Chapter 36 - She was a Very Homely Woman

On the eighth day of the Fire month, I woke up very early today, perhaps because I didn’t sleep well, and when I woke up, it was still dark outside the window, and when I looked at my pocket watch, it was still 4 AM.

Although it’s still early, I don’t feel like I’m sleep deprived because I went to bed earlier than when I was on Earth, where I would usually stay up late on my computer or watching TV.

I know that it’s a good thing to live a healthy lifestyle, but it’s about time I have something to entertain me for a bit. Next time I go into town, it might be a good idea to buy a book or something like that.

Thinking about this, I walked down the hallway towards the dining room to get something to drink.

The wide corridor gives me a sense of tranquility as the number of servants I currently see in the mansion is relatively low, partly because it was still early.

There are two types of servants working in Lilia-san’s mansion, those who commute from home and those who work as live-in workers, and the only ones I see at this time of day are the live-in workers.

Even though I’ve been in this world for more than a week now, I still don’t remember the names based on the face of the servants aside from Lunamaria-san, especially those who only patrol at nights or early in the morning…… They are the so-called thanes, and there are hardly anyone of them that I know.

Incidentally, although it was quite surprising, Lilia-san’s personal servant, Lunamaria-san seems to be commuting from her home rather than living in the house, and since she lives with her mother at her home not far from the mansion, I won’t be able to see her late at night or early in the morning.

However, even though I hardly interacted with a lot of people, there are still some that I recognize, and when I arrived at the dining room to get a drink, there were just one of the few people I had interacted with here.

[Good morning, Sieglinde-san.]

[…………….]

A red-haired woman tipped a cup of tea alone in the corner of the dining room. Spotting Sieglinde-san, who had escorted me and guided me around the town the day before yesterday, I greeted her.

Hearing me speak, Sieglinde-san, who can’t speak, puts down the cup in her hand and returns my greeting with a nod.

[By any chance, were you in charge of night security?]

[……………..]

[As I thought, good work.]

[……………..]

Sieglinde-san is a live-in worker, and seeing the sword that was propped up next to her seat, I asked her so, thinking that she was in charge of the midnight-to-dawn security, and Sieglinde-san nodded in affirmation.

The fact that she’s drinking tea now probably means that the time she’s in charge is over and she’s now taking a break before getting to bed.

After she bowed her head hearing my words of appreciation, Sieglinde-san looked at me and made a gesture of tilting her head.

[Ah, I woke up kind of early and thought I’d like something to drink.]

[………………]

[Eh? Thank you. Well then, I’ll presume upon your kindness and join you.]

[………………]

Sieglinde-san was close by when I told her why I was visiting the dining room so early in the morning…… Taking a new cup and a pot of tea from a trolley, though I don’t really know what it’s called in this world, but it’s similar to those service wagons used to serve in hotels on Earth, pulled up a nearby chair and suggested we sit down.

Figuring out Sieglinde-san’s intentions, I told her my thanks and sat down in my chair. Sieglinde-san then places a cup in front of me and expertly brewed a cup of tea.

[Thank you very much…… It’s very good.]

[…………………]

Saying my thanks to Sieglinde-san and drinking the tea she made for me, and the taste of the tea, which isn’t too hot and is brewed at a temperature that is easy to drink, warms my body as I wake up from sleepiness.

It tastes different from the tea that Lunamaria-san usually brews for me, as I could taste a slightly sweet flavor…… Though it isn’t like the sweetness of sugar, probably a fruit? It has a gentle sweetness that doesn’t spoil the flavor of the tea.

[Somehow, it has a slight, gentle sweetness to it.]

[…………….]

[Is that…… from dried fruit?]

[…………….]

When I told her how it tastes, Sieglinde-san smiles and shows me a small bottle with some kind of dried fruit in it.

Perhaps, this tea has that fruit in it and that’s where the subtle sweetness came from.

Sieglinde-san smiles again as I stare at the bottle with interest. She then takes out a small piece of paper from the pocket of her clothing and writes a few words in it.

“It contains dried ripple fruit.”

[Heehhh… So that’s why it’s sweet.]

If I remember correctly, the ripple fruit is a fruit that has a similar taste to the apple back on Earth. That is to say that this tea is like an apple tea.

But the exquisite taste of this tea and the temperature that is adjusted to make it easy to drink are due to Sieglinde-san’s excellent skills.

[I’ve learned something again. Sieglinde-san is very good at brewing tea huh.]

[…………………..]

When I told her my honest impressions, Sieglinde-san’s cheeks blushed a bit and she shook her head as if she was being bashful, but even I, a novice, can understand that this flavor isn’t something that can be produced with just a short amount of practice.

Looking at her slender, tall and well-defined face, I had imagined her to be something like a martial artist based from the story that she used to be a skilled knight, so I was surprised—- though it may be rude for me to say that, Sieglinde-san may be a family-oriented woman.

[Ah, speaking of which…… I got some tea leaves a while ago and they were so good, but do you know what kind of leaves these are from?]

[…….!?]

I suddenly remembered the tea that Shiro-san had given me before, and I felt that Sieglinde-san seemed to know a lot about tea, so I took the opportunity of asking her about it.

I asked because this tea tastes really good and if these was being sold somewhere, I’d love to buy some more but…… Seeing the bottle that I had taken out from my magic box, Sieglinde-san’s eyes widened, looking like she’s surprised for some reason.

