answer was that there were no stories about children in the market.

El nodded and handed the photo to her, asking to be informed if any news came in. Mrs. Rayne nodded vigorously at the request.

To Mrs. Rayne and Mr. Knoll, El’s presence is special. They have received significant help from him. Thanks to the Palenque business rights, the butcher shop is booming, and they live happily together.

All of this was ultimately thanks to El’s help.

Since they received a request from such a person, they thought they should do everything in their power to solve the matter.

Afterward, El went to see Count Greek. Given his status, the likelihood of him having met the girl was slim. So El’s purpose was to use the Lord’s power.

“Is it enough to investigate if anyone has seen this child?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

When El nodded with a smile, Count Greek also nodded.

Count Greek had also received numerous favors from El.

Not only did El reveal his stepmother’s hidden nature, but he also enlightened him about everything as a lord.

He taught him more than his father, who was bedridden at an early age.

That is why Count Greek followed El like a father.

Such a person has made a request.

Count Greek stared at the spot where El had left for a long time, then put the girl’s picture in his pocket and stood up from his chair.

“Could you delay my evening schedule for a bit?”

The head steward of the Greek household was startled and asked back in surprise.

“But sir.”

There was a special festival today.

It was the day of the spring festival, praying for a bountiful harvest.

The steward was surprised because it was an event that the Count himself had organized.

“But it’s not that. I’ll go to the guards immediately. Prepare. This comes first. And it’s not like I won’t go to the event, right?”

“Yes, yes!”

Startled by Count Greek’s order, the steward bowed his head. Although usually gentle, once he decided on something, no one could stop him.

In fact, El’s request was to mobilize the troops. Of course, he could have had the servant do it.

But it was a request from El. The thought that the task might be handled perfunctorily made him uneasy.

That is why, even if it meant being late for the evening event, Count Greek decided to go personally and began moving quickly.

As the guards moved and began their investigation, someone familiar with the girl would appear.

Both Count Greek and El thought so.

Having mobilized the troops and requested the informants, El decided to wait a few days and walked back to the restaurant.

Boom!

In the sky, the festival planned by Count Greek was unfolding, and the streets were bustling.

The crude fireworks of this era decorated the sky.

This was the festival Count Greek was supposed to attend. The fact that the festival was held this way showed how good the city’s atmosphere was.

Seeing people happy is always nice. El watched the fireworks for a moment, looking at the people having a beer party, then climbed the hill again.

With the thought of having a fireworks festival with Rurin as well.

Evening came, and with the sun completely set, the restaurant’s lights stood out.

Since it had already been announced that there would be no dinner service today due to the festival, it was a leisurely evening.

Originally, the plan was to pass the time with Rurin playing silly bets, but since there were guests, the plan had to change.

And that plan was hastily made while climbing the hill.

But El thought it was a pretty good plan.

Making Rurin do the shopping today was because even if she didn’t do it properly, it wouldn’t affect the dinner service.

When El entered the restaurant, Rurin and Selly were still asleep.

It was time to wake them, so El grabbed Rurin’s shoulder gently and shook her slowly.

“You…?”

“Huh?”

Then, Rurin called out to El in a small voice, unsure if she was awake or still dreaming.

“I’m sleepy.”

How can you be sleepy while sleeping?

I thought she was a puzzling one, and then she started smiling, lifting the corners of her mouth.

“Heeheehee.”

It seemed like sleep-talking as Rurin kept repeating the behavior. She would shout “You!” and then laugh “Heeheehee.” It was a never-ending cycle.

As I was looking at her in bewilderment, the girl suddenly opened her eyes and rubbed them vigorously.

“Are you awake?”

Nod, nod.

El nodded back at Selly, who was nodding, and then started to wake Rurin properly.

“Selly is awake, so you should wake up too, Rurin.”

First, El gently stroked Rurin’s hair.

This is the first step to waking her up.

Rurin nodded slightly.

As a result, both the girl and Rurin ended up nodding together.

Seeing their similar but different looks, El couldn’t help but laugh.

But neither of them seemed to have any intention of getting up, just nodding. So El moved on to the second step.

Usually, Rurin wakes up by the second step.

“Wake up! It’s time to eat. Food, food!”

“Already time to eat!”

Rurin, who had eaten a late meal and slept, opened her eyes wide. As Rurin got up, the girl automatically came down to the floor and looked up at her.

“The weather is nice, so let’s eat outside. Bring Selly with you!”

After informing Rurin and Selly, El climbed the hill and started setting up a barbecue.

