Book 7: Chapter 13

「……I see, I understand now. Yeah, I understand very well now.」

When Fainell said that after receiving a rough explanation from Luuty, she placed her hands on both of Luuty’s shoulders and breathed a deep sigh.

「But, Luuty. That wouldn’t happen. That would absolutely never happen. Or is it that, could it be that you hate me? Did actually hate me all this time?」

「J, just why did it into that sort of talk?」

「No. I mean…… This is Sancreed we’re talking about, you know? I’m always questioning whether or not he dropped his delicacy in the Sea of Farthest Ends but……Do you think that I could get along with such a guy?」

Luuty could only laugh at Fainell who said “there’s no way I could”.

She wasn’t joking, passing it off, or hiding her embarrassment, she had extremely serious eyes. She was making the appeal of “why would you say something so terrible” with her whole body.

「Ahー……Um, what should I say. It’s because, I didn’t know about those circumstances. I’m sorry, Fainell.」

「No, it’s fine as long as you understand. Everyone makes mistakes after all.」

After Fainell hit Luuty’s shoulder with a *pon*, she suddenly smiled.

「More importantly, for you to be up at a time like this……are you unable to sleep?」

「Nn……well, something like that, I suppose.」

She ended up thinking about some unnecessary things in the middle of it, but she was originally thinking about the future between the Jiol Forest Kingdom and the Zadark Kingdom.

It wasn’t made public, but the man called Sancreed who was here right now had received the Wind Sword from the God of Wind Wyrm. Also, Nino had similarly been granted a pair of swords.

Luuty didn’t know why Wyrm had done such a thing, but there was surely no mistake that the God had acknowledged them as people worthy of possessing them.

And then, the fact of being acknowledged by Wyrm was major to the Jiol Forest Kingdom. Similar to the Temple Knight of Wind Nefas, the Jiol Forest Kingdom harbored a strong interest towards 「the Maid Knight Nino」 and 「the Magic Swordsman Sancreed」.

Going even further, the fact that it was the Wind Sword that was given to Sancreed was a problem.

Within the Jiol Forest Kingdom, this was a fact that only King Sarigan and Luuty knew.

Luuty had seen the real Wind Sword when Ryuuya was acknowledged by Wyrm. That’s right, at that time, if she remembered correctly──

「Oi, Luuty. Here’s your share.」

Having a grilled skewer that gave off a nice aroma thrust at her, Luuty returned from her sea of thoughts.

When she realized it, the scenery around her had made a complete change, and it turned into a place that looked like a boisterous bar.

Next to Luuty, who was sitting in a chair before she knew it, was Fainell, and there were several plates of cuisine lined up on top of the table.

「Eh, eh!? Wh, where are we!」

「Where you say……It’s a bar in the First Shopping District though. It’s a shop famed for being cheap but good.」

「Eh? B, but.」

「It’s because you didn’t respond even when I talked to you. So I brought you along just like that.」

After turning around from being called out to from behind, Sancreed was standing there holding several stone cups.

「Here are the drinks. The two of you are fine with Orangi juice, right?」

「You had it properly mixed with Oranges, right?」

「Yeah, I had that done. But, the shopkeeper was bewildered, you know. They asked me several times if that was alright since they had similar tastes anyway.」

In response to Sancreed who placed the stone cups onto the table and sat down opposite from Luuty and Fainell, Fainell expressed a smile that seemed to be looking down on him.

「Both you and the shopkeeper just don’t understand. Orangis have a unique bitterness, and by combining that with Oranges, the bitterness all changes to sweetness. It seems that there aren’t any guys here that mix them together since both of them have sourness to them……but in the East, everyone knows that it mellows out when mixed together.」

Being told that, Luuty gazed at the contents of the cup that was placed in front of her.

Oranges were a fruit that Luuty was also familiar with, and were part of the list of goods to be exported to the Zadark Kingdom. They had a unique sourness and sweetness, and there were many Sylphids who enjoyed that stimulus.

And then, if she remembered correctly, Oranjis were a Zadark Kingdom fruit. Although they were similar to Oranges, they were something different, and were a mysterious thing where a strange bitterness would be left behind after eating them.

Since they had a function of removing paralysis poison, they should have been imported to the Jiol Forest Kingdom as a medicinal herb……but here, it seems to be eaten as a normal fruit.

「Haa……A mix of Oranges and Oranjis, is it.」

「What Luuty, are you doubting me as well?」

Seeing Fainell make a slightly hurt face, Luuty hurriedly waved her hands and denied that.

「N, no no! It’s not like that at all. It’s just, I never had the idea of mixing Orange and Oranji fruit juice before.」

「So that’s how it is. Then this is perfect. Try drinking it.」

Making a vague nod to the smiling Fainell, Luuty brought the stone cup to her mouth.

When she did, a sweet and gentle aroma tickled her nose. After only taking a sip of it just like that, a sweetness that was softer than she had ever imagined had spread throughout her mouth.

The characteristic sourness of the Oranges had almost completely disappeared, however, it wasn’t like it was too sweet.

A mellow Orange fruit juice. The juice where that sort of expression fit perfectly, Luuty gazed at it with a surprised expression.

「……Heeh, this is……quite delicious, isn’t it.」

「Right? I find it strange how it hasn’t spread over here.」

After Fainell boastfully puffed up her chest with pride, she took a bite of the grilled skewer that she held in her hand.

