short story (2/2)

“And that’s a, did you not happen to incinerate it?”

“No, it’s alright”

“I-I see…?”

I don’t really get it, but it seeic beast

He really is reliable at ti

By the way, Mr Zelo could use a wide array of 『Breath』, so if he didn’t find a mate, I said he could come help out at the bakery

The individual hioing to take it easy with his wife-finding

And with this, it looks like I won’t have to buy ice or kindling for a while A huge help to our finances

“… More importantly, Marie I’ve heard that the de as I’m here, I don’t think it will be a problem, but you’d best be careful”

“Yes, thanks I’ll watch myself”

I returned some thanks to his truly-worried voice

Yep Let’s brace ot

I strongly gripped the bottle full of berries I had just harvested in the forest

“g…uh… damn you, Hero…!”

Moaning as he glared our as a blond pretty boy

Sharp canines peeked out from his mouth, and a deep red liquid dripped from his lips

His eyes were cri a well-tailored tailcoat, he as of a noble-like appearance was the one rues Grandchild of one of the old elite four, and a 『Vampire』

“bastard, you think… you have gotten me with such a trick!? You coward!!”

His abusive voice was quivering a little

Painfully shrugging his shoulders A rough sigh

The hand he used to painstakingly wipe off his sullied mouth held a copper spoon

In the other hand of the boy, looking at -tilossy jelly that let off a deep-red lustre

“… Mr Zelo, what do you think about his reaction? He’s glaring atawful”

“Despite that, he’s been gobbling it up quite greedily for a while now A little more, and he’ll fall, won’t he?”

“Yeah~ maybe I should’ve held back a bit on the sweetness”

“No, this ht for me”

Saying that, Mr Zelo took a mouthful of the red jelly He looked quite satisfied with the taste

The nearby villages begged us to reclaiirls that had been abducted, and froation, we deter an appropriate sweet

In a nearby forest, I gathered a large mass of 『Ruby Berries』

Bearing fruit fro, it was a hard and tart berry The flesh of the fruit contained a high iron concentration, so it had an effect of increasing blood levels Highly recommended for those with anemia

But as it was, it was too sour to eat, so I used otiation) to buy aar and make a compote of it, ar, and finally came out with a jelly that contained bits of fruit Bite into it, and pleasant sweetness would flow from the red fruit A jelly of supreme bliss

Nore for a while, but this time, with Mr Zelo’s help, I was able to finish it up at once A dragon’s 『Breath』 is a a dubious face all the way through

I tried challenging with the overly si to it quite nicely Every bite, he would give a, ‘damn you…’ but he even asked for seconds, so I’ht

… By the way, the supposedly-kidnapped village girls came to his castle of their own accord Apparently

I see, come to think of it, he’s an ephemeral pretty-boy you wouldn’t often find in these parts

Mr Zelo was also char one’sto the Vampire boy

His appearance was four, or irls who’d come on their own to become Vampires all looked to be older And they took the boy’s i it at times

But really, what should I do here?

Even if I wanted to bring them back, they’re already Vampires, and the individuals the…

As I troubled ripped my hand

“W-what? So happen?”

“No, even when you didn’t do anything particularly special, for you to be able tofrom your hands”

“What am I, chopped liver? There’s no way that’s true!”

At least take my techniques and experience into account, please!

“But Marie, your hands sure are warm”

“Ah, right It’s always been like that My body te bread and the like, but it’s troublesooes limp in an instant”

“Hmm… perhaps that’s what rose the effectiveness of the herbs It’s possible you’ve had sorace bestowed unto you”

Yeah, no way Even if that was the case, the effects were too extreme No, maybe I should just be happy here As a chef, you know

… More io of my hand? Why are your hands so soft?

Wait, you’re , seriously, stop it you perverted dragon! D-don’t wrap your fingeeers!?

“Kuh, damn… damn you…! … Seconds please!!”

☆彡

And even after that, I was able to steadily continue my journey, and we finally stood before the Dark Continent where the demons lived

It sure was a long journey Around three months, perhaps? I’d never travelled before, so my sense of time wasn’t the most precise Thanks to Mr Zelo, and the hard work other people who could fly, I do think we cut our movement time down considerably

“Marie”

“What is it, Mr Zelo?”

