TVCWB Chapter 44

Chapter 044

Berry’s ordered salmon steak, beef steaks for Theo and Ray, mushroom pasta for Perea, along with various salads and bread, filled the table so completely that it was hard to know where to start.

“Eat up and enjoy! Yeah? Ray’s paying!”

Laughing loudly, Berry finished an entire plate of salmon steak in just two bites. It was fast enough to make one wonder if he even tasted it.

That wasn’t enough for him—he also swallowed the salad and bread made with his favorite honey in one go.

“I want to eat too!”

Not wanting to lose, Theo carefully picked up his meat with a small fork. Ray also began cutting his steak.

Seeing that everyone else started eating without hesitation, Perea finally let go of her uneasiness and reached for her own food.

For a while, the group focused solely on filling their stomachs without saying a word, and in less than ten minutes, most of the dishes were already gone.

Their faces were filled with satisfaction after eating so much good food.

“Ahhh! As expected, it’s delicious!”

Berry slammed the table with his solid fist to express his delight and laughed loudly.

If he got satisfied just one more time, it looked like the table might actually break.

“But didn’t Elo-nim wonder why he was giving you that information?”

“Huh? Elo?”

Perea nodded. Even if it was a favor for a close friend, wasn’t it strange to give information about events in the imperial palace without questioning it?

Of course, it was a question that came too late now that the information had already been received.

Berry nodded as if he understood her concern and answered much more lightly than expected.

“That guy, Elo is a master at knowing things and pretending he doesn’t. Even if he noticed something while gathering tapped information, he wouldn’t ask about it. He knows it gets troublesome once you’re involved.”

“Ah… so he probably noticed, right?”

“Of course! That bastard’s smart, you know. He was second in our year!”

‘And the first place was always me!’ Hah!

Perea laughed helplessly at how Berry ended with self-praise.

If what he said was true, that was a relief. If Elo had stayed here instead of going to Timi Village out of curiosity, it would have been really troublesome.

“So don’t worry about Timi Village for now! His obsession with rabbit beastmen is real, you know? To Elo, rabbit beastmen are more important than anything.”

“Um… is that kind of ‘obsession’ really reliable?”

“Of course! If you told Elo to serve rabbit beastmen for the rest of his life, he’d cry tears of gratitude!”

‘Just what kind of fantasy does he have about rabbit beastmen…?’

Back at the academy, Perea had never heard rumors that Sike Elo was obsessed with rabbit beastmen.

Facing a version of Sike Elo that was completely different from what she had known left Perea both confused and relieved.

“Anyway, let’s stop worrying about Timi Village and focus on how we’re going to mess with the imperial family next, yeah?”

“S-senior!”

Even in a private room, how could he say something like that so casually… especially with the prince and the prince’s guard right there!

Startled, Perea firmly stepped on Berry’s foot.

“Ow!”

Berry exaggerated his pain and leaned his large body against Ray.

“Ray, Perea’s bullying me!”

“Get off.”

Ray brushed Berry away as if dust had landed on his shoulder. Berry’s face crumpled at the cold response. It wasn’t cute at all.

After spending time bickering rather than discussing future plans, dessert was finally served.

It was ice cream topped with Goldenstone, a fruit that only grew in Eclit. Seeing the golden fruit that resembled Theo’s eyes, Perea let out a short, “Wow!”

Everything she encountered in Eclit felt fascinating.

“Then I hope you enjoy yourselves until the very end. Ah, would you be able to visit once more soon?”

“Hmm? Why?”

Berry raised an eyebrow at the manager’s request while shoveling ice cream into his mouth.

“You may have heard, but this morning a Moreta was captured on the road leading to Eclit. In a day or two, its byproducts will likely be auctioned by the city authorities. Our restaurant plans to participate in the auction. Would you like to enjoy a special opportunity to taste steak made from Moreta meat?”

Berry’s eyes shone as he was completely taken in by the smooth sales pitch.

Meanwhile, Ray—the one who had single-handedly defeated the Moreta—was simply giving his ice cream to Perea.

Berry immediately made a reservation to visit again over the weekend, though it was unclear whether he’d actually have the money to afford the likely outrageous price of the Moreta steak.

Pleased with the bold reservation, the manager left with an even brighter smile than before.

“Wow! Moreta steak?! I guarantee it’ll be something special! What do you think, Ray? You in?”

“Ha…”

As expected, Ray was Berry’s dependable support. Berry clearly planned to squeeze him dry while he stayed in Eclit.

Berry poked Ray’s firm side insistently.

“Moreta meat doesn’t taste good.”

Ray’s reluctant reply was full of annoyance. Berry looked puzzled.

“How would you know?”

“I’ve eaten it.”

Again, the irritated answer made Berry tilt his head before straightening it.

“Oh, right. You used to hunt monsters.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s really that bad? But I still want to try it…”

Once Tail Berry’s curiosity was triggered, it couldn’t be stopped. Ray pushed his leech-like friend’s face away and accepted with a silent ‘do whatever you want.’

Cheering at the thought of another feast, Berry suddenly paused with a ‘Wait?’

“Didn’t the manager say the Moreta was caught nearby? Damn it! That means a monster showed up on the road to Eclit!”

His reaction came one beat—no, ten beats—too late, and Ray let out a deep sigh.

“Eclit is a place where only sea-type monsters appear occasionally, and even that’s rare. Why would a Moreta show up?”

“How would I know.”

“Huh? Well, I guess there was a reason for it.”

Berry accepted it far too easily. Ray sighed again at his clear dislike for thinking.

It was truly fortunate for the Tail family that this guy had been born the youngest son. If he’d been the eldest and inherited the family, they’d have gone bankrupt in no time.

Ray finished his sharp evaluation of his friend.

“Mm, Ray caught that one. Right?”

Theo, who had diligently finished his ice cream, spoke up. Berry’s eyes widened even more.

“Really? You caught it? Then why is the Moreta going up for auction by the city?”

“Well… we thought it’d be better not to reveal that Ray-nim was the one who caught it, so we slipped away quietly.”

This time, the answer came from Perea. Thinking about how the whole city would be stirred up over the Moreta auction, she felt it had been the right choice.

If it had been revealed that Ray caught it, his real identity under the cloak might have been exposed, and someone might even have recognized him.

There was no harm in being careful while staying in Eclit.

“Ahh! I see! Right, both of them are considered missing right now, huh?”

Berry slapped his fist into his palm in understanding. True to his bear beastman nature, he really liked using his fists for everything.

With Berry’s last curiosity satisfied, Ray stood up.

Not only the imperial tracking unit, but also the Twilight Knight Order had begun to move. They needed to spend some time until those forces returned to the imperial palace, confirmed the incident, and foolish people let their guard down after hearing the news.

Their stay in Eclit would be longer than expected.

It seemed wise to prepare for that.