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Just a Pinch of Mandarin Orange Right... Here

Translated by: ME

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*****

Recap of previous events

The Lady and Franz keep watch over the Ramen-Shop-flavored butcher shop.

There, they find the heroine, Flora (Butcher), whose design—from her name to her appearance—is a complete carbon copy.

Flora (Butcher) is engaged in a charmingly petty argument with a young man who seems to be an old acquaintance.

And then, the "hidden character" who doesn't understand the meaning of being hidden—the King’s brother—makes his appearance.

What will become of Flora (Butcher)’s fate...!?

***

「...Was a recap really necessary?」

「It’s about the atmosphere, Franz! Mood is important!」

Seriously, Franz, can you do something about that half-hearted 「Haa...」 response?

The young knight looked startled by the sudden appearance of the King’s brother. I mean, obviously.

The dimwit Duke’s son back at the greengrocer didn't notice His Highness, but this knight youth seems to realize that this guy is the "Freshness Prince"...

His Highness lightly raised a hand to stop the young man from bowing.

「Why do you bow? I am but a mere commoner!」

He let out a hearty 「Hahaha!」 but if he's going to claim to be a 「mere commoner,」 he really needs to do something about those sparkling, extravagant clothes.

「If someone calls that being a 'commoner,' it wouldn't be surprising if a riot broke out...」

It’s no wonder Franz is exasperated. Today, as always, the man looks like nothing other than the King’s brother, no matter how you look at him.

Next to the bewildered knight, as for Flora-chan...

She looks in-cre-di-bly annoyed!!

Her brow is visibly furrowed! And her eyes are actually kind of scary!!

Flora, that man is technically of noble birth! You can't look at him like that!!

Wait, the Flora-chan here at the butcher shop seems a bit different, doesn't she?

To a commoner, the King’s brother should be someone far above the clouds—someone they’d never even interact with. There shouldn't be a reason for her to look that disgusted...

In fact, Flora-chan (the greengrocer) didn't even realize his true identity...

And most importantly, she has already built a friendly relationship with Taurus.

Is it possible that this Flora-chan is... that?

「Um... may I help you with something?」

Flora-chan’s tone is heavily laced with 「I’m onto you!」

The Freshness Prince laughed brightly in response. Honestly, Your Highness, the way you laugh 「Hahaha!」 at every single thing is starting to grate on my nerves...

「I am but a mere commoner, but I happened to be strolling through this area today. As I walked, I discovered this wonderful butcher shop!」

So theatrical.

He’s projecting from his diaphragm, so the sound carries perfectly even if you aren't trying to listen.

「What is with that vocal technique?」

Right? Even stage actors usually talk normally in their daily lives...

「Maybe as part of royal etiquette, they have a course on abdominal breathing...?」

He’s royalty, after all, with many opportunities to address a crowd from a balcony. Even as he is, he’s still a Royal. It wouldn't be strange if there were lectures on 「Dignified Speaking」 or 「Vocal Projection for Long Distances.」

「The King doesn't talk like that, though.」

True.

I’ve never had a private audience with His Majesty, but he gives speeches at New Year’s parties and such. Despite how I act, I am a high-ranking noble. I move in those circles.

The King is someone who speaks slowly in a very calm, gentle voice. He lives in a castle with a Disney-esque flavor, but he doesn't have a high-pitched voice like a certain mouse king.

「Er, um... Your High... no, F-Fu... er... Sir? What business do you have at this shop?」

Taurus is struggling with how to address the Freshness Prince.

I don't blame him. The guy is obviously the King’s brother, but claims to be a 「mere commoner.」 On the other hand, a knight can't exactly treat him like a random peasant.

「Hahaha! As I said before, I just happened to pass by while on a stroll! ...Oh! So pork is on sale today!」

His Highness was looking at a poster that looked very handmade. In a cute "Pop" font, it said: 『Every Wednesday is Pork Day!』

「In that case, I think I’ll take that glossy breast meat over there!」

Hey! What happened to Pork Day!?

Breast meat is chicken, right!? Or do they sell 「Pork Breast」 here? I’ve never seen that... The area around a pig’s chest would probably be the belly (pork rose), I think.

「Um, the breast meat is chick—」

Flora-chan suddenly covered Taurus’s mouth with incredible force. It was less of a cover and more of a slap. I heard the 「SMACK!!」 from all the way over here... That had to hurt, Taurus...

「Breast meat it is! Please wait just a moment!」

With a slightly strained smile, Flora-chan disappeared into the shop. Before that, she whispered something to Taurus, but I wonder what it was?

Taurus stood there, alternating between looking curiously at the Freshness Prince peering into the shop and rubbing his mouth where he’d just been smacked.

