Ch.21Chapter 21. Delicious!

The flickering flames captivate viewers with a mysterious power.

Arsil sat staring blankly at the campfire.

The mesmerizing flames seemed like they would never grow tiresome, even if she watched until dawn.

However, the leader of the two-person subjugation team, who had been camped on the snowy mountain for days already, was getting restless.

“Hey, Tigria.”

She called out to the mage who was scribbling something with a quill pen across the flames.

When Tigria merely raised her eyes slightly in response, Arsil sighed dejectedly.

“Never mind.”

Tigria resumed her note-taking while Arsil turned her attention back to the campfire and the pot suspended above it.

Inside the pot, soup was bubbling away.

Soup was the only dish the Saint knew how to prepare properly.

Strangely enough, since the shield knight was a noble, Lucy was a celestial warrior, the mage was self-explanatory, and Naidrian could survive on berries and herbs foraged from the forest, Arsil had initially been in charge of cooking.

At first, party members complimented her food, but after eating soup for over a week, they grew weary. For Arsil too, having to light fires and cook soup with her exhausted body after battles or training was quite an ordeal.

That’s how they came to recruit the porter.

He was someone who diligently and skillfully handled everything except combat.

He prepared diverse meals and was a capable party member who would take care of things whenever anyone showed even the slightest sign of fatigue or discomfort.

Arsil shook her head.

There was no use thinking about that now.

During their first battle, the hero’s party witnessed the needless sacrifice of their accompanying soldiers and fought fiercely in outrage.

After the battle ended, what Arsil and the other party members saw was the porter hiding behind a small shield, trembling.

The porter who breathed a sigh of relief at having survived among the mangled and dismembered bodies of soldiers.

Overwhelmed with disappointment and disgust, each party member hurled criticism at him.

‘Those soldiers were afraid too, but they sacrificed their lives for their families.’

Upon hearing Arsil’s words, the porter hung his head in shame.

From then on, the porter was treated harshly.

The only fortunate thing was that despite everyone’s irritation and mockery, the porter—aside from some initial reckless behavior—adapted and faithfully fulfilled his duties as a porter.

Only later did they learn he was a civilian, but even then, Arsil had protested to the Imperial Princess.

‘We’re the hero’s party! What are we supposed to do with someone who can’t even handle a sword?’

At the time, they were too busy with endless battles to think clearly, but now that things had settled somewhat, there was room to reflect on the past.

In the flickering campfire, Arsil glimpsed reflections of past regrets or perhaps anxieties about the future.

“I wonder why the porter saved Lucy.”

She hadn’t realized she’d spoken aloud.

The words flowed out unconsciously, drawn by the strange power of the flames.

“He couldn’t even fight.”

‘It was love.’

Tigria wanted to agree but, recalling Arsil’s dismissive attitude last time, she kept her response to herself.

By coincidence, Tigria had also been thinking about the porter.

“What do you think about the porter?”

“…Are you talking to me?”

“Besides me, only Arsil is here.”

It was the first time the mage had initiated conversation.

Though surprised, Arsil was at a loss for how to respond.

“Well, he wasn’t much help except for menial tasks, and then he caused a major incident?”

“Is that all?”

“That’s all. He wasn’t someone who fought alongside us; he just handled meals, camping, and odd jobs.”

“By any chance, was there someone named Lin in the neighborhood where you grew up?”

“That name is extremely common. And no, there wasn’t anyone like that in my childhood neighborhood.”

Tigria accepted this readily.

Lin had mentioned they only had a passing acquaintance, so it must have been a fleeting connection.

“Speaking of childhood, it makes me think of my hometown.”

“Where was your hometown?”

Today’s mage was somehow different.

Caught off guard—Tigria, who usually only spoke about detection or used formal endings, was asking the Saint about her hometown.

Perhaps it was because they were alone.

Arsil shrugged.

“A slum called Sewage Alley, a bit removed from the main territory.”

The Church was reluctant to reveal that the Saint came from a slum.

If she had been the daughter of a commoner family, it might have been acceptable, but Sewage Alley was, true to its name, a place where society’s dregs gathered—a place that had hit rock bottom.

Girls sold their bodies when they came of age, and boys survived by relying on their muscles or cunning minds.

And the adults lived by exploiting these children.

“Never heard of it.”

“Well, hardly anyone knows about it. It’s the Empire’s shame, its final sewer, so to speak. They keep it well hidden.”

“Did you have close friends when you were young?”

“Friends? Well, one girl was a realist who didn’t even weigh a pound, another was a lofty show-off who escaped that place, and then…”

Arsil recalled a man.

A man with shaggy black hair, thin but capable of warm smiles.

Though she dismissed him as weak, his dedication to the gang and his nurturing nature always kept Arsil’s eyes fixed on him.

