Chapter 41

“Are the french fries good?”

Bringing up princess-related topics seemed like it would only make the mood heavier and weirder, so I just put that aside for now.

“Huh?”

“The ones you’re eating right now.”

“Oh… yeah, they’re delicious.”

Glaria answered while looking at her fingers.

When Ria handed her a piece of tissue, Glaria took it with a “Thank you” and wiped her fingers. It was probably her first time seeing a tissue, but she didn’t act too awkwardly. Since that royalty had communicated with this world, she might have seen tissues at least once. After all, it was a game changer for quality of life.

“The fries here are fried together with chicken, you know.”

“Chicken?”

At that, Ria and I exchanged glances again.

“So, it’s domesticated… bird? I mean, it’s a domesticated animal, right? Do wild chickens exist?”

“Yeah, it’s domesticated. I don’t think wild chickens fly around, though.”

“Ah, so it’s livestock from this world. That means it might have absorbed the chicken’s smell because it was cooked with the meat.”

Glaria, catching on quickly from our conversation, seemed to think for a moment.

“To be honest, if it were a normal day, I probably wouldn’t even touch it. I really can’t stand the smell of meat.”

And then, it seemed she realized that what we were eating was fried chicken. Still, she didn’t pull away.

Well, I guess it’s possible she wouldn’t know what chicken is. We didn’t really know about the animals from another world either. Who knows? Maybe in her world, there are raptor-like reptiles that ride around instead of chickens.

Having already seen giant monkeys that eat giant tigers, imagining similar animals existing in a different world was all too easy.

“But…”

“When you’re hungry, anything tastes good, right? I think I understand what you mean.”

Ria replied and then placed some pickled chicken radish in front of Glaria.

“What’s this?”

“Chicken radish.”

“Is this made with chicken too?”

“…No, it’s just chicken radish because it’s eaten with chicken. It’s like a pickled radish.”

“Hmm.”

Glaria picked up a piece of chicken radish, examined it closely, and then popped it into her mouth.

“Mmm!”

Her eyes sparkled.

“This is delicious! It’s a bit spicy, so it feels like commoner food!”

Hard to tell if she was perceptive or not.

After munching on a couple of pieces of chicken radish, Glaria finally noticed that both of us were using chopsticks.

“…Hmm.”

Looking a bit embarrassed, Glaria stopped eating.

I picked up one of my chopsticks, broke it, and handed it to Glaria. After ordering two whole chickens, I hadn’t considered we would need the extra, so there was more than enough to share.

Watching Glaria awkwardly fumble with the chopsticks, Ria and I continued to silently nibble on our chicken. It was tasty, but… well, it still felt a bit awkward.

“…Oh, right.”

While Glaria concentrated hard on picking her chicken radish, she suddenly looked up at me.

“Are you the one who treated me?”

“Well, yeah.”

I nodded, popping a piece of chicken into my mouth.

“So, you completely detoxified the poison we had no idea about? You even healed the wounds on my back without leaving a trace?”

“…Right?”

“Indeed, that’s impressive.”

Setting her chopsticks down carefully, Glaria stood up.

Then she bowed to me politely. She moved her hands and legs in a way that resembled how royals from her world would show respect.

“I was just doing what anyone would do.”

When I replied nonchalantly, Ria turned her gaze back to me.

“No, it’s not like that. The things no one else can do are what are truly valuable. If I ever return to the world I used to live in, I promise to repay you greatly.”

“It’s okay. It’s not my power anyway.”

At my response, Glaria momentarily looked dazed. Then, as if she realized something, she nodded and said,

“I see. Is this how one worships the gods in this world? I’ve seen it a few times in my own world. Still, most priests tend to want some kind of reward…”

I shrugged and glanced at Ria.

Ria, who had been quietly watching me, shrugged too.

Seeing us start to eat chicken in silence again, Glaria seemed a bit flustered.

“D-Don’t tell me, is that power extremely common in this world? Is it something anyone can use, and therefore you treat it so casually…?”

