Chapter 74

“Ugh. Isn’t this request too tough?”

“I used too much magic. I feel like I’m gonna faint.”

“Right? No matter how far apart the cities are, this is already the third attack. It’s too much!”

Finally, even Mina voiced her complaints, and the three of them soon felt something was off and turned to look at Logwin.

Usually, during attacks, Logwin bears the brunt by using skills to provoke the monsters and drawing all their aggro.

In today’s battle, Logwin had to take the lead and endure all the monsters’ attacks to prevent them from targeting the others.

But despite being the one who pushed himself the most, he seemed distracted, not even acknowledging their complaints, just lost in thought.

“Hey. Logwin.”

“Hehe… I wonder what we’ll eat today… Yesterday, we had giant thunderbird iron plate grill…”

“Hey! Logwin!”

“Huh!? Oh…? Ah. You scared me. Why are you shouting all of a sudden?”

“All of a sudden? I called you how many times? What’s up with you lately?”

“…What, what do you mean?”

“Come on. You’ve been so distracted lately.”

“Di-distracted? I don’t know what you’re talking about. Haha.”

“Hmm~. Suspicious.”

Matilda narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Logwin, who was laughing awkwardly. Unable to bear her suspicious gaze, he finally got up from his seat.

“What? Where are you going?”

“It’s dinner time. I’m heading over to Kurt’s place to eat.”

“Again with Kurt’s group?”

“What can I do? You guys said you wouldn’t eat with them, so I’m sacrificing myself.”

At that, Mina looked at Logwin suspiciously.

“But even so, you don’t need to go every single day, right? You’ve already responded to their invitations enough times to show courtesy.”

At first, they accepted Kurt’s invitations out of politeness, but going to eat with Kurt’s group every day for several days could actually be a nuisance.

But Logwin waved his hands in surprise at her words.

“No, but they keep inviting me back, so I have no choice but to go.”

“Is there something weird going on with you eating there lately?”

Given how often Matilda bickers with Logwin, she knows him best and quickly pinpointed the reason for his strange behavior.

“N-no! What nonsense are you talking about?!”

“Your reaction makes it even more suspicious… Are you doing something weird over there?”

“What? I’m sacrificing myself to eat with Kurt’s group, and you say that? Then why don’t you go eat with them instead?”

Logwin pretended to be angry and shouted at Matilda.

But secretly, he was anxious, fearing Matilda might actually agree to go in his place.

Fortunately for him, Matilda, unaware of his inner thoughts, declined his offer with a sour expression.

“No… Lizardman’s cooking is a bit…”

“See? Anyway, I’m going to eat with Kurt’s group, so just deal with it.”

With that, Logwin quickly left, taking advantage of Matilda’s hesitation. The remaining three fell into silence.

“…”

“…”

“…”

Once Logwin was completely gone, the three of them exchanged their thoughts in hushed voices.

“…He’s definitely suspicious.”

“Totally.”

“It’s hard to find anything not suspicious about him.”

Their opinions quickly aligned.

Clearly, Logwin’s recent suspicious behavior was related to eating with Kurt’s group.

“We should follow Logwin. We need to see what weird stuff he’s doing over there that’s got him so distracted.”

“Hahaha. I bet he’s up to something weird.”

“Wh-what do you mean, something weird…! It’s just…”

At Mina’s words, Matilda’s face turned as red as her hair, and she trailed off.

Listening quietly, Jerry closed his book and spoke up.

“But it’s clear something unusual is happening.”

“Hahaha. This is definitely a follow-him situation.”

“Y-yeah! If Logwin is doing something weird…! That jerk. How could he…!”

At that, Matilda, her face still red, clenched her fists and stood up. The three of them decided to follow Logwin.

.

.

.

In truth, following him wasn’t that significant.

They were all part of the same caravan, so they couldn’t be too far apart.

At most, they were a bit further away to cook with fire.

Even then, they were within a minute’s reach in case of emergencies.

As they quietly moved toward Kurt’s group, the familiar delicious scent wafted over them.

“Here we go again. That merchant guy.”

“No matter how rich he is, eating such amazing-smelling food every day? He must be rolling in money.”

“Even the scent changes every day. I’m so jealous!”

Even while sneaking around, the three couldn’t help but quietly complain about the mysterious aroma that had been tormenting them for days.

If someone could afford to eat such delicious food every day, they could at least invite others to join once in a while.

