Chapter 46

In front of me, I couldn't get an answer about who the old man was, and I was drenched in cold sweat inside while Elies smiled her all-black smile. Mars was silent.

Since he was in the field, he must be from the agricultural team. It seems the brown work clothes indicated he was from the agricultural team.

As I kept looking at the old man, his eyes turned to me.

"Are you the kid who's temporarily joining the team? I've got some delicious toots for you to eat."

While saying this, the old man held out a large, ripe red tomato in front of my eyes. My eyes were involuntarily drawn to this favorite treat.

"Yuri, you shouldn't take things from strangers," Elies said.

"Au..."

Elies took the toot (tomato) from the old man and held it high.

To have it taken away right in front of me like this, how cruel!

"Elies, you're being too strict. She's almost crying. Why don't you let her have it?"

As I was involuntarily following the toot with my eyes, the old man took it back from Elies and placed it directly in my hand.

What a nice old man! I won't let go of this toot!!

"Good, good, poor thing.

I'm Jean, the captain of the agricultural team. Now you know who I am."

"Jean-taicho? I'm Yuri."

"Here, eat it. The toots from the agricultural team are delicious."

With a smile, the old man—Jean—encouraged me to eat. Yielding to his words, I sniffled and wiped the toot on the hem of my uniform before taking a bite.

Jean, the captain of the agricultural team. No wonder he's close to Elies.

I pretended not to hear Elies sighing, "I really wanted to wash and cut it properly before letting her eat it while sitting down."

After all, the toot was so sweet.

Despite its size and quality, it rivaled fruits in sweetness, comparable to a fruit tomato.

"Wow, your eyes are sparkling even though they're teary."

"It's delicious."

"Right, right. We put a lot of effort into growing them."

Laughing heartily, Jean ruffled my hair roughly. He's such a nice old man.

...I'm sorry for thinking the agricultural team was a weird squad that made pepper bombs.

"Here, you guys should have some too."

While I was munching, Jean harvested more toots and threw them to Elies and Mars.

Elies caught it without crushing it and sighed again, while Mars bit into it calmly.

After one bite, both of their expressions showed a hint of surprise.

"...Jean, these are..."

"It's fine. This year's harvest is unusually good, and we can't keep up with the consumption. Rather than let them go to waste, we might as well let you eat them. I've already talked to Rois and Dillan, and they're arranging to send some to the cafeteria."

"Is the harvest really that good?"

"Yeah. Especially in the past two or three days, the fields have been filled with joyful cries. That's why this is a special distribution."

Jean and Elies were talking about the field's harvest.

A bountiful harvest is wonderful. Moreover, if these toots can be served in the cafeteria, that would be a real treat.

Just slice the toot and pair it with flavorful mozzarella cheese, add some fresh, fragrant basil leaves, and a little rock salt and extra virgin olive oil. That's all you need for a perfect Caprese. I love Caprese.

However, if any of the other ingredients don't match the toot's strength, the balance will be off, and the flavor will drop. The toot is that powerful.

Viva! The bounty of nature.

"Besides, if you enjoy them this much, the toots would be happy too.

...But you guys, you should savor them more, especially since you're learning from a kid!"

I realized Jean's shout because Elies and Mars had already finished eating. So fast!

Panicking, I tried to eat quickly, but Elies and Jean's gazes turned to me.

"You don't need to rush, Yuri."

"Right. You shouldn't grow up to be like this. Chew properly and savor the taste."

"Who are you to say that? You should savor the food from the cooking team more."

"You should show a little more respect to your elders."

"What part of you deserves respect? Those who truly deserve respect don't need to say it, Jean."

For some reason, an argument broke out between the frowning Jean and the ever-smiling Elies above my head.

How did it come to this? Is it my fault??

"You can ignore those two. Just eat at your own pace."

As I was sweating coldly, Mars pulled me away from the two and closer to himself.

If I had continued to watch their argument, I wouldn't have finished eating. I'll follow Mars's advice and not worry about it.

I took a bite of the thick, juicy flesh in my hand.

As expected, this toot is delicious!

After finishing the toot by Mars's side, the argument between Elies and Jean came to an end. ...Or rather, they both burst out laughing when they saw me.

"Kid, how did you get so dirty in such a spot?"

Jean squatted down and wiped my left cheek with the towel around his neck. He also wiped around my mouth and hands.

