Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. - Chapter 166

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 166 — Fervor Takes on a Devout Aspect
— I shall bring about a solar eclipse for you.
Outside Odillon’s residence.
I was speaking with Elvira of the Ash Gray Wolf Guild through a Mage Tower Communication Device.
— If it were Kar, you would have grasped the meaning the instant you heard it.
“Oh my, you’ve misjudged my abilities.”
— Surely you understand what I mean?
“I do.”
Though she couldn’t see my face, I shook my head anyway.
“About eight days ago, I’d already caught on. You see, I was actually a Half-Elf who could foresee the future.”
— Now, now! Don’t jest with your elders.
“My apologies.”
— Regardless, you understand what the Conspirator is trying to say, yes?
“I do. It seems Kyras Cellun has regained emotional stability through Faith and is now courting me quite earnestly.”
I am a Half-Elf open to everyone.
Everyone except the “friends” who taught me that Yunji could never be a romantic prospect.
But even if he weren’t a friend, when someone suddenly draws close and lays bare their heart, I couldn’t help but take a step back.
“I’ll need some time to think this through.”
— Take all the time you need. Decide when you’re ready.
“All right.”
I fell silent for a moment, then spoke again.
“Actually, I’ve made my decision.”
— Already?
“Three seconds is enough.”
— …I see.
“Could you relay my answer to Kyras Cellun?”
The Conspirator.
The Half-Elf Kyras Cellun.
“Those of us who serve the Watcher of Lonely Silence have no need for ‘requests’ between ourselves.”
From the moment we both began serving Leria, the Conspirator ceased to be my enemy.
I’m a bit worried that enemies-turned-allies tend to weaken one’s position, but still—an 8-Level Ninja should prove a reasonably helpful asset.
— Understood. I’ll convey it as you say.
“There’s one more thing I’d like to tell you.”
— What is it?
“I’ve been genuinely puzzled about this for ages: which suits me better—’Adorable’ or ‘Clever’?”
— …I won’t be passing that along.
“Aw, why not?”
— Until next time.
With that, Elvira ended the call unilaterally, cutting off our conversation.
As I was tidily storing the Mage Tower Communication Device away in Youngjae’s Subspace, the memory of my battle with the Conspirator during the Guild War suddenly surfaced.
The rage of a Half-Elf who had lost faith in the world.
A childhood forced to serve the Evil Deity Ornisibue—what you might call Artein’s dark counterpart.
‘I’ve had my doubts about it all along….’
In the game, once you got thrown into the underground prison in the 3rd District, that was where the Conspirator’s story ended.
There was no visitation system, and naturally, there was no way to give him a statue of Leria either.
Yet now he has come to me and shared his true feelings.
“All preparations are complete!”
Just as I was lost in thought, the mansion door flew open and Lepicul came rushing out.
“…Mother.”
Bartimir emerged after her and leaned in close to whisper in my ear.
“Did that nameless Demon-type actually join our Exploration Expedition? I’m honestly terrified and don’t like it….”
Come to think of it, the nameless Demon-type King became an expedition member rather than disappearing from all records as she did in the game.
And there will be far more “new content” like this going forward.
Won’t the day eventually come when all the knowledge I possess becomes useless?
“Hmm? Kar the Archduke, positive emotions are radiating from you. What pleasant thoughts occupy your mind?”
“Yes.”
I nodded readily.
“I was imagining a desperate crisis where none of my knowledge or strength would avail me.”
Situations I could not fathom, developments I could not predict, enemies shrouded in mystery.
All of it thrilled me deeply.
You’re more than welcome.
Please, come join us.
She had always stood ready to embrace any new high-difficulty content with open arms.
“A crisis that seems utterly beyond my strength… Ahh! This is what makes exploration truly exhilarating!”
Bartimir’s eyes, which moments before had been fixed anxiously on the nameless Demon King, now gleamed with fervor.
“So you really are our daughter… or rather, ‘Sub-Commander.'”
“Ahem. That’s Sub-Commander, if you please!”
