by Virlyce
“Didn’t you say to never offend Mr. Ei?” I asked my father. “Shouldn’t you throw Lucia into the dungeon for what she’s done?”
“It was my fault for not requesting your teacher to not offend Mr. Ei,” my father said and smiled at me. Lucia’s not my teacher! “Besides, I want to make a good impression on her. If you keep accompanying her on her journeys, just imagine how far you’ll go in your magical studies. You don’t want her to be reluctant in bringing you along.”
“Am I your daughter?” I asked, hanging my head.
“Of course, Ilya.” My father looked at me with an odd expression. “Do you think you’re not?”
“Is Lucia your daughter?” I asked in return.
“No,” my father said, looking even more confused.
“Then if I’m your daughter and Lucia isn’t, shouldn’t my opinions and feelings matter more than hers?” I asked.
“When did I ever neglect your feelings or opinions?” my father asked, tilting his head. Realization dawned on his face. “You really liked Mr. Ei’s cooking, huh?”
That’s not it! I don’t want to journey with Lucia anymore! Wait, I didn’t actually tell my father that though, so he didn’t ignore my feelings or opinions. “No,” I said and shook my head. “That’s not it. I don’t really like traveling with Lucia. In the future, can I, um, not?”
My father’s eyes narrowed, and the air around him fell by a few degrees. “Absolutely not,” he said. “You’re following her until you become a ninth-circle magician.”
What happened to not neglecting my feelings!? “But, father,” I said. “There’s—”
“No buts,” my father said, cutting me off. I could feel tears welling in my eyes. “In life, there are some things you have to do whether you like it or not. Traveling with Lucia is one of them. Eating your vegetables is another.”
So this is what it feels like to have your hopes absolutely crushed. The last time I felt such despair was when I was nearly eaten by a divine beast with three mouths while running after Lucia. At least I can take comfort in the fact that I ate the beast in the end, but it’s not like I can eat Lucia.
“Master,” a voice said from behind me. “The meal is ready.”
My father nodded and stood up. “Let’s go, Ilya.”
I sighed. I can only hope Lucia makes a terrible impression on my father during dinner. Please, lord, let it be so.
***
I thought the inn Ilya and I had stayed in was fancy, but that place was nothing compared to Ilya’s home. She has so much food! There’s a refrigerator similar to the one that was inside the carriage, but it’s huge. It’s almost like a separate house that I could walk into. I actually got lost and had to use my mini-map ring to show me the exit. There was even a section of the refrigerator that was so cold it froze things, mostly meats, but I saw a few bodies inside there. I’m not sure if I was supposed to see them, but whatever.
And the kitchen is ten times as large as my previous owner’s. Even though I was still a child when I was enslaved and had to use a stepstool to reach the stove, Ilya’s kitchen makes the current me feel even smaller than I did back then. There are super-sharp swords on the walls to cut things with. The cutting board is as large as a table made for a banquet. Okay, maybe that was actually a table saved up for a banquet, but I’ll pretend those cut marks weren’t made by me. And most importantly, they have a grill! Barbeque is the only way to go when you’re cooking divine meats! It’s crude and meant for commoners, but everyone can enjoy a good ol’ barbeque.
The best part is I have free access to all the food since I was told to make myself at home. I did have to shoo away an annoying person with a white hat, but that was pretty easy. There’s so many different kinds of dead animals stored away, and a few of them look as imposing as divine beasts. Obviously, I chose those first. And don’t even get me started on the spices! I didn’t know what some of them were or if they were poisonous or not, so I grabbed a few servants and sprinkled them on their tongues first. I had to grab a few servants because some of them died, but luckily, there was already a pile of bodies in the refrigerator anyways. No one would notice a few more, right? In the end, only the salt wasn’t poisonous, so I threw away everything else.
I had another few servants check the finished products for poison, but there wasn’t any, so I told them to invite Ilya and her dad over since I said I was going to make their meals too. I hope I wasn’t supposed to make the servants theirs. I don’t think I was.
