Chapter 87

Shaya picked up the roasted duck again with her small hand and strode over in big steps to stand before Timani, who was crouched on the ground.

She held up the remaining duck leg, swinging the meat back and forth in front of Timani’s eyes like a giant pendulum.

Timani’s gaze followed the duck meat, swaying side to side, as if the light in her eyes had turned into a swirling vortex.

The aroma of roasted meat, so close it could almost be tasted, made her tail wag in a completely undignified way!

Shaya’s little face took on an increasingly wicked expression. She even grinned wide enough to show her little canine teeth.

"Ha... I’m telling you, if you hope to get food, you need to show the right attitude. Just say it—do you want to eat or not?"

"I don’t..."

"Hmm?!"

"I do! I want to eat...!"

Seeing that Shaya looked ready to devour the roasted duck in one bite, Timani hurried to change her answer!

However, Shaya’s lessons—

The real essence lay in what she said next.

"You want to eat, huh...? Fine, fine,

If you want to eat, you’ll have to put away that stinky temper of yours that never ends no matter how many times I scold you. Come on, you only need to say one sentence—‘Thank you, Lady Shaya’—and this half of the roasted duck will be yours... Ahem, this duck leg will be yours! How about it? Pretty good deal, isn’t it?"

"What?! You little brat...! You expect the noble Fire Dragon Clan to address you with an honorific?!"

"Just say if you want to eat or not. If you do, hurry up and say it."

"Ugh...! How cruel... how humiliating!"

Sob... Sheffy had completely slipped into character.

Xiarette had to admit, sometimes Sheffy really did have a side that fit the Demon Clan Princess—so wicked.

Sheffy moved the duck meat closer and closer to Timani’s gradually dazed expression.

The temptation of delicious food was absolutely something that could cross the boundaries between races.

As a drop of hot oil seeped out of the roasted duck and fell onto the ground...

Timani’s desperate hunger finally conquered every last shred of resistance in her mind!

Damn it... She could have her dignity... but she had to make sure she didn’t starve first!

"Th... Thank you, Lady... Lady Shaya! Mgh... Satisfied now?! You devilish little brat!"

"Still calling me names?! Forget the duck leg—you can have the duck head instead!"

"?!"

A duck head was shoved into her mouth.

Timani, who hadn’t tasted meat in ages, still ate it with relish despite it being just a duck head, even tearing up with emotion.

She had been promised a duck leg, but ended up with a duck head.

You weren’t just a brat... you were a duck-head swindler!

Xiarette watched Timani stuffing her cheeks and chewing the duck head as if she hadn’t eaten in eight hundred years. She offered a small suggestion.

"I say, Shaya... How about we ask for another roasted duck?"

"Ah... I suppose so. If we don’t let her eat a bit more, this one might starve to death as soon as she walks out. Fine, fine—really letting you off cheap."

.......................................

This was what you called devouring like a wolf.

Sheffy had never before seen a creature that could eat even faster than herself.

That entire plate of duck meat was placed in front of Timani, and she devoured it at a speed almost too quick for the naked eye to catch!

Fine, fine, fine—she ate very fast, but there was one thing Sheffy absolutely had to point out.

"The bones... where are the bones?!"

"Mm...? Bones...? I ate them. Don’t you humans gnaw on the bones when you eat roasted duck? What a waste."

Ha, you were really something fierce.

So that was why she had sounded so crunchy while eating—Sheffy had thought the duck meat was roasted into charcoal!

"Truly worthy of you, fire lizard."

"Who are you calling...! Never mind... thank you for the meal."

Timani politely pushed the empty plate aside with both hands.

Now that she was full, she no longer looked so disheveled. She returned to her usual sullen face and put on a serious air again.

"I will remember this favor. When I return to the Northern Territory one day, when I have regained my strength, I will repay this gift of yours."

"Forget about repayment. Seriously, what’s your deal anyway? Begging for food at noon, then begging for food again at night—spending the entire day begging. Absolutely absurd."

"I already said I wasn’t begging...! Fine, let me rephrase that. Your name is Shaya, isn’t it? As for you—I will not only repay this favor but also repay the humiliation I’ve suffered today."

"Ah, sure, sure. Anyway, I’ve already recorded that ‘Lady Shaya’ just now using Record Magic. Want to hear it again?"

[Th... Thank you, Lady...]

"Ahhhh! I won’t take revenge anymore! I’m begging you—just make that magic recording disappear, all right?!"

[Th... Thank you...]

"You really are a devil, aren’t you?!"

Shaya summoned the Record Magic over and over, and Timani, waving her arms around to scatter the magical mist, was about to collapse from exhaustion!

Watching Miss Timani nearly faint, slumped over the table in defeat, Xiarette let out a sigh and pressed down on Sheffy’s shoulder to restrain her—so she wouldn’t inflict mental torment on two people in a single day.

Sheffy, you had already made Princess Livra cry today. If you also made Miss Timani pass out, you’d definitely have nightmares tonight.

Temporarily stopping Sheffy’s chattering mouth, Xiarette finally had a chance to ask a question.

"If you don’t mind me asking, Miss Timani... at noon, you didn’t talk to us much. I wonder if you might be willing to tell us now why you ended up in such a situation? Well, of course, if you don’t want to say, that’s perfectly fine—we’re just a little curious."

Actually, it wasn’t just a little curiosity anymore.

