Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 240

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 240 – A Little Commotion and His Power

When he opened the door, it wasn’t quite a different world, but come to think of it, this was the first time Ain had set foot in an adventurer’s guild.

When he began his investigation into the Red Fox a few years ago, he received a letter of introduction from Kaizer, a teacher at the Academy.

In the end, however, he had left the letter with Krone, who had conducted the investigation on his behalf, and Ain had never gone there himself.

“Huh… So that’s how it is.”

Several huge bulletin boards, several meters high, were decorated with papers that female staff members had hung using ladders.

Each piece of paper was of a different quality, and the colors of the letters used were also different. In other words, they must be requests for services or something like that.

Several adventurers stood in front of the boards, nodding and talking to their companions as they examined the papers.

Ain, who had seen the thick wooden floors and the reception desk made of a single plank of wood, relaxed his expression with a sense of anticipation.

“Shall we go to the Guild Master’s office right away?”

“Can I look around first? Since we’re here unannounced, it’s like a surprise inspection.”

Ain replied, glancing at the bulletin board.

“Understood. Then let’s have a look around.”

Chris nodded, and Ain started to walk towards the bulletin board.

He was too late to mention it, but Ain was currently wearing the robe he had worn in Magna.

It was the same robe that Sylvird had used when he was in disguise.

Of course, Chris, who accompanied him, was also wearing a robe.

“Oh, this is unusual. A Black Fuorn showed up?”

“It seems there are several of them?”

“That’s good. Tomorrow, we can hunt Black Fuorn…”

…The voices of three adventurers reached their ears.

Ain knew the name Black Fuorn.

“…This is unusual. I didn’t expect Black Fuorn to appear here.”

Chris opened her mouth in surprise.

“Eh, really?”

“They don’t usually show up here unless they’re heading to the Baltic or areas on the other side of the continent where there aren’t many people. Strohm is pretty close to the royal capital, so I think it’s a bit strange…”

“Huh… Could it be a sign of something?”

“No, not necessarily… There are monsters that occasionally go off course and end up here.”

Ain exhaled in relief.

“That’s good,” he said, looking at the request on the board.

“The client is a commercial guild. They’re looking for a tree over 400 years old. The thickness is… What kind of request is that?”

“It’s probably a request from a nobleman to make furniture. If the wood is so beautiful, there must be monsters living there.”

“And it’s difficult to transport a big tree, right?”

“Yes, it is.”

I see. Ain nodded.

The reward was listed as 980,000G.

He didn’t know if that was cheap or expensive, but it was certainly a decent reward for the average citizen.

“I’ll try something next time…”

“Yes. Of course, it will be rejected.”

With a carefree, lovely smile, Ain was casually rejected with a bell-like voice, and he smiled wryly, thinking, “Yeah, right.”

“The client is Baron Alberro. His wife’s beloved dog, Max, is missing. An urgent search is needed…”

“Ah, ahaha… We get similar requests all the time. It’s easy work for an adventurer, so it’s not a bad way to earn some pocket money…”

The reward is 500,000G.

Should he be happy that he could make some money? Or should he be angry that he had to spend so much money on something like this?

Ain’s feelings were complicated.

“As the crown prince, you must be in a complicated situation.”

“Uh, yes… I think so too, but I can’t really interfere in such things…”

“There’s no end to it. Well, I guess it can’t be helped.”

Then—thud!

Suddenly, Ain was pushed hard from behind.

“Get out of the way. If you’ve read it, move on.”

“Are you a newbie? Hey, make way for your senpai.”

Two muscular adventurers stood there.

They deliberately pushed Ain aside with their hands and looked at the request written on the blackboard.

“Sorry, sorry. This is my first time here.”

“Damn it. An amateur like you should just be eaten by monsters.”

“Hahahahaha! Hey, you, that’s going too far!”

Ain, who hadn’t really been paying attention, apologized sincerely and moved away from the bulletin board.

Their attitude wasn’t good, but from Ain’s perspective as the demon king who called himself the World Tree of Gluttony, they seemed somewhat cute.

“Ugh!”

Chris, however, showed her irritation and reached for her sword.

The two noticed her movement and turned with a half-smile.

“Are you looking for a fight? You.”

“Are you a woman? Is it okay for you to do that?”

A tense atmosphere filled the room.

Ain looked at Chris to calm her down, then stood in front of Chris.

“It looks like her sword belt is loose. She didn’t try to draw her sword, so don’t worry about it.”

“Huh… Do you really think such a stupid excuse will work?”

“No, right?”

(Eh… Is this really happening? No, never mind. Let’s just drop it.)

Ain was willing to let it go.

So he hoped that Chris would also let it slide when she reached for her sword.

If he wanted to nitpick, Chris’ hand didn’t actually reach the rapier. Ain stopped her before she could.

“If that doesn’t work, what am I supposed to do?”

“Money or women will do. Pay me as tuition.”

“Well, that’s only fair. Are you new here?”

At that moment, Ain felt sadness.

He had thought that the people in Ishtalika were more civilized… or maybe he had wanted to believe that.

They were adventurers, but not all of them were ruffians. Ain understood that deeply from his conversations with Kaizer and Majolica.

Or maybe it was because this was a newly founded city that allowed such freedom, but it was difficult to let go of all that.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t accept either of those. Can we just end this with an apology?”

