Chocolate and Table Manners

“I don’t want to!”

“You don’t want to?”

“Yes!”

Theodore stared intently at Leon, who was baring his fangs and growling.

There was a strange pressure in his gaze, for some reason, but Leon didn’t back down. Instead, he glared, growling fiercely.

Leon’s defiance towards Theodore was just like an instinctive act to protect his body in an unfamiliar environment.

“Grrr, Grrr!”

“……”

However, Theodore faced him with a calm demeanor and warned in a low voice.

“I’m telling you nicely, don’t go near my teacher.”

“Teacher… Who is it?”

“……”

Theodore, who was sharpening his claws, crumpled his face for a moment, as if his enthusiasm had been dampened by Leon’s slow speech.

What was he doing with this kid who couldn’t even speak properly? Theodore realized it too late and let out a long sigh.

“Do you even understand what I mean?”

“…What words?”

“The word ‘flirt’.”

“Flirt…?”

Leon tilted his head, and his tail swung in the air. The long wolf tail hit the shelf with a thump.

As the items on the shelf were about to spill out, Theodore quickly approached and caught them with his hands.

“What are you doing!”

“…?”

Leon had only understood the superficial meaning of the word ‘flirt’. Leon, who didn’t understand Theodore’s words, tilted his head.

I’m going crazy. Theodore scowled.

“Forget it, just be well-behaved from now on. Got it?”

“Hmph, I don’t want to!”

“You little…”

“You’re… even smaller than me!”

“What?”

From an adult’s point of view, two children of similar size were glaring at each other.

Certainly, Leon, as a beastman, was slightly taller and had a bigger build.

But strangely, Leon didn’t feel bigger the more he fought with Theodore.

That’s why he puffed up the fur on his tail and ears and started to hiss.

What to do. If he was pushed back by this guy too, his rank would really plummet to the bottom.

Leon was looking at Theodore anxiously.

“Are you still not done?”

“…!”

Theodore’s body flinched at the voice coming from afar. Leon looked at Theodore with questioning eyes.

“Ugh!”

“Wash up quickly.”

“Apu-pu!”

“If you go down looking like a mess, my teacher will be disappointed in me.”

Theodore poured water on Leon out of the blue and said in a low voice.

Leon was startled by the cold water and clung to the wall. And then he glared at Theodore, bristling his fur.

“I don’t want to wash!”

“Come here quickly, you dumb mutt.”

“I’m not… dumb!”

“Shut up, mutt.”

“Uaaaah!”

A chase ensued. Leon really hated water. He liked drinking water, but he hated having it poured on him. So he tried to run away from Theodore, who was spraying water.

After a long struggle, the two were finally able to escape the bathroom.

As they went down the stairs, Sian was waiting, having prepared clothes for them to change into.

“Are you all washed up?”

“Yes, Teacher.”

“Leon too?”

“……”

He asked nicely, but Leon cowered behind Theodore, clearly frightened. It seemed he was still afraid of him. Sian gave a bitter smile.

Theodore glanced at Leon, who was hiding behind him. He wasn’t even covered by his big body; it was a foolish act.

But it was better than this mutt trying to act friendly with Sian, so he remained silent.

“Now, let’s eat.”

“Yes.”

“…!”

As they went to the kitchen, a savory smell pricked their noses.

Leon, who was very hungry, widened his eyes and perked up his ears. His guard was immediately lowered.

‘Meat…!’

Leon’s gaze was fixed on the meat on the table.

The thick meat was only lightly seared on the outside, and the blood was subtly visible. Leon couldn’t resist his surging appetite and dashed to the table.

“No, this dog doesn’t even say thank you…”

“Just leave him be.”

“Tch.”

Carli glared at Leon, who was devouring the meat, as if displeased, but Sian, on the other hand, looked at Leon with satisfaction. Theodore started eating quietly beside him.

‘He must be very hungry.’

The way he was so cautious of his surroundings and ate the meat so frantically seemed a bit pitiful.

Sian put a glass of water in front of Leon and said.

“There’s more, so tell me if you want some.”

“…!”

Leon, who had been eating diligently, raised his head.

Leon, with meat scraps all over his mouth, widened his eyes and looked at Sian.

‘Meat… Good person if gives meat…!’

Whirr, Leon wagged his tail forcefully. It was an instinctive action he wasn’t even aware of.

Sian nodded at Carli, and Carli grumbled and brought more meat, piling it up in front of Leon.

“Eat a lot.”

“Wow…!”

It was a relief he knew that beastmen ate a lot compared to their size.

