I’m Starving!
The dinner table inside the duke’s castle in the fortress city of Ymir was a war zone. A group of ladies with voracious appetites fought for the food laid out. And when the entire Eucus clan ate together, the fighting was all the fiercer.
“Meals taste even better after a good fight with magicite beasts! Right, Chris?”
“They sure do, Rani.”
The stack of empty plates in front of the duo climbed to the heavens. Growing children needed their nutrition. As the meal drew to its close, there was one full plate left in the center—a meaty chop that both their hands fell upon at once.
Silently, each pulled back her hand as if to signal that she had no particular interest in the chop. The other could have it—as long as seconds were allowed.
They asked in unison, “Sorry, could we have more?”
The maid’s normally sunny expression turned to a frown.
The duke replied, “I’m sorry, you two. That’s all for tonight.”
Inglis and Rafinha twitched.
“What?! But why, father?!” Rafinha cried.
This was the first time Inglis and Rafinha had ever been cut off from extra food.
“The harvest this year was poor. The people of Ymir will suffer—and if they suffer, we must suffer alongside them.”
It was a convincing argument; a good leader did not take more than their fair share, after all. Inglis and Rafinha completely understood that, but logic didn’t fill hungry bellies.
“...!”
Which meant each had no choice but to secure the remaining chop for herself.
“No hard feelings, Chris, but victory is mine!”
“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Rani...because it’s mine!”
“Rock, paper, scissors!”
In the end, Rafinha won the war for the chop. Inglis moaned in dismay. “Ahhhh! I’ll beat you next time!”
The food shortage continued, until one day the two were sent out on patrol with Lieutenant-Captain Ada to fight magicite beasts.
Both Inglis and Rafinha sighed. “Ahh, I’m starving...” they said together.
“Are you two okay?” Ada asked. “That thousand-yard stare you both have is never a good sign.”
“We’re fine,” they answered, still in unison. “We just want to get this done as quickly as possible, and with as little effort as possible.” Working up a sweat would work up more of an appetite.
An outrider called out. “There they are, Ada!”
The young lieutenant-captain assessed the situation. “Cow and pig magicite beasts?! The Prism Flow must have fallen on the livestock, then...”
“Cows...”
“Pigs...”
Inglis and Rafinha had faraway looks on their faces as they turned toward each other.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking, Chris?”
“Sure am, Rani.”
The duo charged forth. “Fooooooooooooooood!”
Ada gasped. “Wait! You can’t get ahead of us like that!”
“Don’t worry, Ada! Let’s go, Chris!”
“Yeah!” Inglis cheered.
Inglis rushed into the swarming mass of magicite beasts, smashing them away as she went, but there was nothing random about her attacks. As they staggered to a halt, the slaughtered beasts formed a neat pile on top of one another.
Ada gasped again, this time in relief rather than panic. “Amazing, Inglis!”
“Rani! Now!”
“Okay! Someone with a flame Artifact, lend me it!”
A delicious smell wafted across the battlefield as the beasts were consumed by a pillar of fire, and Inglis and Rafinha flashed bloodthirsty smiles as they exclaimed, “Mmmm! Smells delicious!”
Ada gasped again—this time out of sheer surprise. “What?! You’re going to eat them?! No, stop!”
“But we’re starving!”
“Someone, stop those two! Stop, you shouldn’t do that! You don’t know where they’ve been! Really, don’t! Ahhhhh! Really, you’re really just going to bite into that?! Stop!”
It was the first and last time Ada was ever seriously angry at them.
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