Chapter 628 – Age of Faded Seagulls (7)
Nefertiti’s complexion turned pale.
As far as I know, this was the first time she showed emotion on her face so starkly. Even against the undead armies of Equinox, she did not lose her composure.
“You are a slug. It is a common ingredient in Byznia.”
『What the fuck?』
I wonder if the Kitai main dish after a month was friendly. Whether I was shocked or not, Mahjan scooped up a large portion of fried slugs the size of her two fingers with chopsticks, dipped them in the sauce, and tossed them into her mouth.
─Munmoon, munm!
“This is fried just right. The chef’s skill is quite excellent. Uh… Why is everyone like that?』
Seeing us shocked, Mahjan seemed to belatedly noticed that something was wrong with her.
My appetite disappeared as if it had been hit with insecticide, so I just stirred up the seasoned meat dishes.
─Hey, this is… Normally… Is it food… ?
Even Veronica, who is curious about anything in human culture, asked with shaking hands.
There was no answer from Mahjan, who was busy rolling her eyes, and it was a tacit answer.
—Fuck, you bastards of the world… Why do you eat bugs… ?
Even Dana, who came from a collateral branch of the Ulsterians, one of the three great barbarians in Western countries, was at a loss for words.
Nefertiti used the back of her chopsticks to clear away the fried bugs rolling in front of her, but her shoulders trembled with goosebumps.
So she closed her eyes tightly, as if she were trying to escape from her reality, then suddenly turned her head and noticed me looking at her.
… Rattle.
Rattle rattle… !!!
Then, suddenly, Nefertiti starts to tremble.
No word, no telepathic exchange, but I understood the syllogism that was going on in her head at that moment.
1. Kitai is the home of the Nords.
2. Kitai people eat bug food.
3. = Nords eat bug food.
“… Me too… Eat, let’s see…”
Nefertiti, trembling in her horror, stretched out her chopsticks to the sweet and sour soup of the worms.
The attempt to understand the relativity of culture was admirable, but I hurriedly grabbed her arm and shook her head. That’s not it, fuck! If you eat this, I have to eat too!
─You don’t have to try it. This is a common dish… It looks like it won.
They’re eating at the next table right now. Everyone is eating well.
When I stopped Nefertiti, she seemed to have calmed down unknowingly. I also didn’t want to see someone I knew chewing on bugs.
『… Hey, elf.”
I said after searching for stir-fried meat for a while.
“If a bug comes out of the rice eaten in this inn, even once, you and we will say goodbye. Don’t think about seeing your face again.”
They eat slugs too, but who knows if cockroaches get into the food they’re cooking, they’ll just say, “The broth has gotten a little thicker!”
『Gwa, it’s okay! Food and pests are different!』
Is it okay to fuck or fuck a dog, you fucking twins?
‘You’re going to buy a rhinoceros beetle from a stationery store and boil it in ramen…’
I was disgusted and lost my appetite.
Even the sky is indifferent, does this mean there is such a reality in the world?
We’ve sorted out the bug-eating warlocks, and now we have some bug-eating warlocks.
Couldn’t Narmer-Nile just take these guys and shake them off, saying ‘actually, bugs that grew up eating warlocks are good for stamina’?
Then, I’m sure those who are full of the spirit of this continent must have hunted all the wild warlocks and ate the maggots that grew on their bodies.
‘No, fuck. Farming must have only increased the number of warlocks.’
It must have caused an ecosystem disturbance while smuggling black magicians.
Don’t tell Primor you’re Kitayin. That person must have seen me as a rhinoceros beetle eater!
Could it be that you thought so and still looked at me favorably?
─Oh Hong Hong! You should try grilling bugs with that blood magic trick! Diet will be respected!
Awesome. Admirable.
After all, the daughter of a chaebol family is different no matter what. Since there is a young master who inherited his blood, the elderly can die a natural death with peace of mind.
