CH 56

Chapter 56 – Fire-Breathing Magical Beast & Sweet Things

“Yes, this is it!”

Merel-san looked at the car and let out an exclamation of admiration.

“…This one?”

I figured it…

The Humvee and the school bus lined up at the entrance to the canyon below the cliffs of the Casemaian.

At the time of my return, I was unconscious; hence I couldn’t store them, so they parked here, and it seemed that they walked me back. After removing the keys from both vehicles, they put up a simple barrier, and the M60 in the back of the Humvee was also removed because it was unused and returned to its storage place in the church basement after maintenance. It seems to be Kemich’s instruction, and it’s well organized.

“Yoshua-san, why are you so disappointed? This is exactly the same fire-breathing steel beast we saw back then.”

In fact, when the Humvee-equipped M60s launched the attack in the battle at the crossroads of the highway, the Imperial Army camp was in an uproar. It seems that people ignore the orders and run away, thinking that the Demon King’s army has come to take back the Demon King (in this case, Merel-san).

If it were just light machine-gun fire, it wouldn’t fit the image of “breathing fire.” Aside from the magical beast, the vehicle’s body is made of steel… or at least a similar material, and although it may be spewing fire, it seems very small. It feels like it’s not quite right.

Since it is the Demon King, I would like to see it appear with an army of raging tanks. It seems that there is a weight limit, so it’s impossible for me.

“This is one of Yoshua-san’s familiars, isn’t it?”

“It’s not a familiar; it’s a vehicle I bought. The one who is in charge of it is Minya, the Elf there.”

“Mufufu… my Hanbi has been promoted to the magical beast.” [T/n: Humvee.]

“Don’t be so happy. …Or rather, is that a promotion?”

“Hey, that’s not fair! I want my Torajima-go to be a magical beast, too!”

“I don’t know anything about that. It’s not my job to certify it.”

It doesn’t matter, but before I knew it, the school bus had been painted with tiger stripes, just as I had predicted.

The original body color was yellow, so it didn’t look out of place at all. There’s even a tiger face on the hood with fangs bared and a smile on its face… The fact that it looks a little bit like Yadar and has a smug look on its face makes me nervous.

“It’s already decided.”

“What is it? You know, it’s not like the Demon King’s familiars are referring to this kind of thing. It’s not a magical beast, it’s just a vehicle.”

“All right, then, let’s see Humvee’s face.”

“Stop it. Don’t say “then.” You don’t know what you’re talking about. You don’t get it. You don’t even want to get it.”

“Hmm. But I also want something that is uniquely me for this child. Can I at least have an ear? I want something Elf-like here.”

“…Whatever. Do what you want.”

“Yay♪”

It’s troublesome here, so let’s leave the Humvee’s management to Minya. But what kind of surreal military vehicle has a side mirror with Elf ears?

In the first place, it seems that in the Casemaian (or rather, in the subhuman society in general), there is not much awareness of “personal ownership” when it comes to giving or not giving.

In a rural, primitive communist system, the difference between rich and poor is adjusted by sharing within the community, and surpluses are usually treated as common property. Rights and freedoms are… shared by all, as are duties and responsibilities.

For example, the “Muscle Brain Girls” may claim the car as “theirs,” but this does not mean that they are occupying it, but rather that they are declaring it as the primary caretaker. The people around them are considerate, but they are not absolute.

“I’m not a Demon King, okay?”

“…Yes, I know. I will keep this matter confidential.”

“No, I’m not feigning it. I’m serious, okay?”

Merel-san and the others bowed their heads and left, but they definitely misunderstood me. I’m not even sure if it’s a misunderstanding or not.

“Hey Yadar, did all the Yerkel people arrive safely?”

“Of course. My Torajima-go brought them here gently, safely, and comfortably.”

“I see. Thank you. That’s a relief.”

“D-don’t be… s-stupid!”

“Huh?”

When I thanked her, Yadar stared at me with an embarrassed and angry look on her face.

“That should be our line! It’s because you guys stopped the Imperial Army that we were able to break through there! That’s why, I’m really…!”

The tiger girl looked down, and I turned my attention to Myrril and Minya.

“Actually, Yadar wanted to fight together with us. But she prioritized the safety of the people of Yerkel. It was an unusually calm decision for Yadar, who rushed in without thinking.”

“Thanks for the explanation, Minya, but that last part was unnecessary, wasn’t it?”

“It’s true. It’s a compliment.”

No, you may be right.

“…It can’t be helped. I mean, there were all those little kids, and I couldn’t involve people who couldn’t fight in something dangerous.”

