Ch 44: Operation Moonlit Festival Date: Day One （part 1）

The Light Moon Festival is finally here. Bal, after completing Mrs. Zeril’s commission, had been looking forward to this day; he was finally going to carry out his date plan.

Early that morning, Bal got up early. He glanced at Phia, who was still asleep in bed. Hmm, good, the kitten hasn’t woken up yet. So he changed his clothes and prepared to go downstairs to cook.

Bal was dressed very casually today. He wore a pure white shirt and loose casual pants. He went to the kitchen, put on the pink apron Phia bought him, and began making Phia’s favorite sandwiches.

He took out the bacon and eggs, heated a frying pan over high heat, then poured in a small amount of lard. After the lard melted, he put the bacon in the pan and fried it until cooked. The lard mixed with the fat from the bacon released a rich aroma in the pan. After the bacon was six-tenths cooked, he moved it to the side of the pan and cracked an egg into the pan. The egg white immediately began to solidify and turn white upon contact with the heat. When the egg white was fully solidified but the yolk was still runny, he took out the fried egg and sprinkled it with salt and pepper. Then he did the same thing and made three more of the same runny fried eggs. By this time, the bacon was also cooked, so he took out the bacon and fried eggs and put them on a plate.

At this time, Phia came downstairs to the kitchen in her pajamas. Little Greedy Cat was attracted by the scent of bacon. After seeing Bal cooking in the kitchen, she went to wash up.

Bal took out the white bread he had bought from Gu’er yesterday afternoon—he had spent a lot of money to custom-order it. He sliced the bread into evenly thick slices, fried one side in the remaining oil in the pan, and then spread Phia’s favorite butter on the fried side. Then he took out the washed tomatoes and lettuce from the vegetable basket, sliced the tomatoes, and put them together with the lettuce on a slice of fried bread. Then he scooped a small spoonful of mayonnaise from the can—this was also custom-made from Gu’er—and spread it on the lettuce and tomatoes. After that, he layered on the fried eggs, and arranged the bacon in a tic-tac-toe pattern around the yolk, then added another piece of lettuce and two slices of tomato, and finally covered it with another slice of bread. A perfect Bal’s loving breakfast sandwich was made. Then he made another sandwich in the same way, and poured two cups of hot milk. Finally, after Bal placed the breakfast on the dining table, he prepared to go and call Phia to eat.

He was just about to go upstairs when he saw Phia coming down from upstairs wearing a red dress. Phia, unlike her usual self today, had her hair from both sides of her temples tied back with a thin string, had light makeup on her face, and was wearing white stockings that he didn’t know when she bought. Seeing Bal looking at her downstairs, she quickly walked to his side. Phia put her hands behind her back, her expression very playful and cute.

“How about it? Do I look good?”

Bal was captivated by the little cutie in front of him. He shouted in his heart, I see it! It’s pink! And a bow! As he prepared to go upstairs, he looked up and saw under Phia’s skirt. Hearing Phia’s question, Bal quickly snapped out of it and looked at the somewhat different Phia.

“Beautiful, so cute, I love it. Remember to put on your shawl when you go out later.”

“Hmm?”

“I don’t want others to see your back.”

Hearing Bal’s possessive words, Phia let out a silvery laugh. Then the two of them went to the dining table to eat.

“So delicious! Bal, what is this sauce? It’s a little sour, but it tastes so good! Ah! It’s also spread with butter, and the yolk is runny, it’s amazing!”

Phia took a bite of the sandwich in front of her; the delicious food made her exclaim repeatedly.

“Eat slowly, nobody’s going to fight you for it.”

Bal said, while wiping the mayonnaise off Phia’s face.

Phia watched Bal wipe the sauce off her face, then she grabbed Bal’s hand and sucked the finger that had sauce on it until there was no taste left before letting go. When Bal’s finger left her mouth, a silver thread was also drawn out.

Phia blushed, licked her lips with her pink little tongue, and then looked at Bal playfully.

“Mmm~ So delicious.”

Bal was stunned by this scene. He hadn’t expected Phia to make such a bold move. Looking at Phia, who was like a little devil, he blushed and silently ate his breakfast.

Today’s breakfast victory, Phia!

After breakfast, Bal took a black, waist-length cloak from the wardrobe and put it on his shoulders, then hid his short sword under the cloak. After tidying the bed, he called Snowdrift and Moony, held Phia’s hand, and went out to enjoy the festival.

On the first morning of the festival, there were few people on the street because it was an annual consecutive holiday, and many people chose to sleep in on the first morning.

