CH 83

Chapter 83 – Meat Is The Best After All!?

“We arrived!!”

Fletta said as she entered the forest near the riverbank.

It was an ordinary forest, and nothing seemed unusual.

I saw no tools or structures, and there were no signs of people.

“…Are you sure that they are here? Woah!?”

The moment we entered the forest, some bushes started to shake, and I raised my voice.

And then Monica turned to the bushes and said,

“It is I, Monica. These people saved me. Please don’t be alarmed.”

“Your Highness… But they are humans. And is that cow…”

“I will explain everything to you. But for now, lower your weapons and come out.”

And then, one after another, the long-eared folk appeared from the bushes.

They were elf men.

And they were all bare-chested, with rags wrapped around their waists. Some of them might as well have been wearing nothing at all.

As for their weapons… I would not even call them that, as they were just branches and stones.

This appearance was rather unfortunate, as their faces were beautiful and had stern expressions.

One of the elf men…who had beautiful, long golden hair, spoke.

“And who are you?”

Monica was about to reply, but I answered first.

“Joshua. We have come to help you.”

“…Help us?”

The man seemed even more suspicious, and so Monica raised her voice.

“Albert! You have not even introduced yourself! That is very rude!”

“Your Highness. I am the king’s knight. And I have not yet accepted you as the new ruler.”

Apparently, this man was called Albert.

While he had an athletic build and a cold expression…the ragged loincloth made it hard to find him intimidating.

In any case, it helped me grasp the current situation that the elves were in.

Currently, Monica’s father, the elf king, was missing.

And Monica was not yet accepted as the rightful ruler.

Furthermore, the elves were very suspicious of us.

The Kijins had been like this at first, but these elves seemed to be even more conservative. Whenever people spoke of elves, it was always about how they avoided any contact with humans.

Or perhaps they were mainly afraid of Moo the Minotaur.

I felt as if no amount of talking would make Albert bend…and so I would have to show him.

As Monica and Albert argued, Fletta watched them with a worried expression. And so I turned to her.

“Fletta. Are you hungry?”

“Huh? I am, but…”

“Then let’s eat. Now, put out your hand.”

“Li-like this? Woah!?”

I placed a skewer of roasted Hell Alligator into Fletta’s hand.

And on top of it, I sprinkled some finely chopped leaves that Ecleshia the Ent had given me.

Fletta was astonished at the meat that had suddenly appeared in front of her.

“Am-amazing! How did you do that, mister?!”

“It’s magic. Now, eat up.”

“Yes! …It-it’s delicious!!”

The moment that Fletta put the meat into her mouth, her eyes shone.

Hell Alligator meat already tastes very good. And with the healing leaves of an Ent added to it… I was getting hungry just thinking about it.

“Pri-princess Fletta! You should not eat something that is from this man we know nothing about!”

Said Albert, but out of nowhere, other elf children started to gather around Fletta.

“I want some too!”

“I want to eat it!”

“Okay, okay. Here.”

And so I passed out more of the roasted meat to the children.

They must have been very hungry. They ate it greedily as if it was the most delicious thing.

“Now, you eat some too, Monica. You’re agitated because you are hungry. And so you’ll be able to talk calmly once you are full.”

“I-I see… Thank you.”

Monica accepted the meat and took a bite of it.

And with an expression of bliss, she muttered about how delicious it was.

“Yo-your Highness! This is a disgrace!”

“Albert, was it? Do you want to eat some too?”

I asked, and then Albert’s face turned bright red.

“Me-me!? Fahahaha! You must think me a great fool! All of you, stop eating!”

However, no one would stop eating the meat.

“You say you want them to stop, but have not moved at all. Perhaps you are too tired to even walk, and you actually want to eat it?”

“Tsk… Th-that is not true at all!”

Albert said to the surrounding elves, and then he accepted the meat from me.

And then he hesitantly brought it to his mouth…

“…It-it’s…good.”

Albert looked like he was asecending into heaven. And then he began to devour it like a hungry beast.

Melk muttered.

“No one can win against their hunger. Melk is the same.”

“They must have been starving…”

Iria looked a little put off by how ravenous Albert was.

After that, the other elves started to move closer to me.

And so I shared the meat, but they were coming faster than I could pass it out.

“There is plenty of meat, so please calm down! Iria and the rest of you. Please help me.”

“Yes!”

And so Iria and the others accepted the meat from me and helped distribute it to everyone.

And like that, with expressions of bliss, the elves enjoyed their meal.