The market in Gaun.
Angel decided to go to the Adventurer Guild in Gaun alone, so we split up for now. After that, led by Sabato and Goma, our party headed to the largest market in Gaun to sightsee the castle town. Stalls lined this main street, creating a fantastical cityscape interspersed with lush greenery.
“Wow, it smells good! There are so many shops! But it’s in the middle of the forest!”
“This is what fantasy feels like!”
“Rion-chan’s words are too difficult for me to understand…”
The children gazed at the scenery with great interest, their hearts seemingly cleansed just by looking. The women were thoroughly enjoying the live cooking demonstrations at the stalls selling Gaun’s specialty, meat. Even within the category of meat, the ingredients and dishes varied greatly from stall to stall. The savory aroma of grilled meat wafting from everywhere was almost too much to bear. Efil seemed particularly interested, her eyes sharp as she observed to learn their techniques. Efil, it’s good to focus, but you’re making the stall owner a little nervous with your intensity.
Perhaps it’s because the Beast King Festival is approaching, but many races, not just beastmen, were bustling through the main street, and the town’s atmosphere felt bright and full of energy. Coming to Gaun at this time was the right decision. It was a perfect day for sightseeing, with no worries at all. Or so I thought—
“Ugh…”
“Geh…”
“Guh…”
Suddenly, a chill ran down my spine from my back. Gerard and Dahak seemed to feel the same, their bodies trembling noticeably.
“What’s wrong, you three? Your faces are pale!”
“Master, are you perhaps catching a cold? Gerard and Haku-chan too.”
“No, I don’t feel sick, but for some reason, I feel chilled…”
“Hmm, I felt a tremendous crisis approaching on the horizon… A tremendous something…”
“I felt a chill like a new rival has appeared…”
“What’s with that incredibly specific premonition?”
It was an intuition that I shouldn’t think too deeply about, yet would be bad to ignore. I couldn’t explain why. My Detection Skill wasn’t reacting, so I could only call it a hunch…
“Your Highness, Your Highness! That stall is amazing!”
“Whoa, hey!”
Melfina grabbed my right hand and pulled me towards the stall in front of me before I could resist. My questions were still unresolved, though… Well, there’s no point worrying about it. Positive thinking.
“Oh, you have your eye on that, huh? It’s a favorite of mine too. Goma, you like it too, right?”
“I do, but don’t overeat like last time. You’ll get a stomach ache again.”
“Whoa, they’re skewering dice-shaped steaks. That looks filling.”
It’s like a barbecue skewer. Even a single one of these, with just meat, seems quite substantial.
“That’s right! And they drizzle this secret sauce over it… *gulp*”
“…We have a reservation at a restaurant, so just a little bit.”
“Your Highness! I love you!”
Melfina hugged me tightly. It’s rare to find a Goddess so honest with her desires. Now, how much should I buy to satisfy Melfina’s slight hunger? Let’s see…
“Old man, give me 20 of those skewers.”
“T-twenty, sir? You do seem to have a rather large group, but I don’t think the children could even finish one.”
“Ah, it’s fine, it’s fine. They’ll eat it all. Here’s the money.”
As the old man pointed out, Shutra and Ryuka probably couldn’t. Rion and Efil, who eat little, might also struggle. But that’s all for Melfina.
“Y-yes. Thank you for your business… Please wait a moment while they’re cooked.”
This stall makes everything to order. There’s no pre-made food. Efil scrutinized the process again, not wanting to miss a single step. The old man was flustered by the gaze of such a beautiful girl. Is Efil planning to master all the cooking in this area… But the old man was a true artisan and skillfully completed one skewer after another.
“Whoa! If Mel’s going to eat that much, I’ll try too— Ah, just kidding. So put that fist down, Goma. I was really kidding! It’s dangerous for others in this crowd!”
“~♪”
A cheerful Mel waited for her food, humming a tune while hugging my arm. She paid no mind to the bloody battle unfolding behind her. The Goddess is cruel.
“Oh, you’re being modest for you, Mel?”
“I want to enjoy other kinds of meat too. Besides, Efil will make the same thing for me.”
“Yes. I will master it during our stay in Gaun!”
Huh, you’re still going to eat more? Damn, my estimate was off…!
“Brother, they don’t sell any vegetables around here. It’s all meat, no veg. Veg.”
Has his portable stick run out? Dahak looked around the surrounding stalls. But I didn’t think there were any vegetables he liked around here. Let me ask Sabato— No, he’s still in a standoff.
“You can’t eat meat, so you’ll have to wait until the place we’re going to. It has them.”
“Really?! Whoa, thank you, Brother!”
“Kya!”
I instantly turned, scooped Melfina up, and dodged Dahak’s charge towards me. I seem to have startled Melfina, who was absorbed in watching the cooking, and her cute cry echoed in my ear.
“Hey, why’d you dodge!”
“Well, when you do it, it doesn’t look like a friendly gesture, or rather, it has a certain… dangerous aura.”
“Huh? I don’t really get it.”
“I don’t want to think about it either, so it’s fine.”
So please stop doing that from now on. If you want to thank me, I’d be happiest if you became stronger than you are now. The Dragons should be close to evolving in terms of level, but they are all Ancient Dragons already. If they evolve further, will they become Dragon Kings? There might be conditions other than level.
“Um, Your Highness…”
“Ah, sorry. I’ll put you down now.”
Come to think of it, I was holding her in a bridal carry. It was an impulsive action, but it’s quite embarrassing to do that in front of people.
“…”
I put her down immediately, but Melfina’s face turned bright red and she started steaming— Whoa, she’s really hot!
“M-Mel? Are you alright?”
“Feh? …N-no, I’m fine. It’s just, it was so sudden, so I was a little surprised…”
“Is that so? That’s unusual for you, Mel. Aren’t you catching a cold yourself?”
“N-no, I’m not! Ah! Your Highness, look! It seems the skewers are ready!”
“…”
Mel is usually the type to be assertive, but perhaps she’s weak to actions she doesn’t intend? It was Melfina’s flustered state that caused the Demon King annihilation proposal. In short, when she’s on the receiving end, she completely crumbles. —How cute. Alright, I’ll save the current Mel’s appearance in my mental photo gallery, processed by parallel thought, for all eternity. Along with Goma’s panty shot.
“Sir, thank you for waiting.”
The stall owner handed me the skewers in a wrap made of leaves. These leaves also had a faint sweet scent, perhaps for aroma. Whoa, this has some weight! Each skewer must have at least 300 grams of meat on it! This should be enough to keep us busy until we reach the restaurant!
“Mogu, mogu… Your Highness, mogu… Don’t stare so much, mogu, eat it, I… ”
She’s speeding up out of shyness!
In the end, by the time we reached our destination, we had bought large quantities of meat dishes from three other stalls as a temporary measure.