After chewing and swallowing that down, she looked at the grilled skewer in her hand, and then moved her gaze towards Luuty.

「……Sorry, Luuty. This was a skewer that was supposed to be your portion.」

The grilled skewer that was in Fainell’s hand was the one that Fainell herself had held out to Luuty earlier.

「N, no. Besides, look, if we’re talking about grilled skewers, there’s still a lot of them, right?」

There were still heaps of grilled skewers placed on the table. Her eating one or two more of them wasn’t a problem at all.

However, after Fainell shook her head sideways, and alternatingly pointed at Sancreed and the skewers on the table.

「Nope, look, Luuty. All of the remaining skewers are sauce grilled.」

Certainly, it was just as Fainell had said.

Even Luuty knew that the Zadark Kingdom’s special product grilled skewer was the sauce grilled skewer.

That’s why she didn’t feel that it was out of place……but after looking closely, the one in Fainell’s hand wasn’t sauce but one grilled with salt.

「This guy, when I told him to go and buy grilled skewers, he went and bought nothing but the sauce grilled ones. Even though the salt grilled ones are good, there was almost none of them. Honestly, this guy……he should have focused on the salt grilled ones.」

「Ahー, haa. I, I see……」

Seeing Luuty make a face that said “that doesn’t really matter”, Fainell thrust the grilled skewer in her hand at her.

「Try taking a bite, Luuty. Once you try it, you shouldn’t be able to make that “it doesn’t matter” face.」

「Eh? But……」

「Come on. The rest of the ones on the table are nothing but the sauce grilled ones after all. If you don’t like the fact that I’ve taken a bite out of it, then I’ll go and get a new one. No, wait. Let’s go buy it together. That’ll be good.」

Hurriedly stopping Fainell as she was about to stand up, Luuty accepted the grilled skewer while breathing a sigh.

「Jeez, why are you so excited?」

After taking a bite in to the meat of the grilled skewer, the taste of the grilled Horo Bird meat thoroughly spread throughout Luuty’s mouth.

Horo Bird meat could be said to have a light taste to it, but with an ample amount of the juices and the umami of the salt mixing together, a superb flavor was created. The Horo Bird meat was probably of fine quality as well but……if the salt that enhanced it wasn’t good, the taste wouldn’t have come out this far.

「……This is, certainly……Fumu. Yes, it is delicious.」

「Right? This secret agent of the sauce grilled faction, he hardly bought any of the salt grilled ones even though they’re this good.」

Sancreed, who was treated as a secret agent of the sauce grilled faction, didn’t say anything, and silently placed a plate with a grilled skewer on it in front of Luuty.

「Erm……」

「Try eating it. If you were to do that, then you shouldn’t say nonsense like the return to the origins being the supreme and such.」

「Hmph, Luuty has already eaten a salt grilled one. Eating one with sauce at this point is……」

Luuty silently brought the sauce grilled skewer to her mouth.

This one was Charging Boar meat grilled with sauce on it, and a savory salty-sweet taste spread throughout her mouth.

The unique flavor that wasn’t in the salt grilled one was also something that could not currently be found in the Shutaia Continent.

After tasting both of the grilled skewers, Luuty silently placed the skewer on the nearby plate.

「What do you think, Luuty? It’s gotta be salt, right?」

「No, it’s surely sauce. It’s the symbol of the diligent studies of the Zadark Kingdom’s grilled skewer tradesmen……That should have been transmitted to you as well.」

While looking at Fainell and Sancreed as they started to glare at each other, Luuty had a sip of her mixed juice.

After taking a breath with a “fuu……”, Luuty called a nearby tanuki Beastia employee that was passing by to a stop.

「Ahh, excuse me. Could you get me an amount of grilled skewers that is the same as the grilled skewers on this table. As for the ratio between the salt and sauce ones, please let there be more salt ones.」

「Ha, hahaha! See that, Sancreed! As I thought……」

「Quiet down.」

With a voice that seemed to be penetratingly cold sent out from Luuty, Fainell’s words stopped in the middle.

Making a sidelong glance at the employee who quickly left after having a premonition of something, Luuty then turned her gaze to Sancreed.

「This goes for you as well, Sancreed. It would have been fine if you had just bought equal amounts of them from the beginning. Do you hate the salt ones that much?」

「N, no. It isn’t like that but……Besides, I did properly buy the salt ones too, right?」

「It isn’t that sort of problem. To begin with, whether it’s salt grilled or sauce grilled, I am fine with either one of them. And yet, what I find is the two of you going salt this and sauce that. The both of them are delicious, so that should be fine. Is it really something to fight over?」

Fainell instinctively thought “this is bad”.

This was a lecturing similar to the way Ichika does it──one where not even a single objection would be allowed, and would shave away one’s soul.

「Y, yeah. That’s true, Luuty. I was wrong. So, okay? Look, okay?」

「What do you mean “look”. Just be quiet and listen. Listen carefully, I had thought this as well the last time you came over to my place, but to begin with, the two of you are……」

Luuty’s lecturing that started off like this, it continued until the employee brought along the grilled skewers.

Incidentally, there wasn’t a single dispute between the sauce faction and the salt faction in this store after that.