Some of the meat that El had asked Rurin to buy earlier was meant to be eaten today.

Then Rurin came walking slowly, with Selly following behind.

“Come here.”

And so begins the meat party. Meat grilled outside is delicious no matter what.

“Oh, meat?”

“Yes, come here. Sit down. Bring Selly too.”

Selly, a little girl of around five years old, walked over. Rurin ran over and stood near the grill, stomping her feet. She was drooling.

El felt the same. Meat is love.

“Here, try it with this.”

El handed Rurin a cocktail he had made. It was called a Spumoni.

It’s a cocktail made with an Italian liqueur called Campari, which has a sweet, sour, and bitter taste.

A bit of bitterness and sourness pairs well with meat, so El had prepared the cocktail for the first time in a while.

For Rurin’s drink, he added just a little Campari to a glass filled with ice, increased the proportion of grapefruit juice, and added a grapefruit slice before mixing in some bitter tonic water. This resulted in a beautiful light orange cocktail.

Although lowering the ratio of Campari might be a bit off, it was a necessary choice to prevent Rurin from getting drunk.

“Oh? It’s bitter but tasty. The meat goes down smoothly!”

Originally, it’s a cocktail meant to whet the appetite before a meal, but even drinking it with the meal, the unique bitter, sour, and sweet taste makes the meat go down well.

Not a bad choice, right?

El thought so to himself and spoke.

“Take care of Selly too. Do you think she can drink grapefruit juice? If I give it to her, she might throw it, so you take care of it.”

Rurin, holding a drink in one hand and eating uka sirloin with a fork in the other, looked at Selly, who was quietly watching her from the side.

“Why do you look so pitiful? Well, since I’m in a good mood, I’ll let it go.”

Rurin, seemingly unable to resist, placed a plate of small meat pieces, which El had cut, and the grapefruit juice in front of Selly.

“Eat. It’s delicious.”

“Unnie.”

“Hmm?”

Selly, from somewhere, placed a Hibiren flower on the meat and looked at Rurin.

“Why do you always eat that? You’re a strange human. Really. Eating that together actually lowers the taste!”

“Yummy!”

But Selly didn’t care and brought the meat with the flower to her mouth.

And she drank the juice with the expression of a protagonist in a food drama, celebrating with a beer after removing her makeup post-work.

Grapefruit juice can be somewhat polarizing, so El watched with tension, but there was no unusual reaction.

Seeing that, El also started eating the meat. Unlike Rurin, he drank a cocktail made with a refreshing combination of 30ml of Campari, 45ml of grapefruit juice, and 60ml of tonic water while looking at the dragon and the girl.

Looking at Rurin while drinking made him feel happy for some reason. It was a happiness that El had not recently recognized in himself.

And fireworks were still being launched below the hill in Greek City.

Boom!

“Wow…!”

The girl looked at the fireworks with an uncharacteristic expression. The bright fireworks cast shadows on her face.

El did not know what moved the girl, but her eyes sparkled, and they became moist.

But contrary to the girl’s emotions, Rurin looked at the fireworks indifferently.

“Boring. Shouldn’t they explode more spectacularly instead of like that? Should I just burst my mana in the sky?”

“Don’t do that. Those are pretty enough. Why are you like this? This too.”

“What is that?”

“Hehe. It’s a pretty thing called a senko hanabi.”

El handed one to Rurin, and although it might be a bit dangerous, he also handed one to Selly, since he could stop it with mana if necessary. He took one himself.

“This is how it works.”

Senko hanabi is a thin stick that burns up and creates a beautiful spark. Although the duration is short, it’s very pretty as it burns.

“Oh!”

“Pretty!”

Rurin and Selly both held their sticks out, asking for them to be lit. El felt that the sparkles were reflected in their eyes too.

Soon, the sparklers were lit.

Rurin crouched down with a curious expression while El laughed beside her. Watching this, Selly moved closer to them.

“Unnie!”

And thanks to that, the sparkler came into contact with Rurin’s clothes.

“What, what is this!”

Startled by the spark on her clothes, Rurin lost her balance and fell towards El. Or rather, she leaped into El in surprise.

The current Rurin had alcohol in her system, after all.

Thanks to the girl’s spark acting as a catalyst, Rurin charged forward.

Crash!

With a combination of accident, coincidence, and acting skills, Rurin managed to crash lips with El.

Then Rurin got up, touching her lips, sat on top of El, and then stood up, looking at the girl.

“Well done! Hehe, since you did well, I will mercifully acknowledge you as my subordinate!”

Of course, it was something El would consider nonsense again.