Leaving him behind on the day she was chosen as Saint, forced by the Church’s coercion and urgency, was a painfully bitter mistake.

‘Arsil! There’s no hope here. We need to clean everything up and find a new place!’

A sudden memory from the past—when Ravin, who had been a hostile force, had cornered her.

Disliking Ravin’s politician-like speech, Arsil had raised her middle finger.

‘Eat this.’

‘You little…! Just submit and join us already. If we combine our strength, our gang will never go hungry or get sick again!’

‘The damn adults who exploited us have already self-destructed.’

With her back against the wall, Arsil raised her fists and took a stance before numerous enemies.

‘If we go out into the world as sewage, we’ll only be treated as sewage. We’ll stay here and cultivate this place anew. We’ll become better people.’

‘We can’t improve here!’

‘If people improve, their living conditions improve too! If we leave now, we’re just pickpockets, thieves, and thugs!’

What followed was a familiar scene.

Ravin’s gang charged, and Arsil beat them with her fists.

The difference this time was that Arsil was facing them alone.

She should have listened to Lee.

He had told her not to go out alone.

‘Boss! It’s Arsil’s gang! They’re circling around behind us!’

‘Seems like Rina is trying to be clever again. Take half the kids and go.’

‘What about you, boss?’

‘That girl can only be stopped by me, right?’

‘Don’t lose!’

Ravin snickered as she drew her dagger.

Arsil wrapped rags around her fists.

‘You have good subordinates who cheer you on.’

‘Yeah, they might not be something to brag about elsewhere, but they’re not shameful.’

‘Our kids are something to be proud of.’

‘Oh, speaking of which.’

Ravin stuck out her tongue and raised her pinky finger.

‘Hand Lee over to me. Then we’ll quietly let just you leave.’

‘…’

‘Wow, look at those eyes. Scary enough to make me wet myself.’

‘I didn’t know you had a taste for weaklings.’

At that, veins bulged on Ravin’s forehead.

‘Weakling, you bitch.’

Kak-kak-kak-kak!

As she sharpened one dagger against another, it made an uncomfortable sound and sparked.

‘There’s no man stronger than Lee. You know it too, so don’t say such things just to provoke me.’

‘Tch…’

‘Besides.’

Madness began to frost over in Ravin’s eyes.

When she made that face, Ravin would give her all.

The provocation seemed to have hit a nerve.

‘Among the men who would accept low, somewhat unhinged girls like us, Lee is the top-tier, isn’t he? Right?’

‘…’

‘What? Can’t agree? Then I’ll take him?’

KWANG!

As mentioned earlier, Arsil lacked patience.

Her sideways punch dented the wall.

Picking up the fragments that fell, Arsil’s eyes weren’t normal either.

‘Try it.’

Words were unnecessary.

The outcome would be determined by who crushed the other’s skull first.

As both sides held their breath and took a step forward, at that moment,

‘Oh my, freeze!’

Rina and Arsil’s gang appeared atop the collapsed buildings.

Aiming crude bows and arrows at Ravin’s gang, Rina’s mocking laughter echoed among them.

‘As planned?’

‘What? I thought you said you were going to circle around behind?’

‘That was a decoy.’

Despite falling into the trap, Ravin remained confident.

Not because the half-wit strategist Rina had appeared.

‘Your being here means…’

Before Ravin could finish, Arsil realized what she was aiming for.

She desperately tried to block the retreat, but Ravin’s gang withdrew quickly.

‘Shoot!’

Rina commanded with authority, but the crude arrows barely gained momentum and weakly stuck in the ground.

‘How about that? Since the boss keeps wandering alone, I devised a counter-strategy.’

‘Rina! What about Lee?’

‘Lee? I assigned him as bait?’

‘You idiot!’

‘Y-you’re calling me, an idiot…?!’

Though she wanted to give her a good smack, Rina was still a member of the gang Arsil had taken in.

She always gave her comrades one chance.

Following her principle, instead of hitting Rina, Arsil launched herself after Ravin’s gang.

‘Boss, where are you going?!’

‘To save Lee, you idiot!’

‘Again with the idiot…’

The ensuing battle was truly brutal.

Breaking their implicit agreement to minimize casualties, Ravin and Arsil clashed with genuine intent.

A dagger grazed Arsil’s forearm, and a fist struck Ravin’s ribs.

‘ARSIIIIIIL-!!!!’

Arsil emerged victorious.

Leaving behind Ravin’s anguished cry, Arsil returned triumphantly to the hideout with Lee supporting her.

‘Boss, are you okay?’

‘Lee, I told you to call me Arsil.’

‘You got hurt because of me.’

‘Because you were in danger.’

‘Rina said that since Ravin wouldn’t harm me, I was optimal as bait. It was all calculated.’

