Chapter 37
Chapter 37
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 37
Chapter Title: Traces of Memory (1)
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1.
《 ~Neutral Stage~ Wind-Swept Hill 》 -Flash!
The flat plain where the night sky had descended—a red light flashed from the solitary tombstone standing tall there.
A fierce storm began to rage, and soon a woman with red hair appeared in that spot.
"...So this is the territory of the Holy Empire of Aires."
⚔ STATUS ⚔ 【 Demon Lord 'Silmarion' – Lv.???(★) 】 *Note: Transform (Human)
A beautiful woman with crimson hair fluttering in the wind.
She was none other than Demon Lord Silmarion, currently using Transform to take on a human appearance.
If she rashly left the demon territory, she'd catch the eye of the Holy Church, so despite the drop in mana, she had no choice but to use a human body like this.
But even in this state, she was more than enough to handle a hero.
She was a high-ranking demon who had once been called the Princess of Blood, possessing incredibly powerful strength.
Even among high-ranking demons, Silmarion had confidence she could beat most of them, so a mere hero was nothing.
Besides, the hero seemed inexperienced still.
"Fine land this is. Much cleaner air than that dwarf canyon—far fresher."
Of course, the human realm had its share of troublesome powerhouses, but aside from that kid Inquisitor, there was no one who'd risk their life against her, so she wasn't too worried.
"...Heh heh, freedom at last! Finally free from those damn piles of paperwork that kept stacking up!"
Until half a year ago, there hadn't been anyone in the human realm who could match her power, so the Demon Lord set off to hunt the hero in high spirits, liberated from her endless documents.
Could someone on her level—or even stronger—have appeared in just half a year?
The odds were about as likely as a demon deliberately mimicking a high elf and taking up public bathing in a human city as a hobby.
Even if one existed, there was no guarantee she'd run into them.
Probably never happen.
"Asral City, was it? Been a while since I had seafood. And they say there are plenty of great eateries there..."
...Probably?
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ 2.
《 ~Neutral Stage~ Asral City Commercial District 》 -Crunch!
The welcome crunch of fried batter filled my mouth.
Crispy texture, chewy yet mild flavor, and the tangy lemon sauce cutting through the greasy richness—it was a perfect match.
'No spicy seasoning, huh...'
Even as I enjoyed a satisfying dinner, I eyed the fried chicken on my fork with a hint of regret.
Can't be helped. In this world—or rather, this village—pepper was the only spicy spice around.
I missed the flavors from my hometown memories, but it wasn't like I couldn't eat without them.
With a culture and environment so different from Earth, it was natural for lifestyles to differ even if the basics of being human overlapped.
Differences in food culture were unavoidable, I suppose.
I didn't need to eat anyway, so I just let it be.
"...Didn't you say you weren't hungry?"
"Huh? What'd you say?"
"Nah, nothing important. You just seemed hungrier than I thought."
As we chatted, empty plates piled up on the table.
-Clink! Clink!
Incredibly, all those dishes had been emptied by that petite girl, Louise, all on her own.
Probably four whole chickens gone already.
In less than thirty minutes.
And these weren't scrawny birds—the local chickens were huge, enough that even an adult man might struggle to finish one.
'Made from level 10-15 avian monsters, I bet. Twice the size of the chickens in my memories.'
Louise polishing off that much food alone had even me pretty surprised.
She could've been a huge hit on Earth doing eating show videos, her cute looks combined with that appetite.
Though when you think about dragons sleeping for decades—or centuries—during hibernation, it wasn't that weird.
"We were taught to fill up as much as possible when we can on our own. That way, we have enough energy to fight in critical situations."
"...Makes sense. Nothing odd about it."
Watching Louise, I could kind of see why people hated dragons.
They devoured every monster and plant around them, so nearby folks inevitably suffered massive losses.
Dragons didn't raid crops, sure, but to people, they weren't much different from goblin monsters.
'Not the main reason red dragons were wiped out, but it probably played a part...'
The shop owner had been so shocked he kept bringing free extras, so I'd spent more time observing Louise eat than eating myself.
-Creak!
"Welcome!"
Just then, the restaurant door swung open, and the owner greeted new customers.
"Whew, that was close, right? Nearly got overwhelmed and pushed back by the monsters."
The first voice was from a sword-wielding young man.
"Exhausted. Good work, Rain and Aria."
"Yeah. You too, Rain and Thomas. Though Cyan finished them off... Oh, Cyan!"
Familiar voices—turns out it was Rain's party dropping by the restaurant.
This place was a hidden gem known only to some adventurers and guards, so Rain's veteran crew were practically regulars.
Heck, they'd recommended it to me in the first place.
Running into them like this wasn't odd.
"...You guys."
I glanced their way briefly.
They'd done some solid work this time, buying me time so I didn't have to hunt monsters door-to-door. A nod was the least I could do.
Though they plopped down at my table without asking, which made me frown a bit.
Restaurant was big enough anyway—I'd ignore it.
"Huh? Cyan, you don't look so good. Tired? Want me to cast a blessing on you?"
"No need. This is my normal face."
Aria looked worried at my expression and offered.
She could even use high-tier holy magic like Blessing if needed.
Blessing temporarily boosted stats and eased fatigue with no real aftereffects—normally I'd take it.
But it debuffed demons hard.
So I shook my head and turned it down.
No point suffering needlessly.
-Step. Step.
"Haha, Aria... Oh, right. This place does the best fried food in Asral City. They have seafood too—order what you want."
Seemed more than just them had come in.
'...Not an elf. Who's that?'
Following Rain was a robed woman with red hair.
I eyed her closely, but her robe hid her identity like mine, so no name or level showed.
Her presence suggested high mana—I'd first thought elf—but no elf in sight, just someone using Transform like me to pass as human.
Couldn't tell her real race.
'Whatever.'
Races that could Transform were limited: in the human realm, only dragons, high elves, and spirits.
In the demon realm, all humanoid demons could.
Not hard to guess.
Plus, that 'red hair' was rare even in Novel Online.
"Oh, she's a new adventurer to Asral City. She was asking around at the guild for a restaurant, so I brought her here."
"Figures. Food here's pretty good."
I shoved aside stray thoughts and popped some fried food in my mouth.
Still tasty.
Felt vaguely nostalgic, but nothing specific came to mind, so probably just my imagination.
If nothing surfaced, it wasn't important anyway.
Rain's group settled at my table and kept eating, chatting about the day's events.
Like that bomb-carrying monster climbing the wall and blowing itself up, or Rain nearly falling after salt from the sky got in his eyes.
◇◇◇◆◇◇◇ "But that elf didn't come? They have veggie dishes for non-meat eaters here."
I said, draining my beer mug.
They seemed tight with that elf.
Odd she'd skip a group meal—even if elves hate meat.
They'd have mentioned it at least once, but no elf talk from them...
Fallen out?
Or are you still recovering from dungeon poison at the guild?
Didn't matter much, but I was curious.
"...Elf?"
Their reaction when I asked was weird, though.
The adventurers all tilted their heads: "Elf out of nowhere?"
Acting like they'd never heard of her.
They'd partied long-term—couldn't have forgotten.
"Yeah, that archer you guys were with."
I described her more, just in case.
I didn't know them well, but something felt off.
Artificial, almost unpleasantly so.
"Uh... Cyan."
The swordsman called me.
He'd drunk, but not sloshed.
This beer's low-proof anyway.
"Yeah?"
"Are you... drunk, Cyan?"
His response was so out-there, I could've called him the drunk one.
"No elf's ever joined our party except you for that caravan escort. Elves don't even use bows much these days."
"...What?"
They claimed no idea about the elf I meant.