Chapter 13.1

With Astaroth taking me by the hand, we entered a room that was the complete opposite of the defunct hall I had seen before.

The floor was covered with a beautiful carpet embroidered with gold thread, and the walls were covered with intricately crafted sconces, which glowed with strange blue flames.

The magnificent table was covered with a crimson tablecloth, and delicious-looking meat dishes were steaming on gold tableware.

There was also a candelabra on the table with a flickering flame. In a beautiful vase, was a single red rose. Each one of the flowers is recognizable as a very nice one, but when you look around the room as a whole, you get the impression that it is so red and ornate that it hurts your eyes.

Astaroth urged me to sit down on a chair.

He sat down in the chair right in front of me, and the snake that had been coiled around his body slid away and settled down on a large cushion on the sofa at the far end of the room. From the window of the room, I could see the night sky. The stars were shining in the sky, and it didn’t look much different from the sky in my country.

“Come on, Lydith, eat up.”

With Astaroth’s words, a red liquid welled up into the glass by itself. It looked like wine, but I couldn’t tell.

“I don’t drink …”

“You are still a child, so that’s not alcohol. It’s a drink made from crushed wild strawberries in the forest, and I heard it’s popular among young girls, so I ordered some.”

Before I knew it, a bottle was in Astaroth’s hand. The label on the bottle reads “Freshly squeezed forest strawberries”.

That doesn’t sound very tasty.

Maybe the people over here have different sensibilities than we do.

I realized it wasn’t alcohol, so I said, “Well, then, I’ll have it without reservation,” and then sipped the glass.

It tasted slightly sweet and sour and refreshing. Come to think of it, I was thirsty, so I was grateful.

“It’s forest grizzly meat. I don’t really remember what humans eat, I’m not sure if the meat would be okay.”

“Thank you”

What is a forest grizzly?

I guess it is probably a bear-like animal.

I cut the end of the meat with my knife and put it in my mouth.

The meat was a little tough and wild, but there seemed to be nothing wrong with it. It wasn’t delicious, but I couldn’t afford to be extravagant.

“Can you eat it?”

“Yes, it’s delicious.”

I answered as I cut it into as small a piece as possible because it was hard.

I smiled beautifully because kindness must be returned with love.

Astaroth’s eyes narrowed as if he was very happy.

“I am glad to hear that. I think I used to eat a lot of delicious food before the Great War, but I’ve completely forgotten what it tastes like. Demons don’t need to eat. Drinks and alcohol are sold as luxuries, but food isn’t… As a hobby, I catch creatures in the forest and sometimes make them like this. But I don’t really know if it’s delicious or not even if I eat it myself.”

“Is that so…”

Not delicious.

But if he went out of his way to prepare it for me, I would appreciate it.

I am thankful, but if no one can cook, my future nutritional status will be in serious trouble. I must do something about it, I thought as I chewed the tough meat.

“Young Master was born after the war, so I doubt he has ever put food in his mouth, and he always just looks disgusted whenever he sees what I’ve made.”

“I think it’s good to have good food for the pleasure of living, even if you don’t need it.”

“Isn’t that right? If you don’t have to do anything because you don’t need to, then you’ll just have to sleep and get up and do it all over again forever. Humans do a lot of fun things like that, such as growing flowers. It’s like decorating a picture. Recently, the demons are buzzing with eschatology, and it’s boring,” He said.

“Do you mean to say that the eschatology is because Gilbert-sama does not want to marry a woman?”

“That’s right Lydith-chan. The previous generation was the same, you know, and I’m sick and tired of being unmotivated. The female demons are desperate, though. If you’re recognized by the king, you’ll be respected, and you’ll gain power…. Especially Cronaea. She chases the young lord around all the time and attacks the other demon clans. The castle used to be a little more lively. Everyone got fed up and went back to their homes.”

Perhaps they got tired of cleaning up the mess of the Cronaea-san and ran away?

I can understand why they would be disgusted by the fact that Cronaea-san would make the place dirty no matter how hard they tried to clean it up.

“But Lydith, you pointed out to Cronaea that thing that everyone wanted to say but couldn’t.”

“That… Oh, you mean the mucus ….”

“That’s right! Even I was too embarrassed to point it out. Thank you, Lydith. After that, Cronaea was crying  about how you bullied her, and I was really grateful for that, it’s a relief.”

“You are in Astaroth-sama’s position, shouldn’t you be able to warn her?”

“Me? I am not sure that I can even say that … to a woman….”

Astaroth-Sama averted his gaze. After all, that was a physical characteristic of  Cronaea-san that should not be spoken of.

But as a cleaning lady, it’s an important issue, I can’t hold back.

But still, how should I deal with it from now on?

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