New Expectations
“I did feel a little sorry for Episa. She did her absolute best as a porter, only to get taken hostage by the Demon King’s army and sacrificed in the end.”
“Right? I actually teared up a bit when she died.”
“Still, it felt like a pretty cool exit, so that was something.”
“Exactly! Thanks to Episa’s sacrifice, they were able to take down the Four Heavenly Kings’ Tukal. Hehe.”
From early morning they had been deep in reading and sharing impressions. Perhaps because they had come to the library together right at opening for once, Ariel’s face was bright with a smile that wouldn’t leave. And looking at that smile of hers, I couldn’t stop smiling either. When a benefactor who had always been the one offering help was happy, the one who had always been on the receiving end of that help ought to be happy right along with her.
“Shall we go get something to eat, then?”
“Yeah!”
And so we found ourselves stepping out through the southern gate of the Grand Duchy just as lunchtime arrived. Ariel had said she was fine with it, but I had no desire to poke at Lumiang now that the restraint known as her father was gone, so we had decided to skip the Great Hall. Better safe than sorry. Lumiang already had a track record of using Ariel. When I asked whether it wouldn’t be wiser to avoid any meetings until we were completely clear of the Grand Duchy, just to keep that sort of thing from happening again, Ariel had given a remarkably stout-hearted answer.
“It’s fine! I’m not bothered at all!”
Anyway. Now that Elden Raphelion’s withdrawal declaration had not only been officially approved but he had even received a pardon from his original sins, there was no telling what moves she might make once she found out. At this point she ought to have realized that all the nets she had cast trying to catch an uncatchable fish had been a waste of effort—but it still paid to be careful of unforeseen contingencies.
A dramatic withdrawal declaration delivered right on the threshold of a tear-jerking hupijip. An investigation begun in suspicion had bred a twisted thirst; that unquenched thirst had, in turn, spawned a warped obsession. Caught in its grip, Lumiang was currently in an unstable state. If not for Gelwood’s earnest plea, I would have kicked the northern territories to the curb that very day. But everything I had done to escape the hupijip had also sent major ripples through Lumiang’s mood and through the Marriage Tournament—the north’s greatest festival—and that was a fact I couldn’t simply ignore. So I had stayed.
I fully understood Lumiang’s desire to see her revenge through. But for someone like me, who possessed not a single scrap of information about the original story’s core plot, there was only one possible response: mindless flight born of the fear of ignorance. If I tried to feel out the direction of the plot, it would already be too late. If I tried to exploit gaps in the story, it would already be too late. By then I would already be one of the ingredients simmering nicely in the hupijip stew. All I could do was flexibly dodge the bait the heroine cast and keep avoiding her—even if that threw her plans into disarray. Repeating a past life in which I had to live like a sucker just to pay off debts I never owed was not part of my plan.
I had no idea how the original story would unfold. Even if Elden Raphelion got spun clean in a five-thousand-RPM washing machine and ended up with a happy ending alongside the heroine, that ending had nothing to do with me. What a modern person suddenly dropped into a transmigration wanted was not to be sealed inside the cage of status and inheritance, but to set out in search of freedom and liberation. So for the time being, caution was the better part of valor. Strutting around just because the withdrawal had been approved would only cheapen the sincerity of the quiet consolation I had offered the heroine, and it would mock the hope that she would find happiness at the end of the Marriage Tournament. The heroine and I were polar opposites who could never truly stick together; if every collision only bred more trouble, then one of us carefully stepping aside was only right.
And so we arrived at a restaurant near the southern gate of the Grand Duchy—a fusion place that could satisfy both Ariel, who had never once tasted monster cuisine, and the yellow mutt who very much wanted to put monster cuisine in his mouth.
“I never would have guessed you liked monster cuisine. That’s pretty unexpected.”
“I tried it and it was good.”
“Really?”
Ariel ordered ordinary dishes; Rachel and I ordered monster cuisine. One nice thing about medieval restaurants was that the menus weren’t as sprawling as a modern kimbap heaven’s, so there was no need for long deliberation. Today’s lunch special was none other than Grilled Green Lizard Tail.
