#410
The Great Festival of Humanity
“Eri-ling will make the prettiest songpyeon!”
Knead, knead.
Eri carefully tore off a piece of dough, flattened it round, stuffed it with filling, and wrapped it up.
“Hehe. I’ve finished the heart-shaped songpyeon filled with Eri-ling’s fiery love for Master!”
She beamed as she displayed the pink, heart-shaped songpyeon on her palm.
“Eri-ling unnie, what is that? No matter how I look at it, Haru’s songpyeon is definitely cuter. Nishishishi. Super kawaii gyaru, beautiful girl Haru’s cute songpyeon is the absolute best.”
Haru next to her showed off the songpyeon she made.
It was in the shape of a rabbit.
Admittedly, it was a little cuter than the heart songpyeon.
“Hmph! Eri-ling can make cuter songpyeon too!!”
“Then show me! Show me! Eri-ling unnie! Everbebebebebebebebeb!”
“Hiiiii! What the?! Hey, Haru?! Did you just say all that to Eri-ling?!”
“I did, so what? Not my problem~ Kukurupingpong~ Are you mad? No matter how you look at it, Haru’s songpyeon is way cuter, right?! You can’t do anything, right?!”
“Hey! Haru!!”
Eri got riled up watching Haru stick her tongue out at her.
Now, it was just like any normal day as the two started playfully bickering over the dough.
It was Chuseok, and watching this was giving me a headache.
“······The beautiful songpyeon made by the beautiful daughter, Shinozaki-ryu’s vision of making songpyeon······.”
Between Haru and Eri was Rin.
Wearing a hanbok and sitting modestly, Rin, who claimed to be a wise wife and good mother, was carefully pouring all her focus into making songpyeon from greenish dough.
“Come here! Haru!”
“Nishishi. Eri-ling unnie is super slow. It’s so funny.”
At that moment.
In the midst of their squabble, Haru and Eri poked Rin’s arm.
Rin’s face stiffened slightly upon seeing the squashed dough.
“Washboard, Haru······.”
Rin shook her shoulder, looking at the ruined songpyeon dough.
She stood up.
Grrrrrrrr.
A chilling aura emanated from Rin’s body.
“How dare you touch my songpyeon dough! You better be prepared!”
“Calm down, Cow!”
“That’s right! It’s all Eri-ling unnie’s fault!”
“I won’t listen to excuses. You both come here.”
“Kyaaaaa! Eri-ling unnie! Run away!”
“The cow has lost her mind!”
Crash, bang.
A chase began in the living room between Rin, Haru, and Eri.
The chase between Rin, Haru, and Eri began.
It was a complete mess, a total catastrophe.
I couldn’t help but imagine how disastrous it would be if the living room weren’t as spacious as the playground.
Wait, did my parents design the living room this big for this very purpose?
Chills ran down my spine.
The one in charge of constructing my parents’ mansion was now my dedicated secretary, Han Seo-Jin.
I turned my gaze towards her.
“······.”
“It’s been a while since we made songpyeon, right, Seo-Jin?”
“······Ah, yeah.”
I spotted Han Seo-Jin quietly sitting in one corner, making songpyeon alongside Yoo Se-Ra.
Clad in a black hanbok that resembled funeral attire, Han Seo-Jin silently nodded at Yoo Se-Ra, who wore a bright beige hanbok, while shaping the songpyeon with an expressionless face.
No way, right?
Han Seo-Jin seemed oblivious to my gaze and continued making songpyeon with professional movements.
Swoosh, swoosh.
At an almost machine-like speed, Han Seo-Jin quickly formed the songpyeon.
In fact, seeing the gray flashes sparkling from her hands, it was clear she was using her Speedster Gift to make the songpyeon.
I just couldn’t understand why she would waste such an amazing ability on this.
I’m losing it.
“Khkhkh. I have no hobbies that suit mere humans, but I shall create this servant, embodying even a fraction of the majesty of the Saint of the Crimson Lotus herself······. Kukukuku. Pitiful humans will kneel before my servant.”
Next to her, Beatrice was mumbling some middle schooler-level nonsense while shaping something with the dough.
Servant, what could she possibly be making?
It was hard to guess just by looking at it.
Good way to put it, it’s unique; bad way to put it, it was something indescribably bizarre.
“Hawawawa. Miss Beatrice, what in the world is that supposed to represent? An internal organ? A sea cucumber? An indescribable cosmic horror?”
“Sea, sea cucumber?! This is a servant crafted by my own hands! Contractee!”
Evangeline, innocently asking about the object Beatrice was making while shaping her own pink songpyeon, made Beatrice flustered as she blushed and retorted.
Servant, what on earth.
Is that songpyeon safe to eat?
I’m worried.
“······Hehehe. My masterpiece is finally coming together······.”
“······Songpyeon······. Songpyeon······.”
“Let’s make pretty songpyeon······, Mayu.”
“······Kim Deok-Sung and I······. Uh······.”
On the other side, Seira, Wilhelmina, Mayuzumi Mayu, and Saionji Aris, the older sisters’ quartet, were focused on crafting songpyeon around a basin filled with dough.
Aris, lost in her thoughts, kept mumbling with her lips while blushing as she formed the songpyeon.
The oldest was Wilhelmina, but it was a strange combination where Mayu looked the oldest.
“Fueee······.”
“······I’ll work hard too······.”
“Jiijijijiji······.”
I also caught sight of the trio of Kasumi, Satou Rena, and Makoto gathered together making songpyeon.
“······Miss, this is how you make beautiful songpyeon.”
“Alright. Bella. We’re going to show the might of Kim Deok-Sung’s harem!”
Olivia was making songpyeon with Bella.
