Published: September 4, 2025
This is Satou speaking. Siblings who don’t resemble each other can be found anywhere, but even when raised in the same environment, differences arise. Perhaps the desire of a younger sister to surpass her elder sister, or the elder sister’s wish to protect her younger sibling, can become the catalyst for growth.
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The destination of the Seal Tribe was a small plaza where a volunteer-run food distribution was taking place.
That was fine, but—
“Line up properly! Cutting in line is a no-no!”
“Line up, everyone!”
“Hey, Tama-chan!”
For some reason, Pochi and the others were there, organizing the queue for the food distribution.
“The end of the line is over here! Hold your own bowl and line up in three rows.”
“If you’re going to fight, you’ll have to go back to the end of the line.”
It seemed like Arisa and Liza were in charge of the back of the line.
The Seal Tribe children lined up as Arisa guided them. She stopped Nana from joining at the back.
“Oh? Master, what was Nana’s errand?”
“She was helping those kids who were being harassed by some tiger tribe men.”
“I thought maybe the two of them were trying to sneak off somewhere together.”
If they really tried to sneak off, Mia would have found me from somewhere. Although I wasn’t told how, Mia’s ability to detect me was almost superhuman.
“So, how did you end up organizing the line?”
“It was similar to Master’s situation. Some men rudely cut into the line and caused a fuss. Pochi warned them, but they got angry, so Liza and the other two subdued them.”
I could easily picture that scene.
“Anyway, what about Lulu helping inside the booth?”
“Before Pochi could intervene, the serving lady tried to stop them but got hurt by the men.”
The injury was quickly healed with magic by Mia and Arisa, but because she was shocked by the violence, they sent her home. Since there was a shortage of help, Lulu volunteered to assist.
“I don’t want to give up halfway, so I want to help for about another hour, is that okay?”
“Of course.”
Interacting with locals is part of the joy of sightseeing.
I thought about helping with the cooking as well. I tried to bring Nana along, but she was too captivated by the Seal Tribe children, so I left her behind.
“Lulu, is there anything I can help with?”
“Oh, Master! Lady Sera, this is my Master, Satou Pendragon, Baron Pendragon.”
Yes, standing there was Sera, the shrine maiden of Tenion Temple who had been offered as a sacrifice to the Demon King. But going out for food distribution the day after being kidnapped by a suspicious group—doesn’t anyone worry?
No, I saw a few figures, likely agents of various dukes, lurking in the nearby crowd. Maybe they were acting as decoys against the Wings of Freedom.
Putting that aside, standing side by side with Lulu was a pleasant sight for the eyes. Honestly, what idol unit did they belong to?
“Nice to meet you, Baron Pendragon. I’m Sera, a shrine maiden of Tenion Temple—”
Sera seemed to be recovering well after her resurrection.
She greeted me reflexively after Lulu’s introduction but tilted her head in puzzlement.
“Um, haven’t we met somewhere before? Sorry, my memory is a bit hazy…”
Could it be she remembered being possessed by the Demon King? If you only heard her line, it sounded like a pickup line. I decided to stop overthinking it and just play it cool.
“No, this is our first meeting, Lady Sera.”
“Is that so…”
She kept tilting her head, but why was she staring at me? Looking at her reminded me oddly of Princess Menea. Their facial features and proportions were different, so why?
“Lady Sera, the distribution people are waiting.”
“Oh, I mustn’t keep them waiting.”
Not wanting to keep those waiting for food, I urged Sera to return to her serving duties.
The contents of the soup pot for distribution looked like a seaweed broth with small dumplings. Apparently, they were short on hands to make the dumplings.
“I’ll help.”
“No, it’s all right. It would be too much to ask a noble lord to help.”