Chapter 64: Seconds and the Scent of Blood 

“Mm, mm… It seems everyone enjoyed themselves. That’s wonderful.”

Watching the children slump back in their seats with thoroughly satisfied expressions, Barsat-sama wore a smile that could only be described as delightfully calculating.

He looked positively entertained.

Well… it was understandable.

After all, seeing a group of arrogant youngsters who had strutted in full of lofty airs become utterly speechless after one meal was enough to make anyone grin.

“Well then, Eight-dono, I shall take my leave. Village Chief Fuldretch and I are planning to show the children around the village next.”

“If that old man is still running around naked, please exercise your authority as lord and have him arrested.”

“If anyone exists who could arrest that man, they would have to be either a god or a devil.” Barsat sighed, rubbing his temple with a weary smile. “…Though, now that I think about it, he’d probably perform his naked dance in front of gods and devils too.”

“…You’re probably right.”

The lord shrugged helplessly before ushering the noble children toward the door.

Although the students cast lingering, regretful glances back at the restaurant—as if desperately wishing for one more bite of Dragon Bowl Deluxe—Barsat showed no mercy, herding them outside before temptation could win.

Just then—

“…Mm… another serving…”

A small voice drifted into the room.

Someone quietly held out an empty bowl.

I blinked.

Standing there was a petite girl.

Her crimson eyes were only half open, heavy with sleepy indifference, while her long platinum hair shimmered like threads of moonlight. Every feature of her face was so flawlessly proportioned that she resembled a finely crafted porcelain doll more than a living person.

She looked to be around ten years old.

Roughly Luka’s age.

Yet unlike the noble students, she wasn’t dressed in academy attire.

Instead, she wore nothing more than a long strip of cloth wrapped around her body in a manner reminiscent of a toga.

Huh?

“Um… when did you come into the restaurant? Here, another serving.”

“…Mm… thank… you… I came in… together… with… the people… who just left…”

“With Barsat-sama’s group?”

I scratched my head.

“I didn’t notice you at all…”

Judging from her clothes, she didn’t seem to be one of the Noble Academy students.

So who was she?

“…Mm… another serving…”

“…Eh?”

I stared.

“…Already?”

I couldn’t hide my astonishment.

Dragon Bowl Deluxe wasn’t exactly a light meal.

The mountain of toppings alone would have filled most adults.

Yet somehow…

The little girl had finished the entire thing in the blink of an eye.

She devoured food even faster than Raphiel.

“Ho!!”

Rorondo burst into laughter.

“You’ve got quite an appetite, little lady!”

People often said older men loved watching youngsters eat heartily.

Apparently…

There really was some truth to that.

“…Mm… still… not enough…”

“I see! I see!” Rorondo boomed happily. “Then order whatever you want! The Boss makes everything delicious!”

“W-Wait, Rorondo.” I hurriedly interrupted. “She doesn’t look like an adventurer… and she doesn’t seem to be one of the noble children either. Letting her eat this much might cause all sorts of—”

“Aw, don’t be so uptight, Boss! Go on, little lady! Don’t hold back!”

“…Mm…”

The girl gave a tiny nod.

“…I will…”

Without another word…

She began ordering from the very top of the menu.

Ginger pork made with orc meat.

Stuffed green peppers.

Grilled mackerel set meals.

One dish.

Then another.

And another.

She simply continued ordering everything in sight…

…and quietly cleaned every single plate.

Watching her eat was almost hypnotic.

No matter how much food appeared before her, it vanished at an unbelievable speed.

Even Rorondo’s cheerful grin gradually stiffened.

I could only stare.

…Who’s this child?

Something about her felt…

Wrong.

Not in any obvious way.

Rather…

It was as though something utterly unknowable had borrowed the shape of a little girl…

…and was calmly eating lunch.

“…Mmph…”

She finally put down her chopsticks.

“…Delicious… I’m full…”

“Ah… thank you very much.”

“……”

The girl continued looking directly into my face.

“…Um…”

I awkwardly touched my own cheek.

“Is there something on my face?”

Without answering…

She slowly raised one finger.

Then gently pressed it against the center of my forehead.

“…Mm…”

“…You…make delicious food…so… I won’t eat you.”

“…Eh? Eat…?”

“…Well then… I shall…return…”

She quietly turned…

And walked out of the restaurant.

The instant she disappeared—

Rorondo collapsed to his knees.

“Haaah…”

He sucked in a massive breath, his shoulders shaking violently.

“Haaah… haaah… T-That was bad…”

“R-Rorondo?!”

I rushed over.

“Are you alright?!”

“So…”

Rorondo forced himself to laugh weakly.

“The Boss couldn’t tell… That’s actually for the best. If you’d sensed what that monster really was…you might’ve gone insane.”

“W-What are you talking about?”

“That wasn’t human.”

His voice had become unusually serious.

“She looked human…but the smell of blood clinging to her…”

He swallowed.

