“Excuse me, is my master here?”
A girl suddenly popped her head in.
She looked to be about the same age as Eva. Her unruly brown hair was stuffed haphazardly under a red hood, and her freckles were charming.
“Oh, Camilla. Did you come to pick me up?”
The moment she saw the girl’s face, the witch-like customer’s tone softened.
She beckoned the girl closer and removed her hood, starting to comb through her hair with her fingers.
“Master Ingrid, I told you to stop touching my hair! You’re terribly drunk again…”
The girl, called Camilla, pushed her away, causing Ingrid’s hood to slip off.
Revealed beneath was a beautiful woman with silver hair. Her long hair was tied back, and her green eyes were glazed with a lustrous intoxication. She appeared to be in her thirties, but she might be a little older.
Even a child like Eva couldn’t help but sigh in admiration.
“…Welcome.”
“Ah, Welcome!”
Nobuyuki’s voice seemed to remind Shinobu that Camilla was also a customer.
“Oh, no, I just came to pick her up, I don’t need to order anything…”
Eva thought that made sense.
It would be strange for a pub to serve something to a child like this, anyway.
“But, do you have anything sweet?”
Something sweet!
The moment she heard that, a shiver ran down Eva’s spine.
Sweets were a witch’s favorite thing.
“When my master eats something sweet, she stops drinking for a while. I’ll take her home during that gap.”
“Something sweet, you say?” Shinobu said.
“Dried fruit, anything is fine. If you have something like that, could you spare some?”
Shinobu pondered, her index finger on her chin, but she didn’t seem to come up with anything immediately.
It’s only natural, since this shop is a pub.
There’s nothing sweet that can be served right away.
Eva was a little relieved.
Without anything sweet, this suspicious master and disciple would probably leave soon.
Just as she thought that, Shinobu clapped her hands.
“That’s it. We have that.”
What could “that” be?
Shinobu took a small bowl out of the fridge.
“Ta-da! Shinobu’s special homemade pudding!”
“Homemade… pudding?”
Eva said it out loud, but it was a dish she’d never heard of.
Looking at the bowls Shinobu lined up on the counter, she wondered if it was a type of chawanmushi. The color was somewhat similar. Eva guessed that even if they weren’t siblings, they must be cousins at least.
Translator’s Note
Chawanmushi is a savory egg custard dish.
But was chawanmushi sweet?
“Oh, pudding. That sounds delicious.”
“No, Taisho. It’s not for you.”
“Huh? But there’s enough, right?”
Ignoring Taisho, who spoke in a slightly sulky rather than dissatisfied tone, Shinobu began to count the puddings.
“One for Ingrid-san, one for Camilla-chan, one for Eva, and one each for your younger brother and sister.”
“Is that okay? It doesn’t look like there’s one for you, Shinobu-san.”
“Taisho and I are fine.”
Shinobu smiled as she said this, but Taisho still had a slightly resentful look in his eyes. He had said that he liked chawanmushi, so he must like pudding too.
“Come on, Camilla-chan. Please enjoy with Ingrid-san.”
“Yes, thank you!”
“Eva, eat with us.”
She took the wooden spoon that was handed to her and faced the bowl of pudding.
It seemed a little different from chawanmushi after all. The cool bowl felt nice in her hand.
Just as Eva was about to scoop up her first bite and bring it to her mouth,
“Delicious!”
Ingrid let out a startling cry.
Looking over, Camilla was also enthusiastically digging into her pudding.
The mysteriousness she felt when she first saw Ingrid had vanished somewhere, and she had a rather cute way of eating.
She had thought Ingrid might be a witch, but seeing her like this, she started to think otherwise.
But just how delicious was this pudding?
She brought the bite that had been hovering in the air to her mouth.
Sweet!
A smooth sweetness spread throughout her mouth.
She opened her eyes wide and peered into the bowl.
What on earth was this yellow food?
“Is it delicious? Eva-chan.”
“It’s delicious, very!”
She dug into the smooth pudding with the wooden spoon, and a black, honey-like substance seeped out from the bottom.
She scooped a little onto the tip of her spoon and licked it. This was also sweet!
It was a different kind of sweetness from the yellow part.
Next, she tried mixing the two parts together. This was also a wonderful taste.
It was a happiness that made her not want to finish eating it.
As she carefully ate, making sure not to leave a single bit at the bottom of the bowl, Ingrid suddenly started chuckling.
“This pudding is wonderful. Truly wonderful. It’s like magic. I’d like another one, please.”
“I’m sorry, Ingrid-san. We’re out of pudding.”
“It was going to be a souvenir for the employees… Hmm.”
With a groan, Ingrid took a small amulet out of her robe sleeve.
“I received this from a certain female mercenary. It’s a miraculous amulet that is said to allow you to meet unexpected people.”
“Is that magic too?”
It was Camilla who reacted to Shinobu’s question.
“Master, did you say something about magic or something in this shop too?!”
“Oh, no, it’s just because it’s the night of the double new moon, I just…”
“You’re already being treated as creepy since we moved to the old capital, so please stop saying things like that.”
“Y-yes, I’ll be careful next time…”
Ingrid shrank back, perhaps hurt by her disciple’s scolding.
“So, Ingrid-san isn’t a witch…”
“That’s right, shopkeeper. My master is a skilled apothecary, despite how she looks.”
According to Camilla’s explanation, they had been living in the forest of a place called Baron Branton’s territory until recently, but as the land was gradually being developed, they decided to move to the city.
“So, all that talk about magic and such?”
“It’s like a hobby of my master’s. She seems to be knowledgeable about such things, in a way.”
“Not ‘in a way’, Camilla.”
“Yes, yes. I understand, so let’s go home.”
“But, the pudding…”
At those words, Shinobu bowed her head deeply and apologized.
Ingrid still had regrets about the pudding, but the remaining puddings were for her younger sister and brother.
Since it was so delicious, she wanted them to try it.
Feeling sorry, she averted her eyes from Ingrid and Camilla, and saw Taisho grinning.
He opened the fridge and began searching for something in the back.
He seemed to find what he was looking for immediately.
“Oh my, there’s another pudding here.”
Taisho said this in a strangely monotone voice, and Shinobu turned around with a speed she had never seen before.
“Huh? Wait, that pudding is, um…”
“Shinobu-chan, you didn’t make an extra one thinking you could eat another one yourself… did you?”
“U, uuuu…”
Ignoring Shinobu, who was on the verge of tears, Taisho handed the last pudding to Ingrid.
“This is the last pudding of the day. Please savor it.”
“Oh, thank you. But, is it okay?”
“It’s fine. Please enjoy.”
Eva didn’t miss the twitching of Shinobu’s temple, although she didn’t let out a voice of resentment.
Shinobu must have really wanted to eat the pudding too.
Ingrid praised the second pudding as delicious, delicious, and ate it so cleanly that there was no need to wash the bowl, and then went home.
At that rate, she would probably come to the shop again.
After the two left, Eva found an amulet left on the table.
It was a carefully crafted amulet with a beautiful blue stone embedded in it.
Shinobu and Taisho were fighting over the hidden pudding and were unavailable, so she decided to place the amulet gently on the kamidana.