The Melancholy of the Demon Army Officer
Translator: Tsukii
Editor: Shizukuku
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Chapter 066 – Reunion after ten days [A]
—Leonhart’s vacation, tenth day.
“—Hoo, this sure is an enormous forest!”
Galtia exclaimed in amazement as he saw the maze of large trees before him.
…It’s my first time seeing such a big forest.
Galtia was from the southern region of the continent, which had a hot, dry climate. The southern region had its share of forests, but the towering one in front of him made him feel overwhelmingly close to nature. Therefore, he felt quite surprised.
And it seemed like he wasn’t the only one feeling this way. Carol passed by him and Ssulal followed directly behind her,
“All around us are trees, woods, and the forest… there are so many trees-!”
“U-n, I had a feeling but, as expected of a big forest… it sure gives poor visibility… I should prepare a lot of detection magic…”
Contrary to Carol, who energetically ran around like her usual self, Ssulal was muttering something and activating tons of magic. This is clearly the difference between an outdoor person and an indoor person, thought Galtia.
However, the person who walked up after them showed a different reaction entirely. The remaining apostle, Hunty Kalar, stared at the forest,
“…? Something feels different than usual…?”
With that said, she frowned suspiciously.
Galtia unmindfully called out,
“Now that I think about it, this forest is your hometown, right? You were originally a kalar, weren’t you?”
“…hm, that’s right… but I’ve been away for a long while, so…”
“…Fu-hn?”
Hunty gave a subtle answer, seemingly having a hard time expressing herself. Although, her reaction made Galtia tilt his head,
…What, is she being considerate to me? Or is it…
I guess it’s not anything I need to confirm right now, thought Galtia. It was a well-known fact that many kalars live within this particular forest region. In fact, it was Hunty that had been leading the way up until they reached their current location, so there was no doubt about it.
However, Hunty’s attitude, which seemed overly concerned with her surroundings, made them curious instead,
“…Oh, Hunty-san? Is something wrong?”
“…No, it’s not like there’s anything troubling me.”
“…? Then let’s move on! Hunty-san, please guide us!”
“…Roger that. Just follow along.”
Hunty received Carol’s words and continued to lead them through the trees. The other three followed closely behind her.
However, her steps were light, seemingly not wary of the path ahead — Perhaps because Hunty judged that she didn’t need to be wary with both Galtia’s mushi radar and Ssulal’s detection magic to protect them. It seemed she had complete faith in their abilities.
Besides, the demons in this region could easily be taken care of. They were a group with a maou, a majin, and two apostles. A normal demon would immediately run away if they saw them.
Galtia watched his surroundings with that in mind. If he turned his gaze upwards, he could see a looming mountain that looked somewhat like a tall and narrow tower, visible through the gaps between the trees.
…So that’s the Rising Dragon Mountain. It’s incredibly big, even though I’m looking at it from a distance…
So Leonhart wanted to climb over that. I see. It’s not like I don’t understand his motivations. That’s the greatest mountain in the world, an unexplored frontier. It would be a lie if I said I wasn’t a little interested.
However, Galtia was more interested in gourmet food. If Galtia had a vacation, he would travel around the world to eat various local delicacies. Although he’d tried a lot of different foods, there were still many ingredients he hadn’t tasted yet, and it was said there were a number of unknown dishes developed by different cultures in remote areas. Getting to travel and finding those dishes would be—
…I’m getting hungry just from thinking about it.
Although he already ate quite a few lunch boxes on his way here, he couldn’t help but feel hungry again. The mushis inside him also said they were hungry.
Therefore, Galia went to the front and called out to Hunty.
“Hey, I’m hungry, is there anything to eat?”
As he said that, Ssulal, who was walking next to Galtia, looked at him with an exasperated gaze. Hunty turned around with half-lidded eyes,
“Anything to eat, you say… What about your lunch boxes?”
“I already finished them all.”
“Eeh…”
Hunty had a troubled expression.
But I can’t ask for something that doesn’t exist. Well, I guess I did bring some meat, but that’s just a snack.
Also,
“Since we’re here, is there any food that can only be eaten in this forest?”
“Why are you enjoying this like a normal trip?!”
Ssulal raised her voice. As Galtia ignored that,
“Well… of course we would have to bring full lunch boxes if we’re going to climb a mountain, right? The amount of food we brought already isn’t enough, and there’s no guarantee we can find him on the first day— Ooh, isn’t it better for us to prepare several days’ worth of food right now?”
“You’re just making up reasons now!”
“It feels like picnic~”
But it really can’t be helped since I’m hungry. I think I came up with a pretty good reason there. It’s not like I said anything wrong either.
Hunty exhaled as she heard their exchange. Then she opened her mouth and,
“…Even if you say that, I don’t think there’s anything that can only be eaten in this forest—”
Hunty’s sentence stopped there. Then, with a subtle expression,
“…Well, it’s not like it doesn’t exist, but…”
“Alright, let’s eat that.”
