The Chosen Scenery
This is trouble.
A single bead of cold sweat slid down Viscount Bruno's spine as he took in Skadi's and Yulia's faces, both gone hard as stone.
One of them alone would have been more than enough to make a man quail. And there were two.
He hesitated, then started to offer them a bow—only for Delter, standing between him and Blow, to stride forward and shout.
"Don't you know the difference between where you belong and where you don't?!"
"Pardon?"
It had been so long since anyone raised their voice at her that Yulia simply stared at him, blank.
Mistaking that silence for awe at his own importance, Delter stepped in even closer and spat the words out.
"Get back inside this instant! This gentleman's name is Bru—"
He never finished. Bruno's fist slammed into his face without mercy.
"Viscount! What is the meaning of this?!"
Victor Zayd, Delter's father, went white with shock. Bruno didn't so much as glance his way. He took his cane back from a retainer and began driving it into Delter's body without restraint.
"Do you have any idea where you are, shouting like that?!"
"Aaaagh!"
"Apologize, now! This is Lady Yulia of House Edfolk!"
But Delter couldn't get a proper word out. The cane never paused for so much as a breath.
Even as he struck, Bruno stole a glance toward Yulia and Skadi.
...He couldn't win. So he would join them.
That was the exit Viscount Bruno Hart had chosen. It was also the only way left to keep Delter Zayd alive—the young man already face-down on the ground, groaning.
His father, Victor, was calling to mind the faces of the Edfolk household he had briefly encountered in the capital, and had gone so pale he couldn't force out a single word.
A short while later, the beating done, Viscount Bruno bowed to Yulia and Skadi, who had been watching him with their arms folded.
"Lady Yulia. Lady Skadi."
"It's been a while, Viscount. I didn't expect to see you in a place like this."
Yulia's expression was sour. While Bruno kept his head lowered and swallowed dryly, Victor dropped to his knees before her and pressed his forehead to the ground.
"I am honored to stand before the lady of House Edfolk."
"......"
"I beg you—mercy for my son..."
Yulia paid him no mind at all. She turned instead to Bruno, who stood helplessly at her side.
"Viscount? Would you tell me what this is about?"
Where was he even supposed to begin? The viscount hesitated.
Blow, who had watched the whole thing in silence until then, sidled up to her and spoke in a voice thick with grievance.
"Well, my lady, if you can believe it—the viscount has gone and taken issue with us dusting the donuts in brown sugar."
"Is that true, Viscount Bruno?"
Blow's needling tone was enough to send a man's blood running backward just from the sound of it. The viscount stalled, then barely managed to open his mouth.
"As you know, there are... unsavory rumors about brown sugar..."
"What rumors?"
"That the quality is poor. In truth, it almost never finds its way onto a proper table."
At that, the crowd around them began to murmur. Most of the talk was about brown sugar, and the faces of several customers still holding donuts turned unpleasant.
Yulia let out a faint sigh, then suddenly stepped forward to stand before Kunsai's booth. She offered him a smile of her own unhurried composure.
"Kunsai? May I have a donut?"
"Yes! P-please, have this one!"
Yulia took the donut and chewed it slowly, thoroughly. Then she dabbed her mouth once with a handkerchief and shot the words at Bruno, who was staring at her in a daze.
"From what I tasted, it is nothing more than a difference of aroma and flavor. I see nothing the least bit wrong with it."
"Th-that is..."
"Or are you suggesting that the tongue of this Yulia Edfolk is at fault?"
At her words, the viscount bent at the waist.
"No! I must have been mistaken."
"Mistaken, you say?"
"They were the ones who told me so..."
Bruno immediately turned the blame on Victor and on Delter, who was only just pushing himself up off the ground. Yulia's gaze shifted to them.
"Is that true?"
"Brown sugar is, after all, less thoroughly refined..."
As if she had no wish to hear another word of it, Yulia cut him off clean.
"Wasn't that rumor laid to rest years ago?"
"I apologize, my lady."
"Sugar is one of Parso's specialties. I doubt this is something you would know less about than I do."
"I apologize..."
