TRM Vol. 2 Chapter 2 Part 5 (Patreon)

Chapter 2 Part 5

After a while, I returned to Lara and Marise...

"Sorry to keep you waiting!"

The delicious smell of the fish wafted over.

"Oh..."

I couldn't help but let out my voice.

Being in the middle of the forest, we couldn't do much when it came to cooking. However, Lara and Marise worked together to make the fish taste delicious.

While I had gone to pick wild vegetables, Lara and Marise had gathered dried wood and started a fire using magic. They processed the scales and organs of the fish, lightly seasoned them with salt, and grilled them.

It was a pleasant sight to behold, but what about the taste?

"Let me try it."

I put a piece of the fish Lara and Marise had grilled into my mouth.

"Mmm... It's delicious!"

I couldn't help but exclaim.

They had used salt and sauce in the carriage for seasoning, but the simple seasoning brought out the flavor of the fish. By the way, the wild vegetables I had brought back were also cooked by Lara and Marise. Thanks to that, the place became more colorful, and it felt like we were having a little course meal.

"Really? That's great!"

said Lara proudly.

"I couldn't do much of anything..."

said Marise, her shoulders slumped.

"Is cooking not your strong suit, Marise?"

"Yes... I've only been practicing magic since I was little, so I can only do the bare minimum in these kinds of things."

Marise's voice was quieter than usual, as if she felt embarrassed. However...

"Marise, who was helping Lara, seemed to have done a good job, too."

"Eh...?"

Marise widened her eyes in surprise.

"And it's not necessarily a bad thing that you were focused only on magic training and didn't pay attention to other things. Thanks to that, Marise stands out among her peers in the academy."

"I think there are still one or two people who stand out more than me… I still have a long way to go."

"What are you talking about?"

I placed my hand on Marise's head. She shivered slightly, but accepted my hand.

"Marise will continue to grow even more. So there's no need to belittle yourself just because you can't do other things."

In the first place, I was not good at other things because I had been obsessed with magic training a thousand years ago.

Most things can be solved with magic, but… it is impossible to meet and get along with important friends like Lara and Marise with magic alone. That's why in this era, I want to put more emphasis on things that I couldn't do a thousand years ago.

"T-Thank you so much!"

From her voice, it seemed that Marise had regained her energy.

Is this case closed now? However, the conversation did not end there.

"Kurt, Kurt! Praise me, too!"

Lara popped up quickly from the side.

"Marise-chan is cheating! I want to be patted, too!"

"O-Of course."

I removed my hand from Marise’s head and gently patted Lara on the head this time.

"Lara is also wonderful. You will make a good wife in the future."

"Wife, huh..."

Hm? Lara's expression became absent-minded. She seemed to be imagining something and started to grin.

"D-Do you want to marry a girl who can cook, Kurt!?"

Marise panicked and spoke next to me.

"Hm… I think it's not just girls who should be responsible for cooking, but I do want to eat delicious food every day. So if I have the opportunity in the future, a girl who is good at cooking might be nice, too."

What am I even saying? And the talk of getting married is still too early for us.

"F-For Kurt, I'll do my best to cook a lot! I can do it every day if it's for Kurt!"

Somehow, Lara made a fist and pumped herself up.

"Lara! That's not what we're talking about right now!"

"Eh? But Kurt said he wants a wife who can cook."

"If it's Kurt, a wife who is also a mage would be more suitable. Besides… cooking is something I can work hard at from now on...!"

It seems that the two are having a lively conversation. I am now outside of the circle of conversation.

"Hehehe. It's becoming quite enjoyable, isn't it?"

Diana said to me while biting into a fish and observing the scene.

"Actually, Kurt, which one do you prefer? Between Lara and Marise, who would you want to marry?"

"I couldn't possibly marry two beautiful girls like them. Besides, I'm just a student right now, so I can't even think about something like that."

"Well, it's just a hypothetical situation. If you had to choose, who would it be?"

Lara or Marise, huh…?

If I married Lara, I would probably have a bright and happy life every day. During the day, I would go to the dungeon, and she would wait for me at home when I returned.

‘Kurt, would you like dinner? Would you like a bath? Or would you like me?’

I could imagine Lara, wearing an apron, saying that, and my heart rate skyrocketed.

Of course, she is also a skilled mage. It would be fun to go on an adventure together occasionally.

Next is Marise.

Even if I married Marise... No, she would probably devote herself to practicing magic even more after getting married.

‘How can I use this magic efficiently? I am going to have you teach me all night tonight.’

Marise's shyly saying that is also hard to give up.

In that case, it isn't easy to choose between the two.

And so,

"I want to marry both of them. But of course, if they agree..."

I conveyed my honest feelings to Diana.

Then,

"O-Oh... You have a big heart. I didn't expect that answer from you."

said Diana in surprise.

Perhaps the two overheard our conversation.

"K-Kurt!? I just heard that you wanted to marry the both of us...?"

"What do you mean by 'both of us'? It sounds fun, but... Kurt, you're mine only──Wait, what are you trying to make me say!?"

Lara and Marise got their faces closer.

"No... It was just a hypothetical situation..."

"If I marry Kurt, I'll spoil you so much!"

"I think I'm a devoted person, even if I don't look like it, you know?"

Both of them were actively appealing to me.

With them being this close, the sweet and unique scent of the girls naturally entered my nose. Smelling this scent seems to rob me of normal thinking.

"Kurt, you're forgetting the third option. Even I would be fine as your wife."

""Headmistress!?""

In response to Diana's bombshell statement, Lara and Marise turned around in a panic.

"I won't lose to the both of you!"

"It's outrageous for a headmistress and a student to get married! I won't allow it!"

The conversation seems to have taken another confusing direction.

Just like that, lunchtime passed in a fluster.