The area we arrived at under the guidance of Kuro is a different kind of bustling place than the one we were in a while ago.
When I heard the words “food stalls”, I couldn’t help but think of it as the festival stalls that could be found back in my previous world, but the stalls lined up here look more like a shopping street.
There are many small shops lined up on both sides of the street, and the people passing by all had a cozy, enjoyable atmosphere around them.
I’ve heard from Kuro that the area where I’ve been shopping before is full of large shops, especially those that deal in clothing and furniture, because there are many mansions of nobles erected nearby.
On the other hand, it seems that the Adventurer’s Guild and many apartment complexes nearby this place, and that’s why there are many shops here that deal with food and drinks.
As one would have expected, it’s currently lunchtime, so not only is there a lot of people on this street, but I can also smell the appetizing scent of food wafting in from the shops here and there.
It’s a good time to eat now anyway, so we decided to have some lunch and then go walk around the city, and so , we came to a restaurant that Kuro recommended.
There are benches and tables in front of the small wooden restaurant, and I personally prefer the atmosphere of a restaurant that caters to the masses.
[Good afternoon~~]
[Oya? Isn’t this the Underworld King. Welcome.]
When Kuro stood in front of the store and greeted them with a bright smile on her face, a woman of delicate age who seemed to be Human came out of the store.
The woman, who looks like the owner of the store, notices Kuro and smiles back, as if she had spoken with her before.
[I’m here to eat lunch~~]
[Thanks for your patronage. Oya? Is that child over there Underworld King’s acquaintance?]
[Unnn. He’s Kaito-kun, a child from another world.]
[Ah, speaking of which, it was rumored that someone from another world had come this year other than the Hero-sama. Welcome. Come and fill yourself up.]
[Ah, yes. Thank you very much.]
It seems that no matter which world it is, the aunties’ talk skills are very good. She then led us to our seats with a light conversation and sat down with Kuro.
Although we were led to our seats, this place isn’t really a cafe or a restaurant, so they didn’t have a menu, but the shopkeeper auntie just led us to our seats and began cooking our meals.
A few minutes later, as the scent of meat wafter around. It has meat and vegetables of differing colors sandwich in between two pieces of beautifully baked bread was brought over…… Is that a baguette sandwich?
It’s a visually stunning dish, consisting of a large piece of bread filled with meat and vegetables sandwiched in between. This certainly looks delicious.
[Thank you for the wait, this is our special “Red Bear” sandwich! Now, dig in.]
[Yay~~]
[………………..]
Is it just my imagination…… Did the shopkeeper auntie just say this is a red bear sandwich? When she mentioned bear, is she saying that this sandwich has bear meat in it?
N- No, it might just be that bear meat is a common ingredient in this world but…… If possible, you shouldn’t have told me before I ate it. You should have at least told me after I took my first bite……
Unaware of the conflict within me, the auntie left after serving the food, and Kuro is just like usual as she began to eat her red bear sandwich like it’s delicious, as if she’s not bothered at all.
[You’re not eating, Kaito-kun? It’s delicious.]
[…… Thank you for the food.]
I should change my perceptions. This is a different world, a world with common sense different from my previous world. Besides, back in my previous world…… or rather, in Japan, bear meat may not be very common, but there were still some places where you could eat bear meat.
That’s right, let’s just think of this positively. Let’s just think that it’s good that this isn’t made of snake meat or frog meat.
Receiving Kuro’s words, I hold the red bear sandwich in my hand and bit into it in one go.
[……Tasty.]
[You see~! The food they make here in this shop is really good~~!]
I’ve heard that bear meat has a strong, gamey stink and taste, but this meat doesn’t have any stink at all. Rather than having any leftover gamey taste, it tasted rather refined instead.
The taste of the meat itself is very light, but that’s why it’s not overpowering and rather, matches the vegetables and the sweet and spicy sauce, so it doesn’t feel too heavy despite the volume of its appearance.
The scent and flavor of the bread, which is baked to be a little crusty, splendidly combined in my mouth, and the sweet and spicy sauce increases my appetite, making me want to take another bite.
Kuro, who had been watching me greedily devour the sandwich with a smile on her face, suddenly began to look around and muttered while tilting her head, as if she found something strange.
[……I feel like there’s hardly any people nearby.]
[Really? I thought this place was pretty bustling already, so there are usually more people here?]
[Unnn. The Adventurer’s Guild is nearby after all. It should have been more crowded here during lunchtime…… But I hardly see any adventurers today.]
Indeed, now that she mentioned it, I don’t think I’ve seen many people who look like their weapon and armor-wielding adventurers.
Thereupon, the shopkeeper auntie, who may have heard Kuro’s mutter, stopped wiping another table and approached us.
[That’s the thing though. There have apparently been sightings of a herd of wyverns up north in the mountains. It looks like the Adventurer’s Guild and the Knight Order have been working together since this morning to take them down.]
[Heehhh~~ It’s very unusual for a wyvern to build its nest so close to the city.]
[D- Doesn’t that sound pretty bad…..]
Wyverns…… A pterosaur in which its wings and hands were one. A monster that can be considered as a standard in fantasies.
