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Chapter 99 - The culprit is the Evil Dragon!

「Based on all the times I saw them having a meal, Revendia only eats vegetables and gives all the other dishes to his kin- in other words, he’s vegetarian. His taste leans more towards the lighter side. It all comes down to how I cook a meal where the sweetness of the vegetables melt into the broth…」

Sousou kept muttering while preparing the meal but every point was locked onto my exact taste. In the tub of iced water were vegetables waiting for their turn to be turned into a salad and in the kitchen stove was soup with plenty of herbs and seasoning cooked over a light flame.

The stone oven was already heated up from using charcoal fire and prepared to receive the main dish. Using garlic, mushrooms and root vegetables fried in vegetable oil as the core, the dish was wrapped in dough kneaded with wheat and beans. The ones prepared for Rēko and Sheina had minced meat in them, a very considerate move.

Out of all the dishes made so far, this is the one that matches my taste the most.

「Fufu, if you let your guard down and think that this is the same as the ones before, then you’ll be gravely mistaken. The dough this time is made using a dashi broth of mushrooms and seaweed [Note: dashi is traditional Japanese soup stock made from varying ingredients, often seaweed (e.g. kelp) among others, that is foundational to many Japanese dishes]. Just one taste of this dish and they’ll lose all will to escape this barrier.」

Sousou, who was muttering to herself, looked extremely happy.

From her hands shot out an uncountable number of magic threads which connected to every cooking utensil and controlled them at the same time.

-I turned on my heels back out again with the medicine box still slung to my back.

And so after around 10 minutes.

「Eeeh?! You didn’t mix in the sleeping drugs?!」

「Sorry… I’m really sorry. I just couldn’t bring myself to put in any drugs of any sort in that dish.」

I was in the lobby of the state guesthouse, crying tears of apology towards Sheina who just came.

「I never would have imagined that a Demon King Commander would cook food. The heck? That doll still hasn’t given up? I thought it retreated after being beaten by Rēko.」

「What should we do Sheina? Although it’s important to poison Raiotto, with the culprit so close at hand, there may be a chance that Rēko will find out. If she found out that this place was inside Sousou’s barrier, she’ll rage out of control… can we somehow distance them from each other without them noticing?」

「That’s true… We have to stop Rēko from approaching the kitchen at all costs.」

The moment we nodded to each other, both aware of the approaching danger…

「Sheina, since we have one more guest, I’ll go to the kitchen and order one more serving.」

「Nooooooooo-!!!」

Out of nowhere Rēko started to approach the kitchen. I used both my front legs to cling onto her to stop her. Sheina also grasped both of Rēko’s shoulders, glaring with bloodshot eyes.

「That won’t do Rēko, you’ve already risen to the rank of state minister, you can’t be doing those sorts of miscellaneous chores anymore. Just obediently wait at the banquet hall for the meal to be carried out okay?」

「Mu, does the state minister not do this sort of thing…?」

「They don’t. That’s right, it’s the job of the state minister to sit in their seats and behave. Is that clear?」

「I understand, I’ve learnt something new.」

「So then, you go first to the banquet hall. This type of thing, the ones with higher status have to go first. We will follow after you later.」

「Okay.」

Rēko walked at a brisk pace towards the banquet hall.

As soon as I saw the door to the hall close, I let out a sigh of relief and turned toward Sheina.

「Whew, for now we’ve dodged the danger of having Rēko entering the kitchen. Sheina?」

Turning back, I saw Sheina and- Raiotto, collapsed at her feet on the floor, not moving an inch.

「…Sheina?」

「I’m sorry Lord Evil Dragon. If it wasn’t possible to mix it into the meal, then this is the only option we have left.」

Sheina said so with the coldness of a soldier residing in her eyes.

「Just what did you do to him? Is he okay?」

「It’s okay. I just made him smell this handkerchief smeared with an extract of sleeping drugs. There won’t be any after effects.」

「It seems like you took a rather drastic measure.」

It seems like just before Raiotto lost consciousness, using the extract of sleeping drugs, he wrote the word “Evil Dragon” on the floor just like a dying message.

