39 – break – 1
“Serena, are you ready?”
“Yes, it is finished, lord.”
“What about the Cognitive Impairment Magic?”
“I stopped at a nearby mage tower to pick up some scrolls. All you have to do is activate them. The effect should last about twelve hours.”
“Okay. Let’s go out soon.”
“All right.”
The next day, Serena and I were in another city, a bit far from the place where we broke up with Kartina.
Although it was slightly smaller in scale, it was located closer to the capital of the kingdom. One way or another, I have to visit the palace.
After breaking up with Kartina yesterday, I immediately rented a carriage and left for this city, and Serena stayed behind saying she had something to say to the lord there.
Serena returned to my side almost after midnight, just before dawn.
The reason I had to come to the next city was simple. Because there is nothing better than staying there.
The 1st Knight Commander of the Royal Knights arrives, and the Knight Commander brings news that a city has been razed to the ground by the heretics, since the lord is homeless.
Of course, rumors must have spread.
As rumors spread like that, I can’t ignore the possibility that interest will be transferred to me, the only survivor.
After thinking about the future for a while, I eventually chose the option of leaving the city, and this was the place I chose as my destination.
“Activate the Perception Impairment Magic.”
At my words, Serena tore up the scroll. Then, a misty haze covered Serena’s face for a moment and then disappeared.
It won’t work for me who saw that magic in action, but now other people will think of Serena as a reasonably normal-looking woman.
Although Serena was never a moderately normal-looking woman.
The side hair that hung down to the side of the ears, the bangs that fluttered around the eyebrows, and the long hair that came down to the waist were tied together in a ponytail, and every time Serena tilted her head, it fluttered a little.
The golden color in the sunlight shone more brilliantly than usual.
Although Serena was wearing beige leather pants and a long-sleeved top made of a fabric that was not much different from ordinary citizens, her beauty was so overwhelming that it did not seem like ordinary clothes at all.
Rather, it was to the point where I could feel the dignity.
Her face was as expressionless as Serena always was, but the two blue eyes directed at me clearly showed how much Serena was looking forward to this outing.
The two twinkling eyes were filled with anticipation and there was no time to set foot.
It has been a long time since the Royal Knights’ armor, which they had worn so far, was thrown away at the palace using the transmission function.
Originally, it was a function made to urgently return and ask for support when faced with an unmanageable task, but Serena is probably the only one who sends only the armor.
The reaction in the royal palace would be either outrage or bewilderment when they saw that only the armor was sent.
Of course, since the person who did this was Serena, it was clear that there would be an overwhelming majority of reactions that said that person was doing something crazy again.
However, even after removing all the other armaments, World Eaterman was still tied to his waist.
It was a stark contrast to his normal attire, and it stood out even more because of the bright red metal embedded in the handle.
Even if she blew weeds on the roadside and infused it with mana, Serena was a skilled person who could lightly sever an iron sword with it.
However, Serena’s persistence of World Eaters was far from a matter of skill.
That’s because it’s a sword, a demonic sword.
The moment Serena took it away, it was a sword that ran out of control by itself, devastating everything nearby and even risking awakening as a demon.
It is not for nothing that it is called the World Eater, and it is not that it endures Serena’s enormous mana and, conversely, demands greater mana.
Although Serena is now crushing the demon with overwhelming force and forcing the World Eater to obey, it is only a slightly stronger sword that absorbs mana better, but the danger was real.
Because it is a guy who has the possibility of baring his teeth and biting his owner at any time.
That was the reason why he wore the World Eater around his waist even at this moment, when he was simply walking around the city.
There are only a handful of people on the entire continent who can reliably control that sword, and Serena is one of those few people.
“Let’s check the title first. What am I?”
“I am your lord.”
“No, not my lord. I told you to call me by a different title.”
“I am your lord.”
“Sere-“
“I am your lord.”
“…”
Write, this doesn’t work.
I thought for a moment whether I should put a beetroot on my forehead as I saw Serena calling me by the title of master and making a triumphant expression.
Anyway, even if I hit it, it would only be enough to brush the leaves off.
Serena has been strangely obsessed with my master-servant relationship since before. It seemed that he was satisfied only when he thoroughly put himself below me.
He preferred giving orders rather than asking himself, and smiled with joy whenever I somehow reaffirmed the master-servant relationship.
Although there were times when I was satisfied with hurting myself, probably because of that reaction.
“Okay, that’s it. Is there a place you’d like to visit?”
“Wherever the lord takes me is fine.”
“……Then you just want to take a look around the city?”
“According to the will of the lord.”
Serena has always been like this. I stroked my hair once and went down to the first floor of the inn.
Maybe it was because it was time for other adventurers to start their day, and the first floor was crowded with adventurers trying to have a decent breakfast.
“How about breakfast?”
“If your lord wants to eat, I will eat with you.”
“Are you hungry?”
“On water alone, they can last about a month. I’m not sure beyond that.”
