Ruri To Yuri To Hime To Majo Chapter 7

                Not even 5 minutes had pa.s.sed until they arrived at the city. They didn't land closer to the city in order to not cause a panic, so they had to walk at least that far.

                To the around 35 year old gatekeeper, Lily raised a friendly voice.

                「Ya, Rozzo-kun. Good work. I've come by, again.」

                「Oh, Lily-san, huh. I've said this how many times, but, won't you stop adding "kun" to my name?」

                「Fufu, more than me, to someone younger than me, I will add "kun" or "chan".」

                「…I've also said this many times, but, how old are you?」

                「That's not a question to ask a woman」

                「Hah, well, whatever. By the way, it seems that there is a new face together with you, but」

                Saying so, Rozzo faced Lapis.

                But, Lapis hid in Lily's shadow.

                「Oi, oi.」

                「…Hah, sorry. U-um, I'm Lapis.」

                While sticking behind Lily, Lapis introduced herself.

                「I met her around 10 days ago, but it seems that she has no relatives. I'll become her guarantor, so can we enter?」

                「Oh, if it's you then there's no problem. You can pa.s.s.」

                They said a parting with Rozzo and pa.s.sed through the gate. In order to find where the ingredients are sold, they looked around as they walked, when Lily asked a question.

                「Lapis-chan, are you shy with other people?」

                「Hah. Close people, um…」

                Her words were cut, and slightly hesitated—

                「…I'm afraid of men.」

                「…Lapis-chan, there are lots of scary things, huh. At this rate, thunder and ghosts are both also no good?」

                「I don't know about that. Ah, but, if I'm with Lily-san, then I think I'll be okay.」

                「Fufu, then, if it comes to that, I'll give you a squeeze, okay♪」

                They made small talk as they walked, before they knew it, they reached a marked road.

                They could hear voices calling out to customers, with a circulating enthusiasm, an unusual liveliness was overflowing.

                As far as the eye could see, there were meat shops, fish shops, vegetable shops, fruit shops, bread shops, ingredient shops, seasoning shops, tableware shops, and cooking ware shops.

                There was even an odd store like a rice shop, there was every type of conceivable store gathered.

                「Wah♪」

                Lapis's eyes sparkled as she observed the surroundings. The road seemed very busy at the moment.

                Lily charmingly smiled at her.

                「So, Lapis-chan, what should we start with buying? I don't know cooking stuff, so I'll be leaving it to you.」

                「Okay, first is from vegetables. Ah, but we also need to buy tableware and cooking ware, so we might end up with a large amount of luggage.」

                To Lapis, who realized such, Lily smiled boldly.

                「Fufun, it's alright, since I'm carrying a magic bag.」

                「Mahjik Bag?」

                「Right. It's a useful item that if you put something into the entrance, it can store up to the ma.s.s of a whole house, but its weight won't change.」

                「Heh, that's amazing. Did Lily-san also make this?」

                「Well, yeah, though it'd be annoying if anyone else found out, so I act as though it's a normal bag.」

                「That's right, huh. Then, I don't have to worry about luggage.」

                「Incidentally, you don't have to worry about money either. If there are any things that you want, go ahead and buy them. Just, be sure to make me some tasty food.」

                「Even when you say such joke-like things, Lily-san should learn some restraint. Thanks.」

                Lapis thanked Lily and started shopping. Starting with the vegetables and working through the meat, fish, and fruits, Lapis bought everything she could gather, along with her tableware and cooking utensils.

                Then, Lapis entered a seasoning store and found 'that'.

                「! There's soy sauce and miso! Alright! With this, I can increase my repertoire!」

                「Soy sauce? Miso?」

                「You don't know, Lily-san? On an eastern island country, it's an extremely popular cooking ingredient?」

                「Heh… Ninchan, did you know that?」

                Lily tried asking the seasoning store's shopkeeper. By the way, she seems to be around 60 years old.

                「Don't use "chan" for the elderly, young la.s.s. Well, just as the girl here said, it came from an eastern island country, as a common seasoning. If it's used as is, it'll just have a minor taste.」

                「Fuun, then, it's not very tasty?」

                「Don't be stupid, these two are all-purpose seasonings. Meat, fish, vegetables, whatever it's used with, it'll taste delicious. Especially those with cooked rice, with the seasonings. The day you eat it, you won't be able to return to bread foods.」

                Here, Lapis returned from examining the other seasonings and joined the conversation.

                「Grilled onigiri! They're good with soy sauce or miso.」

                「Hm? You knew about that, young girl? You have good eyes, huh.」

                「Ehehe. I also know about pork miso soup and netsuke, and you can only add soy sauce to grilled eggs.」

                「Hoho, you really seem to like soy sauce and miso. I've taken a liking to you, so I'll give you a special service.」

                「Wha, really!? Thank you so much!」

                「Have you already bought rice? If you haven't, you can buy it here cheaply.」

                「Thanks for everything!」

                With Lapis's unexpected communication power, rice and seasonings were cheaply bought.

                Lapis was happily chuckling to herself, but Lily was slightly displeased. They put the bought items into their magic bag and quickly left the store. Lapis bowed to Nina and Lily hurried after her.

                The two of them went towards the rice store in silence. Timidly, Lapis addressed Lily.

                「Um, …Lily-san. Sorry. I, did I do too much?」

                「N-no, not really, it's not Lapis-chan's fault… I'm also sorry. I got the wrong impression.」

                「No, it's fine. …But, why'd you get mad?」

                Asking such, Lily made an unusual, troubled facial expression.

                「I got mad at, um… …Somehow, I hated it when Lapis-chan looked like she was having fun」

                「Eh!?」

                「Ah! That's wrong, that's not it! That was a mistake! U-m… seeing you have more fun talking than with me… somehow I didn't like it.」

                「…」

                「…sorry. I said a reason that I don't understand. Now, let's head to buy rice and quickly head home. You're making me delicious food, right?」

                Saying so, Lily quickened her pace.

                Lapis also sped up to catch up with Lily's back.

                Seeing such an envious Lily, Lapis felt happy and grinned, letting her face slacken since it couldn't be seen.

(TN note: This chapter had some confusing parts, so I'm not sure that this is completely accurate.)