Chapter 14 : The Demon King Purpure’s Terrifying Travel Plan (2)

Grandfathers and grandmothers are weak to young children.

This is a story that holds true anytime, anywhere, across the East and the West.

“I didn’t know Purpure could be so charming…”

“Don’t say strange things. I made a proper request.”

“You cutely asked them to exchange just one, didn’t you?”

I quickly turned around and kicked Maeve’s leg.

“Awawa…!”

“Uh… Sorry.”

Ugh! Why does it hurt me more?!

Her legs look very thin, but when I kick them, they feel harder than steel?!

“I’m doing my best for everyone!”

“Thanks for that! Thanks to that~ Rian thought about it for a while and said he’d take responsibility for one Solvenusian!”

The terrifying Great Demon Lord’s eloquence worked perfectly.

Maeve lied and said I was being charming, but it was a legitimate negotiation anyway.

Thanks to that, I had a small book in my hand that I exchanged for the ‘toy’ Solvenusian that Maeve had.

“I want to get food first.”

I led the hero party into a building full of various food ingredients.

“Welcome… Oh my! It’s the hero and the little demon girl?”

Fortunately, the lady wearing an apron welcomed us.

“Wow… There are so many delicious-looking things here?”

“This is a place where you can fully enjoy the culture of East Haven.”

Maeve drooled and looked around, and Dominicus showed interest for about 15 seconds before it ended.

Is this saint no longer interested because there are no food ingredients made from monsters…?

It’s not like they usually sell that stuff in stores.

“H, how about this! Purpure! It looks very sweet and delicious!”

Maeve pointed to the piles of fruit.

“Our hero has good eyes. It’s sun apples and pears, so it’s very delicious.~”

“How about this?”

“That meat is freshly caught today, so it’s fresh. How much do you want? Huh? I’ll give you more!”

Maeve’s eyes sparkled and she reached for the fresh food.

“Don’t just pick up anything!”

“Ow!”

I poked Maeve’s butt with my broken horn!

I explained that we came to buy food for the trip!

“Why, why… This looks delicious. It’s fruit, so we can eat it for a long time, right?”

“I’m going to buy this.”

I pointed to a bag of rice that I had been eyeing.

The rice, packed in a large bag woven from sturdy rice straw, could be used to cook a variety of dishes and could be stored for a long time.

Unlike what I was worried about, rice seemed to be a staple food in East Haven as well.

“Isn’t this rice?”

“That’s right.”

“Does Purpure know how to cook this?”

I nodded.

“I know how to cook rice. There are also various dishes made with rice. I also know how to make porridge.”

“I’ve hardly ever eaten it. Even when I had the chance to come to East Haven, I preferred noodles.”

Maeve spoke and grabbed the bag of rice with her right hand and lifted it lightly.

“Awawa…?”

Isn’t a bag of rice quite heavy?

It’s even packaged in rice straw, so it should be heavier.

She lifts it like it’s a school bag.

“Sometimes Maeve is like a hero.”

“Not like, I am a hero!”

In front of the chuckling Maeve, I fiddled with jerky and dried fish.

“It’s very well dried.”

“Oh my, our little lady has an eye for ingredients!”

“Chewy… I can’t feel any moisture, it’s so well dried.”

In a situation where refrigeration isn’t possible, the existence of long-term preserved foods without moisture is quite important.

There were enough jerky and dried fish, and they were beautifully made in a way that I could never imitate in the demon castle.

As it’s a product sold in a store, the moisture is completely removed, so if it’s stored well, there shouldn’t be any problems.

“Oh… This looks really good.”

Maeve’s eyes sparkled and she swallowed her saliva, putting the jerky in the basket as I pointed.

“Actually… I hate this kind of long-lasting food because it’s so tasteless.”

“Have you eaten it before?”

“Yeah, something like bread that’s harder than my teeth?”

Is she talking about something like the twice-baked bread made in Rome with all the moisture removed?

If it’s that bad, you shouldn’t eat it as is, but boil it in a pot and eat it in a state between porridge and soup.

“I can imagine it a little.”

“Ugh, and vegetables in a steel can… Yuck, it’s incredibly sour and salty? I really can’t eat that.”

I could roughly imagine what it tasted like.

To preserve it in an ‘edible state’, it’s buried in a lump of white salt… Ugh, ugh! Just thinking about it makes my tongue hurt.

“There are times when we should be grateful for such things.”

“I’m not denying it, but… I don’t really want to eat it.”

In front of Maeve, who was cutely complaining about food, I pointed to the dried fruit piled in glass jars and baskets.

“We’ll eat this, so don’t worry.”

“Uh… Is this like raisins?”

“That’s right. It’s dried fruit with lots of sugar sprinkled on it. Fruit preserved like this doesn’t spoil easily.”

The lady smiled broadly and nodded.

“Oh my~ Our little demon lady is so cute! You seem smarter than the hero! That’s right. That’s right!”

The lady, whose business was booming today, hummed a tune and beautifully packaged each ingredient I pointed to.

“I’ll also buy salt and sugar.”

“So it’s true that you’re going on a pilgrimage~ Are you going far?”

The lady smiled and gave us some of the fruit that Maeve had been drooling over as a service.

It’s different to buy it with money you worked so hard for and to get it for free like this.

“I’ll enjoy it.”

