CH 87.1

Chapter 87 – Laid-back Investigative Unit

“Hmm, I don’t know what to do… yeah, excuse me, can I have one of those?”

“Heh! I hope it’s to the knight’s taste!“

Hakuto bought a hot dog from a friendly stall owner.

It was a very safe place to consume food from, because only those who had a permit from the national authorities were allowed to open a stall.

The stalls had colorful roofs that competed with each other, each of them trying their best to show off their individuality.

The sounds and smells of roasting meat, the temptation of a little snack, fast food to fill your stomach.

I didn’t mind these things.

In fact, I rather liked it because it was like a festival.

I even wanted to open a stall of my own.

…I even put forth an application, though I was turned down.

What was so wrong with porridge, really…?

“It’ll be one copper coin!”

The owner was in a good mood because of Hakuto’s good looks, which could attract both men and women.

Well, I can see why. He’s cute.

“I only have silver coins…“

“Oh, that’s no problem at all.”

“Well… here you go.”

Hakuto offered a silver coin.

“That’s perfect. Here you go!”

The owner gave him another hotdog in exchange for the silver coin.

“Oh, thank you.”

He came back with a big smile on his face after thanking the stall owner.

“Thanks for waiting, let’s go…”

“What are you even studying at the school, Hakuto-kun? Do your teachers even do their job?”

Hakuto’s dialogue was cut off.

As I explained earlier, the stalls in this area were reliable.

“What, eh…? I mean, general education, sword fighting, etc… Did I do something wrong again?”

“Why did you give a silver coin for something that costed just one copper coin and come back… with such a look of accomplishment?”

The man working at the stall had no intent of scamming Hakuto.

He was just joking.

No knight would be actually fooled by such a thing.

As proof of this, the guy was frozen in place, holding the change he was about to give Hakuto, not knowing what to do.

“This is a pre-arithmetic problem, Hakuto-kun.“

“Just because you don’t eat on your own too often and were in high spirits… this is an unacceptable mistake, even if you were excited, Hakuto…“

“……”

Princess Erika, who was wearing her hood too closely to not stand out in the royal capital, Oswald, and Marie were all aghast.

They may need to study a little before they trained.

♢♢♢♢

“Wow, this is delicious! Next time, I’ll buy the one with meat in it.”

“…is so nice, being able to eat food from a street stall.”

“It’s not easy being a princess. I can’t believe you can’t eat street food…”

“I’m quite used to eating street food because my daddy…. loves street food.”

“…No, no, no, that’s not important right now. Hakuto-kun, do you call your father daddy?”

Erica, Oswald, and a red-faced Hakuto were sitting on a park bench, talking amiably.

Two people were watching them from a short distance.

“Hey, why do you think my porridge stall was rejected? What was the criteria? If it’s not confidential, I’d like to know.“

“No, no, I’ll tell you no matter if it’s classified or not.”

Since Celestia had become a servant of the Black Demon King, naturally, Marie had also already given her allegiance to the Demon King.

Wondering why the Demon King said she didn’t have to tell him if it was confidential, she opened her mouth in thought.

“Well, I don’t know all the details because my jurisdiction is completely different… but I think it probably has something to do with the current situation where bread sells better than rice. In the Kingdom of Light, wheat consumption is far higher. I hate to say it… but I also buy bread, instead of rice.”

“I knew it… A staple food problem. Goddamn it, really.”

Erika and her friends think that Glass and Marie have never met before, but in fact they have known each other for a while.

“…But man, look at that.”

“That… I certainly don’t understand why they were allowed to open the store..”

Glass pointed to a store selling something that looked like worm crackers.

“I don’t intend to speak about food culture, but if your mother bought you one of those… for a snack, you’d most likely call her an idiot, right? The stall has a very weak argument.”

“Oh, I think you’re right.”

Their conversation progressed well, and sometimes they seemed… to be on good terms.

“…hey, I’m kind of mad at you.”

“Why are you suddenly making emotionally unstable remarks…?“

“No!”

Erika walked up to him and glared at Glass through her hood, and said,

“Are you sure you’re ready for this? This is not the attitude that someone with a mission ahead of him should maintain! Are you going to be okay if you’re so carefree before a mission?!“

Erika scolded him with her arms folded, to which Glass slowly crossed his arms, puffed out his chest, and replied with dignity.

“I appreciate your warning. But I can’t say for sure that you’re exactly in the clear. I have not been told where we are going or what we are going to do.“

“Oh…? Didn’t I tell you?“

“Shall I tell you what I know about this mission? That it’s dangerous, that’s all.”

“Oh…” Erika muttered, breaking out into a cold sweat and forgetting her irritation.

“…Well, we’re going to be investigate about the curse now, which was related to the incident at the castle.”

“I think I understand what you said a bit, it’s complicated. In the first place, can you tell me that a curse is involved in the incident of the…. castle? It seems to me that this information should be kept secret..”

“Oh no…”

Erika’s face turned blue as she realized the possibility that she would be scolded afterwards.

“Don’t worry, Erika-sama. Glass-sama is trusted enough that he was chosen by Celestia-sama to be her escort to a party. Please continue.“

“Oh! Yes, that’s right!“

She wiped the sweat from her forehead in relief at Marie’s reassurance.

“Phew… Well, that’s why I’m heading to my teacher’s house. I heard that he will be absent today and tomorrow, and he won’t be coming to the academy.”