Among the higher races, no one in their own territory ever needed to worry about wealth—much less the Fire Dragon Clan, a race that loved to hoard treasures. Every dragon had a private trove, enough to rival the riches of a city. It was nearly unimaginable for a Fire Dragon Clan member to fall into such destitution.

No... for someone like Miss Timani, this might very well be a situation that had never occurred in all of history.

Hearing this question again, Timani’s crimson hair—and her entire body—suddenly trembled.

Perhaps she had recalled some painful memory, or perhaps she simply could not bring herself to answer directly.

So she fell silent for quite a long while.

But... when you’ve eaten someone’s food, it’s hard to stay silent forever...

They had treated her to such delicious roasted duck—if she didn’t say even a word in return, it would have seemed far too impolite.

Before speaking, Timani deliberately picked up a small leftover bone from the plate and put it into her mouth to finish it off without wasting anything.

When she finally spoke, her scarlet eyes looked a little desolate, filled with a helplessness she could not conceal.

"Sorry... I don’t want to share the details, but to put it simply, because of certain reasons, I was expelled from the Fire Dragon Clan’s territory. For now, I’ve been drifting from one country to another with nothing to my name. As you can see... I’m not begging for food. Everywhere I go, I find work to earn money. Like here—so long as no one discovers my identity, I can at least make enough wages to feed myself."

"So... when you participated in the arena competition before, it was also for the prize money?"

"More or less. Well, it didn’t turn out as I’d hoped. In the first round, I lost control of my magic and was forced to withdraw. But it was fine—I watched the final match from a distance. That little blue-haired runt and that man in the black robe... I have enough self-awareness to know that if they had been my opponents, my chances of winning would have been slim. Besides, they weren’t even fighting seriously... This kingdom really is full of hidden masters... Tsk tsk, not simple at all."

Little blue-haired runt?

You meant Sylatrella, didn’t you?

The sword at Xiarette’s waist gave a faint tremor, as if protesting against that name.

As for that black-robed man...

Ahaha, he wasn’t even someone from the kingdom in the first place.

"Mm, it’s clear that Miss Timani is someone who has her own ways of making a living," Xiarette concluded after observing her these past few days. "If you had no principles, with your strength there would be countless ways to get money. Yet here you are, working in a kitchen, and even when you were starving, you didn’t resort to stealing food. That’s truly admirable."

"Hmph, isn’t that obvious? I’ve said it many times—I am a member of the Fire Dragon Clan. My expulsion is only temporary. One day, I believe they will take me back again. The Fire Dragon Clan does not betray its conscience, nor does it ever compromise with anyone."

[Th... Thank you, Lady...]

"You little brat—enough already, would you?!"

Eek!

I didn’t even say anything!

Sheffy was so aggrieved—couldn’t she lie on the table and play with her magic in peace?

Speaking of which...

Timani had mentioned before that she still had seven days left before leaving the kingdom.

That period seemed to cover the arena competition scheduled for the weekend, didn’t it?

Xiarette glanced at Sheffy, then looked back to the front and carefully asked Timani a question.

"Um... Miss Timani, the arena tournament this weekend—are you planning to compete again?"

"Probably will. I heard that the barrier mages invited this week are stronger than last time, so it won’t get dangerous again just because of a little magic. I might as well try my luck—maybe this time I’ll snag a championship and win a prize, who knows?"

"......"

What a coincidence.

Last week, Sylatrella had been among the contestants.

And this week...

Xiarette’s gaze slowly drifted to Sheffy, who was lying on the table in bored languor.

This week’s matches... would likely be even more brutal than the last, wouldn’t they?

But Xiarette couldn’t very well cut off someone’s means of survival. She could only shake her head with a helpless smile.

"Alright, then. Miss Timani, good luck."

"Thanks. Miss Xiarette—you’re the Hero of the Kingdom? You really do speak much more pleasantly than this little brat!"

"Ha?! I wasn’t even talking to you and you’re still picking on me?! Ugh, fine, fine—petty people don’t quarrel with grown-ups. Your chest is big, so whatever you say must be right."

"Wh...?!"

Timani reflexively crossed her arms over her chest. She hadn’t expected this little brat not only to have such a vicious mouth but also such shameless eyes!

Sheffy had no interest in those worldly desires. She’d already been tormented enough by Xiarette yesterday.

Her words were simply part of her verbal attacks.

Compared to all that... Sheffy was far more concerned with something else right now.

She looked at the table—empty aside from the two plates of duck—and couldn’t help frowning.

"So... where’s the rest of our food? It’s been quite a while since we ordered. Did the person bringing it fall asleep? Who was supposed to serve our table, anyway?"

"Exactly." Timani echoed the complaint. "I also wanted to see what other dishes—ah!"

"What is it, fire lizard?"

"Oh no... I just remembered... The one responsible for serving this table was me!"

"......"

So the real culprit was sitting right here chatting away, and that was why the table had been empty for half an hour!

And just as this realization dawned—

Beyond the barrier, the voice of the tavern’s proprietress rang out as she carried a cask of wine.

"Tini! Where’s Tini? Ugh... you just can’t rely on new hires—can’t find you anywhere when it’s busy. This week’s wages are getting docked... Ah, there you are! Here’s the wine for this table! Tini, are you there?!"

"I... I’m going to bring the dishes now! Otherwise, before I get to the next country, I’ll be starving again! Goodbye!"

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