"Thank you."

Wow, how did it get so dirty? It's embarrassing to be so engrossed that I didn't notice.

"...You're so cute."

"Huh?"

"Old man, I think I understand why Elies has become motherly."

"...Elies-taicho isn't a mother. He's a cool big brother."

Jean, looking pensive. I don't understand what's cute about getting dirty, but I have to correct his statement!

I'm scared of what might come next, so I'll correct Jean's words immediately.

"Ho? From your perspective, Elies is a reliable big brother?"

"Elies-taicho is a brave big brother. Dillan-taicho is the mother."

Jean, who seemed very interested in my opinion, nodded vigorously.

Looking back at Elies's actions, if you remove his graceful appearance, gentle smile, and polite speech, what do you get?

He freed the gatekeeper knight that Dillan had grabbed by punching Dillan first, and he seems to have done other things that he smiles and glosses over (I wonder what happened to that knight afterward?).

Today, he's already threatened the team members with a smile and pushed work on them before going for a walk.

From this limited information, the answer is clear: a quick, rather mischievous, and somewhat sadistic big brother.

Conversely, Dillan, who looks like a handsome man, is more overprotective and motherly than Elies, and is even more reserved.

"Don't be fooled by his good looks."

As I declared this firmly, Jean's mouth dropped open. Elies, who was a bit further back, blinked in surprise.

"...Huh?"

Seeing their reactions, I burst out laughing after a few seconds.

Caught off guard, I turned around to see Mars covering his mouth with his left hand and trying to hold back his laughter, but his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably.

"Mars-fukutaicho, you can't hold it in!"

As I pointed this out, Mars suddenly burst into a loud laugh, clutching his stomach. He even started coughing from laughing too much.

...He seems to be stuck in a laughing fit.

"Fukutaicho, you're a laugh fiend."

As I muttered this, Jean burst into laughter.

Even Elies was laughing out loud, a natural smile on his face, not his usual forced one.

I'm not sure why they're laughing, but since they all seem to be having fun, it's okay.

"Ha... It's been a while since I laughed so much."

Among the three who had calmed down after laughing, Jean spoke first.

"Kid, no, Yuri. I like you!"

"I like you too, Jean-taicho."

I smiled back at the laughing Jean.

It's nice to be liked. Plus, the toots were delicious!

People who give you delicious things are usually not bad!

"This is quite an interesting one. Elies, what will you have her do?"

"She's already done it, Jean.

She aced the usual enlistment test, finishing a quarter of the time early. Her calculation skills far surpass those of the average team member."

"Ahahaha! ...This is going to be a wild ride. It's been a while since I've had this much fun."

As I listened to the conversation between Jean and Elies above my head, my hair was roughly ruffled by Jean.

...Jean seems to be a nice old man on the surface but is actually quite combative. His eyes are glowing like a predator's. What is he thinking as he strokes his chin?

"Before coming here, I met Rois on the second floor. She hasn't met Rois's standards at all."

"Ah, that's typical. ...Yuri, what did you think of Rois?"

Suddenly, he turned to me. Moreover, about Rois, whom I had only met briefly.

"Rois-taicho?"

"Yeah."

"Well, he's scary, and he's definitely a demon king supporter!"

"Supporter" is what I meant to say.

At first glance, he seemed very kind and gentle, but my intuition said otherwise. If Rois really had the same aura as Elies and Vincent, wouldn't he be the true most dangerous captain?

If he were to become an enemy, I don't think I'd come out unscathed.

Moreover, he's a super competent butler, so he must be a master supremacist, right?

I actually hope he is! For the sake of my fangirling!!

Furthermore, a super handsome demon king would likely have a super strong guard captain (preferably well-built and a different type of handsome) by his side.

Imagining the solid master-servant relationship and all that, I get so excited that my nostrils flare. Mufufu.

"Yuri"

"Such a little one."

As I was daydreaming about such inappropriate things, both of their gazes turned to me with a look of disappointment, as if they could read my thoughts.

Actually, I noticed that Mars, who was behind me, was also giving me the same look.

So what? I wanted to go to a butler café.

I got to see a real, handsome butler! If I could get some delicious tea from him, it would be perfect.

To make them accept me as I am, I put on a confident face and puffed out my chest.

This is who I am.