Ilya’s dining room is even more amazing than her kitchen. First off, the size is absurd: the doorway is three times my height, a normal person would probably break their legs if they fell from the ceiling to the ground, and it’s about two times the size of the training field of the Ravenwood army. I wonder if there are giant demons; the scale of things would make sense if there were. But at the same time, despite the open space, it feels so lonely. The table’s big and proportional to the room, but you can’t touch the walls if you lean back in your chair. You have to practically walk the length of a field if you want to leave the room. It’s too big; there’s no sense of coziness at all.
“Esteemed guest,” a servant said to me. “Are you sure you don’t want us to help?”
“Nope. I got this.”
The maid stared at the towering plates of food stacked upon my head. “If you say so,” she said and lowered her head before backing away.
Obviously, I’m carrying all the food to the table by myself. All the poison tests would go to waste if the servants poisoned the meals in transit! But I wouldn’t mind some help from Ilya if she were here. She wouldn’t poison good food, but I wouldn’t trust her to make me any. Her cooking’s worse than Durandal’s if she doesn’t use magic. Footsteps echoed behind me. Think of the devil, and the devil appears! “Ilya! Grab these for me and bring them to the table.”
Ilya’s face darkened as she trudged over to my side and helped me carry some plates. The maid who I just rejected glared at me with wide eyes, looking a little like a ghost. She could contend for first place with Durandal in a scary-face contest. Ilya glanced at her dad, but he just smiled at her and said, “Excellent. Developing a hardworking foundation that refuses a life of luxury, no wonder why you could advance so far in such a short time.”
I think Ilya felt a little aggrieved, but I wasn’t too sure. Well, she’ll feel better when she eats.
After the plates were set up, Ilya’s dad took the seat at the head of the table while Ilya sat to his right. I sat beside her, causing her face to make a strange expression. Was that happiness mixed with confusion? “Lucia,” she said. “You’re supposed to sit across from me.”
“Don’t tell me where to sit.” I flicked her forehead. How am I supposed to steal her food if I’m sitting all the way over there? Despite her inability to cook, Ilya’s very good at picking out the most delicious portions. I always force her to trade, but recently, she’s been taking the suckier parts and trading those to me for the better ones. She’s too sneaky, have to keep a close eye on her.
“You shouldn’t offend your master over a minor matter like seating positions,” her dad said and smiled at me. He glanced at the table, and his smile faltered. His head turned towards a sweating servant. “What are you doing? Bring out all the dishes.”
The servant’s expression when he smiled was uglier than a crying person’s. “All the dishes have been brought out, sir.”
“But there’s only meat,” the duke said.
“The esteemed guest prepared the meal,” the servant said.
Ilya’s dad stared at me. I’m not a rabbit! Vegetables aren’t made for me. But Ilya’s dad does look a bit upset even though he’s trying to hide it.
“Yeah, Lucia,” Ilya said and nodded so hard her hair was bobbing up and down. “Balanced meals are important. I can’t believe you’ve served us this.”
Wow. I’ve been betrayed. Mm, what’s the best way out of this? I’ll copy Durandal, talk nonsense while stating it as f
act! I slammed my hand on the table, causing the plates to rattle. Ilya flinched while her dad jumped. “If you want to be as strong as a divine beast, you have to eat like a divine beast! If you want to live your life as a tiny rabbit, I’ll make you a meal of lettuce and grains! What do you want to be?” I glared at Ilya while unleashing my Unrelenting Path of Slaughter. “A rabbit or a divine beast?”
“A, a divine beast,” Ilya said with a whimper. I continued to glare at her because that’s what Durandal did to me a lot. I’m not sure why, but it’s intimidating! Ilya slipped out of her chair and lowered her head to the ground. “I’m sorry! I was wrong!”
Wow, that’s usually how I react. This feels great! No wonder why Durandal’s such a bully.
“If you want to be as strong as a divine beast,” Ilya’s dad muttered and rubbed his chin, “then you have to eat like a divine beast.” He nodded. “Well said. Why should we aspire to be lower than what we can be? If you behave like a rabbit in everyday life, when the time comes for you to behave like a divine beast, you won’t be able to. Amazing.” His eyes closed as he crossed his arms and legs.