“…No ordinary person carries a scent like that. You’d have to slaughter…millions…before blood soaked into your soul that deeply. I figured…as long as she only cared about food, we should keep feeding her. I’m just grateful she left satisfied.”

I fell silent.

Rorondo wasn’t merely an A-Rank adventurer.

Years ago…

He had single-handedly destroyed the criminal syndicate secretly controlling one of the kingdom’s largest cities outside the royal capital.

That achievement had earned him an unprecedented promotion all the way from E-Rank to A-Rank.

For someone like him…

To call that little girl a monster…

“I’ll…”

I swallowed.

“I’ll tell the Village Chief.”

“…Yeah.”

Rorondo nodded weakly.

“That’s probably best. If anyone can handle something like that…it’d be that old man…”

He hesitated.

“…Though…even then…”

After helping Rorondo onto a chair…

I hurried outside to search for the Village Chief.

“…Village… Chief…?”

“There you are, Eight.”

The old man answered as casually as if nothing at all had happened.

“Sorry about this. I let my guard down for a moment…and lost an arm.”

“…YOU LOST AN ARM?!”

My scream echoed across the village.

“Raphiel!! Raphaeeeeeel!!”

The Village Chief’s arm was simply…

Gone.

Not severed cleanly.

Not cut by a blade.

It looked as though some gigantic creature had bitten it off entirely.

What on earth…

Had happened?

◇ ◆ ◇

A short while earlier—

Barsat-sama von Algama, ruler of Algama Territory, was leading the Noble Academy students on a tour of Papel Village together with the Village Chief.

Strictly speaking…

It was the Village Chief doing almost all the explaining.

Naturally, no one knew the village better than he did.

Barsat simply walked beside the children, listening along with them.

“This potato field,” the Village Chief began proudly, “is home to a monster called the False Potato.”

“W-What?!”

One student gasped.

“The False Potato?!”

“Isn’t that one of the kingdom’s officially designated high-priority monsters?!”

“I remember studying it!”

Another hurriedly added.

“Several hundred people disappeared after potatoes imported into the royal capital over a decade ago turned out to contain False Potatoes. Their bodies were eventually discovered buried inside farmland after the creatures had parasitized them!”

“Excellent.”

The Village Chief nodded approvingly.

“As expected of Noble Academy students.”

“Very knowledgeable indeed.”

By now…

The students had long abandoned their earlier impression of Papel Village as nothing more than an uncivilized rural backwater.

After experiencing Eight’s extraordinary cooking…

And learning that the villagers calmly cultivated crops in fields inhabited by monsters considered catastrophically dangerous elsewhere…

The children couldn’t help but feel genuine awe.

They weren’t fools.

Certainly…

Their noble upbringing had instilled considerable pride.

But alongside that pride came the finest education available in the kingdom.

They possessed broad knowledge.

And because of that…

Even the smallest revelation had the power to reshape their worldview.

“Incidentally…”

The Village Chief continued cheerfully.

“The owner of the restaurant where you all ate earlier once had False Potato eggs laid upon his back.”

“…WHAT?!”

“Since then…”

The old man puffed out his chest.

“He became the False Potato Slayer.”

“This year’s False Potato population has already fallen by nearly eighty percent compared to last year.”

“T-The restaurant owner…?”

The students exchanged bewildered looks.

People truly aren’t what they appear…

Thinking that…

They continued deeper into the village.

Then—

“Hold it right there.”

“Hm?”

A lone woman stood waiting directly in their path.

A breathtaking beauty.

Wrapped in a robe…

Over an absurdly revealing micro bikini.

The contrast was so outrageous that it bordered on the surreal.

It was Orvier.

The children collectively screamed.

“WHOOOOOOOOAAAAAA?!”

“W-What’s with that scandalous outfit?!”

“Is… is that considered normal among commoners?!”

“G-Gentlemen!”

One noble girl cried.

“S-Stop staring so much!!”

“B-But…”

“…She’s so beautiful…”

“…and dressed like that…”

“I-I agree it’s incredibly… unusual!!”

“But criticizing another person’s tastes seems rather rude!!”

Chaos erupted.

“You brats sure are noisy!”

Orvier snapped.

“Enough with the ‘pervert’ this and ‘pervert’ that!!”

“THE PERVERT GOT ANGRY!!”

To be fair…

The children weren’t trying to insult her.

They were simply sheltered.

This was the first time any of them had encountered someone dressed in such an extraordinarily unconventional manner.

They were merely overwhelmed.

Not malicious.

“Soldiers!”

Barsat-sama called sharply.

“Take that suspicious woman into cust—”

“No.”

The Village Chief quietly raised one hand.

“I’d advise against that.”

“…Village Chief?”

Barsat paused.

The old man narrowed his eyes.

“…She’s strong.”

Orvier’s lips curled upward.

“…Heh.”

“So the old geezer isn’t ordinary after all.”

The Village Chief calmly stepped forward.