kscans

Chapter 191 - Breakfast with the Demon Lord and Black Rose

The day after the event that, when described as "rescued Demon Lord Lunaria from the Demon Lord's Castle," made one want to tilt their head in confusion, Hayato logged in early in the morning to find the base's dining hall in quite a state.

To put it simply, Lunaria and the members of the Ten Black Rose Saints had taken it over.

As their name suggested, the members of Black Rose wore black clothes. For some reason, each had an original design, with no two outfits being the same. These members were seated around the dining table.

And at the head of the table sat Lunaria.

Hayato, having come down from the second floor, felt a little weary.

"Morning, everyone… Is this a Sabbath or something?"

A Sabbath, also known as a witches' gathering. With ten beautiful women in black gothic lolita attire seemingly venerating Lunaria in her red armor, anyone, not just Hayato, would think the same. Honestly, the opinion of a normal person would undoubtedly be to not get involved.

Rosalie responded to Hayato's words.

"I do not know what you are talking about, but we were offering a prayer before dining with Lunaria-sama."

(Why are they offering a prayer… and Lunaria-san looks like she's not happy about it. She's been sending me 'do something' glances for a while now. I guess I have no choice. I'll start breakfast to stop the prayer.)

"I'll take your food orders. You're guests, so don't hesitate. But if you want a dish that uses high-end ingredients, you'll have to go hunt for them. Ah, and I don't mean pay for them, I mean go defeat the monsters for them."

"Whatever Lunaria-sama wishes to eat will be fine."

Everyone nodded at Rosalie's words. Only Lunaria had a look of "Huh?" on her face.

"So, what do you want to eat, Lunaria-san?"

"…A dish a Demon Lord would eat."

"Hotcakes it is."

"Then I'll have that."

"I'll make enough for everyone, so just wait a bit."

Hayato immediately took out a knife and started making hotcakes. It wasn't a dish a Demon Lord would eat or anything. He just had plenty of ingredients for hotcakes, so it was easy to make.

Hotcakes were a dish that could be made even with a low skill level, so with Hayato's skill and equipment bonuses, they all turned out to be five stars.

After making enough for everyone, he placed them in front of each person. He also placed several containers of honey, water, orange juice, and milk on the table, along with cups.

"You can have as much honey as you want. Help yourselves to drinks too. If you run out, just call me. I'll be in the shop."

He couldn't stand being in this dining hall. He planned to make a quick escape. One could call it a strategic retreat.

"Hayato-san, stay here."

"Um, won't I be in the way?"

"Not at all. Please stay. I would even bow my head as the Demon Lord."

Lunaria's desperate plea. He didn't know why she was so desperate, but he had done something a little pitiful to her with the salvage-like rescue yesterday, so he couldn't refuse outright.

Hayato sat at the end of the table and took out a coffee. He wouldn't eat hotcakes, but he figured he would drink some coffee.

"Let's eat."

After confirming Hayato was seated, Lunaria said this, and the Black Rose members also said their thanks in unison and began to eat.

He was curious about the taste, but then he remembered they were five-star hotcakes, so of course they were delicious.

Besides, for the members of Black Rose, the taste probably didn't matter as much as the fact that they were eating with Lunaria. Everyone was smiling and eating with satisfaction.

Amidst this, Lunaria called out to Hayato.

"The bed you prepared for me yesterday was wonderful. Combined with my Demon Lord pillow, I slept soundly until morning."

"That's good… It was a canopied bed, was that okay?"

"It felt a little unsettling, but it was comfortable to sleep in. The width, which prevented me from falling out of bed, was not bad either. I'm taking that with me."

(She plans to take the bed to the Demon Lord's Castle. The materials aren't that expensive, so I guess it's fine.)

The bed for Lunaria prepared in the third-floor multi-purpose hall was a gorgeous canopied bed. It was the kind that royalty or nobility would use. In other words, since Lunaria was a Demon Lord, Rosalie and her group had eagerly requested it from Hayato.

With Hayato's Woodworking Skill, he could make it without issue. A more accurate description would be that Rosalie and her group made him craft it until he got a five-star version, but he managed to make one relatively quickly, so it didn't take much time or effort.

"If you're taking it home, please take good care of it… Were you all okay, Rosalie-san? They were just normal beds."

"I had no problems. I slept well. Did anyone have any issues?"

Everyone replied that they had no problems.

(They were just ordinary beds, but since they were five stars, they probably slept well. Or maybe just sleeping in the same room as Lunaria-san produced a comfortable sleep… no, if anything, they'd be too excited to sleep…? Well, either way is fine.)

They weren't canopied beds, but he had prepared ten ordinary beds for Rosalie and her group. The probability of getting a five-star ordinary bed was high. Thinking it would cause problems if there were differences among the members, he made sure they were all five stars.

Thanks to that, it seemed there were no particular issues within Black Rose.