"And on my way here, I heard that Young Master Blow seized someone by the collar. What was that about? The Young Master Blow I know is not a man who would do such a thing lightly."
The moment the words left her, Delter—only just back in his right mind—went ashen.
Blow, who had been wearing an easy expression, answered in his place.
"That one had my partner Kunsai by the collar, so I failed to hold my temper and acted in a manner unbecoming of a noble."
"What did you say? What do you mean?"
Yulia looked appalled. Viscount Bruno, who had known only that Blow grabbed Delter by the collar and nothing of what came before, rounded on Delter in a voice thick with anger.
"Is that true? Delter Zayd!"
"That was..."
"What? He grabbed Kunsai by the collar? Why?"
Killing intent rippled across the face of Skadi, silent until then.
"Talk."
"Th-that was..."
"There had better not be a single lie in anything you say from this moment on. You bastard."
Seeing how murderous she looked, Blow cleared his throat and stepped toward her.
"Skadi?"
"What?"
"I already talked it through back then. I apologized to Kunsai, too. Isn't that right, Delter Zayd?"
"Yes."
"Then why come back and stir it up all over again?"
"Right. I was wondering the same thing, actually."
He shrugged as he said it, then leaned in and whispered to the two of them.
"It's a festival. Wouldn't it be better to wrap it up here?"
The customers around them were watching with more than a little fear on their faces. If this grew any larger, the school would step in, and hours already too short for business alone would shrink still further. He had plenty to do as it was, and being dragged back here again to clean up the aftermath was the last thing he wanted. On top of that, once Skadi's temper caught, she was not the sort to let a matter pass with Yulia's measured restraint. So Blow had decided to put the fire out here.
He flicked her a look that asked her to go along. Only then did Skadi let out a long breath and speak in a clear voice.
"If Kunsai says he'll let it go, then I'll let it go."
"I agree. If Young Master Blow and Mr. Kunsai, the ones concerned, say it's all right, then I'll let it pass as well."
"I'm fine with that."
When Blow answered the words Yulia had added, every eye turned to Kunsai at the donut booth.
Kunsai was only just beginning to catch up with everything that had unfolded.
Viscount Bruno, reading the mood, dropped a thunderous rebuke on them.
"What are you waiting for? Apologize, now!"
"Kh..."
"Have you truly no sense of decency at all?"
Only after the viscount's frustrated shout rang out did Delter and Victor drop to their knees, wearing the look of men who had no other choice.
"We... were in the wrong..."
A noble of Parso, kneeling to him—a beastkin!
Kunsai couldn't believe what he was seeing. He looked to Luta, standing beside him. From the eyes of the man who had always been like a great rock, something fell. A single drop.
A brief silence passed.
When Kunsai had ordered his thoughts, he spoke to them in a clear voice.
"For this incident alone, I will forgive you."
"......"
"But do not imagine that what I just said has settled everything."
Having said that much, he gave Blow a nod.
In the completely frozen air, Blow walked up to Kunsai's booth, picked up a donut, and held it out to the viscount.
"Would you care to try one?"
"May I?"
"Sure. They're good. You two want one each as well?"
He tossed the offer lightly at the pair still sprawled on the ground. When they only hemmed and hawed, unable to answer, he shrugged.
"If you don't want it, no one's forcing you. Please, Viscount. Have a taste."
"......"
After a moment's hesitation, the viscount bit into the donut and worked his jaw a few times.
Delicious.
And very sweet.
It was a sweetness that made a man feel truly ashamed, and so he could not help but admit it. He had lost completely to Blow Deblique, standing before him with an easy smile. From beginning to end, in every respect. The young man had even thrown him a lifeline, little different from salvation. In truth, Skadi's and Yulia's expressions were still hard, but they were no longer demanding any further explanation.
So there was only one thing he could do, and he resolved to do it faithfully.
"Young Master Blow."
"Yes, Viscount."
"I wronged you. It was my own failing, not looking properly into how this all came about. And..."
His eyes, resolute now, moved to Kunsai.
"Beastkin boy."
"......"
"I apologize to you as well. It seems I was thinking wrongly."
