Berserk of Gluttony (LN) - Volume 6 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1:

The Merchant Town of Tetra

NOT LONG AFTER departing for the south from the Kingdom of Seifort, the merchant town of Tetra came into view. As far as mounts went, these motorbikes were exceptionally swift. I finally understood what Greed meant when he claimed that they harnessed the power of a hundred horses—in half a day, we had covered what would have taken two full days on horseback.

Roxy rode on the back of my motorbike, humming pleasantly. Soon, we would break for lunch. Climbing off our bikes, we looked out at the town of Tetra before us.

“It’s as lively as usual,” I said.

“It is, isn’t it? This is the center of trade for the southern realms, after all,” Roxy said. “Oh, look over there! How cute!”

She pointed to a busy outdoor stall displaying a variety of ornaments and accessories. Roxy loved looking at that kind of thing. When she had been a holy knight, she’d made a point of not wearing many accessories, so she’d simply taken pleasure in window shopping. Now that she’d relinquished her position as head of the Hart family, returning it to her father, she was just another traveling swordsman. She had decided this so that she could travel by my side. I couldn’t believe she’d do such a thing, but at the same time, nothing could have made me happier.

“What’s on your mind, Fay? You’re smiling.” Roxy tilted her head, bird-like, and walked up to me. Recently, I felt like we’d become closer than we’d ever been.

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s nothing.” My thoughts must have been written all over my face. I heard Greed grumbling about how I had let my guard down, but I ignored him. “Seeing as we’ve come all this way, can I buy you something?” 

I didn’t have to worry about money anymore, especially compared to when I was a mere servant. Now I could buy Roxy anything at any of the stalls we looked at. However, Roxy shook her head.

“This is more than enough for me,” she said, taking out the pendant hidden in her shirt and showing it to me. I had given her the jewel set in that pendant long ago. “I love looking at all the stalls and their accessories, but I don’t want anything for myself.”

“Okay.”

As Roxy and I looked at each other, I felt an icy gaze piercing me from behind. Roxy seemed to feel it too, and we both turned toward the source. 

“I’m so sorry to interrupt the obviously special moment you two are sharing, but can we talk about lunch yet?” Memil said, not sorry at all.

“Yeah, I’m starving. Can you save your lovey-dovey stuff for later?” Eris added.

They stared at us with eyes devoid of any feeling whatsoever. Before we could reply, they went on.

“I thought the four of us were traveling as a party, but it feels a lot like the two of you are on your own little honeymoon,” said Eris.

“You’re exactly right, Your Majesty. They should be ashamed of themselves.”

Roxy and I bowed apologetically. “Sorry…” we chorused.

“By the way, Eris,” I said, “are you sure it’s okay to leave the motorbikes right there on the street like that? Aren’t you worried someone will take them?”

Eris laughed. “Don’t give it a second thought. You need at least 100,000 in your magic stat to get one of these bad boys to move. Not to mention, they’re painted with the royal seal. If you’re going to steal one, you’d better prepare for one hell of a royal punishment.”

“Could you not say stuff like that with such a devilish gleam in your eyes?” I asked.

“Sorry, sorry. It’s like I told you before; live as long as I have, and you start to lose touch with these sorts of things.”

I wondered if that really was the case. Myne had once said something similar, and she’d been alive even longer than Eris. Myne had also completely lost her sense of taste, professing that everything tasted the same. 

Right now, though, she was somewhere far from us, seeking the mysterious Door to Distant Lands. It was her obsession. Her reason for living.

The Door to Distant Lands… So far, all I knew about it was that it could bring the dead back to life. Through that power, Roxy’s father, Lord Mason, had been able to return despite his death in Galia, as had his soldiers. The Door had even resurrected my own father, and because of some kind of “contract,” he was stronger now than I’d ever known. 

But the Door didn’t only bring humans back to life. Ancient monsters once thought extinct were coming back too. They had stats much higher than any ordinary adventurer—stats that put them in the Domain of E. Monsters at this level could only be hurt by others of the same level or stronger; they were impervious to all other harm. The Divine Dragon had been known as the Heavenly Calamity because of this power.

If ancient monsters started running rampant, it would plunge the world spiraling into chaos. We had embarked on this journey to prevent Shin from opening the Door to Distant Lands and avert that disaster. Eris’s partial analysis of the Philosopher’s Stone had told us that Shin was currently hiding somewhere near Hausen on the Barbatos estate. If we could find Shin, we would also find Myne.

I knew what I had to do: find Myne and stop her.

