Chapter 297: From Changing Clothes To Being Watched (3)

Proofreader: Xemul

“That’s about all I wanted to talk about. I heard there was a guy who looked interesting, so I called him to my side and saw his face. That’s the end of my business. Would it be easier to say that I’m satisfied?”

Foras suddenly said this with outstretched arms and a rather playful air, while Lapis looked at Loren with a serious expression on her face.

What Foras had told them was not something to be optimistic about. It could affect not only Loren’s life, but also his very existence. Moreover, Lapis was currently unable to come up with an effective solution to break out of this deadlock, so she inevitably looked gloomy. 

However, Loren, the party involved, looked grave for just a few moments. He then exhaled deeply, and his expression completely changed.

“Should I say thank you for the information, Your Majesty?”

Loren’s expression was the same as it had always been during normal times. He showed no signs of impatience or fear, and Lapis, who had been worried about him, stared at his face blankly as if she was let down because of his lack of reaction.

“Gratitude is free, you know. Well, if someone gives it to me, I should take it, shouldn’t I? But you’re quite composed, aren’t you?”

“It’s not like I can do anything about it now. It is something that has helped me a lot in the past. If that is its origin, then it can’t be helped.”

Loren’s expression was unperturbed as he tapped his chest with his thumb.

Foras, who had been observing Loren’s expression, decided that there was no lie in his words and expression. He laughed at Lapids, who was becoming confused about whether she should be worried or relieved by Loren’s words.

“Lapis, your friend is fearless. It wouldn’t be as interesting if he was a demon, but since he is a human, it is.”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty… But I can’t judge whether this matter is interesting or not.”

“Hmm? Even your reaction is interesting.”

Lapis turned her head away to avoid eye contact, and Foras looked at her with a mixture of interest and curiosity. Lapis, troubled by his gaze, continued facing away as if trying to escape from the situation.

Foras was still trying to corner Lapis with his gaze when Gula interrupted and directed his attention to herself.

“So, Your Majesty the Great Demon King. I wonder how much longer do we have to wait with all the food in front of us? They probably got cold already.” 

“I didn’t notice. It would be a disgrace to the Great Demon King to serve his guests with cold food. Hey, you. Take down the cold dishes and replace them with fresh ones.”

At the directive from Foras, the maids who had been waiting by the wall immediately stepped forward to check the dishes on the table. But Gula stopped them with a glance and crossed her legs.

“There is no need to check, just prepare new dishes. It would be a shame to throw away food that has only gone cold, so I’ll take care of them.”

As soon as Gula said that, the dishes on the table disappeared with their containers.

While the Great Demon King and the maids stared in wonder at the disappearance, Gula casually wiped her mouth with the back of her right hand.

“All good. Won’t you prepare new dishes now?”

“You still want to eat more? Lapis, your friend is gluttonous.”

Foras said this to Lapis in a joking manner, but both she and Loren were a little surprised to hear it, if only inwardly. 

So far, they had not mentioned that Gula possessed the power of Gluttony, and even though Lapis had given Judie a fairly detailed report on Loren, she did not think she had reported much about Gula. It was hard to believe that the information on the Evil God had been passed on to Foras via Judie. And yet, Foras had clearly used the word ‘eat’ to talk about the disappearance of the food. In other words, Foras was aware that Gula had somehow eaten the dishes on the table, and he ordered the maids to bring in new dishes, leaving Lapis and Loren to wonder how in the world he had known.

“We have gathered a lot of delicious delicacies. I hope you can taste them.”

“Well, you should have let us start when they are still fresh then.”

“You are right. I didn’t pay enough attention. I should have talked while we were eating.”

Scratching his head, Foras acknowledged Gula’s complaint and apologized. Lapis, who was listening from the side, was not so happy about it though.

Foras had addressed Loren by name and told him to speak to him casually, but he had not addressed Gula until now. If Gula did not act like one usually did in front of a king, Foras could have reproved her attitude at any time as the Great Demon King. 

Since he had stated clearly that they were guests, it was unlikely that they would suddenly find themselves in a fatal situation, but it was still a cause for concern. 

The demon race was supposed to have a significant advantage over other races in terms of physical strength and endurance, but for the first time in her life, Lapis was beginning to feel a stress-induced ache in her stomach area.

“Lapis-sama, can I get you some water?”

The stress was so apparent on her face that one of the maids offered to get her some water in a concerned tone.

As Lapis gratefully accepted the offer and sipped from the offered glass of water, the table was once again filled with numerous dishes.

The amount of food and the speed at which they were being served made you want to ask how many dishes they had prepared, but if one considered this to be a testament of the power and wealth of the Great Demon King, Loren thought that it was quite a display.

