Chapter 40: Lala’s Marriage

“Hey there, Hiira. Looks like you’re doing well.”

“Lala-san!. . .You’re dressed unusually today.”

Lala-san used to wear a sexy witch dress, but today she was wearing a calm black dress. The accessory that shone like stardust was still there, but it was an essential accessory for witches as it was a magic supplement.

“Did you change your style?”

“I’ve always liked this kind of clothes. They’re simple. I’m not good at showing skin.”

Lala-san, who was sitting at a terrace seat in a shady area with good ventilation, shrugged her shoulders and laughed.

“I’m just tired. I’ve been trying too hard and pushing myself. . .So, I decided to wear my favorite clothes.”

Her makeup was light today, and her eyes looked swollen.

“. . .I came to say goodbye.”

“What?!?!”

Anyway, I decided to treat Lala-san to lunch.

Summer vegetable salad with mayonnaise and boiled egg dressing (served with crispy croutons), cold freshly squeezed tomato soup, and demon beast chicken sautéed with lemon flavor squeezed tightly.

I only served small bread on the side.

The amount of oil and flour is modest, but it has a satisfying texture with eggs and chicken.

My flour is also included, so it has a healing effect.

It’s a habit from my time in the monastery to serve soup and appetizers all at once.

“It looks delicious. Itadakimasu.”

Lala-san, who had a tired face, also brightened up and first tasted the soup. 

Taking one bite, then another, I silently flattened the food little by little, and Lala-san was amazed.

“You were already good at cooking, but your skills have improved a lot. . .?”

“Hehe. . .now I have good seasoning and fresh ingredients, thanks to the adventurers.”

“I see. It looks like you’re having fun, and that makes me happy too.”

Lala-san smiled thinly.

Her smile was not genuine, and I felt a sense of unease and discomfort in my chest.

After taking plenty of time to finish lunch and drinking tea, Lala-san told me.

“I’m getting married.”

I was about to say congratulations, but I stopped myself.

For her, marriage was not a happy thing at all.

[If our party disbands, I’m destined to become a noble old man’s second wife.]

“Did the party disband? Finally?”

“No. I got fired from the Kasdar Party.”

“Fired?!”

“The other day when Kasdar came here, I wasn’t around, right?”

“That’s right.”

“I got fed up with it. Since Hiira left, it’s been even worse.”

“But. . .why did you get fired?”

“It’s a simple story. I couldn’t take it anymore, so I rebelled, and that was the end of it.”

“Rebelled. . .?”

“Yes. He was asking me to kidnap Hiira, burn down the store with magic, and trick the Demon King, and it was too much.”

“Wow.”

Lala-san stuck out her tongue as if to spit it out. 

“I told him to stop relying on Hiira and clear his own name. But then, he got angry. . .and in the end, it became foolish to both endure sexual harassment with a smile and desperately flatter him just to not be abandoned.”

Lala-san made a gesture of cutting her neck while saying this.

I was startled and looked at her exposed arms and neck.

“Lala-san. . .did Kasdar do something terrible to you?”

“It’s okay. I don’t have to endure being beaten silently, so I headbutted him the moment he grabbed my collar and ran away.”

“T-Then that’s good.”

I breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, I was planning to take care of him until the end since I was indebted to Kasdar in some way, but when he told me to burn down Hiira’s shop. . .”

“Lala-san. . .”

While drinking tea after the meal, Lala-san looked into the distance with a distant look in her eyes.

“You know I joined Kasdar’s party to postpone the marriage, right?”

“Yes.”

“After graduating from the magic academy, I really wanted to become a magician serving the royal palace or a noble family, but it was impossible. There was pressure from my family, and as a bastard child of the Baron family, I couldn’t even get my resume accepted.”

“Oh dear. . .”

“I also applied for the party to defeat the Demon King, but no one hired me except Kasdar.”

“It’s surprising that someone as capable as Lala-san wasn’t hired.” 

I heard that Lala-san graduated as the third place. It was an implicit understanding that the top two places in the final exam, which was an interview, were usually occupied by children of high-ranking nobles. If we exclude such invisible barriers, Lala-san had the best grades among her peers.

“Well, that’s right. The subjugation of the Demon King’s Castle is just a game to see how much power and connections the leader, usually a nobleman’s son, can demonstrate. No one really thinks about wanting to subjugate it, and the royal family doesn’t want that either.”

Lala-san laughed with a slightly snobbish expression.

“In that case, what is required is not just ability but also family background. Besides, for a daughter to join a party, unless it’s to assist her fiancé, there must be some reason. Hiira was also in the [fiancé’s assistant] category, right?”

“Well, yes. . .”

It was just the worst to have a broken engagement that only left a blemish on my record.

“No one wants someone like me who falls into the [some reason] category. The only party I could join was Kasdar’s.”

“That’s surprising, isn’t it? Kasdar is so proud and showy, yet he fills his party with girls.”

Maybe he didn’t want to surround himself with future male power holders.

Lala-san shrugged her shoulders at my puzzled expression.

“If it’s all guys, then all the achievements will be shared equally. He only gathers a party during the subjugation and wants to take all the credit for himself. That’s why he gather women like us who have guaranteed ability but no strong backing for promotion.”

“I see.”

“Also, he was a pervert. Even if I resisted or talked back, he was the type to say ‘well, it’s okay if you have big breasts.’ “

“That’s true.”

I replied immediately.

I knew he only looked at Lala-san’s cleavage and butt. I thought maybe Lala-san liked wearing sexy clothes, but maybe she did it to not be abandoned by Kasdar. Being beautiful is tough. . .

“He was the only one who hired me, so I do owe him that much. I really wanted him to reflect and live properly.”

“Lala-san. . .”

“Even though he’s the worst.”

Lala-san narrowed her eyes.

“I can’t forgive him for the domestic violence towards Hiira, and the salary was like minimum wage. He also kept reaching for my chest and butt, so even if I give him one point of gratitude, it’s minus five trillion points.”

“Hahaha. . .”

The wind blew through.

Lala-san smiled with a tired and worn-out face.

It was a calm smile that I had never seen before.

However, that expression quickly changed to a dark one.

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