“… Could it be you’re planning to take over the country of demons?”

He said that with a sigh

Of course, I didn’t have such intentions

I didn’t, but,

“Well, it’s true we’ve gotten a bit too many… comrades, I mean”

At present, the co Zelo, fifty two members

All of them powerful demons and spirits, and beastmen, and divine beasts, and heroes, and to be coe force was completely beyond my hands

I ht

All the way here, I barely had any fights that could be considered fights

At ti bird that cried, ‘Oldwo~ oldould coic beast even tried to approach If I had to say, finding food and shelters for these nu cities, everyone would do their best to work And the adventurers added a little

“But past this point, the , don’t they? … I’m a little scared”

The save the is, the Hero of the 『Armor』 Her name was little Rouché

Just as her appearance would suggest, she was a child that made you want to protect her She was so tiht, and as she was collapsed on the ground, I took her under et their shi+t together

“…… I’ll pr… protect everyone…”

And the young man whose voice was too low to hear properly was the Hero of the shi+eld Garm

His appearance was that of a large, e burden called social anxiety disorder

At a provincial town’swhile guarding himself with his divine artifact in a clearly suspiciousto detain him, I took him under my protection

Does this child even need a shi+eld? More than that, if he doesn’t lower his defensive gear a little, enemies aside, even allies won’t be able to stand near him

By the way, just likeon their journeys alone for the dignity of their countries

The source of that evil all falls on the Hero of the Bow

Rather than the Deo beat him?

I’ll definitely give hi next I meet him Or so I resolved in loomy lands of the Dark Continent

The furthest lands, the inhuman hive of scum and villainy

Step in, and there was no guarantee you’d return alive

“I-I’ll do my besth!?”

“… I won’t… lose”

“I actually think it’ll be just fine”

The two heroes affir nod as well Also, Mr Zelo, you should read the mood a little

“… It looks like the tiet serious”

A slightly stiff body With this super arhtened s

Because I had no idea what o at it like my life depended on it

Resolving to get serious, I carefully clenched my precious chocolate (ridiculously expensive)

“It looks like this is the end for me…”

Withto his lips, the demon country’s prime minister quietly collapsed…

“That’s~! Not~! Fair~! That’s not faaaaair~!”

Now then, reaching the final chale chip in ourher foot against the ground

Pitch black hair without the slightest curl, and golden eyes With al beauty was the revived『De』 Apparently

Even when she threw a tantruure was exceedingly cute I wanted to hold her close, and pet her head

“Yeah~, even if you tell me it isn’t fair…”

“Like not even fighting!? This is different from what I heard! Why aren’t the demons on our side!?”

“I ave them candy”

Nohat shall I do? The things I’m capable of are quite limited

To try and get little de, I took out the ultimate weapon I had saved

“U, here…”

“I-I don’t want it! So like that…!”

The sas proâteau fondant au chocolat rolled across the room’s red carpet

… Ah, this is no good

At a time like this, ould my mother do?

I didn’t even have to think about the answer My body properly remembered it

… I lowered a clenched fist onto the little De’s head

“Ow!?”

“… De, listen closely”

I got on irl

Whenever they scoldedbad, the people around would always lower their eyelevel like this Not fro me hear their words

It hurt, but that wasn’t all

Their thought forme, even now

When I’m not even a parent, I wonder if I can do it properly

I’m not too confident

… But if I care about this child’s future, I have no other choice

“Wha!? What are…”

“You know, the things we eat are made from life It isn’t just this sweet, all the food you can find out there is like that Everything you’ve eaten, and everything you’re going to eat, all of the it So you can’t let it go to waste Hitting it away like that is definitely no good… Okay? Can you make a promise with me?”

“Wah… uu…”

“Little De, do you hate sweets?”

“…… I-I don’t… hate… them…”

“I see… then here I made it This may just be my pride, but it’s very tasty, you know?”

