The Banquet (2)

“How long are you going to just stand there? The banquet can’t resume until the guest of honor takes his seat. Come on… Though, if you don’t want to sit next to me, pick somewhere else.”

Was she drunk? Elaine, her face oddly flushed, pointed to the seat beside her. Her tone was a bit sharp, but Arthur decided to accept her invitation.

Not because he was happy the villagers had cheered for him, or that his rival Elaine had called him the guest of honor. Definitely not.

As soon as Arthur and Kei sat down and wine was poured into their cups, the Village Chief raised his voice.

“Then let us toast to Lord Arthur and Lady Elaine, our saviors who rescued the villagers and knights alike!”

“Cheers!!”

Once again, the cheers of the villagers filled the room. Having never been in such a noisy atmosphere before, Arthur had no idea how to react. He took a sip of the wine—and his eyes widened.

“This is cheap wine from the marketplace. Does it not suit your taste, Lord Arthur?”

“No, it’s the opposite. It’s ridiculously good. Why…?”

This wasn’t because Arthur had an unsophisticated palate. The wine he drank was the kind favored by commoners, vastly cheaper than the high-class wines gifted to him by noble sycophants.

So why did it taste so good? Elaine, a little exasperated, offered the answer.

“Well, when you’re surrounded by people having fun and you’re given something out of gratitude, of course it tastes better than usual.”

“Is that so… Wait, why are you talking so differently!?”

Apparently already tipsy before Arthur even arrived, Elaine’s lovely face was flushed and her eyes faintly glossy—giving her an oddly alluring look.

Was she weak to alcohol…? Just as Arthur thought that, the villagers began gathering around him.

“Lord Arthur, thank you so much for saving my son!”

“And even though there was a risk of catching the poison, you treated them anyway! Truly admirable! Here, have another drink!”

“Uh… ah…”

Arthur wasn’t used to receiving gratitude so directly. Especially since his real motivation hadn’t been to save them—it had been to outshine Elaine.

He looked to Kei for help, but she only glanced between him and the villagers, gave him a wink as if to say “Good luck,” and started happily munching on some chicken.

Kei had left him alone on purpose to help him get used to socializing—like a lion throwing its cub off a cliff to make it stronger. It definitely wasn’t because she was completely captivated by the delicious food.

“This here is our village’s specialty—Gokuuma Bird sauté. Please, enjoy!”

“This wine pairs perfectly with it!”

“You’ve got to try the chicken sashimi too. It’s so fresh, you can only eat it here!!”

“Ah… sure, I’ll try it…”

Resigned, Arthur began accepting their offers, as the villagers brought over various dishes with heartfelt gratitude. The casual friendliness was something he’d never experienced in Britannia—or in his previous life.

Yet somehow, Arthur didn’t mind it.

Once the crowd settled down, Arthur finally finished the wine in his cup.

Up until now, alcohol had never made him feel tipsy. His unique constitution healed away the effects instantly. But today, he felt strangely good.

“Lord Arthur, can you still eat? This one is especially recommended.”

Kei, who had been watching over him all along, placed a plate of chicken sashimi in front of him just as he took a breath.

“Thanks, Kei. But haven’t you eaten a bit too much?”

While offering his thanks, Arthur teasingly pointed at the seat where Kei had been sitting earlier. It was stacked with plates, every one of them spotless—a level of eating that would’ve made the cook proud.

“You’re not supposed to say that to a girl!! It’s not my fault—the chicken here is too good!! Come on, Lord Arthur, try this. Say ‘ahh’.”

“H-Hey, people are watching…”

“Oh no… so you won’t even eat the sashimi I saved for you while I held back?”

“N-No! I’ll eat it!!”

“Hehe, I’m glad. Here you go, say ‘ahh’.”

Perhaps because she was tipsy, Kei was more forward than usual. Arthur gave in and let her feed him a slice of sashimi from the fork she held.

“Whoa, that’s good!!”

