The person who opened the door and stepped into the shop was none other than the Doll Princess.
But she looked very different from the Doll Princess I remembered.
Her face was covered all over with something like freckles, and her hair was pulled up and tied tightly.
Her clothes, too, were not a dress, but a brown hooded robe.
At her waist hung a small rapier,
and the hilt visible above the leather scabbard was so ornate that it looked like a decorative sword.
“Lady Rosaria……?”
“…….”
Lady Rosaria staggered into the shop,
then swayed heavily and placed a hand on the dining table, leaning her weight against it.
She looked so exhausted that even speaking seemed difficult.
“Hey! Are you all right?! Manager! At this rate, she’s going to become a ghost!”
Aris went pattering over and supported Lady Rosaria.
“Ah…….”
Seeing that, I realized I had made a mistake.
Only now did I understand
that it had not been such an easy thing for Lady Rosaria to secretly visit this restaurant alone.
* * *
“Recovery.”
While Aris supported the collapsed lady,
I gathered mana at my fingertips and cast healing magic on her.
Healing magic was not my specialty, so I couldn’t expect any remarkable effect,
but in any case, using it on someone who had collapsed from exhaustion should help them come to their senses.
Then I brewed some Dragonblood herb, which had the effect of restoring vitality, into tea in the kitchen,
poured it into a small dish, and slowly let it trickle past the lady’s lips.
“What on earth is with this skin…….”
After finishing the bare minimum measures to help her recover her strength,
I examined the unconscious lady’s face closely.
Blemishes and freckles that had definitely not been there before were spread across her entire face.
Had she suddenly developed skin trouble from malnutrition?
Puzzled, I carefully touched the inside of the lady’s cheek and rubbed her skin with my thumb.
“……!”
Then the blemish where my thumb had passed smeared slightly and was wiped away.
Apparently, these marks on her skin were something Lady Rosaria had deliberately drawn on with makeup.
Had she made herself look ugly on purpose so she could sneak out of the territory and come here?
Well, Lady Rosaria’s face was far too well-known in the territory.
If she had slipped out looking doll-like in her usual dress, she would have been discovered immediately.
But even with blemishes deliberately drawn on her face,
Lady Rosaria’s natural beauty itself was still dazzling.
Was this what they called the law that the base model never changes?
In a way, even as a man, I found myself thinking her face was a little unfair.
“Manager~ Are you sure she’s okay~?”
Aris asked me, fidgeting as if she was genuinely worried.
“She’s fine. She’s just exhausted. She must have traveled too far in a body that hasn’t been properly fed.”
“If that’s the case, then that’s a relief, but…….”
“Still, this is a headache. I never thought she would really come back here alone…….”
It wasn’t something I should be saying, since I was the one who told her to come secretly by herself,
but thinking about it now, it had been a truly insane demand.
It was a tremendous relief that she had made it here safely by luck.
Of course, Lady Rosaria must have plenty of money,
so even if she slipped out of the territory alone and in secret, she would have had a means of transportation.
But just as there were good people in the world,
there were also plenty of bad ones crawling around.
For a woman like Rosaria, who was beautiful even with blemishes drawn on her face,
to come alone all the way to a remote place like my restaurant was dangerous.
Slave traders, robbers, bandits, swindlers, monsters, and so on……
Dangers lurked everywhere.
Thinking that way, the conditions I had demanded when accepting Lady Rosaria’s order had been shortsighted.
Well, in any case, she had made it here safely like this, so that was fortunate……
“Mm… mmm…….”
“Are you coming to?”
“……!”
The lady, who had lost consciousness, moved her lips,
then heard my voice and opened her eyes wide.
And with a start, she half-raised herself.
“Where is this…….”
“Gourmet Restaurant Slow, my restaurant. You found your way here just fine.”
“Ah…….”
She had only just regained consciousness after fainting from exhaustion,
so the memories in her head were probably still reconnecting.
With Aris supporting her, she stood up completely.
“So… the fact that you came here alone like this means…….”
“Yes, you told me to come alone next time.”
“What happened with your family? Did you let them know before you came?”
Judging by the lady’s state right now, she obviously had not told anyone,
but I asked to confirm, just in case.
“No…… It’s probably in an uproar by now.”
“I see.”
A lady about to be married had suddenly fled the territory.
The Hildenburg family had probably realized she was gone and turned completely upside down.
For all I knew, they might already have sent people this way.
If I was going to carry out the lady’s order, time was short.
“Since you’ve come here, may I understand that you wish to taste… the same freedom as an adventurer, as you ordered?”
“That is…….”
“You received healing magic and drank a little tea to restore your energy, so you should be able to move for the time being.”
“Did I drink something?”
“Yes. While you were unconscious, I trickled a little in so you could drink it.”
“I see…….”
Unease was still visible on the lady’s face.
If I wanted to properly serve her my food,
I thought I first needed to remove that unease.
And I had already planned out that method to some extent from the moment I took her order.
“You really didn’t want to go through with that marriage, did you?”
“Yes, I absolutely did not want to.”
Lady Rosaria answered with strength in her voice.
From the moment she had fled the territory, she must have made up her mind to some degree.
What I had to do was…… simply give her that final push.
“And the fact that you came here as if fleeing means…… unless the marriage issue is resolved, you have no intention of going back, correct?”
“That is…….”
Lady Rosaria bit her lower lip.
Never returning to the Hildenburg territory again.
Even for the lady who had already fled the territory, that option was a heavy burden.
It was because she had been raised her whole life like a bird in a cage, a flower to be gifted by her family.
They say an elephant raised tied to a stake remains bound even after it becomes an adult with the strength to pull the stake out.
A psychological wall built up over such a long time was not something that could be easily torn down.