Saying that, I took another petit gâteau from my waist pouch, and handed it over

Ah, she properly took it this time It’s a bit of a relief

I retrieved the portion that had rolled across the floor, and seeing she was still hesitant, I took a big bite

Yep Sweet, with a nice fragrance

Quite tasty, if I do say so myself

“T-that… was just on the floor…”

“Oh my Even potairs and radishners come from inside the earth, you know? If you call yourself a pastry chef, you canst be afraid of a sweet that’s fallen on the floor”

Of course, you wouldn’t give it to custoh

The others were already used to my exorbitant actions, so they were quite calm

… Well, perhaps it’s because I was always like this, that the guys never came any closer

“… It’s… tasty…”

Finally putting my hard work into her mouth, she let out a voice I could only call unintentional

… Ah Nice, that expression

It’s because I wanted to see that face that I kept at being a chef

From inside her small hands, the confectionary rapidly disappeared

In a daze, she stuffed her cheeks, and ht

And as she did that, tears visibly began building up in little De’s eyes

“Uhu… i-it’s the first ti so tasty… father and o… when I… opened my eyes… I was alone… I always ate alone, and… i-it never tasted like anything…!”

“Wait, wait a o?”

“Wro… that was fa ther…”

“Eh… then the one as sealed wasn’t… the De…”

“P-prie, so…”

Hearing those words, I immediately turned around

Ah, Mr Zelo had already apprehended the conniving bespectacled prime minister With s a breath of air Without even the chance to resist, the pri

… Even so, where did he get those chains froe before we left…

“P-please wait! As a retainer, anyone would think to retaliate for the death of one’s lord! I was only bringing back new glory tome with those spears…!?”

He cries out nicely

Now then, let’s just say we’ve contained the problem for now, and decide on our next actions

“Demon Ki… no, that’s not it What’s your name?”

“hic… M-Milouge”

“I see Then you’re Mil”

“I’ve been thinking it for a while, but Marie, you should be a bitpeople”

“Please be quiet, Mr Zelo”

Isn’t it cute? Mil? Like a cat

“Mil, is there a bath here?”

“Y-yes, there is”

“Then go take a bath Could you hop in too, Rou? Ah Please tell redient stores are as well All of you, once you’ve washed off your sweat, help me prepare”

When I gave out orders, everyone showed precise movements

Ah, it was here that the results of the training we’ve done over the past three months show themselves

If they don’tthe than a chef like me deserves

As Mil looked like she still didn’t understand the situation, I stroked her head, and gave a bright laugh my father once let out

“Once you’re out of the bath… we’ll all have dinner together It ood your cheeks will fall off, you know?”

She’s learned the tastelessness of eating alone

So let’s teach her the taste of eating together

My skills as a chef are calling out to me

… Now then, how about I take a whack at it?

☆彡

Dear mother and father in heaven,

How are you spending your days there?

There’s quite a lot going on aroundjust fine

The daughter you raised, at times harshly, at times violently, and sometimes kindly is about to turn twenty nine The fact I’ve been able to go on as a chef for so long is surely thanks to the two of you

To this day, I’ a life without a hint of sex appeal… at this point, I’m quite certain a curse has been placed on hter never brings hoht When I get over there, you’re really in for it Also, that God is an evil God

Ahem

Now then, to change the subject, the bakery your daughter loved just as much as you did has been transferred from the country of humans to the land of deraded to a splendid castle on the border

“Mrs Marie! We’re already out of cheese soufflé!”

“I’ll finish up a new one soon But that will be the last one for the day Put out a sign”

“Lady Marie, what should we do with the new variety of wheat flour that’s just been delivered?”

“Ah~, for now, could you just carry it to the storehouse? I’ll have a look after we close up shop”

“Marie, I have driven off an oldwobird!”

“Huh, it caain? Thank you, Schew Even so, there are sure a lot of them in these parts… Are we near their nest… I’et hurt, okay?”

“Sah, yes sah!”

I saw off the happily laughing tiger-race girl, and finished up the mixed berry tart before my eyes

With that, ine we’ll be closing up early today It wasn’t even evening yet, so I couldn’t really get used to the sense that as over

After that journey to save the world, one by

There were quite a few troublesos, but after this outcry and that, ent ahead and made a new country on the border of the human and demon countries

I mean, look at our super forces Just one of le national army with their massive powers, so if we settled down anywhere, it would cause a large overturn of the national balance It was quite a spectacle to see the pale faces of the VIPs e visited the countries around I est army

There was still a divide between human and demon

Of the children I had taken in as coiven humans as a whole

But at this point, it’s not like they asked to part from the human comrades we’d assembled In that case, the resolution we ca’ with the de prime minister and co, was to form a new country