Bartimir threw back her shoulders and swelled with prideful satisfaction.
The false Sky Tribe being watching us drew in a long breath, mouth gaping wide.
“Such affectionate bonds, such magnificent confidence. The flavor is exquisite!”
“…Nooooo!”
Bartimir the calamity collector.
The Demon Realm’s freak mutation, the nameless Demon King.
It was time to set forth on a journey with two Demon-type Beings at my side.
“Let us depart now. We have a new ally to welcome.”
***
The 5th District housed a vast ecological park that had preserved nearly the entire natural landscape of the East Continent.
Developed since Pletika’s earliest days, it had grown so splendid that one could hardly believe this verdant world existed within a city.
“Oh my…!”
Lepicul, the Sky Tribe being with the nameless Demon King’s form—fluttering white wings in delicate ripples—gasped in wonder as she surveyed the grasslands of the 5th District.
“How magnificent! Such fresh air, such verdant leaves!”
Wonder, delight, astonishment.
The Demon King, intoxicated by her own outpouring of positive emotion, drew in breath after breath where she stood.
“Haaah!”
Witnessing her kin feast upon such positive sentiment, Bartimir seized my arm in alarm.
A rare glimpse of genuine terror.
Her striking white eyes trembled ceaselessly in their sockets.
“Mother, I’m scared!”
“Compose yourself. She is a being who consumes positive concepts, not a devourer of people.”
“I’d rather be burned and eaten than face that!”
My Demon-type Daughter clung to my arm, shaking me desperately.
I wobbled left and right like a roly-poly doll before finally managing to stand upright again.
Even as the terrified Bartimir continued to buffet me about, the Demon King’s feast proceeded without interruption.
“Haa, haaah….”
She seemed somewhat excited.
Had the Demon-type Being maintained her usual majestic bearing, she might well have been reported and taken into custody by the Wellbeing Committee’s operatives, but there was no need to worry about that now.
“A Sky Tribe member!”
“Wow….”
Unlike Demon-type Beings, who were targets of prejudice and misconception, the Sky Tribe—hailing from the Celestial Realm—commanded infinite reverence wherever they went.
Thanks to their nature, which recoiled from evil, and their habit of performing selfless good deeds, they earned respect in every quarter.
A Sky Tribe member’s excitement could itself be considered a sacred spectacle.
“Admiring gazes pour down from all sides. This is why I cherish the form of the Sky Tribe.”
The Demon King smiled gently at the people watching her like devoted fans and waved her hand.
I couldn’t remain idle either, so I waved along with her.
The response that came—the reward for all my diligent work as an explorer—nearly took my breath away.
“Wait, that’s Kar!”
“He looks fine in person, though?”
“How could someone like that do such things….”
Perhaps because this was the 5th District, the Half-Elves—who ought to be regarded with care—received favorable treatment, yet everyone kept their distance from me.
As though they had no desire to draw close or speak directly.
The gap between us carried an ache I couldn’t help but feel.
“Why is it that the more earnestly I explore and promote Faith, the more people come to regard me as an unsettling Half-Elf? Where could one find a Socialite as exemplary as I?”
I had never forced my Faith on anyone, nor had I ever attempted a religious practice that caused inconvenience to others.
I was simply an upright Socialite who faithfully obeyed the Harmony Cult’s guidance, yet troubling rumors kept spreading, which weighed on me.
“Great Lord, when you’re feeling down, try taking a deep breath as I do. Iiiihhh, haaah!”
“Mother! I want to go back now…!”
“It’s quite all right. I’m right beside you, my dear.”
I patted Bartimir’s arm and continued walking forward.
The “Sky Tribe Lepicul” who had been absorbed in consuming emotion caught up swiftly and asked, “Are we heading to the Interracial Council headquarters building in the center of the 5th District?”

“General Council Members rarely have reason to visit the headquarters during the day. They operate only through the collectives they belong to.”
—Chirp-chirp!
I continued speaking while gazing up at the colorful birds darting busily through the air.
