Chapter 90 – The Demon King and the Hero
From the Hero Ludmila…?
I read the letter to the end and a question mark popped up above my head. The last name seemed familiar in my memory. … No, it couldn’t be. I desperately didn’t want to believe something so ridiculous.
“Lu, Ludmila!?”
Speaking of Ludmila, it’s the name of the “Hero” that appears in the “Legend of the Holy Demon”. A legendary person indeed. Such a hero is serving as the commander of the Knights of the Dvorak Empire, it’s like some kind of joke.
Well, I think the Knight Commander I knew was a “man”. I heard that from my father when I was a child. Did they change the commander at some point? In the first place, there was a considerable sense of incongruity when Eduardo, the great sage, was present.
“Do you understand, human?”
“Are you still here, owl? I understand that the sender of this letter is the Knight Commander. But, the Hero Ludmila? I don’t understand what that means.”
“The world will be destroyed! The world will be destroyed!”
The owl, like a broken doll, repeated that. Why would it suddenly issue such a terrible warning? It’s scary.
“Hey, owl. Is Ludmila coming to the island?”
“The world will be destroyed! The world will be destroyed!”
It won’t say anything else.
No good, this owl.
Should I write a reply to the letter? No, it is written that Ludmila will come herself, so I’ll probably meet her soon. But before that, I’m going to ‘Borodin.’ We might miss each other. Should I share the letter with Edu?
―― I returned home and showed the letter to Edu.
“Th…this is Ludmila-chan’s handwriting isn’t it~★ As always, her round handwriting is cute!”
“Huh?”
“Ah… No, it’s nothing.”
Just now, for a moment, her excitement was really high… Edu’s personality seems to have changed. I could see that kind of atmosphere in the letter too, could it be that she’s wearing a cat disguise?”1 The expression “猫被る” (neko kaburu) is a Japanese idiom that literally means “wearing a cat” or “putting on a cat disguise.” It is often used to suggest someone is acting innocent, deceptive, or pretending to be someone they’re not.
No, more importantly.
“The Hero Ludmila might come to the island. But I’m going to Borodin, so if we happen to miss each other, I want you to handle it.”
“I understand. Please leave it to me at that time.”
After sharing information, it was time for dinner. Tonight, we had a wild boar meat and raspberry party for the first time in a while. Come to think of it, we haven’t made much progress in securing food.
Even so, it’s a food ingredient that reminds me of the early days.
Skor, who had completely regained her composure, cooked for us. On the plate, there was a well-cooked piece of meat and fresh, juicy raspberries beautifully arranged.
“It’s about time to take down a wild boar.”
“Yes, we don’t have any more meat in stock.”
As more residents live here, it becomes easier to fall into food shortages. No matter how much support supplies are provided from Strelka, it’s not good to rely on them all the time. Let’s stock up on food before we leave, especially since Alfred and Edu will be staying behind.
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I slowly savored the wild boar meat seasoned with salt and pepper – completely eaten. After all, the aroma and flavor are different when there are seasonings. Moreover, Skor’s cooking skills are on par with a chef. She has amazing skills.
After finishing the meal, I clapped my hands. Skor, Havamar, Alfred, and Edu all turned their attention to me.
“Listen, everyone. Tomorrow we’ll spend the day as usual and the day after tomorrow we’ll head to Borodin. Is that alright with everyone?”
Skor energetically raised her hand and said “I agree”. Then Havamar followed. After that, Alfred and Edu agreed without hesitation.
“I’ll join you all tomorrow as well.”
“Oh, that helps. I wanted to create ‘threads’ soon.”
“All the more reason. Then it’s decided.”
Havamar was in a good mood and wiggled her cat ears happily… Oh, they move.
“I want to contribute to Rasty-sama as well. So tomorrow I would like to go to secure food.”
“That helps. Then I’ll leave it to Alfred.”
“Thank you for your kind words. Let me show you how I hunt down Safeleamnir.”
“No, don’t hunt it down! Just do it in moderation!”
If you hunt it down, it will go extinct. Well, next is Edu.
“Edu, are you going to do that mapping you mentioned?”
“Yes, there is still much unknown about this island.”
――And Edu stared meaningfully at Havamar. Havamar, who was being stared at, was confused or rather flustered.
Come to think of it, they both seem to be meeting for the first time. In the Legend of the Holy Demon, Havamar is on the demon king’s side. Eduardo is recognized as being on the hero’s side. In other words, they should be in a hostile relationship… but there is no such feeling of hatred, just a little caution.
…Hmm, I’ll ask Havamar tomorrow.
TN: If you like my translations support me in ko-fi: Here.