It wasn’t gamey at all, and the more he chewed, the richer the flavor became. Arthur quickly grew addicted. Just as he wondered if he might’ve eaten too much, he noticed Kei was also popping bites into her mouth at the same pace, so he decided it was fine.

As he was happily eating, someone tugged at his sleeve.

“Prince Arthur, it’s even better like this.”

Elaine, for some reason giving him a piercing look, held out a piece of chicken sashimi soaked in a bright red seasoning from her plate.

Wait, what was this?! It’s bright red…

“…What, you won’t eat mine?”

“Ugh… fine, I’ll take it.”

Normally, Arthur would’ve flat-out refused her “charity,” but since it was his first banquet and he didn’t want to ruin the mood, he reluctantly took a bite.

“GAAAHHHHH—!!”

As soon as he took it in, pain shot from his mouth straight to his brain. Yes—pain. A sensation he hadn’t felt in this life until now.

This woman… Did she just create a toxin that bypassed his healing ability?!

Staring at Elaine in shock and suspicion, he saw her smugly take a bite of her own fiery red sashimi.

“So… did it taste good?”

“Wha…”

Arthur let out a faint groan as Elaine casually ate what could only be described as poison. Was her tongue broken or something?—he nearly said aloud but managed to swallow the words.

Was this… a challenge? Jealous that the villagers had showered him with gratitude, was she trying to provoke him in her area of expertise? Arthur was convinced that was the case.

Because, well, it’s exactly what he would’ve done. A truly small-minded man.

“I think I’ll have another.”

“Oh? So you can handle it too? I actually have an even spicier version, sent from the Elven village.”

“Ugh…”

Elaine proudly pulled out a bottle of purple powder, and Arthur couldn’t help but let out a pitiful whimper.

But… determined not to lose to Elaine’s smug smile, he bravely picked up another piece of sashimi-turned-poison and ate it.

“That was awful…”

Freed at last when Elaine was called away by the Village Chief, Arthur sighed in relief and gulped down some water. His wounds healed instantly, so it was probably just in his head, but his tongue still felt like it was burning.

“Hehe, you and Lady Elaine have become quite close, haven’t you?”

“How do you figure that…?”

“It seems Lord Arthur still doesn’t understand a woman’s heart…”

Kei teased him playfully, and though he replied in a tired voice, she just giggled. A little sulky, Arthur took a bite of grilled chicken skewers.

Ah… eating normal food was still the best…

Seeing this, an elderly villager approached and struck up a conversation.

“I’m glad to see that both you and your companion are enjoying our Gokuuma Bird, Lord Arthur.”

“Yeah, it’s amazing. I’d like to bring some back to Britannia.”

“That would be wonderful… but if we had it every day, we’d get fat, wouldn’t we?”

Well, it was not like he’d actually eat it every day… Arthur thought, but seeing Kei’s blissful expression, he held his tongue. In reality, transporting such perishable meat across borders wasn’t exactly feasible.

Still, Arthur understood the sentiment.

“I’m honored to hear you say that. Honestly, I would’ve loved for the ‘Master of the Forest’ to try it too…”

“The Master of the Forest?”

“Yes, there are rumors that deep in this forest, there’s a bird-shaped monster that spreads an extremely powerful poison. My grandfather once told me that if you could purify the poison and cook it, it would become incredibly delicious.”

“Even tastier than this bird…?”

“I find that hard to believe, Lord Arthur.”

Arthur and Kei’s eyes lit up. Just the Gokuuma Bird sashimi alone had revolutionized their understanding of poultry. Imagining the taste of this so-called “Master of the Forest” was enough to make their mouths water.

“Well, it’s just something my grandfather told me, and no one’s seen the Master of the Forest lately, so who knows if it’s even real.”

The villager chuckled, clearly meaning it as a lighthearted joke for the drinking table—but Arthur didn’t hear a word of it, deep in thought.

The monster that had attacked the villagers… with that kind of poison…

Watching Kei happily enjoying her chicken dish beside him, Arthur made up his mind.