“No more difficult talks now. You can start on them. I’ll have some too.”

After offering the food to Loren and the others, Foras began to take a bite from a random plate nearby.

In response, Gula started to work on the plate in front of her, but Loren was somewhat overwhelmed by the array of dishes he had never seen before, and Lapis was not really in a state to be able to stomach anything right now. 

Still, Lapis thought it would be impolite not to try at least some of the food offered, so with a glass of water in her hand, she began to eat the vegetables and fruits that did not seem to be too hard on her stomach. Seeing this, Loren finally reached for the plate in front of him.

From the look and taste, Loren could know if a dish was meat or vegetables, stewed or roasted, but that was about it. He had no idea what the ingredients were or what were the names of the dishes. Still, he could tell that the ingredients used were of high quality and the skill of the cook was high. The food was generally tasty.

“Lapis, you don’t seem to be eating well. Have you become accustomed to human cuisine?”

“Your Majesty, the only demons that can eat as usual here are the Demon Kings…”

“You are the daughter of a Demon King, are you not? And I’m sure you will eventually succeed her title.”

“That… is still unclear. I think we should focus on the issue at hand first.”

“The issue at hand?”

Foras frowned, and one of the maids softly whispered something into his ears.

“I see. Now that you mention it, aren’t you going to war now?”

“In case you have forgotten, please remember that our visit is a side trip, and that our actual destination is there.”

When Lapis said this in a low, controlled voice, Foras clapped his hands together with an expression that looked like he had just recalled something.

“I did not forget, just not thinking about it. But Lapis, if it’s just a skirmish between humans, won’t it end when you make a move?”

“Your Majesty, please don’t tease me. A war is not something that I can go to and end…”

“Usually not, but you… As I recall, about ten years ago, some Demon King started a rebellion, and you alone quelled it…”

“Your Majesty! Please do not mention it!”

The smile on Foras’ face still had not disappeared. He looked like he was just teasing Lapis, but Loren felt that the Great Demon King would unlikely say such a thing in jest. 

On the other hand, seeing how Lapis rose up from her seat while trying to get her words under control with a bright red face, she could be flustered either because he was telling the truth or because that was a lie.  

However, details were just details. Even if Lapis was a strong demon, it was hard to believe that someone who was, according to herself, 18, could have single-handedly put down a rebellion of some Demon King 10 years ago.

“Anyway. If I were to end a war of the humans all by myself, I would no longer be able to walk in the human realm, wouldn’t I? I still want to gain more experience.”

Lapis, who coughed several times and glanced at Foras, said this to the king as she returned to her seat.

Foras gave her a disappointing look and spoke to Loren, who was watching the situation.

“So, this war was between who and who?”

“It is between… the Kingdom of Lombard and the Empire of Justinia, I think? I’m sure you, as the Great Demon King, don’t know the name of the human countries.”

Loren said this, not believing that the Great Demon King would care or remember every single thing about the land of the human race, but the answer from Foras disproved that expectation.

“I don’t know the country of Justinia, but I know Lombard.”

“That was unexpected. How so?”

It was hard to believe that a being like the Great Demon King would have cared about human countries. However, the fact that he knew about it meant that it was a country that was worth paying attention to in its own way, yet Loren could not understand why.

“We detected a strange presence there a while back. I was curious and did a little research, so I remember.”

“A strange presence?”

Being told that there was something a being such as the Great Demon King considered strange at the place of their destination, anyone would become concerned. If that presence was on the Empire side, there would have been some relief, but the fact that it was on the side of the enemy kingdom was not good information for Loren and his team.

“Yes. It was similar to yours, but different. I was sure that you were there, but…”

Foras then turned his attention to Loren. As Loren pointed to himself to ask if the king was referring to him, Foras nodded. 

“It was odd that you, who were supposed to be in the southern part of the continent, suddenly showed up in the north, but Lapis was by your side, so I thought it was something she had done. As it turns out, it was someone completely different.”

“May I have some information on this person, Your Majesty?”

“I don’t mind, but I stopped looking into it when I realized it wasn’t Loren, so I don’t have many details. The only thing I know is that he always wore black full body armor, and there was a dark elf in revealing clothing by his side. With those details, I realized that he wasn’t you, so I stopped looking into it… Hm, what’s wrong?”

Taking in the face of Loren and his companions, Foras asked with curiosity. 

Loren and the other two, who recognized and had first-hand experiences with the strange presence on Lombard side that Foras had described, looked at each other and realized that nothing but trouble awaited them. Their shoulders sagged almost simultaneously.

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