Chapter 14 Festive Mood (5)
"Why are you all slacking off here?!" I exclaimed nasally, attempting to give my voice a hoarse, cantankerous tone. My gaze fixed on the trio of fellow team members lounging at the table. "Why, while I'm toiling away, you lazy idlers are loafing around?! Huh?! I'm asking you!" Continuing my parody of the most "beloved" of our sub-commander bosses, the rotund Klaus, I contorted my face into an expression of eternal dissatisfaction.
However, Klaus only presented himself this way in front of those beneath him. In front of superiors, he magically transformed into a compliant toady with a soft tongue.
I acted not only for the sake of amusement but also to test the group's reaction to such semi-subversive jests. The result pleased me. Natal just smiled, Akira snorted disapprovingly, but the team's main humorist couldn't keep silent.
"Not bad, not bad, Kurome-chi," Kei clapped slowly with a smirk. "If you try hard, someday you'll be able to crack jokes almost as brilliantly as me. But for a complete resemblance, you need to work on that belly, grow a beard, and master the expression of mindlessness on your face. Absolutely, " he nodded in approval. "Working on the dumb grimace needs extra thoroughness."
"He makes it sound like I don't need to work on the 'belly' and the beard," I chuckled inwardly at the veiled jab.
Kei, not waiting for a reaction and ignoring Akira's jab and her hiss about the inadmissibility of offensive criticism of the commanders, squinted his eyes and, deliberately casting a glance at my plush striped cargo, continued:
"But to come back from the celebration and start blaming us for your sins, that's just top-notch! You nailed it, buddy! Old Klaus would be in tears of joy!"
"More like bursting with anger," I sat down next to the others, placing the tiger on the floor. "You could've at least warned me that this cursed celebration was today! There's a crowd everywhere you look!"
"Oh dear, you're acting like it's your first time under the sun!" Kei shook his head sorrowfully. "It's a shame not to know the state holidays of our beautiful Empire. Or do you still think that a celebration is when they serve pastries in the cafeteria?"
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"Pf!" I made a contemptuous grimace. "If they don't give out treats on a holiday, what kind of celebration is it? Empire Day is a holiday. The Emperor's birthday is a holiday. Peasant's Day is a gathering that's a nuisance to shopping!"
“By the way, Natal, what did Iwajima want from you?” I asked my friend once our quartet had finished their playful banter about the significance of holidays and the criteria that determined it.
“It was hard to understand him, Kurome,” my friend rubbed his forehead.
“He was blabbering again?”
“Yeah,” Natal sighed in a somewhat amused manner. “He wanted us to continue escorting the caravan. But we were already planning to do that! I don't understand,” he shook his head.
“Should've squeezed some money out of that talkative fatty for protection!” Akira chimed in.
“And some snacks for the road,” I added. “Or it would have been better to send our talkative one to deal with him,” nodding towards Kei Lee, “and go shopping with me.”
Lunch continued with a discussion of who would win in a "talkative showdown" and jokes on the subject. Soon, Bayb made his way to our table, but, as usual, the strongman preferred to use interjections with different intonations, rather than speak.
* * *
After we had finished eating, Kei and Akira left to get some fresh air and observe the public festivities. Babe went back to his room, deciding to indulge in his favorite hobby. Only Natal and I remained in the restaurant, leisurely chatting over tea.
Other patrons weren't too rambunctious, creating a calm and cozy atmosphere, until it was suddenly disrupted by a blonde whirlwind that burst into the restaurant.
“Scoundrel! Villain! Greedy lecherous pig!” Eris raged. “How did such a despicable man become the theater director at all?!” the girl was angry and upset.
After a while, having had some tea, she lowered her level of expressiveness and explained what had happened. As it turned out, there were difficulties with a performance in one of the theaters due to the theater's director. He suddenly decided to reconsider the agreements and demanded a bribe, hinting that he would prefer to receive it "in kind." Enraged and offended to her core, she splashed the offered wine in the lecherous old man's face and hopped on the first available carriage to return here.
In contrast to Natal, who tried to console the distressed girl almost to tears, I remained silent. I didn't fully understand the reason for her distress. Who doesn't have people spewing nonsense and nonsense everywhere? So, her performance didn't happen now; it'll happen later. Besides, after the run-in with the troubled mercenaries, she seemed calmer. And this despite real danger! Also, I was never good at comforting crying people in my past life, and now...
“W-why are you so quiet, Kurome?” the blonde sniffled.
“If you're going to become a singer, you'll have to get used to it. There will be plenty of people who will want to have you, literally or figuratively. There will also be those who want to do something mean out of envy, gain, or just their nasty nature. So, enough of the drama! You can consider that creep a trainer helping to toughen your moral strength.”
- How... - she sniffled, - h-how can you be so thick-skinned?! I wanted to share with you, and you... you... - the girl's already moist eyes filled with genuine hurt, ready to unleash a new stream of tears.
“Uh,” I awkwardly scratched my cheek, realizing I'd veered off course. “I sympathize with you. It's just that I'm not very good at consoling. Yeah... In general, I wanted to say that you should be stronger and not react so sharply to every insignificant person. I didn't express it very well, I admit. Do you want me to visit your tormentor and make him regret his words?”
“I don't want to,” Eris replied sniffling. And, calming down, she wiped her nose again. “He's noble too. You'll get arrested if you beat him up.”
'If they find out.'