ALL NOVEL 11: Move Forward, and Nothing Else
“By the way, I heard you can make udon, Rana.”
“I can.”
“Really!?”
“Yes. There was a girl at the church who loved udon. I helped her make it several times.”
“I want you to make it! Of course, I’ll gather all the ingredients.”
—
There was a time when she served udon at the place she was dispatched to, and they became hooked on it. She also served it regularly at the church.
At first, she made it by herself, but it was tough, so she accepted help.
Since then, the saints and priests took turns helping to make udon, so every child at the church could make the broth.
Udon was quite unknown in the Kingdom of Giranga and also in the Kingdom of Bistonia.
Although the questions were different, she mentioned udon several times when asked by the royalty. Each time, she explained what kind of food it was.
The male fox and raccoon beastmen were particularly interested in the toppings on udon. After the conversation, they both dashed out of the room together.
When she was shown into this room, she knew they were royalty, but didn’t have time to ask their names.
Since she started having normal conversations, she’s been trying to remember people’s names and faces gradually. She is trying to do this consciously, but there’s an inconvenient rule in Bistonia: ‘You must not tell the names of high-ranking people without permission.’
According to Prince Silva, they don’t intentionally hide their names; they just forget to introduce themselves. He said not to worry about it, but it feels strange not knowing their names despite meeting them many times.
Especially since they call her by name as usual. But asking their names from a lower status is considered rude. She has to wait for them to introduce themselves.
At this rate, she’ll probably learn their favorite foods before their names.
Well, when she first came to Bistonia, she didn’t think she’d have such concerns, so it’s definitely a good sign of progress.
But this isn’t her only worry. She has a more important concern.
“Is it not good?”
Lost in thought, she must have caused unnecessary worry. She quickly says, “No.”
“I’m sorry. I was thinking about something else.”
“Something else? What is it? Is there something you want? I’ll prepare anything.”
Prince Silva’s eyes sparkle as he leans forward and grabs both her hands. His face is so close that she can’t see his tail, but she hears something cutting through the air. His tail is wagging vigorously.
He tends to spoil her quickly.
Given the past treatment called ‘cold reception,’ once it was over, the physical contact increased significantly. But he is not special in this regard. To beastmen, humans are a weak race to be protected.
Regardless of how they got married, she wants to be treated equally now that they have opened up to each other. Is that too selfish of her?
However, it’s only been a year. Like her, he might still be unsure about the distance between them. Now that misunderstandings and caution have been cleared, she encourages herself to keep moving forward!
Maybe she should try to appeal with something other than food knowledge.
If she can shed the image of being a weak being that needs protection, he might trust her a little more.
Her specialty is predicting weather and related changes, but currently, the weather and temperature are stable, and there’s no strange behavior from magical beasts. Everything is peaceful. The only issue is that the air has started to dry early this year, so she should be thorough with moisturizing.
Other than that, my knowledge is mostly limited to the medicines taught to me by the Alchemical Saint.
However, I thought that bringing up such a topic suddenly might be awkward, and something else came to mind.
“About the Prince’s tail…”
“T-Tail!?”
As soon as I mentioned it, Prince Silva’s face turned bright red, and he trembled slightly. His ears pressed flat against his head.
Still unfamiliar with beastman customs, I often find myself saying strange things. Each time, I realize my mistake only after seeing his reaction.
The tricky part is that he doesn’t seem to dislike it.
This makes it even harder to judge whether it’s a good or bad thing. I want to correct my mistakes quickly and adapt to this place. I try to ask for feedback whenever possible…
“Did I say something strange?”
“No, it’s okay! It’s okay. It’s not strange for a married couple… please continue.”
“If it bothers you, please tell me. Um, are the items you use to take care of your tail the same as those for your hair?”
“? Yes, they are.”
“Could you show me what kind of items you use?”
“Sure. I’ll bring them now.”
Prince Silva stood up and went to his adjoining room to fetch the soap he used.
What I remembered earlier was a hair care spray I developed with the Alchemical Saint while I was in the Kingdom of Giranga.
After a bath, spraying it on lightly towel-dried hair and brushing it through helps to repair damage caused by dryness.
We got the idea from trying to find a use for the abundant wild grass growing next to the fields.
Using that wild grass as a base, we developed several hair care items that became very popular among the nobles in the Kingdom of Giranga. These items were so excellent that they became a crucial source of income for the church.
With this, I could protect his precious fur from drying out.
It’s a small step toward shedding the image of a weak being, and also a token of my gratitude to Silva for treating me like an ordinary lady.
With his permission, I took a bit of the soap from the bottle. I rubbed it between my fingertips, checking its texture and scent. While I could understand more by using it myself, it was enough to see if it was similar to what humans use.
If the shampoo he used was similar to what humans use, the spray should be fine as well. Since Prince Silva has a keen sense of smell, I should keep the fragrance subtle and ensure it doesn’t leave a medicinal odor.