Chapter 51: The Neighborhood Demon King V (2/2)

A tupperware containing pork leg that was coated with spices was taken out.

『This meat is rubbed and coated with the spices that Makina got from Gashuraku-san』

「What kind of spices are they?」

I don’t have good memories of the spices in Lemuria.

I remember them being spicy, sour, and disgusting.

『It’s a spice mix that Makina made from the plants grown underground by the goblin-sans. Its ingredients are similar to cumin, coriander, cardamom and turmeric. From there, spices gathered in Heures Forest are added. They’re ingredients similar to clove, nutmeg, and cinnamon. They’re put together and blended into this alternate world spice mix. Makina names it Lemuria・Long-Eared・Marriage・Spice・Mix![1]』

Yeah, that name is bad.

「Makina, long-eared is a derogatory term for elves. Remove it」

『………………Lemuria・Marriage・Spice・Mix』

「Okay, good」

What was married together became unknown, but let’s not worry about that.

「Oh, it smells good」

My sister brightened up.

The smell of these spices made me feel nostalgic.

It was a smell that made children want to hurry home.

『The meat is pre-cooked, so it's okay to just stir-fry it lightly. After that, lots of crushed tomatoes, a generous pour of red wine, and scraped apples are added, and then this part of the dish is ready』

Next, Makina took out a frying pan.

『Next is to make a spice paste to make the seasoning stronger. Scraped onions, garlic and ginger are put in a frying pan, and then fry~♪』

Makina was shaking the frying pan in a good mood.

Her previous generation was a cooking robot, so her skill was impressive.

『Once it’s been cooked through, add more spices and milk. Mix and mix~♪ Mix and mix~♪ Become delicious~♪ Become delicious~♪ Mor――』

「You should stop that」

『Alright』

I stopped her because it felt like my country’s culture would get misunderstood.

It was already too late for some though.

『Now that the paste is done, it’s put into a pot, and then left to simmer for a while』

She added the paste into a pot and mixed everything together.

When I looked closely, I saw that the pot was a pressure cooker. She sealed it and then left it alone for a while.

Makina stepped away from cooking for the moment and assembled the folding table. She also prepared the chairs. The tableware was laid out by the Demon King.

Wait one second!

This isn’t good, there’s so much wrong with this scene.

To begin with, letting the guest prepare the table, for example.

「Ea, Onii-chan is also going to lend them a hand, so can you let go for a moment?」

「No」

My sister wasn’t letting go. On the contrary, she hugged me even tighter.

Why do both sisters react in similar ways to each other?! Dammit, I can't pull her off!

「Speaking of which~, you said something interesting though. You married an elf~?」

Goblin-san started talking to me.

「Oh, yes」

「Which clan is she from?」

「The Heures clan」

「What? Huh, Heures? The Heures of the forest over there? Now that you mention it, that hand protector……」

「It is the Heures of the forest over there. My wife is Rauaryuna・Raua・Heures, the second daughter of Melm・Raua・Heures. This is her sister, Ea」

I pointed at the spoiled elf.

「I got the approval of King Lemuria, but their father was opposed, or rather, they were disowned though」

「Oh, I suppose that must have been difficult~」

My sister looked like she wanted to say something, so I hugged her tightly to hush her up.

When I stroked her silky hair, she became quiet.

「But you're eccentric, aren’t you?」

「Yes, quite」

I’m probably the only Japanese who is considered an eccentric by goblins. Well, I get the feeling that Japanese people all look like eccentrics in the eyes of people from other places though.

「I’ll give you this~」

「Eh」

I was given a small bag. When I looked inside, it contained seeds.

「Aren’t you interested in flowers~?」

「No, I'm only interested in those flowers over there」

「Then it’s perfect~. They’re seeds of those flowers~」

「Thank you very much」

Is it alright to get them this easily?

「Umm, is this something valuable?」

「Not at all~. But there aren’t any in the lands around here, I guess~? The seeds can also be obtained from the flowers~」

Seriously~?

「Sorry, while I’m being overbold, I’d like to ask you something. Do you know some sort of method to cleanse curses that have polluted people?」

Due to the differences in cultures, certain cultures are better at or more suited to different things.

Maybe the goblins are aware of a method to cleanse curses easily.

「That’s impossible~」

It's impossible~, huh.

「You’re talking about Hemu curses, right~? I don't know about them~. Soil and living things are different~, you see, and even if you plant flowers in people, they don't bloom, right~?」

「Right~」

Everything wasn't going to turn out so conveniently for me, I guess.

But a flower that can cleanse curses, huh. It may only work on soil, but even that alone is a harvest.

Goblin-san left and helped the Demon King. The plates were laid out and spoons were placed beside them.

I felt really guilty.

For a short while,

With the red flowers beneath me, I killed time watching the peaceful sky.

The sleep-inducing gentle rays of the sun. The small talk between Makina and the goblin. The clatter of tableware.

The scent of appetizing spices drifted across the plain.

My sister rested her chin on my shoulder and fell asleep.

A skeleton in a black cloak and a goblin were sitting quietly at the table. A cylindrical A.I. was singing and revolving in front of a pot.

It was surreal.

This was the most surreal scene since coming to the alternate world. It was, but perhaps because my sister’s body heat had spread through me, I started nodding off drowsily.

Now that I thought about it, I didn’t get much sleep yesterday.

Sleepy.

Sleepy.

………………………………

[1] In case you didn’t get Makina’s naming sense, that spice mix is a marriage of elven and goblin spices. Both races have long ears. Hence the name.

I didn’t mention it when it happened last chapter, but have you noticed that Souya is totally mixing up his sisters? From what we know of Yukikaze(human), she’s super violent, so that’s probably why Souya thought that Ea would hit him back. The boob size too……

And yeah, have any of you also forgot about that tentacle? Interesting, isn’t it? That Souya doesn’t think about it at all until he was reminded by the Demon King, who has a similar feel.

By the way, Souya has the habit of copying the speaking quirks of others, doesn’t he? He went -nya -nya in the last arc too and now he’s dragging the ends of his sentence like goblin-san.

Any guesses what Makina is making? It should be obvious to those familiar with Japanese culture. Still, what a nice Demon King, huh? Worry not, even though the poor Demon King has barely had anything to do after that entrance, next chapter will at long last go more into detail about this big-shot character! Stay tuned!