Bal lamented his miscalculation, when he saw an ornament shop open in the distance. So he took Phia’s hand and walked towards the ornament shop.

When they reached the shop entrance, the two of them pushed open the door, and hey, what a coincidence, Anda and Randall were also in the shop choosing ornaments, and the two of them were very close, holding hands. That’s right! Anda and Randall were on a date, just like Bal and Phia.

“Good… good morning, Master.”

“Oh, Randall, when did you get so close to her?”

Bal put his arm around Randall’s neck and started whispering.

“The day… the day before yesterday, when I just got back.”

“Kid, not bad.”

“Not as good as Master. Mistress is so beautiful today, and Master is very handsome too, we can’t compare to you.”

“Have a good rest, cultivate your relationship with Anda more, remember to invite us to drink when you get married.”

“Yes! Master!”

After the master and apprentice finished whispering, they went back to their partners.

Phia held Bal’s arm and pointed to a bow hair ornament with her free hand.

“Buck, this is so pretty, I want it.”

Seeing the kitten make a request, Bal took down the ornament and went to the shopkeeper.

“Shopkeeper, how much is this?”

“Ten copper coins. Young man, you have a good eye; this is today’s new product.”

“I’ll take it.”

Bal took out his wallet to pay, then he put the ornament on Phia’s hair tie.

“Hmm, perfect!”

“Thank you, Buck, Buck is the best!”

Bal ruffled Phia’s little head.

At this time, Randall chose a grayish-yellow headband. He did the same thing, paid, and put the headband on Anda’s head. The color of the headband matched Anda’s brown hair very well.

“Thank you, Randall. I like it very much.”

Anda, unlike her usual cheerful self, was very reserved in front of Randall, and even blushed when Randall touched her ear.

After saying goodbye to Randall at the entrance of the ornament shop, the shops on the street gradually opened. Bal took Phia to a dessert shop. Three days ago, he got the news that this dessert shop would launch new desserts during the Light Moon Festival.

The two of them went to the outdoor seats of the dessert shop. The weather at the end of October had begun to turn cold, but the sunlight was still warm on their bodies. The shopkeeper came to their side, handed them the menu, and asked what they wanted to eat.

“Two Tiramisu, and I’ll have a lemon juice. Fei’er?”

“Let me see, one cream puff and a hot cocoa.”

“Okay, two Tiramisu, one cream puff, one lemon juice, one hot cocoa. Please wait a moment.”

After the shopkeeper repeated the items they ordered, she took the menu back to the counter. The two sat on the chairs, basking in the morning sun, their expressions very relaxed.

“You’re eating so many desserts, will you still be able to eat at noon?”

“Hee hee hee, you wouldn’t know. When it comes to desserts, girls have another stomach to hold them, you know.”

“Aren’t you afraid of getting fat?”

“Mind your own business! The calories I eat will only go where they should go.”

After Phia finished speaking, she put her arms around her chest, showing off her 36D to Bal.

Bal smiled. He pinched Phia’s little face and continued to wait for the shopkeeper to prepare the meal.

After ten minutes, the shopkeeper came to their side carrying a tray. She put down the desserts and drinks one by one, then bowed and left.

“Try this, this Tiramisu is a new product just released today.”

Hearing Bal’s suggestion, Phia gently scooped a piece with a spoon, and the sweet taste filled Phia’s mouth.

“Mmm! So sweet! So delicious! Buck, will you make this for me at home too?”

“That might be a little difficult; I’m not very good at making desserts.”

“So useless, Dumb Dog.”

Phia glanced at Bal with a look of disdain, then continued to enjoy the delicious Tiramisu. At this time, Bal also began to eat his first bite of dessert.

“Mmm! It’s really delicious.”

“See? See? So you should learn how to make it, so you can eat it every day.”

“I’ll try my best.”

Bal said with a wry smile. He took a sip of lemon juice; the sourness of the lemon perfectly offset the sweetness of the Tiramisu, allowing him to continue enjoying the delicious dessert.

After Phia quickly finished the Tiramisu, she started eating the cream puff. She opened her small mouth, gently bit into the puff, a gap was bitten into the puff, and the light cream flowed out from the gap. Phia quickly used her mouth to catch it. Immediately, her mouth was covered with cream. Seeing this, Bal quickly used his handkerchief to wipe Phia’s mouth; he didn’t dare to use the same method at home on the street.

After Phia finished the puff, the two sat on the chairs, drinking their drinks and basking in the sun, contentment written all over their faces.

After eating and drinking their fill, Bal paid. He was ready to take Phia to a new place.