Published at 4th of April 2023 8:47 am

Chapter 311: To Enjoy The Natural Cool Breeze

This chapter is updated by NovelFree.ml

After having breakfast, I return to my room and use Ice magic to sprinkle cold air inside.

And after the temperature inside turned nice and cool, I grab the slime cushion that is squirming about in the room.

Since the slime was moving about inside the cushion due to hunger when I opened it, I toss fragrant grass inside.

And then, the slime becomes immersed in eating the fragrant grass the slime stopped moving, so I close the cushion.

Normally, slimes are omnivorous, so giving them normal grass is enough, but they smell a little better when you feed them things like fragrant grass. Noticing that fact, I’ve been feeding them things that smell good these days.

I use them as a cushion, place them under my butt, or use them as a pillow, although they are omnivorous, so I can’t bring myself to feed them something like kitchen waste.

I also expose the slime cushion with Ice magic while having that kind of thought. Immediately after, the soft slime in my hand gradually hardens.

It could freeze if I were to overdo it too much so I have to be careful. I cool it down until it hardens like memory foam while checking the feeling with my hands.

After that, I spread out the slime cushion pillow and lay down on my bed.

A moderate softness while being nice and cold, and has the elasticity to support my body weight and bounce it back.

「Haaー, the slime cushion is cold and comfortable」

I unintentionally let out sigh-like remark. Rather, it feels like I was wrapped in the slime from who knows when. Is there no big slime or other monsters that live nearby? If there was, I would do my best to catch it and use it as a cushion.

……I’m ready to go on a journey to look for them while moving around the place using Teleport.

But, I have just returned from Sylford’s territory, so I have no plan on going outside of the village for the time being.

As I’m thinking about such a thing while tossing and turning to enjoy the tactile sensation from the slime, I can suddenly feel the sign of someone coming near my room from the hallway.

These footsteps, are these Sara’? I don’t remember if something good ever happened when Sara comes at this kind timing, so I lock the door with Psychic for now.

「Alfried-sama, excuse me.....uuh!?」

Immediately after that, just when Sara knock and was about to open the door, there was a rattling sound as though someone staggered from the door.

Since she tried to enter at the best of timing, it makes it looks like I was deliberately harassing her.

As I’m feeling a bit of guilt over what happened, a metallic sound resounds, as if she takes out the master key from her pocket.

「Alfried-sama, please stop locking the door when I was about to open it」

Then opening the door, Sara came inside looking a little unhappy.

「Sorry, that was not on purpose. I did it by reflex just now.....」

「I feel like you have an especially bad personality, oh well, never mind. Torr-kun and Asmo-kun visit you, you know?」

「Torr and Asmo?」

Hearing the names coming out of Sara’s lips, I unconsciously tilted my head.

「They said they are going to play together with you, but did you forget you made a promise to them?」

「No, I made no promise of sorts, not even promising to play with Torr and Asmo」

「Are you sure? Did Alfried-sama actually make a promise to them and Alfried-sama just forgets about it maybe?」

Sara doubts me somehow, and it makes me lose confidence in myself so just in case, I look back on my memories.

The only time I met them, is the time when I went to Torr’s house to give them their souvenirs the other day. I haven’t met them again since, and I don’t remember making any promises to them. I completely have no appointment.

「Un, I didn’t make any promise」

「Are you really, really sure? Did you remember properly?」

Even when I resolutely answer her question, Sara still looks at me with doubt and questions me.

「Why did Sara doubt me that much?」

「That’s because Alfried-sama often forgets about what Nord-sama and Elna-sama was saying」

「……err, it’s their fault for talking when I’m eating」

That Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan, they were saying important things with no hesitation when it was time to eat. I don’t want to hear about such troublesome topics when I’m devoting my time to eating Bartolo’s delicious dish.

Even back in my time as a corporate slave in my previous world, I look forward to my valuable lunch break more than anything else, so I would have just answered my superiors with appropriate replies no matter what they say.

I mean, you only want to think about pleasant things when you have a good time, right? Wouldn’t it be a shame if you take such troublesome things seriously and spend your time in depression like that even when you have a good time?

「Well, it’s fine if you didn’t make any promise, but what should we tell them? Will Alfried-sama go out and play with them? Or, should I tell them to enter――」

「Send them away. I don’t feel like going out today」

I’m going to read the Dragon Slayer book Eric lends me while enjoying the slime cushion today.

I’ve decided to completely shut myself inside the mansion, I don’t feel like going outside to play now.

「……is that really okay? They have especially come here to visit, though」

「It’s not like the village is that far from here, right, and I’m not the type of great noble that will make the situation turn problematic just by sending someone away. It’s their fault for not thinking about my situation and showing up uninvited」

Fuh, she seems to be able to read through my thought pattern last time, but it looks like she missed it this time. Unfortunately, I don’t feel like going out today.

