Chapter 104: The Melancholy of a Certain Kanban Girl* (1)

Mina’s perspective.

「Ah…」

My name was Mina Ellane and I let out a big sigh.

I was girl who ran a small restaurant in the town of Mir.

The reason I was sighing was because of an incident that happened the other day.

The incident involved my benefactor, Kyou-san, who tried to awaken the World Tree, which seemed to be a complicated story. However, I ended up having a terrible attitude towards him.

Well, to be more precise, I was the one who lost the memory…even though I remembered who I was.

Anyway, the important point was that I behaved badly towards Kyou-san.

Afterwards, Kyou-san explained and apologized to me about what had happened. I didn’t seem to mind, but I couldn’t accept his feelings.

Maybe that’s why I had been acting awkward towards Kyou-san lately.

「Ah…what should I do? 」

It was not my fault, but I still felt bad about it. I was still running the restaurant with a clumsy attitude, hoping that there would be an opportunity for us to reconcile, then I thought I saw him somewhere. On this moment, two men entered the store.

「It’s been a while, Mina-san, the cafeteria girl. 」

「…? Who are you? 」

When I looked at them, they looked like they were brothers, wearing the sturdy clothes of royalty and nobility, but I still remembered seeing them somewhere.

However, I had a vague memory of where we met.

「Ah, we met once before, but it was only for a moment. Since you haven’t given your name yet, let me introduce myself again. My name is Rostam…Ouch!」

I remembered.

This person.

Kyou-san and I got into an awkward atmosphere because of this guy called the Emperor Hero.

So I hit him as hard as I could with my frying pan.

「That…That’s such a sudden greeting…Well, I did something that deserved it. If it makes you feel better, you can hit me as much as you want…Ouch!」

So I took his word for it and punched him in the face one more time.

Anyway, after I hit him a few times with my frying pan, I calmed down and decided to ask him again what he was here for.

「I came here because I’m trying to express my regret for the atmosphere that I’ve created between you and Kyou-kun.」

Huh?

What did that even mean?

While I had a question mark in my head, the man who called himself the Emperor said the following unexpected words.

「In short, I’m saying that I would like to welcome you to the party that will be held in our country.」

「Huh? 」

I couldn’t help but make a stupid sound.

But that was a bit unexpecting. Why did he suddenly invite me to the party?

As I thought so, the other person explained it to me.

「Well, it’s called an apology party to apologize to Kyou-kun. Of course, we’ve invited him as the main guest. At the party, we’re planning to give him a lot of relaxation. By the way, you’ll be wearing a dress. How about wearing it and escorting him to the party?」

I couldn’t help but imagine that scene.

The Emperor explained that he had prepared a meal for just the two of us, a meal slowly cooked while looking at each other on the balcony.

A conversation between a man and a woman in a romantic atmosphere.

I could feel my face turning red as I imagined that scene.

「We will prepare all your dress and other decorations. Of course, all lodging and participation will be provided free of charge. You and Kyou-kun should rest in our castle for a while. I would like to express my gratitude to you. I would be happy if I could make amends.」

Oh, I see. It was not bad…

Up until now, my life had had nothing to do with dresses or parties, so I was a little shaken by this unexpected invitation, but I had a complicated feeling in my heart that I had no choice but to accept a nice scene with Kyou-san. Even though I had bitter feelings for the Emperor, I decided to take his hand when he reached out to me.

「…Miss Mina…I want to tell you something…It was I, not my brother Rostam, who brainwashed you…My brother was only in charge of the plan, and he did not actually carry it out. I was the one who did it…so if you’re going to hold a grudge against him, please hold a grudge against me and not my brother…」

The person who said this and apologized was a man in black who had come here with the Emperor before.

Ah, I felt uncomfortable after this person touched my shoulder.

I said, “Alright” and hit the Emperor’s brother two or three times with the frying pan.

—

Lily’s perspective.

「Pa…party…you say…」

I was listening to that conversation while hiding behind the building, and I couldn’t help but see a scene that made my face twitch.

No, no, if I thought about it, Mina was indeed the victim in this case, so it would be fine for her to have such a delicious role, but still, a romantic dinner for just the two of them!

There should also be dances and escorts at parties!

The two of them could get into a good mood and suddenly approach each other while looking at the starry sky by the window. Amines said that they could bump into each other’s shoulders, while their faces approached each other, and their lips touched…

「Ahhh…!!!」

I couldn’t help but scream as I imagined that much.

Oh, that was strange.

It was true that I was concerned about the relationship between those two, but…there was no need to be so upset, right…?

Oh, this was strange, wasn’t it?

Hey, it seemed like I was jealous of their relationship…?

While I was holding my head in my hands and groaning, I heard a voice from behind me.

「Fufufufufu, it looks like you’re in trouble, Lily. 」

「What do you want, Amines? 」

I knew the owner of the voice without even turning around.

Actually, what were you here for?

She was too free for someone who ruled a country.

「No, actually, I was also invited to the party by Rostam. 」

「Huh? 」

Then why didn’t he talk to me, that guy?