“A thing that can only be eaten in this forest… I wonder what it is?”
Carol asked about the thing Galtia was curious about.
Hunty looked at Galtia and said,
“Rather than it can’t be eaten elsewhere, it’s more that it can’t be harvested elsewhere. —It’s something called wasabi.”
“Heeh, I’ve never eaten that before. What kind of ingredient is it?”
“I also don’t know what it is!”
“I’ve only heard its name—hey, since when did the topic shift this way…?”
Giving a sidelong glance to the depressed Ssulal, Hunty began to explain the thing known as wasabi.
“Err…The stem can be grated for cooking and the leaves can either be fried or pickled for consumption, I guess. I’ve never seen it growing outside this forest, though…”
“Hou, that’s good. How does it taste?”
Hunty tilted her head as she answered.
“Ah-…It’s delicious? I think. It has a strange taste, somewhere between sweet and spicy, but people ate it quite a bit… hey, what’s with those faces?”
As Hunty explained, the other three started having weird expressions on their faces. Then they said with more subtle expressions,
“Now that I think about it, Hunty-san has a distorted sense of taste…”
“Aah, uhn… I’m sorry for asking.”
“But, maybe it had a normal taste since everyone was eating it…?”
“…Well, sorry for having a distorted sense of taste.”
Hunty grumbled and she exhaled at the harsh evaluations of the three.
But it seemed her explanation was meaningful. Galtia smiled curiously.
“But still, I’m interested to find out what it tastes like. Let’s eat it now.”
“…Ah-, about that.”
Hunty’s words stagnated there. After thinking a little, she said.
“Most wasabi aren’t grown out in the wild like this but instead are cultivated in the field. It’s not something that could be harvested unless we went to a settlement…”
Aah, everyone immediately understood what she was trying to say. Ssulal spoke everyone’s thoughts.
“I see. So we can’t go… rather, it would cause a big fuss if we did.”
That was just how it was. If their group, which consisted of a maou, a majin, and apostles, went to settlement of the demi-human kalars, it would immediately cause a big fuss. Not to mention kalars were basically xenophobic to begin with. Even if their appearance was similar to that of humans, it would still be difficult for them to go there. The sole exception to this, and the one who could resolve the situation, was Hunty, but she seemed reluctant to visit any settlements for some reason,
“…Well, that’s how it is. So it’ll be difficult to get some.”
She felt a little apologetic as she said this. Galtia moaned.
“Kuh, even though this delicacy is so close…!”
“No, well… sorry.”
Hunty apologized lightly. Then, as if to pull herself together,
“…It’s not like it isn’t available in the western region of the forest… but we have no time for that, so how about we just hunt for some wild plants and animal around—”
Right at the moment she said that.
Galtia immediately raised his voice.
“—Then let’s go there!”
“………heh?
Hunty leaked a stupid voice.
Galtia continued to chase after the topic.
“We can eat it if we go there, right? Then let’s stop by that place!”
“Eh, no well…”
Hunty was bewildered and she looked at Ssulal. It seemed Hunty was passing the right to make the decision over to the maou, who held the highest rank.
But as Ssulal received Hunty’s gaze, Ssulal carefully considered the problem. Then, with an exasperated voice,
“…I already expected something like this would happen the moment the topic of food was brought up…”
She took a breath and, after a while,
“…It should be fine if it’s only a short detour.”
“…”
She gave her approval.
Then Hunty became silent. Was it just Galtia’s imagination that it seemed like she didn’t want to go? Perhaps Carol was thinking the same thing as she tilted her head,
“Hunty-san? Is something wrong? I don’t mind going there—Hah?!”
Then Carol swallowed her breath.
She stiffened for a moment, and when she started speaking again her voice shook as if she was impressed,
“Don’t tell me… you’re worried about Leonhart-sama…! And you don’t want the search to be delayed for even a moment! In that case, I’ll also—”
“…No, that’s not it.”
Hunty denied Carol’s words bluntly. Carol’s eyes went white as if she was shocked.
But it seemed Hunty was giving up there, as she held onto her head and leaked a big sigh. After a moment she reluctantly said,
“………Then, let’s go.”
“Oh.”
Galtia raised his voice, full of expectation.
However, Hunty still looked reluctant at the idea. Therefore, Galtia spoke with a serious expression,
“We don’t have to go if you really don’t want to, you know?”
“………uh-n…it’s not like that was the reason… and we might be able to procure various things there anyway…”
Then isn’t that okay? Even as Galtia thought that, Hunty put her hand on her chin and tried to stop pinching her mouth.
Then, in the midst of her thoughts she began to accept it. I guess this really is a good opportunity, she mumbled internally. As if she had flicked a switch in her brain, with a relieved expression she said,
“—My house is there.”
And she confessed such a thing.
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