142. Competitor

"...Are you actually insane?"

"H-huuu... I-I'm sorry...!"

The amplification magic was still active.

So Adelia's—no, the shabbily ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠dressed girl's—frightened voice rang out clearly through the alley.

Deep terror settled over the faces of the crowd.

Even Pina, right beside me, was afraid of me.

Ophelia had long since peeled away from the group, and Stella was staring back and forth between me and Adelia with a dumbfounded expression.

Still... Eurasia was pressed right against my side.

Not only that, she had stepped forward one pace to shield me from view.

As expected, there's no one but Eurasia...

Grinding my teeth—*grit, grit*—I wiped a hand down my face.

Since she can't pull any shit on me here anyway, should I just beat the hell out of Adelia while I'm at it?

A couple of good hits might take the edge off my anger.

But I... can't.

If it were only my own reputation on the line, I'd have slapped her across the face without a second thought. But I'm... a Eustetia.

My mother's and father's reputations are on the line here.

That lunatic bitch Adelia knew I'd make this choice, and that's exactly why she caused this mess.

"...I'll remember what happened today."

"Eeek! I'm sorry!"

Adelia, face pressed to the ground, let out a voice full of terror, then whispered softly. No, she didn't whisper. She spoke directly into my head.

'Then how about we call it even for today in exchange for a lead I can give you? Oh, and for your ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠reply, find the connection point in my Mana and speak there.'

'What if I can't find the connection point? How am I supposed to answer then?'

'I said it because I believed you'd find it right away, just like this. Fufufu. Anyway, how about it?'

'What lead are you talking about?'

Adelia raised her head.

Her face was streaked with grime, but she was rather pretty.

It didn't seem like a completely different face from her real one.

Was this Adelia's childhood appearance?

But if so... why did it look so familiar?

I stared quietly at Adelia's face, at her crimson eyes. As I did, her voice came through.

'The Cartel.'

'...What?'

'A lead to get close to the Cartel. It's in that skewer shop.'

"Ha..."

A hollow laugh escaped me.

Right. I had been looking for a way to get close to the Cartel. Because the Cartel had interfered to stop Ophelia from investigating the Holy Kingdom's movements.

Why the hell do these bastards sabotage every single thing I want to know?

Is it coincidence? Or do I just have shit luck?

I don't know. And because I wanted to know, I wanted to get a look at those sons of bitches' faces.

But the Cartel was organized in cells, so finding them wasn't easy.

No, it was practically impossible.

Of course, the things visible on the surface—say, the owners of the large corporations known as the Cartel—were easy to find. But what I was looking for wasn't those; it was the Cartel's real masters.

I'd even sent a letter to Sara, but Sara had replied that it would be difficult within a short timeframe as well.

I was surprised because her tone implied she could find them if given time, but since I had to finish the investigation before vacation, I couldn't borrow Sara's help either.

And then Adelia came asking about that lead.

'Aren't you going to ask how I knew this time?'

'You'd just give me that annoying answer about having good eyes, wouldn't you? I don't even know what to ask in the first place. No, how the hell did you know I was looking for the Cartel?'

'Are you curious?'

At an angle the others couldn't see, Adelia flashed a sly grin.

The moment I saw that face, mine crumpled.

'Forget it. I'm going back to the academy.'

"Huh? What? Eliarnes, where are you going?"

I turned my back immediately.

"The academy."

"W-what? No... here, the skewers... the, the club..."

Stella looked back and forth between Adelia and me with a troubled face. Then, seeing the countless gazes fixed on us, she nodded.

"Right. You must be... uncomfortable too. Let's go back."

Eurasia walked a step ahead of me without a word, keeping wary eyes on the crowd, and Pina stuck close to my side, catching her breath.

'Wait a moment!'

Adelia's voice, genuinely flustered this time, rang in my head.

'I have no business with you.'

'All right. I'll stop joking around.'

'Are you playing hard to get? With me?'

'I've learned well that ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠pushing never works on you.'

'I don't particularly enjoy being read like this.'

'I'm sorry, it's a habit from living a long time. Anyway, what you're curious about, Miss Eliarnes... may I tell you when we're alone?'

'I'll decide the date, time, and place.'

'Whenever you like.'

"Hey, you. Get up."

"M-me... Are you speaking to me?"

I cut off the telepathy and spoke aloud.

The shabbily dressed girl, Adelia, looked around with a performance worthy of an award.

Then, as if realizing it was indeed her, she nodded frantically with tears welling in her eyes.

"Don't just nod. Get up."

"Y-yes...! I'm sorry...!"

"Say 'sorry' one more time and I'll rip your tongue out."

"S-sor... no, I understand...!"

Adelia, rising from the ground.

Stella, trying to grasp the situation with a bewildered face.

Eurasia, guarding my side without a word.

Pina, simply terrified by the current situation.

And far off, Ophelia the bat, sneaking glances this way.

And the people.

Their gazes were still fixed on us, but every eye I met dropped to the ground.

"Fuck."

I spat out the irritation that had risen to the top of my head in a single curse and started walking.

The crowd, which had been slowly closing in, opened wide again.

I briefly entertained a nasty thought—since things had turned out this way, maybe I should do this every time I go out with the girls.

But I folded it away quickly.

I could do it if I wanted to... but Mom and Dad might be deeply shocked.

*****

"So this is the infamous skewer, huh?"

Stella shuddered as she looked at the skewers piled high on the desk.

"...My lady, are you really all right with this?"

"What's there not to be all right about? When we throw them away, Stella can just burn them with magic, so it's no problem."

