Chapter 43: Fish Jam Toast

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Translator: Soafp

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Eating is an important act.

No matter what kind of creature you are, if you don't eat, you can't perform at your best, and your health can suffer.

That's why I make sure to eat properly every day.

Breakfast, in particular, gives you the energy you need to live through the day, so even if I oversleep, I still make sure to eat it.

After all, there are only a limited number of meals you can eat in a lifetime.

Since I couldn't eat anything in my previous life, I try to eat plenty now.

That was my intention even after coming to the Empire.

“These are the meals Imperial people eat every day? In a way, I respect them.”

“Don't misunderstand, Ask-kun. The food at ‘Great Tree Pavilion' is considered top-class within the Empire… well, it has a very distinctive flavor.”

“Ng!! It's baaad!!”

“L-Luu-chan!! Your voice is too loud!!”

The day after we arrived in the border city.

Last night it was already late, so we didn't eat, and I hadn't realized it then, but Imperial food really wasn't good.

No, I'll just say it plainly.

I feel bad for the person who cooked it and for the ingredients, but it's insanely bad.

Seriously. No joke. It's bad beyond saving.

“I never knew there could be food that tastes worse than an IV drip. The world is a big place.”

“IV… drip?”

The dishes themselves were fairly ordinary.

Toast, soup made from scrap vegetables, scrambled eggs and salad, and some crispy fried bacon.

Just hearing that, it sounds tasty, right?

But the bread was so hard I couldn't even imagine how it was sliced, the soup was overly salty,

there were bits of eggshell mixed into the scrambled eggs, and the salad wasn't fresh at all.

The bacon was burnt.

It was just plain bad. I honestly think Imperial chefs shouldn't be allowed to call themselves chefs.

“And this jam spread on the bread that's hard like iron…”

“…Yes. It's a traditional Imperial dish, fish jam. This one is probably bloodfish. Why this became a traditional dish, I don't understand either.”

I have no idea how they made it, but the fish jam had a horrifyingly fishy smell.

As for the taste… well, yeah. It was awful.

It wasn't a matter of good or bad anymore.

It was food designed to make the person eating it uncomfortable.

Now I understand why that guard told us to stop.

I really shouldn't have eaten it out of curiosity. Seriously.

“Ara? Luu, you've got jam on your mouth. Hold still, I'll wipe it off for you.”

“Mm!!”

Lidiel took out a handkerchief and gently wiped Luu's mouth.

“And Luu, you should eat more neatly.”

“Why?”

“Huh? Why… because bad manners can tarnish the name of your master, Fran-san.”

Caught off guard by Luu's unexpected question, Lidiel hesitated for a moment, but then gave a solid answer.

However, Luu only tilted her head further.

“Tarnish? What does that mean?”

“Um, it means lots of people will speak badly about you.”

“Then if I defeat those guys, problem solved!!”

“You mustn't defeat them!? Hey, Ask-kun!! What kind of education is your sister giving her maid!?”

What kind of education, huh. I'd rather you ask my sister, not me.

“Still, Lidiel-san, you're really good at taking care of others.”

“Huh? Am I?”

“Yes. Luu's grown attached to you too.”

“Mm!! Luu like Lidiel!!”

“J-Just stop it, both of you. And Ask-kun, you've got jam on your mouth too.”

Saying that, Lidiel wiped my mouth with her handkerchief.

And then—

“Is Lidiel Rhydiel-dono staying at this inn!!”

A guard burst through the door of Great Tree Pavilionin a fluster and called out Lidiel's name.

What? What's going on?

While I stood there confused, Lidiel calmly raised her hand in response.

“Yes, I am Lidiel.”

“This is an order addressed to you from the Imperial Capital!! It's urgent, so please check it immediately!!”

The guard handed Lidiel a sheet of paper.

As she read it, her hands began to tremble.

“…This is bad.”

“Lidiel-san, what happened?”

“It seems Kaime Fortress has suffered devastating damage from an attack by the demon race.”

The demon race.

If humans are a species that evolved from apes, then the demon race could be said to have evolved from monsters.

Unlike ordinary monsters, they possess high intelligence, can speak, and aside from having horns or tails, they look very similar to humans.

But humanity can't get along with them.

Because, just like monsters, humans are their staple food.

The demon race is humanity's natural enemy. There's no way you can be friendly with a natural enemy.

“What is Kaime Fortress?”

“It's a fortress in the northern part of the Empire, built to intercept monsters invading from the neighboring demon territories. Around a hundred heroes and five thousand of their disciples are stationed there. It's one of the Empire's strongest defensive positions.”

“I see.”

And that fortress suffered devastating damage…

That must mean there are a huge number of injured.

“The Empire plans to temporarily abandon Kaime Fortress and gather its forces at the rear, at Hange Fortress. They intend to retake Kaime Fortress from there.”

“Wow.”

“All hero candidates within the Empire are being forcibly mobilized, so I have to head to Hange Fortress immediately. That's why this is where we part—”

“Ah, I'm coming too.”

“Huh?”

Lidiel stared blankly at me.

“W-What!? What are you saying!? It's dangerous!!”

“Please don't worry, I'm strong enough to protect myself.”

“T-That's not the issue!! I can't involve someone from the Kingdom in an Imperial war—”

“That kind of thing doesn't matter.”

“It does matter!!”

“It's fine, it's fine.”

No matter how I tried to tag along, Lidiel stubbornly refused. She's persistent.

In that case, I'll try persuading her from a different angle.

“By the way, Hange Fortress is pretty far, right? Lidiel-san, do you have money for travel?”

“Ugh… I-I don't, but I can just run there…”

“If you run, you'll get tired, right? If fatigue prevents you from performing at full strength, wouldn't that defeat the purpose?”

“T-That's true, but…”

That's right. Because she got dragged into my sudden escape, Lidiel doesn't have any money.

She was so strict about money that she even refused to split the cash we got from selling the figurine yesterday.

I'll use that.

“…F-Fine. But you must never leave my side!! And don't do anything dangerous, okay!!”

“Roger. Oh, I'll write a letter to my sister, so Luu, can you deliver it to her?”

“Mm!! Got it!!”

“…You won't burn it again, right?”

“Mm!! Luu is smart, so she won't make the same mistake!!”

That somehow makes me nervous.

Thinking that vaguely, with the second-class citizen certificate that arrived the next day in hand, Lidiel and I departed from the border city.

Meanwhile, back in the Kingdom…