Chapter 57 – Tribal Exchange
“An escort?”
This is a completely unexpected proposal.
When I asked with a bewildered expression, Maou-sama nodded and asked again.
“Will it be difficult?”
“No, it’s not like that, but…”
I don’t know what to say with my mouth, but did you entrust such an important job to a guy who’s only been around two months old?
When I asked such a point openly, the Demon King laughed as if he had heard an interesting story.
“If the person at the top doesn’t trust the person below, who in the world can work for the country? Even more so, if that person proves their abilities, there is no reason to reject them.”
As a person who experienced the vertical and irrational organizational culture of the Kingdom of Oz, the Demon King’s values were truly unconventional.
No, is this really something that would come out of the mouth of a person living at the same time as the nobility of the hard-headed kingdom?
Isn’t the CEO who worked in Silicon Valley reincarnated?
When I looked at Maou-nim’s face with a suspicious look, Maou-nim rubbed his cheek as if wondering.
“What’s on my face?”
“No, nothing.”
The Demon King then said that he would take good care of his daughter.
Persuaded as naturally as breathing, I accepted Ozma’s escort mission.
***
After her fifth sex education, she watched Camilla take off her semen-stained stockings while doing a smarta and asked,
“Camilla, do you know exactly what a tribal meeting is?”
“…Are you talking about the exchange meeting?”
Camilla, who always wears her stockings and never sees her bare legs, tilts her head at the rare display of her white legs.
“The exchange meeting is a regular meeting of the demon tribes once a year. Apparently, the demon army is a coalition of different races scattered throughout Doom Land, and since there is no exchange normally, it was an event made to familiarize yourself with the face. It is a tradition that disappeared for a while during the period of intensifying discord between tribes, but was resurrected in the reign of Nero.”
“What are you fighting over there?”
“Yes. Apparently, since the basic physiology of demons is to respect the strong, they hold martial arts competitions for young demons. Usually, one of the four heavenly kings sponsors the competition.”
Perhaps the fight that Ozma was talking about was referring to this martial arts competition.
Rather, it’s an event that happens once a year, but if the total score is 34 losses…
It comes to the conclusion that Ozma is also a lot older than me.
Even considering that he is a demon, it is just embarrassing because he is much older than everyone else.
“…I have to apply sunscreen from today.”
In the future, when you get a bit older, even if you go on a date with a demon girl, you won’t think that her father and daughter are out for a walk.
I wanted to avoid that much.
***
It was two days later that a group of me, Camilla, and Ozma set out on a journey to the place where the exchange meeting was held.
It was a decision I made because I thought it would be difficult to return if I dragged out more time because I was slowly entering the full-fledged winter season.
Vanessa was very sad to let Ozma go, but on the other hand, she was happy that she didn’t have to be her subordinate for the time being.
No, show that in a place where there are no parties involved.
Although Vanessa’s departure was slightly delayed due to being scolded by Ozma, other than that, nothing else happened.
In fact, it wasn’t even that far away.
Dragon Mountain, the domain of the Demon Dragon tribe where this exchange meeting was held, was only four days away from the Demon Castle.
‘Dragon Mountain… Wow, it’s a place that feels like a lot of dragons will live there for some reason.’
Usually, when the daughter of the demon king goes, it feels like a huge number of escorts would have to follow, but surprisingly, there was no such thing.
Not only does Ozma herself dislike special treatment, but it’s because those who flock around like that are much more conspicuous.
It was better to move without leaving traces with a small number of elites like now.
“Camilla, I will take good care of you during this trip.”
“Yes. Please leave it to me. Mr. Ozma.”
The two, who usually didn’t seem to get along very well, exchanged unexpectedly normal conversations when they became the same party.
There is still a bit of an awkward atmosphere, but that part is just a matter of me stepping in and acting as a buffer.
We set off from Mawangseong early in the morning and ran nonstop toward a large volcano visible over the horizon.
Of course, because of the limitations of the horses’ stamina, they repeated rests every hour, but other than that, they moved hard without even chatting.
… To be honest, it was to die for.
Camilla originally had a low-key personality, but Ozma, who usually had a conversation with her, kept her mouth shut as if it was uncomfortable, so she had no choice but to practice silence.
After moving for about 5 hours like that, we stopped at a suitable riverside to have lunch.
“Then I’ll bring you water.”
Naturally, Camilla vacated her seat while sharing her roles, and I asked while digging a pit to light a bonfire to cook her rice.
“Hey, Mr. Ozma? What’s your relationship with Camilla, why are you putting up such an impenetrable wall?”
Then Ozma, who had been following me into the pit, momentarily stopped his hand.
“It’s not really… Nothing to do with it.”
It’s a face that seems to have a lot of stories.
I thought about poking some more, but it didn’t seem like he wanted to say anything, so I decided to just let it go.
It’s because I thought it could be a scrape.
In the meantime, Camilla returned to the camp with both hands full of a sloshing leather water bottle, as if she had fetched water from the river.
“Here you are.”
“Thanks.”
Normally, I would have left Camilla to cook, but this time, the three of us decided to take turns cooking to create a travel atmosphere.
Actually, the rule was devised on the spot after seeing that the relationship between the two was very bad, but surprisingly, the reaction was not bad.
I put the well-washed rice in a copel and served the pot rice, then diced the fresh vegetables I brought in from the castle kitchen.
Potatoes, onions, and carrots, etc., Are poured into a pot, and an appropriate amount of water and yellow powder, which I always carry in my back pocket for emergencies, are added.
Even if you do not add starch separately, since potatoes already contain starch, if you boil it for a long time, it will change to a concentration that is just right for eating.
Finely chopped beef jerky is added as a hidden flavor before cooking is complete.
Jerky, which is hard enough to eat as it is, can be added to curry like this to bring out its unique texture and flavor.
Finally, sprinkle the finished curry on the freshly cooked rice and it’s done.
“Now, try it.”
As I said that, as I handed out the freshly made and piping hot curry, Ozma looked down at the bowl I held out with very curious eyes.
“What is this food called?”
“This dish is called Special Adventurer’s Curry. Because of its simple preparation, it is a popular dish among humans when camping outdoors.”
After listening to my explanation, Ozma boldly scooped up the food with a spoon, probably becoming interested in the unknown food he had never seen before.
“Well.”
She carefully smelled the curry before eating it.
Then, after enjoying the whole food with her eyes, she put it in her mouth one last time.
“!”
Ozma’s black eyes flash open.
Yes, if she ate curry for the first time in her life, she would of course feel a culture shock.
You’ve never felt the unique curry taste mixed with dozens of spices in any food.
It could be slightly spicy, but surprisingly, Ozuma ate the curry from her plate without showing any sign of it.
She smiled graciously at that, and this time turned to Camilla.
“Nueeeee—”
She was cooling her tongue in the water with her flushed face flapping her tail protruding from under her skirt.
Unlike Ozma, the curry seems to be too spicy for her taste.
When I asked if she was okay, Camilla nodded her head, expressionless with her tears welling up on her face.
“…It’s okay. A maid of that caliber can’t eat unbalanced just because it’s a little spicy.”
Having said that, Camilla gulped down a little more curry than she usually ate, and finally she ate it all.
Slightly moved by that appearance, I thanked Camilla, and she handed over her chocolates that she had prepared to eat when she fell.
I liked it a lot while pretending not to.
