The Demon King saw the large quantity of bread and snapped his fingers, vanishing on the spot.
A moment later, the Demon King reappeared, holding Aila’s hand.
“Alright, let’s eat.”
“I was just hungry, so this works out perfectly.”
The four of them sat down side by side at the table and began to share the bread.
By the time one basket was almost empty, the owner of the shop came out of the kitchen carrying a large pot.
“Here, your order of traditional demon cuisine has arrived.”
The quantity was truly enormous.
If the tables in the shop had been filled with customers, there would have been enough to serve everyone with a single bowl.
“Can we eat all of this?”
Aila looked at the Demon King with a worried expression and asked.
“If there’s any left, we can take it home.”
It seemed each person had a bowl and ladle in front of them, allowing them to help themselves as they wished.
They dipped the ladle into the pot, stirred it around, and filled their bowls.
The owner himself mentioned that the food lacked flavor.
It could have been a joke, but one had to be prepared to put the spoon in their mouth.
Closing their eyes tightly, they scooped up a spoonful and popped it into their mouth.
Something meaty was chewed, while the vegetables were mushy enough that they didn’t feel the need to chew.
As they kept chewing without swallowing, a peculiar sweetness began to emerge.
“How is it?”
The Demon King asked, looking at me with a face full of expectation.
“It’s edible.”
It wasn’t particularly delicious, but it wasn’t bad enough to be inedible.
However, it felt as if something was subtly lacking in flavor.
Jema also took a bite and shared my sentiment.
I wondered if it was worth paying 3 gold for this.
Seeing the satisfied expression on the Demon King’s face while eating suggested it might taste good after all.
“Why on earth do people come to eat this?”
Even the shop owner questioned the food with a sense of wonder.
“It’s a taste of nostalgia.”
“Nostalgia? It’s been years since this shop was in business.”
The likelihood that the reason the food was late was because the owner forgot how to prepare it seemed increasingly plausible.
“But how do you maintain the shop if you’re not running a business?”
“To the outside world, it looks like a shop, but it’s actually just my house. I used to run a business back in the day. All the way until my parents.”
The taste of nostalgia that the Demon King remembers must be from the food made by the shop owner’s parents.
“It was really hard to remember the recipe.”
“The recipe must be complicated.”
“Well, it’s not that difficult, but it has a special seasoning. I had a hard time remembering the ingredients, so I made it several times.”
The time we spent in the shop was approximately 2 hours.
Considering how quickly they had found the recipe from forgotten memories, it was rather impressive.
“Anyway, take any leftovers with you. You can just reheat it when you eat again.”
The shop owner said this before returning to sit at the counter.
After the meal ended, they took the remaining food in the pot.
“Then, I’ll come back later.”
“Don’t come back. I won’t be making it again.”
As the Demon King said goodbye, the owner waved them off with an annoyed gesture without even looking at them.
Once outside the shop, I asked why we had come here to eat.
“I don’t have many shops I know left.”
This happened after living for such a long time and directly experiencing the changes over the years.
It’s not uncommon for places stored in one’s memory to change differently.
“The owner has stopped running a business since taking over.”
The Demon King looked quite lonely.
When they first left the mansion, they were worried about getting lost, but since Aila was with them, that didn’t happen.
On the way back, there were no checkpoints, and they comfortably arrived at the mansion.
The room assigned to them was on the third floor.
The Demon King and Aila went up to the fourth floor, and we entered the assigned room.
The room was filled with various odds and ends.
“It’s quite a messy room.”
“It seems they don’t manage it at all.”
The one bed present had traces of freshly changed blankets.
Aila must have taken care of that.
As they sat on the bed, it creaked loudly.
“It won’t break, right?”
“The frame looks strong since it’s made of iron.”
Jema took off her outerwear and hung it on the head of the bed, comfortably undoing a few buttons.
“Are we going to the Academy tomorrow?”
“It shouldn’t be much different from Tolis.”
“If that’s the case, I don’t want to go much.”
Because of the experiences at Tolis, I didn’t particularly want to enter the Academy.
Though I wanted to blame the loan agreement, I thought it might be possible to remove that condition since the Demon King would be with me.
Working directly under the Knight Order would allow me to pay off the debt much faster.
The Demon King had said they would help ensure that no unfavorable conditions were attached to me.
In that case, going to the Academy wouldn’t be a disadvantage for me.
“What are you thinking about so much?”
“About the loan agreement.”
“Right. What happened with that?”
I explained to Jema the contents of the modified loan agreement upon arriving here.
After hearing the story, Jema had a look of understanding.
“At least it’s a good thing for us.”
“Yeah, I guess?”
I felt that Aila was plotting something, but it didn’t seem like a bad idea.
