Chapter 6: The Young Master Pays a Visit ① (Fassaa…)

The Licorice Diner has one regular day off each week.
On this day, I’d like to say that I don’t leave Lowell at daycare and don’t work at the diner either—but that wasn’t the case today.
Even on our day off, I was standing in the kitchen.

There were things that could only be done on a day off, when we had more time.
Yes, developing new Japanese-style menu items together with Dan!

By the way, Hannah was mainly keeping an eye on Lowell.
From the kitchen, I could see him drawing pictures on a small chalkboard at one of the hall tables.
Every now and then, he’d bring his drawing over to show me.
When I praised him with “That kitty is cute~,” he corrected me with, “It’s a horse~.”
…The horse is cute too!

Now then, menu development.
What I’d been seriously tackling lately was ramen.
If we managed to complete it, it would definitely become one of the diner’s signature dishes.
More than anything, I wanted to eat it myself!

In the biggest pot the diner had, chicken bones and several kinds of aromatic vegetables were gently simmering.
Carefully skimming off the scum and letting it cook over low heat—it had already been about three hours.

“…How is it?”

In the small tasting dish Dan handed me was a golden, shimmering soup.
When I tasted it, the flavor of the chicken stock slowly spread through my mouth.

“Mmm, it’s delicious!
There’s no smell at all, and the chicken flavor is amazing!
I think it’d already be great just with some salt added.
It’d be perfect for making rice porridge too…
This is a winner, Dan!”

When I gave him a firm thumbs-up, Dan lifted the corner of his mouth in a restrained grin.
In my previous life, before a black company job robbed me of all free time, I’d cooked for myself properly.
Even so, I’d never made ramen starting from soup stock.
Getting this far with a delicious chicken broth was only possible thanks to Dan’s knowledge and experience as a professional cook.

We were starting with chicken-based ramen because the ingredients were relatively easy to get, but eventually I wanted to make soy sauce ramen and tonkotsu ramen too.
My dreams just kept expanding.

“Next is the noodles.”

I nodded at Dan’s words.
That was right—we only had the soup so far.

“This part’s harder, isn’t it?
Spaghetti just doesn’t feel right…”

“How is it different?”

“Hmm, how should I put it.
Spaghetti is kind of too firm, or maybe too springy…
I mean, I do want some chewiness.
But ideally, it should be a bit softer and have a more chewy, mochi-like texture…”

“Chewy, huh…”

Dan rested a hand on his chin, deep in thought.
Just then, the cowbell at the entrance rang.

Anyone who came in despite the closed sign wasn’t a normal customer.
Suppliers used the back door„ so that meant…

“Ah, everyone’s here.”

Smiling brightly and completely unbothered, a man carrying a bouquet of bright red roses stepped inside—exactly who I’d expected.

“Good afternoon, Young Master Barrow.”

I straightened my posture and greeted the well-dressed young man, who looked one or two years older than me.
It was an unannounced visit, but I couldn’t afford to be rude.
After all, he—Philip Barrow—was the heir to Baron Barrow, the lord who governed the town of Diud.

The young master lightly raised a hand in greeting to Dan and Hannah, then walked straight toward me.
He thrust the bouquet of roses right in front of my face.

“You’re radiant as ever today, Rosie.
Even these blooming roses pale in comparison to your beauty.
And I am a slave of love, captivated by the flower that is you…”

He brushed back his light brown hair with an exaggerated flourish and delivered his sickeningly sweet lines.

“Ahaha…”

I took a step back with a stiff smile, but he closed the distance just as much as I retreated.

“Oh, Rosie!
Won’t you show a little mercy to this pitiful man?
Please, today—give me a favorable answer.
Won’t you become my one and only beloved?”

Placing a hand over his chest and declaring it grandly, the young master grasped my hand and planted a loud kiss on it.
Goosebumps rippled over my skin, but I endured it, knowing that yanking my hand away would cause trouble.
To be fair to him, he was objectively very handsome.
Every time he walked through town, young women showered him with shrill squeals.
But no matter how good-looking someone was, I wasn’t good at being courted by someone I didn’t like.
More importantly, I really wished he wouldn’t flirt so boldly right in front of my two-year-old son!

As for Lowell, the moment he saw the young master’s face, he hurried over to me and clung tightly to my skirt.
They’d met many times before, but he still hadn’t warmed up to him…
If anything, he seemed to dislike him.

“Um, Young Master…”

“Don’t be so distant, Rosie.
It saddens me.
Aren’t we close enough for you to call me Philip?”

“No, I couldn’t possibly.
You are the noble son of Baron Barrow, the lord of this land.
There is no way a mere commoner diner server like myself could address you so familiarly, Young Master.
Your many admirers would surely hold it against me.”

I answered with a composed expression.
Maybe I’d gone overboard with the honorifics out of sheer emotional distance, but oh well.

I’d met the young master about half a year ago.
He’d heard rumors about a diner in the lower district that served unusual food and came to check out the Licorice Diner.
I’d thought he was a particularly well-dressed customer with refined manners—only to learn he was the baron’s son.
He seemed to like the diner’s food and started coming by often after that.
That alone would have been fine, but for some reason, he decided to start courting me.
When I clearly told him it was troublesome to do that during business hours, he began coming on the diner’s day off instead.
It was a bit of a nuisance, but as the son of Baron Barrow, I couldn’t treat him too coldly.
Not just because he was a noble—the Barrow family was known as a fairly well-regarded ruling house.

Near the town of Diud lay a forest teeming with magical beasts, commonly called the Forest of Calamity.
Those beasts damaged fields and attacked people.
To protect against that threat, the city was surrounded by tall walls, which the Barrow family had built and maintained.
They had also organized a guard force to protect the fields and roads outside the walls.
On top of that, the baron’s house had successfully drawn many skilled adventurers to Diud.
By directly commissioning the subjugation of magical beasts and the collection of valuable resources from the forest, they created plenty of work for adventurers.
Thanks to them, the town was lively.
Apparently, the baron’s house also profited well from trading the resources they bought from adventurers.
A true win-win.
They were quite capable rulers.

And this young master, as the lord’s son, commanded the guard force that protected the town.
At a glance, he looked like a refined gentleman far removed from violence, but supposedly he was rather strong.
Though, since that was his own claim, I wasn’t sure how much to believe it.

“You’re as modest as ever, Rosie.
And that’s part of your charm too…!”

While the young master swept his bangs back with a dramatic “fassaa…,” I quickly pulled my hand free and discreetly scrubbed the spot he’d kissed with my skirt.

“Young Master, no matter how many times you come, my answer will not change.
I have no intention of becoming your lover.
I have this child.”

I stroked Lowell’s soft black hair as he clung to my skirt.
Just that alone made me feel stronger.
Children really were mysterious like that.
The young master’s pale blue eyes turned toward Lowell.
Sensing his gaze, Lowell quickly hid his face behind my skirt.

“I hate to ask, but…
are you waiting for a former lover to come and take you away, Rosie?”