This was much easier said than done. We couldn’t just rush into battle with Myne. I needed to have my body, soul, and mind in total alignment. With her innate martial talents and her astronomical strength, fighting her would cost us, possibly more than we could afford. We were still a ways from Hausen, but as we drew nearer, my anxieties multiplied. 

Roxy must have felt that nervousness drifting from me, because she clasped my hand in her own. “Let’s get some lunch then!” she said. “We all know what Fay is like, so let’s find a place with hearty meat dishes.”

“Yeah… Yeah!” I said. “Something thick and juicy would hit the spot.”

“Well, then, let’s head this way! There’s a tavern a little farther down the road, and I’m told the meat is so tender, it falls off the bone.”

“Sounds fantastic.”

“When I went to Galia on my expedition, Mugan recommended it. It lived up to his promises.”

“That guy knows his food, huh?”

“He’s got a lot of experience under his belt.”

Roxy and I began walking toward the restaurant, but we suddenly felt an icy gaze once again drilling into our backs. Turning, we saw Eris and Memil, their eyes narrowed into slits.

“Have you already forgotten what I said earlier?” asked Eris.

“Insufferable!” cried Memil.

These two… They’re not going to make things easy, I thought. All Roxy and I had done was talk about going to lunch, and even that was too cloying for them!

“Sorry…” Roxy and I echoed.

“Will the two of you ever learn? Anyway, we’re going to have meat for lunch, then?”

“That’s correct, Your Majesty, that’s the plan,” said Memil. “However, the bar also serves delicious fish as well as a selection of other delicacies. Tetra is the nexus of trade in the south, so there’s no shortage of interesting ingredients.”

“Delicacies such as…liquor?”

“But of course!”

“Then it’s decided!”

Eris drank like a fish, and she wasn’t a lightweight. On the contrary, a barrel of wine was nothing to her. Literally. When we had gone together to my local tavern for a couple drinks, I’d seen her finish an entire barrel by herself. I doubted that I would ever forget that sight.

“Eris, I’m begging you,” I said, “go easy today. Drink too much and you won’t be able to drive.”

“That’s not a problem; why do you think we brought Memil?”

Memil flashed me an awkward glance. When my adopted sister was put in this kind of situation, she lost her cool and got flustered. Unfortunately, there wasn’t anything she could do. The rules were clear: what the queen says goes.

“As you wish, Your Majesty. I’ll handle the driving, so please relax and enjoy the wide array of beverages on offer.”

“You are simply wonderful, Memil! Just so wonderful!”

Like any good maid, Memil made the needs and desires of her queen her top priority. This pleased Eris greatly. She grinned and gave Memil a pat on the head. Meanwhile, Memil stared at me, despair in her eyes. She had sat behind “Her Majesty” since we left the kingdom, listening to Eris’s chatter the entire time.

The moment the others were distracted, however, Memil bared her fangs at me. She was letting me know that she planned on taking more of my blood later this evening. She’d drunk my blood a few days ago, yet she already wanted more. If it meant that Memil would keep Eris content and out of my hair, I’d be happy to donate. I gave a subtle nod and Memil’s face immediately brightened.

“Let’s get ourselves a feast then!” I said, and the girls cheered with excitement.

I was sure of one thing: I’d better eat my fill if I was going to lose another pint to Memil’s sanguine appetites. 

We entered the tavern that Roxy recommended and found it full of raucous diners. There wasn’t a single empty table. But this was where Eris’s special talents came into play. Her seductive Lust skill soon drew the attention of a few unsavory-looking adventurers, who hopped out of their chairs and practically threw themselves on the ground before her.

“I don’t suppose you big boys would be willing to part with your table for us, would you?”

“It would be our pleasure!”

“Oh, you are so gracious! Why don’t you go kneel down over there and wait quietly until I’ve finished my meal? I bet you’d love to see what it looks like when I eat.”

“Thank you so much! You’re much too kind!”

It seemed like the rest of the tavern crowd had no fondness for those adventurers, because they applauded Eris for handling them so deftly.

“Well,” Eris said, “I found us an empty table. Shall we?”

“I am never going to get used to seeing you do that,” I said. “It’s terrifying.”

“Don’t knock it until you try it for yourself. I’m always ready for you, Fate.”

“Stop! Stop that! You’ll only make my nose bleed again, and I don’t need that while I’m eating!”

“More’s the pity… But I’ll be free all evening, so just say the word, okay?”