While the one receiving the apology stood at a loss, Blow gave him a small nod.
"It's all right. And... if you would visit us from time to time, we'd be grateful."
"I shall. What is your name?"
"Kunsai Cherohun."
"Kunsai Cherohun. I will be sure to remember it."
Then the viscount apologized to Yulia and Skadi with all sincerity, and fled the rear of the Culture Hall together with Delter and Victor, both of them covered head to toe in dirt.
"Hmph. He talks well enough."
Skadi sneered at the viscount's retreating back. Yulia let out a heavy sigh of her own.
"I, too, am truly very disappointed in you, Viscount."
"Still, an apology is better than none."
Blow said it, but the air had already grown as heavy as it could get. Not only the three of them—the people working the booth and the customers alike were all busy watching one another, and Blow was wondering how to handle it when a small voice carried from farther off.
"P-please try the meat... Th-the mussel stew is tasty too..."
A cute little voice that loosened every heart in earshot.
Blow ruffled Melo's hair without mercy, then clapped his hands and called out so everyone could hear.
"All right—we're open for business again!"
At once the sound of donuts frying and meat searing returned, along with voices bright with anticipation.
Students wearing PRESS armbands approached Blow as he watched it all with a satisfied look, eyes shining.
"Boss! Could we finish the interview from earlier?"
"Ah, go ahead. And once you're done with me, make sure you talk to Kunsai Cherohun over there, too."
"Oh, of course! Those brown-sugar donuts are the talk of the festival right now. Shall we go?"
As Blow set off with them, Kunsai and Luta offered him their thanks. He came over, gave Kunsai's shoulder a light tap, and followed the reporters into the Culture Hall.
And so their last day of business at Central Academy began.
By afternoon, the hot-spring booth was already fully booked from the morning. Word had spread that nothing felt better, while wandering the festival, than stopping in for a little while to warm yourself through.
"Herbena, will ice like this do?"
"Ah, yes. Thank you."
"Hehe. I made it a little clearer."
Yulia—who had slipped into their work after stopping by her retainer's exhibition—was making lemonade and baking potatoes alongside Jane, Herbena, and Skadi, all of them hard at it.
Skadi, her mood fully recovered, sidled up to Jane.
"How much is left?"
"About two hours."
"Yes!"
Skadi was in such good spirits she had even started humming. Yulia held out the ice she had just made and asked,
"Lady Skadi, what are your plans once we're done?"
"Hmm, I don't know."
"You haven't decided?"
"Nope. I'll just do whatever looks fun as I go!"
Yulia smiled and offered the idea to all of them.
"Then would you all like to go see a tarot reading together?"
"Tarot?"
"Of course. It's quite fun, in its way."
"But I was going to walk around with Blow. I don't think he'd like it much."
Skadi scratched her cheek as she said it. For some reason, though, Yulia was wearing a sly smile.
"Hmm, no, Lady Skadi. We'll simply have to make Young Master Blow go."
"What do you..."
"Young Master Blow's fortune in love... aren't you curious?"
Farther off, the hand Herbena had been using to mix lemonade went still, and Jane looked up from the accounts.
"B-Blow's love fortune?"
"Yes. Does that stir your interest a little? From what I saw at the hotel, you seemed quite—"
"No! Don't bring that up again!"
"Hehe. You're more bashful than you let on, aren't you, Lady Skadi? In any case, if a love fortune feels like too much, what if we asked about his fortune in business instead?"
Yulia was speaking in earnest now. Herbena, standing a little apart from them, murmured so softly she could barely be heard.
"I am curious, though..."
"See? Herbena, you're curious, aren't you?"
"A little..."
"Then shall we all do it that way?"
No one opened their mouth easily, but the first item on their festival schedule was decided all the same.
"B-but how are you going to manage it? He might say he won't go. Not that I'm saying I absolutely want to."
"Who knows, Herbena? If I plead with him, don't you think he'll still hear me out?"
"Well, Young Master does tend to listen to you, Senior..."
"Hmm. But he has a stubborn streak of his own. Doesn't he actually listen to Jane best of all?"
"...What?"
