Chapter 35 – An Egg is an Egg

Ŕèàd̈ ̈ôn̈ ̀​Ḱát́​R̈éâd̈ín̈g̀C̃​à​f̂ê​

I saw an omelet on the plate that looked somewhat unnatural no matter how much it was dressed up. A cute, small-sized omelet that seemed to claim it was made small because of a lack of eggs.

There were traces of effort to fill the surroundings with other foods to avoid awkwardness, but… it was too conspicuous for that.

My hand gripping the utensil tensed up.

“Claudia….”

When I called that name softly, she responded with a bright smile.

“What’s the matter, Shaa?”

Claudia was tapping the omelet with her fork. The omelet touched by the fork softly accepted the fork as if boasting of its fluffiness.

Looking to the side, Cecile was already about to put it in her mouth. The flesh of the omelet split by the fork was impressive.

“Ce-Cecile, wait a moment.”

Cecile, who had stopped her fork in front of her mouth, tilted her head and spoke with a voice full of questions.

“Lady Shaa? What’s wrong?”

As if asserting she wanted to eat quickly, transparent liquid was slightly smeared on her small mouth. When I reached out and wiped it, a smile bloomed on her questioning face.

I awkwardly smiled back and turned my gaze to Claudia again.

“Claudia… this omelet… it’s not, right?”

“Is there a problem? Should I call the waiter?”

“…D-don’t change the subject.”

Unable to directly ask if it was the egg I had laid, I hesitated, and in the meantime, Claudia’s fork cut through the omelet. The yellow omelet, cut in half, disappeared into Claudia’s mouth in an instant.

“…”

After staring blankly at that sight, I turned my head.

Cecile, who thought there was no problem after seeing Claudia eat, was also chewing with the fork in her mouth. The omelet, cut in half, had lost its other half and remained on the plate looking pitiful, as if crying.

Blood rushed to my face, making it hot.

“N-no, what if you eat that!? Wh-what if it has a bad effect on your body…!”

“It’ll be fine. It came from the medicine Shaa made, so how could there be a problem?”

Although my shoulders perked up a bit at those words… I shook my head.

“I-I’m really grateful for your trust, but I need to research it first, and it’s troublesome if you just eat it all up like this.”

“Don’t worry about that, I kept the biggest one.”

Claudia took out an egg from her bag and showed it to me. It was the first egg that had caused me great pain. The sensation from that time came back, and my lower abdomen contracted.

Cecile’s innocent voice was heard.

“Was this food made from what Lady Shaa laid?”

“…Probably. If you feel strange or sick at all, tell me right away—”

Cecile shook her head vigorously from side to side.

“Not at all. It’s extremely delicious!”

“…R-really?”

Claudia, who had been watching quietly, added:

“It’s as the assistant says. It’s been a while since I’ve had such a delicious egg… dish.”

Should I be happy…? I felt complicated. Soon, I sighed and gave up. I couldn’t tell them to spit out what had already gone into their mouths.

Meanwhile, Cecile, who had cleaned her plate, tilted her head and asked me:

“Aren’t you going to eat, Lady Shaa?”

“…”

Without answering, I looked down at the plate.

At this moment, when it became certain that I had laid it. Somehow… I felt mixed emotions. Recalling the time when it came out continuously, pushing through my flesh, my body trembled a little.

…Do harpies feel like this too?

“Lady Shaa! If you’re not going to eat it, may Cecile have it?”

“I-I’m going to eat it…”

“Is that so?”

“Yes…”

I reflexively replied like that.

Cecile, who had asked, was humming a tune, anticipating the next dish, and Claudia was looking at me. With a face wanting to hear my impression.

…What’s the big deal?

It’s just… an egg laid by a human. Of course, humans don’t lay eggs, but… yes, it must mean my skills are amazing enough to make such things possible.

Thinking like that made me feel better.

I cut the omelet with my fork. The yellow piece, smoothly cut with no resistance, was picked up with the fork. It looked like an ordinary egg dish. The smell was… normal.

When I was about to put it in my mouth, I felt a bit nervous. After gulping once, I opened my mouth… and inserted the fork.

I bit the omelet with my teeth and removed the fork. A silver thread of saliva that had pooled without me noticing stretched long.

