After playing gas with Mom and I finally fulfilled her princess dreams. Then, I escorted her back ho first before heading back to explore more of the castle on my own.
The castle still wasn't suitable for living in—many facilities were outdated, and except for the bedroom, most areas hadn't been cleaned yet. It was so huge that it would take a lot more hands to properly clean it and make it livable.
I thought about asking Doraemon to buy so robots, especially those female ones that looked pretty attractive in the original stories. That way, I wouldn't have to hire a bunch of people, which could be risky.
As I was pondering this plan to discuss with Doraemon, I suddenly heard the sound of a motorcycle. I looked down from the castle wall and saw Lotte on her bike.
"Miss Lotte!" I called down in greeting. She dismounted, waved back, and held up so food, gesturing for to co down. Perfect timing, since I could use so energy after all the earlier activity.
"How is it, Nobita? How does your family like the castle?" Lotte asked.
"They're very pleased, though since it's not fully cleaned yet, I sent them back ho after showing them around," I explained.
"I'm glad they like it!" Lotte seed happy to hear that her family's castle was appreciated.
"Miss Lotte, you..." I started to say.
"I wanted to check if you needed anything," Lotte explained. "I'm also worried about you after the ghost incidents that scared away other buyers. I've long suspected my uncle was behind those, and I fear he might cause trouble for you."
"Thank you so much for your concern, Miss Lotte," I said gratefully, touched by her caring attitude.
"Actually... I also miss this castle and wanted to spend more ti here," Lotte admitted apologetically.
"No problem at all, Miss Lotte! You're welco anyti!" I smiled.
"Thank you!" A new light seed to shine in Lotte's eyes.
"Here, try so German food! You haven't had it before, right?" Lotte changed the subject, waving the package she brought.
Since the castle kitchen was still damaged, we set up a pot in the central courtyard where the view was better than the dark castle interior. Lotte added onions, sausages, at, potatoes, and spices to the pot.
As we waited for it to cook, we walked around the castle chatting. Lotte enthusiastically showed around, pointing out features like the Rose Tower where mountain water was stored. She shared the castle's history, explaining how it used to be called the Spring Castle for its many pools and fountains.
I knew the treasure was real and connected to the springs. If Lotte found it, she could potentially buy back the castle. While I understood her attachnt, I had purchased it fairly and intended to keep both the castle and the treasure.
When the food was ready, I found it rather plain compared to ho cooking, though I politely praised it seeing Lotte's enjoynt. Our conversation deepened as we discovered similarities in our family situations—I was from a single-parent ho, and Lotte had lost both parents. Her gaze grew noticeably softer toward .
Suddenly, Yosef stord over, angry about the castle's sale. I figured the company must have finalized the transfer with the German governnt. Yosef, fixated on the treasure, likely learned of it imdiately through his connections.
Lotte's phone pinged with what was probably confirmation of paynt, but she didn't even check it, trusting completely.
"Uncle, what are you doing here? You can't enter without the owner's invitation now," Lotte taunted without bothering to stand. "And my personal affairs are none of your concern."
"You'll regret this!" Yosef sputtered before stalking away defeated.
After Yosef's interruption, neither Lotte nor I felt like continuing our al.
Since we had already toured the castle, what else could we do?
Both of us fell into silence.
Just as Lotte was about to say goodbye, I spoke up first: "Miss Lotte, you must still be hungry!"
Lotte wasn't sure what I had in mind, but she nodded, since we hadn't eaten much before Yosef interrupted.
"How about this—would you like to co to my ho as a guest? You can try so of our local cuisine!" I smiled as I extended the invitation.
"Your ho? To Japan? Are we taking a plane right now?" Lotte was surprised. We had only t a few tis, and I was inviting her to a country thousands of miles away? How many days would that take?
I could tell she wanted to ask if I had gone crazy!
"No, not by plane—it's a different thod. It's very fast, just the blink of an eye," I tried to explain reasonably.
"There's sothing that can cross distances that quickly?" Lotte was puzzled.
"Well, Miss Lotte, just co with and you'll see," I said, leading her to the Anywhere Door since showing would be better than explaining.
Lotte followed with curiosity.
We arrived at a pink door fra standing upright.
I stepped forward and turned the doorknob.
When I opened the door, the view inside wasn't of the castle, but rather a room.
