Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. – Chapter 196 – The Grand Gathering of Interracial Harmony – Total Chaos (3)

Author: Cireng

Chapter 196 – The Grand Gathering of Interracial Harmony – Total Chaos (3)

Somewhere within Floskere, the vast forest-city.

The members of the Moonlight Expedition, excluding their captain, had gathered together.

“Alright, everyone, look over here!”

The blond Half-Elf cultist, Astrimia, gracefully spread both arms wide as she changed her appearance with Transformation.

Her hair became slightly longer, she donned a dazzling golden tailcoat, and even her appearance became a little more glamorous.

“Well? How do I look? Pretty impressive, right?”

The cultist, who was always doing bizarre things, was up to something strange again today.

“W-Wow… You look amazing….”

The kind ward, Brightfeather, forced himself to cheer.

“I knew you’d appreciate it. Br… Laife, you like this sort of thing.”

“Huh? Me…?”

The Tiger Beastman, who had been squatting beside me with her head resting against my shoulder, blinked blankly.

“Isn’t Lady Perrin the one who likes things like this…?”

“…Ah. That’s right…. You’re right.”

“…Did You just confuse me with Sir Perrin?”

“As if I’d ever do that!”

“Then why did You just….”

“Hm? One of the corpses shifted slightly off the altar.”

The Half-Elf captain deliberately changed the subject, adjusting one of the offerings.

Just as I’d thought… today, every member, Astrimia included, was in unusually poor condition.

Perhaps it was the aftereffects of being caught within Chaos Disturbance Field.

‘Was that really its effect…?’

Suddenly, I couldn’t remember what the special rule unique to Final Stand had been.

Even Jerix the Invincible, one of the Twelve Heroes, had supposedly been unable to fully display his overwhelming might here.

Apparently, I wasn’t quite right either.

“Anyway! I’ll begin the most beautiful sacrificial ritual in the entire world!”

The Half-Elf captain raised both hands high.

Crackle!

Lightning burst forth, almost as though cheering the cultist on.

Astrimia, still smiling, suddenly widened her eyes.

“Huh? It doesn’t seem like He’s very pleased….”

She glanced upward. Her golden eyes fixed on empty air.

“Ah! So You don’t care about hair length at all… but being handsome absolutely has to be preserved? What an incredibly picky Evil God! No wonder You declined!”

Crackle!!

“Why are You getting angry at me? Your religion has already collapsed into ruin!”

Watching the captain openly argue with an Evil God in completely informal speech, Marlin, who had temporarily removed Mask of Caprice and returned to being human… scratched her chin.

“She was already like this before… but today she seems even less like a cultist. Even if that’s her god… is it really okay for her to treat Him like that?”

Normally, even if she acted playfully, her reverence always remained. Now, not even a trace of faith could be seen.

She looked exactly like an ordinary explorer who simply looked down upon the Evil Gods.

‘…This is far too strange.’

The feeling of unease refused to disappear.

My instincts as an assassin kept sounding alarms.

Had all of us, myself included, been unknowingly caught in some kind of mental Mystery?

“Alright! Alright!”

Eventually, whether she’d surrendered to Su’eje’s demands or not, Astrimia adjusted her appearance until she looked even more handsome.

Only then did she approach the altar where I’d arranged all the offerings.

“Well then! The ritual begins now!”

Raising her right hand above her head, Astrimia slowly pointed toward the pile of corpses. In only a short time, the Blank Soldiers… each with their own distinctive appearance… had all transformed into gaunt, beautiful people with attractive features.

“Ta-da!”

Astrimia looked at me, her expression oddly nervous.

“Well? Please tell me what You think.”

“……”

“…Big Sister?”

Looking over the corpses, all of them burdened with overwhelmingly handsome appearances, I answered,

“Not very good.”

There was nothing particularly amazing or novel about it. It was only an illusion.

“…Really? I think they’re fine.”

Perrin, who had been quietly hiding behind hid wings, finally spoke.

The appearances certainly suited the tastes of the parrot Birdfolk, who loved anything flashy.

Brightfeather, ever curious, raised a hand.

“Even if You do this… it’s only their appearance that’s changed. Will it really suit Su’eje’s tastes?”

“Apparently it will.”

“…Huh?”

“I mean! It’s perfectly fine. Su’eje appreciates the effort people put into improving their appearance. So even layering an illusion over someone counts as an extension of makeup. Strictly speaking… He wasn’t like that before. But His standards have become somewhat more lenient these days.”

