Isekai Mahou wa Okureteru! (LN) - Volume 2 - Chapter SS2

Lefille and Cotton Candy 

On the day Suimei and Lefille arrived safely in Kurant City, they went shopping in order to prepare for the next part of their journey to the Nelferian Empire. After taking care of all the odds and ends of shopping for the day, they were now walking together just a little off the main street. There were various stands lined up along the sides of the road, giving it something of the feel of a shopping arcade or bazaar. One stall in particular had something that piqued Suimei’s curiosity. 

“Oh?” 

The stall didn’t have any goods on display. In fact, the stall itself was just the shopkeep standing in front of something like a tub. It was a simply made, heated iron plate with a cylinder pushing up through its center—something that Suimei recognized. It was a cotton candy machine almost identical to the kind that could be found at temple festivals all across modern Japan. 

“What’s wrong, Suimei-kun?” 

Lefille looked up at Suimei as she questioned him. It seemed that, at her reduced height, she didn’t have a good view of things. 

“Nothing really. I just saw something interesting. That’s all.” 

“Something interesting?” 

“Look over there.” 

As Suimei pointed over to the stall, Lefille remarked on it as if it was something perfectly natural to her. 

“Ooh, the cotton candy stand, you mean? What about it?” 

“Hmm? What’s this? You know about cotton candy, Lefille?” 

“Indeed. It’s quite common in large cities, after all… But does this mean it’s also something that exists in your world, Suimei-kun?” 

“Well, yeah. Actually, I’m pretty surprised to see it here…” 

Suimei knit his brow. Cotton candy was an inexpensive sweet from his own world. So why did it exist here? Certainly, making cotton candy was a simple matter of heating up sugar, so even in such a dramatically different world, it wasn’t impossible that they’d discovered it too. But still, Suimei just couldn’t shake the feeling that seeing a cotton candy machine here was quite strange. Mumbling to himself about it, Lefille made an expression like she’d come to realize something. 

“I see. Perhaps it was something brought over from your world, then.” 

“Oh? What makes you think that?” 

“Well, it’s said that when cotton candy was first made in this world, it was by a hero summoned by the hero summoning ritual long ago. They made it to provide sweets to poor and needy children. And from there, the treat eventually caught on and spread throughout the world.” 

So there was that kind of story behind it? Putting aside the issue of where exactly the hero had come from, Suimei was glad to hear the sweet treat had such a sweet origin. 

“But… cotton candy, huh?” 

“Mm…” 

Lefille seemed to be deep in thought. Just what was she remembering as she closed her eyes and drew a deep breath? Curious, Suimei asked her about it. 

“Do you have some fond memories of it?” 

“A-Ah, no. There aren’t many cotton candy stalls in the north, so I never had many encounters with it. I was just remembering the one time I did have some.” 

“Was it really that rare?” 

“You see, sugar is a delicacy in the north. Compared to other regions, its supply was rather sparse.” 

“Hmm, but wasn’t your family quite well off, Lefille? And even if it was comparatively sparse, it was still available, right?” 

Lefille had told Suimei once that her bloodline was descended from royalty. She was presumably a noble, so Suimei didn’t think it would be all that hard to get her hands on some cotton candy. 

“Well… My family always devoted themselves to honorable poverty and endless frugality, so it wasn’t as luxurious as you’re thinking. Besides, my father always said, ‘Sweets breed wicked thoughts.’ He never let me have any.” 

“That’s, uh… How should a put it? A little sad.” 

Lefille nodded. It was a heavy gesture, which gave a hint of the heavy feelings that came with it. As she gazed in the direction of the stall, she had a look on her face like she was reluctant to part with it. 

“…So, do you want some cotton candy?” 

“Wh-Wh-Wh-Wh-What are you saying, Suimei-kun?! I-It’s cotton candy! Do you really think that I want something that looks like it’s made for children?!” 

“Well, you sure looked like you did.” 

Hearing that, Lefille folded her arms and turned away in a huff. 

“Hmph, your eyes are surprisingly bad, I see. There’s no way I looked like that.” 

“Yeah? Well, since our shopping is all done, let’s go?” 

But before Suimei could finish speaking, Lefille’s face flushed so red that it looked like a ripe tomato and she began fidgeting idly. 

“W-Well, um… If you said that you wanted some no matter what and insisted on having it… I wouldn’t say no to sharing some with you…” 

So after all that, she really did want some, didn’t she? She didn’t have to go out of her way to put up an act like that. As Suimei was thinking such things, Lefille spoke up once more, almost imploringly. 

“U-Um… I-I mean, I wouldn’t mind some if you wanted some…” 

What else could Suimei say? She wasn’t being honest with herself. And so, pretending that he hadn’t heard or seen anything, Suimei let out a single sigh. 

“Man, you know what? I do have a craving for cotton candy all of a sudden…” 

“?!” 

“Hey, Lefille. Sorry, but could you go buy me some?” 

“I-I-I-I-If you insist. I-I didn’t know you had such a childish side, Suimei-kun.” 

Lefille replied in a stiff manner, but after Suimei handed her a few coins, she did a complete one-eighty and happily skipped off to the cotton candy stall. Watching her go with a broad grin, Suimei walked to a nearby bench to take a seat. Before long, Lefille came running back over with a helping of cotton candy in either hand. 

“Suimei-kun, I bought some!” 

The tiny Lefille excitedly plopped herself down next to Suimei. There was an unusual sparkle in her eyes. Suimei recalled seeing something similar back when they bought the frilly dress for her at the clothing store. 

“Hom…” 

With her transformation after the fight with Rajas, the childlike aspects of her personality had somehow become more conspicuous. It wasn’t like she’d regressed or anything, but because her body had shrunk, her behavior was being pulled in the same direction. 

“Hom nom…” 

But since it only looked like she was acting her age, nothing about it seemed strange. And when things got serious, Lefille was her usual self. But right now, she was cuter than ever and a delight to behold. 

“It’s so fluffy!” 

Suimei was casually thinking such things as he watched Lefille, who was engrossed with her cotton candy and stuffing her cheeks with it. However, before long… 

“Ah… It’s all gone…” 

“Do you want more?” 

“I-It’s not like I want to eat that much of it…” 

“Sorry, but you’re not too convincing after shoving it all in your face in no time flat like that.” 

Lefille scoffed and replied in a near scolding tone. 

“What’s this, Suimei-kun? Could it be you don’t know that’s how you’re supposed to eat cotton candy?” 

“What are you making up stuff for? You could look high and low and you wouldn’t find a kid wolfing it down like you just did. The only one with sugar smeared all over their cheeks with such a triumphant look on their face is you, Lefille.” 

“Wha—?!” 

Being caught completely red-handed, Lefille blushed even brighter than she had before. 

“It was so tasty that you couldn’t help yourself, right?” 

“I-I mean, it’s been a long time since I had any sweets, so I just…” 

Was she embarrassed? She probably was. But hearing Lefille say something like that was also somehow refreshing. Smiling, Suimei took a few more coins out of his pocket. 

“Here.” 

“But the budget…” 

“Don’t worry about it. It’s not like an indulgence here and there is gonna screw us over.” 

“O-Okay, then just one more. I’ll go get it…” 

And with that, Lefille once more ran off towards the cotton candy stall.