I repeated the practice methods I had learned from the Demon King and gradually fell asleep.
In the early morning, which could be called dawn, I awoke.
Since the sun hadn’t risen yet, the outside was somewhat dark.
Jema was deeply asleep, so she wouldn’t be concerned about the situation now.
“Why are you here?”
“I’m bored.”
At some point, the Demon King had entered the room and was crouched under the window.
“But why are you sitting there?”
“I was afraid you’d wake up.”
It seemed the Demon King was doing that to consider us while we slept.
I stood up from the bed, walked over to the window, and plopped down on the floor.
“Did you not sleep?”
“Yeah. I don’t need to sleep.”
That comment was definitely a lie.
The Demon King had a nicely decorated bedroom in the castle.
“Are we going to the Academy starting today?”
“I’m not sure if it starts today.”
Aila asked me to go with her during the day, but I would have to see when it actually began.
“Should I go too?”
“Where? To the Academy?”
“Yeah.”
“What do you plan to learn there?”
The Demon King thought for a moment before offering a sheepish smile.
There shouldn’t be anything for the Demon King to learn at the Academy.
With magic and swordsmanship, their level was that of someone who could teach.
Rather, it would be more appropriate if the Demon King were to take on a teaching role at the Academy.
“Now that I think about it, I have nothing to learn.”
The Demon King gently rested their head on my shoulder.
They had previously said they wouldn’t need it, but before they knew it, they had fallen fast asleep.
I laid the Demon King down on the bed and left the room, heading into the mansion gardens.
The morning air in the capital, Clarke, felt heady, almost intoxicating, beyond mere sweetness.
It was reminiscent of the feeling I had when I first crossed into the Roran area among the olive trees.
A sensation that could not be sensed in Tolis or Latnia’s territory.
A strange sense of elation subtly pushed aside my uneasy feelings.
In a good mood, I practiced transforming mana into light several times.
I became a bit more accustomed to it compared to what I had done in the park yesterday.
As late morning arrived, everyone gathered in the dining room on the first floor of the mansion.
This morning, it was said that the Demon King had prepared the meal specifically.
The food on the table was simply reheated leftovers from the day before’s shop meal.
“Hurry up and eat before it spoils.”
Riki was dishing out food from one bowl to take outside the kitchen.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m delivering a meal to the captain.”
Looking closely, I realized it was only Aila who hadn’t come down.
“Do you always eat in your room?”
“Yeah.”
I began to understand a little bit of what Jie said when they mentioned having only seen Aila twice while working in the headquarters.
If that were true, then I was left wondering how outings were conducted.
Everyone had enough breakfast, but there was still some food left in the pot.
“I can make this into dinner.”
The Demon King murmured to themselves while looking at the pot.
Following Riki’s lead, we stepped outside the mansion, and Aila was already waiting in casual clothes.
“When did you come out?”
“Just now. Ready to go? Please take care of the headquarters while I’m away.”
“Yes.”
Riki answered Aila’s command as if it were routine and returned to the headquarters mansion.
“If you’re going to the Academy, you have to use the dedicated teleport.”
It certainly felt much more convenient than when roaming around the Latnia region.
The teleportation spot was near the square where we had arrived yesterday.
Surrounded by tall walls, there was a vacant center area available.
Contrary to the stories of strict management, they didn’t hinder us from entering at all.
Noticing our arrival, someone with wings fluttered down from the wall above.
An impressive-looking demon with large horns on their head.
“Welcome. Where shall I take you?”
“To Sarita Academy.”
“It’s quite a distance, that’s 10 gold for five of you.”
“Five?”
Hearing the demon’s words, Aila turned around to start counting the number of people.
“Hey, why are you here?”
“Huh? Am I not allowed to come?”
“That’s not it, it’s just the amount….”
“I’ll pay for my fare.”
Dahlia insisted on paying her own fare, handing Aila two gold coins.
After receiving the gold coins, Aila took out the remaining coins from her pocket to cover the cost.
“Alright, everyone, please stand over there. You guys, get up!”
As the demon shouted, three more demons of various appearances flew down.
The four demons extended their hands above us and began to sprinkle mana.
As the mana descended from the sky and touched the ground, a gentle blue light began to emanate from beneath our feet.
“Have a pleasant journey!”
As the four of them shouted in unison, the blue light exploded and engulfed us.
The bright light gradually diminished, and the surrounding scenery had completely changed.
The first thing that appeared upon arrival was a gigantic castle.
“That’s Sarita Academy.”
“Wow.”
We watched the castle in awe for a moment.
The academy seemed larger than the two mountain peaks on either side of it combined.
With mountains surrounding it like castle walls, the academy resembled a natural fortress.
