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Volume 6, Chapter 13

 

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Translator: Manga0205

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　A major city of the South, the town of Elgrad, was currently enveloped by a huge commotion.

　A man that was at the center of it all breathed a small sigh.

「……On second thought, wouldn’t it have been better if we were in disguise?」

「What’re you saying. We’d obviously stand out no matter what we did.」

「That is true. If we had made that kind of appeal from the start, it would not have ended up with this commotion.」

　Rokuna and Ichika shrugged their shoulders in response to Vermudol.

　The Demon King Vermudol and his close aides have come──That was big news to the town of Elgrad.

　Everyone that normally didn’t have a chance to see them up close were a short distance away.

　The one renowned as the strongest corner of the Demon King Army, Ichika.

　The one said to have executed the Western Majins for the sake of the Dark Continent’s unity in the past, Nino.

　The Zadark Kingdom’s greatest Magician, Rokuna.

　A purple young lady and a white armored man that they didn’t really know.

　And then, the one that no one in the Dark Continent wouldn’t know of, the Demon King Vermudol.

　With all of these members assembled, telling them to not make a commotion would be impossible.

　These distinguished members visited a cafe that was at the center of the town.

　It was a store that was famed for having the best view of the still unnamed Southern Army auxiliary headquarters.

　Incidentally, since it looked like Nino, who was irritated by the gazes of the citizens, was going to violently scatter the crowds several times over on their way here, they reserved the shop so that there wouldn’t be any unnecessary damages.

　Vermudol’s group were sitting down at the first floor window-side seats that were said to be the best in the store……but immediately after seeing those seats, Shironos went to an employee and talked to them about something.

「Still……With this commotion, it won’t help the research.」

「That isn’t necessarily the case. This place will be a sight-seeing area from now on, right? This will be an experience for when the congestion becomes like this.」

「……So it’s all about how you think of it.」

　Although he said that, Vermudol didn’t deny Ykslaas’s opinion.

　Certainly, there were also things that could be first understood through seeing congestion of traffic.

「……The auxiliary headquarters can’t be seen from the window, can it.」

　The reason why it couldn’t be seen right now was because the crowds were sticking to the windows to see them, but once the sightseeing starts and people flood the windows, a similar problem would surely be produced.

「Should Nino scatter them? It’ll be done quickly, you know?」

　The annoyed Nino made a dangerous statement.

「You can’t.」

　When Vermudol pacified Nino, Shironos came back together with an employee.

「Let’s move to the second floor. There seems to be terrace seats.」

「A terrace? What, so there was something like that.」

　If there was a terrace, wouldn’t it be obvious that the scenery there would be much better?

　When Vermudol tilted his head wondering why they weren’t guided there in the first place, Shironos saw him and made a wry smile.

「Ahー……How should I put this? I suppose you could call it a psychological blind spot.」

「A psychological blind spot?」

「Yes. In other words, the citizens here have become used to seeing the auxiliary headquarters.」

　That’s right, for the citizens of the town of Elgrad, the auxiliary headquarters is a part of their everyday view.

　It certainly was magnificent, and had value on first sight.

　But, if it was seen everyday, its virtue would naturally fade.

　In that case, rather than the terrace seats that were enveloped in the sounds of the outdoor hustle and bustle, a quiet place within the store was better.

　That is why the employee purposely guided them to seats within the store……that was the gist of it.

　The best service that the locals would seek and the service that tourists would probably seek were different.

「And so, I had the terrace seats prepared. How about it?」

「Of course we’ll move there. You sure are considerate, Shironos.」

「No, it’s because I just happened to see was looked like terrace seats when we entered. Even if I said nothing, I am sure that someone of this group would have pointed it out.」

「How humble. I don’t hate that sort of thing.」

　Vermudol said that, stood up from his seat, and patted Shironos’s shoulder.

　Ichika and Rokuna followed after Vermudol who went in search for the stairs just like that and went further into the store, and Nino, who stood up from her seat after them, poked Shironos’s armor with her finger.

「Oya, is something the matter?」

　After Shironos turned his gaze towards Nino, Nino looked up at Shironos with a displeased-looking face.

「……What are the other things you noticed?」

「And, what do you mean by that?」

「You took too much time just for talking to the employee about the terrace seats. It’s clear you asked about something else.」

　Shironos smiled at Nino’s words as if he found them interesting.

「I see, it certainly is exactly as you say. And so, what reason would there be in me telling it to you?」

「It’s pointless for you to raise your favorability with Demon King-sama. Nino will make effective use of it.」

「Hahaha, I see. That is also just as you say. However, there is also the way of thinking where my evaluation is connected to Ykslaas-sama’s evaluation, so……?」

　Ykslaas, who Shironos had turned his gaze to, was waving her hand.

「You can go ahead and tell her. Even though it probably wasn’t anything great, you should stop putting on airs.」

「That is quite harsh. And here I thought I had gathered information that would be fairly useful.」

　After Shironos made a wry smile, he bent down and brought his mouth close to Nino’s ear.

「Well then, here is the recommended menu and the top picks of accessory stores of this town that I asked about earlier……」

 

　When Nino’s group went up to the second floor, Vermudol’s group was enjoying the scene that could be seen from the terrace.