"You'll be at this base for a while, so if you need anything, just say the word. I'll prepare various things. But I'd like you to reconcile with the Black Knights as soon as possible… Speaking of which, is the person you captured okay?"

He had handed over the Black Knight who had climbed onto the airship's deck to Rosalie, but he didn't know what happened to them.

She had said she would dye their armor light blue, but Hayato had defended them, saying he didn't have any dye. He had just felt a little sorry for them.

"We have borrowed a room on the second floor and have confined them there. Lunaria-sama told them not to act violently, so they are being quiet."

"I see. Then I'll have to make them a meal later."

"A couple of bread crusts will suffice. And a little rainwater."

"How much do you dislike them. But if I get close, it seems like something might happen, so I'll leave it to you, Rosalie-san."

"Honestly, I wish someone else would do it…"

All the members of Black Rose averted their eyes.

"I don't really get it, but do you hate them that much? Did they do something unforgivable as a person?"

"That would be you from yesterday. Paralyzing Lunaria-sama and salvaging her, you'll be cursed for generations to come… well, it is no exaggeration to say Lunaria-sama is the greatest treasure."

"I think you could call her a priceless gem."

"Don't say it yourself… Everyone, please sheathe your weapons. It was just a little comeback, there's no ill intent."

Despite being in a situation where he was eating with women in the same room, he felt no enjoyment at all. On the contrary, he even felt his life was in danger. Hayato was exhausted, and it was only morning.

He hadn't gotten an answer about the Black Knights, but he decided it was fine and stood up from his seat. He convinced himself that there must be some conflict between them that he didn't understand.

"Well then, I'm going to start work soon, so you all can do whatever you want."

"What is your job, Hayato-san?"

"Lunaria-san, you came here to have Arondight fixed, right? See, I run a shop in the next room. Making the items for that shop is my job. I also have to prepare to go to the floating island. For the next three days, I'll be cooped up in my room making items."

The floating island was an unknown area no one had ever been to before.

He didn't know what was there. They had the combat power, but there was no way he would be careless. Hayato had planned to prepare as many medicines and dishes as possible.

"A floating island?"

"Huh? Did I not mention it? The plan to go to the source of the Olga Domus Waterfall by airship. Since the waterfall is that big, if there's an island, I think it's quite large."

The Olga Domus Waterfall was said to be ten kilometers in diameter. If the place where the water fell from was an island, then that island must be of considerable size.

It would be impossible to explore it all in one day. They would have to set up a base somewhere on the island and explore from there. It would likely be an adventure that took several days.

Hayato could only log in in the morning and at night, and he couldn't fight, but he was looking forward to such an adventure, as it was like camping. Above all, it was a place no one had ever been to. To be the first to set foot there was thrilling.

As he was lost in thought about such an adventure, he noticed Lunaria's gaze.

"What's wrong?"

"I am the Demon Lord."

"I know that."

"I'm super strong."

"I know that too."

"…If you take me on an adventure, I'll be very useful. Recommended."

"I'm sure you would be, but what's this all of a sudden?"

Lunaria frowned slightly, then brought her index fingers together, tapping them against each other. It was a pose she hadn't done much recently, but she used to do it often in the past.

"It's not good to leave people out. I'm going too. I swear on the name of the Demon Lord, I will absolutely go. If we're over capacity, I'll defeat someone and go in their place. Tell me who's going. I'll go launch a little sneak attack."

"Don't say things a Demon Lord would say. No, that's not it. You're coming with us in the first place. Why is it being treated like you're not going?"

Everyone, including Hayato, tilted their heads.

But then Hayato realized. He had been thinking it so naturally that he hadn't put it into words.

"Ah, I see. That's why you didn't know about the island. Sorry, sorry, I didn't say it, but Lunaria-san and all of you from Black Rose are coming with us to the floating island, so please get ready. I'm especially counting on your power as the Demon Lord in an unknown place. I think there will probably be rare monsters too."

Lunaria, still sitting in her chair, looked down and trembled slightly.

"Um, what's wrong?"

At Hayato's words, Lunaria's head shot up. She had a huge smile on her face.

"Leave the island's exploration to me. I will show you the power of the Demon Lord. I'll cut down an island or two for you."

"No, don't cut it down, what are you talking about?"

"I'm getting really motivated. I have to start preparing today. You're gravely mistaken if you think I'm just a cookie girl."

"Do your best. If there are no problems, we'll leave in three days. If you need anything, don't hesitate to ask. Though I'd appreciate it if you bought the materials in the Royal Capital first. But if all of you go, it'll be a huge scene, so go shopping separately… Ah, Rosalie-san and everyone, did you maybe not plan on going to the floating island…?"

"I had a vague feeling we would be going with the flow."

"That's good. I'll be counting on you again."

"It is not that we have agreed, but if Lunaria-sama is going, we have no choice but to go as well."

Hayato patted his chest in relief that there were no particular problems.

Still, he felt a little worried, so he contacted all the members who were scheduled to go with them.