He had prepared quite a bit of meat, so it would probably be enough. Sian continued eating, feeling proud of his foresight.

However, he thought he should teach him some table manners.

It was certainly not a pleasant sight to tear and eat with his hands, leaving the knives and forks untouched.

Carli was openly frowning and muttering curses.

‘Teach table manners, huh.’

Leon was originally destined to become a s*ave gladiator.

He didn’t know why he had ended up here while being sold as a s*ave, but thinking of the original work made him hesitate.

It was enough that he was the only one intervening in the original work.

If he made Leon live differently from the original, he couldn’t know what would happen.

Like Theodore’s strange sleepwalking, Leon might also experience something unexpected.

“Huu….”

“Sian-nim, what’s wrong?”

“No, it’s nothing.”

“…?”

Carli looked at Sian with a puzzled expression because he seemed to lack energy, but Sian shook his head and continued eating.

“Burp….”

“Are you done?”

“……”

“There are more desserts, though.”

“…?”

Dessert? Leon, who only knew meat as delicious food, tilted his head.

The humans who had confined him occasionally gave him round, hard food and thin liquid in a bowl, but it tasted so bad that Leon had never eaten it properly.

So, Leon was wary of this unfamiliar word. Sian watched Leon, who was once again bristling his fur, with a smile and placed a dessert on the table.

“Theo, do you like cookies?”

“Yes.”

He gave cookies to Theodore first and also took care of his own share of the dessert.

Carli wasn’t interested in the dessert, so he just drank the bitter herbal tea. Finally, Sian gave Leon something black and round.

“…?”

“This is called chocolate. Try it.”

“Cho… colate?”

The papio, which grew in hot regions, was especially favored by dark elves. Papio was very similar to the cocoa beans of Earth.

When Sian accidentally discovered it and showed them how to process it, the dark elves became fascinated by the papio fruit.

Sian was now fully enjoying the benefits.

He made chocolate, chocolate cookies, and cocoa with it. If he distributed it in the empire, more recipes would come, but he couldn’t because of the unfavorable relations.

Anyway, what was in front of Leon now was chocolate, the most basic dessert that could be made with papio fruit. But it was the most popular dessert among the elves because one could feel the rich taste of papio.

“Sniff, sniff.”

Leon first smelled the chocolate. But the smell wasn’t very good. Leon wrinkled his face because of the chocolate’s peculiar, musty smell.

“It smells a bit strange, but it tastes good.”

“Ugh.”

“Hmm…”

Looking at Leon shaking his head, as if he didn’t want to, Sian reached out his hand.

And he picked up one of the chocolates and put it in his mouth. As the chocolate melted in his mouth, the sweet taste filled it.

“See, it’s fine. Try it.”

“……”

When he once again assured him it was okay, Leon reluctantly moved his hand.

He cautiously picked up a chocolate and sniffed it again. Then, he finally couldn’t resist his curiosity and took a big bite.

“…!”

Leon’s eyes widened. His dark blue eyes trembled violently as if in shock. Leon rolled the chocolate lump he had in his mouth with his tongue.

Then the sweet taste spread throughout his throat. The fur on his upright tail trembled.

‘Delicious…!’

It tasted so good, even though it wasn’t meat. Leon was stuck in shock for a while and couldn’t get out of it. The sweetness he felt for the first time made Leon unable to move.

“Huhu.”

Sian looked at Leon with a smile. The dark elves who had first eaten chocolate had all reacted the same way.

Sian smiled, remembering that time.

“Teacher.”

“Yes?”

“I want to eat chocolate too.”

“Really?”

“Yes.”

Theodore liked desserts, too, but he didn’t eat very sweet things.

So, he preferred cookies with fruits or nuts rather than chocolate cookies.

But why was he saying he wanted to eat chocolate? Sian was puzzled but readily granted Theodore’s request.

“Here, eat it.”

“……”

“Why, what’s wrong?”

But Theodore just stared at the chocolate on the plate.

Why wasn’t he eating it? Sian, puzzled, asked, and Theodore raised his head and opened his mouth.

“Can’t you feed me like last time?”

“What?”

Theodore begged with sparkling eyes. Sian was a little embarrassed because Theodore, who was usually mature, wasn’t doing something he usually did.

“Yes? You fed me last time.”

“Well, that’s…”

That was certainly true. Sian remembered the events of last winter.

He had seen Theodore, who had a cold, struggling to take the medicine, so he had put a smaller chocolate in his mouth.

Theodore was talking about that time.

“Ah.”

“……”

Sian looked down at Theodore, whose mouth was open, with a troubled expression.