Chapter 58 - 57

While they were looking for a spot to take off they saw a giant purplish squid nearby a cliff. For some reason, the squid has a leg of a human on it's lower body...

Issei - Hm? What's that?

Riche - What?... Ah! That's a king squidman!

Kathryn - Oh, you're right.

Ramius - The rumors said that they are a very rare ingredient.

Gurigura - And taste very tasty too!

Issei - Oh, is that so? Then I'll get it.

Issei makes a quick work of the squidman before it tries to jump into the ocean, he throws away the human legs part though because no matter what he won't eat that part nor will he let his wives eat it either. Just the squid part is enough...

...

Issei - How about around there- hmm?

When they found the spot to take off Issei pointed to a somewhat open area and asked Kathryn but then he saw something wrong in the distance.

Gurigura - A ship's being attacked by monsters! The passengers are fighting back, but it doesn't look good...

Riche - We need to help them quick!

Issei - You guys get on the hot air balloon, I'll go on my own.

After he said that Issei jumped into the sea and he ran across the water surface.

Gurigura - W-Woah... Ise-nii sure is great...

Ramius - Umu... To think he can run on top of the water.

Riche - Just like the ninja on my manga!

Kathryn - This is not the time to feel awe!

The party rushed to get the hot air balloon ready, then flew off into the sky.

When Issei arrived at the scene there are so many wounded people in the vicinity and he hurriedly kills every monster in sight at a fast speed and apparently, there's some Outlaws as well but Issei killed them all.

The wounded people cheered at him when he killed all the monsters and Outlaws around them.

Then he heard a loud scream of a woman. And he noticed that voice, it's Natal's.

Natal - EEEEEEEEK?! Let go of me you mindless monster brute!

She appears to be captured by tentacles with her skirt pulled up, Natal shouted at the monster known as a Jellyfish MK II.

But all of her screamings is useless against a monster who can't understand human speech.

The tentacles constricted even more tightly against her body and it almost made her pass out because of it.

And the tentacles made its way towards her genitals and the thought of it taking her chastity away frightened her so much that she finally let go of her pride and ask for help.

Natal - Someone... Someone help me... Aah, please help me!

Just before Natal was overcome by despair, the countless tentacles were severed setting her free.

Natal - Eek!

She dropped down from the air and somebody catches her fall.

Issei - Good, looks like I made it.

Natal - Y-You're... Wait! The Monster!

Issei - Don't worry.

Natal - What do you mean?! That monster is still- Eh?

When she looked behind them she thought the Jellyfish might still be alive but its body is in pieces already. That Jellyfish monster is known for their regeneration but it seems even it can't regenerate after being cut to pieces like that.

Natal - W-When did you...

She never saw how did Issei manage to do that in just a few seconds. Even she struggles to fight that monster, but he can kill it in an instant.

Issei - Are you hurt anywhere?

Natal - E-Eh? No... I don't think- Ouch!

She twinges in pain at her ankle and it is quite bruised.

Issei - Hmm, it seems that you twisted your ankle. If you don't mind I could carry you to the nearby city. I also saved the passengers and knights who were with you back then, they are wounded but it's nothing fatal from what I've seen so far. Don't worry about them, my wives should be arriving at this moment and took control of the situation over there. You can take it easy for now.

Natal - ...U-Un... Th-Thank you...

Natal blushed to see his face up close so she averted her face while conveying her gratitude in a low voice. She never had any man that could take control of the situation like Issei before. Usually, it's her who's in command.

Issei - Oh? So you can say thank you after all.

Natal - Wh-What do you mean?! I know how to be grateful you know?! A-Also... I grant you the permission of simply calling me Natal, no titles or honors necessary.

She pouted at him and then she tries to act prideful like always by saying she allows him to call her name without any honorifics.

Issei chuckled at her words because he thought her pride won't let her say gratitude towards someone else but apparently, he's wrong. She does have a funny way of conveying her gratitude though.

Issei - Ah, you're welcome then, Natal.

He proceeded to call her name just like she wished for and smiled at her in amusement.

Natal blushed deeply seeing his smile for the first time and she felt smitten by it. She has never been saved by another person before especially by a man, this is a first for her and she could say she enjoys being saved like a damsel in distress for once.

Because people around her or the one who tries to court her is far weaker than her so she got no interest at them, sure some of them are quite handsome but what's the use of a handsome face when they got no power to back it up?