“Yeah. Thank you, Yadar. You… and the Torajima-go were a big help to us.”

“No, I’m not!”

I stored the school bus and Humvee while watching the two muscle brain girls poking around the tsundere tiger girl. I’ve heard that both Yadar and Minya want to keep their magical beasts within the walls of Casemaian.

That’s fine, but it’s not a magical beast.

“I need something a little easier to get around. A motorcycle, ATV, or even a bicycle would be fine.”

“Oh, is that a new vehicle? What’s it look like?”

“Face-painting?”

“What kind of gun you gonna put on it?”

“There’s no face on it, nor is there a gun! It’s a vehicle that acts like a little horse. I’ll arrange some for you later. You can ride if you want.”

“‘”Yay♪”””

A tiger girl riding a bicycle sounds like fun, like a circus. I’ll try to get a unicycle or something. It’s useless for anything other than fun, though, since it can’t be used for transportation, combat, or shipping.

◇ ◇

With the snacks I had acquired while procuring new supplies, I visited the people who had been rescued from Yerkel. It seems that they are staying in various places in Casemaian until the redistribution of housing is decided. I heard that they were gathering at a square with a huge tree to interact with the residents of Casemaian at this time, so I headed there.

Yadar told me that they were able to return safely, but I thought I should see them and greet them as a way of making up for lost time…

“””Welcome, Demon King-sama.”””

“Stop that!”

Behind me, the muscle-brained girls are laughing hysterically.

I wondered if they were teasing me, but apparently, the people from Yerkel were serious and tilted their heads quizzically.

“I’m not a Demon King, you know. Everyone misunderstands me.”

“But Yoshua-sama arrived from another world and annihilated the Imperial Army with fire-breathing steel magical beasts, according to Merel-san…”

“Stop calling me with sama. It’s just a rumor that Merel says, and it’s a rumor with no basis in fact. There is no truth to it. That thing that you all came in is not a magical beast, it’s just a vehicle… It’s like a tool that anyone can use.”

“No, Your Majesty’s familiars are magical beasts that can only be tamed by us, Demon King-samahyuu.”

“If you’re going to spout off in the middle of my speech, speak normally, Minya.”

I’ll blow your nose, too.

“Hey Yoshua, you should put something on my Torajima-go that breathes fire.”

“What do you mean, “something”? I can always add fuel failure.”

“O-oh! Well, so be it!”

Whether it can be done with diesel or not, I don’t know.

Joking aside, the school bus is unarmed, so an escort will be necessary when transporting refugees. It’s not as if they can always have a Humvee with them, which is somewhat unsettling, to be sure.

A gun turret… Hmm, should I put it on the roof? It will look like a tanker in Mad Max 2…

“I don’t need it. If anyone tries to harm the Black Bear, my “Uuji” and “Star” will burst all over them.”

Indeed. Myrril-sensei doesn’t lose her mind.

“”””””Ah, Demon King Yoshua.”””””

The Beastman children, boys, and girls spotted me and gathered around me.

Meifa, the werewolf girl who had a hard time leading the children when we escaped from Yerkel Village, now has a bright smile on her face. Her fur is shiny, and she’s wearing a girlish linen dress that makes her look like a grown-up big sister. It’s nice; children should be like this.

Lucre, Pawn, and Myra, right? The three little werewolves were all clean and fluffy as can be. I pet them at random and make them giggle with delight.

Wow, they’re so cute…

“How are you guys doing? If you have any problems, let me know. I’ll do whatever I can to help.”

“””””Thank you, Demon King.”””””

When I gave them a large bag of candy, the kids were overjoyed. The Beastman children are already wagging their tails, and it’s amazing.

Don’t shake your face, you kids, your drool is flying, your drool is flying!

“””””What is this? What is this?””””””

“Oh, these are probably cookies, and these are jelly beans and cupcakes… I think those are, uh, fruit candies. Just try it.”

“””It’s so pretty♪”””

“”Delicious!””

“Sweet!” “It smells good…”

“This one is sour, but it’s good!”

Perhaps they are starving for sweetness, but it was more popular than I imagined. I don’t know where it’s from, but it’s got a crazy comical mascot character, unreadable characters, and a crazy cheesy package with extreme colors.

The quality of what’s inside is not too shabby either, but I guess kids like this kind of stuff. I was a kid myself, and I loved candy that looked like it was bad for health.

“”””””Thank you, Demon King.””””””

“Yeah, let’s split up and get along… I don’t care what you say, but stop using that weird ending.