The omelet on my tongue was…

Delicious.

So much so that I felt a bit regretful that I couldn’t eat it again.

“How does it taste? Well, I can tell just by looking at your expression.”

“…”

Unable to reply, I finished eating the remaining omelet.

…The egg I laid… was that delicious.

After that… we ate normal food and came out of the restaurant. When I heard the chef come out and ask Claudia where she got the egg… I was so embarrassed I wanted to die, but… hearing that he would buy more at a high price if she could get them again, my mood improved a little.

Anyway.

Originally, Claudia had planned more activities, but since they were places for… c-couples… we decided to just return to the workshop.

I received the egg from Claudia, who escorted us home with a disappointed face, and… waved goodbye.

Since we returned earlier than scheduled and had time left, I headed to the workshop. While responding to Cecile, who was chattering about the food we had eaten.

I began examining the egg in the cool workshop. Placing it on both hands and bringing it close… The surface looked smooth. It was heavier than I thought. When I unconsciously held it against my lower abdomen… I thought, remarkably, it came out of there.

…Thinking about it, it seemed obvious since human women give birth to babies larger than this. I shook my head to dispel the thought and continued examining the egg.

I couldn’t find anything particularly special. It was literally… an egg.

I considered breaking it to examine the inside, but I postponed that until tomorrow.

…It wasn’t that I was planning to eat it for lunch tomorrow.

After sending Cecile, who looked sleepy, upstairs first, I sat at the desk and wrote a letter. The recipient was… of course, my dear master.

Master. Your disciple has finally suffered the humiliation of laying eggs. I’m not rushing you, but… since there’s been no word from you, I’m sending this letter out of concern.

While writing the letter, the events of the day kept coming to mind. Then, the organ that hadn’t been in my body contracted with a tingling sensation. It felt bad. Shuddering at the feeling that my body wasn’t my own, I continued the letter.

I sealed the letter, excluding the paper where I had poured out various complaints. I didn’t feel good about sending a letter filled with indignation that I had written down without realizing it.

I pretended it was nothing, but… it seemed that wasn’t the case. I put the sealed letter in the drawer and moved to take a shower.

As I received the warm water pouring from above, I felt a bit better.

When I stroked my stomach… an organ that originally didn’t exist revealed its presence. The memory of Claudia gently pressing came to mind. I felt anxious about memories that shouldn’t have been experienced being repeatedly engraved in my body.

I thought, what if I can’t go back to how I was?

No, surely I can go back.

Even having such weak thoughts must be due to my changed body.

After finishing the shower, I returned to the bedroom with my heated body, and Cecile was asleep. Her sleeping position, curled up like a shrimp, was cute.

Still, I took some comfort in the fact that I wasn’t alone.

…When considering it, this happened while making Cecile… but it’s not Cecile’s fault.

Carefully climbing onto the bed, I unconsciously embraced Cecile. Cecile, who mumbled a little, clung to me. Her warm body temperature felt good.

I wasn’t originally someone who sought others’ body heat….

But it didn’t feel too bad.

As I was stroking Cecile’s fluffy hair… I thought of the potion I had stashed away somewhere in storage.

Then… wouldn’t it become even fluffier?

With that thought, I fell asleep.

“…You must have earned a lot of money, so why do you live in a place like this?”

The red-haired woman grumbled as she walked. Before long, a house that looked somewhat out of place with the surrounding scenery appeared. Seeing it, the woman understood why someone would live in such a place.

But different words sprang from her mouth.

“…Splurging money like that.”

Nevertheless, what made her walk remained unchanged.

As the red-haired woman standing in front of the gate was about to press the button to call, a noisy sound was heard.

-Ah, Lady Asha! Please calm down!

The red-haired woman knew she had come to the right place from the voice she heard. After all, she heard the name that had been engraved on her since her academy days, remaining like a scar. It seemed a bit noisy.

But what bothered the woman more than that was the voice calling that name.

“…A woman?”

The woman, who had unconsciously muttered this, pressed the button. Not knowing why strength was entering her fist.

Before long, a silver-haired girl with an awkward face appeared.

The red-haired woman’s mind filled with questions.

KatTL