Is it really common? I’m not so sure, but in a sense, it seems like it might be perceived that way.

I can stitch up broken bodies. If there’s any sliver of chance left for someone, I can probably save them.

But that power isn’t something to be taken for granted.

Yet, the ability to heal what was once deemed terminal or uncurable, to mend severe injuries that could lead to permanent disability, has already been considered common sense in this world.

People think of such powers as ordinary. Those who believe in the gods think it’s natural for them to wield such powers, and those who receive aid from it see it as normal too.

“……”

What should I say while observing such a world? Honestly, I’m not sure. In a world where such powers exist as if they were normal, is there really a need to erect mascots like saints or holy figures? Why create beings that are worshipped by others? Is it necessary to have designated candidates to manage?

I know well enough that the early saints or holy figures weren’t such beings, even though I didn’t study the Bible that hard. If the term ‘Saintess’ is being defined now, that existence wouldn’t be someone who sacrificed themselves to save the world and its people, but just a representative pushed up by the Church.

And it’s clear that it’s not just a pure intention; that’s already been mentioned in the story.

So, I didn’t want to think about it more.

Well.

Worrying about it now won’t yield answers anyway. What matters is how I proceed from here on out.

Leaving the princess, who was making all sorts of speculations, to herself, I focused back on eating chicken.

Ria was also quietly observing me before she moved her chopsticks again.

….

All things considered, since a princess from another nation was in our country, normally, it would make sense for me to contact government officials first, not myself.

This morning, I dropped by to see how things were going, and knowing Glaria was aware of her situation, she greeted me politely as if she was meeting a stranger again.

Ria and I also returned the formal greetings. Official occasions like this usually become quite a hassle.

And there was a different elf who hadn’t appeared in the original story.

This side… couldn’t really speak properly. It seemed they still hadn’t fully shaken off their trauma.

Glaria had gone through various training as a princess, and she had almost lost consciousness while I was treating her, so her trauma might have been manageable to some extent. However, the person who seemed to have arrows sticking out of their back was still a bit scared of people to protect Glaria.

After all, the world itself must be frightening. Even if those wicked beings who chased after them were there, it’s human nature to want to return to where they originally belonged.

There were many people with stories they wanted to share, so I made sure Glaria’s body was alright and stepped outside with Ria.

Just like usual, in the remaining time, we trained together.

Ria’s swordsmanship is always sharp. She’s clearly being considerate about my level as a beginner, but she never slacks off.

When Ria promised to toughen me up, it was sincere.

And I found myself slowly wanting to beat Ria.

Initially, I thought there was no way I could win, but— no matter what, a human will always want to win after some attempts.

Thank goodness, Ria always swung her sword at me in the same manner. It felt like she was saying, “Just try to win this.”

As I somehow moved the large shield, I blocked her attacks in sequence. My body felt much more agile than before.

After observing Ria’s movements and memorizing the order time and time again, I managed to aim the tip of my pink rubber spear at her body for the first time.

“Nice job.”

Ria beamed at me with a huge smile, completely different from the playful smiles before; it was a genuine, heartfelt smile of praise.

“…Hah.”

With the weather warming up, I plopped down on the ground after working hard during the day.

“Here.”

Ria opened a bottle of 500ml water and handed it to me.

“Thanks.”

I gratefully accepted it.

Ria plopped down beside me and opened her bottle.

“Did you know? You might actually have some hidden talent.”

“…Really?”

“Well, it’s not like you’re a genius or a prodigy or anything.”

Ria gulped down water and then looked at me.

“The difference between someone who can protect themselves and someone who can’t is massive. Even if you’re in the rear of the party, if you can just draw your weapon and hit the target right away, you can save your life.”

“……”

I struggled to suppress a twitch at the corner of my mouth.

“And…”

Ria hesitated for a moment before continuing.

“In my opinion, if it’s your power, there will definitely be people who want you to go to truly dangerous places.”

“……”

That’s probably correct.

It was the same with the Saintess.

It was rather foolish of me to have had no preparation at all now.