Volume 6 Chapter 5 Daily Life - Night
When Sandra and I came back home, Toxy was napping alone in the living room.
From the kitchen in the back, we could hear the sizzling sound of something cooking. It seems that Ice is making dinner. Sandra and I exchanged glances, and I watched her quietly head to the bath.
I only had dirt on my clothes, so I quickly changed in my room and went back to the living room. That's when I saw Ice laying out the dishes on the table.
"Oh... perfect timing. Dinner's ready!"
"Oh, nice. Good timing."
"Clay-kun is also back, so I have to go get him... What about Sandra-chan?"
"Sandra sweated a bit, so she's taking a shower. I was going to shower later, but if dinner's ready, I'll do that first."
"Yeah, that's a good idea. Oh, and one more thing."
"Hm?"
While we were talking, Toxy started to wake up and said, "Dinner?" After glancing at Toxy, Ice whispered in my ear.
"I want you to take care of me at night, just like Sandra-chan."
"...Okay."
"Hehe...! Well then, I'll go call Clay-kun. Toxy-chan, let's set the table together!"
"Hmm? Okay."
Ice said this to Toxy, who was still half-asleep, and then headed back to the kitchen. I watched her go and thought to myself, "This is what it means to be happily under someone's thumb," then I headed to Clay's room.
"Clay~? Can I come in now?"
"Of course. The door's unlocked, so come on in."
When I called out his name in front of Clay's room, those were the words that came back from inside. When I opened the door, a chic and calm room welcomed me.
In the center, Clay was sitting in a chair, flipping through a notebook.
"I think I've seen you writing that in the living room before. Is it a party ledger?"
"Yeah, it is. It's our capital that we've earned and increased over time."
I asked Clay how much we've saved, and he told me.
"We got a platinum coin worth 5 pieces the other day."
"What?!"
"I'm telling you, 5 platinum coins, yeah. And 50 big gold coins. Five hundred gold coins."
I felt my lips twitch as I calculated in my head. A copper coin is worth 300 yen, and the value increases by a hundred times with each type of gold coin.
...So it's worth 1.5 billion yen?
"Is this the amount we earned in half a year?"
"Yeah. The recent timing was particularly good. We were already hoarding quite a bit, and we did things to increase it, but Wade-kun's team also earned, we also earned, and investments increased tremendously due to the pre-war demand forecast."
Clay said it was the fruit of our labor. I could only say "Oh..." to the unbelievable amount.
Then, Clay turned to me and asked,
"With this much, we can go anywhere. It's enough to buy several small villages. We might even take our loved ones and escape altogether."
Clay was serious. I remained silent and looked straight back at him.
"...I've thought about it too. Everyone is very important to me. I've considered it when there was even a little danger. ―――But, I won't do it."
I turned on my heel and left the room. Then, I turned back and urged, "Hey, it's time for dinner. Hurry up," before returning to the living room.
The dinner with just the 5 of us made me feel nostalgic.
Ice prepared a more sumptuous meal than lunch, and it felt like a feast. She probably cooked non-stop from noon until now.
I think holidays show our individuality in how we spend them. I'm with someone, Toxy cooks, Ice cooks, Clay invests and catches up on reading, and Sandra does as she pleases.
While we ate, we talked about what we did today, what food we liked, who we met after a long time. By the time we finished eating, it was late at night. It was a relaxing and peaceful time.
When we finished eating dessert, I got up and asked,
"Wade-kun, is everything okay...?"
Ice's question makes me smile, and I reply, "I've prepared something, you know." Toxy chuckles and says, "Oh, I've been waiting for a surprise," while Sandra looks curious and asks, "What's it?"
Clay, who seems to know something, quietly moves away from the central table and assumes a calm and observant pose.
Meanwhile, I hurry to my room, returning with 3 boxes I bought at Drop's store. I sit down facing the 3 girls, who look at me with interest.
"This is a great opportunity."
I say, and the girls tilt their heads in surprise.
"I didn't think it was a good idea to let this opportunity slip away. So, even though I thought it was a little premature, I prepared something."
As I say this, I place one box in front of each of Ice, Toxy, and Sandra. They all look at the boxes without understanding what's going on. Ice remains silent, placing her hands on her mouth. Toxy's eyes widen in surprise, and Sandra starts fidgeting nervously.
I clap my hands, and the boxes' lids all open simultaneously under the gravitational magic's repulsive force.
Inside each box, there is a ring with a gemstone of a different color embedded. The rings are engagement rings.
"Will you marry me and be a happy family?"
"~~~~~~~~~" "!" "――――――!"
Each of them reacted differently. Ice covered her mouth with both hands and began to cry, Toxy gasped, and Sandra stared at me with wide eyes.
The first to respond, as expected, was Ice.
"Ah...! Yes! I accept!"
Ice exclaims, tears of joy streaming down her face as she takes the ring and holds it to her chest.
Seeing this, it seemed like reality was finally starting to set in, and Toxy looks at the ring, then at me, and says,
"Ah, no, I'm happy. But, um, wait. I didn't expect it to be this happy."
Toxy's face turns red with joy, and she looks away, her eyes welling up with tears. She then adds, "Of course, I accept," with a blush.
The one who's always doing her own thing is Sandra. She takes out a ring from a box without a word, and quickly puts it on her left ring finger. She gazes at it with a sparkling light reflected from the candle's flame.
"...Wade, did you really buy that for me?"
"Ah, yeah. I had a hard time deciding."
"Thank you. It's beautiful... ...I'm happy. And I'll make Wade happy too."
Even Sandra, who's always expressionless, was smiling softly this time. She wiped away her tears with her fingers, and then whispered, "I'm glad I liked Wade."
The 3 girls then looked at each other and burst out laughing. They were wiping away tears and sharing happiness together.
"Congratulations!"
Clay said, clapping his hands. I replied briefly, "Thanks." As the tension was released, I leaned back and rested my back against the backrest.
Even though I'm almost certain of the answer, proposing is still a nerve-wracking thing, I think. But it's also good that I did it.
I looked at the 3 of them. The 3 of them, who were laughing together, looked back at me with a glance.
I said,
"Together, let's be happy. No matter what happens, let's live together and support each other."
"Uh..." "Of course!" "I understand!"
The 3 of them nodded strongly. Clay said with a wry smile, "Good luck to you."
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