Seeing Ain and the others, the attitudes of the surrounding adventurers varied.

Some looked at them with excitement, wondering if a fight was about to break out, while others looked at them with disbelief.

The guild staff got up in a panic and ran to the back room. They must have gone to call their superiors.

“My partner and I are famous adventurers in Baltic. We’ve hunted near the former Demon King’s territory and even defeated monsters in the mountains further inland.”

“Newbie. Just keep your mouth shut and obey your seniors. Got it?”

“I heard that the Demon King was recently resurrected, but he’s no match for us!”

“Hahahaha!”

They were just living their normal lives, so there was no need for them to act threatening.

Ain’s cheeks twitched.

“Well, you probably don’t have any money, so I’ll take the woman.”

At that moment, the adventurer leaned forward and held out his hand to Chris.

Of course, Chris was capable of handling him herself. But they shouldn’t have done that in front of Ain.

If it had been verbal abuse or violence directed at Ain himself, he would have laughed it off.

But…

“…Huh? What are you grabbing, you bastard?”

Ain grabbed the adventurer’s outstretched arm before it could touch Chris.

“Let’s not do this. It’s for the best.”

It was the last warning. …Then Chris, standing behind him, felt the pure magical power rising in Ain’s body.

If he wasn’t an ally, Chris would be terrified. Just facing him would send a shiver down her spine. Ain displayed such pure power.

Ain’s height was still within the range of a human.

However, the power he had displayed in the royal capital of Heim—the power of the giant world tree—was still contained within his body.

But it was Chris, with her keen sense of magic, who noticed it.

The two adventurers, unaware of what was happening, looked at Ain with grinning faces.

“Yes, yes, I understand. Just go to sleep.”

Then another adventurer, who had not reached out to Chris, raised his arm and swung it down toward Ain’s cheek.

…But the arm stopped halfway. Because,

“…Ah…”

Suddenly, the adventurer who had reached out for Chris gasped and rolled his eyes.

His face turned pale, his lips trembled cowardly, and his legs, like those of a fawn, lost their support.

He collapsed in a heap, and the adventurer who had been about to attack Ain stopped in surprise.

“Y-You… What did you do!?”

Then, surprised by Ain’s mysterious power, he stopped his fist and grabbed Ain’s chest.

And he understood. He understood why his partner had fainted. He understood what his partner had seen before he fainted.

“I didn’t do anything. I’m just the Gluttonous World Tree.”

“Uh… What… that… ah…”

He looked into Ain’s eyes. Ain’s eyes were as beautiful as jade.

However, behind that beautiful gem, Ain was hiding his power.

This was exactly what he had seen.

When Ain, Cain, and Silvya went to stop the World Tree of Gluttony. He remembered the black viscous liquid flowing from the wounded World Tree of Gluttony. And in it, numerous gigantic eyes were writhing and glaring.

Even Arche, the demon king, was afraid of the existence of the World Tree of Gluttony.

Those who sensed its presence through their eyes were unable to withstand its power and lost consciousness.

“A-Ain…sama?”

What was he doing? Chris, standing behind Ain, could only see that the two men had suddenly collapsed.

Pull, pull. Chris tugged timidly at Ain’s sleeve and asked with a questioning look what he had done.

“She’s mine. Don’t touch her.”

The words slipped out naturally.

Actually, she was his bodyguard, but that was left out.

Why did these words slip out? The answer was simple.

It was because he had acted like Demon King Ain, which caused a strong feeling of excitement and exhilaration to arise in Ain’s heart.

It wasn’t the same dark emotion that had previously driven him crazy, but rather a pure feeling of exhilaration that Ain himself felt.

Perhaps that was why Ain finally said those words.

(…I got carried away.)

To be honest, it was really embarrassing.

What am I saying? While he was scolding himself, Ain felt Chris tugging at his clothes, but he stopped for a moment.

“It’s nothing. I was just looking from up close.”

“U-ugh… Is that so?”

Startled by Ain’s sudden approach, Chris blushed under her robe.

Meanwhile, Ain wanted to bury his head in his hands.

The hormones released by the Demon King’s behavior had once again affected Ain’s actions.

“But I didn’t think that we would end up in such a commotion. Is this normal?”

Was beating them unconscious too much?

He had come unannounced, hiding his identity as the crown prince, so maybe he should have endured the commotion.

Or maybe he should have waited for the guild officials to arrive and settle things peacefully. Ain asked himself these questions in his mind.

The fact remained that he couldn’t forgive them for going to Chris.

In that case, it was probably the right decision. Ain came to this conclusion.

Even if he had tried other means, he would have ended up resorting to violence. In that case, his recent actions weren’t so bad after all.

“Um, well… actually, personally, I didn’t think the turmoil was that bad… In fact, I kind of welcomed it…”

“…What an interesting reaction. Thank you.”

In the end, Chris was the one who gained the most.

Even if it was because she was in high spirits from the person she had feelings for, being told that she was his was the ultimate reward for someone with a puppy-like personality like Chris.

Not to mention that she was touched by the look in Ain’s eyes when she saw him up close.

In the noisy guild hall, the sudden silence that fell when the two collapsed was striking.

The two paid no attention to the contrasting atmosphere, instead creating a relaxed atmosphere around them.

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