“”””Yes, Demon King♪””””

Yeah, they’re not listening. They’ve got a big smile on their face. It’s spilling; it’s spilling.

I have to say, all of the Casemaian kids are so healthy and honest. I feel like they are kids from the Showa era.

“”””We want some too, Demon King.””””

When I felt eyes on me, I turned around and saw middle-aged women, Beastmen, Elves, and Dwarves, looking at me with their hands and tails buzzing.

I said yes, and took out a new batch of sweets from my storage. I’ve always been indebted to the women of Casemaian for their help with food and living conditions.

There was an assortment of American sweet snack bars that looked like peanut butter covered in chocolate and nougat (I ate one after opening a large bag and was hooked), a mini cake with sweet cream that Simon had somehow given me in ridiculously large quantities, and some kind of caramel sticks wrapped in ribbon-shaped wrapping paper. And then there were the standard colorful sugar-coated chocolates.

Most of them seemed to be famous American sweets, but all of them tasted awfully big, artificial in flavor, and so sweet that I wanted to scream.

I asked Simon if I could use them as propaganda for the people in the future when I go somewhere, and he gave me a huge box of them that looked like it could be opened in a large mass retailer.

As research and thank you, I took out a bunch of these and gave them to the women.

“Here you go, but please don’t use that ending; I’m serious…”

“”””Yes, Demon King.””””

But women and children really like sweets, don’t they?

Even the older women are looking at the sweets and not listening to me at all. It’s okay, though.

“””It’s delicious!”””

“This white stuff is so soft and tender. What is it, milk fat and molasses?”

“Is this wheat dough being… whipped?”

“Oh, this is just like the secret pastry Grandma Iyol used to make. It’s made with lightly burned molasses and ground nuts…”

They were delighted to taste it, but I could sense the difference in their awareness from the children as they tried to figure out the ingredients and the process from the taste. There may be people who recreate sweets from the other world.

“Yoshua, I want some too.”

“I want some too.”

“Me too.”

Well, that’s what’s going to happen, isn’t it? For the muscle-brained girls, honey-roasted peanuts in a can and cocoa-flavored cookie cream sandwiches, which were a worldwide hit. And pretzels. Not the thin sticks that are standard in Japan, but the big braided ones that are common in America.

Since Yadar, the tiger girl, is here, I’m concerned about the chocolate and nuts that cats are not allowed to eat, but (according to her) there doesn’t seem to be much of a problem.

What does that mean, “not much”?

“This is an interesting flavor. It’s bitter on the outside and sweet on the inside. It’s a perfect contrast.”

“I like this sour one. The wheat flavor is nice and simple.”

“Wow! This crunchy stuff is delicious!”

“Oh, I thought peanuts were okay… Yadar, tell me if you feel sick.”

“I told you, I’m not a cat!”

As I walked back to the church, feeling like Santa Claus out of season, I passed the Elf I met when I woke up. I hurriedly stopped her as she bowed her head and tried to leave again, feeling slightly frightened.

I finally remembered who it was. The atmosphere was so different that it took me a while to realize.

“Milka.”

“Y-yes?”

The face that faced me was rigid, and the smile that she was trying to force on me was painful.

She froze in awe as if she were about to get down on her knees, unable to escape.

“How are you? Is there anything wrong?”

“I-I’m fine! I won’t betray you again! Never! That’s why… um… eh?”

I took her clenched hand and shoved in some chocolate bars and candy bars.

“I’m not worried about that. And neither is Myrril.”

“…But.”

“It’s not your fault that you were manipulated by that mage, you know. Everyone sees that you are trying your best. Maybe you’re going through a hard time right now, but everyone will definitely accept you.”

“…Y-yes.”

“If you have any problems, please come to Myrril or me. We’ll help you with anything.”

“Y-y-yes!”

Milka bowed her head with a tearful smile on her face and went back to her work.

The hand I just touched was a little rough. They are the hands of a hard worker. There were some cuts and bruises on her hands, probably from helping with the cooking.

I’ve been thinking about the people who took advantage of her, and it’s really bothering me.

“It’s not a problem, Yoshua. The Elves understand the situation. The Dwarves and Beastman will help too. No harm will come to anyone.”

“Thank you. I will be counting on them.”

When he noticed that we were talking, the huge Elf, Kemich, came running up to us.

It’s not as if this guy is looking for sweets. He looks too serious to be begging.

“Yoshua. I’m sorry to bother you while you’re sick, but can you come over here for a minute?”

Yeah. I have a bad feeling about this. And it usually comes true.