「Ha, haa, understood. Well then, I will decline their request today」

「Un, please doー」

After I reply like that, Sara lightly bows at me before leaving the room.

After that, now I’m alone in my room, I took the Dragon Slayer book placed near my pillow, and then I start to turn over the pages.

Well, well, I’m looking forward to what kind of story Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan will have on their adventures now.

While the plot is somewhat familiar, it was a story not described in the play. I would love to start reading it.

「Oi, Al! Come out!」

「Al―!」

A faint shout can be heard coming from the mansion’s courtyard.

Regrettably, both of those shouts sound familiar to me. I want to immerse myself inside the world of books and ignore them, but as far as those two are concerned, they are persistent, so I don’t know what they would do if I keep ignoring them. They will come up with some valid reason to do things like entering the mansion as if it was the most natural thing to do.

Having no other choice, I got up from the bed and looked out of the window toward the courtyard, there, Torr and Asmo were shouting while looking up in my direction, with Sara accompanying them.

「Oraa, I know you’re lying down on your bed over there! Rather than shutting yourself inside, come play with us outside!」

「Or let us in into your cool roomー!」

As soon as they saw my face, they pointed at me and made some extreme demands.

You guys, you know I wonder if you understand that you’re inside a noble’s property? I think, maybe Nord-tousan and Elna-kaasan can hear you guys perfectly fine, you know.

For now, it’s kinda troublesome to go down there, and if I were to go down, they will be going to slowly drag me around outside at that time. Should I open the window and refuse them?

Having decided that, I open the window and lean forward.

「Hey, Sara. I told you to send them away, right?」

「No, they said you made an important promise」

So as a compromise to my request, she decided to let them inside the courtyard without entering the house, huh? That’s quite a flexible way of thinking from her.

「Even though we took the trouble of coming here to invite you out, you can’t send us away, right?」

「Al, I think doing that kind of thing is cruel of you」

「All right, all right, you can complain all you want, but what is this important promise? Rather, I didn’t make any promise, to begin with, right?」

「There’s no such thing」

「We just said that without much thought」

Torr and Asmo boldly said that in front of me and Sara.

「See that, Sara. Send them away」

「…………」

Even when I tell her that, Sara doesn’t even make the slightest movement for some reason.

「Sara?」

「Alfried-sama, you have only been shutting yourself in your cool room recently. I think it would be fine to go out and play for a bit」

「Ooh! As expected from Sara-san! You are saying something different from Mina!」

「Just as the maid-san say, Al should go out more」

No way, unexpectedly Sara betrayed me. As a result, Torr and Asmo become enthusiastic about it.

「Are you sure? You will not be able to get the benefit of my Ice magic if you say that, you know?」

「Uuwaa! So dirty! He uses the fact that he can use Ice magic and turn it into leverage!」

Hee, say whatever you want. It is all thanks to me that the whole mansion is becoming cool. In other words, if you harm my mood - even a little -, it won’t be cool anymore.

Thanks to that, the fussy Eleonora-neesan - and even Elna-kaasan - has become ten percent quieter than usual.

「It doesn’t matter. To begin with, the mansion is quite cool enough even without the benefit of Ice magic, and there are other ways to cool off」

「Th, that’s ridiculous. The threat of using Ice magic doesn’t work!? Receiving such a wonderful benefit, so why......!?」

I can’t believe it. To be able to so easily cast aside the benefit without being swayed, while receiving the absolute benefit of experiencing the cold air.....

The people who have proven to be addicted to the cold air and are on the list are Elna-kaasan, Eleonora-neesan, and Mina.

「From my perspective, the cold air is too cold and I don’t like it that much. I prefer the natural breeze and the moderate coolness of water」

「Haahaー, you said something nice!」

Torr took the opportunity to flatter Sara, which is irritating.

But, what Sara was saying has some truth in it. I quickly rely on the cold air of the Ice magic these days. Being able to spend your time in a comfortable environment is of course something wonderful in and of itself, but it has no elegance to it at all.

Isn’t it like spending my time in a cool room in my previous life? It’s not like in my previous world here, where it’s so darn hot due to global warming and the effects of buildings being built everywhere. If anything, I can still spend my time comfortably even without Ice magic.

So I’m going to start over now, and I might need to relearn how to cool off naturally. To confirm again what I wanted to look for to have a life in the countryside.

「Al, let’s enjoy the coolness of nature with us」

「We have fine summer vegetables growing at this time of the year. Don’t you think it would be great to bite into the juicy tomato, cucumber, or eggplant?」

Torr and Asmo press me for an answer as though to follow up on the wavering in my heart.

As usual, they are brats who are used to turning people into doing bad things, aren’t they?

Being able to come up with such a fascinating line......

「……okay. Let’s go then」

「Haha! Now that’s Al we’re talking about」

「I knew it, I thought Al will understand it」

I was also aware that it was so simple it may seem, but how to take on the coolness naturally seemed so hopelessly dazzling to me right now.

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