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ＳＳ The Worried Bartolo
(Bartolo POV)
My name is Bartolo. A chef of the Slowlett house. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
My job is to cook meals for Nord and Elna, and also for the kids Alfried and the others, the maids’s meal, anyway, it’s to cook.
Day after day, I’ve been making meals for the kids, but lately, something has been bothering me.
It happened after the arrival of Viscount Dole, that is, Mina’s demand for snacks had honestly decreased.
Up until now, she’s been asking me to make cookies every 2 days or pressuring me to make hamburgers for the maid’s meal.
And yet, in the last week, her demand suddenly stopped coming.
This is clearly an abnormal situation. I’ve been working in the Slowlett family for many years, but something like this has never happened before.
Could Mina possibly, is not feeling well?
No, nevertheless, it’s scary to rudely ask a woman about their condition.
Before when I asked the tired-looking Mina if she felt unwell or not, then Mina and Sara told me that I had no delicacy at all since it seemed that it was her day of the month.
Honestly, I’ve always been not very good at that kind of consideration so I don’t know what should I do.
「Bartolo, I’m getting some juiceー」
While I was thinking such things, before I knew it, the boy had apparently entered the kitchen and grabbed a Libra juice from the refrigerator.
……even if I looked like this, I had adventured with Nord and Elna before and struggled through life-and-death situations many times, but I couldn’t sense the boy’s presence at all.
It’s like, he suddenly appears out of nowhere. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
I wonder if my senses had become dull after spending my time as a chef in this place.
But, I think it’s not that bad, I mean, I’ve become a lot more plump compared to before.
「Hey, boy. Can I ask you something?」
「What’s the matter, Bartolo?」
If it’s the boy, he might know the reason why Mina didn’t demand sweets anymore.
Having such a thought, I decided to try and ask the boy about Mina’s strange behavior.
「I see, so Mina stopped asking for sweets and hamburgers」
Asking a seven-year-old kid something like this to gather information is kinda awkward, but the boy somehow carries himself with such a presence that makes the difference in his age less noticeable.
「It’s that Mina, y’know? It’s definitely strange, don’t you think? Did you know anything about that, boy?」
「Ahー, I heard that Sara warned her and said that Bartolo is so busy so she should stop bothering Bartolo too much～. So, Mina probably restraining herself from asking sweets, right?」
「It’s kind of easy to imagine that scene, oi」
I could easily imagine the scene where the kouhai - Sara - warns Mina. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「It’s not like she’s feeling unwell that she doesn’t feel like eating them, right?」
「Right. I felt her presence near the kitchen’s entrance when I was making sweets for Elna, and I’m also sure that she asked for seconds in her meal」
「……that was just her appetite」
I also agree with the boy’s opinion.
She will be warned again if she were to immediately ask for sweets after being warned not to by her kouhai, Sara.
「Yeah, there are times when Mina tries to pretend to be the oneechan」
「As expected from Bartolo. You watched her closely, didn’t you?」
The boy looked at me with a profound meaning in his gaze while grinning when I said that unconsciously.
I feel as though I’m receiving a lukewarm gaze, just like when looking at Nord and Elna.
「What’s with that gaze?」
「Eh, nothing?」
And when I asked him why he looked at me like that, the boy pretended not to know anything while smiling ostentatiously.
It feels like he has several things to say but he is silent and keeps those to himself.
I wonder what is this feeling. Now I understand the reason the boy is often beaten up by Eleonora-jouchan.
I’m confident that if I was not a chef, I would have starved without any other personal skills.
「Though I said that, Bartolo won’t be able to calm down if things stay out like this, right?」
「Well, yeah. I couldn’t be at ease if I were to stop making things I usually make after all」
I’m a chef, not a confectioner, but it’s not like I hate making sweets.
Rather, I kinda like it. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
The people living in this mansion react well when they eat delicious food, but Mina has a particularly great reaction among them.
She looked so happy when I just gave her cookies.
「It won’t matter much if I were to go through some trouble if I can see someone’s happy face even though I’m busy」
「Bartolo, those satisfaction doesn’t result in your wage, aren’t they? If you’re getting too busy you should discuss it with Nord-tousan to hire more chefs or discuss your wage. It’s not good to work like a corporate slave, alright?」
I thought that I said a good line if I do say so myself, but the boy was deeply worried about it.
I don’t really understand the words ‘corporate slave’ occasionally coming out of the boy’s mouth, but it doesn’t sound like a nice term since it sounds like livestock.
I thought he was making fun of me, but the boy’s face looked dead serious and I could tell he was actually worried about me.
「I don’t know what you were saying, but I understand you were worried about me. It’s true there are times when I was so busy, but it’s fine now」
「The most suspicious thing is that you’re fine right now, you know? It’s ‘that’ isn’t it, it would be easier for Bartolo to take care of things alone by yourself than taking in a kouhai chef who will become a hindrance to your work, right?」
「……how do you understand that much? That makes me feel uncomfortable instead!」
The boy completely saw through the biggest reason why I didn’t ask for another chef to help me until now.