After that, Mahjan continued to write runic sounds for about 10 minutes, trying to reassure us that ‘there was a bug in the emperor’s food’ and that ‘after that, cleanliness in the kitchen was considered very important’.
Of course, I wasn’t at all relieved.
I ordered a lot of food and couldn’t even touch it. Because it stands out
In the end, we decided to force Mahjan to ‘torture’ about half of this dish, and started eating small meals to dispose of about half of the leftovers.
And, of course, it was then.
─Tbubk, tumble.
Concentrating on food hygiene, I noticed someone entering the inn and walking towards our table, and the chatter of the guests suddenly quieted down the moment the human appeared.
Fucking premonitions are never wrong, and mothers fall behind happen all at once.
It is Murphy’s Law that has not changed since I lived on Earth.
“Excuse me during dinner.”
As if I hadn’t been able to imbue myself with that truth even with Chinese thought in the other world, the elf who appeared out of nowhere pulled a chair from the table next to me and sat down next to me.
I didn’t ask you to sit down.
I want to defeat you
“Oh! Hey, enjoy your meal!”
Ss-! Jeomsoyi quickly pulled out. Quick to notice It’s really a panty vibe that comes out of the middle of the day.
‘Yeah, what’s wrong with you?’
I looked at Jeom Soyi, who was avoiding the tail, thinking that would be the case.
I can’t help it. If there is no quarrel, where would that be? It is a moment of silence for the owners of the inn and fortune-tellers at the martial arts ground, who will always suffer from fights and chaos.
‘So what? This bastard.’
The bastard who slept with us without permission was a long-haired male elf, but his ears are a little shorter than Mahjan or the others.
‘Is it a half-elf?’
Another unique thing is that it is not a pigtail.
I must have lost the taste of the rice, I said while eating steamed buns.
“Certainly, you are rude. What’s going on?』
“I’m the chief of the patrol at Ando Fortress, and I heard a report that there was a strange group of travelers among the travelers who entered.”
Patrol chief. It’s a job I heard from Mahjan on the way.
They are the ones in charge of hunting out the disquieting elements with the authority of the lord of the castle on their back, but it’s an old custom and a job that is treated as a bad habit.
I roughly understood it as a Japanese military police officer or a political policeman under the dictatorship.
It means human horse breed. Just looking at what the unsettled elements are doing doesn’t make you feel that way, right?
‘I said it’s better to avoid it because it’s troublesome.’
If Mahzan’s elven ears or our fake IDs were found, we would have to suffer until we got out of Weiznia.
I shove the bread into my mouth.
“He was a man of high reputation. The construction will be busy.”
“Thank you for noticing. Of course, persecuting outsiders is not the duty of a high-ranking man.”
The half-elf patrol commander let out a sadistic laugh. Adding to his long hair and handsome face, it was a terrifying laugh.
『But in this dangerous situation, the threat of spies cannot be neglected, can it?』
“If I were in a position to send spies, I don’t think I would send eccentric guys like us.”
『Suspicion based on appearance is not a good method. You might catch an innocent person.”
“Then?”
『I have captured various elven spies until I reached this position.』
─Talk. The patrolman ran his finger across his short elf ear.
『They have an unexpected status in a really unexpected place. As far as I know, the only thing they have in common is some kind of magic that hides their ears.”
What Are you saying that you know enough to know? After munching on the steamed buns, I reluctantly picked up the stir-fried meat after realizing that this bread was just a lump of real flour.
『If that many spies were caught, those goblins would have made preparations on their own.』
“That was surprisingly not the case. I can think of several reasons. The only ones who knew this distinction were me and the spies I interrogated, and there was no contact between the spies so that they wouldn’t be blown up.”
“It’s not something I can’t understand.”
Even if they are spies, they don’t know each other’s faces.
‘It’s not nonsense.’
In the black drug-dealing community, if there is a white person who only communicates with each other often, it seems like police notebooks, donuts, and coffee will come out from under his pants.
‘It’s probably to the extent that each spy is in contact with the home country.’