Then, she reached out her hand to get a closer look, so I handed her the bottle of tea leaves, and she began looking at it from various angles. After looking at it for a while, she still had that surprised look on her face as she picked up her pen.

“I think this was called the Glorious Tea. Though it’s the first time I’ve seen the real thing myself……”

[……Is this a rare tea?]

“This is a tea that only exists in the God Realm, it was a phantom tea that was even called as God’s Miracle.”

[……Could it be something very expensive?]

“I doubt that it would be something that would appear in the market in the first place, but even if you were able to buy some, I’m sure that it won’t cost less than tens of thousands of R for a single cup.”

[……I- Is that so.]

Shiro-saaaaannnnnnn!? Why the heck did you give something this outrageous like you’re just casually giving me souvenirs!? What did she mean that it would cost tens of thousands of R for a single cup? A cup of tea that costs for millions of yen is already at a level of tea that I shouldn’t have known of……

Even Sieglinde-san looks like she had seen something unbelievable……

[It’s actually the tea that the goddess gave me. Though I didn’t expect that it would be that expensive……]

[……!?]

When I explain that the tea leaves were given to me by the Goddess, Sieglinde-san’s expression showed surprise again. As I thought, it really is very unusual to receive something from a Goddess.

I don’t know if Sieglinde-san was interested in the Glorious Tea or not, but after I finished explaining, she looked at the tea leaves with great interest before handing the bottle back to me.

[……Errr, Sieglinde-san. If you would like, do you want to drink some of this tea?]

[……!?!?]

I could sense that she really liked drinking tea and was very interested in it, so I suggested it, but Sieglinde-san panicked when I said so, shaking her head vigorously.

She’s still holding back probably because this tea is apparently very expensive…… But I wanted to thank her for the good tea and for the delicious jam cookies she told me about, so I’m going to change my way of suggestion for a bit.

[Errr, how about this then? This tea is so delicious that I want to drink it…… but to be honest, I have very little experience in brewing tea and I’m not sure I can brew it well. So, can I ask you to brew it for me, Sieglinde-san, and in return, Sieglinde-san can drink the tea with me?]

[…………….]

Hearing my suggestion, Sieglinde-san looks troubled for a while before staring at the bottle I held out to her.

Finally, it seems like her curiosity got the better of her, she bowed her head once with an apologetic expression on her face, took the bottle from me and started to brew tea.

As expected, she’s very good at brewing tea and seemed to be very adept at preparing it, and after a little while, a pleasant aroma wafted through the air.

After a while, the tea arrived and Sieglinde-san seemed to have prepared some sweets for us, as delicious-looking cookies were set out in front of us along with the tea.

Then, after receiving the bottle from Sieglinde-san, which had about a third of its contents reduced, we drank our tea.

As I thought, this tea is extraordinarily delicious. It’s understandable why it was called with an exaggerated name like “God’s Miracle”.

[Sieglinde-san, what do you think? What do you think after you drink it yourself?]

[……………..]

I asked her what she thought of the tea, but even if she didn’t say anything, the smile on her face was enough to convey the happiness from the bottom of her heart.

I mean, seeing the cool-looking Sieglinde-san with a happy smile that rarely appears on her face was enough to make me feel like it was worth it for me to suggest drinking the tea.

While thinking about this, I brought a cookie to my mouth…… This cookie is also very delicious.

It’s not something that screams being a high-class, and it rather has a homely taste. A simple taste that is gentle on the palate, and one that I personally like very much.

[These cookies are also very tasty and I feel some kind of warmth from them.]

[……………..]

When I told her what I thought of the cookies, Sieglinde-san looked a little embarrassed again, as she wrote on a small piece of paper with her pen.

“I made them as a hobby, but I’m glad they seemed to suit your palate.”

[Eh? Did Sieglinde-san make these cookies?]

[………………]

[……That’s amazing. Not only are you great in brewing tea, you could also skillfully cook.]

[………………]

To my surprise, these cookies were apparently made by Sieglinde-san.

The cookies are so beautifully baked that even if she said that they were bought from a store, I would have believed it, and that alone conveys Sieglinde-san’s cooking skills.

As usual, the person in question vigorously shook her head in embarrassment, to the point that I could hear the sound of air shaking along with her head……

[Sieglinde-san……]

“You can just call me Sieg. That’s also what my friends call me.”

[……Well then, once again, Sieg-san, is baking your hobby?]

[…………..]

[Heehhh… I actually tried baking a little bit in the past, but I couldn’t make it right at all. If you can give me some tips and tricks, could you please teach me?]

[…………..]

[What I tried making before? I tried making apple pie…… Errr, a fruit pie before, but it kinda looked flattened out here and there……]

[…………..]

[The baking method huh…… Fumu fumu, it’s hard for the batter to puff up once it’s cooled huh.]

[…………..]

Dear Mom, Dad—– I’ve gotten to know Sieg-san a little better. Despite Sieg-san’s cool appearance—– She was a very homely woman.

{Author’s Note}

Sieglinde is a homely elf…… In terms of position, she’s quite the common one, don’t you think?

Sieglinde’s nickname should have been Sieg if I followed what Author-san wrote, but Sieg is a male name and well…… Reading Sieg, it kinda reminds me of Cardboard-kun. Anyway, I searched google for the common nickname for people named Sieglinde and this is what appeared, so there you are. If you want me to change it to Sieg, just say so.

edit: Just stuck with Sieg.