Evil Gods truly were absurd beings. If not for the mercy of the Good Gods, they would’ve vanished long ago.

Yet even now, they remained impossibly demanding. Ridiculous.

Astrimia, being a cultist, at least made Su’eje feel somewhat useful now. But I still didn’t think He was worth keeping alive.

“Anyway! I’ll make the offerings even more splendid!”

With exaggerated gestures, the Half-Elf captain carefully refined the offerings’ appearances using Illusion.

Sharper eyes, Even thinner bodies, Radiant smiles upon every face.

Even after the changes became nearly impossible to distinguish, Astrimia continued decorating them.

“Sparkly Captain! A little more around the waist…”

“Yes!”

Only after everyone except Perrin had grown so exhausted they began nodding off did the Half-Elf captain finally finish.

“…Phew.”

Looking deeply satisfied, Astrimia wiped the sweat from her forehead and placed a hand upon the offerings.

Now she’d recite the prayer.

“Umm…”

She hesitated for a moment, staring into empty space.

Then, her expression brightened.

“You’d rather admire my beauty than hear a thousand lines of prayer, right? The offerings are ready.”

Smiling faintly, Astrimia withdrew her hand from the offerings.

“Dinner’s ready!”

The instant those absurd words, which somehow always appeared during these rituals, left her mouth…

CRACKLE!!

Violent black lightning burst from near the captain’s collarbone, engulfing the mountain of offerings whole.

“…Finally. Watching Captain’s sacrificial rituals is honestly so boring.”

While Marlin quietly complained, the black lightning continued raging, burning away every offering.

“…Ah!”

Suddenly, the Half-Elf captain shuddered, making a strange noise.

“Th-The Evil God’s presence….”

Brightfeather, who had finally succumbed to sleep and was now lying with her head resting on my lap, spoke drowsily.

As I gently stroked her disheveled hair, the Half-Elf captain began chatting away.

“Oh! Hello, Yes… I guess things just turned out this way. To talk with You… I have to strip completely first? Oh, come on! That’s a lie! I’ve never had to do that before!”

She was always noisy, but today she was especially restless.

Even while receiving an oracle from the very deity she worshipped, she remained lighthearted and completely lacking in dignity.

Even to me, an assassin, their relationship didn’t resemble that of an ordinary cultist and Evil God in the slightest.

“Really? Oh, please. No matter how much You flatter me… nothing’s going to happen! Alright, Just a moment…. Hup!”

Astrimia suddenly pulled aside part of her clothing, revealing her collarbone.

“……”

I immediately covered Brightfeather’s eyes.

“Big Sister… Why?”

“…Stay still.”

I’d always wondered this, but… should such a deranged cultist really be raising two young siblings?

At least she wasn’t the sort who’d sacrifice children alive. Still, she couldn’t possibly be good for their emotional development.

“You want me to expose even more? I don’t particularly enjoy something like the joy of exposure, though! Oh, honestly! No amount of compliments will change my mind!”

Smiling brightly, the Half-Elf captain completely pulled back her upper garments, raising both arms shyly.

At this rate, she’d start removing her pants too. The thought had barely crossed my mind before she slowly began lowering them.

“……”

I quietly turned my head away.

If only Young Master’s excessive gloom and Astrimia’s excessive brightness could somehow be mixed together, perhaps their flaws would cancel one another out.

“…Sigh.”

Pendrick, who had been silently watching his Master’s antics, let out a long sigh.

Then his eyes met mine.

The wolf monster looked around awkwardly, searching for words, before finally speaking.

“…Our Master… is really strange, isn’t She?”

There was no need to ask.

Nod.

I nodded immediately, without hesitation. A strange smile… as though suppressing laughter… appeared on Pendrick’s face.

“Even my underwear? No! That’s enough! Seriously, stop!”

Only after exposing her long, slender legs completely did the Half-Elf cultist finally stop undressing.

She continued staring into empty space for a while before speaking again.

“Oh! That really is perfect. Lord Su’eje… I prepared a huge quantity… and made them all meticulously handsome… So this counts as a special meal, right? It’s still a little questionable? Come on! I even showed You my body! Just this once! Oh? You’re surprisingly generous. Thank You!”

Apparently, some sort of negotiation had concluded.

“Please grant me… the Sixth-Tier Mystery… Flash Kwaa-Kwang!”

Crackle.

A faint spark of static danced near the Half-Elf captain’s collarbone.

