Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 193 - The Grand Gathering of Interracial Harmony — Entering

Chapter 193 – The Grand Gathering of Interracial Harmony — Entering

 

At the entrance to Moonlight Hill in District 5.

“……”

The Nameless Demon King leaned against a tree, waiting for the companion Grand Duke Karr had invited.

“I guarantee it. They’re someone you won’t regret appointing as one of the Four Generals of the New Demon Realm.”

A talented individual personally recommended by Karr, whose eye for people was nothing short of exceptional.

Surely, this would be someone worth working with.

The Demon King didn’t worry in the slightest about being disappointed.

Had their dependable Half-Elf Grand Duke ever been wrong?

‘My heart is pounding!’

Anticipation. While happily gazing up at the fluffy clouds drifting across the sky, feeding upon the highest-grade positive concepts naturally flowing from Himself…

“They’ve arrived.”

Maintaining the dignity befitting a ruler, the Demon King slowly stood.

Two figures were approaching across the plains that connected to the mountain range.

“…Greetings. Would you happen to be the Demon King whom Sir Karr serves?”

One of them was a Jewel Elf. Though they appeared gentle on the surface, they looked to be quite formidable.

“……”

The other was a Half-Elf distinguished by striking silver hair and silver eyes.

‘…Ho!’

An extraordinary presence. An extraordinary aura. They certainly seemed immensely powerful.

Though not quite enough to make Him immediately want to recruit them as one of His Four Generals.

“Indeed.”

Folding his arms, the Demon King looked down at the Jewel Elf and spoke with regal composure.

“I am the ruler of the New Demon Realm. You must be Elvira, the one said to stand at the pinnacle of the knight-class explorers active in District 3?”

“Calling me the pinnacle would be a bit excessive. But yes, my name is Elvira.”

The Demon King then turned His gaze toward the silver-haired Half-Elf.

“And you… are the Conspirator?”

“Correct.”

The Conspirator, Kyras, raised his chin arrogantly as he answered.

He was holding a large snake plush in his arms.

“Demon.”

“I’ll make this clear in advance. I have no intention of obeying orders, no matter whether you’re the Demon King or anyone else.”

Hug.

Kyras tightened his arms around the snake plush, which immediately breathed flames made entirely of stuffing.

“I’ve only come here… to repay the Golden Crow who guided me onto the path of silent darkness… where I could witness the loneliness of the Silent One.”

It was an openly uncooperative attitude, overflowing with arrogance.

Even so, the Nameless Demon King nodded happily.

‘Despite what he says, not a trace of negative concepts is flowing from him.’

In the past, his heart had been filled with resentment, hatred, and thoughts of revenge.

Now, only a single emotion remained: Devout faith.

Though it was still faith directed toward an Evil God… hardly something positive… it was nonetheless a pure heart, completely cleansed of every filthy impurity.

“I understand. I had no intention of treating you as a subordinate in the first place.”

The Demon King turned toward the valleys running through the mountain range.

“Grand Duke Karr requested that we capture the Whisperer hiding within these mountains, did he not?”

“It won’t be easy.”

Kyras frowned.

“The Whisperer… Zmurtal… places his faith in Fate.”

The branch of Mysteries a shaman could wield depended upon what they believed in.

Moreover, the deeper that faith became, the more powerful and miraculous the wonders they could perform.

“According to Sir Karr,”

Elvira continued, alternating her gaze between the Demon King and the Conspirator,

“Zmurtal should currently be somewhere within Moonlight Hill… meticulously manipulating fate. By now… he’s probably desperately clinging to the destiny in which his plan concludes successfully.”

“A master of Fate Mysteries… He certainly won’t be an easy opponent.”

The Demon King nodded lightly before walking toward Kyras.

“Conspirator. Our objective is the same. Wouldn’t it be best if we cooperated as much as possible?”

“…Agreed. There’s no reason for us to waste time measuring ourselves against one another.”

After carefully stroking the snake plush, Kyras stored it inside his subspace.

Then, with a casual flick of his arm, his clothing instantly changed… from prison garb to a ninja outfit.

“Elvira. Will you lend us your strength as well?”

“Of course.”

“Excellent! Let us go!”

Following behind the imposing demon and the Half-Elf ninja, Elvira… who had originally come only to keep an eye on the Conspirator… slightly curled the corner of her mouth upward.

‘…This should be fun.’

A demon proclaiming Himself the Demon King.

A ninja devoted to a newly embraced Evil God.

For Elvira, who enjoyed observing people prone to unpredictable behavior, it was the perfect combination.

 

***

 

The entry point into Final Stand was completely random.