Eris’s wink sent a shiver down my spine as the painful memories of her mental endurance training once again flashed through my mind. Even now, I could hardly believe that I had resisted her charms as well as I did. By the time our meal arrived, I had broken into a cold sweat.

Eris ordered fish, but the rest of us chose meat dishes. I went with the kingdom’s traditional beef steak, while Roxy and Memil decided on bowls of creamy stew with herb-stuffed chicken. A waitress set down a plate holding a huge grilled fish, the flesh still vibrant even after being cooked.

“Think you can eat all that by yourself?” I asked Eris.

“Without a doubt! I also intend to indulge in this tavern’s finest wines!”

Eris clapped her hands and waitresses arrived bearing bottles of wine, which they placed around her plate. It was like Eris was all set to have a celebratory banquet.

“Perfect! Can I talk you into sharing a glass with me, Fate?”

“Not today. I’ve got stuff to do later, and I don’t want to drink beforehand.”

“Oh? Where are you off to?”

“Visiting some old graves. There’s something I need to check for myself. But I’ll be back by evening.”

“I see. Such a pity. How tragic, a girl like me drinking all by her lonesome…” Eris muttered as she drained her first glass of wine. “Roxy and Memil don’t drink either… What’s a girl to do?”

It looked like she had settled on having a one-woman drinking party.

It had been a while since Roxy and Memil last had the opportunity to dine outside of Seifort, so they were both in high spirits. They tore off chunks of bread to enjoy with their bowls of stew. They agreed it was excellent, and they speculated on what other foods they wanted to eat. 

This journey seemed like a good opportunity for the two of them to get to know each other. The Hart and Vlerick families had been opposed in the past, but Roxy and Memil had discarded those old grudges and begun a new friendship.

So went my thoughts as I cut a slice of steak and shoveled it into my mouth. I didn’t want my food to get cold.

“Mmmm!”

It was grilled to perfection, bursting with juicy flavor! The taste was so good, it put me on cloud nine! As I blissfully devoured my steak, seated beside my hard-drinking queen, an adventuring party entered the tavern.

At a glance, the adventurers looked tough. They were equipped with good gear, probably high level. Noticing that no tables were free, they sauntered over toward me.

“Oi. You. Yeah, you with the pretty little servant girls. We’re hankering for some grub, so why don’t you just give us your seat and make yourself scarce?”

Another one of the adventurers laughed. “Yeah, what he said.”

“Get out of here, you third-rate wannabe.”

It was clear they wanted me gone so they could dine with my traveling partners. Little did they know what they were getting themselves into. I was reminded once more that a little knowledge went a long way, and a lack of it could land you in a world of hurt. I thought it best if I warned them as politely as possible.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I said. “Seriously. The safest thing you could do right now is keep your mouths shut, got it?”

“Huh?! How dare you speak to me like that?! Do you have any idea who we are?”

“And what if I turned the question back at you? Look, I’m just giving you a friendly warning.”

The adventurer snorted derisively. “Tough guy, huh? If you think you’ve got what it takes, prove it.”

The moment he finished speaking, all three of the women at the table stood. Roxy was not one to stand for such brazen attempts at bullying. Meanwhile, Memil was eager to let off some steam after having been at Eris’s beck and call all day. Finally, Eris didn’t care to have dumb adventurers interrupt her one-woman drinking party. As for me? To be honest…I just couldn’t think of a way to stop what happened next.

Eris smiled and beckoned toward the adventurers. “Well, if you’re going to be that insistent, I’d be happy to play with you.”

“Ha, for real? It’s my lucky day, boys!”

“But not here. We wouldn’t want to disturb the diners now, would we?”

“You heard her, boys! And as for you, you third-rate wannabe, I hope your steak still tastes as good after it’s seasoned with tears of loneliness!”

The group of adventurers excitedly followed Eris out of the tavern. In less than a minute, Eris, Roxy, and Memil returned to their seats. 

Eris breathed a sigh of relief. “Those guys were a complete pain in the ass.”

“Indeed,” said Roxy. “To think there are still adventurers roaming the lands with such poor manners.”

“They were just what I needed!” Memil cried happily. “Let’s eat!”

Eris and Roxy grinned and nodded. They resumed eating and talking as if nothing had happened. On the other hand, I felt like my steak had lost its flavor. I had tried to warn those guys. Really, I had. I told them not to interrupt the meal, that it was too dangerous, but they didn’t listen.

Then my thoughts wandered to Myne and the way she used to get angry in almost exactly the same way. This was a clear reminder that I accompanied a group of extraordinarily powerful, supremely capable young women.