Your Majesty, Dinner Is Ready. Chapter 200 - Interracial Grand Harmony Festival – Total Chaos (1)

Chapter 200: Interracial Grand Harmony Festival – Total Chaos (1)

 

Cannibalism.

The greatest taboo, something that could never be tolerated in this harmonious age, was unfolding right before our eyes.

Clank, clank, clank, clank!

The sound of the Evil God Okail’s chains rang out more cheerfully than ever before.

“…Crazy.”

Perin began trembling violently. The anxiety amplified by [Fear of the Unfamiliar].

Covering the eyes of the parrot beastkin whose whole body was shaking, I looked toward our captain.

“Uh… huh?”

As befitted a half-elf who specialized in bizarre antics, she wasn’t exactly horrified.

She merely blinked blankly, looking somewhat flustered.

Tap.

Only after I nudged her side with my elbow did Astrimia react.

“Sis, we should… run away as planned, right?”

‘Figure it out yourself.’

I wanted to say that, but there was a chance this was all some prank meant to provoke exactly that kind of response, so I answered sincerely instead.

“We can’t beat them.”

The battle just now had told me enough. If we fought the Fafnir Expedition head-on, we would lose. Without question.

“…How would they compare to Lord Jerix’s Invincible Expedition?”

“Jerix obviously couldn’t beat them.”

Still, since Jerix couldn’t fight using his own body, he could at least bog them down.

“The bracelet-ripping contest would be troublesome even for Jerix. Ah! Of course, he’d still win, but if he fought a neutral expedition for no reason, he might end up losing one or two members?”

“Yeah.”

“I see…”

After absentmindedly stroking her smooth chin for a moment, the captain glanced toward the expedition that was still feasting on human flesh.

“…Should we ask to form an alliance? They seem like they’d be a huge help against the hardline expeditions.”

“I don’t like that…!”

Brightfeather immediately shook his head.

“Captain… I’m not too keen on that either.”

Even Marilyn, who was positive about almost everything, looked reluctant.

Though unintentionally, the two of them had said exactly the sort of thing that provoked the twisted half-elf captain’s spiteful streak.

Astrimia grabbed my shoulder and said,

“Let’s go. If things go wrong, leave me behind and make sure you escape, Sis.”

“……”

Had Brightfeather or Marilyn said that, it would’ve sounded touching. Coming from this half-elf, however, it sounded deeply sacrilegious.

I simply nodded and approached the Fafnir Expedition together with her.

Crunch. Crunch.

The dragonblood who had been chewing on a beastkin Blank Soldier’s kneecap turned toward us.

“Hello! Nice weather we’re having, isn’t it?”

Smiling brightly despite the utterly inappropriate atmosphere, Astrimia continued,

“Would you perhaps be interested in joining forces with us? If you agree, I’ll show you my beautiful collarbones!”

“…”

“…”

“…”

“…Excuse me?”

Dragonblood Fafnir simply stared silently at Astrimia.

The other expedition members also stopped eating and turned their gazes toward us all at once.

Apparently, they had no interest whatsoever in a half-elf’s collarbones.

“Wait.”

Holding up my palm toward the Fafnir Expedition, I sent Astrimia some advice through telepathy.

There was a negotiation tactic that, under normal circumstances, she would’ve come up with herself and blurted out already.

— …You want me to say that?

The half-elf, unusually hesitant, eventually nodded.

— Judging by the atmosphere, I don’t think we have much choice!

After hesitating briefly, the half-elf put on a provocative smile.

Then she gently beckoned to Fafnir.

“…Wouldn’t you like to eat me?”

“…”

Dragonblood Fafnir quietly began staring at Astrimia. The other members did the same.

All at once, they directed hollow, vacant gazes toward the half-elf captain.

“Y-Youhoo…?”

Astrimia twisted her waist slightly, striking an awkwardly seductive pose.

Normally, she flirted shamelessly with anyone regardless of race or gender, so why was she acting so awkward at a time like this?

“…Elf.”

Fafnir suddenly spoke in a low voice and flicked his hand to the side. He was telling us to move aside.

Since their strength overwhelmingly surpassed ours, I obediently stepped well out of the way.

— K-Karr… Sis?

Left standing there alone, the half-elf captain blinked anxiously. What a shameless performance.

She was probably delighted to be directly exposed to the enemy’s threat.

“Hm.”

Before long, the Fafnir Expedition surrounded Astrimia.

A large group of burly explorers surrounds a beautiful half-elf.

It certainly wasn’t a very reassuring sight, but any danger I could imagine would probably only excite my little sister even more, so it was fine.

— Lord Karr, we’ll prepare to charge. Raise your hand as the signal.’

— Got it.

Marilyn and the others, still inside the building, cautiously prepared themselves for a clash.

— …By the way, doesn’t it suddenly feel weird calling you “Lord Karr” today? Why is that?’

— Whenever I speak to that assassin, I somehow feel like devoting my loyalty to her.’

— Sh-She’s definitely become someone I’m close to, but for some reason she feels strangely distant today…’

While my companions cluttered my mind with pointless chatter, the Fafnir Expedition continued admiring the half-elf’s appearance.

“Mm… u-uhuhu.”

With an odd little giggle, Astrimia exposed her collarbone.

Why did she keep taking off her clothes? Maybe she’d developed an exhibitionist streak.

Finally, after carefully observing the half-elf, Fafnir stepped closer.

“An interesting half-elf.”

“…I’m pretty beautiful, aren’t I?”

Wink.

The half-elf poked her cheek with her index finger while winking.

A killer, cute pose based on the martial mysticism she had recently mastered: [Half-Elf Survival Arts].

