T/N: Confectionery Fair is what I’m gonna try and stick with.

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——

It was the day of the Hinoshima Confectionery Exposition.

The fair is divided into special admission and general admission sections, and we were in the special admission section.

We had a special admission slot, which allowed us to enter the venue an hour earlier than the general admission slot.
In other words, the venue is relatively empty up until then, so we could eat sweets without waiting in line.

We met up with Ayano-san, who runs the Hinoshima Confectionery Shop in the Kingdom of Findalia.
She had temporarily returned to her homeland for the fair.

“Yurie, Chris.
It's been a long time.
How is life in Hinoshima?”

“It's been a while, Ayano-san.
I'm enjoying ……
living here every day.”

“You don't have to strain yourself.
Hiroshima's culture lags behind that of the mainland, so it must be inconvenient in many ways.”

Actually, yes.
First of all, there is the learning aspect.

At the magic academy, I enjoyed my student life by following the prescribed curriculum and doing research.

In Hinoshima, however, there is no school, so they attend a temple school or learn swords at a dojo.
It's almost like independent study.

As for the other aspect of life, there are no magical tools here.

The lighting is simple: lanterns, so we can't study until late at night.

However, the food is good, and the baths are well equipped.

“The seafood is plentiful because of our location near the harbor.
Have you tried going to the market in the morning?”

“Yes.
I go there almost every morning.”

At the port, the market opens before dawn, and you can get a bowl of rice with fresh seafood or a fisherman's special meal.

Leon heard about it and dragged me to the market every morning to eat breakfast.

“How can you get up so early every morning?”

Chris was deeply impressed.

At first, Chris had gone along with us, but she was not a morning person by nature.
As you might expect, getting woken up before dawn is tough for her.

Recently, Leon, Marie, and I have been going to the market together.

“Seafood from Hinoshima is especially rich in nutrients, so it's good for you.
You should eat a lot of it.”

“I've been eating a lot.”

It was Leon in human form, who appeared to be ready to eat a lot of Hinoshima sweets today.

When we went to the market, Leon ate three large bowls of rice that morning.

I can understand Leon's feeling because fresh fish is delicious, but eating too much is not good.
I try to keep it to eight portions.

“In moderation,” I said, “It looks like there will be a lot of famous Hinoshima sweets stores at the fair, so have fun.
Make sure to stop by my place later.”

“That boy Rokujo gave me an all-you-can-eat passport.
I'm going to eat a whole bunch of food.
All right! Let's go, Rio!”

Leon ran toward the restaurant at the far end.
He intends to eat from one end to the other.

“Wait! Leon! Oh my? What's wrong, Chris?”

I called out to Chris, who hadn't made a move while standing in line with Ayano-san.

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“I'm going to go around with Marie.
Have fun with Fluffy-kun.”

Chris smiled and gave me a thumbs-up.
Did she do this intentionally?

“Thank you, Chris! I'll have tea with you later.”

Waving to Chris, I chased after Leon.

Ufufu.
It's a date with Leon.

“It's been a long time since we've been alone together, hasn't it?”

“Rio, let's go to that restaurant.”

Leon is more of a foodie than a romantic, though.
……

“Matcha Pudding Puff?

It's written in the language of Hinoshima on a sign on the open terrace next to the store.
Is it a pudding dessert?

“Welcome.
Please take a seat at the table of your choice.”

A woman who seemed to be the owner of the store greeted me in both the Hinoshima language and the official language of the continent and smiled.
She seemed to be a kind woman about the same age as Kikuno-sama and Ayano-san.

She wore a light pink kimono embroidered with cherry blossoms, which suited her well.

Even though it was early spring, the sun was a little strong today, so I took a seat in the shade of a tree.

“Welcome, sir.
If you've decided on your order, I'll be happy to help you.”

The Hinoshima speaker's intonation was similar to Momoka's.
But she speaks in an extremely elegant way.
I don't mean to be rude to Momoka, but ……

“I'll take three match pudding puffs.
What about Rio?”

“I'll have one matcha pudding puff ……
as well, please.”
When we spoke in Hinoshima dialect, the hostess replied in Hinoshima dialect exclusively.

“Will four be all right? Would you like to have a larger seat for the two coming later?”

“No, thank you.
It's just the two of us.”

There are only two of us.
She gave me a puzzled look.
That's right.
You can't possibly imagine that one person would eat three.

“Well.
Is it correct that this person can eat three?”

“……
That's right.”

The hostess asked with a reserved tone.

“If that's the case, would you like me to bring you one of each? It's a cold pastry and it will melt.”

“Please do that.
……”

I started to urge the hostess, but Leon interrupted me.

“No.
Please bring them all together.”

“Eh! Are you sure you want to do that?”

“Yes!”

The hostess strolled into the store with an anxious look on her face.

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“Leon, are you sure you want to eat so much right from the start?”

“No.
No.
I wanted to order five things, but we have to go around the whole place.
So I saved some space.”

I know Leon's stomach is bottomless but is he going to go around the entire venue? I wonder if my stomach can handle this?

After a while, four matcha pudding puffs were placed in front of us.
They were served in china with matcha pudding, vanilla ice cream, matcha ice cream, and fruit in various places.

“Wow! Looks delicious.”

“Please enjoy your meal.”

I took a bite of the matcha pudding first.
The sweetness and fragrance of the matcha spread in my mouth.

“Mmm~! It's delicious! Hey, Leon.”

I looked at Leon sitting on the other side of me, who had already finished his first plate.

That was fast!

“Mmm.
It's delicious.
I guess I should have ordered five.”

Leon lowered his eyebrows in disappointment as he finished the other two.
While I was savoring the fruit, …….