Of course, the merchant wasn’t obligated to, but it was frustrating to eat oat bread and jerky every day while others feasted.

It made the merchant, their employer, seem all the more annoying.

But their complaints didn’t last long, as they quickly arrived at Kurt’s campsite.

In fact, moving slowly and quietly to avoid Logwin gave them just enough time to gossip.

Upon arriving, they saw Logwin’s back and pounced on him like knights uncovering an illegal slave trade.

“Hey! Logwin! What are you doing here, you suspicious…!”

“…”

“…What is this?”

What they saw was Logwin secretly tearing into some meat.

“Ugh…! How did you guys get here…!”

Caught red-handed, Logwin looked at them like a thief caught in the act, but the three were too busy staring at the luxurious barbecue feast Kurt’s group had prepared.

.

.

.

“What… what is all this…?”

Matilda asked, unable to believe her eyes.

On a massive table made of roughly cut logs covered with cloth, there was an array of meats they could only dream of after days of oat bread and jerky.

Scorpion-tailed wolf bulgogi made from the wolves they hunted, giant thunderbird iron plate grill lightly seasoned with paprika, pepper, and salt, and even skewers from the twin-headed serpent that attacked their carriage today.

The dishes, which started with one each day, had grown into a full-blown luxurious feast.

It was nothing like the bloody, dirt-covered meat and bitter grass in a bowl Matilda had imagined, nor was it some strange, illicit activity with Kurt’s group.

Sniff sniff

“This smell…! This is it! The smell that’s been wafting over every day!”

“Is that really…?”

Sniff sniff

“…It’s real!”

Mina, with her keen sense of smell, identified the source of the aroma, and Jerry, sniffing too, confirmed it.

“What the…! Hey! Logwin! What’s going on here!”

Matilda, now angry for a different reason, confronted Logwin, who tried to avoid their gazes.

In a last act of defiance, he whispered timidly to the three.

“I… I did ask if you would go in my place.”

It was a weak excuse, but Logwin said it anyway.

.

.

.

After Logwin was scratched, bitten, and beaten by his companions, he ended up standing in the corner of the campsite with his hands up. Matilda took his seat and angrily spoke.

“Logwin, are you crazy? You were afraid they wouldn’t invite us again if we all came, so you ate alone?!”

“Honestly. I can’t believe I trusted a guy like you as our leader!”

“I’m sorry… I was blinded by my appetite…”

As Matilda and Jerry glared at him with daggers in their eyes, Logwin, finally snapping out of his food craze, hung his head in shame.

His sincere remorse softened their hearts, and they were about to forgive him.

“Sigh… I’m not really mad that you ate delicious food alone. Do you know how worried I was about you acting strange?”

“I’m really sorry… But Matilda…”

“What?”

“Were you serious just now?”

“Just now?”

Logwin looked at Matilda with a serious expression.

Recalling her words, Matilda realized she had said, “Do you know how worried I was about you acting strange?”

While it was natural to worry about a fellow party member, under Logwin’s serious gaze, Matilda felt embarrassed and stammered.

“Th-that…”

“If you’re not really mad, can I keep eating?”

“Hey! Keep your hands up! They’re dropping!”

“Sniff…”

After punishing Logwin, the three turned to Kurt.

Gulp

Or rather, to the food he had prepared.

.

.

.

Despite the sudden intrusion, Kurt generously welcomed them, telling them to eat as much as they wanted.

Thanking him, the three sat down and began to enjoy the meal.

“Wow, what is this! The meat itself is so savory. Even though it’s my first time tasting it, there’s no aversion at all!”

“Ahem! Of course! It’s Mr. Kurt’s cooking!”

“Giant thunderbird meat? Normally, it’d be inedible due to mana corruption… How did you cook this…?”

“Hmph. That’s Mr. Kurt’s greatness. He knows that mana-corrupted meat can be purified and eaten!”

“Hahaha! These skewers are so well-seasoned, they’re amazing! It’s a shame we can’t drink alcohol!”

“What? Hey! You know your stuff! It’s a shame we can’t drink beer during the quest. Hahaha!”

The three enthusiastically enjoyed Kurt’s cooking, making up for lost time.

Meanwhile, Logwin could only watch their joyful meal from the corner of the campsite with a sad expression.

Growl

“Ah. I should’ve eaten more while I had the chance.”

But no one paid any attention to Logwin’s sad muttering.

---