Magic Gems Gourmet

Chapter 250

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ED: LonelyMatter

Chapter 250 – Dragon’s Flame

“Ah, how disgusting…how disgusting…”

“Disgusting…!”

“How ugly!”

The men in robes stopped moving.

At the same time, Ain scratched his nose lightly, feeling complex emotions.

(…It’s a bit sad to be told that one-sidedly, though.)

As they said, the Man Eater that had revealed itself was quite intimidating.

The sight of it drooling from the corners of its mouth was indeed…

No, that would be cruel of him to say.

To hide his feelings, he stroked Krone’s head.

Watching her squirm with ticklish delight, he regained his composure.

Ain took a deep breath to steady himself.

Then, he issued a strong command to the Man-Eaters who were about to attack:

“Capture every last one of them.”

He said.

At that moment, the Man-Eaters all looked at Ain.

Although it was a will that ordinary people would not understand, it was conveyed to Ain, their leader.

“Eh… Hahihi…”

“Fuhie… Heaaa…”

“Hah?”

“Hey, wait a minute. You, the last one. You had something to say, didn’t you?”

His tone conveyed dissatisfaction.

Capture them? It wasn’t an order to kill or eat them.

The Man-Eaters were dissatisfied.

Their opponents were easy to deal with, so they didn’t like being told to capture them.

The evil aura they emitted was different from that of the Man-Eaters in Heim’s capital.

There was no trace of cuteness or beauty. At least, though, it wasn’t a mindless, indiscriminate creature.

The Man-Eater shook its body, wondering if it had heard correctly, and waited for the command again.

“…Capture them.”

Fortunately, the enemy was startled and stopped in its tracks. However, this was a particularly mischievous Man-Eater.

Ain repeated his command in a strong tone.

This time, the Man-Eaters obeyed Ain’s orders.

Vines stretched out, and tendrils grew as they attacked from the ground.

“Ehehea…”

The sight of their ferocious mouths opening and them attacking would be terrifying to anyone who saw it.

The men in robes were confused but retreated to avoid capture.

But it was already too late.

The World Tree of Gluttony’s power was beyond the comprehension of ordinary people.

It was so powerful that it took a group of powerful figures from the past to finally stop it.

“Ain, what’s going on?”

Krone asked, burying her face in the chest of the man she loved.

Ain had already taken his hands away from her ears, so she must be able to hear the Man Eaters’ voices.

“I’m trying to catch them. I’m sorry; just wait a little longer.”

“Yes, that’s fine, but what was that voice earlier?”

“They’re like servants. They sounded loud when they came out, so I covered your ears without asking.”

After answering, Ain turned his attention to the Man-Eaters.

“Y-you… Let go of me!”

“What are these vines? Why can’t I cut them?”

Several of the dozen or so people had already been captured by the Man-Eaters.

It was nerve-wracking to see them open their mouths as if they were about to bite. However, they were obeying Ain’s orders.

Seeing them hung up as if they were toys was quite comical.

“Damn it…! Burn in the holy flames!”

One of the men in robes threw what appeared to be a magical weapon.

When it hit one of the Man-Eaters,

“How’s that? This is the sacred flame of the dragon!”

The moment it hit, a liquid spread out as if oil had been spilled.

It ignited, and a fierce flame rose up.

The smell of burning filled the air, and the Man-Eaters’ petals were instantly consumed by the flames.

“For the sake of God!”

“For the sake of God!”

The men shouted as they had before, emboldened.

The flames burned the entire bodies of the Man-Eaters, and finally,

“Aaahhh…?”

With a weak cry, one of the Man-Eaters withered and burned, never to move again.

As expected, fire was its greatest weakness.

Ain reached for his sword, wondering if he should move as well.

But even Ain was surprised by what happened next.

“E-ehi… ehihihi…”

From the base of the burned-out Man-Eater, a new Man-Eater sprouted.

As if mocking the men in robes, the new Man Eater let out a cry and bound their hands and feet with its vines as if to toy with them.

“E-eh… They’re too energetic…”

Ain looked confused as if he were about to back away.

At least Ain hadn’t commanded it to revive.

This was purely the power of the Man-Eaters. He was astonished that they had come back to life despite being burned.

Maybe it hadn’t been killed after all.

Even though they were his creations, their vitality was awe-inspiring.

He stopped himself from grabbing the sword and turned his gaze to the robed men being captured.

When the last one was captured,

“Krone, it seems to be over.”

“Yes, I understand. W-what… What is this?”

Ain didn’t want to show it to him, but he had no choice.

He had intended to do so at first but realized it was impossible at this point.

“They’re servants of the World Tree of Gluttony. They might look scary, but they won’t attack you, so don’t worry.”

Krone nodded.

Besides, the Man-Eaters were focused on the men in robes they had just captured.

If he told them that they could eat the men, he had a feeling the Man-Eaters would devour them in an instant.

(Well, not that I would ever say such a thing…)

Gripping Krone’s hand tightly, Ain approached the robed man hanging nearby.

“If it’s too painful to watch, you can close your eyes.”

“When I went to Heim to pick you up, I saw a much more gruesome scene. It’ll be okay; don’t worry.”

She had been to the battlefield where Ishtalika and Heim’s forces clashed.

When she thought back to that time, she realized that this scene was nothing to be intimidated by.