「That’s cause I saw a lot of people who collapsed after saying something like that」
The boy quietly muttered while having a faraway look in his eyes. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Even though Nord - with whom I’ve known for a long time - had vaguely noticed it, I can’t help but wonder how can a 7-year-old boy notice that.
「Well, even if you told Mina about that, she would never directly ask Bartolo for snacks」
「That’s right. It’s hard to tell her directly」
If anything, there’s the possibility of being chided by Sara, thinking that we were fussing over something not important.
「In that case, why don’t we lure her by using her job as the basis for that? If I remember correctly, they haven’t made the long spoon for parfait, right?」
「……I see. If they made the parfait spoon, we can use that to check whether the spoon is usable or not as part of their job」
「That’s right」
If we have a good reason of ‘this is job-related’, Sara and Mina would probably eat the parfait happily.
This feeling of calmly probing beneath the emotions and rules is exactly like Elna's.
Long ago, when Elna was still an adventurer, she also made suggestions like this.
「As always, you’re so cunning, boy」
「Say it quick-witted instead」
◆
Even after receiving the advice from the boy, Mina still doesn’t ask for snacks or hamburgers to me, probably because she doesn’t want to trouble me. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
However, when I was making cookies for Elna and the kids, she would stare hard at me, peeking into the kitchen. Her willpower and instinct are probably clashing inside her.
This is difficult to do. It felt like I was constantly being watched by a carnivorous animal.
However, ‘that’ will probably be finished today.
That’s because following the boy’s advice, we had the master blacksmith Logan make the parfait spoons.
So since the morning, I’ve been making cookies, muffins, pudding, and milk gelato in the kitchen - their sweet smell had been drifting inside the kitchen - to let Mina and the others try it.
And sure enough, when the cookies are baked Mina is standing there at the kitchen entrance.
She wants to rush inside and get the cookies. But, she had a troubled expression on her face, as though she thought she couldn’t disturb me.
The moment Mian was about to leave after making up her mind, I called out to her.
「Mina, can you please call Sara here for a bit?」
「Eeeehhh!? Don’t tell me, only Sara gets to taste it!?」
In Mina’s mind, does the meaning of the person being called = the person getting to taste the food that was made? I really can’t read her thought process at all, but in any case, I knew that Mina also wanted to eat it.
「No, it’s not like that. Anyway, call her here」
「Ha, haaa, understood」
Despite being unsatisfied with my explanation, Mina walks away from the entrance and starts looking for Sara.
Shortly after, Mina brought Sara with her.
「Aah, Mina too, come here」
「Me too?」
Maybe Mina thought that it had nothing to do with her, so she tried to leave but I stopped her from leaving. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Then, Mina walked in with an openly happy face.
「Bartolo-san, do you need something from us?」
「Actually, the spoon for the parfaits I had made the other day just arrived. So I want you to try the spoon if it's usable or not」
「……so you are saying, you want us to eat the parfait as part of our job to test the spoon?」
Perhaps the perceptive Sara understands my intention and intentionally uses easy-to-understand words.
「Yeah, I want you to eat the parfait as part of your job now. We have the duty to make sure they are usable and without any inconvenience to the kids or not」
「……as a job! S, so, there’s nothing we can do if it’s part of our job, right?」
Hearing what Sara said, it looks like Mina realized what that means and her expression brightens in a twinkle.
She unintentionally grins due to the easy-to-understand explanation.
「You have no choice but to do so, but it’s also fine if you don’t do it, you know, Mina?」
「Aaahhー, Sara! Please don’t be mean to meー!」
While Miina softly hit Sara’s shoulder over and over because of her remark, I quickly started preparing the parfait.
Immediately after that, Mina nervously asks me. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Even so, Bartolo-san. Do you really have time to make parfait? The people of the Dukes’ house are going to come soon, and I heard that you were so busy......」
「I don’t know what makes you restrain yourself, but I can’t calm down when the food I usually make every day suddenly stops coming. So I tell you know, I can make you some cookies and hamburgers anytime」
「Bartolo-san……!」
Mina was deeply moved by what I said, while Sara shrugged her shoulder as if to say 「Good grief」.
I mean, it wouldn’t be fun if I just cooked something for my job as a chef every day.
Sometimes I want to make snacks or develop some dishes together with the boy. It’s because there are various things to do that make things fun. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
「Then, I would like cookies again tomorrow! And then, I want my meal to be hamburgers! I haven’t been able to eat it recently, so I want to eat them all again!」
Still, spare me from making cookies and hamburgers every day. I may have gotten carried away and said too much earlier.
「……sorry, I said too much. I take back that ‘anytime’」
「Whyyy!?」
The Slowlett house kitchen has been so lively since morning. www.ihavesinnedtranslation.com
Yeah, i dont kinda like that maid at all~
ReplyDeleteIf you give Mina a cookie, she's going to ask for a parfait. If you give Mina a parfait, she's probably going to ask for hamburgers for lunch...
ReplyDelete