I had become friendly with the knights.
Simply put, well, that is how it was.
“In short, the target of the expedition is a plesiosaur!”
“Ah, a plesiosaur…”
“That’s right, Pino. You’re a cook, but you didn’t know? A coastal specialty, the plesiosaur! Apparently, you can eat the meat, too.”
“Is that so?”
In the afternoon, if you asked what I was doing, it was gathering information.
Thanks to handing out leftover Weekend Citron, I grew close to the knights and heard about the purpose of our voyage.
The answer that came back was a plesiosaur.
“Did you know about this, Princess Belze? About the plesiosaur.”
“Yeah. It’s a gentle, herbivorous fish-reptile that swims on the sea surface and grazes on seaweed. From the skin, fins, whiskers, meat, to the fat, there’s no part that goes to waste. Well, I haven’t heard that it’s particularly delicious, though.”
Is it like a whale in my previous life?
“……So why is the Order of Knights hunting that plesiosaur?”
“Ah, there’s a reason this time. For the past month, not a single ship that went out to hunt plesiosaurs has returned. And now, even a trading ship has vanished!”
“I see, that sounds troublesome.”
Beside me, Belze looked proud, saying, “See, I told you it was trouble on the trade route.” She hit the jackpot.
“There have also been repeated testimonies of people spotting plesiosaurs with abnormal appearances, and the state has officially recognized this incident as ‘an incident caused by plesiosaurs mutated by the Demon King’s influence’…… and we’ve come to subjugate them, that’s what!”
Thanking the knight for his concise explanation, I portioned out the remaining Weekend Citron onto a small plate.
“Oh, this is it, this is it! Since our place is full of bachelors, we rarely get cakes like this. Thank you!”
“No, thank you for the information.”
Seeing off the knight as he hurried away before the commander spotted him, Belze and I looked at each other.
“……Since you said it’s a knight order directly under the imperial family, I thought they would be living in luxury.”
“No way. The maintenance cost of the knight order is blood money. I wouldn’t do something like waste it.”
Oh, surprisingly gentlemanly.
“It must be hard work, so at the very least, I’d want them to have a good meal.”
“……What, don’t tell me you’re planning to take care of all three meals?”
“Would that be bad?”
“Putting your labor aside for a moment, Kirul probably wouldn’t accept it. He’s a man strict with discipline and hates being taken care of.”
……I understand hating being taken care of, but what does discipline have to do with this story?
While I tilted my head in confusion, Belze walked ahead regardless.
“More importantly, Pino, it’s time to prepare the bath.”
“Again?”
“I’m feeling sticky from the sea breeze. I want to take a bath three times a day.”
That is…
Doesn’t that sound bad for your skin in the long run?
“Hey, Pino. Normally, I have the maids take care of me when I’m naked.”
“Yes.”
“Right now, they aren’t here.”
“I suppose so.”
“Won’t you do it?”
“No thanks.”
That’s a no-go.
I constantly feel that just the backless dress is already pushing the limit. It’s bad for the eyes.
“Mu, you refuse?”
“Things like that should be done with the man you love when you marry him.”
“I love you very much, you know.”
“No, I mean…”
Your kind of love isn’t that kind of love—I was about to say, but I didn’t.
I didn’t have the proof, nor the readiness to find out.
“I thought I had conveyed it enough, but is it still not enough?”
“Belze murmured that quietly and stopped walking.”
Flipping her body gracefully, she whispered right by my ear.
“Then shall I take care of you instead?”
“Huh?”
What is she saying?
However, her moist gaze which didn’t seem to be joking at all and her passionately trembling voice overwhelmed me.
“Taking care of a dog is a master’s duty, isn’t it? Besides, I am a predator. I constantly feel like devouring you.”
Actually, that suits my nature better.
Saying that, Belze licked her lips exaggeratedly, and I—
◆
While Pino and Belze set sail, at around the same time—
The hero’s party had advanced their investigation regarding the high-ranking demon from before and had just reached a single breakthrough.
“Lord Granbald, is this really…”
“Yes, Hero-sama. Voltridge, the high-ranking demon struck down by Princess Belze… It seems he left behind a troublesome parting gift.”
Nodding in agreement with the conclusion reached by Lord Granbald, a gentlemanly figure resembling a furry beast, the hero understood.
Having spent a month tracing the past footsteps of the demon Voltridge, the hero and his companions had arrived at the two bombs he left behind.
“……Mutant juveniles, huh.”
“It seems one was transported to the sea, and the other to the imperial capital. And not just ordinary mutants, but peculiar individuals that received the direct grace of the Demon King.”
“Do you think they are already adults?”
“Who knows? The sea one is suspicious. It seems to have been released quite early on.”
I see, the hero muttered, lost in thought.
The hero’s birth name was Lucas, but his current name is Kenya.
The latter is the name he was called in his previous life.
From the day his birth village was attacked and he recovered the memories of his previous life, he began using his former name.
In the middle of his thoughts, the hero Kenya’s stomach rumbled noisily.
“Ah, come to think of it, I’ve been walking continuously since noon. Shall we have a meal?”
“Ah, no. It’s fine.”
The hero lately looked as though his mind was elsewhere.
Especially at mealtime.
Watching the hero walk around absentmindedly from behind, the female magician asked Lord Granbald with suspicion.
“……Hey. What’s up with him lately?”
“He seems to have had his heart stolen by something called a beef stew of memories.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“It’s the aroma that lingered at the gnome’s dwelling. He said it closely resembled the food from his hometown.”
The hero turned around abruptly and shouted.
“That was definitely beef stew! That kind of smell came from the remnants of the pot!”
Regrettably, the iron pot used for cooking had been returned to the earth by the gnomes’ power by the time the hero and the others arrived.
But there was no mistake.
The sense of smell enhanced by the hero’s power insisted on it.
The one who made it was the sole cook scouted directly by Belze—
“Pino-kun, was it? Just who on earth is he?”
Where and what are those two doing right now?
Knowing that whimsical princess,
It wouldn’t be strange if she had already grown tired of him and thrown him away.
Yet for some reason, Kenya had a conviction that the two of them hadn’t ended up like that.
“Ah, come to think of it…”
Although he didn’t know the reason, Pino-kun had invited him to a meal, hadn’t he?
Kenya’s stomach rumbled again as he thought about asking if that chance ever came up.
“……Sigh. I want to eat it, Japanese beef stew. The kind that pops up as a limited-time item at gyudon shops and occasionally goes viral.”
Hero Kenya.
His past self was a completely ordinary college student living with his parents, and his specialty dishes were green onion fried rice and raw egg on rice (with sesame oil).
He didn’t even know the name of the dish, beef red wine stew, boeuf bourguignon.
◆
“I am a predator. I constantly feel like devouring you.”
Actually, that suits my nature better.
Saying that, Belze licked her lips exaggeratedly, and I—
Gave her a light flick on the forehead to keep her away.
As if I would take a bath with an unmarried princess!
Are you kidding me, my head would really end up flying off.
“Ouch! What are you doing?”
“Stop saying stupid things and let’s go. I’ll take care of heating up the bath for you.”
“S-Stupid you say!? That’s the crime of lese-majesty, lese-majesty! As punishment, you’re sentenced to play pet dog with me!”
“Don’t get used to it. Are you a kid?”
Even without playing pretend, I am your pet dog.
Lately, that realization has finally caught up with me.
Since I am a pet dog, I walked ahead on my own.
I found the sound of her hurried, pitter-patter high-heeled footsteps chasing after me quite delightful.