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————Haah……
A deep sigh escapes me as Marielle and I enter the room.
「Don’t worry about it. Let’s sit over there.」
「Thank you.」
I was led by Marielle to open the door to the main banquet room where the feast was to be held, late from the other heroes, and Yurielle looked at me with disdain and sighed.
Unfortunately, I was just normal.
How delicious it would have been if I had enjoyed being whipped and cursed by a princess, not a queen, saying,「You pig!」
It was confirmed that Yurielle did not treat me as a heroes, but the fact that Marielle treated me as a guest was a relief at least.
They sit down on chairs near the entrance, with Yurielle and the others sitting on the upper chairs beside them. Despite the considerable distance, I was able to hear the conversation of the heroes.
Yurielle stood up and spoke to everyone with a melancholy expression, accompanied by grand gestures as if she were a stage actress.
「It is not for nothing that we have invited you all to come here. Because the Kingdom of Alastair is in danger.」
「In danger, you say?」
Shirakaba-san asked curiously, rubbing his chin.
「Yes, there are demons in this world, and until now we have been able to deal with them. However, over the past few years, the demons have become so rabid that they have destroyed the city. My father, King Crusch, who feared for his life, was wounded when he went to defeat them and is lying on his bed.」
She takes out a handkerchief and wipes away her tears. Her tears make the men’s eyes water, and they nod yes, crossing their arms in sympathy. It’s kind of stinks of acting to me, being placed outside the mosquito net…
「I, who am also the saint of this country, beg of you! I would very much like to borrow the power of the heroes written in the ancient manuscripts. Please accept our best regards.」
「Hey, I don’t care what happens to this country. Maybe “for free” is too good to be true?」
A woman chewed Yurielle. Her white sweater was feminine enough to attract the male eye, with a full bosom, and she was dressed in a checked skirt and black stockings that accentuated her slender legs.
Her face is somewhere between cute and beautiful. In a normal situation, she would have seemed calm, but the look in her eyes when she questioned Yurielle was as if she was blowing cigarette smoke at the other person.
From her long hair and makeup, I think she is quite beautiful, if not an actress or model.
「O dear heroine, we will give you the compensation you deserve. In addition, when the Demon King who leads the demons is defeated, we will return you to your original world.」
「My name is Kashiwagi Rina. Ah～ It’s so bad… my hair is covered in dust! I need to shower before I eat!」
The lady with long hair and a lovely expression wrinkled her brow and revealed her displeasure, resting her elbows on the table and resting her cheek on her cheekbones.
That person… where do I have seen her?
Don’t tell me…
「Hey, you… you’re that Kashiwagi Rina?」
「Yes, if so, what do you want?」
「My name is Funabashi Kōhei.」
「I don’t know you.」
With a frown, she answered the man who identified himself as Funabashi.
「Please give me your autograph!」
「Are you stupid? Are you seeing this situation properly?」
「Yes, but, if there’s Rina-onee-san here, I would take this chance. In fact, it would be impolite not to take it.」
Oh right! It’s Kashiwagi Rina, the weather girl from “Wake Up TV!”
But unlike on TV, I don’t feel she’s stinging or cute or anything like that. Well, I guess I can’t blame him if he gets involved in something like this.
A 30-year old-ish male… Funabashi-san approached Kashiwagi-san next to her, but she didn’t take him up on it.
Apparently, he is further elaborating on his earlier introduction. But me and Marielle are completely out of the mosquito net. I don’t know if there is such a thing as a mosquito net in this world.
With a creak. The chair backs up and scrapes against the floor. The man, indifferent to the exchange between the two of them, puts his hand on the tablecloth decorated with lace at the edge and stands up.
「My name is Ootake Yoshiharu. A third generation shrine caretaker.」
Someone with stringy eyes who seems to have difficulty reading emotions from his eyes, a little older than me, but his tone is just so old-fashioned. He is dressed like a mountain priest.
「Wow, that’s wonderful! I can’t believe you already have the skills!」
I’m not sure, but it seems that Yurielle can tell who is skilled. Is that why I’m persecuted? Or is it my looks?
「Skill? What’s a Skill?」
But the man who identified himself as Ootake had no idea what she was talking about, so he turned to the other heroes and asked.
「Don’t you know? This is a different world. We have cheats and skills that God gave us. You look like a mountain ascetic, so I guess it’s the result of your training, isn’t it?」
「I don’t know if you call it a cheat or a skill, but I’d know if it’s the result of training.」
Funabashi-san teaches in a dumbfounded way and Ootake-san makes a sign. It was like a ninja doing the nine-syllable mark.