Her requirement for a husband isn't that high, to be honest, all she wants is for her future husband to be stronger than her and can protect her from any harm and also can love her for who she is and not because of her family background. Sadly on the Humpty Kingdom, all the men here is usually a chef so they basically got low combat capabilities that it almost negligible. And most of them are courting her only because of her family background, there's no love included whenever they courted her.

Sure there are some men who enlist themselves to be a Knight but their personality and strength are far too lacking compared to her. And most of the Senior Knights are already married or far too old for her taste. So she acts prideful whenever she met someone on instinct to make those who tried to court her only because of her background feels inferior and back off.

But from the intel she got, Issei is already one of the richest men in the world, and he appears to be refusing any arranged marriage that comes his way by stating he won't marry anyone he doesn't love. And as for his strength? She already saw it first hand so there's no doubt about it.

It appears the reason why he's promoted so fast in the first place is not because of pure luck or behind the scene manipulation as well.

So he's basically the perfect husband candidate for her.

Just like Issei expected Riche's party is already arrived on the scene and helping the survivors.

Ramius - Good work as always, Ise. Oh, Natal?

Natal at this moment is still looking at Issei's face while blushing and anyone who saw her face right now can tell that she's a girl in love... Riche and co who saw that smile wryly because it seems their husband has smitten another woman without realizing it.

Riche - Ahaha, geez... I wonder if our husband is a natural born lady killer. Maybe he's Vassanova on his previous life? (AN: Just a reference to Cassanova).

Ramius - Umu, not that I can blame her either because he's too outstanding after all.

Gurigura - Eheheh, Ise-nii is really a great man to even able to smitten a prideful girl such as Natal.

Kathryn - *Sigh* I got nothing to say... Considering he can govern a whole race, it's no surprise he can also govern a prideful girl like her.

The people who survived the ordeal thanked Issei's party profusely and after a while, there's finally Knights who had noticed something amiss and rushed out from the capital, only to be relieved to find Natal safe.

Knights - Lady Natal! Are you okay?

Natal who heard their shout finally snapped out of her thoughts and look towards them.

Natal - I-I'm perfectly fine. This gentleman here saved me along with the others as well. But they are badly wounded so it's quite unfortunate.

Knight - Well, as long as our <Thousand Knight> is safe, there's no problem.

After that, they took care of the survivor and when one of them are offering their hands to carry Natal themselves, they are refused by her and she told them to take care of those survivors first.

The Knights thought how merciful she is but actually, she just wants Issei to be the one who carries her.

Riche and co. knows her true objective but they didn't point it out.

Issei tried to put her down but every time he does that she will always act like it hurts a lot while shedding fake tears at him, and Issei can only smile wryly seeing her acting like this.

And his wives are just giving him teasing smile, while Natal seems to be ignoring their gaze on her.

Finally, the Knights finished taking care of the survivors, and they about to head into the capital.

Knight - Lady Natal, we've already finished patching up the survivors, now shall we return to the capital?

Natal - Good. Umm, Issei... Would you like to come along with us heading back towards the capital?

Issei - Oh, sure.

Natal - Splendid! Now let's go return to capital you lot.

Knights - Understood!

Issei - Umm... Natal. Why don't you ask your subordinates to-

Natal - Yes?

Natal cut off his words and smiled brightly at him while she tightens her arms around his neck when he's about to ask her that she could order her subordinates to carry her instead.

Issei - ...Nevermind.

Issei mouth twitched a bit because she seems doesn't have any intention to walk on her own just yet.

Riche and co. tried to tell her to get down and walk on her own but she ignores them and only keeps smiling while hanging on Issei's body. So they just give up trying to make her walk on her own, to be honest, they like this personality of her better than when she's act all prideful before.

She keeps asking Issei what's his hobby, etc. When she heard he does like cooking she becomes even more ecstatic because she also has the same hobbies as well, which is surprising considering how prideful she is.

They keep discussing food and cooking topic along the way, Issei also enjoying getting more knowledge about cooking as well and vice versa. Natal admires Issei even more after listening about his experience, she never heard some of the food he mentioned before so she thought he invented them himself.

Riche and co. who are seeing their interaction pledged to themselves to learn more about cooking when they had the chance, but they soon give up because they don't seem to have the talent for it...

After a while, they finally arrived at <Humpty>.

Issei - So this is the capital of Humpty... So many foods stand.

There are so many food stands and restaurant along the streets and they seem to be competing with each other, there's also a lot of food store that open for 24 hours. Humpty are well known for their food after all so it's no surprise when almost all the stores here are a food store.