Ilya’s eyes widened at her dad’s posture. “H-he’s breaking through,” she said. “He’s breaking through the eighth circle to the ninth.” Her eyes widened even further when she stared at me. “Your nonsensical words enlightened him!”
Damn. I’m amazing. …Wait a minute. Wait just one minute. Isn’t that it!? The way to break through to the realm of divine warriors? I understand! I’ve been doing it wrong this whole time!
“Lucia!?” Ilya shouted as two dozen divine beast cores appeared next to me. “What are you doing?”
“A divine warrior should be able to easily absorb all of these at once! If I want to be a divine warrior, I have to act like one.” And thus, I proceeded to absorb all the cores at once.
“Don’t listen to your own nonsense! You’ll explode!”
Those were the last words I heard before my vision went black.
15
“I understand how you’ve reached the border of the fifth circle so soon now,” my father said once his eyes opened. But I wasn’t paying attention to him because Lucia was lying on the ground, froth coming out the corners of her mouth with her eyes rolled all the way up so only their whites showed. Her tail occasionally twitched as the cores around her body shrank and melded into her like ice melting in the sun. “What’s wrong with Lucia?”
“She’s an idiot! That’s what’s wrong with her!” Lucia’s body spasmed once all the cores disappeared. I tried taking one away, but it still shrank and melted away into nothingness. “She absorbed two dozen divine beast cores all at the same time.”
My father’s eyes widened. “She’s going to explode,” he said. “Wait. Did you say divine beast cores? Where did she get that many?”
“From the desolate mountains.” Should I just leave Lucia here? I’m not sure anything I could do would be able to help her. But it’d be bad if she ruined the dining room by exploding. “She can kill divine beasts easily even though she’s only a high-ranked spirit warrior.”
“She’s a warrior?” my father asked. He was as oblivious as Teacher Rogath! How could he have not noticed the sword and her muscles? No wonder why he sent me to study under that drunkard. “What do we do?”
“You’re the adult! You should be the one with the answers, Father.” Why does everyone depend on me!? I’m not even fourteen yet! Gah, Lucia’s thrashing around now! “Don’t try to lift—”
I tried to warn my father, but it was too late. He bent down by Lucia and attempted to pick her up, but a thrashing limb smacked into his side. I thought I heard a rib break as he was sent flying. He tumbled a few times on the ground before crashing into the wall. Lucia could throw a manticore with one hand. It made sense for a single one of her smacks to send people flying. “Are you okay, Father?” Great, now I have two injured people to attempt to take care of.
“Amazing!” my father said and coughed out a mouthful of blood. He clutched his ribs as he chanted a simple healing spell. Though my father was more attuned to destructive magic, namely earth and water, he could still use healing spells from the lower circles. “You chose a good person to follow.”
That’s what you’re thinking of in a time like this? Care more about your safety! It’d be terrible for the empire if a duke died. “Do you need me to call a healer over?”
My father grunted in reply. “It was just four ribs. I’ll be fine after ten minutes or so,” he said and sat up, resting his back against the cracked wall. “You should do something about Lucia though. Can she survive with all those cores inside of her? Imagine how she must feel; even absorbing a low-ranked beast core can cause me to feel nausea. But dozens of divine beast cores?” He shook his head. “I can’t fathom how much pain she must be in.”
Great, now I can’t help but feel bad for Lucia. It’s not her fault she was born an idiot. I’ll drop a few healing spells on her and hope they alleviate her suffering. “O water, heed my prayer, cleanse—”
“Wait! No! That was just a dream!?” Lucia sat up and looked around. Devastation painted her face.
“…This poor squirrel beastkin and alleviate her mental illness.” I can’t stop a chant midway! But I could change the contents, which I did. A fountain of water gushed out of the ground and sprayed onto Lucia. Her eyes widened as she spluttered and shook herself off.
“Ilya! What the hell was that for!?” Lucia glared at me.
“S-sorry,” I said and lowered my head. Why was her gaze so fierce? I was just trying to help. “I was trying to heal you.”
“Do I look like I need healing?” Lucia asked and snorted. She sighed. “That was such a nice dream too. All the divine beasts I killed were trying to eat me, but I beat them all up and cut off their penises. But it was just a dream! Do you know how much money I could’ve made if it were real!?” She grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me until I felt dizzy.
