Cracking a silent grin, Leon once again paid his deepest respects to those Einherjar of the Freya Familia.
Truly fitting for Fanatics of the Goddess of Beauty. With willpower of steel like that, even those lunatics from Evilus would have to call them big brother to their faces.
While he was lost in his idle thoughts, Kureha had somehow sidled up beside him, hugging his arm and wheedling with a flushed face:
"Leon~~~"
"?"
"Look, everyone's so worn out. Let's not cook for ourselves tonight, hm?"
"Uh, what are you getting at?"
"Let's go out to eat tonight."
Leon: "..."
He glanced at Iri, who was clearly drained beyond her limit and already dozing off on the couch, then at the Sword Saint, whose every trace of pent-up tension was gone, the young lady now refreshed and utterly at peace. No need to ask. She'd fought to her heart's content and gotten it all out of her system.
"Out to eat?"
He turned to the other ladies, who all gave off the same loose, relaxed air, and asked:
"What do you all think?"
Jeanne tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear, exposing the faintly reddened tip.
"Let's go out, then. It's a good chance to welcome Iri to the group. And honestly, it's been a while since we ate out."
At that, Leon and Rose exchanged a glance, instantly reading each other's minds.
As the household's two head cooks, run ragged for ages now, a day off was something they could only have dreamed of.
"In that case, out we go. The usual spot, the Hostess of Fertility."
"Yay!"
Laurier, who'd been dozing off a moment ago, heard they were eating out, and at her long-awaited Hostess of Fertility no less. Suddenly she wasn't sleepy anymore, her gloom evaporated, and she shot straight up to stand on the couch, bare feet and all.
"The Hostess of Fertility! Leon, Leon, Leon! I heard other Adventurers say their food tastes amazing, the ingredients are super fresh, and they've got tons of specialty dishes! And rumor has it that half-dwarf owner is seriously strong. The whispers going around say she's the former captain of the Freya Familia!" So Orario wasn't entirely populated by amnesiacs after all.
He'd wondered about it before. If there were old-timers who knew the names of the Zeus Familia and the Hera Familia, then why, as a veteran powerhouse standing tall in Orario for over a century, did nobody seem to know Mama Mia's identity?
Selective amnesia?
But hearing Laurier put it that way, it was probably that no one dared run their mouth to her face, given who she was.
Behind her back, though... well, there were definitely murmurs in the shadows, or there wouldn't be whispers going around in the first place.
...
The two head cooks unanimously passed the motion to eat out, and the rest naturally reached a quick consensus. After a round of quick word, everyone headed back to their rooms to freshen up and get ready to go.
Leon walked over to his "wife," bent down to pinch her collagen-packed cheek, and gently woke her:
"Iri, Iri, wake up. We're heading out to eat in a bit. You want to get yourself ready?" "Mngh... what are you doing..."
Groggy with sleep, Iri felt a pair of big hands tugging her cheek over and over. Her little face scrunched up, and she slowly came to.
"?"
"L-Leon?"
Their eyes met. Noticing the clear, vacant look in Iri's eyes, Leon let go of her cheek and set his hand on her little head instead.
A pat on the head.
"Wake up. We're going out to eat in a bit."
"Out to eat?"
At Leon's words, Iri reacted almost exactly like Laurier had: eyes lighting up, all her drowsiness gone.
"Yay!"
"I've been dreaming of good food! Ugh... back in the family's old castle, it was the same stuff day after day. I got sick of it ages ago!"
"And besides... this is otherworld cuisine!" Watching Iri raise her little fists and rail against the dining at the Einzbern castle, Leon was at a loss for words.
A magus obsessed day in and day out with tinkering at alchemy. What good food could she possibly be eating?
Poor kid.
"Go take a quick shower, then change into clean clothes and get ready to head out!"
With that, he shifted gears, looked the still-yoga-pants-clad wife over carefully, and put on a teasing look:
"Now, wife, you don't want to go eat at a tavern in a sweaty workout outfit, do you?"
One sentence, and Irisviel turned beet red on the spot.
"Eek! You're awful!"
Watching Iri scramble off in a flustered patter of feet, Leon's lips curled up.
...
As the hour and minute hands on the wall clock in the corner gradually overlapped on the number six, the sky outside slowly darkened.
Along both sides of the street, the wrought-iron lamps powered by Magic Stones lit up one after another, their warm yellow glow spilling over the white blanket of snow on the road, weaving together the quiet, gentle hush of a winter night.
In the silent little alley, the windows of Leon's home lit up with warm-toned light too.
As bursts of cheerful clamor drifted out from within, the once-quiet house came alive again.
A full afternoon "Baptized" in the snow had left them nearly running on empty, both mentally and physically, and hunger had long since set in. So the ladies' preparations to head out tonight went unusually fast.
Any other day, tch...
Wait around for them till you rot!
In the sitting room.
When they reappeared one by one in eye-catching winter outfits, Leon, who'd been quietly waiting over an hour, felt the little grudge in his chest vanish under all that lovely sight.
Mm, fitting for my cheat. Their taste matches mine.
A flick of his attention, and the Scholar's Heart on his Falna panel flashed in his eyes and was gone, the corner of his mouth lifting on its own.
The other skills might be cheats, but this artistic talent, I swear! It absolutely belongs to me, my own natural gift.
"Leon, quit spacing out! We're leaving!"
He snapped back. The ladies had already pulled on their boots and were waiting in the entryway.
"Coming!"
He wrapped on the scarf Rose had knitted by hand, put on a warm earflap hat and leather gloves, stepped into his snow boots, locked the door, and hurried to catch up with them.
The group walked through the dim little alley chatting and laughing, the streetlamps stretching their shadows long, swaying softly across the snow.
...
On West Main Street, the Hostess of Fertility tavern was hitting its liveliest hour.
Unlike the snow-covered streets with their sparse foot traffic, on a cold snowy night like this, one tavern after another became the perfect place for people to shed their exhaustion.
Their boots crunched over the snow.
Leon's group turned out of the alley, and after less than five minutes down West Main Street, the lantern-strung sign of the Hostess of Fertility sprang into view.
"Welcome to the Hostess of Fertility!"
...
...