I Was Caught up in a Hero Summoning, but That World Is at Peace

With Marie-san’s greeting, the simple self-introductions of the eight young ladies came to an end. Everyone seemed like a good person, but the ones who left the best impression on me personally were Cornelia-san and Marie-san.

Cornelia-san seemed to have a high opinion of Nebula’s ceramics, so there’s no doubt she has a wonderful eye for fine things. She might even shop at Nifty, so it would be fun to talk about that sort of thing with her.

As for Marie-san, just as she herself said that this was her first tea party, I could sense a slight nervousness from her…… but that, along with her overall atmosphere, made her feel the most approachable and familiar.

Cornelia-san had soft, dark gray hair, pale green eyes, and a somewhat tall, model-like elegance to her. Marie-san, on the other hand, had semi-short pink-brown hair with a reddish-purple tint, blue eyes, and a petite, cute charm. Those two stood out to me so much that I remember them clearly; I’ll probably recognize them right away even if I ran into them on the street later.

[Well then, now that the simple introductions are over, I shall prepare the tea.]

At that moment, Eris-san spoke, and as if responding to her, the maids quickly began arranging tea and sweets on the large table.

The atmosphere was like an afternoon tea, elegant and stylish, but…… there were baby castellas as well. Come to think of it, during one of my chats with Eris-san, I mentioned that baby castella was the sweet I ate the most, so maybe she prepared them with that in mind.

Kuro also nodded with satisfaction, so it seemed like the lineup of sweets had no issues.

Back when I visited Lilia-san’s house, I didn’t fully understand it yet, but…… while Kuro’s diet is usually just a matter of taste with no real likes or dislikes, there’s one thing she clearly dislikes: “sweets that look hard to eat”.

Come to think of it, at Lilia-san’s mansion, when the tea sweets were served, Kuro, who rarely shows such reactions, quite plainly gave off the feeling that they weren’t to her taste.

At the time, I thought she just didn’t like overly extravagant, appearance-focused sweets, but as I got to know Kuro better, I realized it was more complex than that.

She doesn’t dislike luxurious or flashy sweets per se; she eats those happily enough.

What she dislikes are the kinds of sweets that sacrifice ease of eating for the sake of appearance. In Kuro’s food guide, such sweets always get low evaluations.

On the other hand, if there’s clear thought put into making them easier to eat, even if they look gorgeous, she praises them highly. For example, Nifty’s decorated baby castella, which Kuro really liked, had a very flashy and luxurious appearance. But since each piece was skewered and the plate itself was cleverly arranged to make them easy to eat, Kuro had no complaints at all, in fact, he praised them highly.

In short, as long as it’s clear that the sweet was made with the act of eating in mind, it’s fine by her, but sweets that ignore that consideration, she dislikes.

Well, since baby castella is her ideal sweet, the farther something strays from that, the lower her evaluation drops, but the only time she shows clear dislike is when it looks difficult to eat.

Looking at today’s tea party sweets with that in mind, they were all refined and stylish, but also simple, bite-sized, and easy to eat.

[Nice, all these sweets look delicious. And I’m glad to see baby castellas too. I wonder, are baby castellas a standard at noble tea parties as well?]

[……E- Errr……]

Hey, Kuro, don’t go dropping hellish questions like that. Eris-san was clearly troubled, probably because the answer is that they’re not completely unheard of, but they’re also not exactly a staple.

But how could anyone tell the Baby Castella Demon that truth straight to her face? Lying is also out of the question. Watching Eris-san struggle between those two impossible options, I decided to step in and rescue her.

[But, baby castellas are usually pretty sweet, so if you pair them with tea they might come off a bit heavy. That’s probably why they’re not that common at tea parties, right?]

[……Kaito-kun, baby castellas hold infinite potential, so they can pair with any drink.]

[But not everyone studies baby castellas the way you do, Kuro. That means preparing baby castellas that go well with tea would be a lot of work, wouldn’t it?]

[Hah!? T- That’s true……! N- Now that you mention it, you’re absolutely right!? I’ve been pursuing the infinite possibilities of baby castellas day after day, but I completely overlooked the fact that not everyone is as well-versed in baby castellas as you or I, Kaito-kun! Maybe, as I thought, I really do need to spread the results of my pursuit of baby castella potential more widely!!!]

[……Y- Yeah, maybe so……]

Please don’t just lump me in as a baby castella expert too…… Well, at least the hellish question directed at Eris-san had been deflected, but at the cost of triggering “baby castella mode”. If I don’t calm her down before the tea is ready, there’s a real risk this entire tea party will turn into an endless lecture about baby castellas.

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<Afterword>

~ ~ Chronicles of the Stomachache Warriors ①~ ~

<Lilia Albert>

Stomachache Power: ★★★★★★★★★★

Draw Power: ★★★★★★★★★★

Endurance: ★★★★★★★★★★

Pitifulness: ★★★★★★★★★★

Stomach Medicine Consumption: ★★★★★★★★★★

Author’s Malice: ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★★

The first and strongest of all Stomachache Warriors, with both Stomachache Power and Draw Power at overwhelming levels. She is also the greatest victim of Kaito, having suffered countless body-blows. Compared to the other warriors, the trials she’s endured and the sheer amount of stomach medicine she’s had to consume are on a completely different scale, placing her at an absolute pinnacle.

She has become so firmly established as the stomachache character that whenever the author gathers powerful figures together, the default routine is basically “Let’s give Lilia a stomachache”. Because of this, her suffering shows no sign of slowing down.

At the beginning, her endurance was a little low, like when she fainted outright when she first met Shiro…… But after being hit with far too many stomachache-inducing situations, she’s been toughened up to the point where fainting is no longer even an option.

Even individuals at the pinnacle of the world and eccentric Gods can’t help but sympathize with her, which speaks volumes———- truly, in every sense, she deserves to be called the strongest of the Stomachache Warriors.

All the kinds of stomachaches suffered by every other warrior? She’s basically experienced them all already. On top of that, she still has a mountain of stomachache flags piled up ahead of her…… Indeed, Lilia Albert is the strongest (Stomachache Warrior, that is)……