「Ehh—— When did—!!」
The candles on the candelabrums on the table were lit with a flash of light.
「Am I dreaming or what?」
「Ohhh, wow! Old man, you’re good.」
「It’s like a magic trick!」
Yurielle had a natural expression on her face and the three of them were simply impressed by Ootake-san’s skills.
「I am only seventeen years old. Not quite old enough to be called middle-aged.」
Eh!?
That physiognomy is not that different from mine! He had finished showing off his skills and was sitting down, looking satisfied. I was more concerned about his aged appearance than his skills.
Ring～♪
The sound of bells echoing in the formal dining room. Yurielle, smiling with satisfaction, rings the bell, and the doors open to reveal parlor maids carrying meals on silverware with domed lids like French cuisine, which they place on each seat.
It was served like a full course French meal, and the smell already made me think it was delicious…
But!
Compared to that, the disparity between my food and… Even the maid who brought the food looked at me with disdain, and the bowl was placed in a messy manner with a clatter, as if I had no choice but to feed wheat and other grains to a spoiled dog I had kept for a long time, as if it were pig’s food.
Seriously, this is just fodder…
I was stunned, but it was Marielle who got angry first.
「This kind of treatment is unacceptable. You must immediately prepare the same things as the other heroes and heroines!」
「But it was Yurielle-sama’s order. Not even Marielle-sama would be able let me to comply.」
「It’s fine. I’m a fat guy. This is about right.」
「Kaname-sama! That’s not…」
「I’m just glad Marielle is covering for me.」
「Okay…」
I had asked Marielle for one thing and ordered her to bring the same thing I did.
The maid comes again and places a ceramic jar in front of me. The wide-mouthed jar was tilted toward a deep dish, the white liquid moistening the thirsty cereal.
「So Kaname-sama eats that way, do you!」
「Yeah, maybe if I eat it like this…」
I requested milk. I don’t know if it was milk or not, but it smelled like it had no habit.
I scooped it up onto a spoon and brought it to my mouth…
「Ohh! It’s not bad.」
When I chewed it thoroughly, I could taste a hint of sweetness, which soothed my tired body. I fearfully took a bite and looked at Marielle’s face as she took a spoonful.
「It’s delicious! I’ve never had anything like this before.」
I didn’t need to worry about it. Marielle, who had a melancholy look on her face, relaxes her cheeks at the milk-soaked, fodder-like cereal and smiles with a spoon in her mouth. I blushed and looked away at her adorable expression.
「Haah～ I’m totally full!」
I was made to understand that a meal is not about the quality of the food, but who you eat it with… and that makes all the difference in satisfaction. After finishing the meal in such a different world, I was taken to a room that seemed better than a prison cell, and then an incident occurred.
With two thumps, and a knock on the thin wooden door.
「This is Marielle, may I ask you to open the door?」
「Okay, I’ll open it in a second.」
I hastily removed the stick stuck in the hollow of the stone wall and invited Marielle in. Then she blushed and said.
「O hero, for my sister… I have come here to offer myself…」
I’m startled by the outfit and shouted her name.
「Marielle-san!?」
Transparent thin camisole… The color of her skin was completely visible, and it was easy to see that she was wearing only a thin undergarment of fabric on her chest and between her legs.
「Ah, no… I was wondering why you came here… It’s already late at night.」
「My sister said…『I’ll put an incompetent person in charge of dealing with an incompetent. And you’re just the right person for the job.』」
What kind of partner was she talking about!?
Ding–dong, ding–dong, ding–dong, ding–dong～
I was about to tell Hanayama about the evening I spent with Marielle. A chime rang to brought me back to reality, as I was tripping into otherworldly memories, and told me that lunch break was over.
「Shit! What a convenient chime to ring in the right place! Kirishima, you can definitely tell me later about your fantasy night with that princess Marielle!!!」
「O–Okay…」
No, you don’t believe me, even though you’ve been eating so much… The classmate sitting in front of me returned, but Hanayama was still not getting up from his seat.
「Uhh…」
「I know, I know. I’m going to return it now.」
Finally, a quiet classmate called out to him and gave him back his seat. But still, Hanayama, I don’t know if he was excited or what, his eyes were kind of bloodshot.
I knew that guy is also a sucker for a story that could be erotic. At first he was willing to listen, but by the end he was standing up from his chair and leaning forward.