“…”
let me speak
After paying the busy innkeeper for two meat stews, he dragged Serena to a nearby table.
In fact, I didn’t even have to eat. Because you won’t die from starvation. Besides, even if you starve for years, you won’t go hungry. Other people have eyes, so I just force myself to eat something.
Serena quietly sat in the chair as I led her. Even though I was sitting, I was not standing next to you, but I was sitting, so I was not used to it.
No one paid any attention to us among the people who filled almost all the tables on the first floor, wondering if the cognitive-disabling magic was working well.
Sometimes there were gazes that stayed for a second or two before leaving, but it was probably because of our appearance, which looked quite young compared to them.
This was a fairly luxurious inn, and the price was quite expensive.
It was a difficult place for young adventurers who were only around 20 years old to easily choose, although it might not be for seasoned veterans as adventurers.
Although Serena is twenty-four years old.
‘… … Well, I’m not spending my money right now.’
As I sipped the tea while waiting for the food, I thought about the source of the money I would use for the day and covered my mouth with a cup.
It was ridiculous to go around with Serena and use Serena’s money.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I know. How many years have you lived until now, how could you have lived knowing that long time?
It’s just that there’s no reason to carry so much money. I don’t need clothes, I don’t need food, I don’t even need to sleep in an inn.
Ignoring all food, clothing and shelter would not kill me, so I naturally stopped carrying almost no money.
Moreover, since the property was so focused on the building, it was unreasonable to use it right away.
I just had to pay the price by handing over a house on the capital side to Serena later, I thought to myself.
It must have been how long we waited for the food to be served, watching Serena flinch as if her body was comfortable but her mind was uncomfortable.
It was a stew with a light mixture of white and beige in a fairly large bowl. Between the broth, I could see chunks of meat cut into chunks.
Perhaps because it was a luxurious inn, the smell was different from the meat stew served at ordinary inns.
Well, the price difference was huge, so I thought it would be an insult to this inn to compare the two.
“What are you doing? I’m not eating.”
“Yes? Oh, yes. I will. I’m sorry, lord.”
“No, I’m sorry…”
Serena stopped making stew with a spoon and stared blankly at the bowl. When I asked why she didn’t eat it, the apple came back.
I didn’t ask for an apology. Serena started to eat the stew as soon as I finished my words.
It just came out, isn’t it hot?
What’s more, I ate it so fast, but I didn’t get any of it in my mouth. While staring at the mysterious figure, I also ate a spoonful.
The subtle aroma of spices and the warmth of the stew spread in my mouth.
‘It tastes like meat stew.’
Yes, it tasted like meat stew, nothing more and nothing less.
If someone who doesn’t know meat stew asks what the food called meat stew tastes like, give it this and explain that this is the food. It had such a refined taste.
It was completely different from the usual stew, where meat stew is served with a little more sliced meat, and vegetable stew is served with a little more sliced vegetables.
I had a strong impression that the money was worth doing right and there was more left over.
“tasty?”
“It tastes like meat stew.”
“How do you think the same as me?”
“Is that so.”
When I sneakily asked Serena what it tasted like, Serena replied that it tasted like meat stew. It really means that it tastes as standard as it is.
He shrugged and emptied the bowl with a spoon. Serena had already finished her stew and was staring at me.
“Let’s get up when you’re done eating.”
“All right.”
The money was paid when ordering food, so as soon as the bowl was emptied, they left the inn building.
The sky was still clear without a single cloud. The streets were crowded with adventurers who went out to solve requests and adventurers who returned after solving requests.
So, where do we go then?
I said that today I was just going to see the city, but I didn’t know what to think of it as me.
Because I’ve lived around so much, I rarely have the experience of staying in one place without a specific purpose.
To put it bluntly, it wasn’t about giving Serena a tour of the city, it was more like me walking around the city with Serena.
I was expecting that the tour of the city would end roughly around the same time that the effect of the cognitive-damping magic would wear off.
What is there to see in a city that isn’t even during a festival?
As I was trying to pick out the menu to feed Serena in my head, wondering whether I should spend the whole day exploring restaurants, Serena sneaked up next to me.
He wiggled his fingers here and there, as if he was contemplating whether to go further or not.
When I hit the ball first from this side and grabbed my hand, Serena looked at me in surprise. Her cheeks and ears were dyed red like carrots.
“Master?!”
“Why, didn’t you want this?”
“That’s not… it’s not…”
What the hell is the difference between grabbing it from me first and grabbing it yourself, so why are you so shy? The other day, while supporting me when I fell down, he subtly put a pod in his hand.
The gazes around them were no longer those of an ordinary adventurer, but changed to a crazy couple making love on the street in the morning, but they didn’t care.
After an hour, you will forget my face anyway, so why bother?
Serena wasn’t in the mood to notice the attention around her like Serena.
“…”
How did he last when I hugged him in front of Alessia the other day?
