108　Lively Morning

"...Hmmー..."

　Getting out of bed, I rubbed my eyes.

　It was still early morning. So, the outside remained dim.

　Last night I only ate a meal at night, I didn't drink anything since the next day I was to have a party, but maybe because I've been quite tired in these past few days, I got sleepy very fast and fell asleep. As a result, I woke up a few hours earlier than usual.

"...I should get up."

　Since I don't feel like staying in bed, I got up, left my room, and walked down to the living room.

　Right now, it's quite early so Yukari hasn't woken up yet. And obviously the same goes for most of the servants, they should still be asleep. Oh man, it's been a while since I got up this early.

　I washed my face, brushed my teeth, took a piss, and then drank a glass of water.

"You really feel it washing away everything."

　I unintentionally muttered 'So good'.

　The quietness of the morning is somehow comforting. Makes me feel incredibly refreshed. And I feel strangely excited.

"Alright."

　Let's go for a morning walk before breakfast.

　Without much thought behind it, I went outside.

　After a fifteen-minute walk around the mansion, I met a handsome man cleanly dressed in butler's clothes.

"Ohh, good morning, Second-sama. Are you going for a stroll this early in the morning?"

"Morning, Cubero. Yeah, I plan to go have something for breakfast. Wanna come?"

"Yes, if you don't mind it being me, by all means."

　The number of breakfast buddies has increased. Cubero my butler-slash-attendant.

"You sure are up early."

"I made a routine of exercising my body while making my morning rounds."

"Are you done patrolling?"

"In my case, it's more of a hobby. It's a duty essentially belonging to the gardener."

"Is that so?"

　He's quite serious in some weird aspects.

"Oh."

　As we stepped outside the gate, I met an unexpected face.

"My oh my, isn't it the Triple Crown? I didn't think I'd meet you again so soon."

"Jerez? Morning. Out for a jog?"

"I was out for a run while enjoying the scenery, and before I noticed I found myself in this Firstest mansion area."

"I see. Then, wanna go grab something for breakfast?"

"That's a nice offer."

　One more companion, get.

　This time it was Chérie's big brother, the handsome blonde swordsman Jerez Lumberjack.

"Are you alone today?"

"My maid isn't with me all the time, you know. Also, there are times I like to be by myself."

"I guess we'll leave you on a separate table then."

"Oh, please stop! That'll only make me look like a pitiful loner."

"Just kidding."

　The three of us walked side by side in the middle of the street while chatting. It appears the early morning in the royal capital isn't as populated as I expected.

"Ah!"

"Ah."

　After walking for a while, I almost bumped into someone from the side.

"Second-san! Ehh, even Jerez-san!? What are you two doing here this early in the morning?"

　It was the dog beastman with a calming atmosphere, Capito.

"Well, we were planning on going to grab something for breakfast. How about you?"

"Ohh, I was about to do the same!"

"Then, wanna go together?"

"Are you sure!? I'll totally go!"

　We got one more to our ranks.

"Jerez-san and Cubero-san, right? My name is Capito, it is my pleasure to meet you."

"Ahh, the Earth Dragon guy. Nice to meet you. Hahaha, you don't have to be so formal, relax."

"Yes, it's as he says. I'm just Second-sama's servant, you don't have to be so humble with me."

"No, no, no. There's no way I wouldn't be nervous! You're the runner-up for the Issenza title, Jerez-san, and that's not even taking into account you being the son of Count Lumberjack! Cubero-san too! What do you mean just a servant!? Aren't you the rumored one at top of the fierce hundred servants!?"

"I see you're quite hyped up even this early on..."

　While the three of us tried to calm down the excited Capito, we continued walking down the royal capital streets.

"...Huh?"

　Not long after, a few meters away, I spotted a man with a familiar and somewhat elegant appearance.

"Say, isn't that the Kongou titleholder?"

"...You're right. I remember him since he's the one who defeated Eko-sama in the finals."

"How about we call out to him, Triple Crown?"

"Ehh? Really? Are you going to talk to him?"

"Yeah, might as well. I've been wanting to speak with that guy."

　I approached Rokunchea Kongou, who was standing in front of a store that was not open yet, and called out to him as calmly as possible.

"Hey, do you have a moment?"

"Whoa."

　...And, I surprised him apparently.

　Rokunchea blinked a few times in surprise as he looked at us, then spoke.

"Excuse me, Second Triple Crown. I was just surprised by the incredible member lineup in your group."

　Fair enough, we're all over the place, to be honest. We're quite the unique combination if you think about it.

"What were you doing?"

"Nothing much, it's a bit embarrassing to say...But I was thinking about having breakfast here."

"Here?"

　I looked up, towards the store sign in front of him.

　It was a small wooden sign with a touch of elegance in it. There, in reddish-brown letters, 『Karai』. So, it was a curry restaurant, pretty easy to understand.

