Chapter 86

The crowd booed when I sold off only the bones and hide instead of the meat, but I ignored them and walked outside.

The meat was for us.

If there’s any left over, maybe I’ll sell it to them then.

“Sir Ryu, where are we eating? I’m starving!”

“I thought we’d eat in the forest just up ahead. I’ve already prepared some charcoal, so we’ll eat there.”

We headed toward the spot I’d prepared in advance.

There was a camping set there that I’d asked the elves to set up for me.

“We’re eating the meat here!?”

“Yeah. Might as well have a good view while we’re at it, right?”

“Forget the view, give me the meat!!”

“Alright, alright, I’m grilling it now…”

I took out the stored meat and started cooking.

I didn’t have any specific recipe in mind, so I just grilled it haphazardly.

“Master Ryu, it would be a waste to treat such fine meat this way. I shall handle the cooking.”

“Whoa—why are you out here!?”

“Did you not say that things are better when they’re delicious?”

“Um, Sir Ryu, who is this?”

Alice asked, looking bewildered by Tiamat’s sudden appearance.

Now, how should I explain this?

Even if I call her a companion, would they believe me that easily?

“Nice to meet you. I am his attendant, Aoi. Until now, I have been supporting Master Ryu from a different direction.”

“Oh… hello. I’m Alice.”

Alice was completely swept up by Tiamat’s natural greeting. Tiamat is incredible.

At this rate, the rest of my “wives” are probably going to show up, so I’d better brace myself.

Also… “Aoi”?

“Sir Ryu. Is she, like, your wife or something?”

“No, she’s someone who helped me out in a previous country.”

Alice whispered the question to me.

As long as I don’t say anything unnecessary, this should be fine.

Besides, I already know Tiamat’s cooking is amazing.

Before I knew it, Ril and Karin had appeared in their beast forms, and a small, unfamiliar dragon was at my feet.

The little dragon was pink and quite cute.

Wait, is this dragon… Ouka?

The dragon climbed up onto the shoulder opposite Karin and rubbed its face against mine.

Yeah. This is definitely Ouka.

“Sir Ryu, who are these new ones?”

“They’re my familiars. We met during my travels and they’ve been with me ever since.”

“I knew you were no ordinary person, Sir Ryu, but being able to tame a dragon—even if it is just a baby—is impressive.”

“I guess…”

Ouka let out a tiny hiss of intimidation at Alice’s “baby” comment, but Alice didn’t notice at all.

Her eyes were glued to the meat.

Alice, I get that you’re hungry, but at least wipe the drool off your face.

“Everyone, the food is ready. Please, help yourselves.”

At those words, the Intelligence Department members swarmed the food like a pack of ravenous beasts!

Did you guys really want to eat that badly!?

“Mmm, Sir Ryu… I’ve never eaten such delicious meat in my life. Thank you sho much…”

Her speech got weird at the end because she was talking with her mouth full.

And the rest of them are actually crying while they eat!?

When I strained my ears to hear what they were saying, I heard things like…

“Meat… it’s been so long…”

“When was the last time we even had meat?”

“Munch munch munch.”

They were completely lost in the food.

Also, hey, make sure you cook that boar properly or you’ll get a stomach ache. Stop eating it rare!

“Miladies, please eat as well.”

Tiamat handed some meat to Ril and the others.

Sorry for always putting this on you, Tiamat.

“Master Ryu, you should eat too. Or there will be none left.”

“Thanks, Ti— Aoi.”

For some reason, when I corrected myself, she gave me a very bright, satisfied smile.
I wonder why?

『Grandmother’s True Name is Aoi. I think she was happy that you spoke it, Ryu.』

『Heh~, so Tiamat’s True Name was Aoi. Wait, is it okay to reveal a True Name that easily?』

『There is no issue if it is you, Ryu. The Soul Contract is already complete, so it is hardly a concern now.』

Hmm. Well then, I guess I’ll try calling her Aoi from now on.

“Um, thank you for today. For inviting us to such a wonderful party.”

“Hm? Oh, no, no, it wasn’t anything that grand.”

“No, I personally wanted to thank you regarding Alice.”

One of Alice’s seniors suddenly came over to thank me. Based on the presence, this was likely one of the people who was with Alice earlier.

So, she’s a woman.

Unlike Alice, she had a more feminine silhouette with short brown hair. She looked to be in her mid-twenties?

She had the vibe of a pleasant older-sister type.

“I haven’t really done anything that warrants a special thanks.”

“It’s that ‘nothing special’ that makes me happy. That girl hardly had any chances to talk to anyone outside of our group.”

“She seemed to be face-palming quite a lot, though.”

“Of course she was! We suddenly started blabbing about who we were. She was bound to be stressed.”

As she spoke with a laugh, I could tell she genuinely cared about Alice. Even now, she didn’t take her eyes off her.

“That girl… she’s always had a thin presence, but she’s also fundamentally shy.”

“Is that so?”

“Yes. When I first met her, I honestly thought she was nothing more than a child.”

Huh. Since I only had the image of her constantly firing off retorts at me, that was unexpected.

“But thanks to you, she’s become a girl who can assert herself, and that makes me happy.”

“Ah… right.”

That’s probably “retort power.” It’s basically because I’m so far outside the realm of common sense that she has no choice but to speak up.

“You should be careful, though. Lately, the Hero has been acting a bit… reckless.”

“Reckless? And what does that have to do with me?”

The conversation shifted abruptly. She’s telling me to watch out for Thea?

“It’s about your familiars. Lately, the Hero has been putting a lot of effort into subjugating monsters. They might get killed while you aren’t looking.”

“I’ll be careful.”

“Besides, there’s a possibility of a clash with a Legendary-class monster soon.”

“…Which monster would that be?”

Depending on the details, I might have to stop it.

If it involves my friends…

Anything else is fine, but I absolutely do not want to see my friends and Thea clash.

“The targets are Fenrir and Garuda. The plan is to strategize and subjugate them as soon as they are sighted.”

“…”

“Do you have some connection to them? To the legendary magic beasts?”

“…I’ve only seen them briefly. Why is the Hero going after Fenrir?”

“Apparently, she heard there were dangerous monsters in Fall Crown and has been itching for a fight. It just so happened that the ones she heard about were Fenrir and Garuda.”

…That bastard Dowal. He must have said something reckless to Thea.

The “danger” she heard about was likely the mock battle I had when testing out my skill.

Did she hear it from Dowal then? No, to him, I’m a good customer who brings in rare materials.

I don’t think Dowal would say it, so maybe it’s a rumor in town?

I never imagined people would still be talking about that a month later.

“…You look like you’re holding onto some interesting information. Won’t you give it to me?”

“If you want it, betray the country and the Hero. Then I’ll tell you.”

“That risk is a bit too high, so I’ll pass. Ahh, it sounded so interesting, too~”

With that, she went back over to Tiamat to eat more meat.

『Ryu…』

『It’s okay, Ril. I will definitely stop it.』

『Mm…』

I steeled myself at the sound of Ril’s anxious voice.

If it comes down to choosing only one side, I…