Brightfeather, whose eyes had remained covered by my hand the entire time, murmured,

“I guess the Evil God has gone back now….”

Only after the promiscuous Half-Elf had fully dressed again did I finally remove my hand.

“The ritual’s over!”

“……”

“Big Sister… Why are You looking at me so pitifully? Are You embarrassed by me?”

“Yes.”

“…Mm. To be honest… so am I.”

Just as the Half-Elf captain trailed off, avoiding my gaze…

Rustle.

A presence suddenly emerged from deeper within the forest. Two of them.

Given their number, they were far more likely to be labyrinth ghosts than another expedition.

“……”

Without a word, I pointed toward the direction where I’d sensed them. The captain’s expression immediately turned serious.

“…Enemies?”

“Yes. Two.”

“Everyone, prepare for battle!”

I gently lifted the Tiger Beastman, who had been resting on my thigh, then slipped into the shadows.

Crouching inside the small, dark space, I stared toward the approaching presence.

“So… You were here.”

Before long, the enemies stepped out from between the trees.

A giant wearing a crude gas mask and beside him, a robed human who looked especially small due to the giant’s massive frame.

‘A mage.’

I couldn’t identify the exact Class yet. There wasn’t much point in trying anyway.

Mages could always learn magic from secondary schools of study.

One thing, however, was certain. They were soldiers of the Valterium Empire, indiscriminately slaughtering the surviving citizens of the Meterdegus Kingdom.

“Maengmaeng.”

“Kuu!”

I took a portion of the purple pseudo-slime’s body and coated the dagger Whoosh Whoosh Bang Bang with it.

“I’d recommend not resisting.”

The expressionless human mage lightly tapped his palm with a short wand.

“If you resist… I’ll have no choice but to kill you. But if you surrender… you’ll be granted the opportunity… to become glorious soldiers of the Valterium Empire.”

“You certainly seem confident in your abilities.”

The Half-Elf captain replied, using the madman’s conversational style disguised beneath gentle politeness, just as always.

“But… What a shame.”

A smile, far more natural, and more captivating, than before.

“We’ve unfortunately been cursed. If we surrender to our enemies… we die. So… we don’t really have a choice.”

As she spoke, she extended one hand toward the shadows.

Her index finger pointed toward the enemy.

“……”

Through the Mystery Shadow Tribe, the world of shadows was entirely interconnected.

Even if two places weren’t physically… or mystically… connected in the real world, one could freely travel between them here.

Slip.

Breaking through the confined shadow-space, I burst outside.

Darkness comfortably enveloped me from every direction.

Swimming through it as though underwater, I came to a stop and looked upward toward the human mage’s back.

“……”

One quiet breath.

Then, I shot upward, swinging my dagger. Its blade aimed precisely for the back of his neck.

“Oh?”

The attack didn’t connect.

I had clearly cut through his body, yet the dagger simply passed harmlessly to one side.

“An assassin.”

The mage lazily waved his wand, as though conducting an orchestra.

Hummm.

At that instant, a splitting headache… as though a massive thorn had been driven into my skull… assaulted me.

My consciousness began to fade.

‘…Mental magic.’

I immediately widened the distance between us. And yet… even after retreating, the mage still stood directly before me.

“It seems… I need to make our positions perfectly clear.”

The mage waved his wand once more. Immediately, the surrounding scenery began to change.

“Pointy ears. Is there a memory… so dreadful… you’d rather never recall it?”

The mage’s figure slowly began disappearing.

At the same time, the world around me twisted.

“From this moment onward… you’ll relive… the most horrifying memory of your life… ten times.”

The most horrifying moment of my life.

“…Ah.”

My body instinctively flinched.

The day I’d been forced to kill my younger sister, Liliana.

Surely, that unbearable memory… the one I never wished to see again… would soon unfold before my eyes… Or so I’d thought.

Instead, the place surrounding me wasn’t the Brites Family’s assassin training grounds. It was somewhere bright, with an oddly old-fashioned atmosphere.

Just as I shook my head and prepared to look around…

Flutter.

Something small landed gently atop my head.

Slowly looking up, I froze.

“…A butterfly?”

Countless butterflies, each a different color, fluttered throughout the space.

Lively. Vibrant. As though they intended to fill every corner of time and space itself.

Flutter.

“Oh my.”

And then… Standing amidst that grand spectacle of butterflies was a single person.

A golden-haired Half-Elf, clad in magnificent ceremonial attire that fluttered gracefully.

“It’s still too early… for you to be here.”