“Big appetite!”

The hostess sent us off with a smile, but her mouth twitched a little.

While the other guests were sharing two or three dishes, Leon had eaten three of the same thing by himself.
And he ate it so fast that he had practically forgotten what it was …….

As a chef, you want people to take their time and enjoy the food.

I understand the sentiment.

“Which restaurant should we go to next?”

As I looked around, one store caught my attention.

A sign proclaiming “Strawberry Sweets Fair” was prominently displayed.

Strawberries are my favorite food.
I tugged on the sleeve of Leon's jacket.

“Leon, that one! Let's go to that store!”

“Umu.
Strawberry sweets.
Strawberries are Rio's favorite food, aren't they? That's good.”

The general admission hadn't started yet, so there were only a few customers.

“Welcome! This way, please take a seat.”

A boy about my age showed us the way.

“Here is the menu.
Oh! The words …….”

The boy, who had been speaking in the language of Hinoshima, reiterated his greeting in the official language of the continent.

“I can speak the language of Hinoshima, so it's okay.”

I smiled, and the boy looked relieved.

“You have beautiful pronunciation.
What country are you from?”

“The Kingdom of Findalia.”

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“It's a country in the north of the continent.
Welcome from so far away.”

Even before diplomatic relations were established with the Kingdom of Findalia, Hinoshima began to incorporate the official language of the continent into its education.

Those who wish to learn the official language of the continent are not limited to those born in the upper class or those involved in commerce, but the door is open to all who wish to learn.

For those who can't afford it, the government will subsidize it if you ask.

“Then, when you've decided on your order, go to …….”

“All of it.”

Leon returned the menu to the boy.

“Huh?”

For a moment, the boy looked as if he didn't understand what had been said, and then a stupid voice came out.

“All the sweets on the menu?”

“Ehh!? Hey, Leon!”

“We'll share it between us.
Rio loves strawberries, so you'll want to try all of them, right? Don't worry about how much you can eat.
I'll eat all the leftovers.”

Isn't Leon the one who wants to eat the whole menu? Leon likes strawberries, too.

“Sir, with all the sweets on the menu, that's quite a lot of food, are you sure?”

The boy waved his hand in the air.

“Um, ……, I think we'll be fine.
Leon is a big eater, as you can see.”

Leon grunted and slumped over.

“Yes, of course.
Please wait a moment.”

The boy nodded hesitantly and headed for the kitchen.

“Leader! Let's go to that place.
The strawberries look delicious.”

'Don't call me “Leader” while we're here.
It's either master or mister.”

I have heard that voice before.
Oh-leader?

I turned to the direction of the voice and the first thing I saw was a tall, muscular man with red hair.

Even in the moonlight, I can't forget that distinctive figure.
It was the pirate who had attacked the ship.

“Ah! The sissy and the naughty pirates!”

I accidentally shouted out loud, “Oh no! I hurriedly covered my mouth.
By the way, Chris named it ” The Sissy and the Naughty Pirates.”

But it was already too late.
The sissy's head turned suspiciously towards me, his green eyes glowing.
Then he sauntered over to us.

“What? Look who it is, it's the little girl from the first-class cabin on the Emperor Cruise.
I never thought I'd see you here.”

The leader of the group sat down in front of me.
He glanced at Leon and chuckled.

“You're with your boyfriend today, I see.
I wonder if the white cat and the black cat are here?”

“Kuk! Boyfriend!? No.
well, he's my boyfriend! He is my boyfriend, though! And the cats are not here!”

That's right.
Leon asked me to marry him, so he's my boyfriend, right? But are we dating? I see him every day.

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As I was pondering these questions to myself, Leon glanced at the sissy's face.

“I'm pretty sure it's Julian, right? Why is a pirate like you here?”

“I don't know if I've met you before.
Hikoshiro is a good man, but ……
you have a beautiful face too.
Will you be mine?”

Julian, the sissy head, gives Leon a searing look.
All of my hairs stood on end.

“Leon is mine!”

I protested, leaning forward.
My chair fell over with a loud clatter.

“Yes! I belong to Rio! Didn't you say you have a wife and children? I have no intention of engaging in any kind of low-life activity.”

Leon also protested furiously.
But the first thing he said stunned me.

“I'm just kidding.
It's nice to be young lovers.”

Lovers!? No! That's so embarrassing!

“……
Rio, we can hear you ……”

“Ehh!”

I instantly felt embarrassed and covered my face.

No! Not only Leon, but even the pirates heard me.
If there was a hole, I could climb in!

Julian, the sissy head, laughed out loud.

“What a funny bunch of kids.
Don't worry.
This time we are not invited as pirates, but as guests of his lordship.”

“Guests of the lord?”

What business does his lordship have with pirates?

“Piracy is a profession.
I have another side to me.”

Julian said, as if he could see right through me.

“But it's not nice to steal from people.”

“Besides, when you broke into our room, you said you wanted Chris, Marie, and me as captives.
That means you are also selling people, right?”

“Fufu.
That sounds like something a rich, naive girl would say.”

“I am.”

Now that is, but before the time travel back.
……

I was falsely accused and got thrown in jail, and it was painful and traumatic.

Julian whistled.

“Huh.
You're still young, but you've been through a lot.
That experience was not in vain.
It means that you know firsthand the pain and suffering of others.
Treasure it.”

For a pirate, he said something rather sane.
I was oddly impressed.

To know the pain and suffering of others.
Those words were burned into my mind and never left.

Julian stood up and waved, “See you later,” and went to another seat where his subordinates were.

—–

TL: So happy we’re diving deeper into Julian’s story.
Hope you enjoyed and happy reading~!

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