I had no idea what class it would fall under in the modern world, but in the original story’s setting it was classified as an amphibian—a monster with a green body, a thick, long tail, and only two legs. Ariel ordered a perfectly ordinary stew, while Rachel went for Grilled Green Lizard Tongue. She recommended it as a delicacy, but eating a monster’s tongue still felt like it required a bit more mental preparation on my part, so we settled on me stealing a single bite.
A short while later, the dishes we had ordered arrived. The thick tail had been grilled until the green skin rose in places, scored with knife cuts so the heat reached all the way through, and dusted between the cuts with vivid spices that would deepen the flavor. The color and shape certainly weren’t pretty, but the savory roasted scent blended with the sharp spice to wake up the nose. With a rush of saliva, I wasted no time grabbing the tail and tearing off a big bite.
“Mm.”
The spices made the texture a little dry, but the taste was still excellent. I kept nodding as I savored it, then furrowed my brow and tore off another generous chunk of meat.
“Mm. Mmhmm.”
The color was a bit off-putting, sure—but the chewy texture of the skin itself was excellent too.
“…Is it really that good?”
Ariel, who had been watching me with open curiosity, asked. The sight of someone devouring monster cuisine for the first time must have been quite the novelty; the spoon she had lifted for her stew hung frozen in midair.
“It’s excellent. Want a bite?”
I tried to offer her a thin strip of meat I had torn free, but Ariel leaned her head back and waved both hands.
“I-I’m fine.”
“You’ve never tried it even once?”
“Yeah. Dad always said that eating monster food makes your blood dirty…”
She lowered her voice, trailing off as if worried someone nearby might overhear. Classic medieval-era belief, right there. Once it was digested, the nutrients were the same either way. If a false conviction kept someone from enjoying this magnificent, colorful flavor, that was truly losing half of life’s pleasures.
“That so?”
Well, nothing for it then. As I popped the thin strip of inner meat into my mouth, Rachel—seated beside Ariel—set a thinly sliced piece of grilled tongue on my plate.
“The tip is especially good. Please try it.”
The tip only yielded a single piece, from what I could tell. To give such a precious cut to me… following my suddenly kind master’s pace from this morning onward was proving a challenge for her disciple.
“Thanks.”
“Yes.”
Sliced thin and grilled, it looked no different from ordinary grilled meat if you just went by appearance. I picked it up and tossed it into my mouth.
Chew, chew.
The texture was soft yet tough, and the more I chewed, the more a moist juiciness spread that was as rich as sesame oil. Outstanding.
“Does it suit your taste?”
“It’s delicious. The texture’s pretty unique.”
“Yes. That’s why it’s called a delicacy. It only lives deep in dungeons, so it’s rare, and there’s a rumor that it’s good for vitality, which makes it popular among middle-aged men.”
Truly, the human appetite was a magnificent thing. Give people a story that something was good for the body and they would hunt it until the species ran dry. Offering a quiet eulogy for the Green Lizard that had fallen victim to that great appetite, I tore off a piece of the grilled tail and set it on Rachel’s plate.
“What’s given should also be received. Try the tail too.”
“Thank you.”
Time to get properly into the meal. I picked up the grilled tail again, ready to tear off another big bite—when,
“I-I want to try it too.”
Ariel, who still hadn’t taken a single spoonful of her stew, made the declaration and held out an empty plate toward me.
“Huh?”
“Th-that… I want to try the grilled tail. Give me some too. I’ll share my stew.”
“You sure?”
“It’s not that I didn’t eat it because of what Dad said. I just never had a reason to. Even eating at a place like this is a first for me. I want to try it once. I’m curious.”
“…That so?”
I had no idea what reason had suddenly driven her to want monster cuisine, but even when I’d lived without much, I had never been stingy about sharing food with a friend. So I tore off a piece of the grilled tail and set it on the empty plate she held out.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
Ariel took the plate and stared down at the Green Lizard’s tail for a moment. It wouldn’t be easy. To a noble young lady who had grown up seeing only pretty and precious things, that green tail would look more like something to avoid than something appetizing.