Natal - Yes. We are very proud of the food we serve in our country, you should totally taste everything we have to offer. Most of our food is using a special ingredient that can only be produced here, which is the "Sugarcubes".

Natal told Issei about their special ingredients that makes all the food at Humpty very tasty and he nodded to himself to see if he could somehow use it for his cooking as well.

Knights - Lady Natal. We are in need of your assistance for something if you could please follow us.

There are a bunch of Knights coming at Natal direction the moment they stepped their foot into the capital, Natal who heard that reluctantly left Issei's party. She already walked on her own before they entered the capital albeit reluctantly...

Natal - Very well... Um, Issei. Do remember to visit me later, okay? I will be at the castle, so be sure to remember it.

Issei - Got it.

Natal - Then good day to you.

She bowed courteously towards Issei once more but she still ignoring Riche and co...

Riche - ...It looks like she doesn't acknowledge us.

Ramius - Umu. It seems all that's in her eyes is just Ise right now...

Gurigura - Eheheh, I like her this way better though.

Kathryn - Well, what can you do? A girl who's in love is mostly like that.

Then Issei and his wives decided to enjoy the food Humpty has to offer. They enjoyed every food that they can get their hands on, Issei noted every food he ate and tried to ask the owner what's the secret recipe is but they said the same thing which is "Sugarcube".

Their Sugarcubes is not like the Sugarcubes on his world, it appears to be a special seasoning from what Natal told him.

Sugarcubes are the most unusual crop in the already unusual crops of the Kingdom of Humpty. Not to be confused with actual cubes of sugar that they resemble, Sugarcubes are a miraculous kind of spice that enhances the flavor of any dish they are included in. The Sugarcubes were created by Mother Eve as part of her gifts to make the World of Eve more amenable to her human children.

Despite this intent, humanity either never learned about the Sugarcubes or forgot about them, only rediscovering them in modern times. In the interim, the place where the Sugarcubes grew had become another of Mother Eve's ruins. Out of a desire to cultivate the crop, the ruins were heavily modified, and are now known as the Sugarcube Factory. Sugarcubes are now one of Humpty's most important exports and are used in nearly all prepared food inside the nation itself.

So he noted to himself to buy some of them to add to his own cooking later on.

At some point, Kathryn separated herself with Issei's party and after a while, she came back.

Issei - Where are you from, Kath? Eating something you like?

The girls have their own preferences, Ramius likes meat, Riche sweets, Gurigura bread while Kathryn likes something light to eat. So it's normal if they separate themselves to eat what they prefer.

Kathryn - I'm not eating. Just doing a little shopping.

Issei - Shopping?

Gurigura - Hey, Kath-nee, what are all those cards in your pocket?

Riche - Oh! Those're the cards that come with Bind Seeker Chips!

Kathryn - Gack!

Issei - What are Bind Seeker Chips?

Ramius - They're potuber chips, but each bag comes with a random card with a unique illustration.

Issei - Oh...

Riche - ...Just how much did you eat?

Kathryn - I... I threw away the chips.

Issei - ...That's kinda wasteful.

Riche - As punishment, gimme that rare card!

Kathryn - You just want it, don't you?!

Gurigura - You shouldn't waste food. There are lots of people out there who'd love to eat, but can't...

Issei nodded to Gurigura statement.

Towa - That's right. There are people in Humpty whose job it is to collect leftovers and use them in things like fertilizer, so give your uneaten food to them.

Kathryn - But see... If I gave them an unopened snack, they'd know I bought it just for the card and it'd be all embarrassing.

Towa - They'd just think it's childish.

Kathryn - I know it is, but it's hard to stop when you're a collector... Also, who are you?!

Issei - Oh, if it isn't Towa.

Towa - H-Hai. It's nice to see you again. I came over because I heard your voices, and it turns out it really was you.

Kathryn - Oooh, Riche told me about you. You're that girl who's traveling the world, right?

Towa - Um, Issei-san... Who's this? She wasn't with you before, was she?

Issei - Yeah, this is my new wife, Kathryn.

Kathryn - Just call me Kath. I hear you've helped out my husband and the lesser wives.

Riche - Who are you calling lesser wives, fifth?

Kathryn - Shuddup...

Towa - Oh no, they've done more to help me... 'Wait, another wife?! And all his wives are pretty in different ways... But it's not really surprising because Issei-san's nicer than most Knights and very handsome too... So I understand why he's popular...'