Jane, suddenly catching the stray spark, stared at her in a fluster—and because the other three, Yulia among them, only gazed back at her with smiles, the person who would be first to tell Blow they ought to go see the tarot reader was decided. It would be her.
The moment Blow's interview ended, Kunsai's began. It ran from an introduction to his donuts through to the subject he most wanted to speak on: the misunderstanding surrounding brown sugar, and the truth of it.
The interview was soon wrapping up when one of the reporters smiled at him.
"Kunsai, there's something we'd like to ask of you."
"Yes. Please, go ahead."
"If you're willing, we'd like to run a few special features on the beastkin."
At that, Kunsai broke into a bright smile and nodded readily.
"Please do."
"Ah, thank you. Then let's settle the schedule once the festival is over!"
"Yes. Thank you."
Interview finished, Kunsai stepped out of the press room, drew one long breath, and looked back over everything from that morning until just now.
It was hard to believe. The interview was one thing, but a man of Parso had knelt to a beastkin and apologized. Of course nothing had truly been resolved, and old feelings could not all be washed clean by that alone—and yet the scene itself had struck him with a fresh shock. On top of that, the booth he had prepared in dread that nothing but flies would come was doing far better than he had ever expected.
And of course, at the beginning and the end of all of it, there was a man named Blow Deblique. What extraordinary luck. A grace he could never repay, not if he spent the rest of his life trying.
How was he supposed to begin paying it back? He was turning that over as he stepped outside the building, and Blow, who had been writing in a notebook, met his eyes and nodded.
"Young Master! Were you waiting?"
"No. I just came by to use the washroom. Interview go well?"
"Yes. They asked their questions so comfortably."
"You do speak well when the air is easy."
"It's all thanks to you, Young Master."
"For what?"
"For everything."
"You worked hard. That's all."
"I think I'm really very lucky."
Blow studied Kunsai, so humble about it, thought for a moment, then asked in a light tone,
"Donut side busy?"
"Ah, Miss Linne is handling it so well that we have a little room. And Miss Megan goes without saying."
"Yeah? Then shall we go up for a bit?"
"Up where?"
"Third floor?"
"What's up there? I don't really know the place."
"A window?"
Kunsai had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but Blow had already started walking, so he hurried after him up to the third floor.
About halfway down the corridor, Blow stopped short and turned back.
"Wait here a moment."
A little later he returned with a chair and set it flush against the window.
"Climb up."
It was sudden enough to fluster him, but Kunsai did as he was told, slipped off his shoes, and stepped up onto the chair.
And then he saw it: their booth, and the countless people lined up from in front of it all the way to the end of the street. In that uncountable crowd, his donuts, wrapped in leaves, caught the eye like stars hung in the night sky. Families, lovers, friends—each group sharing a donut—and for that moment, every face held a happiness and a joy that suited it.
It was a beautiful sight, the kind he had only dreamed of for a long, long time. Kunsai's nose stung, and he had lost his words entirely, just staring, when Blow, looking down at it beside him, spoke in a low, clear voice.
"Yes, Young Master."
Kunsai Cherohun set it down in his heart: the laughter full of people's happiness, and even the smell of food drifting all the way to where he stood.
A little later, strangely, before his blurring eyes—the faces of so many older brothers and sisters, sparkling with hope as they climbed into carriages after he had stroked their heads; the left hands the neighborhood aunties tried so hard to hide from him; Liliane's smile as she held out a bouquet with trembling hands; Luta's wrinkled hands, up since morning, silently ironing crumpled clothes... Even his own figure, crouched small on a bed and worn out by refusal after refusal, spread before him with painful clarity.
And only then did Kunsai Cherohun understand what Blow Deblique had meant, just now, by a chosen scenery.
"Everyone... they were cheering me on."
Emotion welled up until the tears were spilling, and still Kunsai smiled at Blow.
"So we did well."
"Yeah."
"So that's what it was. Ah, really... I'm glad I came up to Caipol."
The sun was finishing the last of its duty, staining the sky red. The hands Kunsai had pressed over his face trembled, little by little, and Blow Deblique patted his shoulder without a word.