The conversation at the village Chief's house was over, and the three people, Julia, Zenobia and Palmina were eating on the first floor of the village inn.
Falsa's negotiations were worth the effort, the quality and quantity of dishes were beyond recognition compared to yesterday's food.
「 umm, delicious! I might be the luckiest hero in the world to be able to eat such a delicious dish」
Julia smacked her lips while selling the words "best in the world" and "hero" very cheaply, as the bread crumbs fall all over the table.
She had already eaten a considerable amount, and there were many empty plates piled upon the table.
「 Hey, Julia, why don't you compose yourself a little? A lady should behave more gracefully during the meal. 」
Zenobia who is unable to just watch chides Julia to pay attention.
She says so while handling her knife and fork skillfully, and ate the dish in front of her neatly.
「 Julia-chan eats attractively. Just looking at her makes me feel full. 」
Palmina, covering her mouth with her hand, looks at Julia and smiles.
Originally, she does not eat that much, so she spends most of the time looking at the exchange between Julia and Zenobia during the meal.
「 Zenobia is too strict with manners. It's not a dinner party of the noble's, so let me eat freely while we are traveling. 」
To increase their knowledge and gain experience while training as a hero party, they are traveling while subjugating monsters on the way.
However, because they are supported by the kingdom to which they belong, there are many dinner parties they have to attend with nobles who rule the territory from which they are traveling.
Unlike Zenobia, who grew up as a nobleman's daughter, and Palmina, who received strict discipline in the church, Julia, who was born in an ordinary rural village, was not good with such strict manners.
「Manner is not for pretentiousness, but are important in everyday actions. Even if no one is looking, you must always be conscious of it...... 」1.
Zenobia's drawn-out fault-finding begins as usual, but the person in question Julia is not bothered at all while giving half-hearted reply she continues having her meal.
「Even so Fal-ani shut himself up in his room earlier than usual. Even though he went through all the trouble to somehow succeed in getting an extravagant meal, right? 」
Julia ignored Zenobia in the middle and began conversing on a different topic.
Although Zenobia looked a little glum, she did not mention anything regarding Julia's attitude because she too is worried about the person who has become the topic of conversation.
「 Certainly, although Falsa-Dono shuts himself up in his room after dinner, today he did so much earlier than usual. 」
「Falsa-Kun's school is supposed to start training after the sun sets, but it's still a little bright outside. I wonder what's wrong with him? 」
Following Zenobia, Palmina also pondered with her hands on her lips.
Commonly the group of people called magicians have various training methods according to their school.
To raise their magical power—it is like spiritual strength to use magic — some schools do so by sitting under waterfalls or schools that continue to perform magic until they lose consciousness, anyway, there are many diverging paths.
This is mainly because the phenomenon of magic is still an unknown force, and has not been structured properly, as a result of which each school insists on the method that they think is correct to be right.
「 He said it is a secret of the school and he cannot tell me either, so I also don't know what kind of training he does. I wonder if there's something different than usual. I am get ー ting bore ー d. 」
Julia looked up at the ceiling while shaking her limbs.
That appearance combined with her physique, made her seem like a child who was throwing a tantrum.
Although Zenobia frowned when she sees Julia in such a way, but doesn't rebuke her in particular as she similarly is worried about Falsa's situation.
「 Hmm, if you're worried so much, why don't you take a peek at it secretly? Just kidding 」
Palmina oddly suggests to both of them jokingly, but of course, she must not have meant what she said.
However, the two people look at each other at the same time and then nod.
「「"That's it! 」」
Surprisingly, Julia and Zenobia hit it off and quickly left their seats and started moving.
Palmina makes a little troubled face, but it seems she too is equally worried and follows after the two of them.
The large amount of food still left at the table will be cleaned up by the innkeeper and his family later.
In a private room on the second floor of the inn, Falsa was talking while facing a crystal ball.
「 Hey wait a little Tart-Chan, to call for me so suddenly it is not convenient for me. At least you should have informed me in advance.……」
With an incredibly troubled face, Falsa tried to spin his words.
Then, a few seconds later, the crystal ball shines and a female voice echoed across the room.