Issei - Hm? Something on my face?

Towa - N-Nothing!

She blushed because she seems to be staring at his face so intently.

Issei - Going around collecting stories again, Towa?

Towa - No, I'm running errands for my dad. I've been to Humpty countless times already.

Issei - Hm? Do you live around here?

Towa - My home's in the State of Hamlet City. It's straight north of here by ship.

Issei - You crossed the sea to run errands?

Towa - When it comes to food, there's no better place to go.

Riche - Sounds like you're sent down here a lot. Do you sell imported food or something?

Towa - My dad runs a hospital. We need to make food for the patients, so I come here to buy recipes and the necessary ingredients.

Riche - I see, and if you're giving food to sick people, I'm sure it's important to make sure it's nutritious.

Towa - Yes, but the recipes use Sugarcubes, so we do modify them for our own use.

Kathryn - Well, it is over twice as expensive as regular sugar, and I doubt the rich flavor's good for the patients.

Issei - Sugarcubes again huh...

Kathryn - You could say Humpty's prosperity is built on it. No joke.

Riche - I've got an idea... Towa, if you wouldn't mind, could you teach Ise some things?

Towa - O-Okay! Of course, I'd be happy to. I'll be ready momentarily.

Towa giddily put down her bag and took out some pictures as usual.

Towa - Let's begin. Today's story is about the Kingdom of Humpty.

Gurigura - Yaaay! *Clap clap clap!*

Then Towa proceeded to tell a story about how the Humpty Kingdom came to be along with Poppins race and how Sugarcubes came to be.

Towa - ...And because of that, people who had once declined due to the abundance of raw food were now working and studying for the sake of delicious cooking. Everything in the Kingdom of Humpty, for better or worse, is decided by food.

Issei - I see.

Towa - Remember to brush your teeth after eating sweets, and don't eat so much that you get sick.

Riche - I-I'll try...

Towa - And that's the history of this country in a nutshell and the reason we need Sugarcubes.

Issei - Thanks, that was really easy to follow.

Gurigura - I love your stories, Towa!

Towa - Eheheh, thank you.

Issei - Oh right, so as thanks for always teaching us stuff, do you want to go eat with us somewhere?

Towa - Huh?! Eat with you, Issei-san?! Is this like a d-d-d...'DATE?!' Uh, um... But we... We haven't even met each other's parents...

Kathryn - The hell's she talking about?

Riche - Dunno...

Man - Lady Towa!

While Towa was blushing and panicking, a well-dressed man ran up to the group.

Issei - Who's this?

Towa - He's from the hospital. I'd asked him to ship away the food I bought.

Man - I-It was being delivered by ship, but soon after the ship departed, it was attacked by pirates!

Towa - O-Oh no, then what happened to the people on the ship? What happened to the cargo?

Man - All stolen along with the ship, I'm afraid...

Ramius - What were the Knights doing?

Natal - The Knights said they tried to stop them, but they left without any guards. Even though they tried to warn them...

Issei - Natal?

Natal who just left their party a while ago appeared in front of them once again. Apparently, the assistance they needed from her is about Towa's case.

Towa - But they asked them numerous times and they never offered them guards in the first place.

Natal - *Sigh* Complain to the pirates. All these recent kidnapping incidents have left us with few men to spare...

Ramius - Especially considering a whole unit almost got wiped out if not for Ise's interference.

Natal - Indeed... I was attacked by pirates and monsters at the same time. Thankfully Issei was there so we have avoided the worst case scenario...

She smiled brightly towards Issei.

Riche - Anyway, Towa... Sending out a ship under these circumstances wasn't a good decision.

Towa - I heard the pirates were kidnapping people, so I thought if the cargo was food, it'd be safe.

Natal - The kidnappings simply stand out. Nobody's saying they wouldn't attack trade ships.

Towa - ...

Issei - Were you in a hurry or something?

Towa - ...They were delivering snacks.

Gurigura - Snacks? So... Sweets?

Towa - Yes, the sweets in Humpty are delicious. They're even loved throughout Hamlet. We normally hand them out to the children in the hospital, but due to the recent pirate attacks, we stopped receiving shipments. I just couldn't stand to see the disappointed children...

Issei - ...

Man - Aren't you supposed to be Knights?! Go arrest them! They can't have gone that far!

Natal - I'm telling you, our hands are full.

Issei - We'll go.

Towa - Huh? You will, Issei-san?! I couldn't ask you to do that.

