Currently, I am in the kitchen, humming to myself while portioning breakfast into several different plates. Once I had all the plates properly portioned, I grabbed a large tray and transferred them onto it, making it easier to carry.
Stepping out of my incredibly fancy, luxurious kitchen, which was outfitted with four ovens, two stovetops, two large sinks, a large dishwasher, a large island with a built-in cutting board, a massive pantry, a huge fridge, plenty of cabinets, and an unnecessary amount of counter space.
Entering the dining hall, where everyone was already patiently waiting, I served them the food in order from the smallest quantity to the largest, starting with Vanye and ending with me, well, technically Yuki, but it feels unfair to count her, considering she eats more food than everyone else combined.
'Speaking of Yuki, where is she?' Brushing my messy hair out of the way, I sat down at the head of the table while glancing to my left, where a large yet empty seat stood. No one else seemed to notice Yuki's absence as they were too engrossed in their meal, and considering she was a grown woman, I didn't think much of it and also started to eat.
'Hmm, this isn't often, but I think I went a bit overboard on the seasoning.' The food was still delicious, I made it after all, but I could've eased up on the seasoning just a bit. 'Oh well, they all love it so it's fine.'
"Talis, Vanimo, remind me again, why are you two here?" Leaning onto the table, I pointed at the two with my fork, causing Vanimo to look at me like a deer caught in headlights; Talis just ignored me. "What do you mean?" "Aren't you two living in the guest house?" "I mean, yeah, but neither of us knows how to cook." "Shameless."
Lightly shaking my head, Vanimo didn't try to refute my claim and resumed eating, causing me to smirk while I did the same; however, after taking a few more bites, the double door entrance to the dining hall was slammed open, followed by a fuming Oni stomping her way toward the table.
"Tch, I fucking hate this place." Grumbling quietly, Yuki plopped into her seat and grabbed her serving fork before digging into the dish without a thought for etiquette, though the instant she began chewing, her anger was quelled. "Mhm, so damn good." "Where have you been, Yuki?" "Ugh, trying to find this place." Groaning, Yuki shot me a glance before shifting her gaze to her food.
"Are you still getting lost?" "I'm still used to our old home; also, it feels weird having a bunch of other people living with us." "Really? It feels comforting to me." Raising her head, Jasmine looked at Yuki with a raised eyebrow, causing her to snort. "Hmph, sorry, I wasn't born a princess." "Hm, you should try it sometime, Yuki." As Yuki rolled her eyes while stuffing her face, I just chuckled, the dining hall descending into silence as we ate.
It's been about a week since we officially moved into our estate, and, to put it lightly, we needed to get used to it before it felt comfortable. The mansion where we lived was massive; there were fifteen bedrooms, excluding the master bedroom. Let's not even mention all the other rooms that existed; there were probably even some I hadn't entered yet.
Outside the mansion, within the confines of our estate, we had a massive backyard, big enough to play a game of football, granted it's not all flat. Besides the backyard, we had three guest rooms, one of which was currently occupied by Vanimo and Talis, and each guest room was roughly twice the size of our previous home. There was also a separate area for servants, an armory, barracks, training grounds, and a pool.
From Duke Gorgans' words, this was an estate of size befitting a Marquess, something I wouldn't usually have, but because of my reputation in Cassandra, none of the nobles seemed to object to it. As for why he needed the other nobles to agree to this, I can imagine a few reasons why, but I personally just find such stuff bothersome. 'It's amusing, but in a bad way.' 'What does that even, Master?' 'Don't know how to better explain it, Trina.'
"Dear, has Jackal responded to your letter?" Elegantly wiping her mouth, Michelle, sitting opposite of Yuki and to my right, glanced at me with a curious gaze, prompting me to shake my head. "Nah, not yet." "Hmm, weird, doesn't he usually only take about a week to respond? It's been two weeks now." "He might be seriously considering taking me up on my offer." "Yeah, I guess you're right, this could be life-changing to him."