I tore a long strip of the grilled tail and put it in my mouth, as if demonstrating. And then—
Chomp!
Ariel squeezed her eyes shut, popped the piece into her mouth, and began to chew carefully. Her shoulders gave a single hard shudder, as if a chill had run through her.
…Did she really need to force herself through such a difficult challenge, swallowing her fear? In that brief moment of doubt—
Flash!
Ariel’s eyes flew wide open. The reddish-brown pupils that had been damp with the effort of overcoming revulsion now held pure wonder as they opened wide. The shoulders that had been hunched tight with fear straightened. And all the while her mouth never stopped chewing the grilled tail. Covering her mouth, Ariel made a startled face.
“Wh-what is this?”
I let out a quiet snort of laughter. The way she looked was so much like a baby bird discovering a brand-new taste.
“Good, right?”
“Wh-what is this? Why is it so good?”
Well.
“Because it can’t help but be good.”
“Could I… maybe have just one more bite?”
“Of course.”
I tore off a slightly larger piece of the grilled tail and set it on her plate; Ariel snatched it up at once. With every chew her pupils grew larger still, filled with clear wonder.
“I-it’s really delicious…?”
And so our lunch ripened like a midsummer afternoon—together with a baby bird who had just opened her eyes to a new flavor.
“Would you care for a piece of the grilled tongue as well?”
“Ah… h-haha. A monster’s tongue is still a bit…”
Of course, she was still a rather timid baby bird.
Patting our full stomachs, we left the restaurant. The monster cuisine she had tasted for the first time had been a truly strange flavor. And it had been genuinely delicious. Delicious enough that she wanted to eat it again. Of course, it would have to stay a secret from her father.
Having re-entered the Grand Duchy through the southern gate, Ariel stood at the fork where the paths to the library and the training grounds diverged.
“Train hard, then!”
“Yeah. See you tomorrow.”
For some reason it felt lonely knowing that Elden would head to the training grounds with Rachel while she had to return to the library alone, but she still sent him off with a vigorous cheer. Thinking of the seat across from her sitting empty until tomorrow made one corner of her heart feel forlorn, yet she cheered him on with all her heart, hoping his afternoon would be perfect, and resolved to wait for tomorrow. If he came early again tomorrow, that would be wonderful… or so she found herself wishing.
But then—
“Ah, Elden!”
Her unruly mouth called his name of its own accord.
“What is it?”
Why had she called him? Why did the mouth that had called him on its own now refuse to produce an answer? Why did she resent a snout that caused trouble and then ran away? And yet, why did she also feel like she had done well to call him? She had no idea.
Ariel clasped her hands behind her back and rose onto her tiptoes, swaying her body gently. The hem of her dress fluttered in time with the motion.
“Come to think of it, you said evening outings are allowed now, right?”
“That’s right. I’m not a candidate anymore.”
“Then… after training later, would you like to come by my lodgings?”
“Why?”
“I-I… I want to throw a celebration party for you too…!”
It must have been the strong sunlight. That was why her lips felt so dry. It must have been the strong sunlight. That was why heat was rolling off her. It must have been the strong sunlight. That was why something inside her felt like it was burning up.
Of course, that tension proved unnecessary when Elden glanced around once and quietly agreed.
“All right. I’ll wash up after training and come over.”
“Ah, y-yeah!”
Elden grew smaller in the distance. Now it was time to head for the library. Instead, Ariel spun on her heel and began sprinting toward her own lodgings. The evening’s party was far more exciting than an afternoon spent alone in the library. Ariel had never enjoyed a proper party, and she had never once tasted alcohol; the way her heart leaned toward anticipation rather than worry about the unknown was something she herself could not yet recognize.
Thud-thud-thud-thud!
The escort knight who had naturally assumed she would head for the library had to scramble after her in a hurry.
A short while later—
“Wh-who did you say is coming?”
“I invited Elden Raphelion!”
“What?!”
In Ariel’s lodgings, the news that the drunken brawler, battle maniac, and infamous young master was coming to visit triggered an unprecedented state of emergency.