194: The Beastman Army’s Mess Hall
“Liz, say ‘ah’!”
I speared a random piece of meat with my fork and offered it to Liz.
We were eating in the mess hall, with its long tables and benches. And since Liz hadn’t prepared the food, a poison taste test was necessary.
It was a good excuse to offer food to my cute maid while saying, “Ah.”
“…In front of the commander of the Third Army, a supreme commander of the Sixth Army shouldn’t be doing this, even to her vice-commander and maid.”
“Then the custom is wrong.”
“…You never change, do you, Master?”
“That’s my best quality.”
“…Ah.” Liz quickly gave in and opened her mouth. After savoring it, she nodded.
“Mmm… it’s fine. My apologies, Lathus-sama.”
“No worries. I’m used to you two flirting.” Lathus said, sitting opposite us.
“No, I meant about the poison tasting.”
“As long as you don’t waste food, I don’t care what you do.”
“You’re so magnanimous, Lathus.”
“Of course.”
“It’s just that… there are surprisingly many people who don’t understand that.”
I had lost a considerable amount of my memories. But I did remember a few people who I’d wanted to throw a finger bowl of water at.
I wish I could forget those memories.
“Well then… I shall partake.” I raised my knife and fork. I took a bite of the meat I’d just fed to Liz, and it melted in my mouth.
“Wow, it’s so tender.”
“You’re human, and the maid is a dark elf. I had them prepare something softer than what we usually eat.” Lathus took a huge bite of a bone-in piece of meat, about five times the size of mine, and tore at it with his teeth.
He’s a carnivore.
“What kind of meat is this?”
“Just beef. Veal.”
“Actually, I haven’t had much beef since I came here… I probably ate more back home.”
Beef was a bit of a luxury in Listrea. They weren’t raised for farming, and there were only a few dairy and beef cattle. While there were a decent number of chickens, pigs, sheep, and goats, if you weren’t picky, there was more magical beast meat on the market. And the dangerous magical beasts were often large.
“Hmm? …What do you usually eat?”
“My maid’s home cooking.”
“…Maid?”
“Well, I’m used to it. For meat, for example, I usually buy what’s on sale at the market.” Liz looked away.
“That’s usually whatever was caught in the last hunt, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” Liz nodded.
“A commoner’s meal… not that there’s anything wrong with that.” Lathus looked at me.
“So, your maid is an assassin, but she’s also a good cook?”
“A maid who does her best with unfamiliar housework is so cute.”
“I was asking about her cooking.”
“I’m happy that she tries so hard.”
“I was asking about the taste.”
“It’s delicious. And she hasn’t burned anything lately.”
“M-Master!”
While not a complete klutz, Liz had been unaccustomed to cooking at first, and her dishes, especially the heated ones, had often been burned. And she sometimes got the measurements wrong. Once, she’d even mistaken salt for sugar. I’d been so impressed. Since it was soup, I’d helped her in the kitchen, and we’d added more ingredients to another pot and adjusted the seasoning, and it had turned out delicious.
“Now that I think about it, why do you have her as a maid?”
“There are several reasons. The main one is that it’s better for me to have fewer people around. Until recently, it was just the two of us in the mansion, and having a dedicated housemaid would have been too risky, in more ways than one.”
“…And the maid uniform?”
“Only a few people know she’s my bodyguard. —It’s a natural disguise for a bodyguard, to pose as a maid who takes care of my personal needs.”
“Why does that sound like a lie?”
“I’m not lying.”
“So, you’re hiding something.”
“Not really.”
Lying was difficult. Not telling the whole truth was, in comparison, easy.
“…I’d like to know, too. I know you like maids, Master… but why me? There are several members of the Royal Guard among the maids at the royal castle, especially around His Majesty.”
“I heard about that later… but…” I smiled.
“You didn’t tell me that, when I asked for you as my maid, did you?”
Liz’s scarf trembled.
I turned to Liz and looked directly into her golden eyes. I placed my hand on hers.
“I… may be an idiot, but I know how to judge character. I needed you, Liz. Many people have helped me. …But you were the one who was always by my side, helping me devise strategies, eliminating assassins who targeted me… is it so strange that I would want you, the one who supported me more than anyone, to be my vice-commander?”
“…It’s not strange.” Liz’s ears perked up slightly. The tip of her scarf twitched.
“And the maid uniform?” Lathus asked, his voice calm.
I turned my head and smiled at him.
“Because I wanted to see her in a maid uniform. She was the most beautiful girl I’d met, the one who would look best in a maid uniform.”
“You just ruined the moment.”
“…You could have just said that about anyone who would wear a maid uniform for you, couldn’t you?” Liz grumbled, turning away.
“If you don’t like it… you can wear your own clothes.”
“Huh?”
“I’ve said it before. If you don’t like it… I’ll change. I’ll play the part of a perfect supreme commander, if that’s what you want.”
“But Master, you’re always saying you need comfort and healing. You can’t do that.”
I shook my head slightly.
“Even so, it’s better than losing my most trusted vice-commander over something so trivial.”
“Can you… do that?”
“I will. On the name of the Lord of Disease.”
“I won’t be in a maid uniform? I won’t make you meals or snacks?”
“…I’ll have to buy something at the market.”
“I won’t sleep with you?”
“…I understand.”
“And I won’t be alone in the bath with you?”
“Yes.”
“And of course, no more flirting with Rebecca or the other girls.”
“Of course.” I nodded.
“What about the Barghests?”
“That can stay the same.” Liz’s ears drooped a little.
“…And you won’t say anything… foolish?”
“…That’s right. I am the Lord of Disease. I will always act as such. —If that is what my vice-commander wishes.”
A silence fell. Lathus stopped eating, and the noise of the mess hall faded into the distance.
“I want ‘the Lord of Disease’ to take her work seriously.”
Liz’s ears perked up, along with her smile.
“But that’s not you, Master.”