「Nn? You’re pretty late, Nino. What happened?」

「Gathering information.」

　When Nino made that short answer, after looking at Shironos for an instant, Vermudol nodded looking impressed.

「Is that so. Did you learn something good?」

「Nn. The popular menu item is thorn-horned deer stew……But, there is a menu item that isn’t popular that Nino is interested in.」

「Hou.」

「Oya.」

　With those words, not just Vermudol, even Shironos raised a surprised sounding voice.

「There is a pie that uses Ringils. They created it thinking that it would sell, but it seems that it didn’t.」

「Ringil pie huh……」

　Ringils were fruit similar to the Ringos that were in mankind’s territory, but since they had a bit of a bitter taste, they were said to taste like a herb rather than a fruit, and weren’t liked all that much.

　Even so, since they were a kind of the precious sweetness and were good for the body as well, it was widely eaten in the Dark Continent.

「Although it’s small, it seems to be sweet. It’s about this size.」

　When Nino used both of her hands to make a small ring, Vermudol nodded with a *fumu*.

　It was just about right to place on a small plate.

　The local residents that firmly come here to eat lunch certainly wouldn’t order it all that often, but if it really was sweet, it might become a special feature for tourism.

「……I see. That certainly is good information. Let’s immediately eat some of that.」

　After Vermudol gently placed his hand on Nino’s head, he gave an order of several portions of Ringil pie to the employee.

「……I’m surprised. To think that you would pick up something like that from what I talked about.」

「Since Nino has high specs even as a woman, Nino specializes in that sort of thing. Nino is fundamentally different from others who are women in gender only.」

　Nino boastfully puffed out her chest, and Ichika and Rokuna had their brows twitch.

「Ahー……well, let’s put that aside for now.」

　Vermudol tried to change the topic without a moment’s delay, but it seemed that he was already too late.

「Hold on a sec, Ver-cchi. I can’t set that aside.」

「That is true. I cannot keep silent after being called inferior to Nino.」

　Taking his gaze off of the three who started glaring at each other, Vermudol turned a tired face towards Ykslaas.

「……Oi, what should I do in cases like this?」

「Do something about it yourself, okay, Demon King-sama?」

「But……」

　After poking Vermudol’s chest with a finger, Ykslaas giggled.

「Think of this as the bill for refusing to think about it up until now. No matter how much you try to avoid it, love grows. If you can realize it in this pleasant situation, don’t you think you’re getting it inexpensively?」

　Those were the words of an experienced person that neglected the dark emotions of the other members of mankind from when she was an Element in the past.

　And then, at the same time, they were also words turned towards Vermudol who was trying to get involved with mankind as the King of Mazoku.

「To think I would be told that.」

「That’s right. Agonize over it as much as possible. All so that you won’t regret it……okay?」

「……I shall do that.」

　What came to Vermudol’s group as they shamefully whispered that was the Ringil pie that emitted a sweet aroma.

　What was brought out after that was tea that used seasonal herbs. That aroma was enough to interrupt the three’s standoff.

　When Vermudol determined that this was a good opportunity, he clapped his hands with a *pan*.

「Now then, let’s eat. For the sake of an even better sightseeing plan, we need to have it while it’s fresh……right?」

「That is true. Let us have some while it has not gone cold.」

　Ichika nodded at Vermudol’s words, and Nino and Rokuna also took their seats.

　At one of the round tables that lined the terrace seats, Ichika, Nino, and Rokuna sat down as if to surround Vermudol.

　Ykslaas and Shironos were at another table.

「Well then, Ver-cchi, ahーn.」

「Nino will also give some. Here.」

「Now look here……If you all don’t eat too, we won’t be able to exchange our opinions on it……」

　With Vermudol saying that with an exasperated look, Rokuna and Nino exchanged glances.

「In that case, Ver-cchi, I think that it would be fine if you feed us, you know?」

「True. Rokuna, you also occasionally say some good things.」

　Ignoring Rokuna and Nino who nodded at each other, Vermudol turned his gaze to the silent one……to Ichika who nonchalantly got the right side seat next to Vermudol.

「Ichika, you say something t」

　In the next instant, a piece of pie was shoved into Vermudol’s mouth.

「How does it taste?」

　Ichika said that and smiled.

　Having resigned himself, Vermudol chewed it, and was surprised by its sweetness.

「……Hou, this certainly is sweet.」

　It seemed as if the Ringil was sweetly cooked with some sort of method and packed into a pie, and that mysterious bittersweetness gave it a taste that made it seem like it wasn’t made with Ringil.

　The bitterness had faded, and it was a taste similar to the Ringo that he ate in mankind’s territory.

「Is that so. In that case, this was a good discovery.」

「Yeah, that’s right. That being said, it was just my opinion alone though.」

　In response to Vermudol who said that, Ichika touched her own mouth with her finger.

　After Vermudol comprehended the meaning of that gesture and breathed a sigh sounding as if it couldn’t be helped, this time, pie was forced onto him from two different directions.

「……Like I was saying.」

「Ver-cchi, ahーn.」

「Demon King-sama, open up.」

　Seeing Vermudol reflexively press down on his forehead, Ykslaas laughed while covering her mouth.

「Hey, is this a flow where I should also do the “ahーn” thing?」

「……Please give me a break.」

　Vermudol muttered that sounding as if he were tired from the bottom of his heart.

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