After listening to Queen Triana's explanation, King Redis laughed happily because one of the big problems he had been thinking about had been resolved. Princess Irene's recovery meant she could start undergoing strength-enhancing training again so that the minimum power limit to use her abilities without burdening her body could be quickly reached.
King Redis chatted briefly with the two of them, and then he allowed Prince Viron and Prince Irene to return to their room.
In the room, only king Redis and Queen Triana remained. After Prince Viron and Princess Irene left the room, King Redis suddenly put on a severe face. Then he looked at Queen Triana next to him.
"Did you notice there was something different about Irene's attitude?" King Redis asked Queen Triana.
"Hmm… I do feel that something has changed with her attitude. But I think it's natural considering she's just recovered from an internal disease she's been suffering from for years." Queen Triana gave her opinion to King Redis.
"I hope so. But if this has anything to do with those humans, I won't hesitate to kill them all. If the Cirlus Kingdom interferes, then I will go to war with them." King Redis said coldly. Queen Triana could feel the seriousness in her husband's words.
***
Princess Irene lay down on her bed as soon as she got to her room. She felt exhausted and wanted to rest quickly. But, when she closed her eyes, she remembered all the things that had happened that day. Something that still intrigued her was the person who had implanted the limiting power. Even her mother, the strongest mage of the Demon Kingdom, couldn't detect it.
At first, she thought Kalya was the one who had implanted the limiting power in her. That's because Kalya is a high elf and has the most power among the other two people in the hut. However, she felt doubtful because Kalya and Princess Freya looked obedient to Ziel. He was just a butler of a noble daughter of the Neigal Kingdom. So how could the two Princesses of the kingdom want to obey him like that? Princess Irene feels a special connection between Ziel and the two girls.
"I thank you for making me realize the true value of my existence, Ken." Princess Irene opened her eyes and muttered.
After Ziel had told her all these things, she realized that she didn't need the fake care of so many people. What she needed was people who genuinely cared about her, even if they were no more than the number of fingers on her hand.
Until now, Princess Irene still can't tell which people genuinely care about her and which ones don't. She has extraordinary special abilities. But when it can no longer be used, she will be ignored. She has a lovely face. But when she gets old and is no longer beautiful, she will be a discarded doll. She is a Princess from the Demon Kingdom. But when she loses that title, she will only be seen as an ordinary girl and abandoned by her followers.
"You did wake me up, Ken. But you still have to pay for lecturing a Princess like me! How dare a butler to speak to me like that! When we meet again, I will repay you, Ken!" Princess Irene muttered again. Even though her words were like she was angry with Ziel, her face showed a charming smile.
***
Time quickly passed, and night had come. Right now, the people from the academy had gathered by the beach to enjoy their barbecue. King Raghnall also came to accompany Merlick and monitor the event.
The Cirlus Kingdom provides various kinds of meat for the event. Sea animals, poultry, mammals, and even magical beasts are also available. Since the number of people participating in the event was quite large, they divided them into groups. The students have the right to determine their group, and a teacher will be placed there as a supervisor.
As usual, Ziel is in the same group as Clara. Apart from them, Princess Iris, Princess Freya, Lilith, Rhea, Dalvin, and James also joined the group. In addition, Princess Aishia was also with them. She was getting used to being around them. At first, she just wanted to always be with Ziel. But it turns out that she feels comfortable with Clara and the girls in the group. After arguing with several other teachers, Kalya became the group's supervisor. Thus, everyone who played together on the beach before was again in the same group.
"What are you grilling, Ken?" Clara asked Ziel. In the group, they divide the tasks for boys and girls. The boys were in charge of the grilling while the girls prepared the condiments and cut the vegetables. But Lilith and Princess Freya sometimes help Ziel to grill the meat.
"I grilled cockatrice and wyvern meat, my lady. If you don't like the meat of magical beasts, you can eat beef and poultry that James and Dalvin are grilling." Ziel pointed at Dalvin and James next to him. They were seen having fun with the pile of meat on their grill. Ziel suggested Clara beef because he had never served Clara with magical beast meat before. Besides that, he never saw Clara eat magical beast meat, so he thought Clara would not like it.
"I want to try that meat you grilled. Besides, I've never eaten Cockatrice or wyvern meat. This made me wonder how the meat of the two magical beasts tasted." Clara was curious about the taste of the meat Ziel was grilling.
"Hmm… The taste of the meat of the two magical beasts was similar to that of chicken. However, some of the body parts of the magical beast contain poison. So, we have to be smart in choosing it." Ziel often ate meat from magical beasts in his past life. When they traveled in the subjugation of the people of the divine race, they had to forcefully camp in the forest and hunt magical beasts for their food.
The Cockatrice is a small western dragon-like magical beast with reptile legs and a rooster-like head, while the Wyvern is a winged reptile that is a subspecies of the dragon. The taste of both types of meat is very similar to that of poultry. Ziel had often eaten those two magical beasts in the past.
"How come you know so much about it, Ken? Do you often eat magical beast meat? I've heard that if you overeat magical beast meat, your body will explode." Clara became even more curious after hearing Ziel's answer.
"Before becoming your butler, I did often hunt magical beasts and eat them. But I've never done that lately. You will indeed explode if you overeat magical beast meat. But, if you knew how to process those meats, that would never happen. Instead, you will get abundant benefits." Ziel explained without taking his eyes off the meat on the grill. He focused on the level of doneness of the meat.
"Eh? Is that true? What benefits can I get after eating magical beast?" Clara was tempted after hearing that magical beast meat could provide benefits.