『 It is the imperial order of Mao-sama there is no use of complaining to me. Moreover most of the time, Mirage-Sama forces work on me and leaves the castle unattended, so the communication is delayed. I knew this case by noon, but no matter how many times I tried to contact Mirage-Sama's communication ball; I didn't get a reply........ 』2
「 All right, all right I get it. I am in the wrong, Tart-Chan. After I change my clothes, I will directly transfer to the Demon king's castle, so report them so. 」
Falsa seemed tired from the bottom of his heart and interrupted the voice from the crystal ball --- communication ball and replied.
『I will respectfully obey. Well then, I will report it like that. Also, my name is Astarte, not Tart-Chan. Please stop calling me with strange names. Or else I will complain to Maou-Sama of power harassment. 』
「 oh-, that might be a good idea, if you can get me demoted for it that will be even better. Please, by all means, appeal to the Maou-Sama, Tart-chan. 」
The shine of the contact ball disappeared, and the silence pervaded the room.
Falsa puts the contact ball in his robe with a sigh, takes out a mask and begins to put it on his face.3
「 I wish Tart-Chan can be a little more flexible. But then again, it is a fact she is working for me, should I give her some delicious strawberry tarts as an apology next time. But... why did things reach this point? At first, I just wanted to earn a little for living... haa. 」
Falsa remembered the time he joined the Demon Army and sighed deeply.
Originally, he lived freely in a remote area, while eating away the fortune left by his parents, but it didn't last long.
He was confident in his magical skills inherited from his father, as there was no other way to earn a living and so he entered the division of demon king army which was rumored to have good pay, he planned to live in moderation.
「 I was good at doing little chores or work like that, but why was I made one of the four heavenly kings? I wonder where I went wrong. 」
While complaining, Falsa holds his right hand in the air and suddenly makes a rift in the space.
Without any hesitation, he puts his arm into the rift and takes out a sickle with a huge blade and a jet-black cloak and puts it on the floor.
「 To not expose that I am a half-human, I have to put this strange disguise, also there is nothing wrong in being a little careful. OH, I have to take off the lens before I put on the mask. 」
Next, he took off his robe and threw it into the rift, whereas he put on the black cloak that he had just taken out.
And then he took off the mask and temporarily held it between his armpits, then he put his fingers into his left eye, and then something like a small, transparent convex lens stuck to his fingertips.
The lens is taken out in a well-practiced manner and is carefully put into the container taken out from the cloak.
The left eye from which the lens is removed is completely red looking like it will burst into flame, while the right eye is dyed black like it will swallow everything.
「 I wish this color lens could be more flexible. I wonder if someone from the Imperial court mages will be able to develop color lens technology that can hide the black eye. 」
While grumbling complains he puts on the mask again, the hole for the right eye of the mask is filled up so that no one can check its appearance.
The right half of the mask is a smiling face and the left half is a crying face when combined with the black cloak that was worn and the scythe that was larger than his height, whether it is a joker or a grim reaper, it can be said that it is an unusually complex appearance.
「I am ready now; I should get going 。Gate！」
When Falsa again holds out his right hand into the air, it creates a larger rift in the space than before.
He lifted the big scythe on the floor with his left hand and walked straight into the rift.
At the same time, when Falsa's body completely vanishes together with the rift from the room.
「Fal-Ani! I have come to visit youー！」
Soon after Falsa's disappearance, Julia barged into the room without knocking.
Zenobia and Palmina also followed in the back, and the two entered the same room a little late.
「 What? Did he go out? I thought he was in the room all the time? 」
「 Hey, Julia! Weren't you going to sneakily peek into the room?! Is there anyone who barges in without knocking? Huh? Is Falsa-Dono absent? 」
「Jeez, you two barging in as you please even if he gets angry it is irrelevant to me 。……huh? Falsa-Kun is not in here. 」
The three people look all around the room, but of course, they couldn't find Falsa.
After checking under the bed and even in the closet and realizing that there was no one so the person himself would not know of this incident, they left the room in a hurry.
Then, silence came with the sound of the door closing, and it became the master of this room until the next day's morning sun rose.
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