If you do it wrong, even if one person opens his mouth, the number of people may be robbed.
It’s a scene that you often see when you watch reality-based spy movies right now.
『So, we are the spies?』
“Ah. I don’t mean that. Just… If there is a guy who wants to use an innocent tourist to alleviate his self-doubt, he wants to find out as a patrol officer.”
Except for me, Mahjan was the only one who understood what this bastard was saying.
So he squinted his eyes proudly, as if he was uncomfortable with the slightest suspicion. Of course it was a lie.
I picked up the water cup that Jeom Soi had left behind.
『Is it obstruction of business if I ask what method it is?』
“Ah! Can you tell me It looks like it won’t work soon. Amulet bag. When the elves of Tatarnia hide their ears or dim their faces, they put the ashes of the amulet in their pockets.”
What the police chief showed as evidence was a pouch.
“Doesn’t it look like a normal pouch? It’s a common decoration in the Nomadic Confederation, so it’s harder to recognize until you actually see it. Isn’t it?』
“Yes. I wear something similar around my neck.”
I could feel Mahjan’s breathing slowing deeply and long as he tried to control his complexion.
『Take off this and watch for a few minutes, and you’re done. It was spectacular that his ears, which were shorter than mine, grew longer. If it could be longer, it was to the point where I really wanted to learn it.”
“Can I just take off that necklace?”
“Sure! I don’t want to persecute the citizens any more.”
While drinking water, Veronica and I met eyes.
I sent her a brief telepathic message of hers, and put down her warmed water.
“The water is hot. It’s a guesthouse well received.”
『… What did you say?”
The patrolman half-opened her eyes, and Mahjan quietly clenched her fist under her table.
I let out a warm breath even in an imminent situation that I detected with my sensitive five senses.
『It takes more effort to heat water than lukewarm water. While it shows the hospitality of the guests, it shows the owner’s personality.”
『… Isn’t that the case everywhere in Byznia?』
Hit. The culture of this country is all like that.
I burst out laughing.
“But we were very thirsty from walking across the wilderness, which was quite different from our cold hometown. At times like this, I miss the cold water I used to drink in my hometown.”
I said that and poured mana into the water cup.
Damn… ! The pottery cup that had been heated was cooled down by the mana of ice. It would take less than 10 seconds for the ice to form.
The police chief rested his chin on the table and narrowed his eyes.
“I don’t know what you want to say.”
『It means that even caring for others can sometimes be out of place.』
The hand I placed on the table was frosted white and slightly lowered the temperature around me.
The northern people who live in the north of this country——that is to say, it was a manifestation of coldness that matched the origin of our family’s identification cards.
『It seems that I am a bit narrow-minded to accept that holding on to someone who eats rice and being suspicious is considerate.』
The police officer and I continued to have a snowball fight as if we were trying to read his thoughts in his eyes.
I spoke to Mahjan as it was.
“Take off the necklace.”
『… Yes.”
Without replying stupidly, Mahjan took off his amulet necklace. Still, as if she was scared, the fact that she closed her eyes was a bit of a deduction point.
The patrol chief glanced at him while being wary that I might attack him.
『… No?”
But even after a few minutes, Mahjan’s ears were still human.
As if Mahjan herself was embarrassed, her heart and breathing became strange, but she soon regained her composure. The confusion he felt seemed to have shifted to the patrolman.
I tilted my glass, not even paying attention to the ice-cold water.
“Is there anything else left to see?”
『… No, that’s it. Let’s go.”
The sergeant, who looked like he was bitten by an insect, glared at Mahjan as if he were going to kill him, then kicked out of his seat and stood up.
『I’m sorry. I was a little upset because my friend was suspicious.”
I picked up the bowl and held it out to him.
What bowl is it? What is it, fuck. Deep-fried slugs!
『They say it’s the best food in this inn. I mean my apology. Take it as much as you like.”
Why? If you’re wearing a bug-bitten expression, you want to make him bite a real bug, right?