Issei - It's fine, we can handle it. Could you tell us where the pirates went?

Man - The pirates seemed to be towing the trade ship to Udon Island.

Kathryn - It's the island east of this one. I'm sure we can get there by hot air balloon.

Issei - Alright, then let's go.

Despite Towa's reservations, the party decided to head to Udon Island in pursuit of the pirates.

Natal wanted to come with Issei as well but he told her that she just got injured so it's better for her to take it easy. She felt touched for his concern for her so she reluctantly agreed to stay behind and it's not like she could really go with them. Because they're indeed short-handed right now and it was just her being selfish just now hoping to go with Issei together.

So they headed towards Udon Island.

...

Riche - By the way, Ise, is there a reason you agreed to take care of these pirates?

Issei - Hmm?

Ramius - We're going after <Snake Crest>, so chasing suspicious people seems natural to me.

Riche - You normally ask if we agree before making decisions, but didn't this time, so I was curious.

Issei - Oh, right. Sorry. I didn't really think about it.

Riche - Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not saying you did anything wrong.

Ramius - I didn't feel like anything was off myself...

Gurigura - Me neither...

Kathryn - So what's the reason? Trying to show off to storyteller girl?

Issei - Why you come up to that conclusion... I just can't let them get away stealing from the children you see. Try to imagine if that's our kids they are stealing from, won't you be mad as well? Not that stealing is right in the first place.

When Issei said that the 4 of them blushed deeply and each of them started thinking about their future kids.

Ramius - 'Ise and my kids... Umu...'

Ramius almost had a nosebleed thinking about their future kids. She can't wait to have one herself but sadly that Goddess called dibs on Issei's first child. Unknown to her, in the future, there will be a strong contestant for Issei's first child.

Riche - 'I bet Ise and my kids will be very cute! Now I know how onee-chan feels... I would cuddle my kids all day long as well...'

Riche had a goofy smile on her face.

Gurigura - 'Eheheh, Ise-nii and my kids... I would prepare tons of bread for them so they don't starve like me when I was small.'

Gurigura just smiled joyfully while promised to herself to never let her kids starving. Not that will ever happen because Issei is super protective of his children along with his other wives in the future, they even wiped an entire faction from the other world just because they made his daughter cry in the future.

Kathryn - 'Gh... This idiot husband making me think about it... But... It's quite nice... Having a little genius of my own...'

Kathryn also started nodding to herself while smiling cheekily thinking how her kids will be a genius just like her.

Then they got even more pumped to deal with the Outlaws, and Issei sweated at them thinking what's making them so hyped like this. Well, he doesn't need to do anything because the 4 of them defeated the Outlaws in no time. He just observing the area for any mishaps that might happen and he found the pirates tries to escape when they realize they're in a disadvantage.

Issei of course won't let them escape.

...

Ramius - I don't sense any foes in the area. That seems to be all of them.

Issei - There were some who tried to run away but I got them all as well.

Riche - They seems to be pretty organized. And they said something interesting... Apparently, they're kidnapping people by someone else's request.

Gurigura - Maybe the pirates have a base somewhere in Humpty.

Kathryn - Let's try asking them.

Issei - Ah. Oi...

Then Issei started questioning them about their secret base, all Issei had to do is do a little torturing and they all started telling them the truth. It seems the one behind this is <Snake Crest> indeed.

And the one who requested this is a man named Jabber Wock a well-known chef in Humpty. And the destination of their delivery is at the Sugarcubes factory.

They are pretty surprised when they find out about the truth from them. But not shocked because they've already expected this to some extent.

So they decided to investigate it soon enough after they reported their success to Towa so she can rest easy.

Issei - Let's untie the crew.

Sailor - Thank you so much. Now I'm sure we can safely set sail, so we'll be heading out.

Issei - Ah, be careful.

The party watched the ship depart, then decided to return to the capital of Humpty and report to Towa fist.

...

When the party informed her that the ship was safe, Towa's face brightened with joy.

Towa - Thank goodness... I appreciate the help. Now I should finally be able to see the children's smiles again.

Issei - What'll you do now, Towa?

Towa - I'm staying here for a little longer. I'd like to make the hospital food as good as I can.

Issei - Alright, take care and good luck. Be careful on the way home.

Towa repeatedly bowed to the party as she went off into the streets alongside the hospital personnel.

Issei - So Towa's from a hospital.

Riche - I get why she tells these stories now.

Ramius - To tell children who can't leave the hospital about the outside world... I assume.

