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Volume 4 Chapter 11.3

Translator: Reflet
Editor: Weasalopes

「Shall I tell you？」

　Everyone there nodded at Haruna, who had given a response to Artiem’s question.

「Right before we moved base to Stiren, we took down a behemoth in Crest Cave. This particular chunk would be near the rear end.」

「I see, that explains why it is tasty.」

「Haruna-san has done it again.」

　The priestess princess and her procession had expected that kind of answer from Haruna. However, the crowd around them didn’t seem to quite grasp the situation…

「Did she just say……、behemoth……？」

「Wait, did she seriously take down that thing？」

「Nah, she’s clearly just trying to act cool.」

「But I don’t see why she would risk telling lies to people of that status……」

　The crowd became disorderly when they heard the outrageous name. Douga, who saw this, masticated the last piece of food as he thought to himself.

「Hm, aye. Haruna, I have a bit of an idea for ye.」

「What？」

「While it’s true that they gave the line to us spontaneously, I wish to make up for cutting through line. Can ye make enough of it to feed this many people？」

「We have plenty of meat to go around if you give me enough time.」

「Then please do. I shall pay you as much as you require.」

「Roger. After that I’ll add your tab.」

　Haruna said as she began cooking up more and more behemoth meat chunks. Some new customers arrived, enticed by the smell, but…

「We’re full here～、we’re full here～」

「Only the people who were lined up first please～」

「Come next time～」

　Suddenly there were more octogals in the area (either they split off or called their friends), blocking the big path as they led customers to other booths, with disinterested voices. Sometimes there were unreasonable customers, but since the octogals were mollusks and extraordinarily strong against blows, they wouldn’t get damage from regular punches.

「Punishment for bad boys and girls～」

「Che○Divine Punishment～」

「Fig～、fig～」

　For customers who were both unruly and physically violent, the octogals began saying things like that as they played a variety of pranks (that we would rather not discuss) in order to drive them away. The other customers watching this spectacle didn’t seem to want to be in that situation in public, deciding not to pick quarrels and go off to other booths.

「Cooking done～？　Done～？」

「Yep. Thanks.」

「You’re welcome～」

　Estimating the completion of the cooking, the octogals had returned to their original size and assembled in front of the food stand. Thanking them, Haruna handed out some scraps. You might see this as a reward for organizing the line.

「So Elle-chan, since you came here, I’ll take it as a sign to close up shop for the day.」

「Is it that really okay with you？」

「We didn’t have much in stock anyway. I’ll either have everyone finish it off or sell on a different occasion.」

　Haruna said, quickly closing up shop. In actuality, their stock consisted of curry bread and hot dogs, with a combined total of fifty servings. This was the kind of amount that would not be hard to finish off in their home, especially considering the Prevent Rot enchantment storage.

「Plus, this seems to be an unavoidable situation.」

「Right you are……」

　Thinking of everything that would be happening after this, Aearis stiffened her expression. Thanks to Hiroshi’s meddling in Crest Cave, the situation went from worst to much better. Still, this wasn’t an optimistic sort of situation and would not change the fact that they had to resolve it as soon as possible.

「Hold on a moment, kay? I need to clean up here.」

　Haruna said, putting away the last bit of machinery before placing the booth into the capsule. Any onlookers made a commotion at this unexpected function.

「Alright, let’s go. Where’s the car？」

「Artiem-sama has it.」

「This is pretty far away from where we’re going, so I think the car’s the best option. Is it cool if I hop along？」

「Of course.」

　Aearis responded cheerfully to Haruna’s request. Artiem had already returned to the entrance to bring out the limousine again.

「So Artiem-san’s driving now, huh」

「Her driving is far safer and gentle, so feel free to relax, lassie.」

「I can kinda see that honestly.」

　Haruna was surprised to hear that Artiem was driving, but after hearing Douga’s additional explanation she kind of had to agree.

「Ah, sorry. Gonna make a little detour.」

「Something happen, Haruna-san？」

「I need to go report to the trade guild and let them know I’m done.」

　Nodding at Haruna, Artiem drove safely and gently as she listened to Haruna’s directions. After this little detour, the priestess princess and her group went straight to Stiren Workshop.

「Sorry for asking ye to come so soon.」

　Fastforward to Stiren Castle. Soon after Haruna got back, she was met by the Farlane ambassador and Forre Castle’s emissary, and Aearis ended up going into the castle before she even had a chance to relax. 現在は謁見ではなく、公式の面会という形で対面している。

「I intended to see you right after analyzing the situation, so it really wouldn’t have made a difference. Please do not worry on my behalf.」

「I am glad to hear that.」

　Aearis kept a smile on her face as she responded to the Forre king’s apology. It was in fact a bit hard on her to not have a breather or two, but considering how she got a quicker permission to meet with the king, this situation was ultimately a plus.

「Then let’s get this errand over with quickly. Ye no doubt anticipated this discussion concerning Elza Temple.」

　The king charged straight into the conversation without any of the pleasantries. Still, everyone was aware of the situation, and thus no one showed any signs of surprise.

「There’s been an abnormality on the road to Elza Temple. I do not know the precise time this happened, but it was probably after Crest Cave became a dungeon.」

「I have also confirmed this through Alfemina-sama. I’d like to apologize for something.」

「What might that be？」

「The crown prince of our country investigated without asking your permission in order to find more information. I apologize for not prioritizing the report and petition for permission.」

「That is fine. Although it is concealed from the general public, it is not off-limits. There is no issue with someone entering or researching the location. Besides, such a location is not the kind that just anyone can stomp into without the proper qualifications. The fact that you were able to find the path to the temple without permission shows that Elza-sama has permitted you, and therefore I have no reason to judge you.」

「I thank you for your generous words.」