With her platinum blonde hair flowing and a lady-like smile breaking out, Olivia was joined by Bella, dressed in a traditional hanbok with a frilled apron over it, topped with a headband instead of a jokduri.
“Your Master’s Master’s Master will surely be satisfied with this level.”
Bella said while shaping the songpyeon.
What is this, some sort of nested question?
What’s with Master’s Master’s Master?
Is it referring to our mother?
This is absurd.
“Hehehehehe. Songpyeon for Deok-Sung-chan…”
Someone else was making songpyeon alone.
It was Ishihara Saori.
Click.
As she pressed the button on the remote in her hand, four robotic arms shot out from the backpack strapped to her back, quickly combining ingredients to manufacture songpyeon.
The speed was on par with Han Seo-Jin using her Speedster gift.
What’s with the robotic arms for making songpyeon?
This is an utterly pitiful sight for someone who could be called the greatest genius and super genius beautiful girl scientist who has won the Nobel Prize twice this year.
Absurd.
“Washboard, Haru. What are you two doing not coming over here?”
“Kyahhhhh! Save me, Haru!”
“The cow has gone mad!”
Meanwhile, the chase continued between Rin, Haru, and Eri.
“Aigoo, ladies, don’t run around too much. Dust gets into the songpyeon. Dust. Run around a bit later.”
The endless chase finally ended when Mother stepped in.
“S-sorry, Mother. Eri-ring, I was wrong.”
“Dehetpero… my super cute gyaru☆little sister Haru made a mistake… Can you let it slide just this once? Deok-Sung Mama.”
“I-I’m sorry, Mother. This sin can only be atoned for with harakiri…”
With Mother’s words, Haru, Eri, and Rin kneeled down.
Seeing Rin mention harakiri with a serious expression made Mother chuckle.
“No need for harakiri! Just come make songpyeon with me. Come here, ladies.”
At Mother’s words, Rin, Haru, and Eri approached like docile sheep and began to make songpyeon happily.
“Hahaha…”
Father watched the scene and laughed.
Cold sweat trickled down his back.
Is this really okay?
This is supposed to be a joyous holiday, but it feels more like sitting on pins and needles.
*
Thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of the seventeen heroines, the songpyeon-making was wrapped up swiftly.
I thought I would help if hands were short, but it wasn’t needed at all.
Especially, Speedster Han Seo-Jin and Ishihara Saori with her robotic arms took care of 80% of the mountain of dough.
“Phew. It’s all done.”
Mother smiled at the piled up songpyeon dough.
Seeing Mother’s proud smile warmed my heart too.
“Mother! What’s next? Is it time to make jeon?!”
“I’ve heard that making jeon is essential for Korean holiday food preparation. Just give me any order! I’ll work like a servant according to Shinazaki-style vision!”
“Eri-ring too! Eri-ring will do anything Master Mama tells her to!”
As soon as the songpyeon making was finished, the heroines rushed in with enthusiasm.
The heroines charged enthusiastically.
At the front were Olivia, Rin, and Eri, their eyes sparkling.
“Master Mama?”
What in the world is that ridiculous title?
I can’t take it anymore.
“Oh dear. Pretty ladies, don’t do that cooking thing. If you make me do that these days, I’ll get into trouble, you know, like in the family world.”
Looking at this, my mother smiled contentedly.
“Family world! Who’s saying such nonsense? This is what a dedicated maid should do! It’s only natural!”
Just then, Olivia clenched her fists and was about to speak passionately when—
Swoosh.
Somewhere, a bending sound echoed.
Everyone turned their gaze.
There stood Ishihara Saori.
“Hehehe. It’s gonna be all about me, Saori, winning the game. Now that Round 1 of making songpyeon is done, I’m going for Round 2 with pancakes, and I’m gonna score big with Deok-Sung’s mommy!”
Saori, with glasses, stuck out her tongue.
On the large electric grill in front of her, they had already placed prepared pancakes like meat pancakes, mung bean pancakes, and donggeurangttaeng, which were now cooking.
Robot arms equipped with pancake-flipping gadgets flipped the pancakes in perfect synchronization, while other robot arms combined ingredients and whisked the batter in stainless steel bowls.
It looked exactly like a fully automated pancake-making factory.
Unbelievable.
Why are they making pancakes with such advanced robotics?
“Wait! Saori! That’s cheating! Haru too! I’m making my pancakes too!”
Haru, Saori’s closest friend, was the first to dash toward the grill.
“That’s right! How can we let Olivia Napoleon Bonaparte sit back and let you cook pancakes? That’s outrageous!”
“I can’t lose helplessly to machines. I’m about to show you the Shinozaki Style Vision Pancake-making starting now!”
Then Olivia and the other heroines, led by Rin, rushed to the electric grill.
Our mother remained silent as they competed to sizzle the pancakes.
“……”
My face is burning.
I can’t believe how embarrassing this is.
What a shame.
That feeling I had back in the early days of being thrown into this damn light novel world resurfaced.
Is it really okay like this for Chuseok?
“……Son. Is everything okay? It’s not that family world, right?”
My mother asked me with a slightly worried expression.
I mean, between making songpyeon and flipping pancakes.
The heroines are doing about 99% of the holiday labor, and while I didn’t ask them to do it, just sitting back and watching could lead one to think otherwise.
Especially if they don’t know that this is voluntary labor coming from their competition.
“It’s all good, Mom.”
I replied awkwardly while looking at her.
What family world?
Such things don’t exist in the kind-hearted light novel heroines.
No, maybe I should’ve done it instead.
I suddenly regretted that thought as I gazed out at the garden.
Sizzle.
The sound and smell of pancakes cooking filled the living room.
And thus, the noisy first day of the Chuseok holiday, preparing for the rite, came to an end.
Finally, the day of the great national, no, humanity’s grand festival called Chuseok arrived.
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