Chapter 144: Complicated Relationship
「Woah, as expected of His Highness!」
「The meat is so good!」
Alvar and Okke were having the time of their life with the barbeque in which the meat was piling like a mountain. They had already forgotten the existence of their brother, Seyrey, who got one-sidedly beaten by Platy. As a side note, I was the one in charge of patching him up.
「Woof! Woof!」
「There there, here you go Liliana, it's your meal.」
I placed a plate filled with grilled veggies in front of Liliana, who was wagging her illusory tail. Since I couldn't bear to see her eating from the ground, I laid down a fur mat for her.
The only reason I could do something like this was simply because I'm royalty! WAHAHAHAHAHA.
Sorry… I'm really sorry for only being able to do this much for you… Liliana.
「Woof, woof!」
Watching Liliana stuffing her cheeks with vegetables made me feel really sorry for her. I'll make sure to free her someday.「Here you go, darling.」
Lyla offered a plate for me.
A platter of assorted meats seasoned with salt and pepper, along with vegetables and fruit… It's like a treasure island on a single plate. Naturally, my stomach growls as if demanding, "Hurry up and give me the nutrition!"
「Thanks, Lyla.」
「Yes.」
I stuffed my cheeks with skewered meats while looking at Lyla's bright smile. How adorable. Eating while standing like this every once in a while might be a good idea.
（――By the way, there's tension in the air. Though it was well-known information that the couple's relationship was really good, this was the first time Jilbagias was wearing the scale mail made from Faravugi's material. The person himself didn't seem to be bothered wearing that scale mail right beside the daughter of the material used for that scale mail. Lyla, the said daughter herself, didn't seem to care about attending the man who killed her own father. Their relationship was viewed as rather bizarre, and distorted from the third-party perspective.）[TN: 3rd person POV]
「Yummy! It's grilled nicely. The meat isn't that gamey, the spice and salt soaked into my body exhausted after the march.」
「Fufufu, I'm glad to hear it's to your liking.」
Lyla was smiling lightly, seeing me savoring the meal. Different from me who took a large bite at once, Lyla was eating elegantly, bit by bit. Truly un-dragon-like behavior.
「Nevertheless, I've never expected that I'll get a meal immediately, and barbecue on top of that.」
After filling my stomach with meat and taking a moment to settle down, I said those words while receiving a second helping. My stomach was still growling, but I had expected that we only get meals once we got back to the mansion, so when the smell of barbecue hit, I was really happy.
Naturally, there was one guy in front of us who got left behind…
『Even his comrades, Alvar and Okke, are savoring the meat in delight…』
Ante spoke in disbelief. The contrast was way too much.
Well, I kind of understand their feeling; they must be really famished after being forced to carry a stretcher loaded with stones for a long time. They would surely pick Seyrey later and carry him back home.
「They say this barbecue is designed with field rations in mind.」
「Seriously?」
I did a double-take on my plate upon hearing Lyla's remark.
This was actually field ration's quality!?
… Wait a second, this kind of ration might be under consideration for my status as royalty, or someone with powerful magical power that can use magic as easily as breathing…
Still, are you telling me that we, the alliance, were chewing on dry crackers, while the demons were eating this kind of fine food? Just thinking about such disparity was enough to cause my killing intent to surge, but――
「…」
Lyla gently placed her hands on my arm.
Her calming and gentle gaze allowed me to regain my composure.
「… Thank you.」
「… Don't worry about it.」
Did my anger show on my face?
『You had a dark look on your face.』
Dammit, that was a close call.
「――Out of my way.」
Then, I heard a voice coming from behind.
Gorillacia was striding boldly toward me while stuffing skewered meat into her cheeks.
「Is that person by chance…?」
Lyla signalled to me to save her when Gorillacia stared unabashedly at the former.
「She's my grandmother. Is something the matter, big sis Gori?」
Lyla did a double-take at Gorillacia upon hearing me call her "big sis Gori".
「Humph. It's not a big deal… Little girl.」
Gorillacia peered into Lyla's eyes as she spoke.
「How do you feel about Jilba―― Little girl?」
She barged in like no big deal――!?
「Eh…」
Lyla's eyes opened wide a bit and――
「How… I feel? That's…」
Her cheeks became flushed red, and then she averted her gaze in embarrassment.
「――Uhm, well, I see. Got it.」
Gorillacia raised her hand in understanding with a slightly weary look on her face. She looked like as if she just swallowed a jar filled with sugar.
「You withdraw easily, eh.」
Did that mean she came to probe into Lyla, yet gave up immediately?
「I can see the color of enmity.」
Gorillacia replied while tossing the meat into her mouth and chewing it noisily.
「This lineage magic from my mother's side, the 【Efsal】, saw no enmity in this girl.」
Gorillacia shrugged her shoulders while looking down on me with a huge grin on her face.
「You're completely different.」
――Suddenly, I felt as if my blood froze at once.
Did she… See through my feelings!?
「Aha.」
Gorillacia laughed while holding skewered meat in her hands.
「Don't get so worked up, that's a rare and valuable trait. It's one requirement for a strongman.」
… She was grinning ear to ear while eating the skewered meat… I'm different?
「Seeing how sharp you are kind of reminds me of the old Platy from a long time ago.」
Gorillacia looked into the distance, watching Platy sparring in the corner of the vacant lot. Ah, Seyrey got sent flying…
「I always thought that I could easily lead a brat by the nose since I can see emotion… And yet…」
Haah… Gorillacia heaved a sigh as she trailed off at the end of her words.
『Could it be that ability of hers interpreted the child's "rebellion" as hostility?』
… Maybe. That was dangerous.
『I mean, there's no way she would expect that a 5-year-old kid before her wants to kill every single darkling in this place.』
That's true, but it really scared me for a moment. We really couldn't afford to underestimate the demon race, but there's no way to counter this ability either…
Maybe the only way was to seal my ego just like when I released Liliana.
「Well, I'm really glad that you're getting along with Platy.」
Gorillacia patted my head. It wasn't that hurt anymore since she had already taken off her gauntlet. Her hands were rugged and coarse, unlike normal women's hands.
「The color you directed to Platy is――」
Beautiful.
「Well then, now that my stomach is full, let's have a spar with the sword saint to aid digestion――」
Gorillacia walked away after she said everything she needed to say.
Beautiful―― Was it?
The color I directed to the demon race… To Platy was…
Don't…
「Wow, I ate a lot… Ah, can I take home the leftover meat?」
Alvar happily wrapped the meat in the oil paper he received from the night elf.
I was rooted in that place with a dumbfounded look on my face for a while after that.
===
My first CN project, why waifu though? Well, coz the main heroine's job is buying soy sauce till the end of act 1
New Project:
Harem, Hero, Demon King, Seven Deadly Sin, Seven Virtue, Sacred Beast, Sword and Magic, Dystopian Future, DESTINY PROJECT HAD IT REALIZED!, Dungeon, Dragon, 72 Demons, Reincarnations
===TN: Those Who Can't Wait For more Jil-kun's, I've Uploaded Advance chapters in Fox<–HERE and in PATREON(cheaper 10/$10) with a paywall of course===
More and Cheaper(10/$10) Advance Chapter :
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