She was strong. Still, Ain narrowed the distance between them to protect her.

Then, the man in the robe noticed Ain and tried desperately to resist, but…

“Ugh…!”

The Man Eater was smart. It sensed this and immediately tightened its grip.

Not only were his limbs bound, but ropes were also wrapped around the man’s neck before he knew it.

If he made a single wrong move, the Man Eater would take his life to protect Ain. Its motive may have been mixed with hunger, but it truly wanted to protect Ain.

“Did you know who I was when you attacked me, or did you attack me without knowing who I was?”

The man in the robe remained silent.

The man in the robe remained silent.

He had no intention of answering.

Then,

“Kuh… Hah… Hah…”

“Wait. Stop that.”

“Ah… Ihi…”

I’m impressed that it has the wisdom to interrogate.

Ain cautiously restrained the Man Eater.

After clearing his throat, he asked the same question again.

“Did you know me or not? Answer me.”

“I… don’t… know!”

Are they targeting anyone indiscriminately?

Ain wasn’t sure if he should believe him based on those words alone, but he decided to go with it for now.

Later, he would have to take them to the royal capital or another prison to interrogate them.

“Tell me your name. And tell me what you are doing here.”

The Black Knights should be arriving soon.

Before they arrived, Ain wanted to ask the man who had attacked him some questions.

However, the man in the robe remained silent. Suddenly,

“Holy flames… Holy flames… Ah, please save your followers!”

“Hey, what are you talking about?”

The next moment, the man in the robe shouted loudly.

“To the presence of God!”

“…We must not leave our comrades alone…!”

“Now is the time to go to the great God!”

Ripples spread out in unison.

Following his words, the men shouted one after another.

After that, the sound of teeth chattering could be heard.

“Ain, something’s wrong…”

“I know! What are you guys doing?”

The men in robes were captured by the Man-Eaters.

They were all engulfed in flames at once.

The blaze was intense, like when a single Man-Eater was burned, and the smell of burning flesh quickly spread.

Ain immediately hugged Krone and covered her eyes so that she wouldn’t see the scene.

She seemed taken aback by his sudden action, saying nothing as she stood there stiffly while he held her.

(What is this? Are they taking their own lives to escape interrogation?)

“Ain-sama! What was that sound?”

“W-what are these plants!?”

Men rushed over upon hearing the commotion.

Two men clad in black armor and several royal knights arrived.

“Clive, Cyrus. You came.”

The stone pavement cracked, and Man-Eaters wriggled forth.

The air was filled with the smell of burning flesh and burnt debris.

Confused by the situation, they rushed to Ain’s side.

“Marco. How long have you been watching this?”

“My apologies. It was just before they caught fire.”

Without turning around, Ain asked Marco, who had appeared behind him.

He had also sensed something unusual and rushed over.

“Do you recognize that flame? It didn’t look like a normal flame. It didn’t look like something made by humans.”

“…You’re right. That’s not a flame made by humans.”

“If you recognize it, I want to know what it is.”

Ain smiled wryly, sensing that another argument was brewing.

Laughter was inappropriate, but he couldn’t help laughing at how turbulent his life was.

“It was the flame of a dragon. That’s why it’s so mysterious. How could someone use it?”

Ain snapped to attention. Now that he thought about it, that was indeed what the man in the robe had said.

He vaguely recalled the man mentioning the sacred dragon’s flame and asking Marco for more information.

“It was used through a magic tool. Is that strange?”

Considering that one of the Man-Eaters had been burned, Ain replied.

“No matter how small the scale, that power is undoubtedly that of a dragon. If that’s the case, I don’t think such a small magic tool would be enough to handle it.”

“I see. We’d better consult someone who knows about magic tools.”

The two people who came to mind were Roland and Majolica.

Ain sighed and decided to contact them first thing in the morning.

Perhaps, unintentionally, his classmates would gather together.

“I’m sorry, Marco. I’ll tell you what I know at the mansion, and then you can take care of things here, okay?”

Ain said this while looking at Krone, who was standing in front of him. It wasn’t for his own safety.

Marco nodded without saying anything.

“Then could you bring back the Man Eater?”

“Okay. Thank you; that’s a big help.”

Saying this to the Man Eater, Ain took a small magic stone out of his pocket.

He had been planning to give it to the twins at the port, but instead, he threw it at the Man Eater’s mouth.

“Gii… Gii!”

“Hagya… Gari!”

The magic stone, about the size of a palm, was thrown into the Man Eater’s large mouth.

Though small and insufficient, the Man Eater chewed it happily.

Soon after, it disappeared into the ground.

(Where is it stored?)

“Thank you very much. Since the commander is absent, I will take command. Everyone, check the situation.”

The Black Knights and Royal Knights moved upon hearing the orders.

They approached the men in tattered robes and began to check the situation in detail.

Afterward, Ain pulled Krone, who looked worried, close to him.

“The carriage is coming, so please get in and go home.”

After waiting a short while, as Marco said, the carriage arrived.

Several royal knights surrounded it, with Chris at the front.

It was strict, but such was the case. Ain and Krone boarded the carriage.

(A criminal organization, huh? This could get serious…)

Would this really be limited to just Strohm?

Ain pondered deeply, leaning his cheek against his hand as he gazed out the window.

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