NOVEL NEXT Chapter 92
Even in a place that resembles a theme park made for adults to enjoy centered around casinos, there are still spots where one can enjoy an ordinary daily life.
There are people who come to squander their fortunes, but many regular tourists also come to enjoy the splendid streets built thanks to the casinos purely for fun. It’s common for high-class individuals, even those uninterested in gambling, to spend the day traveling and enjoying festivals while staying in luxury hotels with their partners.
However, many of the people working here aren’t exactly rich. Especially if they’re in jobs like the one as a bunny girl.
Thus, it’s only natural that there are restaurants where one can have a regular meal.
There were also quite a few restaurants and cafes for the poor folks working here.
We were in one of those places.
Following Bella’s lead, we arrived at a shabby restaurant located a bit away from the casino.
“Hey! Didn’t I tell you not to bring customers to places like this?”
Another bunny girl with green hair shouted at Bella while sitting in the restaurant. She was dressed in a bunny girl outfit, but it was wrinkled and her hair was a mess. The rabbit ear headband she wore was haphazardly sprawled across the table. Judging by the glitter on her face and chest, it seemed she had just come back from working all night.
“Ah, I’m sorry… But I really wanted to treat the people who helped me.”
Seeing Bella speak timidly took me by surprise. That attitude suited her better than I would have thought. Of course, I knew her background well, but if I didn’t, I might have just accepted her as a character with a story… No, wait, she did show a bit of that side when she spoke with Alice, so it might have crossed my mind that there was something going on.
“They say rich people usually eat what you serve… Hah, fine.”
The green-haired woman roughly scratched her head and said it as though it didn’t matter anymore.
“Well, considering there are way more women than men among the people who tagged along, I guess it doesn’t matter much to me. Even though they dress like nobility, they look like students. They can’t really afford to do such things anyway, given the school rules, right?”
With that, the woman lost interest in us.
I suppose it’s only natural to live like that in places like this. A place where people end up after rolling around and hitting rock bottom. Of course, if you look around the Empire, there are far worse places than this. In that sense, Northwood seems to be managing things fairly well. But that wouldn’t resonate much with the people living here.
“I’m sorry. Even if she says that, she’s just a deep child…”
But even before Bella finished her words, the green-haired woman raised her hand and made a “V” sign over her shoulder toward us, palm facing us.
It was now a globally notorious British insult.
Rena, having occasionally run into the Imperial Army, and Charlotte, who often bickers with the neighboring country, seemed to have recognized it and frowned.
“Hah…”
Bella let out a weary laugh before mumbling, “Please sit here,” and quickly made the offer.
Even though our group was meddlesome, they must have known that being rude to Bella’s colleague would only make her life harder, so they sat down without saying anything.
… Not that it would trouble Bella much. After all, among the people here, only Charlotte and I, being a princess, along with Alice, knew Bella’s true identity.
I had been mostly with Alice, and I didn’t shy away from being in public, so my face was relatively known, but Bella was a different case. For one, she was still officially a princess, and while nobles knew that such a “being” existed, she had never shown her face in official capacities.
The ones regularly seen in official settings were Jayden, Lucas, and me, while handling troublesome matters were Bella and the youngest sibling.
Whenever she roamed the Imperial Palace, she would wear a mask or disguise herself completely, so it was only natural that Charlotte wouldn’t know her.
This role separation wasn’t created by the Emperor. It just happened because each followed their own personality. Bella thought it would be more fun to hide her identity and do many exciting things.
“… Do you often experience things like this today?”
Charlotte asked seriously.
While it was still about the Empire, there were places like Velbur that existed as well. Brothels and opium dens can be found anywhere in the world. Thinking about how such occurrences might happen in her own country, for Charlotte, this place could certainly be of help.
“Not often, but it happens.”
“……”
Moreover, Charlotte herself had a righteous personality.
Perhaps she muttered that it was disgusting to see such sights and kept it to herself.
The atmosphere grew heavy.
“What do you want to eat?”
Then, the owner casually broke the heavy atmosphere by asking.
Before we knew it, the owner, wearing terribly worn-out clothes, approached our table. He had a stained, dirty apron and worn-out clothes. It was uncertain whether he had the money to buy new clothes or was just too stingy to spend it. Based on the broken window I saw when I entered, it might be the latter.
“What’s good here?”
Charlotte gently asked Bella. If it were the usual Charlotte, she would have panicked at the state of the establishment and the owner’s appearance, but considering the situation that brought us here, that was not the time to be picky.
Receiving heartfelt kindness from the other party is a noble’s courtesy.
“Ah, please bring chicken stew for the number of people we have.”
“Huh?”
The owner stared blankly at Bella.
“You, do you have enough to pay for that much?”
“Y-Yes, I have that much!”
Seeing Bella respond while sneaking glances at my party, I couldn’t help but admire her inwardly.
If she had been born twenty years later, she might have become a great actress written into the annals of cinematic history.
Though, considering her personality, I couldn’t guarantee whether she would have taken that path.
The owner shrugged and began counting our heads while turning away.
“Are you really okay with this?”
Claire asked with concern.
“It’s fine. I have money for that…”
Just as the atmosphere was about to sink heavily again,
“By the way, what was that guy?”
Jake quickly picked up the conversation again.
“That was someone who said they liked me. I tried to keep the mood by laughing at a few of their jokes, but it seemed they thought I was serious…”
“We thought they were trying to get away from us?”
Alice finally decided to join the play, opening her previously tightly shut mouth.
“Yes… I’m sorry. I really didn’t expect it to escalate to that level.”
The reality was that she likely wanted to create such a scenario.
“Were there really no other reasons to talk to us? There were plenty of other people around.”
“That’s…”
Bella spoke with considerable embarrassment.
“Other nobles, when I talk to them, either look at me like I’m dirty and move away, or they try to take me with them… it’d be one of those two.”
Charlotte flinched slightly. While her expression didn’t crumble, it was still evident.
“You all are from Rondarium Academy, right?”
Bella asked while looking at Leo. Leo seemed a bit flustered, stuttering as he replied.
“How did you know that?”
He made an incredibly awkward sound.
“Because the uniforms you’re wearing are from Rondarium Academy. I was at Rondarium for a brief period. Back then, I often saw students wearing the same uniform as you.”
She didn’t say something cliché like how she had admired them as a child, but that made the sentiment resonate even more.
Of course, that line was probably made up.
“And so, since you’re students… I thought you might help me. I’m so sorry…”
“……”
The atmosphere became unmanageably heavy again, but among us, one person was showing an even more complicated expression.
That person was none other than Alice.
Having directly declared she would “infiltrate,” Bella, who was right in front of her, was essentially her role model to follow.
The problem was whether Bella’s acting prowess was too high a standard for an amateur to follow.
……
And I too, might have to exhibit such an atmosphere…
Perhaps an expressionless bunny girl might be popular in its own right, but would I really be able to maintain a poker face in that bunny girl outfit until the end?
Not long after that, the chicken stew was served.
Given the atmosphere of the place, I had expected nothing, but the chicken stew was surprisingly delicious.
Maybe that was not just an act when choosing this place.