“Wow… Th, thank you! I’ll eat it well!”

“Hoho, we’re the ones who should be thankful. Do you need anything else? Our house’s soy sauce is really delicious.”

So the jar that had a subtly nostalgic smell from earlier was a soy sauce jar?

Even one bottle would be a huge help, to the extent that it could be called an ‘innovation’ in cooking, but there was no way to store it.

And seasonings are definitely expensive.

“I’m fine.”

I showed the lady the paper book I was holding carefully.

“Our village chief is so… generous.”

『Half a bag of rice, raisins and dried persimmons, jerky and dried fish, sugar and salt』 -65 Lunabenusian

I used more than half of the money I had, but it was an investment without regrets.

“Wow… You can buy so much with one Solvenusian?”

“It seems that thanks to Chief Rian’s words, they gave us a generous price.”

Dominicus’s words were accurate.

I don’t know the exact prices, but there were quite a few items given as a service.

When I got medicine and antidote for emergencies, the bald man smiled and gave me a little more bandages and powdered medicine.

At the clothing store, they heard our story and said they couldn’t sell extra fabric for such a thing, so they gladly stuffed repair materials into Maeve’s bag.

“Everyone likes the hero of 200 years ago.”

“Hey, it seemed like they liked Purpure more than us?”

I wanted to deny it, but I couldn’t.

Grandmothers and grandfathers showed up and clapped their hands, saying I was cute…

Every time I said something that was common sense, the ladies and gentlemen praised me a lot.

Finally, girls who looked like Maeve’s peers showed up and asked if I needed extra clothes for the trip, bringing cute children’s clothes that made me shiver and shaking them wildly.

“I’m not a child…”

“That’s right~ So you said you didn’t like all the clothes the ladies brought, right?”

I couldn’t refuse everything, so I received one or two clothes that seemed practical.

Ugh! If it wasn’t free, I would never have accepted it.

Anyway, Maeve and Dominicus, who were carrying a lot of luggage on their backs, were full of energy.

I wondered if this was the hidden power of the hero party.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have had anything to say if they told me to take care of the glass jars containing the seasonings myself.

“Rian! Rian! We’re here! Purpure bought everything she needed!”

After shopping, we returned to Chief Rian’s house.

It was foolish to go on a trip in the middle of the night, so we decided to sleep here for one night and take a boat to ‘Moonrise Castle’ tomorrow morning.

“The light is on over there.”

Chief Rian’s house was made of wood, but it wasn’t a log cabin.

It felt like a hanok, but it also reminded me of traditional Chinese and Japanese houses.

Actually, all the houses in Moonlight Haven felt like this, so it was easy to find the room with the light leaking out.

“We can’t stand here forever…”

Maeve quickly approached the door where the light was leaking out.

“Rian! Rian! Are you very busy? Can we go into the guest room you explained earlier?”

It felt like we were causing a huge inconvenience, but fortunately, the door to the room where the light was leaking out slowly opened.

“Oh… I must have been out of my mind. Please make yourselves comfortable.”

Chief Rian stroked his white beard and got up from the floor.

In the room, there was a grandmother who had fallen asleep covered with a thick blanket.

There was no need for a detailed explanation of what kind of relationship the grandmother with white hair and Chief Rian had.

“Ah… Sorry, Rian. I was clueless.”

“Haha, it’s nothing. This old man’s hearing is bad, so I just didn’t hear the hero’s words in time.”

Rian smiled pleasantly and got up from the warm floor, stroking his beard.

Dominicus naturally put his hands together and prayed once.

“I’m thankful.”

I quickly showed the paper book that listed exactly what I bought and how much I bought today.

“You’ve prepared well. I’ll give you a letter of introduction that you can show to the craftsman at Moonrise Castle tomorrow morning.”

“Is it really okay to ask for that too? Aren’t you overdoing it?”

“Haha, it’s fine. Rather, I’m sorry that I couldn’t exchange the Solvenusian you have for the current one.”

Chief Rian was really kind.

He said he would give me a letter of introduction to get help from a craftsman who makes carriages really well in Moonrise Castle.

“Then, since it’s getting late, please go inside.”

“Ah! It’s okay, Rian! I know Mae is not feeling well. We’ll go to the guest room by ourselves.”

Maeve hurriedly stepped back from the door and waved her hand.

But I couldn’t believe it, but I didn’t see it wrong.

“I’m curious.”

Unlike Maeve, who stepped back, I stared at the grandmother lying on the floor.

Maeve and Dominicus couldn’t see it, but I could.

I see a guy who is black and huge, but squishy like a king worm.

A guy who looks like jelly and has a tail is coiled on top of the grandmother’s body.

“Does Grandma Mae want something to eat?”

The terrifying Great Demon Lord can see human desires.

So I could immediately tell that this heavy guy was making the person unable to get up.

If you don’t know the situation, it would look like she has an illness that will never be cured.

“What do you mean, Purpure?”

“Grandma Mae isn’t sick.”

I got a lot more help than I thought, and I don’t want to make light, so it’s inconvenient.

…Later, when I revive as a terrifying Great Demon Lord, it would be beneficial to make allies in East Haven.

Anyway, that’s it.

It’s the Great Demon Lord’s strategy to prepare for the future because she doesn’t want to make enemies.

“It’s because of black desire.”

I said, holding the heavy jelly with both hands and lifting it up.