Riche - Anyway, seeing her hard at work has got me motivated too.

Kathryn - Alright then, let's go investigate that Sugarcubes factory.

Issei - Ah.

Then they sailed using the pirate's ship to the island where they're producing Sugarcubes.

...

-Sugarcubes farm-

There are some guards there but Issei just knocked them out.

Issei - These are Sugarcubes?

The organized farm was filled with lines of Sugarcubes, with some harvested ones sitting in piles off to the side.

Riche - Bigger than I thought.

Kathryn - In the right environment, they can apparently grow larger than a human being if left alone for a few months.

Riche - Wonder how many calories they are.

Issei - Don't eat those. It has the smell of <Adan's Blood> in it.

Riche - ...Ueehhh... So it is true after all... This whole place belongs to <Snake Crest>.

Issei - Ah. Let's go further ahead to search for more clues.

The party resumed searching the ruins.

As the party was proceeding through the ruins, they heard the footsteps of several people around a corner.

Gurigura - Armed adventurers, maybe? Seems like they're on patrol.

Issei - No, look at their right hands.

They looked closely and noticed that the guards had glimmering, black rings on their fingers.

Riche and co. - Outlaws!

Outlaw 1 - Th-The hell are you people?!

Outlaw 2 - Intruders!

Issei - Funny how you call us intruders while you're Outlaws yourself.

Outlaw 3 - Oh fuck!

The men quickly hid their fingers, but that in itself was incriminating.

Outlaw 4 - They saw! Don't let them escape with their lives!

Outlaw 5 - Yeah!

The Outlaws feverishly drew their weapon and attacked the party.

Issei - I could say the same thing to you.

*Slash*

There's only 1 slashing sound but all 5 of them died at the same time with their heads cut off.

Issei - Let's go.

Ramius and co - Un.

Ramius - This reminds me of Lancelot's purification plant.

Riche - Yeah, there's no doubt about it anymore this place belongs to the <Snake Crest>.

Issei - But it's not their base of operation because the guards are too few and the places are too easy to found.

Riche - Either way, there has to be some secret here. Let's investigate.

Issei burned the dead Outlaws bodies and resumed their search of the ruins.

...

Ramius - Seems to be a dead end... Wait, there's a door.

Kathryn - Chibikko, think you can open it?

Gurigura - Hmmm, doubt it. A key doesn't open this door.

Issei - I could bust this door open but let's not do that because who knows what will happen if there's a sudden mechanism that will trigger an alarm or something.

Riche - But then how do you open it?

Gurigura - I think it works like the drain, where it's remotely opened by something.

Ramius - Then there should be a way to open it somewhere in these ruins.

Issei - Ah, let's find it.

The party gave up on the door and decided to search for the mechanism to open it.

...

Gurigura - Ugh...

Upon entering a room, the party noticed an offensive stench.

Kathryn - What is this? A meat factory?

Gurigura - What kinda meat?

Ramius - Hm, I'm the meat aficionado in this party, and even I don't recognize it.

Riche - Eerie, though.

Compared to an average meat factory, the room was abnormally covered with blood from the floor to the ceiling.

Issei - ...

Issei has a bad feeling about this because he could smell human blood on this room as well.

Riche - Why would a Sugarcubes factory even need to process meat?

Some randomly-strewn-about piles of Sugarcubes had absorbed the blood and turned a dark red.

Issei - Alright, let's investigate a bit more.

The party was disturbed by the room but decided to search every nook and cranny just the same.

Riche - Is this a bookshelf?

Gurigura - Why's a meat factory have a bookshelf?

Ramius - Looks like it's been sitting here for a while. In fact, it comes off like they've been using a data archive as a meat factory.

The party checked the bookshelf and found records about the Sugarcubes.

Riche - In times of Legend, Mother Eve apparently made these ruins after wanting something sweet to eat.

Kathryn - Was there really no simpler solution?

Ramius - Strangely, it doesn't seem like the Kingdom of Humpty always valued these ruins so much.

Riche - Not only that, it looks like they had trouble even getting enough people together to pick enough Sugarcubes to not block the entrance.

Kathryn - Everyone knew Sugarcubes were sweet, but they didn't feel like they were valuable enough to travel down here for, I guess...

Riche - Well, they did have fruit growing everywhere anyway.

Gurigura - Ise-nii, there's a lever next to the bookshelf.

Issei - Hm? Good work, Gurigura.

Issei patted Gurigura head.

Gurigura - Eheheh~