Tom saw them and naturally smiled. It was foreign to him to see all manner of different demi-humans, each with a different appearance, gathered to break bread.
Tom spoke to them, "Hey, can I join?"
"Hm? Ah, of course. Well, we're short on meat, but it's half the fun to share what we have."
A gnoll spoke with a smile curled on his lips.
"Ah, how are you going to eat it? Raw? Or cooked?"
"I would appreciate it if it was cooked. Also…"
Tom peered over at a place beyond the camp. In the distance not too far, corpses of the Allied Army of the Hero were all lying buck naked, with the majority of them decapitated. Tom, who saw the gruesome scene with maggots wriggling and flies buzzing, looked at the meat awkwardly. The Demon Kingdom could naturally reuse their equipment, but he felt creepy about the fact that they were headless.
"Is this… human meat?"
All the demons, including the gnoll, looked at Tom in surprise. The gnoll then covered his mouth with his hands and looked as if he was forcing himself to keep from hurling.
"…Uwek!"
"…?"
"Y-you bastard! Do you perhaps eat humans?! You're truly disgusting! Can you actually stomach those bastards' flesh?"
The gnoll shouted angrily, but also covered his mouth in surprise as though he had made a mistake.
"Ah, I apologize. I have a bit of a bias, you see. Well, there are all kinds of tribes, so there out to be some demi-humans that eat humans."
"Demons don't eat humans?"
The gnoll looked at Tom with ridicule as if to say, 'You don't even know that?'
"Are you talking about demi-humans? Or are you talking about wild demons?"
When Tom grew silent, the gnoll shook his head as he continued.
"Ains don't eat people that look like you. They would feel like a cannibal eating someone that resembles them so much, so they try to avoid eating human meat even if they're starving. Well, as for wild demons… they don't distinguish between human or demi-human meat."
"Is that so?"
"…Think about it. They have the same shape as us! Those bastards also speak, walk, and use tools just like us. Besides, what do you think will happen to our digestion, eating the flesh of those crazy bastards screaming 'For the blessing of God…!'? Uwek! My stomach is turning just thinking about it… I want to puke."
"…"
"Really, I've been told that some hunt and eat wild demons, but this is the first time I've heard anyone say they eat humans. Well, they say humans also hunt and eat demons, so…"
Was there such a rumor?
"Ah, shoot! I made another mistake… I'm sorry. I didn't mean to look down on you merely because you eat humans."
Tom waved his head in response.
"I was just joking."
"Ah, that's all?"
The gnoll looked relieved.
"Then, this meat is…?"
The gnoll waved the meat in his hand.
"Ah, this? It's some wild demons around here we've hunted."
"…Wild demons. I see. I appreciate your kind intentions."
Looking at the big picture, humans and beasts were categorized as animals, while demi-humans and wild demons were categorized as Demons. They referred to each other differently, but they shared a lot of similarities.
The gnoll held out the cooked meat. It was dark enough to look burnt, but the inside must have been cooked well as he could see the golden color on the inside and oil drizzling out in between the hardened crust.
Tom took a big bite out of curiosity. He winced from the burnt flavor, but the meat tasted mellow with the juices making the overall taste pretty good. Rather, it couldn't be compared to wild animals at all. It was the best tasting meat out of all that Tom had tried so far, and it had left such a deep impression as to cause his face to relax once more.
Tom let out an exclamation with a bright expression. He instinctively licked the remaining oily juices left on his lips.
"…Delicious! It's a completely different taste than that of wild animals!"
"Of course! Don't you know how precious wild demon meat is? It's difficult enough finding wild demons, but even harder to hunt one. Still, their supple meat tastes really great!"
"This… is dangerous. It's the first time I've tasted one, but I feel like I'm getting addicted."
Tom spoke honestly as he looked at the demon flesh. Now that he thought about it, he had heard rumors that sovereigns of the continent, such as emperors and kings, often ate demon meat. It had always remained hearsay, and the Holy Kingdom had forbidden it for being ominous, but now he wasn't so sure.
'That rumor could be true!'
With this kind of flavor, the nobles could be secretly eating demon meat.
An ogre, who had been watching Tom, tilted his neck curiously then scratched his bald skull. He was rubbing the bump on his head before clapping his hands together as though he had recalled something.
"Ah, I remember! You… Uh… You're the person that hit me on the head, right? Huh? Maybe not…? That person was definitely a Holy Knight…? But… Doesn't he look similar?"
The ogre tilted his head back and forth, looking confused. Tom was surprised and looked back at the speaker. He had never met the ogre himself since he had been at the Holy Palace for 30 years, and when he left, he had only visited the Golden Palace, spending most of his time lost in the forest. To have met the ogre in that process…
"…"
…There was!
The arena at the Stronghold of Money within the Golden Region! There was an incident where he had smacked an ogre in the head to knock him out.
Tom began to sweat nervously. He was concerned whether this might lead to some commotion, but the gnoll timely spoke to the ogre in frustration.
"Ey! You must be wrong! If you just look at him… Huh? Now that I look at you, you do seem strange. Leaves… a beast's hide… horn like branches. Mmm…? But you smell different than humans! You must be a demon! Ey! Apologize! Don't you think you've hurt his feelings, comparing him to a Holy Knight?!"
The ogre put his hands together and bowed in apology in response to the gnoll's conclusion.
"I… am sorry."
"No, it's ok."
A part of Tom's heart stung, but he decided to get over it. It wasn't a lie anyways. In truth, his identity as a Holy Knight was a false one, and he was also not human.
"Mr. Unknown demi-human, just relax. Forget that you were compared to some dirty Holy Knight. Now, now. I'll ask forgiveness in his stead."
The gnoll said as such and pulled a bottle from his leather pouch.
"Ah, I've alcohol as well. Want a drink?"
"Thank you. I was feeling a bit thirsty."
Tom received the pouch and took a swig. The ogre continued to watch him, however, while scratching his head, speaking sluggishly, "I was mistaken… That female Ell… what was it? Our savior… Anyways, I saw a similar Holy Knight where we met her."
"Stupid! How can you forget your savior's name?!"
"…But I remembered her smell."
"Still, you should have at least memorized her name! She's the one that brought us all the way here!"
The surprised ogre kept slapping his rotund belly in annoyance.
"It's Miss Ellin! Miss Ellin! Remember it well…!"
"Pfffft?!"
Tom spat out the drink in his mouth, and because of his abrupt reaction, the gnoll sitting beside him got drenched.
"…Do you have some grudge against me?"
"I'm sorry. I didn't intend to… Haha."
Tom apologized while laughing awkwardly. At the same time, he also sighed in his heart. Ellin, who he believed he had misdirected within the Golden Region, had arrived at the border on the battlefront.
— Ω —