"Hehe... Yes. Thank you."

We had bought every skewer the old shop sold and returned to the club room.

Partly because Eurasia was uneasy about feeding people meat of unknown origin, and partly because of Pina's silent plea that she couldn't eat skewers while feeling people's stares.

"...I ate skewers ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠here yesterday too. To think it wasn't chicken..."

And Ophelia, who had been keeping her distance from us, had joined us at some point and come back with us.

Something about how, given the nature of her profession, it would be troublesome if her face became known to people.

"It was tasty, wasn't it?"

And then there was the problem herself, Adelia Baros.

For some reason, she hadn't returned to her real appearance and remained in the girl's form.

Not exactly the same, though.

She had changed from the shabby clothes and grimy appearance into the academy uniform and a neat look.

Seeing her like this, I was certain it was Adelia's childhood appearance.

But strangely... it looked familiar.

"Why are you staying in that form?"

"Because looking like this suits being around all of you much better."

"How ridiculous."

"They say acting ridiculous like this can come across as more charming at times, you know?"

Adelia smiled brightly as she said that, then gathered her hair in both hands and made twin tails.

"I can even do cute twin tails like Miss Eliarnes, which I can't do in my real form."

A mirror popped into existence in front of Adelia—*poof*—.

Maybe she'd added a magic manifestation effect, because... little twinkling stars sparkled around it.

"Though they're not as cute or as flattering as Miss Eliarnes's. What a shame."

Ignoring Adelia, I picked up a skewer.

Pina, who had been stuck to my side, edged away little by little.

"Hey... are you, like, going to eat that?"

"I'll know once I try it."

"...What if it's human flesh?"

"I told you it's not."

Stella grimaced and pulled my arm down.

"Ugh... F-first, don't eat it and just wait..."

"Why, are you going to eat it? Or should I offer it to the senior who turned away because she was embarrassed of us?"

"Uh... Ophelia senior...?"

"Junior...! That's a misunderstanding...!"

"See. I'll just eat—"

"My lady! I'll eat it instead!"

Eurasia grabbed my arm—*grab*—.

Then—*snatch*—she snatched the skewer at high speed, and—*chomp*—bit into it.

"Aaaah! Eurasia!"

"Eeeek...!"

"Junior Eurasia is incredibly brave..."

"Oh my... fufufu."

Chewing—*nom nom*—under everyone's gaze, Eurasia tilted her head.

"...It's better than I thought?"

"R-really...? It's good?"

"Eee..."

"Junior, what kind of meat does it taste like?"

"It's an ingredient that couldn't possibly taste bad."

Eurasia took another bite—*chomp*—and nodded repeatedly.

"It's definitely not chicken, but it is tasty. But this... it's a smell I've smelled a lot somewhere."

*Nom nom—gulp—*

Eurasia, having polished off an entire skewer, looked at Adelia.

"Professor, do you know what kind of meat it is?"

"Yes. I know it well. It's meat I ate a lot of in the past. One thing I can say for certain is that it isn't human flesh. I can swear on my very existence."

Adelia, who had her arms crossed below her chest, uncrossed them and placed one hand over her heart.

Then pitch-black Mana burrowed into her chest.

"Now, how about each of you tries a bite? Miss Stella, it might even be meat you've had before."

"M-me?"

"Yes. You said you've been exploring Ge Vihenum since you were little, didn't you? If so, there's a high chance you've tried it. It's common food in the Demon World."

Stella blinked, then nodded.

"Then... yes. I'll try it."

She picked up a skewer coated in spicy sauce and bit into it—*chomp*—.

Then, whether because she couldn't resist her curiosity or because she'd gained confidence that it wasn't human flesh, Ophelia, who had been hesitating, took a big bite too.

I also picked up a skewer and took a bite.

First came the intense taste of the sauce. After that, the aroma of charcoal. And after that—

"Ah, it's that."

A taste familiar to me, and to my past self, came through.

Everyone's eyes gathered on me.

Even Adelia, in her student form, was chewing on a skewer—*nom nom*—with a satisfied face.

I said to them, as if it were nothing.

"Harpy meat."

Harpy. A type of mid-grade Monster.

The name sounds flashy and pretty, but they look absolutely horrifying.

Because the harpy's other name is—

the human-faced bird.

A demonic beast with a chicken's body and a repulsive head mimicking a human face—of course it's horrifying.

But the taste is excellent.

Of course, you don't eat the head, only the body.

That body is enormous, several times the size of a human, but back in my day, they were so scarce we couldn't get enough.

It was so bad that rumors even circulated that harpies went extinct because of us.

"...H-harpy...! *Urp*..."

But for kids these days, it's not like that.

Stella was the first to bolt outside.

Ophelia spat out what she'd been eating and ran out after her, and Eurasia gagged and covered her mouth.

And Adelia wore a slightly surprised expression.

"You know the taste of harpy?"

"...One of the Eustetia Knight Order members bought some for me once, long ago."

"All the way from Ge Vihenum to the Eustetia Duchy?"

Adelia shot me a suspicious look.

Eurasia also looked at me as if surprised by my words, but she trusted me implicitly and quickly withdrew that gaze.

"Storage Artifacts are common these days, so it's not exactly difficult. But this taste is—*wow*."

*Nom nom nom—*

I bit into the skewer once more.

And then I realized why Adelia had fed this to us—no, why she had fed it to me.

"Aha..."

I let out a hollow laugh and looked at Adelia.

Adelia, too, seemed to know I'd figured it out, and giggled—*heh heh*—.