Chapter 32

I've changed the names of the Three Idiots Trio.

As soon as Yuri finished eating lunch, she started to doze off, almost face-planting into the desk. When I couldn't bear to see her like that and picked her up, her hands, which were gripping my shirt, felt unusually warm, as if her body temperature had risen. When I patted her back, she immediately fell asleep.

"Eh, she's already asleep?"

"She must be tired."

Noticing Yuri sleeping soundly in my arms, Alph's eyes widened.

"Wow, her sleeping face is really cute."

"Oh, she's sleeping so well."

"She must have worked hard."

The Three Idiots—Sam, Burs, and Cain—looked at Yuri with faces so relaxed it was almost creepy. If Yuri were awake, they would probably want to isolate her by any means necessary. ...Cain, who seems to be slightly entranced by the cold stares, and Alph, who is completely taken aback, you should notice. The other two seem to be so focused on Yuri that they don't even notice.

Ordima, with a smile, refused to get involved and quickly distanced himself.

"Captain, everything is ready."

Ordima had secured a place for Yuri to sleep in the usual order processing area. With a blanket and a cushion prepared, I took her there.

"Before I lay her down, I'll clean her up a bit."

Because she had been touching the leeks all morning, the smell had seeped into Yuri's chef's coat and hands. I used magic to remove the smell, took off her apron and waist bag, and laid her down with the cushion as a pillow, covering her with the blanket. When I tried to fold the apron and put it in the waist bag, I found that the bag was filled with sweets. The culprit was probably Elies.

I gave up and placed the apron and waist bag on the order processing table.

After putting Yuri to bed, I switched with the four who were working and started preparing dinner. When the four returned after about a quarter of an hour, they joined the work.

"That little one slept well, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she must have been pretty tired this morning."

Nodding at Schnas' words, Ordima laughed.

"This morning, we almost peeled two cases of leeks."

"Huh? Two cases, seriously?"

"Yuri unexpectedly turned out to be a capable worker. Once she gets used to it, she'll probably speed up the peeling."

"Her work was pretty good, and she was also aware of the surroundings."

"Wow, we've got a remarkable new member."

As we started working, each of us moved our hands while our mouths didn't stop.

"To be honest, I thought it would take time for her to learn how to use a knife. But she's already good at judging the condition of the blade and handling the knife, even if it's just with leeks. The real test will be with the potatoes later. How well she can handle that will be the key."

"Depending on how well she improves at peeling, we might consider adding her to the prep work. But that will probably be a while from now."

"If that happens, we'll need a special platform for Yuri. Or, we could get a folding prep station made to her height?"

"Agreed."

While discussing Yuri's work with Schnas, Ordima made a suggestion. When both of us agreed, Alph, who was cutting vegetables, was taken aback.

"Alph, you need to put more effort into your work. Yuri is catching up fast."

"No way!"

"Unlike you, she can handle a knife from the start. That's a big difference."

"...Well, no matter how hard Yuri tries, she'll only be able to handle prep work. Alph needs to grow in other areas."

Schnas pressed further on Alph, who was panicking. When I told him the truth, Ordima chuckled and added a supportive comment.

But unlike usual, Alph's expression didn't look pitiful. Instead, it was determined.

"...Yuri is the first person I've ever had a lower position than me. In the village where I was born, there were no children born after me, and after I started working, I only had people above me. So, I won't let her catch up."

"Ho, Alph, you're showing some backbone."

"Try your best, big brother."

With a determined declaration from Alph, who usually works silently, Dio and Ladastor, who were working quietly, joined the conversation.

...Yuri might be having a positive influence on Alph more than I thought.

"Dilnan, are you here?!"

While preparing dinner and doing prep work, a loud voice suddenly echoed through the dining hall. The entire cooking team glared at the source of the voice, and the equipment team members in their work uniforms flinched.

"Yaeto, be quiet. If you wake up a sleeping child, what will you do?"

"Oops, sorry about that."

I glared even more at Yaeto, the leader of the equipment team, but he just laughed it off.

This man, with his blue work uniform and shiny bald head, boasts one of the best physiques in the Northern Demon Castle. He's overly bright and both his appearance and personality are unbearably hot. Pairing him with Jott would be the worst.

"I thought I'd get to see the rumored little one, but she's sleeping, huh?"

"You wouldn't find her cute even if she were smaller, so stop it. What's up?"

"I've come to deliver the furniture for the little one."

As promised, he arrived to deliver the furniture in the afternoon. Reluctantly, I left the others to continue and went to the hall to meet Yaeto.

"Take it to my room."

"Really?"

"The door is too high for Nob to reach, so he can't open it by himself. In the captain's room, I can 'approve' the door to open."

"Is she really that small?"

"We wouldn't have ordered custom furniture if she weren't."

Yaeto still didn't fully believe how small Yuri was. But I