"It's true, my lady. The benefits depend on what magical beast meat we eat. Some can cure diseases, rejuvenate the skin, improve mana flow, and help increase our strength to the next level. How effective it depends on how much you eat and how you process it. By the way, these two types of meat benefit increasing your strength. But because the portion is small, you won't feel the change." Ziel gave Clara a piece of cooked, grilled Cockatrice.
"Thank you, Ken. Then I will taste it. Enjoy your meal!" Clara accepted the plate of grilled beef and ate it straight away.
"Mmm…as you said, it tastes like chicken but tastes more savory. So, how many pieces of meat do I have to eat to take my strength to the next level?" Clara asked Ziel while cutting and eating the grilled meat on her plate.
During the six months at the academy, Clara's development slowed down a bit. She was still at the Senior Mage while Princess Iris had already risen to become a Magic Master. But this is understandable because Princess Iris was already close to becoming a Magic Master when she first entered the academy. But Clara felt left out by her best friend, making her a little depressed.
"Hmm... at least two whole cockatrice legs. At most, you should eat half of Cockatrice's body." Ziel answered doubtfully. That's because each Cockatrice has a different amount of mana even though they are the same age and size.
"Cough.." Clara choked after hearing Ziel's answer. She didn't expect the amount of meat she would have to eat to increase her strength and advance to the next level would be that much.
"Are you all right, my lady? Please drink some water first." Ziel handed Clara a glass of water.
"What happened to you, Clara?" Princess Iris' voice suddenly sounded from behind them. She came with Princess Freya, Princess Aishia, and Kalya. Previously, they had gone to ask for ingredients and condiments from the Cirlus Kingdom's people. Because what they receive is less than the other groups. The Cirlus Kingdom put several people there to cater to their event needs. If the people from the academy needed something, they could ask them directly.
Ziel took the luggage containing ingredients and condiments from the girls' hands. After that, he served them pieces of grilled Cockatrice and Wyvern. The girls smiled gratefully and accepted it.
"I'm fine. Just a little choking." Clara was embarrassed to admit that she was shocked after hearing Ziel's answer about the amount of meat she had to eat for her powers to advance to the next level.
"You better not eat fast even if the food is good." Princess Freya chuckled and tasted the grilled Cockatrice. The other girls also started eating it.
"Hey, Ken. Is there no other way?" Clara whispered in Ziel's ear. This made the girls who saw it suspicious.
"I do have another way. But we have to wait a few days." Ziel answered in a low voice to not be heard by those around him. Ziel had to follow how she spoke because he knew Clara would be embarrassed if someone else listened to their conversation. He didn't want the girls to become more suspicious of his actions if he had to whisper back in Clara's ear. Nor did he want to use telepathy or the communication brooch for such trivial matters.
"I understand! I will wait!" Clara answered curtly because she felt stabbed by the girls' sharp gazes.
"Ahum...why are you guys looking at me like that?" Clara looked back at the girls. She felt that their gazes were not one of curiosity but another feeling.
"It is nothing. We want to know what are you guys talking about to be whispering like that?" Princess Aishia asked Clara. Even though she and Clara played together for no more than a day, she quickly got close to her.
"Ahaha… I have nothing important to talk about. Isn't that right, Ken?" Clara threw the hot ball at Ziel. The girls turned their gazes simultaneously to him.
"That's right. We didn't talk about anything important." Ziel answered it half-truth and half-lie. For Clara, it is an important matter, but for Ziel, it is a trivial matter. Kalya looks at him, but Ziel shrugs his shoulders and doesn't say anything. Kalya smiled in response. She won't force him if Ziel doesn't want to say it. After all, Kalya believes that Ziel will tell her when the time comes.
"hmm...Suspicious..." Princess Freya rubbed her chin and looked between Ziel and Clara alternately. When the girls urged Clara to answer, Ziel suddenly raised his eyebrows while grilling the meat. Not only him but Kalya and Lilith also felt it.
"My lady, I will be leaving for a while because I have something to do. Lilith, please replace me for a moment." Ziel asks Clara for permission and shifts the grilling task to Lilith.
"Ah? Okay. You have to be careful because it's late. Please come back soon." Clara was confused by Ziel's sudden words. But she allowed him immediately upon seeing Ziel, who seemed to hurry. The other girls besides Kalya and Lilith also felt the same way as Clara, but they chose to remain silent because they knew Ziel must have a reason for acting like that.
"I understand." Ziel answered curtly. Ziel and Kalya looked at each other then nodded. After that, Ziel quickly left the place.
Behind a boulder some distance away from where Ziel and the people from the academy were having their barbecue, someone wearing a black robe kept staring at them.
"Hey, lady! What are you doing in a place like this alone? Wouldn't it be better if you spent the night with me?" A bearded middle-aged man suddenly grabbed the black-robed person's shoulder. Even though that person covered her body with a black robe, it couldn't hide her curves as a girl.
"Please let me go!" The black-robed girl tried to break free from that person's grip, but it seemed that the middle-aged man was a pretty strong knight.
"Hehe... you don't have to be afraid. I didn't mean anything bad to you. You have to come with me. It's dangerous to wander alone at night." The middle-aged man laughed lecherously and tightened his grip on the girl's shoulder. But suddenly, a hand grabbed the middle-aged man's arm.
"I'm sorry to bother you, but you have to let her go because she's my lady's friend.." Someone's cold voice rang out among them and made the middle-aged man tremble in fear.
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