Chapter 203: The Kukkoro Male Knight and the Honey Trap

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The Liseben Elves used sweet potatoes as their staple food. It was a bit surprising, but the fact that there was a possibility we could introduce them on our side depending on negotiations was extremely welcome. Since these tubers could produce sufficient yields even under poor conditions, they were the perfect crop for lands like Liseben, where food production capacity was uncertain.

But why did a remote backwater like Liseben even have sweet potatoes? In my previous world, they were supposed to be native to South America. No, thinking about it was pointless. I wasn’t a scholar, I was a soldier. That kind of speculation wasn’t my job.

“Sorry for the wait, Onii-sama!”

While I was thinking about that, Karina came running with a simple earthenware bowl piled high with fried onions. The amount of onions was far more than I’d expected. It looked like I’d given her too much money…

“Oh, thanks. We can’t relax and eat here. Let’s go somewhere calmer.”

After glancing at the wagon caravans going up and down the main street in clouds of dust, I gave a wry smile. Eating in a dusty place like this would obviously mean getting a mouthful of grit in no time.

“Delicious! Delicious!”

Ten minutes later. Near the main street, we set up military folding tables and chairs in a small park and ate the fried onions. Uru shoved the steaming pieces into her mouth with a beaming smile.

Ever since we met her, she’d been eating nonstop. Well, we were the ones feeding her, but still. I couldn’t help worrying… Would she end up too heavy to fly someday? Even though it wasn’t my problem, I was starting to feel concerned.

“……”

Karina stared at her with a hard-to-describe expression. Uru eating with her feet must have felt strange to her. I’d heard all birdfolk ate like this, but birdfolk weren’t exactly common in the western part of the Central Continent. Karina’s reaction wasn’t entirely unreasonable.

“When I’m eating, folks around here always make that kind of face.”

Uru stopped her eating hand—no, foot—and let out a wry smile. She swung the fork she held between her toes and let out a small sigh.

“In this country, they never see birdfolk at all. Not being used to it is… Well, it can’t be helped.”

“I–I’m sorry. It’s just unusual…”

Karina bowed her head, sweating nervously. Birdfolk arms were structured like literal bird wings. Naturally, they couldn’t grasp things. In a world where many demi-human species lived, criticizing racial traits was considered one of the greatest insults. And of course, as a properly educated noble lady, Karina would never fail to understand something that basic.

“You don’t have to worry ’bout it. But we do wash our feet properly before we eat. I’d be glad if you didn’t think it’s dirty.”

“Um, okay…”

Yep, she had no idea what Uru just said. It can’t be helped. I leaned over and gave her a rough translation. Over the last few days, I’d gotten somewhat used to the Elf accent. Still, there were times when I struggled…

“I—I understand!”

Karina nodded vigorously, her face red. Seeing her like that, Uru chuckled softly in amusement.

“Well, if it still bothers you, having someone feed you is an option too. For example… Albert-dono could.”

Having someone feed her—the classic “say ahhh” thing. The crow girl suddenly said something embarrassingly cute. But thinking logically, birdfolk weren’t suited for using tools. Even if they were dexterous with their feet, they still couldn’t use them as freely as hands. Considering that, being fed by other species who had hands might indeed be normal for them.

“…Here.”

I stabbed a piece of fried onion from my plate with a fork and held it out in front of Uru. She stared at it, looking extremely flustered, but after steeling herself, she bit into it.

“No one’s watching… Right…?”

After swallowing it, Uru muttered quietly while looking up at the sky. She let out a relieved breath and shook her head side to side. At some point, her face had turned bright red.

If you’re that embarrassed, don’t suggest it in the first place!

Also, the way she naturally looked up… Yeah, there were probably Elf-side birdfolk scouting over Carrera’s skies. But at a certain altitude, you couldn’t tell birdfolk from regular birds anyway. And our only countermeasure was wyverns. We only had three of them. Realistically, all we could do was ignore it…

“Next one, here you go.”

Still, catching her off guard with something so trivial felt surprisingly good. Grinning, I offered the next piece.

“……”

Uru glared at me, then shyly bit into that one too. Yes, yes, not bad at all. Until now she’d always controlled the pace of our conversations, but I felt like I could drag her into my tempo now.

…Karina was staring at me like, “Is this guy for real…?” but I pretended not to notice.

“Now that I think about it… Back when we talked about the sweet-potato-Elf-thing… We actually know almost nothing about your people. If we’re going to deepen our relationship from here, that’s a really bad situation.”

“Mugu mugu… Y-yeah, that’s true.”

Uru nodded while pecking at the onions I kept offering her (not that birdfolk had beaks).

“I’d appreciate it if you could tell us what you can, within reasonable limits, of course.”

“Sure, I don’t mind…”

“Your consideration is greatly appreciated!”

While glancing nervously around us, Ur agreed. She looked absent-minded, as if her mind were somewhere else.

Good, good, perfect. While she’s distracted, I could get the information we needed.

I poured oat beer—something the attendants had bought from a nearby stall—into a cup and held it out to her. With a “whatever happens, happens” expression, she leaned forward and drank from the cup I held.

…She was a dark-skinned beauty with exotic features you’d never see in Galea. And she wore such thin clothing that her cleavage was nearly exposed. Having such a seductive woman drinking beer with her throat moving right in front of my face… It felt strangely indecent.

Yeah… perks of the job, perks of the job.

“…What I’m most curious about is the Elves’ lifespan. I heard Lady Dalaiya was over a thousand years old, yet she looked incredibly young. Are the Elves… Perhaps immortal?”

Yes, that was the issue. Naturally (assuming Dalaiya’s story was true), their civil war and food shortages had drastically reduced their population, so they clearly weren’t unkillable. Still, being free of the limit of aging alone made them quite a threat.

“Don’t be talkin’ ’bout other women while doin’ stuff like this…”

“…What?”

Uru muttered something under her breath, but I didn’t catch it. When I asked again, she only said, “Nothin’ at all.”

So that meant “it’s nothing,” I guessed? Elf accents really were hard.

“Just like you said, Elves don’t have a lifespan.”

She sighed before answering. Wait, what? They seriously were immortal? That made their reason for kidnapping men even more incomprehensible. A species with almost no reproductive urgency? I didn’t get it at all…

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