"How did you do that? This is amazing!" Lotte exclaid in shock.
She reached out to touch it and found her hand didn't pass through the fra but entered the room on the other side.
"How is this possible?" Lotte muttered in amazent.
Not wanting to explain too much, I simply said, "Miss Lotte, just think of it as so kind of high technology!"
"High technology? Your country has such advanced technology?" Lotte was even more confused.
"How should I put this... it's just sothing I have access to! Let's not dwell on that—so Miss Lotte, would you like to co to my ho as a guest?" I knew explaining further would be endless, so I changed the subject back to my invitation.
"Alright, I hope I'm not imposing!" Lotte realized this was probably soone's secret, so she stopped asking questions.
"Not at all, welco to my ho Miss Lotte!" I said as I prepared to lead her through the Anywhere Door.
"Wait, can I ask you one question?" Lotte suddenly called out to as I was about to go through.
I wondered what else she wanted to ask.
"Go ahead!" Though puzzled, I wanted to hear her question.
"Why did you invite to your ho?" Lotte stared directly at .
I laughed—what kind of question was that?
"Aren't we friends now? Is there sothing wrong with inviting you over for a al? Besides, didn't you just treat to a al earlier, Miss Lotte?"
Having answered her question, I quickly led Lotte through the Anywhere Door before she could ask anything else.
I wasn't sure what she was thinking, but the corners of her mouth turned up slightly.
Passing through the Anywhere Door, Lotte arrived in my room.
Although she had seen it from the doorway, only upon entering did she realize how small it was. "Miss Lotte, this is my ho. We've only recently beco well-off enough to afford the castle," I explained.
"Nobita, you built this from nothing? That's amazing!" Lotte, who hoped to restore the Münchhausen family, deeply admired my successful efforts.
"Oh no, I just hope you don't mind the modest surroundings!" I felt embarrassed seeing Lotte's admiration.
Actually, I had ntioned this before in our conversations, but perhaps Lotte hadn't fully believed it then. Now she was surprised by how different things were.
"Not at all! People who succeed through hard work are the most admirable. After my family's decline, I lived in much worse conditions than this. Despite being older than you, I haven't achieved the success you have, and even had to sell our ancestral castle!" Lotte shook her head sadly.
Just as I was about to comfort her, Doraemon's voice ca from downstairs.
"Nobita, what's going on? Why is it so noisy up there?" Doraemon asked while opening the door.
"Oh! Miss Lotte? How did you get here?" Doraemon said in surprise.
"I invited Miss Lotte over as a guest," I explained.
"I see! Welco, welco Miss Lotte!" Doraemon said with a smile.
"Sorry to intrude!" Lotte responded with a smile.
"Not at all!" Doraemon and I replied politely, leading Lotte down to the living room.
Looking at the Japanese decorations before her, Lotte could hardly believe she had really arrived in Japan in the blink of an eye.
"Mom, I brought a guest—we'll be eating at ho," I went to tell Mom while Doraemon entertained Lotte.
But Mom was already waiting in the kitchen. "I know, I saw already."
"By the way, is she your new girlfriend?" Mom teased.
"No way, she's just the castle seller—we're friends," I explained awkwardly.
"Really?" Mom seed unconvinced.
But she still said, "Well, it seems like it's heading that way eventually. But don't forget about Shizuka."
Mom knew about my relationship with Shizuka and didn't want any tragedy to occur later.
"Don't worry, things are fine between Shizuka and ," I felt even more awkward.
"That's good!" Mom didn't press further, knowing I had my own thoughts. She just wanted to be mindful.
"Mom, don't forget—I have you too! How could I forget about you?" I hugged Mom lightly while smiling.
"You! Always teasing !" Though Mom scolded with a blush, she was clearly happy.
After playing around with Mom for a bit, I returned to the living room.
We continued chatting about local customs and culture.
Then Mom brought the food to the table.
Seeing the feast before her, Lotte understood why I couldn't eat much of what she had made earlier.
She felt sowhat ashad.
"Miss Lotte, please enjoy!" I smiled, indicating she should feel at ease.
"Mm!" Lotte smiled back before putting the food in her mouth.
Savoring the delicious food and watching the warm family atmosphere, Lotte felt very envious.
She thought how wonderful it would be if she could join such a family!
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