I have a feeling she just underwent a tribulation. I couldn’t help but feel bad for the divine beasts she encountered in her dream. No doubt, parts of their soul still existed in their beast cores and were trying to take her body over after she absorbed them. It’s just such a Lucia thing to do, surviving through ignorance. I guess simple people do have resolute and pure souls.
“Hey, what are you all sitting on the ground for?” Lucia asked as she climbed onto her seat. “The food’s going to go cold, and you better not blame the lack of flavor on me if it does.” She reached over, grabbed onto a drumstick, and munched on it while looking at me and my father.
“Are you okay, Lucia?” I asked. Were there seriously no side effects? Did she break through? Wasn’t she curious, or was food that much more important to her?
“I’m okayer than okay,” Lucia said. She engraved a symbol onto the drumstick’s bone before absorbing it. Then she picked up another chunk of meat and bit into it, showing no regard for the utensils the servants had pulled out. She probably thought they were poisoned. I wonder what happened to her to make her so paranoid. No doubt, she had been poisoned while eating before, but why? Who did it? “There won’t be any left for you two if you just keep standing there.”
Well, I can always figure that out in the future as I adventure more with Lucia. …Did I just think that? I actually want to adventure with Lucia? Or, maybe, I just resigned myself to my fate. Ah, whatever. I should eat before the food gets cold.
***
Phew. That was a good meal, but I feel like I ate a lot more than I usually do. Well, I did warn Ilya’s dad to eat soon otherwise it’d all be gone. I think he got a piece or two. Now, let’s see how much my strength improved. Why isn’t there a convenient way to check? Like a stone that measures qi when I place my palm on it, or a magical orb that shifts colors depending on my strength. I guess I’ll have to do this the old-fashioned way.
“Lucia,” Ilya said as she wiped her hands on her napkin. “What are you doing?”
I raised mini-DalDal over my head,
keeping my arm straight while pointing it at the ceiling. “Testing my strength.”
“Don’t test it here!” Ilya shouted. “Are you trying to destroy the dining room!?”
Wow, when did she become brave enough to start shouting at me? And it’s not like I was going to swing mini-DalDal or anything, I was just increasing the weight, jeez. Ten tons … eleven … thirteen … eighteen … twenty-two … twenty-seven … thirty…!? Oops. I dropped it.
Ilya screamed as massive fractures spread along the floor. Well, I’m rich enough to pay for it, so that shouldn’t be a problem. Anyways, thirty tons! That’s more than twice what I could lift before. Those beast cores were super useful. Does this make me a divine warrior? “Unrelenting Path of Slaughter!”
Ilya screamed again before stiffening. Her eyes rolled up to the top of her head, revealing their whites. She fell over backwards like a log, and froth appeared in the corners of her mouth. What brought that about? I didn’t even attack her. But there’s this super-ominous aura surrounding my body. It looks like strands of blood are floating around me. And according to the mirror that’s conveniently placed in the dining room, I can tell that my aura’s taking the shape of a cute goat’s head, horns and all.
“Devil,” Ilya’s dad said. He was looking at me with wide eyes.
“Devil?” Aren’t I supposed to be a divine warrior? Shouldn’t I look more like an angel than a devil, the heck? I’ve been swindled! It’s definitely Durandal’s fault for giving me a defective path to follow. What else changed? Ilya’s not awake, so I can swing my sword a few times! I’ll blame it on her dad if anything bad happens. “Unrelenting Path of Slaughter: Breaking Blade!”
I lifted my sword into the air, focused my qi into it, and swung downwards. When my qi entered the blade, blood-red wisps of mist leaked out of it. When my sword cut the air, a howl filled the room as a massive, red vertical line slashed outwards, cutting through the ceiling and wall of the dining room. Holy shit. Silence filled the air until a few clattering sounds broke it. Bits and pieces of the ceiling were falling onto the floor. Then, without warning, the whole room collapsed inwards, burying me under chandeliers and stone rubble. Of course, I saved Ilya, but I have no idea if her dad was okay or not. Eh, he’s a ninth-circle magician, he’ll be fine!