"Heh, speaking of life-changing…" Flashing Michelle a smirk, I leaned forward while pinching gently, grabbing her stomach, causing her to hungrily lick her lips; however, before anything could happen, one of the servants I've hired addressed me.
"Count Alexander, I apologize for interrupting your meal, but someone is standing outside the gate. He claims to be your friend and speaks of you with familiarity." Retracting my hand from Michelle, I glanced at the maid with a raised eyebrow, curious who it could be.
'I didn't exactly tell guys at the guild where I live, but considering my fame, finding my home wouldn't be hard.' Figuring it was one of the guys from the guild, I nodded while standing up. "I'll be back." "Eh, M-My Lord, I can just guide him inside." "It's fine, besides, knowing those guys, they'd probably break something."
Dismissing her idea, the maid hesitantly nodded before leading me to the gate, not like I didn't know where it was, but she was an experienced maid, so I didn't bother to correct her. 'She probably knows better than I do anyway.'
After a bit of walking, we exited the mansion and headed to the front of the gate, though when we arrived, there wasn't one of my adventurer buddies from the guild, well, not from this guild at least.
"Haha, Alex! You punk look at you!" As I spotted that toothy grin, I froze in place, staring at that man with a surprised expression. "Jackal… The hell are you doing here!?" "Huh, what do you mean? You're the one who sent me that letter." Raising his eyebrow, Jackal reached into his pocket and stuck his hand through the gate, causing me to grab the letter, which was everything that I had written and mailed two weeks ago.
"That better have not been a joke now, Alex. I sold our house and my gear to get enough gold to use the mage guild's teleporters; otherwise, my family and I wouldn't have gotten here until two months later." I widened my eyes at Jackal. "Are you crazy!?" "Huh, what's that supposed to mean? If anything, you're the crazy one. How'd you become a Count anyway? Isn't that like a mid-ranking noble? How the hell do you do that?"
Not knowing whether to smile or frown, I did both while grabbing my head. "Oh, you senile old fool." "Not senile yet, I'm in my early 50s, yet look at me, don't look a day over 30." Seeing how confident Jackal was with his appearance, I softly sighed.
'Yeah, that's because of me, you fool!' Rubbing the bridge of my nose, I gestured for my maid to open the gate, causing Jackal to close the distance while we went for dap before pulling each other in for a hug. "Ay, good to see you, Alex." "You as well, Jackal…You still hitting on women?" Patting each other's backs, we separated while I playfully punched his chest, causing him to lick his fingers before straightening his eyebrows.
"Does the sun rise from the east?" "Oh, I can't WAIT to tell Kurina!" "Please don't." Seeing Jackal practically beg, I erupted into laughter, knowing damn well even if I snitched, he'd continue. "Anyway, the hell are you waiting for? Go get your family already before Kurina starts thinking you're chatting it up with a woman." Pushing Jackal out, he laughed and nodded, waving at me before sprinting off down the street.
"Hey, be careful around him." "My Lord?" "Ah, he's a good guy, just a pervert." "O-Oh, I am familiar with perverts, My Lord." Nodding as I had a feeling she'd be, I stayed by the gate, deciding to wait for my friend to return, which I came to regret as nearly an hour passed before he returned.
Spotting him in the distance, along with Kurina and two young men, all of them carrying luggage, I rolled my eyes, jogging out there to grab the stuff Kurina was carrying. "I got it, Kurina. I could only imagine having a weakling for a husband." "Hey! I heard that!" Lifting the boxes from her hands, she brightly smiled before hugging me. "Ah, Alex! It's so good to see you!" "You as well, Kurina, and I must say, you've aged phenomenally. I nearly thought you and Jackal had a daughter."
Kurina ages normally, but what woman wouldn't like to be complimented? It definitely wasn't Kurina as she fanned herself. "Fufu, such a glib tongue you've gotten, Alex; if I weren't married, I surely would've fallen for you."
Walking beside Kurina, we entered the estate, where we saw Jackal staring at me with a twitching expression. "Thanks." Dryly, Jackal expressed his gratitude, causing me to smirk.