The possible starting locations covered the entirety of Floskere, the capital of the Meterdegus Kingdom on the Eastern Continent.

According to the setting, the city was roughly twice the size of Seoul, making it practically impossible for different expedition teams to begin close to one another.

Which meant we had time to calmly adjust.

“Shall we all introduce ourselves first?”

As I stepped into the center and spoke, everyone around me stared in utter disbelief.

“…Sis is talking this much.”

Marlin… or rather, someone who was unmistakably someone else… murmured with wide eyes.

“I’ll introduce myself first.”

Already beginning to like Rosalia’s tall, well-toned body, I gave a light wink, poking my left cheek with a finger.

“Cute little Karr… has become the tall and slender assassin, Lady Rosalia.”

“……”

Every member, their minds and bodies now mismatched, fell completely silent.

Now then… Which one of them was the real Rosalia?

Since I could no longer rely on Truthy’s messages, it had been quite some time since I’d had the chance to enjoy a proper deduction.

“Next… Why doesn’t Marlin introduce herself?”

The Tiger Beastman who’d been called upon awkwardly lowered her head.

“I-I-I’m me….

Honestly, I already knew who it was simply from the timid expression.

The expedition member is currently occupying the body of the future legendary thief, Marlin.

The future master butcher… Brightfeather.

“Next… It’s Brightfeather’s turn.”

The parrot Birdfolk, who had been staring only at me, tilted his head.

“I’m Perrin.”

The expedition member occupying Brightfeather, the Birdfolk plagued by catastrophic awkwardness. 

The creature born of Catastrophic Upheaval… Perrin.

“So it was you, Perrin.”

“Yes, Master.”

“Come here.”

“!”

The parrot Birdfolk, whose eyes now looked unusually bold, hurried over and embraced me.

Taking advantage of the difference in our heights, I effortlessly lifted him into my arms.

“T-This feels strange….”

Smiling toward the Tiger Beastman, quietly muttering as she watched us, I examined the colorful Birdfolk nestled against me.

“Are you trembling?”

“I keep feeling anxious… and my heart won’t stop pounding. My body keeps shrinking back….”

It was the status effect Anxiety caused by Fear of the Unfamiliar.

Traits remained with the body, not the mind.

Which meant Perrin, as the new owner of Brightfeather’s body, had to bear those anxious emotions himself.

“It’s alright, my little one.”

Gently stroking the head of the child trembling in my arms, I looked toward the next person.

“Next… Perrin?”

The Birdfolk, whose name I’d called immediately, looked up.

“Yes, Master?”

“Not you, the person occupying your body.”

“That’s me.”

The golden-haired wolf Beastman grinned brightly.

The expedition member occupying the body of the monster I’d created… Perrin.

The monster of friendliness… Pendrick.

“Pendrick’s trademark smile actually suits Perrin’s appearance rather well.”

Still adjusting to my new height, I gave him a refreshing smile.

Pendrick flinched.

“…Wow. This really feels weird, Seeing Lady Rosalia talking this much… and smiling so brightly.”

“You’ll have to get used to it.”

Nodding, I turned toward the massive Gray Orc.

“Now then. Tell us who you are. But I won’t accept your answer… unless you first give a presentation lasting at least thirty minutes… sharing your thoughts on swapping bodies… followed by your adaptation plan.”

“So please answer sincerely.”

“…You already know who I am.”

The Gray Orc… whose eyes now looked noticeably more innocent… awkwardly stared down at her thick arms.

“Karr… This body’s so heavy….”

“Endure it for now.”

“Hmm… If the person occupying my body is Marlin…”

The golden wolf Beastman… whose expressions and gestures had become much more carefree… turned toward the final remaining Karr.

“Then… Lady Rosalia must be inside the Captain’s body. So the two of you swapped?”

“……”

Cute little Karr didn’t answer Pendrick’s question.

Instead, he simply continued moving his arms and legs, looking fascinated.

I gently set down the parrot Birdfolk in my arms, walked over to the person occupying my own body, and placed both hands on their shoulders.

“Our little Karr. Don’t you have something to say to your big sister Rosalia?”

If this had truly been Rosalia, she would’ve frowned or slapped me long ago.

But Karr didn’t become angry. Instead, he smiled warmly.

“I’m not Rosalia!”

“…Huh?!”

“…Eeh?”

Marlin and Pendrick both involuntarily exclaimed in voices unlike their own.

Pendrick, especially, looked utterly shocked, his eyes going wide.

Which was only natural.

“Asmi… It’s you…?”

“Yep!”

Karr ran over to the bewildered Perrin, throwing both arms around the large body.

Contrary to appearances, it was actually Astrimia embracing Pendrick.