“The Interracial Council houses various small-scale organizations called the Coexistence Assembly. They function similarly to Exploration Expeditions, but beyond expeditions, they also engage in shared hobbies—you might call them clubs of sorts.”
There were currently no fewer than eighty-seven such assemblies in existence.
Each shared its own distinctive pastimes.
“For example, there are Coexistence Assemblies devoted to Strength training, constellation observation, music appreciation, and historical research.”
“Excellent!”
“How dull.”
The two Demon-type Beings walking on either side of me offered markedly different reactions.
“And there are also places where members engage in dismantling and pulverizing Magical Beast corpses, sampling the blood of every race, or collecting historically significant curses.”
“What pathetic wretches!”
“Amazing!”
Entirely different responses erupted once more.
They were the same race, yet somehow perfectly opposed.
“Each Coexistence Assembly typically spends its time pursuing activities aligned with its founding purpose. Some roam outside the city, others gather in a room and converse all day, and still others live leisurely lives within safe Dungeons.”
A free life among those of shared purpose.
The Interracial Council was an organization that embodied the East Continent’s distinctive unhurried, pastoral atmosphere.
Of course, even those from the East Continent were not accepted if they were human.
“The Coexistence Assembly to which our prospective new colleague, Brightfeather, belongs is called the Skyward Flight Assembly.”
“A gathering of Council Members who fly through the sky?”
“To be precise, it’s a Coexistence Assembly of Council Members who enjoy flying about in the sky.”
The primary membership consisted of Joiners.
Beyond that, some Joiners from other races, members of the Dragon Blood Race, and those possessing means of flight were also part of it.
“Please follow me. I shall guide you to the gathering place of the Skyward Flight Assembly.”
We soon arrived at the outskirts of the 5th District.
Bartimir spoke while tightening the loosened bandage around his wrist.
“Why have we come all the way out here? There don’t seem to be any buildings around.”
“Originally, there is only one formal structure in the 5th District—the headquarters building.”
Near a grand wall partially overgrown with vines, several unusually tall trees of different kinds stood in a row.
Beneath one of them—the tree whose bark flowed like smoke—
A Moth Joiner wearing sunglasses sat leisurely reading a book in a chair placed in the shade.
“Greetings.”
“Ah… yes!”
The Joiner, who had regarded me with brief caution, soon smiled warmly.
It was the distinctive smile of a Council Member who had recognized that the figure before him was not human, but a Half-Elf.
“What brings you here?”
“I’ve come because I wish to enter the gathering place of the Skyward Flight Assembly.”
“Ah, is that so?”
The Council Member promptly withdrew from his breast a carrot that somehow possessed an oddly substantial presence.
《[Sky Village] Entrance.》
Bartimir patted my shoulder repeatedly, recognizing it as an entrance.
“An expedition, just like that? I’m game!”
“We are not here to conduct an expedition.”
“…What!?”
Bartimir cried out in alarm and stumbled backward.
His eyes lost their focus, his hands trembling.
“You’re not Mom! You’re that Magical Beast spawn—Akar or whatever it’s called!”
“I am not. I am the charming Kar herself.”
Not every Dungeon is loved by me simply because I am who I am.
I tended to avoid Dungeons lacking excessive stimulation unless I had set a goal like “clearing every Dungeon.”
[Sky Village] fell into that category.
“It seems you are unfamiliar with how our Council manages its Dungeons.”
The Moth Council Member laughed while waving the carrot that served as the entrance.
“Some Dungeons with very simple clearing conditions and long reset periods are used as gathering places for the Coexistence Assemblies.”
“…So that’s how it is.”
Bartimir let out a relieved sigh.
“Shall we go in then?”
“Before you enter, there are precautions you absolutely must know.”
Brightfeather.
To recruit the parrot Joiner, who possessed talent equal to Pendrick’s, one had to remember a single, crucial fact.
“Under no circumstances—not a flicker of surprise, not a gasp of shock, not even the faintest hint of amusement—must you so much as bat an eye at his appearance.”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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