「I was just thinking...」

Franz, who had been watching the scene like I was, rested his cheek on his hand and sighed.

「Does the King’s brother... even know which meat is which?」

「He’s a man who can't tell the difference between cabbage, lettuce, and napa cabbage. It’s safer to assume he doesn't know the difference between meats either.」

Well, if I were to defend him, I could argue that meat is harder to tell apart than leafy greens. There are actually a certain number of people who can't tell the difference between beef and pork.

The fishmonger—the highest difficulty level for product identification—is still to come, but that's hard even if you aren't the Freshness Prince. If the skin is off and it's just a fillet, even I can't tell the difference between yellowtail, young yellowtail, and medium yellowtail...

「Thank you for waiting! Here is your breast meat! That will be 68 yen!」

So cheap!! Wait, is that domestic!? It's not Brazilian or anything, is it!? Is that price okay!? Or is it from Thailand!? ...Ah! Brazil and Thailand don't exist in this world!

「Thank you, I’ll take it. ...You there.」

When His Highness called out, a man dressed in all black appeared smoothly from the corner of the shop. A black suit and sunglasses. Fine. But even the shirt underneath is black? I said 「all black,」 but that’s so dark it actually draws the eye.

Is it possible that everyone around the Freshness Prince is... 「that kind of person」? That’s quite a lineup...

The man in black pulled out a wallet and handed some coins to Flora-chan.

「I’ll take seventy yen. I’ll have your change ready in just a—」

「No, keep the change!」

His Highness gave a cool 「Hmph」 and a smirk.

IT'S ONLY TWO YEN!!

「Being told 'keep the change' for two yen... all you can really think is 'Uh, okay,' right?」

「Honestly, it makes me think 'Are you really trying to act like a big spender over two yen?' instead.」

I couldn't help but nod at Franz’s comment.

If he’d paid with a ten-thousand yen bill and said that, it might be a 「Oh, heavens, Sir! Are you sure!?」 moment, but it’s two yen. That’s the amount people drop into a donation box at a convenience store.

However, Flora-chan was all smiles. Not the smile she gave Taurus, but a perfect business smile. A smile worth selling for zero yen.

「Thank you very much!」

Even her voice was in full business mode.

That girl is good...!!

「I made a fine purchase today. I shall return, Lady!」

Leaving behind a boisterous 「Hahaha!」, the Freshness Prince walked away with his man in black. Incidentally, the man in black was carrying the purchased chicken.

「The King’s brother lives in a mansion near the castle, right?」

「Yes.」

Being a royal, he lives in a massive estate.

「He probably has a lot of servants... what is he going to do with just one single piece of chicken breast?」

「Maybe someone will eat it?」

It’s not necessarily for His Highness to eat.

「If it’s a professional chef, maybe they’ll turn even a single chicken breast into some grand, gourmet platter?」

「I’d prefer teriyaki.」

Whatever. Eat what you want.

Once the Freshness Prince was completely out of sight, Flora-chan let out a very long, deep sigh.

「...Sorry, U-chan. Is your face okay?」

「My lip is cut.」

Flora-chan looked apologetic as Taurus spoke while touching his mouth.

「Waa! I’m really, really sorry!!」

「It’s fine... just be a bit more gentle next time.」

Taurus gave a wry smile and gave Flora-chan’s head a rough pat.

Uwaaa~, so bittersweet!!

Flora-chan took Taurus’s hand and pouted, saying 「Stop it.」

Ahhh~. You guys are great. So bittersweet. It’s just like an otome game~.

It’s more of an 「otome game」 than the actual original game~!

「Then, I’m claiming some yakitori as compensation!」

Taurus said in a playful tone, and Flora-chan laughed and gave him a salute. 「Yes! Understood!」

What is this~?

So bittersweet~.

It’s as bittersweet as a mandarin orange in a vinegar salad~.

「U-chan, what do you want? ...Oh! Only up to five skewers!」

「Hmm... three skin, one heart, and one cartilage! Skin with sauce, heart and cartilage with salt!」

「Okaay. Wait just a minute.」

Sauce skin! Heart! Cartilage!

「...Shall we buy some to take home?」

I was suddenly snapped back to reality by Franz’s voice, which was thick with exasperation.

「Y-yes! We should contribute to Flora-chan’s shop sales!」

「...Is that so?」

Damn it, stop that look of exasperation!

Well then, are you saying you can resist the allure of yakitori!? Are you telling me you have a heart of steel that doesn't get drawn to those food trucks at the supermarket entrance that smell so good!?

Flora-chan returned with a small plastic bag and handed it to Taurus. The bag had the shop’s logo on it.