I would like it if you change your way of thinking where you blame me for every single incident.

「Good. With this, it wraps up Mr. Brainwash. Let’s quickly take the sword and seal it up.」

「How do we explain this to Rēko?」

「Just say he went home.」

「Rēko would probably believe that but wouldn’t that lead the conversation to why Raiotto came here?」

Then we threw Raiotto in a random empty room and locked the door tightly.

The only witness who watched from start to finish was the spirit who just stood there motionlessly in the lobby. It wouldn’t be excessive to call this a perfect crime.

Sheina stared at the confisticated sword closely.

「What should we do with this sword? Lord Evil Dragon, should we sell it for money?」

「Stop thinking like a bandit. Isn’t this some sort of expensive goods? Lets just return it later.」

「Well, you’re right but… it doesn’t give off the feeling of something good. Though it doesn’t change the fact that it’s strong.」

「Well, for now, just leave it with me for now.」

It wasn’t like we could just leave it lying around, so I just wrapped it in cloth and stuffed it in our luggage.

「Now then, let’s hurry up and head to the banquet hall to wait for our food. We can’t come into contact with Sousou carrying out the food.」

「Right. I mean, now that you mention it, the food isn’t poisoned right?」

「It’s been fine for these two weeks so it’ll be fine today as well.」

As we entered the hall, we saw Rēko sitting boldly, waiting for the food.

Sheina and I also moved to our respective seats (my seat is on the floor in the corner). Soon, a waiter-like extra knocked and carried in the dishes.

It’s without a doubt the food that I saw Sousou making with passion just before.

The extras left after setting the trays but, if you looked closely, you can see that the door to the hall was only partly closed.

From the small crevice, you could also see a rabbit doll peeking inside.

I didn’t realize until now but that’s how it analyzes our preferences.

Now that I’ve realized, to be honest, it’s extremely uncomfortable.

「Ehh… Now then, let’s have our meal. Make sure to thank the one who made this meal while eating. I believe they definitely put a lot of effort into making it.」

「Ye-yeah, Rēko too, make sure to be grateful to the one who made the meal.」

「Umu.」

Rēko and Sheina finished showing their gratitude for the meal and started eating. Although Sheina started off smelling the food, looking for anything suspicious but soon started eating normally, losing to the taste of the high quality meal.

However, for me who has been exposed to the truth, I couldn’t eat with ease.

「Wah, it’s so delicious, it’s so very delicious. The person who made this should be one who has an overflowing amount of character. It will definitely be one who is kind and upright that could cook such a delicious meal.」

Even though I knew that it was a bit awkward, I still lined up many compliments without going too far.

What’s worse was that the taste had absolutely no problems and with each bite I took, the compliments flowed out indefinitely.

「Lo-Lord Evil Dragon… That’s a bit… obvious…」

「Uhh… The pressure on me is too big. I’m worried that if I don’t compliment Sousou while I eat, it will become unhappy.」

Sheina and I, without moving our faces, with just our eyes sneaking a peak toward the door.

And there, behold, Sousou had collapsed on its back.

Just like the time when it almost got purified, as if saying “I no longer have any regrets.”

「……」

A moment of silence flowed between Sheina and I, then we moved towards the door.

When the door opened and we came into Sousou’s view, it didn’t move an inch. I wonder why but on the floor beside its hand was written “Evil Dragon.” In one day, there were two dying messages carved onto the floor.

「It’s dead…」

「Not good, it can’t die at this place. If it died here then-」

*Rumble* Within the barrier, an ominous sound rang through the earth and a violent earthquake shook the ground. Rolling on the floor through the vibrations, I looked out the window of the state guesthouse and my fears were confirmed.

It looked as if the barrier would collapse at any moment, and in the sky, cracks were gradually opening.