“The order I received was freedom like an adventurer’s. In that case, there is someone I can introduce you to. That person will not feel awkward dealing with you, Lady Rosaria, and you may be able to find the freedom you want.”
“……Who are you saying you’ll introduce me to?”
“The hero Irit, one of the Four Heroes of the continent. She is also my friend.”
“……!”
Surprise spread across Lady Rosaria’s face.
Well, I hadn’t gotten Irit’s permission in advance…… but somehow, it would work out.
If I said I was asking by borrowing the name of a hero, even a lady who had fled her territory would be able to feel at ease.
Sorry, Irit.
I’ll ask you for a favor later.
“Is that true? You would introduce me to that hero, Lady Irit…….”
“With Irit around, you’ll be safe even if the Hildenburg family tracks you down, and you’ll be able to live freely.”
“Freely…… Will that really be all right?”
“It will be all right. Now then, shall we head out first? You have to try the food you ordered.”
I said that as I picked up the bag I had prepared in advance.
“Head out……? Are we not eating here?”
“If we stay here, we don’t know when your family might come looking for you, do we? You said you wanted to taste freedom like an adventurer’s. Beside my restaurant, there is a dangerous forest teeming with monsters. If we go in there, even if your family comes looking, they will never be able to find us.”
“What? But…….”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be with you, so it will be safe.”
The day was slowly getting dark,
but to me, the monsters of the forest were no problem.
I intended to procure the ingredients for the dish I would serve this time directly from the forest.
For someone who said she wanted to taste an adventurer’s freedom, I was going to let her experience something similar, at least.
“……All right.”
The Doll Princess followed me as I left the shop.
“W-wait! Manager! What about me?”
“You come along too.”
“Ah, yeeees!”
I tossed the small traveling bag I was carrying to Aris, who hurried after us,
and headed with the Doll Princess toward the monster forest beside the restaurant.
* * *
“Ueeeeh…… I’m scared… What is this forest…….”
“Be quiet. You’re already dead, so what are you scared of?”
The monster forest.
Aris was following me with a pale face, clutching the bag tightly as she looked around.
The Doll Princess Rosaria also stayed close beside me, carefully taking each step.
“Lady Rosaria, from now on, may I call you Miss Rosaria instead of Lady?”
When I asked, Lady Rosaria answered.
“Yes, that’s fine.”
“From this moment on, Miss Rosaria, you are not a lady of a ducal house. Nor are you destined to return to your family. There is absolutely no chance that the people of your family will chase you all the way here. In other words…… unless you choose to go back yourself, you will not have to marry that person you hate.”
As we advanced along the dark forest path, I reminded Rosaria once more of her current situation.
The reason I kept emphasizing the situation to her
was to keep making her remember that she had escaped from her family.
“But…… I’m worried about you, Mr. Klaus. If you do something like this…….”
“You don’t need to worry about me.”
Of course, if her family found out that I had helped the lady run away in the night, there would be an uproar.
But I had no intention of letting them find that out in the first place.
Once this order was finished, I intended to call Irit and hand the lady over to her.
If it was Irit, she would certainly understand my circumstances and act intelligently.
The important thing was for Lady Rosaria to escape from the pressure that was strangling her.
As long as she was under stress because of the marriage,
she would not be able to properly eat any food at all.
“Kieeeeeeeeek—!”
It was then.
From beyond the bushes came a cry that seemed to tear at the eardrums.
“Wh-what is that?”
“Waaahhh! Manageeeeer!”
Aris and Rosaria were terrified and hid behind me.
But I spoke to the two of them calmly.
“It’s a cockatrice. A large monster that resembles a chicken.”
My career as an adventurer had been a long one.
I had experienced most of the monsters that existed in this world.
I had even dealt with demons that had just sprung out of the Abyssal Rift.
A cockatrice resembled a chicken, but it was a much larger monster.
A petrification curse lay at the tip of its beak, and if you were pecked wrong, you would turn to stone—a terrifying monster.
But to me, it was merely a large chicken…… something along those lines.
And chicken was…… one of the truly delicious ingredients.
“Aris, take care of Miss Rosaria. I’ll be back in a moment.”
After asking Aris, I strode toward the bushes where the cry had come from.
“Kieeeeeeeeeeeek!!!!!”
Beyond the bushes, I saw a huge cockatrice that looked nearly five meters tall shrieking.
The thing let out a bizarre cry while looking up at the sky,
then seemed to sense a presence, turned to look at me, and immediately began charging.
“Implosion.”
I stretched my hand toward the charging cockatrice
and quietly recited the spell.
Implosion.
It was magic that left the target’s outward appearance as it was,
while collapsing the insides, such as the internal organs, first.
Originally, it was magic I had learned for stuffing chickens or ducks with all sorts of cooking ingredients,
then softening the filling inside.
But if it was used on a living target……
“Kieeeeeeeeek!”
The cockatrice charging toward me vomited blood from its beak and collapsed on the spot.
Its hide and meat were intact, but its internal organs were probably completely reduced to mush.
“Manageeer~! Manager! Are you all right?”
Aris arrived belatedly, bringing Rosaria with her.
“What in the world is this monster…….”
Rosaria looked startled as she gazed at the fallen cockatrice.
I approached the collapsed cockatrice and placed a hand on its head.
It had not been dead for long, so I could still feel its warm body temperature.
“This one will become the ingredient for the food you ordered today, Miss Rosaria.”
I looked at Rosaria as I spoke.
Her order was an adventurer’s freedom.
All the conditions had been met.
A dangerous monster forest beyond the reach of her family’s pursuit.
And the meat of a monster hunted there.
I had set up the entire situation,
so whether her appetite would return now depended on Rosaria’s own resolve.
* * *