A country where various races could live together

There was still a ht it would work out, one way or another

You never know until you try, and that all depends on hoork from now on

Luckily enough, the demons of the demon country ent to persuade were all cooperative, and the nu Even if eren’t big enough to call a country, ere at least a territory, I guess Maybe more of a commercial city

In exchange, it seeh hell The people helping hieneral mobilization is busy every day

Yep, everyone’s working hard

… And I can’t do a single thing when it comes to politics, so for now, I’ve reopened my bakery

No, I et along was candy and bread And perhaps because I had treated others to food in various countries, there were custoulars from the capital stopped by on occasion When they were done with their work, they may move their families here

Everyone celebrated how splendid my shop had become

Well, yeah

… Because the entire first floor of the castle was my new bakery

Were the forest spirits and dwarves a up a castle in only threeinfluential enough to permit the castle to be used as a store, I’m really not sure who to praise at this point

Everyone was so understanding it was contrarily scary… I’ht?

For now, I’ll work hard, and dotasty Everyone says they can’t do their jobs without my sweets anyways

And without doing that work otten hter

“H-hey, Marie”

“Hmm, what is it, Mil?”

“Marie, um… d-do you like… me?”

“Of course I love you”

Her figure as she tiave an i up, her smile bloomed Yep, she’s cute I want to pet her all over But ht now

… Still, I know that only spoiling her isn’t a proper education

“Then…”

“No You just ate your snack, didn’t you? You’ll spoil your appetite for dinner again, so no”

“Ah… awuuu…”

The for her head

Erk…surrounding eyes were seeing me as heartless

But you s

Sweets are tasty, but they’re not so you should eat too much of

Sweetness left the best e of the eater This is why an artisan’s full course has such a small desert

So I decided to snap the sweet-tasting whip

“Ah~ and I was even thinking ofyour favorite cream croquettes for dinner~”

“… C-cream croquettes…!?”

“And I was even planning to add on a potair potage soup… if you won’t be able to eat it, maybe I shouldn’t~”

“I-I don’t need snacks!”

“I would be quite happy if you worked hard at your job~”

“I will! I’ll do it! I’ll carry that for you!!”

“Thank you! Make sure you don’t drop it”

“Y-yess, definitely!”

Her back as she carefully, carefully carried the tray of mixed berry tarts was also cute

Kuku, even the Dehter is just a child Too easy for an adult such as myself

And as I promised, let’s make a Mil special course for dinner today

“… You’ve got her dancing to your tune quite nicely”

“Hmhm, cute, isn’t she?”

“You sure are”

“Hah?”

As he made some ice with his 『Breath』, Mr Zelo said sos

… I’ve been thinking it a while now, but with his royal-class looks, Mr Zelo’s appearance was unfit for the kitchen to a surprising level

No, coons, was he? I’ve been lightheartedly asking hiht fires these days, so it’s totally slipped my mind

“Still, that king of derown quite attached to you”

“Well, I’ me like a mother, after all”

“… Marie, do you want a child of your own?”

“It’s not like I don’t But I’e”

“No need to worry about that part While you were asleep, I’ve been feeding you dragon blood every night”

“… What?”

“Dragon’s blood has perennial youth and longevity effects As the Dragon King, ive birth easily for the next forty years or so, and your body’s becoon’s child shouldn’t pose a problem”

“Waaaaaaaaaait!? What are you doing to someone’s body without consent!? So the fact that I’ve been waking up with a !!”

I orried et in my room!? What about the key!?

I grabbed his lapels, and shook him back and forth, but Mr Zelo didn’t shy back

More than that, he easily unfastened my hands, and held them in his own

Kuh, using a dragon’s strength in a place like this is unfair… wait close! You’re too close, Mr Zelo!?

“Wai…!?”

“Don’t act so defenseless, and eggback quite a bit”

Eeeek!? H-h-h-holding back what!? Did I ry!?

“I knew you were dense, but there should be soht side humans Resolve yourself to take responsibility for that”

Eeeeeh!? No, I ave you candy… no, it’s nothing I’et it, but I’ll take responsibility, and apologize, so for now, don’t hold your glistening face so close to……………!?

Father and mother in heaven

Because of the sweets you taughta bit of a drastic turn

Seriously, I’ll get you for this