「Here. I don't do services like this very often, you know!」

Heeey!! Are you a galactic diva!? Are you going to say 「Listen to my song!」 next!?

Taurus laughed happily at the line. So fresh... The muscle-brain who was fresh even in the game is several times fresher in reality...!

As a side note, plastic bags are free in this world. It’s not widely known, but plastic is made from petroleum, and in this world, environmental pollution from plastic waste hasn't become a serious issue yet.

...Well, maybe it just hasn't become apparent yet.

If a 「Plastic Bag Fee Bill」 were proposed in this world, I’d want to use my full power as a member of a Marquis family to block it. There’s no benefit for the shops, either.

Taurus took the bag from Flora-chan and raised his hand slightly.

「See ya. I’m heading back to work.」

「Yeah. Good luck!」

Flora-chan waved, and Taurus replied with a short 「Yeah」 as he walked away.

「The King’s brother was surprisingly quiet today.」

「He was.」

Seriously, though, stop talking about His Highness like he’s a wild bull or something.

Well, it’s true that he backed off much more easily than he did at the greengrocer.

But there was a reason for that. It was Flora-chan’s handling of him.

She didn't engage with the King’s brother in any way beyond a 「normal clerk-and-customer interaction.」 She didn't react at all to his ridiculous behavior and maintained her 「clerk mode」 according to the manual.

That is actually the 「Event Avoidance Method」 for the King’s brother.

You shouldn't give special treatment to crazy customers. ...What a cold, harsh avoidance method...

But Flora-chan pulled it off perfectly. Even going so far as to smack Taurus’s mouth when he tried to nitpick His Highness.

Well, Taurus might have been in a bit of pain, but he got free yakitori out of it. It’s not just a wash—he’s actually significantly in the black.

「Well then, Milady, shall we do some shopping and head home?」

「Yes.」

I stood up, following Franz’s lead. I gave a quick 「Thanks for the meal!」 to the staff and left the café to head across the street.

「Welcome!」

When we stepped into the butcher shop, Flora-chan greeted us with a cheerful, friendly voice.

Various meats were lined up in the showcase. Next to the refrigerated case was a smaller one for side dishes. In the corner of the shop, there were pre-packaged sides as well. There were even dried goods like beef jerky.

The yakitori variety was incredible: skin, thigh, green onion and meat, tail, meatballs, liver, heart, cartilage, unhatched eggs... and every single one could be ordered with either sauce or salt! Dammit, I can't decide!!

Actually, that ham cutlet looks good! The minced meat cutlet is tempting too! A chicken breast cheese cutlet... you can't go wrong with that!!

While I was carefully examining the showcase, Franz spoke to Flora-chan.

「Yes. Have you decided?」

「Er... six kilograms of pork belly, in blocks.」

KILOGRAMS!?

I looked at Franz in surprise, and he stuffed a small memo he’d been holding into his pocket.

「Since I said I was going out, I was asked to do some shopping while I was at it. ...So, Milady, have you decided?」

I can't decide...

But before that, there’s one thing I want to confirm with Flora-chan. Conveniently, there are no other customers around right now.

「Um, excuse me...」

I called out to Flora-chan, and she responded with a very friendly smile. 「Yes, how can I help you?」

Looking at her charming, friendly smile, I took a small breath and, after bracing myself, I spoke the words.

「By any chance... are you familiar with KoiSaba...?」

*****

Some joke that may or may not need to be explained, probably....

Antoine describes the King’s castle as having an "Urayasu flavor" and notes that the King does not have a high-pitched voice like a "Mouse King." Urayasu is the city in Japan where Tokyo Disneyland is located. If you remember in the previous chapter that the King's Castle is "That Castle".

When the Freshness Prince calls for help, a man in a black suit, black shirt, and black sunglasses appears from the shadows.This is a trope common in Japanese media (like Detective Conan or Yakuza films), but the specific detail of the "black shirt under the black suit" is a nod to stereotypical "shady bodyguard" or "secret agent" fashion. Antoine notes it’s so edgy it actually makes them stand out more.

When Flora hands the yakitori to Taurus, she says, 「I don't do services like this very often!」 (こんなサービス、滅多にしないんだからね！). This is a direct quote from Sheryl Nome, the "Galactic Diva" from the anime Macross Frontier. Her catchphrase is usually followed by her telling people to "Listen to my song!" (Watashi no uta wo kike!).

Antoine refers to the Prince as an "Ata-oka" customer. This is Japanese slang (short for atama ga okashii) meaning "someone whose head isn't right" or "totally crazy." It’s a very blunt, modern term used to describe the Prince's eccentric behavior.

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