Despite Lee’s defense, Arsil glared at Rina.

Rina couldn’t understand why she was being treated this way.

As Lee said, she had devised a strategy that minimized risks and succeeded, yet the foolish Arsil was giving her the cold shoulder.

Eventually, unable to bear the injustice, she began to cry, and Lee hurriedly approached to console her.

‘Rina’s strategy worked perfectly today. That’s amazing!’

‘What does it matter when that gorilla calls me an idiot?’

‘The boss just hates seeing any of us get hurt.’

‘Yet she, as the boss, stands at the forefront!’

‘Hey! You used a comrade as bait…!’

‘Now, now, everyone calm down.’

As Arsil burst out, Lee soothed them both.

‘We’re really lucky today. I managed to steal some bread from Ravin’s side.’

They probably let him steal it intentionally.

Ravin’s gang didn’t dislike Lee either.

‘And I just happened to make some jam recently.’

Lee revealed a basket he had been hiding behind his back.

‘Ta-da! Jam sandwiches with potatoes!’

‘Sandwiches!’

Arsil and Rina cheered simultaneously.

In Sewage Alley, it was difficult to obtain proper food.

Yet Lee somehow managed to find edible plants and strived to provide the gang with relatively fresh food.

‘It’s not even anyone’s birthday…’

Rina was too moved to continue.

Especially since sandwiches had become the birthday meal for Arsil’s gang after they first tasted Lee’s creation.

‘We won today. Instead of fighting, let’s celebrate our victory!’

Lee distributed sandwiches to the gang members.

When it was finally Arsil’s turn, she eagerly extended her hand, but Lee just held onto the sandwich.

As his straightforward eyes silently pressured her, Arsil grumbled.

‘Fine, fine.’

Reluctantly, she approached Rina.

‘Rina.’

‘What is it, boss?’

‘Using Lee as bait wasn’t great, but… thanks to you, we won today.’

‘Hmph… I’ll refrain from bait tactics in the future.’

Only after the two reconciled did Lee hand over the sandwich with a bright smile.

The entire gang took a bite of their sandwiches simultaneously.

And they all exclaimed:

‘Delicious!’

That sandwich was truly sweet.

Arsil gazed at the campfire with a faint smile.

But the mage didn’t let her dwell in memories.

“And?”

“Huh?”

“Besides the realist and the show-off, who was your other friend?”

“Ah.”

Though displeased at being forcibly pulled from her reminiscence, Arsil answered sincerely.

“There was one, a cute kid.”

“Cute, huh? A crush?”

“W-what?!”

“I read in a book that when a woman calls a man cute, it transcends mere liking.”

“Where on earth would such a thing be written in a book!”

“It exists.”

“I never even said it was a man!”

“Wasn’t it?”

“Ugh! Fine, it was a man.”

Surrendering completely, Arsil faced another question from the mage.

“What did he look like?”

“Why do you need to know?”

“By that logic, nine-tenths of all conversations in this world would be useless and unnecessary.”

“It’s strange hearing that from you.”

“So, what did he look like?”

“Hmm~.”

Uncharacteristically stamping her feet, Arsil recalled him.

The person who still made her heart flutter.

“He had shaggy black hair and was basically thin. Despite that, he was surprisingly strong. He always emphasized the importance of hygiene and a good place to sleep, so he cleaned and made our beds comfortable. Unlike typical slum dwellers, he didn’t speak harshly. Yes, that’s what I liked. Oh right! He was also a good cook! Very occasionally, he’d make jam sandwiches with potatoes…!”

Before she knew it, Arsil was chattering non-stop about him.

Her newfound energy and joy embodied the lively and cheerful Saint people expected.

The mage, observing the Saint intently, sketched her face briefly in his notes.

And beneath the drawing, he titled it:

[Expression of a Woman in Love]

“Ah~ I miss Lee. I want to eat the sandwiches Lee made!”

“Here, jam sandwiches with potatoes.”

It was fortunate.

Ravin had been preparing sandwich ingredients in anticipation of meeting Lin.

With Lucy’s plea, having come down from the snowy mountain without proper food, Lin pretended to reluctantly make sandwiches after a long time.

“This is it, this is it!”

“It’s just sandwiches with potatoes and jam.”

Embarrassed by Ravin’s exuberant joy, Lin handed a sandwich to Lucy as well.

“I’m not sure if it’ll suit your taste.”

Contrary to his concern, Lucy was deeply moved.

A proper meal prepared by Lin.

How grateful she had been, eating without truly appreciating it during the Demon Lord’s subjugation.

Moreover, this sandwich was made by Lin specifically for Lucy.

She couldn’t delay for a moment.

Both Lucy and Ravin bit into their sandwiches simultaneously.

And they exclaimed in unison:

“Delicious!”