“…Captain?”

The wolf Beastman, who had unexpectedly found himself hugging a beautiful Half-Elf, looked toward me.

“What happened? Why is Asmi…?”

“To put it simply… Astrimia is simply too high-ranking an artifact.”

The body-swapping gimmick of Final Stand existed because participants were caught inside Chaos Disturbance Field, the unique domain of the legendary Eastern Continent shaman, Neuamshi. 

In theory, only people should have had their bodies swapped.

But Chaos Disturbance Field had parted ways with logic a very long time ago.

“The Ego Series artifacts… including Lady Astrimia… possess minds that are simply too noble. So the domain extended the hand of chaos toward them as well.”

“…So this is an extremely unusual exception?”

“Exactly. As you can see… Iquiril… whose sense of self isn’t nearly as developed… remained exactly where she belonged.”

“Kuruk?”

The spirit squirrel perched upon the timid Tiger Beastman’s shoulder tilted its head.

Then, it produced two pseudo-slimes from the shadows.

“Kuu!”

“Kii!”

“As you can see… Maengmaeng and Silsil also retained their own minds.”

“…Wait a second.”

The Gray Orc furrowed her rough-looking brow.

“Then… where did Sister Rosalia’s mind go?”

“Where else? There’s still exactly one body left.”

I lowered my gaze toward the Gray Orc’s waist.

“…Ah.”

Orc Marlin slowly drew Joyful Astrimia from the Hall of Swords.

“…….”

The turquoise blade somehow looked unusually cold.

Receiving everyone’s attention, the artifact sword remained silent for quite a while before finally speaking.

“…Why only me?”

The expedition member now occupying the body of the sword artifact… which normally should’ve remained silent… The taciturn assassin… Rosalia.

The Gray Orc laughed awkwardly.

“If the person with the most combat experience ended up like this… aren’t we doomed?”

I slowly nodded.

“Rosalia’s absence is certainly a painful loss.”

On top of that, none of the other members had received ideal body swaps either.

Clink.

Suddenly, the sound of chains echoed. A revelation from the One of Confusion.

Since I wasn’t currently a cultist, I couldn’t interpret it.

“Lady Astrimia. What is He saying?”

“Umm… I’m not sure.”

Still smiling nonstop while enjoying the real sensation of embracing her lover with an actual body, the Half-Elf tilted her head.

“It’s too vague… Too blurry.”

“That’s normal. The Evil Gods simply don’t possess enough divine power. So their revelations are naturally vague and difficult to understand.”

Normally, they were supposed to be difficult to interpret.

It was only because I usually translated them immediately that everyone else understood.

“But… I think… He’s happy.”

Lord Okail was pleased.

Which, in other words, meant our future had become thoroughly tangled.

“Karr… What do we do?”

“Don’t worry. There is a solution capable of resolving every problem. Though… I’ll only be able to go through with it if everyone agrees.”

Lightly. Gracefully. Moving with the astonishing silence of an assassin, I walked like a cat to a nearby boulder and sat down elegantly.

Crossing my long legs, I continued.

“As I’ve already said… our role in this tournament… is to become the stone that trips Sir Jerix. And naturally… that won’t be easy. Because every strand of fate is currently on Sir Jerix’s side.”

The Great Monster Apostle… the Whisperer, Zmurtal… was a shaman specializing in Fate Mysteries.

Moreover, by utilizing the unique Mystery granted by the Great Monster, he could temporarily become someone worthy of the embarrassingly grand title: Master of Fate.

Thanks to Zmurtal’s manipulation of fate, the hardliner expeditions had almost certainly received the most ideal body swaps imaginable… unlike us.

“We’ll have to rely upon… the teamwork… and adaptability… we cultivated during our preparations.”

Remaining silent for a moment, befitting an assassin, I lightly brushed back my short hair.

“…Or at least… that’s what I told you. My apologies, In truth… that plan was merely a stepping stone… toward creating even greater chaos.”

To nullify the Whisperer’s meticulous manipulation of fate, we had to continue creating unexpected events, one after another, without pause.

Which was precisely why I’d carefully established one clear plan.

So that I could completely ignore it, and instead improvise something entirely different.

“Pendrick?”

I met the eyes of the peerless genius swordsman, currently occupying the body of my child… created through my own impulsive, completely unplanned decision.

“As you’ve already witnessed… our Perrin… can dominate the minds of anyone who meets his gaze.”

“Yes, you mentioned that.”

“I intend to make use of that ability.”

Smiling with the sinister grin befitting an assassin, I revealed my idea.

There existed a brilliant method for instantly eliminating the disconnect between mind and body caused by the body swap.

“Brainwash us.”