“…”

Yet none of the six members of the Fafnir Expedition showed the slightest reaction.

It was truly bizarre. Even my heart had nearly skipped a beat for an instant from such a powerful technique, yet not one of them so much as twitched the corner of their mouth.

— …This reaction is strange, right?

I gave a slight nod, and Astrimia met Fafnir’s gaze.

“So? What’s your answer? Hurry up already. I’m a proud half-elf, you know?”

“Hm.”

Fafnir stepped even closer.

“I cannot deny that you’ve aroused my intense interest.”

The dragon-like eyes unique to the dragonblood slowly filled with greed.

“The vitality overflowing throughout your body. A physique that appears lean, yet perfectly balanced. Flawless beauty. And on top of that, a perfectly balanced collection of Evil God’s Mysteries…”

Looking down at her as though entranced, Fafnir grasped Astrimia’s chin.

“I certainly want to eat you.”

“……”

Crackle!

Suddenly, the black lightning of the depraved Sword of Su’eje began erupting violently.

…What’s wrong with it?

“I know why you made such a proposal.”

Looking displeased at the stinging black lightning, Fafnir continued,

“They say the body of the eccentric cultist ‘Golden Crow’ from District Six possesses astonishing regenerative abilities.”

“…Yes, that’s right.”

“Then you should be able to cut off parts of your body and distribute them.”

The expressionless dragonblood looked over Astrimia’s limbs.

“If you give each of us one arm or one leg, we will gladly form an alliance.”

“……”

I naturally expected her to accept, yet surprisingly, the half-elf frowned.

“You refuse?”

Fafnir tilted his head. As if he genuinely couldn’t understand why she was hesitating.

“Surely you aren’t trying to withdraw your offer now.”

The other members of the Fafnir Expedition simultaneously stepped forward.

Step.

I immediately crossed the dark ground and moved beside the half-elf, [Whirl-Bang Boom-Boom] in one hand.

“You were the one who proposed it first. Why hesitate now?”

Dragonblood Fafnir stroked Astrimia’s chin.

Then, without warning, he turned toward me.

“What intention lies behind this hesitation, Golden Crow Kar?”

Golden Crow? That was Astrimia’s nickname.

Why was he looking at me when he said it?

“…Urgh.”

Suddenly, a headache struck me, as though needles were repeatedly stabbing into my brain.

As I clutched my head and staggered, Fafnir let out a small chuckle.

“I see. So that was your little trick. Quite an impressive ploy… one befitting the laws of the Labyrinth.”

“…Damn.”

Astrimia, who had been anxiously watching me, frowned.

“What? How did you figure it out?”

“If one knows every strategy suited for [The Last Stand], seeing through a trick like this is hardly difficult.”

I had no idea what the two of them were talking about.

One thing, however, was certain.

“If you withdraw after making the offer yourself, then I, too, will have no choice but to resort to force.”

Fafnir finished with a single sentence.

“Just as Jerix would.”

The moment those words left his mouth…

Whoosh.

A werewolf’s claws flew toward Astrimia. Despite this being a friendly exploration tournament, the attack was aimed precisely at her vital points.

Crunch!

I knocked his arm aside with an upward kick, then scattered the poison of the Crimson Death Rose.

Ordinary poison powder. The most basic poison my friend possessed was gaining one new poison every time her rank increased.

Its potency was weak, but it spread faster than any of the others.

“…!”

The entire Fafnir Expedition was poisoned at once.

Taking advantage of that moment, I scooped up the frozen captain into my arms and leapt backward with [Mighty Leap].

Fwoosh!

Hidden high above, Perin immediately fired several arrows in succession.

[Rapid Fire].

The massive members of the Fafnir Expedition, who had already overcome the poison and charged toward us, were struck by the arrows.

Thanks to their enormous bodies, even though Perin wasn’t in great condition today, every shot found its mark.

“Grrraaaah!”

Pendrick, transformed into a golden wolf, charged over and slammed aside the swamp troll lumbering stubbornly toward me.

“You, get inside.”

“…Yes!”

“Krrreeeek!”

While I was ushering the half-elf captain inside, the werewolf let out a bizarre cry and swung its arm at me.

I dodged lightly, then slashed at its wrist with my dagger.

Slash!

I had aimed for the bracelet, but missed slightly.

Even so, the werewolf flinched and recoiled as a wound opened on its wrist.

The effect of [Underhanded Dagger Arts], which poisoned anyone cut by my dagger.

Crack!

Taking advantage of the opening, I tore off its bracelet. One down.

“Kurelelelek!”

Yet even after being eliminated, the werewolf ignored the rule that required eliminated participants to stop moving and continued attacking.

Was it planning to keep attacking until an official arrived, leaving us half dead in the meantime? The nerve.

“…”

“Woooo!”

Moving behind the werewolf as it swung its massive claws, I carved a deep gash across its back.

Then I kicked the back of its knee, forcing it to kneel, and drove [Whirl-Bang Boom-Boom] into its neck.

Thud.

A heavy, satisfying impact.

Then a second time. A third. A fourth.

I stabbed into the werewolf’s thick neck over and over. Blood gushed out in torrents.

“Uo… oooh…”

It seemed it still had strength left.

While Pendrick and Perin held the other explorers back, I stabbed, slashed, hacked, and gouged at the werewolf’s broad back with my dagger.

Fresh blood drenched my entire body.

“…Hah.”

I continued relentlessly butchering its thick, furry back.

“Hah… hah… hah…”

Laughter kept spilling from my lips. A sharp, vivid sensation that had begun in my heart coursed throughout my entire body.

“Hah… Hahahaha!”

Right now… I am alive.