Chapter 6 : I’m going to Moonlight Wharf with the Hero Party! (3)

The Mallowmallow was a moving, pure white marshmallow.

If I say it like this, you might think the poor little demon has finally gone mad because she wants to eat something sweet, but the Mallowmallow really looked like that and tasted the same!

“Meat~! Meat~! Deer meat~!”

Unlike me, who was eagerly thinking about Mallowmallows, the hero, Maeve, was humming a tune.

…But, thinking about it, it would be beneficial if Maeve really caught a deer.

I don’t think she’ll ever catch one, but if she catches one deer, we can eat it for about three days without any problems.

If we had more salt or a mage, we could eat it for longer and in more ways, but we don’t have that now.

“Sister Maeve, can you really catch a deer?”

“Of course! I may look like this, but I’m a hero, you know? I can even catch three bears!”

“A bear that attacks and a deer are different.”

“It means a deer is easier!”

There’s no way that’s true…!

I’m also a fool!

A squishy demon lord!

I didn’t just stay in the demon lord’s castle, eating Potakes and preparing the meat of the instant death rabbits that the slimes occasionally brought!

“Purpure should look for Mallowmallows…”

“Mallowmallow? What’s that? What? I’ve never heard of it! If it’s a monster, Saint Dominicus would know about it…”

Does that squinty-eyed saint know about monsters?

Come to think of it, he did explain Potake to Maeve a bit, didn’t he?

“Mallowmallows are sweet.”

“Uh… like candy? There’s no way candy would just be lying on the ground~”

“Is Sister Maeve really a fool?”

Shouldn’t you just understand it as a sweet fruit?

“Geez! It’s because Purpure explained it strangely!”

“Mallowmallows are… animals that carry a pure white, fluffy, and squishy house on their backs.”

I’m sure she’ll freak out and say she’ll never eat it if I say it’s a bug.

“A fluffy and squishy house?”

“Sister Maeve, do you know cattails? They’re plants that grow in lakes.”

I moved my hands to explain to this poor hero as best as I could.

I also brought a branch and pretended to grab the end of it tightly.

“Ah! I know that! You’re talking about the one with brown, fluffy fuzz at the end, like Purpure’s hand right now, right?”

“That’s right. Mallowmallows are animals that drag around that kind of oval, round thing like a house.”

“Wow…. Then do you eat that house? It’s a house, but can you eat it?”

“It’s incredibly sweet and delicious. But if you eat it raw, your stomach will hurt, so you have to cook it.”

Maeve grinned and suddenly stroked my head.

Ugh! What do you think this great demon lord is! Why are you stroking my head like this?!

“Thanks to Purpure, I get to eat something delicious again. Thank you?”

“Why are you saying that while stroking Purpure’s head?”

“Huh? Because Purpure is cute?”

“Purpure is not cute. Purpure is a scary demon lord!”

Maeve chuckled and ruffled my hair while stroking it.

“Yes, yes! Purpure is scary~!”

You don’t listen to people, do you! Really!

I hit Maeve’s butt with both hands for no reason.

“Anyway! Right now, it’s deer over Mallowmallow! Deer! Purpure likes deer more too, right?”

“If I can eat it, I like deer more.”

Well-cooked meat is more delicious than a squishy marshmallow.

But I’m a little bummed about the lack of cooking utensils.

I wish I had a frying pan…

When I lived in the demon lord’s castle, I never thought I needed a pan because I never had enough meat to make me think that, but now that the situation has changed, I miss it a lot.

Could I get one in Moonlit Pier?

“Right? Right? Meat is the best when it comes to food!”

Even if you smile so brightly and say that.

“Purpure also likes meat. But there hasn’t been a single deer since a while ago.”

I pointed around with my hand.

Forget deer, there weren’t even any boars, squirrels, or rabbits.

“Hmm… Maybe they all ran away because they were scared of us.”

“That’s why Purpure said it was hard!”

Do you even know how hard hunting is?

“Sister Maeve doesn’t have any of the basics of hunting!”

“It’s okay~ It’s okay~ If I can see it, I can just run and catch it!”

“Deer aren’t fools like you! Deer! Deer! They have sensitive noses and sensitive ears!”

Don’t underestimate an animal’s survival instinct!

“They run away if they smell humans!! They run away if you walk around making noise!”

“But it already smells and makes noise, right? It can’t be helped.”

It can’t be helped, you say, but you’re just saying you can’t catch it!

This fool of a hero!

“Ah! Look over there! Look over there, Purpure!”

“Awawa…”

Where Maeve pointed, there was a four-legged creature with a long snout… What, it’s a monster, isn’t it?

A long snout and an even longer purple tongue, a plump butt, and a mushroom that shines like a jewel on its back.

There’s no way that I, the terrifying demon lord, wouldn’t recognize that creature!

But why is it here? It’s not a creature that can live here?

“Look at that, Purpure! We can eat it, right? It has a jewel on its back!”