The name of the monster itself sounds quite frightening, but from the way the auntie spoke about it, it seems that they were seen quite close to the city. Moreover, with a herd of those wyverns, wouldn’t they be able to cause damage in the capital?
Thinking this, I timidly asked, and Kuro let out a small smile in response.
[Don’t worry, wyverns have low intelligence compared to the dragons and they were categorized as weak monsters.]
[I- Is that so……]
[Young man, you should take what she said with a grain of salt. The wyverns are obviously as weak as ants for the Underworld King, but even one of them is a terrifying monster for humans. That’s why the Knight Order and the Adventurers formed a subjugation team early on and set out to defeat them.]
[…………….]
When Kuro just referred to the wyverns as weak monsters, the auntie corrects her with a wry smile on her face.
If that’s the case, as expected, it will be a pretty big battle to defeat those wyverns. There might even be some injuries and deaths among the Knight Order and the Adventurers.
It’s not that I know any of the Knights or the Adventurers but…… For instance, if Kuro were to defeat those wyverns, wouldn’t she be able to defeat them in an instant without any of them having to get injured?
[……Kaito-kun. I can understand why you think like that, but that’s no good.]
[……Eh?]
Sensing my thoughts, Kuro muttered in a serious tone, unlike the lightheartedness she has earlier.
[This is a trouble that happened in this country…… in the Symphonia Kingdom. I shouldn’t be carelessly involved in it.]
[……………..]
[Sure, just like Kaito-kun thought, it’ll be over in an instant if I go out there. It doesn’t matter if there are hundreds or thousands of wyverns, I’ll be able to take them out in an instant. But that’s no good.]
A quiet, yet somehow solemn voice resounded.
Her golden eyes look straight at me, with the majesty of a real king dwelling within them.
[As long as it takes the form of a monarchy, all the trouble that occurs within its territory must be resolved by this country’s power as much as possible. If they would just keep on relying on Demons, they would lose the trust of their own citizens and the “equal” relationship between Demons and Humans will be destroyed. Of course, if I’m formally asked for assistance, I’ll comply, and if I think it’s too much for the people to handle, I’ll help…… but as long as that’s not the case, I, as one of the Six Kings, can’t just get involved in every single thing for no reason.]
[……………..]
I didn’t even feel like refuting her. Indeed, the thoughts that came to my mind were just based on my emotions, and Kuro’s words are entirely correct.
This kind of situation made me realize that Kuro really is much older than me and her ideas were more level-headed than mine.
After having said all that, Kuro’s expression crumbles and a reassuring smile appears on her face.
[Well, it will be alright. There are lots of excellent knights in this country, and since they’re near the city, that would also make them able to easily restock the stuff they would need.]
[Yeah, that’s right. We’ve also got plenty of adventurers here, and they certainly wouldn’t want to be late in getting some shares in those wyverns.]
[…..In that case, that’s a relief.]
Dear Mom, Dad—– I heard a wyvern nest has been built near the royal capital. Kuro and the auntie said that it’s safe but…… I wonder why? I don’t know if it’s just my imagination or not—- but that sounds like a flag to me.
In the mountains north of the royal capital…… A subjugation team composed of knights, adventurers, and environmental investigators from the royal capital was formed to exterminate the wyverns that build its nest in these mountains.
This is the largest monster extermination operation that happened in recent years, and as the flesh
There are famous adventurers and division commander-ranked knights, as well as those who have experience in defeating wyverns in the past, so there shouldn’t be any problems happening…… is what everyone on the subjugation team thought.
The members of the subjugation team that had arrived at the rocky mountainside, where the wyverns were presumed to have built their nest based on the reports were now—– trembling in fear.
Before them lies numerous wyvern corpses, but the person who killed them was “not from the subjugation team”.
[Captain!]
[……How is it?]
[They’re unmistakably dead…… However, “there aren’t any wounds on their bodies at all”.]
The knight who was entrusted to lead the subjugation team has a strained expression on his face after receiving the report from his subordinate.
In fact, before they came here, they had encountered and defeated two wyverns. However, the wyverns were acting strangely…… It was the first time they’ve ever seen a wyvern look so desperate, even though they have defeated them many times before.
When they arrived at the nest at a pace faster than they had expected, they found more than 50 dead wyverns…… and none of them had any wounds.
[……Captain, this is…… Perhaps……]
[Yeah, the only one who could do something like this is……]
At the words of the knight who asked while looking pale and his body slightly trembling, the captain also arrived at the same conclusion with fear appearing on his face.
Yes, these two know. This situation could be described as abnormal…… And the one who could do it……
And as if to affirm their premonition that they don’t want to come true at all, a shadow comes down from near the top of the mountain.
[……Ah– Ahhhh……]
[……Impossible…… Why is she in a place like this…… Even though she wasn’t supposed to be out of the Demon Realm very often……]
The two people who saw this shadow…… No, all the members of the subjugation team shuddered with fear visible on their faces.
They would normally never meet her in a place like this, her, who is a symbol of fear that can be likened to a calamity.
[……”The Death King, Isis Remnant”……]
When those words were muttered by someone, the King of the Dead, clad in the deaths of many beings, descended before their eyes.