I Have a Plan

(Ceruno)

This is the set.

After trying out various combinations, Miss Barbara finally settled on her favorite outfit.

A light blue overall dress, perfect for pairing with a white shirt and white stockings.

I don't want to change it again.

It turns out she was tired of being a Barbie doll, like Miss Die.

Are you going to wear this outfit out now?

"I won't wear them now; I'll wear them to the concert tomorrow."

Yezi shook her head and said again:

"Sell us the rest of the clothes. Barbara needs everyday clothes; she can't be wandering around outside in her pajamas all day."

So, generally speaking, pajamas and slippers aren't allowed in shopping malls. Perhaps Barbara wasn't kicked out by mall security because she's cute?

Thanks to Ms. Wei Die's efforts, the outfit was taken care of, and Barbara raised her tablet to express her gratitude.

[Thank you]

She would be even cuter if she had more facial expressions.

"'Thank you' should be said aloud."

But Yezi took Barbara's tablet and made some rather demanding requests.

"Yezi, there's no need to force her like this."

"Relying solely on tablet typing isn't a sustainable solution. Now that you have vocal cords capable of producing sound and can understand language, why can't you overcome this psychological barrier? It's okay if you don't speak well at first; we can take it slowly..."

She knelt down beside Barbara, took her hands in hers, and said in a guiding tone:

"Barbara, come on~ try saying 'thank you'."

Miss Barbara seemed quite troubled by this request, staring blankly at the tablet in Yezi's hand with a bewildered expression.

But when he opened his mouth, all he could make were monotonous syllables like "ha~ yi~", unable to form words.

Ms. Wei Die awkwardly rubbed her arms in response.

Mono leaned close to me and whispered:

"Does Ceruno- chan think this is wrong?"

"Well, Miss Barbara is Ancient Tree, so it's understandable that she doesn't want to talk. The Yezi shouldn't force her to do something she doesn't want to do."

Mono can hear Yezi's thoughts; by asking her, he can find out Yezi's thinking.

"But she wants to speak, doesn't she? Otherwise, why would she concoct a potion to grow a voice for herself?"

Miss Barbara originally had no voice; I'd completely forgotten about that.

"But doing this won't teach her to speak, will it?"

"If you don't try, you'll have even less of a chance!"

As always, Mono seized every opportunity to hug me, taking advantage of me while laughing.

"Just like teaching Miluno 'girlishness,' everything has to start with a first step!"

"Ah?"

Girlish charm? Like Yezi?

"Well, it's nothing~ Anyway, I agree with letting Barbara speak."

Mono changed the subject.

"Just imagine, the Ancient Tree girl who couldn't speak before suddenly opens her mouth under the spotlight and reveals her heart to the audience. Wouldn't that be a fantastic performance? I guarantee the audience would be eager to pay their tickets!"

I imagined what Miss Barbara would look like on stage.

Her nervously rubbing her hands and stammering speech, coupled with her petite appearance, certainly evoked sympathy... Although the idea was appealing, a very real problem lay before her.

Do you really think she has a chance to learn to speak by tomorrow?

"I don't know."

Mono glanced at the time and patted Yezi on the shoulder.

"I'm hungry, shall we go eat first?!"

Ms. Wei Die, whom we had only recently met, insisted on treating us to dinner. Although we had established a cooperative relationship, we understood the principle of being obliged to those who offer help, so Yezi immediately declined her offer.

But deciding where to eat became a problem, not because there were no options, but rather because...

There are just too many choices!

Without considering the budget, I really don't know what to eat.

"Korea, Japan, and Korean barbecue; Sichuan, Chongqing, and Beijing hot pot; roast goose, roast duck, and poached chicken... I want to eat them all, but I can only choose one. God is so cruel!"

There are many things to eat, but we only have one mouth.

"Hiss--"

The sound of slurping saliva came from Miss Freya, who had been silently following us all along, while her stomach rumbled with hunger.

Guh----

This gardener, who comes from a culinary desert, is quite passionate about food. Long before buying clothes for Miss Barbara, she said she wanted to have dinner first, and it's quite kind of her to have endured it until now.

"What would you like to eat, Miss Freya?"

She took out a handkerchief, elegantly wiped away her drool, looked around several times, frowned and gritted her teeth, and finally lit up the translation app on her phone.

I want to eat them all.

Ah, what a completely useless reply.

The aimless wandering seemed to have made Yezi lose patience.

"How about we pick a buffet with a wide variety of dishes? I remember there are those places where you can grill everything in a pot, right?"

As she passed a seafood buffet restaurant, she added:

"Let's eat here."

This decision was rather hasty...

But it was almost eight o'clock, and there was no time to fuss. We paid the entrance fee for five people at the door and were led to a relatively quiet corner to sit down.

The restaurant's decor was nothing special; it was just a random restaurant I picked.

Buffets are usually set up with four-person booths, but the sofas at this restaurant were quite spacious. Since Mono, Mono, and Barbara are all short, we could squeeze into a row. Barbara sat at the very back, I sat in the middle, Mono, who volunteered to get the food, sat at the very front.

It was her first time at a buffet, so she was particularly excited. She had only been sitting down for a short while when she went with Miss Freya to get some food.

So, are trees carnivorous, herbivorous, or carrion-eating?

"Does Miss Barbara have any dietary restrictions?"

She shook her head, it was unclear whether she meant "no" or "don't know".

My question is a bit redundant. Even if there are foods I don't like, I wouldn't know that before I eat them.

"Let's continue our previous topic before the food arrives."

After wiping her hands with a damp napkin, Yezi continued:

"I've thought of a way to help you master language habits, and it's a shortcut."

"Oh?"

How well do Barbara and Crystal adapt to each other?

Barbara thought for a moment, then held up the tablet.

[Relatively high]

Yezi then asked, "But you haven't advanced yet, have you?"

Barbara nodded.

That might not be enough.

Yezi muttered to herself, resting her chin on her hand, then looked at me.

"Ceruno, your adaptability has improved, hasn't it?"

"Huh? Hmm, but it hasn't reached the advanced level yet."

That previous battle significantly improved my adaptability; while it didn't directly propel me to the next level, it should be close...

At least that's how I feel.

"Really? It's rare to see you so confident. Well then, give it a try."

"Try what?"

Yezi clapped her hands and gave a kind smile.

"You merge with Barbara and let her experience the feeling of speaking firsthand."

... ha?

It's the end of the month! Please forgive my (forced) efforts to work three nights a week this month!

Can I have some of that expired stuff?