"Is it good?"

"Yeah, as far as I've heard at least."

"Can we all eat together with you?"

"But of course! I'm the only one in line at the moment, so please get behind me. The store will open in about thirty minutes."

　A new face was added to our breakfast crew. Now we were a total of 5. Sadly, all men."

"That was a great match against Eko. You using your trump card there was the right choice."

"I'm honored by your words. But it's not that I wanted, I was forced to use it there. Well, even as I remember it now, Eko-san was surely strong..."

"You better be ready for the next season."

"How scary. Still, I'm looking forward to it. Will I have to prepare a secret plan again?"

"You might. It's hard having a position to defend, huh?"

"Ahahahaha! Looks like I'll be the only one having a hard time defending."

　Was that obvious? I'm aware of how painful it was for me to defend my titles in my previous life, but I don't think I'll be that difficult in this world.

"Will you come to the party celebrating my triple crown tonight?"

"Yeah, I'd love to."

"I see, I'm glad. I think Eko will want to talk to you."

　Rokunchea nodded with a smile on his face.

　Immediately after, he suddenly turned his gaze towards a spot behind me. And, wondering what was he looking at, I then turned around.

"Geh."

　And what greeted me was a face that screamed 'shit, he saw me' after our eyes met.

　There it was, a handsome elven man with light-blue hair, walking on the other side of the street.

"Get him!"

　I shouted reflexively.

　The only ones to move were Cubero and me.

　As if he was a scared rabbit, the elf man ran away, with me and my talented buttled chasing after him.

　There was no way for someone with the Agi of a pure mage to escape. So, with a tight headlock, he was dragged back to the curry shop.

"What do you plan to do with me!? I'm the only son of the Weissroy household!"

　He's yelling something, but it's not like it matters.

"Do you want to have breakfast with us?"

"...Excuse me!?"

"You're not busy, are you?"

"No, I'm–"

"You're not busy, are you?"

"...Sure."

　I thought that to be the case. I don't know if this has something to do with the Weissroy family or not, but it's weird for him to be walking without an attendant.

"Oh, isn't it that Nil Weissroy-san? The one and only who unilaterally pressured the Promenade family and decided on a forced marriage only to eventually lose to Alpha-san?!"

"Bastard! Say that again!"

"Ek! Second-san, help!"

　Pito-kun, you can't be that cruel...even if it's the truth.

"Hey, don't say that. I'm sure he's reflected on it. And I think he deserves some credit for fighting to get the girl, even if he did it in a very dirty way."

"Still, Triple Crown. I want to give him some credit in terms of women preferences. After all, big breasts are the best."

"If it's like that, then I also agree with you."

　I nod to Jerez's comment. And looking closely, I could see Rokunchea also nodding to himself.

"Don't be so depressed, Nil. Every man experiences failures. It's not what you do when you fail that's important, it's what you do after you fail that matters."

"Don't be so casual to me, I'm 128 and you're only 17 years old! And I'm not a man, I'm an elf!"

"Yeah, yeah."

"Hmph...I also didn't care for that woman at all. I just fought according to the intentions of both families. Furthermore, if she hadn't used those cowardly tactics, I wouldn't have lost to her."

"...Whoa."

　Looks like this guy hasn't learned his lesson, maybe...?

"But still, Nil-san. I think Second Triple Crown's words have some wisdom. You don't have to be depressed because you lost the match and didn't get the girl you liked. You need a broader perspective. There are tons of fun things to do in life."

"...Haaa. You can only say that because you're the Kongou. Nobody knows the feelings of those who lack, my feelings..."

"Oh my god, there it is! The 'nobody understands how I feel' defense, and to think you can say that with a straight face!"

"What's wrong with it?!"

"It's impossible to completely understand the feelings of others in the first place. And it's a mistake to think that you can even understand someone without making the effort to convey your own feelings to them. Stop being self-indulgent.

"...Ugh."

"Whoa, that sure was like a punch in the face..."

　Capito somehow relieved the tension with his out-of-the-blue comment. He's really caring.

"I'll tell you about it since it appears you don't seem to be aware of it yet. You lost because of your cowardly behavior. In addition, you just embarrassed yourself by showing your stupidity. Don't make excuses. Take it like a man. Then eat breakfast, start a new day, and go to my Triple Crown celebration party tonight. That's all I wanted to say."

"That last part was your real intention, wasn't it?"

"I guess so."

　Thanks to Capito-kun, who read the room quite well, I didn't have to worry about saying anything out of place.

　Afterward, we waited for the store to open, while teasing Nil here and there, who kept muttering stuff like "Why do I, the Weissroy family only son, have to eat at such a cheat store?".

　Then, ten minutes later, the store opened.

