“Wh-what is this?” I ask, befuddled by the sight in front of me

“Hm? What do you think? It’s a cookout!” The princess says with a wink

Don’t act like this is normal!

Upon meeting up for our dinner plans with the princess, we were told to follow without asking questions. Of course, I prepared for the worst, and have been anticipating an ambush at any moment… Instead, I was met with a scene I couldn’t imagine. The princess led us to a park where a shoddy makeshift grill was set up.

“Why a cookout?! I figured we were going to some kind of high-class restaurant.” I ask, unable to further suppress my surprise

“Well, I would have happily treated you if somebody didn’t blow all of our funds on gear!” She complains with a scary glare directed at the Yuusha

Isn’t she the princess? Aside from the funds, the Yuusha should have received when he started his journey, shouldn’t the princess have money of her own? How much money must he have spent to run down their collective wallets?

“Cool gear is a must for a defender of justice! How do you expect me to go slaying demons and monsters with trash gear? That lady's stuff is meant to be top notch!” The Yuusha starts to yell in defense

“The first sword you bought from her broke the same day!” The princess retaliated

Somehow they seem to have completely forgotten the conversation we were having. Also, doesn’t that sound familiar?

“That’s just proof of how great I am! I’m so powerful that even rare-class items shatter when I use them!” The Yuusha boasts, puffing out his chest

sigh “You have great natural talent, even for a Yuusha. If only you didn’t have that childish naivety; I’m sure you would have gone down in history.” The princess let out, placing her hand on her head like she was nursing a headache

“Sorry, but I’m a good cook I assure you. I know it’s not what you expected, but won’t you stay anyways?” The princess asks, turning to me with an apologetic look

“Um, well, it’s no problem I suppose. I can see you have your reasons.” I say sympathetically

Seems the Yuusha is causing her quite a bit of grief as well.

“A week ago I was regarded as a sewer rat… and tonight, I eat the princess' homemade cooking.” Kiel says

curious at the sudden sincerity in his voice I turn to look at him.

When I turn to him, I see him clenching his fist with a determined look and tears streaming down his face.

“Are you okay?” The princess asks, cocking her head at him

“Don’t worry about him. I think those are happy tears.” Bik says in a respectful manner

“This guy gets it! Good food is above all else!” The Yuusha exclaims as he throws his arm around Kiel's shoulders

Seeing as Kiel is about a foot or two taller though, he ends up having to bend over.

“Y-ya. I’m just psyched for some good food is all.” Kiel says, turning his head away from us

The look on his face implies that he realizes how odd he looked.

“Ya, Ya good food!”

“Is there gonna be cake? We love cake!” Mak and Kay cheer out as they jump onto the Yuusha and Kiel

“Is that so?” The princess asks with a bright smile

“In that case why don’t I get started? Would you like to help as well Mano-san?” The princess asks, yet I seem to be the only one listening anymore

“Me? Well… I’ve never cooked before, so I don’t know if I will be any help.” I say scratching my cheek in embarrassment

giggle “That’s alright, why don’t I teach you then? It will be fun.” She responds cheerfully

Her personality is just so bright and cheery. It almost makes this shabby park and makeshift oven feel a lot more like a party. I need to keep my guard up though. Regardless of her personality, the facts are these two are my enemies. There is no telling just how much information they have collected.

“Mano cooking? I’m sure it will be… unique?” Kiel cautiously says, overhearing our conversation

“Hm? Are you implying that what I make won’t be as good?” I ask, irritated by his phrasing

“Huh? Well I mean… nothing you do is normal. I wouldn’t be surprised if you somehow managed to blow up the park if you made an attempt.” He responded, only half-denying

“Fine! Then I’m going to make something delicious, and you’re not going to get any!” I protest

“Now, now, I’m sure Mano will be fine. Besides, we are using a grill; at worst she could start a fire.” The princess says in a mediating tone

That was a rather sharp comment there at the end. Do I really give off the feel of being that bad of a cook?

“Oh? Swordman-lady is going to make some food? Tomboy characters are always bad cooks!” The Yuusha proclaims with an exceedingly excited look

Krtch!

There’s that pain in my head again.

“Hark-san… I still don’t get some of the odd things that you say.” The princess frowns in disappointment

“Huh? It’s not complicated. When a tsundere cooks for the first time, the food always turns into a burnt mess. Then the protagonist eats it and says ‘this is delicious’ anyways.” The Yuusha explains to the confused princess

Fwack!

“I’m not a tsundere you punk!” I yell out after smacking him with all my might across the head

“Youch! You really pack a punch, don’t you? I suppose I didn’t scout you for nothing!” He says after nursing his head for a moment

To take a strike of mine when I didn't hold back… he’s sturdy at the very least.

“Wow! Mano-san can understand him? Even the best scholars of our country have had trouble understanding many of his terms.” The princess says with a surprised expression

Hm? Chance!

“I was born with an innate magic that allows me to understand languages. It doesn’t work 100% of the time, but it’s pretty reliable.” I explain

If I establish it like this than people won’t question why I can’t tell when people switch languages. The princess seems like she is pretty gullible, so I should be able to get her to vouch for me.

“I’ve heard of a similar magic used by dryads! They use it to communicate between tribes. From what I’ve heard though, they can only decipher very simplistic languages… To be able to understand Hark-san’s odd terms it must be an amazing ability.” The princess says almost lost in thought