The next day, Tilura came to our room just as I had finished getting ready, and so we headed to the dining hall together.
“Wuff. Wuff.”
“Kyau. Kyau.”
“Leo is clean now!”
Leo was carrying Tilura on her back, and seemed to be in a good mood.
Sherry also looked happy, as she was carried in Tilura’s arms.
Tilura was feeling the texture of Leo’s washed fur with relish.
It really was a good thing that I had gotten Leo to bathe, even if she hated it.
Now that I think about it, while fenrirs were smaller than Silver Fenrirs, if Sherry eventually grew large enough to carry people, would Tilura be happy?
Right now, she seemed happy that she was able to carry and hold the fenrir, but I could also imagine her being happy once Sherry grew up.
Well, I didn’t know how long it would take for her to grow to that size. Or if she even would get that big.
“Come in.”
We arrived at the dining hall, and then Tilura knocked on the door while still riding on Leo’s back.
Ms. Claire answered from the other side, and then Ms. Lyra, who had arrived first, opened the door.
But she had been waiting in front of my room just a moment ago… And while she had gone ahead of us, she had already finished preparing the tea and was standing by for us…
Really, how did the servants in this mansion move so quickly?
I thought of such things as I entered the room and greeted the others.
“Good morning, Ms. Claire. Sebastian.”
“Good morning, Mr. Takumi.”
“Good morning, sir.”
I sat down at the usual seat and then breakfast was brought in.
“Huh? Where is Mr. Ekenhart?”
“…Father is still asleep. He is very tired from yesterday.”
“His Grace is not good with waking up early… He rarely even eats breakfast.”
“I see.”
“Father is a sleepyhead.”
When I asked about Mr. Ekenhart’s absence, Ms. Claire and Sebastian told me with a little exasperation.
While it might be a little rude to say, it was true that it was harder to recover once you grew older… Though, I didn’t know how old Mr. Ekenhart was.
He looked to be in his thirties, but considering Ms. Claire’s age, he was probably in his forties.
Still, Tilura… Sleepyhead was rather harsh…
“Nevermind father. Let’s eat breakfast.”
“Yes. …Thank you.”
“Yes!”
“Wuff!”
“Kyau.”
I felt a little bad about eating before their father, the head of the house, had arrived, but if he wasn’t awake yet then it could not be helped.
Ms. Claire also seemed a little severe towards him, but perhaps daughters generally felt like this towards fathers at that age.
And so as if to follow Tilura, Leo and Sherry’s eager replies, I also started to eat.
Ms. Helena’s cooking was as delicious as always.
I thanked her in my heart as I enjoyed eating until I was full.
There was also a dessert, which was the same york pudding with buttercream that we had last night.
I suppose Ms. Claire had requested it again… She would start to get fat if she wasn’t careful.
After we ate dessert, and were about to have our tea in the drawing room, the door suddenly flung open loudly.
“Wuff!?”
“Kyau?”
Leo and Sherry were startled by the sound, and they quickly turned their heads to look.
Even I was surprised.
It was Mr. Ekenhart, who came walking in.
“Morning! Claire and Tilura. And I see you’re here too, Mr. Takumi!”
“Good morning, father.”
“Father! Good morning!”
“Good morning, Your Grace.”
“…Good morning, Mr. Ekenhart.”
“…Wuff!”
“Kyau.”
He was so energetic, that it was hard to believe he would have trouble getting up in the morning.
Ms. Claire and Sebastian sighed visibly, but Tilura seemed happy to see her father.
Sherry looked happy as well, but Leo’s answer had been more of a ‘Oh, it’s you…’
…Leo. He’s the most important person here. So you should greet him properly, all right?
“Your Grace. Will you have your breakfast now?”
“No, I won’t eat. More importantly, Mr. Takumi.”
“Yes?”
Mr. Ekenhart refused his breakfast and addressed me.
I put down my cup of tea, which I had been sipping in order to calm myself after the startling appearance. And then I turned to face Mr. Ekenhart.
“About your Weed Cultivation. Can you show it to me? While we signed the contract, I haven’t actually seen you use it yet.”
“Father…”
“Your Grace…”
Ms. Claire and Sebastian looked at him with exasperation.
To sign a contract without even seeing the actual ability in action. It did seem rather careless for someone of his position…
But then again, Ms. Claire and Sebastian had vouched for me, and he also seemed to like me for some reason.
“Very well. I can show you in the back garden.”
“Ah, I see! So you will!”
Mr. Ekenhart’s eyes were shining with excitement. And so there was no way that I could refuse.
Not that I had any intention of refusing.
After I agreed to it, Mr. Ekenhart smiled broadly.
I ignored Ms. Claire and Sebastian’s less enthusiastic reactions.
In spite of what I had heard about him, he now reminded me of a young boy who didn’t really care about anything other than what interested him.
Perhaps Ms. Claire had inherited that trait.
She too was filled with curiosity… And even Sebastian became very engrossed in anything that caught his interest… What was it… Was this house going to be alright…?
Well, it was not my place to be worried about such things. But I couldn’t help it, when they were so close by.
And so thirty minutes later, after we all finished drinking our tea, we went out into the back garden.