　Just as the waiter girl was in the middle of her greeting, she made a strange sound while stiffening when she saw our group, causing all of us to laugh.

"Oh, it's tasty."

　When the curry came, I took a bite. It was so good I couldn't help but to speak out.

"You are correct. Let's bring our chef next time so he can learn to make this."

　Awesome! Although, unfortunately, I don't think it will be that easy to steal this flavor.

"This is quite something. It seems like it was worth it standing in line all morning."

"I bet. It's super tasty."

"I'm glad to hear this suits your palate. I'll have to thank Kasakari-san for telling me about this place."

　Everyone else seemed to like it too.

　I see, so it was from Kasakari that he learned about this store. It's a little awkward because I'm still a bit upset with that guy, but I guess it's better to say at least a thank you next time I see him.

"...!"

　Same with Nil, after taking a bite it seems he really liked it since he continued eating quietly.

　Actually, he appears to be the one who loved it the most, seeing how he kept shoving food into his mouth.

　After that, we ate the type of curry we fancied. You could order different toppings, or change the taste with a wide variety of spices, pickled vegetables, grated cheese, or spicy sauce.

　I've got to say I've already tried everything that was on the table before. And the one I liked the most was the spicy curry with a bit of everything, it was delicious.

　Cubero ate it without adding anything to it, saying "It's best as it is". Jerez added some cheese to it to mellow it down. Capito-kun imitated me, putting a bit of everything, but it seemed to be a bit spicy for him and his expression totally gave that away. Rokunchea ate two bowls, trying out various things. Nil only had one bowl, but he was the first to finish it, and then he only stared enviously at other people's plates. It's amazing how can one meal bring out people's personalities so well.

"E-Excuse me, could I get an autograph...!?"

　As I finished my meal and was drinking a cup of sweet milk tea, the waitress girl from earlier came over to me, colored paper in hand.

"Hmmー"

　I didn't think anything about it in particular, and just signed it smoothly with a calm expression. Still, not forgetting to smile while handing it over.

"Ok, here you go".

"T-Thank you very much! I-I'll be cheering on you!"

　Blushing red, she turned around and went to the back of the store.

"Uhmm, can I get one too!?"  "Second Triple Crown!"  "Me too!"  "Me next, please!"

　Immediately after, as if a dam breaking, a wave of customers came rushing in.

　My god...Looking around, I could see the line outside the store was outrageous. I think someone spread the word that we were here.

"Hey, Triple Crown. That doesn't look good, does it?"

　Yeah, not good.

　For now, I'll just deal with the people inside the store while thinking about what to do next.

　And soon enough, the answer came.

　Alright...Let's sneak out.

"Sorry guys. See you at the party tonight."

"Eh?"

　After placing the money to pay for everyone's meal at the table, I quickly summoned Anko with "Monster Summoning"and immediately ordered her to use "Darkness Transfer" and "Darkness Summon".

"Hey, wai――"

　Ignoring everyone who was about to say something, I just said "Laters!" and with a whoosh, I was transferred to the living room.

　Oh man, I can't stop thinking about their shocked faces...

"Oh my, Master. Did you go out?"

　As soon as I got home, I ran into Yukari, who was doing her morning cleaning.

"Ah, yeah. I went to have breakfast."

"...Alone?"

"No, with Cubero."

"..."

　Yukari's expression froze instantly. Seriously, don't tell me you're jealous of a man...

　In cases like this, Silvia would get angry with me, but Yukari, on the other hand, gets angry with the other person. That's why I tried my best to follow up, for Cubero's sake.

"P-Please give him a break. I bet he's having a terrible time right now."

　It was quite a lively morning.

　　＊　＊　＊

"...And he's gone. That master of yours."

"Indeed. He's gone."

　Among the four stunned men, only the butler remained calm.

"Happens all the time."

"Amazing...To think he still had this kind of ace up his sleeve..."

　Cubero said so with a proud look on his face as if he was talking about himself.

　To which, Capito answered with surprise, his eyes shining.

"W-wait a moment. At this rate, we will――"

　At the moment Jerez was about to express his concerns, customers rushed into the store, joining the ones who had finished eating.

　And not a moment later, seeing that Second was no longer there, they rushed to Jerez's table with colored papers and a face of compromise that expressed "Well, at least this".

"Hahaha, should we go outside?"

　Rokunchea suggested with a troubled laugh, in order to not bother the store.

　As soon as the five people went outside, they were surrounded by many more people than before, making it difficult to escape.

"Whoaa, to think the day would come when I'm asked for my autograph...!"

"Damn...Why do I have to endure this..."

"No, I'm just a butler for the Firstest house...why...?"

　Dozens of fans were asking for the autograph from not only Jerez and Rokunchea, but also from Capito, Nil, and for some reason, Cubero.

　It was only after an hour that they were finally released.