「Maybe, but isn’t that because this party is hosted by Kyou and Mina? 」

Did that mean I was a nuisance?

Okay, I shall kill him later.

「Hey, don’t look scary, Lily. That’s why I asked you to accompany me to the party. 」

「Eh! Really?! Is it okay?! 」

「Of course. After all, I get to dress my cute Lily in a cute dress and escort you, so I can’t miss a chance like this!」

Amines said as she slowly wiped away the drool.

Ah, that’s right.

This was what this person was like.

「Well, that’s about 60% of my true feelings, but 40% of it is to support you. I like you and Kyou, so I’ll be supporting your relationship.」

Amines said as she hugged me.

Well, that was not the kind of relationship I had with him…!

Even though I denied it in my heart, I couldn’t bring myself to say it out loud, and for some reason, the moment I thought about it, I could feel my face turning red.

—

「Oh, when I look at it again, it’s an incredibly luxurious castle. 」

As I muttered, the Imperial Castle of the Albrus Empire spread out in front of me.

The other day, Rostam visited me and asked me to come to a party in the empire tonight. I came here just for the free food, but the festivities in the city and the decorations on the castle were beyond words. Judging from the decorations, it seemed like a more energetic party than I expected, so I had high hopes for this.

While thinking about this, the door of the castle opened and a beautiful woman I didn’t recognize appeared from there.

She was a woman who could be called an Arabian beauty with dark skin and long black hair.

She was tall, with large breasts, a small waist, and firm buttocks, making her a pretty good-looking person.

The dress she was wearing was also gorgeous, matching the person in question. I couldn’t help but admire the figure. Then, she approached me for some reason, and she smiled as if welcoming me.

「You’re finally here, Kyou. I’ve been waiting for you. 」

Ah, how did she know my name?

Or rather, did we know each other?

As I was startled by the unexpected call from the beautiful woman, the beautiful woman started laughing and said her name.

「Hahahaha, what are you talking about? We know each other, right? Can’t you recognize me with this figure? Well then, let me introduce myself again. My name is Rostam, the Emperor Hero.」

Oh, was she Rostam?

I see, the overall atmosphere was certainly similar…

「No wayyyyyyyyyyy!!! 」

Why did he become a woman!? It was too much.

In response, I saw the beautiful woman in front of me, Rostam, and before I knew it, his (?) older brother, Zahak, who was standing next to her, was sighing.

「What, have you already forgotten? I am the SS-rank Behemoth, and this appearance is due to my ability to transform into a human being. I can change my gender. Well, I’m the only one who can change my gender like this. My level allows that change. No other SS-rank would be able to do it, so don’t worry.」

Still, even though I was told not to worry.

Hmm, now that I thought about it, I wondered what exactly this SS-rank human transformation ability was.

Could he change into the appearance of his favorite person?

「That’s impossible. Once you create an image within yourself, you can’t change anything other than that image. Therefore, in my case, this Rostam’s appearance is the standard. What Rostam would look like if he were a woman. That’s why it looks like this.」

I see.

In other words, both Mother and Lily had a fixed appearance.

「Well, even if it’s impossible to change into a different form, it would be possible to change the age based on that person. However, I don’t think there’s any use for going out of your way to do that, other than adjusting the changes that happened.」

Ah, I see.

I had also gained more knowledge that I didn’t need in this world.

「Well, anyway, I’m not the main character this time. This is just a showoff to see your reaction.」

I guessed he enjoyed watching my reaction.

Then, a girl appeared from the back, ignoring this conversation.

Wearing a pure white costume, the person, Mina-chan, was dressed up beautifully, like a young lady. She was slightly shy, but her usual calm demeanor turned into a neat flower when she wore a dress. The look on my face made her face turn red.

「You know this person. She is Miss Mina from your town. She was invited as one of the guests of honor tonight. If you don’t mind, I would like you to attend the party with her.」

I only heard about half of what the Emperor said, as my eyes were still fixed on Mina-chan in the beautiful dress.

No, I had always thought she was cute, and her personality and qualities were made of jewels, but she was actually this beautiful, so I just stared at her like this for a while longer. As I was thinking about this, Dora-chan, who was sitting on my shoulder, pinched my cheek.

「What…what are you doing, Dora-chan? 」

「Her dress is nothing special. 」

Dora-chan was sulking as she said that, but in reality, she was also secretly making a dress for today’s party.

One of the monsters was an insect called Kaikoromochi that spat out thread, and Dora-chan also wore a pure white dress made from the thread that the insect spat out.

This was also quite cute, and when I first saw it, I couldn’t help but compliment it.

By the way, Dora-chan seemed very happy.

Anyway, I had to tell Mina-chan too.

「Hmm, Mina-chan. That dress looks great on you.」

I could see Mina-chan’s face turning red at my words, but I heard her mutter, “Ah, thank you”, while looking down happily.

「Well then, tonight’s party is at my castle. Please enjoy it to your heart’s content.」

Rostam said that as “she” escorted the two of us, but maybe it was just my imagination, but for a moment “she” looked at us as if “she” was expecting something really interesting from this.

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* Kanban Musume – a pretty girl who attracts customers to come inside a shop.