“Ah, no! You can’t eat that! It’s not an animal you can eat! It’s a monster!”

“It’s okay! It’s okay! Dominicus knows a lot about edible monsters! I’ll catch it quickly!”

No!! You can’t eat it!

It doesn’t matter if Dominicus is an expert or not! I’m the demon lord, and I’ve tried it, you can’t eat it!

“Don’t do it!! It’s a waste of time!”

Deer…!

You said you’d catch one!!!

“You can’t eat a Mushroom Licker!”

“It’s okay! Don’t underestimate this hero!!!”

“You can’t catch it!!!”

I told you, you can’t catch it!

Ignoring my screams, Maeve ran towards the ‘Mushroom Licker’ at an incredible speed.

Flicker flicker!

The Mushroom Licker, upon discovering the approaching predator, dug a hole at an incredible speed.

Then it pushed its plump butt into the hole and disappeared.

“Hey! Where are you going! Don’t run away!!”

“Awawa…”

I told you, you can’t catch it!

Even in the demon world, that thing was hunted with magic because of its habit of quickly digging holes and escaping!

How can you catch it by running on two legs!

In the end, I went around looking for Mallowmallows hiding in the tree roots until Maeve lay on the ground screaming in frustration.

“Ugh… It’s so unfair… I’m a hero… I’m a hero…”

Forget Mushroom Lickers, Maeve, who also missed the deer that appeared afterward, was completely exhausted and whined.

“That’s why Purpure told you. Animals have a strong will to live.”

“I know, but… sniffle, the hunter caught one…”

“Even hunters fail sometimes.”

If every hunt was successful every time you went out, why would anyone starve?

Anyway, while Maeve was making a huge mess, I managed to collect a bunch of mushrooms and nine Mallowmallows in my basket.

“Welcome back. It seems you’ve had a hard time.”

The saint, Dominicus, had lit a campfire and set up a place to sleep while we were busy hunting.

This one is different, really different from Maeve.

Not only did he choose a good spot next to a large rock, but he also lightly cleaned up the surroundings to avoid worrying about bugs.

And he even got firewood, so we don’t have to worry about the fire going out while we’re eating.

“Dominicus is smart. He gathered a lot of stones to protect the fire.”

“Thank you for the compliment. Demon Lord Purpure.”

Maybe it’s thanks to Dominicus’ kindness that Maeve hasn’t gotten lost until now and hasn’t lived as a wild wolf.

“Did you catch any fish?”

“I caught a few while getting drinking water.”

There were six fish neatly placed on a leaf, a little distance away from the burning campfire.

“Dominicus is really good, unlike Sister Maeve. He caught six sweetfish.”

“You recognize sweetfish right away. That’s right. This shiny scale and the dark olive color on the back are very attractive features of this fish.”

Sweetfish and Mallowmallows would make a delicious meal.

It can’t be a fancy dish because we don’t have cooking utensils, though!!

I couldn’t even eat sweetfish no matter how much I wanted to because I couldn’t catch them.

-Grrrrrrr!

“Ugh… I’m hungry.”

Maeve, who was completely exhausted, groaned and leaned against the large rock with her back and butt.

“Purpure caught Mallowmallows.”

When I held out my basket, Dominicus’ eyes sparkled.

“Did you catch these, Purpure?”

“That’s right. Purpure caught them.”

“…And the hero?”

Dominicus looked at Maeve, who was groaning with zero energy, along with me.

“She said she would catch a deer.”

“She failed, as expected.”

Did you fail at this in the past too?

How did you catch the instant death rabbit? Did you just get bitten and then hit it on the head?

“By the way, Purpure. Do you know how to eat Mallowmallows?”

Dominicus was definitely squinting, but his eyes seemed to strangely sparkle.

What is it, this saint? Mallowmallows are also classified as ‘monsters’ in a way, though.

“These creatures may look soft and squishy, but they are dangerous monsters that can cause serious illness if eaten raw.”

“Purpure knows. That’s why I know I have to cook them properly with heat.”

“As expected of Purpure. Then perhaps…”

Dominicus looked down at me with a voice full of anticipation.

This saint, whatever kind of person he is, he knows how to eat monsters, huh?

“That’s right. Purpure will now make a hearth to deliciously eat Mallowmallows and sweetfish!”

I said it grandly, but it’s not a big deal.

But it was definitely a necessary action to have a delicious dinner today.

“That’s an excellent idea. Purpure. This saint, Dominicus, will do his best to help.”

“Ugh… Can’t we just roughly cook it and eat it quickly? I don’t mind if it’s a little burnt…”

Maeve whined, holding her stomach with both hands.

“No. There is always a sweet fruit at the end of suffering, and Purpure will show you the true taste of Mallowmallows, so please wait a little while.”

Is this person really the same human who tried to grill poisonous mushrooms last time?

“Purpure will make it quickly, so just wait a little while!”

Sweetfish and Mallowmallows.

A combination of savory and rich flavors with a melt-in-your-mouth sweetness!