Chapter 31
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: Rest (5)
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This atmosphere is killer.
A restaurant made up of slightly old-fashioned vibes and classical architecture, yet not the least bit sleazy.
I'd been to a Korean restaurant with a similar feel before possessing this body, but the difference in worldviews made it feel unique.
"Wahahahaha-!"
Even so, the inside of the restaurant was rowdy.
These eateries around here were basically spots where festival-goers crowded in to let loose.
No different from a tavern, really.
"Deron, this the right place?"
"Why?"
"No, just... the vibe of the restaurant feels so novel."
Born a noble, Erina wasn't used to this boisterous atmosphere.
Agnes and Han looked unfazed, but it might be a bit shocking for Erina, raised delicately in a count's household.
Sure enough, when we young-looking kids walked in, the staff looked a little flustered. They'd probably only seen burly uncles until then, so it made sense.
That surprise didn't last long—the staff quickly composed himself.
You pick up a poker face working in a place like this.
The staff came over, checked our numbers, and led us to a table.
I brushed off any possible dust from the seat and sat down carefully.
"What'll it be?"
We all exchanged glances at the staff's question.
Looks like none of us had ordered at a place like this before.
"Hmm..."
Agnes and Erina stared holes through the menu, but deciding wasn't easy.
'Never heard of these foods.'
The spring festival was ultimately an event for the empire's citizens. Even if Morax had wrecked it.
A regular celebration to welcome the new year with warm energy, so the food was geared toward what commoners ate.
Agnes and Erina, from count and viscount families, found commoner fare still unfamiliar.
But asking Han, a commoner himself, to order wasn't ideal either—he'd spent ages holed up in the mountains.
Even commoners didn't necessarily know capital cuisine inside out.
"Guess I'll handle it."
Unable to watch anymore, I snatched the menu they'd been eyeing. Agnes and Erina handed it over without protest.
Good thing I picked a decent-looking spot just in case. Smart choice.
I flipped through the menu quickly, checking for anything familiar.
I'd become the academy hero.
The story heavily featured Earth foods.
Festival specialties were mostly stuff I'd seen pre-possession, foods and tools alike.
This place was no different.
Bulgogi or hotpot were staples at Korean spots.
But true to isekai fashion, there were writer-invented dishes too. Meat from animals unique to this world, described as tasting like beef tenderloin crossed with chicken thigh.
"Pivorel meat and four lemonades."
"Pivorel can be a bit unusual. You sure? If it's your first time..."
"It's fine."
I'd eaten it plenty in the original story.
The staff started to say more but shut his mouth and nodded.
As soon as he left, I slumped back in my chair, utterly spent.
Exhausted.
The festival was fun, but all that walking had drained me more than expected.
Even without using aura, the mana circulating in my body got burned keeping my balance. Mana depletion instead of coughing blood.
Was this an improvement?
"Deron."
As I sighed inwardly, Erina stared at me intently.
"What."
"Um... you okay?"
Okay with what?
I tilted my head and stared right back.
"Luberic... he's dead."
"Ah..."
That’s what she meant.
Erina fidgeted after asking, eyes darting everywhere.
"No, no, you don't have to answer. I shouldn't have asked."
"I'm fine."
"Huh?"
"I'm okay."
Erina's eyes widened slightly. Agnes and Han, who'd been pretending not to listen, turned toward me.
"For real?"
"Yeah. It's been weeks."
I got why Erina asked. She still hadn't shaken off her first kill.
Her expression told the story.
The fiery passion in her red hair and eyes had vanished, replaced by an icy void.
She had trauma from killing living beings.
That's why Erina put on a brighter front. Swinging her sword with her usual cheer and zeal.
The sweat and calluses sealed her wounds.
Truth be told, the Pivorel meat was for her too.
It was her go-to in the original story.
"Honestly? I can't say I'm completely over it."
After waking and escaping the hospital, the first place I went was where Luberic and Morax died.
Luberic had contracted with a demon, but unlike the original, he hadn't caused harm.
And that final line.
'He was curious why he'd contracted with a demon.'
In the original, jealousy and envy toward Lee Han drove him to it.
There was a clear reason. He'd spat inferiority-complex lines at Lee Han.
But with me, it was different.
He was incomplete, questioning his own existence.
As if his assigned role had vanished.
Even so, facts didn't change.
Morax was definitely a demon, but Luberic was human.
"I killed the demon, but Luberic was in there too."
My first kill. A chillingly numb experience with no real emotion.
I'd wondered if visiting the spot would stir something odd.
"Thinking of Luberic still stings a bit."
Arxius's mana and Morax's rampage had left the area cordoned off with warning signs.
Beyond them: faint bloodstains and rubble.
"But time's passed. Can't stay stuck there forever."
I wasn't there anymore. I'd moved on, with Luberic not even occupying a corner of my heart.
Yet I'd tucked him away in one.
"Right... Luberic was a demon contractor."
"Doesn't mean I'll forget him. Doesn't change that I killed him."
To remember.
To not forget.
To stay human, I need to remember those I've killed.
Even if he was just a novel villain in print before. Now he had veins, a heartbeat, feelings.
Luberic Keias.
In this eerily indifferent emotion, I remember you.
So I'm still human.
Someone who fears killing, stays numb to it, agonizes.
My heart tickled oddly. Probably from saying something out of character.
"Still, that's a relief."
Agnes spoke after hearing it all.
"I heard from a professor once that first kills bring immense psychological pain. Even monsters—the sensation of slicing flesh is hair-raising."
"Um... Agnes? Which professor said that?"
"Professor Ardin told me."
Agnes replied flatly to Erina's question.
Normal people don't say that deadpan. Agnes...
"Good to see you looking so well-adjusted."
"Me too, me too!"
"Now I can request spars without worry."
"Huh?"
As Erina blinked in confusion, she dropped that scary line.
"Pivorel meat's here."
The aroma from the Pivorel meat drew everyone's eyes.
I turned too, captivated by the scent.
"Slice it up with this knife and share. Enjoy your meal."
The staff flashed a service smile, set the meat on the table, and vanished.
We all eyed each other cautiously.
Then one by one, we grabbed the knives.
"Shall we dig in?"
Erina's first cut sparked a frenzy of slices on the Pivorel meat.
The lemonades were tasty, but the ecstatic flavor of the Pivorel meat... it made every other meat I'd had seem worthless.
Clink, clink.
The sound of knives on plates. Forks spearing meat. Careful chewing filled the table.
Erina was one of them.
The Pivorel meat before her outshone any dish from her count's estate.
Juices bursting with every bite, that flavor incomparable to estate meats.
'So good!'
Erina screamed internally. Too delicious to shout aloud here, though.
As she sliced the Pivorel, she stole glances ahead.
Under the restaurant's soft lamp glow, Deron carefully ate, avoiding sauce stains.
He brushed back his hair, then cut the meat.
Skilled slices, like he'd done this before.
She peeked at Deron, then looked away.
She'd heard that if someone was beautiful, even mundane actions looked good.
Deron fit perfectly.
Even opening his mouth for meat rivaled models in the occasional newsstand magazines.
Staring longer would mean she'd just gawk instead of eat, so she dropped her eyes.
Still, she recalled his earlier side.
The man tormented by his first kill.
Yet determined to remember it, to not forget the guilt. A non-cowardly man.
...Somehow, the meat tasted lesser now.
She shoved Deron-thoughts aside and focused on eating.
Even so, "cowardly Erina" lingered in her mind's corner.
Her feelings were complicated, all around.
Maybe that's why she didn't notice the red ring on her middle finger flicker on and off.