For this occasion, I held a "Meat Festival." I'm delighted if everyone enjoys it.
The venue was filled with the delicious smell of food.
I had been eagerly waiting, and then the chef's voice reached my ears: "The Flower Horned Deer is ready!"
I quickly approached the meat, but, huh, no one was lining up?
Feeling suspicious, I looked around and found myself surrounded by the knights of the Third Squad.
"Fia, the first person to deserve the Flower Horned Deer is you. You should eat it first."
Eh? This meat is really delicious, but is it okay for me to eat it?
"Then, I won't hold back. Chef! Give me the loin from the spine!"
And I took a bite of the meat handed to me.
"Mmm, delicious! Delicious! Delicious! It's hot, but it's delicious!"
The meat is perfectly flavorful. Oh, is there anything happier than eating delicious meat?
Before I knew it, the knights of the Third Squad and everyone else had started eating the Flower Horned Deer.
"This is... seriously, so good!!"
"The meat juice is amazing! It just gushed out. And it's so tender!"
"The lack of fat is great. It's so refreshing, I could eat it all day!"
Yes, yes. I feel like I could eat it all day too.
I felt really good and ate the meat and drank alcohol with the knights of the Third Squad.
"Fia, seriously, thank you. I was surprised that your command was based on bluff, but your leadership made the battle so much easier."
"Yeah, I was scolded by Commander Cyril for being too ignorant about monsters. The Flower Horned Deer lives in the abyss, and it's a monster we would never encounter normally. Sure, I received a list of monsters when I was assigned to the Sixth Knight Regiment, but I only glanced at it years ago. There's no way I could remember the characteristics of a monster I saw just once!"
"Seriously, if you weren't there, we could have been wiped out. Thanks! Drink up! And eat!"
Then, a knight patted me on the shoulder.
"Fia, you're new, but you're already a proper comrade! Stop using formal language with us, okay!"
"Understood! Fia Rude, from now on, I won't use formal language!"
"Wait, that's still formal language!!"
Everyone pointed out the mistake, and we all burst into laughter.
Sigh, being a knight is really great. They're so manly, I like it!
After that, I don't know how much I drank. The knights of the Third Squad kept pouring me drinks, and I happily drank them all... huh? Who is this?
Next to me, a knight with his upper body bare was passionately speaking.
Huh? Who is this? I know this knight... but who is it?
I saw him standing slightly behind Commander Cyril earlier...
"So... are you listening, Fia!"
I was scolded by the knight with the rust-colored hair and a bare upper body.
"Huh? No, I wasn't listening. What was it?"
Looking around, the knights of the Third Squad were looking at me with exasperated expressions.
Huh? Oh, right. I was supposed to stop using formal language.
"So, why is your upper body bare?"
When I spoke in a casual tone, the knights of the Third Squad looked at me in a panic.
What? You told me to stop using formal language, but now you're panicking when I do. What should I do?
"So, the Chief has a six-pack!!"
"Six-pack?"
Six packs? Packs, like the face masks women use for beauty? Hmm? Does the Chief put six masks on his face?
"Wait, is the Chief's face that big?"
"Why are we talking about his face! You really aren't listening, are you!"
"Wait, I am listening! It's outrageous! I feel violated! Puff, what am I saying!!"
"Enough! The Chief has six-pack abs!!"
"Eh? Is that, like, personal erotic information? Is it okay to share? Is it okay to spread it?"
"What? Is this personal erotic information? Am I going to get arrested by the military police? Hey, you guys! Get Desmond drunk and take him down!!"
The knight with the rust-colored hair frantically ordered the other knights.
"Just look at me, Fia!! My abs!! How many are there?!"
"Um... one, two, three, four. Four! They're divided into four!!"
"That's right, my abs are only divided into four. Do you know? The shape of abs is determined by birth. No matter how much I train, no matter how many monsters I hunt, my abs will always be four!!"
And the knight with the rust-colored hair burst into tears.
"Here we go again."
"Commander Zachary is starting his usual rant."
The knights of the Third Squad sighed in resignation.
One of them spoke to me in a comforting tone.
"Sorry, Fia. When Commander Zachary gets like this, he keeps ranting. At every drinking party, he brings up this topic, bothers his subordinates, and ends up crying. Honestly, everyone is tired of it, but there's nothing we can do."
"I'm sorry for you, but today, you helped us out. We've all dealt with him dozens of times, so we appreciate your help."
...Hmm? Everyone has it tough.
But, what's wrong with having abs divided into four?
...Oh, what was the name of this rust-colored knight again? Ah, right, Zachary.
"Zachary! Look at me!"
I called out to Zachary, who was crying.
Once I confirmed he was looking at me, I started unbuttoning my knight's uniform jacket.
"Hey, Fia, what are you doing!!"
Zachary's voice was panicked.
I grabbed the front of the unbuttoned jacket with both hands and stared at Zachary with a challenging look. Then, I said, "Look!" and took off the jacket in one swift motion.
Under the uniform, I was wearing a tight shirt with a chest plate, and my belly was clearly visible.
"What's a four-pack! I have a one-pack!! Even though I train every day as a knight, I can't build muscle at all!!"
And I confidently pushed out my protruding belly.
In the corner of my eye, I saw Commander Cyril, who was watching from a distance, spitting out his drink.
...Oh dear, that's not like the polite Commander Cyril. What's he doing?
"Y-You, you, you, that's..."
I turned my gaze back to Zachary, who was stuttering.
"Hmph! Complaining about four abs is a privileged life! I only have one! And it's not even muscle!!"
"Fia, that's... well, if a three-year-old niece had a belly like that, it might be cute, but for an adult, it's... well..."
Zachary looked at my belly as if it were something terrible.
"Then! What should I do!! I've wanted to be a knight since I was little, and I've trained every day. Even now, as a knight, I don't skip my daily training. But I can't build muscle. What else can I do!!"
Well, it's a bit exaggerated.
Normally, my belly isn't this protruding. Today, it's swollen to the limit because I've been drinking and eating meat nonstop.
Puff, but to shock Zachary, I had to go this far.
Zachary looked at my face and belly alternately and groaned.
Then, with a pained expression, he spoke.
"Fia, there's nothing you can do. Just give up."
He continued hesitantly.
"You shouldn't show your belly to others. And you should stop talking about it."
"What?!"
I glared at Zachary, feeling extremely unpleasant.
"You! You brag about your four abs at drinking parties and show them off! Then you forbid me from complaining? How selfish can you be!!"
"N-No, I'm doing it for your own good..."
"Consideration! Then, switch my belly with your four abs!!"
"No way!! ...Ah, no, but, your belly is... well..."
I pointed my finger at Zachary, who was mumbling.
"Then! Stop bragging about your four abs! To me, it's just boasting, and it's unpleasant!!"
"......That was my fault. I understand, I promise. I won't talk about my abs again."
Zachary knelt and declared it, and at that moment, cheers erupted from all the members of the Sixth Knight Regiment.
"Wow, wow, Fia. You're amazing!!"
"Saved! Saved from that hellish loop of a story!!"
...And it seems Zachary never talked about his abs again. Later, I was given the nickname "Belly Saver" by the Sixth Knight Regiment.