After successfully obtaining the Rose Accessory Case I’d requested from Rosmiel-san, my first instinct was to give it to Illness-san immediately. However, handing it over the second I stepped through the door felt a little anticlimactic. Then again, a perfect scenario wasn’t likely to just drop into my lap, so I decided to keep it simple and just give it to her without overthinking things.
I was sitting in my room mulling it over, but just as I stood up to go find her, there was a knock at the door. As luck would have it, it was Illness-san.
"Pardon the intrusion... Kaito-sama. Might I have a moment of your time?"
"Of course. Did something happen?"
"No, nothing is wrong... I simply came to extend an invitation."
"An invitation?"
I tilted my head, curious about her wording. Illness-san continued with a gentle smile.
"Actually, much like you, Kaito-sama, I have tried my hand at creating an original blend of black tea. If it is no trouble, I was wondering if you would care to join me for a cup?"
"With you, Illness-san? I’d be delighted. I’ve been looking forward to trying your original blend, and I’d love the chance to sit down and talk with you."
"Kuhihi. It makes me happy to hear you say that. Since it is already quite close to dinner tonight, how would tomorrow around noon suit you?"
"That works for me. I’m looking forward to it."
I watched Illness-san as she gave a light bow and left the room, a sense of anticipation bubbling up within me.
This was the perfect chance to give her the accessory case, but I was also genuinely excited to have tea with her. While she had prepared tea and snacks for me in the past—and we had shared them whenever I invited her to join me—this was perhaps the very first time she had taken the initiative to invite me herself. That alone made me happy.
Whatever original blend she’d crafted was bound to be delicious. I was already impatient for tomorrow to arrive.
With that thought in mind, I left my room and headed out into the garden toward Nebula’s World Tree. The sun was on the verge of setting, but the light spilling from the house kept the yard from feeling too dark.
As soon as I reached the tree, Nebula emerged.
"Master, do you have need of me?"
"Yeah. You helped me so much with the black tea brand and my original blend tea leaves, Nebula. I brought this as a thank-you gift. What do you think?"
"Oh! Thank you! Your thoughtfulness brings me great joy, Master... Are these flower seeds?"
"That's right. You mentioned before that you wanted to add more color to the garden, so I picked up a few varieties of seeds that we don't have yet."
Since Nebula had assisted me just as much as Illness-san, I’d prepared a gift for her as well. Finding something for Nebula was actually a bit of a challenge. She was such a kind, well-mannered girl that she would be happy with anything I gave her; she was the type to appreciate the sentiment of the gesture far more than the item itself. Because I knew she would be delighted regardless, deciding on a specific gift was difficult.
However, I’d happened to remember our conversation about wanting more flowers, and since I’d just visited Rosmiel-san’s Garden of Myriad Flowers—a place home to every blossom imaginable—seeds felt like the right choice.
I had even consulted Rosmiel-san, who had seen our garden before, to help me select several rare varieties that would complement the existing atmosphere of my home.
"Yes, I was just thinking that the flowerbeds could use a few more types of blossoms. This makes me very happy! I shall begin cultivating them tomorrow morning. Once they bloom, Master, you simply must come to see them."
"I will. I'm sure you'll make them bloom beautifully, so I'll be looking forward to it."
"Leave it to me! After all, I am the Absolute One!"
"Hehe, I suppose you are."
I smiled at her familiar catchphrase as she puffed out her chest with pride. Reaching out, I gave her head a gentle pat.
Serious-senpai: "I’ve got a bad feeling about this. The fact that they pushed this to the next chapter means the subtitle is probably going to change and start over from part one..."