Mahzan ate it deliciously, but maybe Vaiznia uses the word ‘worm-bitten expression’ to refer to a happy smiling face?
『… Take only one.”
I guess not.
A police officer who wears arrogance and picks up the most dick-sized tempura with his index finger.
Bastard, you don’t know the taste of worms. Actually I don’t know!
The patrol chief left the inn just like that.
Dana with a bored face savored the taste of alcohol and said,
—The son of a bitch goes without a word of apology.
─I didn’t like it from the way it looked like a dick.
Me and Dana looked at her face and sighed.
Mahjan, who slowly put on the necklace to avoid appearing in a hurry, let out runes while acting calmly.
『… Whoa. Even if you are innocent, being suspicious makes me break out in a cold sweat.”
─What the hell happened?
After receiving the question, I just sipped my drink.
Ami, this neighborhood warms up even the alcohol. It was a very cruel country for Koreans who regard cold canned beer as holy water. It’s a warm drink, so I’m going to go to the middle of the day.
Veronica spoke instead of me who didn’t answer.
—I cast a spell around your ears. While the master blew cold air.
『… Ah!”
Mahjan belatedly understood and shed her exclamation.
‘I don’t know if it’s telepathy, but magic that acts on the outside leaks mana.’
In most cases it was.
So I intentionally sprayed the wild ice ball to attract aggro, and Veronica hid in the mana and activated the rune magic. Without an order.
—It’s difficult to transform others, so it’s just a distorted appearance.
─Enough. Awesome magic tricks.
Nefertiti, who was preparing to fight, relaxed from her shoulder.
‘If the ranking leader had tried to touch it, I would have caught it and stopped it.’
It was for this reason that I laid the ground rice on purpose while thinking about what to do.
‘It wasn’t bad for a strategy that came to mind in an instant.’
After all, people should wear their heads and see.
‘It was a dinner place that was a piece of shit from start to finish.’
By the time the quiet inn slowly regained its turmoil, I called a jeomsoi. Is this happening more often than you think? The young boy ran without fear.
“Yeah! Do you have an order? What can I give you?”
『… Give me some meat dumplings. Can we eat in the room?”
“Absolutely! Oh, you can ask a question now.”
Swallow, you’re very accustomed to the business. I laughed and giggled.
“That man, did you just have some time in this town?”
“Nope? I know you just came.”
“Where are you from? It was filthy and bloody.”
『Ah, you didn’t miss a single customer? What kind of martial arts was that?』
This is a child’s answer. I shrugged.
“I saw that this pair called it that way. Therefore?”
『Umm… How was it… ?』
Jeom Soi thought deeply and stroked his chin. He gestures like an adult impersonator.
I burst into laughter again and held out my hand to Mahjan with a chuckle.
“Yes? What, what is it?』
“Ah, that’s bitter. Man, is it so hard to understand asking for a loan? It’s not like you have to pay it back later, if you pay it back.”
“Ahhh! Get it here!』
I take out what appears to be Baiznian currency from the pocket Mahzan gave me.
Jeomsoi still seemed to be deeply troubled, so I took out two more and shook them. Jeom So-yi took care of it and laughed like he was going to sleep.
『Hee hee! They say you’re from the capital! I heard the lord brought you?”
『Bastard, you seem like a bad guy. How do you earn money like that?”
“I should get married to a good place! You can’t live as a fortune teller for the rest of your life, can you?”
“What the hell, was it a woman? I didn’t quite recognize it. Sorry.”
『Hee hee, what is it? Would you like another drink?”
“Spit it out?”
『… Aww, that is absurd!』
Look at the affability. I laughed and took out three more coins.
“Bring me meat dumplings or freshly steamed ones.”
『Yah-ho! You will be blessed!!”
It seems that this is also a neighborhood where people live.
I smiled bitterly and took a drink.
『I pack dumplings and start with the room.』
Please, I hope this time I can eat something.
