Meat Festival (3)

The delicious aroma filled the entire venue.

As I waited impatiently, the head chef's voice reached my ears: "The Flowerhorn Deer is ready!"

I dashed over to the meat, but... huh? Why isn't anyone in line?

Suspicious, I looked around and saw the knights of the Third Platoon surrounding me.

"Fia, you were the one who contributed the most to taking down the Flowerhorn Deer. You eat first."

Eeeeeh? This meat is really delicious, but are you sure?

"Then I won't hold back. Chef! I'd like the loin near the backbone!"

Then I eagerly bit into the meat I'd been handed.

"Hah, it's delicious! Delicious! Delicious! It's hot, but delicious!"

The meat's natural flavor was coming through perfectly. Ah, is there any happiness greater than eating delicious meat?

Before I knew it, everyone, starting with the knights of the Third Platoon, had begun eating Flowerhorn Deer.

"This is... ...seriously delicious!!"

"The juices are amazing! They came gushing out! And it's so tender!"

"I love how there's so little fat. It's refreshing, so I could eat this forever!"

Right? Right? I feel like I could eat as much as I want.

In a very good mood, I ate meat and drank with the knights of the Third Platoon.

"Fia, seriously, thanks. I was surprised to learn your command was based on a bluff, but you made it so much easier to fight."

"Yeah, Captain Cyril chewed me out for knowing too little about monsters. The Flowerhorn Deer lives in the depths, so normally there's no way we'd ever run into one. Sure, I got the monster list when I was assigned to the Sixth Knight Order, but there's no way I'd remember the traits of a monster I only glanced at years ago!"

"Seriously, we'd all have been wiped out if you weren't there. You saved us! All right, drink up! And eat!"

Then one of the knights patted me on the shoulder.

"You're a rookie, Fia, but you're already one of us! Stop speaking so formally to us, got it?"

"Got it! From now on, Fia Rudo will stop using polite speech!"

"No, that's still polite speech!!"

Everyone chimed in at once, and we burst out laughing.

Ahh, being a knight really feels great. They've got such a manly spirit. I love it!

After that, how much had I drunk? The knights of the Third Platoon kept pouring me drinks, and I happily drank every last one... Hm? Who's this?

A bare-chested knight beside me was passionately holding forth.

Huh? Who was this again? I know this knight, but... who was he?

I saw him a little while ago, just behind Captain Cyril...

"So... are you listening, Fia?!"

The bare-chested knight with rust-colored hair scolded me.

"Huh? No, I wasn't listening. What was it?"

Looking around, I saw the knights of the Third Platoon staring at me with exhausted expressions.

Hmm? ...Oh, right. I was supposed to stop using polite speech.

"Um, so? Why are you shirtless?"

When I tried speaking casually, for some reason the knights of the Third Platoon looked at me in alarm.

What? They tell me to stop being polite, then panic when I do. What am I supposed to do?

"That's because the Commander-in-Chief has a six-pack!!"

"A six-pack?"

Six packs? Isn't a pack one of those face masks women use for beauty? Hmmm? Does the Commander-in-Chief stick six of those on his face?

"Huh, was the Commander-in-Chief's face really that big?"

"Why are we talking about his face?! You really don't listen to people!"

"What? I was listening! That's outrageous! My rights are being violated, and I'm offended!! Pff, what am I even saying?!"

"Forget it! What I mean is, the Commander-in-Chief has six-pack abs!!"

"Eeeeeh?! Isn't that kind of private, sexy information? Is that okay? Are you allowed to tell people?"

"Huh? That's private, sexy information? Am I going to get arrested by the military police? H-hey, you guys! Get Desmond drunk and knock him out!!"

The rust-haired knight hastily ordered the surrounding knights.

"Never mind that, Fia, look at me!! Look at my stomach!! How many abs do I have?!"

"Um... one, two, three, four! Four! I can see four!"

"That's right, I only have a four-pack. Did you know? The shape of your abs is determined at birth. No matter how much I train, no matter how many monsters I hunt, I'll always have just four aaaaaaaaah!!!"

Then the rust-haired knight started sobbing like a man.

"There he goes again."

"Captain Zachary's started his usual drunken rant."

Around us, the knights of the Third Platoon sighed as if they'd given up.

Amid all that, one knight spoke to me sympathetically.

"Sorry, Fia. Once Captain Zachary gets like this, he just keeps ranting. At every drinking party, he brings up this same topic, picks on his subordinates, and ends up crying. Honestly, we're all sick of it, but there's no stopping him."

"Sorry to put you through it, but you helped us out today by humoring him. We've all had to deal with this dozens of times, so please forgive us."

...I see? You all have it rough.

But what's so bad about having a four-pack?

...Um, what did they call this rust-haired knight just now? Oh, right, Zachary.

"Zachary! Look at me!"

I called out to Zachary, who was still sobbing like a man.

Once I made sure he was looking at me, I deliberately began unbuttoning my uniform jacket.

"H-hey, Fia, what are you doing?!"

Zachary's voice turned flustered.

I grabbed the front of my jacket with both hands after undoing the buttons, then stared at Zachary challengingly. "Look!" I said, and shrugged the jacket off in one go.

Under my uniform, I wore only a snug shirt with a chest guard, so the line of my stomach was clearly visible.

"What's wrong with a four-pack?! I have a one-pack!! I train as a knight every day, but I can't build any muscle aaaaaah!!!"

Then, with total confidence, I stuck out my round belly.

In the corner of my vision, I saw Captain Cyril, who had been watching over me from afar, spit out his drink.

...Oh dear. That's so unlike the well-mannered Captain Cyril. What is he doing?

"Y-you, you, you... that's..."

Zachary started stammering in front of me, so I looked back at him.

"Hmph! You have a four-pack and you're complaining? What a blessed life you have! I only have a one-pack! Actually, it's not even muscle!!"

"F-Fia, that's a bit much, even for you... M-my sister's three-year-old daughter has a belly like that, and it'd be cute on a toddler, but you're an adult, so that's a little..."

Zachary looked at my stomach as if it were something horrible.

"Then what am I supposed to do?! I've wanted to be a knight ever since I was little, and I've trained every day. Even now that I've become a knight, I never skip my daily training. But I can't put on muscle! What else am I supposed to do?!"

Well, I'm exaggerating a little.

Normally, my belly isn't this round. Today, I'd drunk and eaten meat without restraint, so it had swollen as much as it possibly could.

Pff, but it has to be this bad to really startle Zachary.

Zachary looked back and forth between my face and my belly, groaning, "Ugh..."

Then, with a pained expression, he spoke.

"Fia, there's nothing you can do about that. Give up."

Then he continued, seeming reluctant to say it.

"You shouldn't show that stomach to people. And you should stop bringing it up, too."

"What did you say?!"

I glared at Zachary, utterly offended.

"You brag about your four-pack at drinking parties and show it off, but then forbid me from complaining after you've made me look at it? How selfish can you get?!"

"I-I was only thinking of your own good..."

"Concern for me? Then trade your four-pack for my belly!"

"No way!! ...I mean, well, that stomach is a bit much..."

I jabbed my index finger at Zachary, who was mumbling and hemming and hawing.

"Then stop bragging about your four-pack ever again! To someone who doesn't have one, it's nothing but bragging, and it's unpleasant!!"

"...................You're right, I was wrong. I-I understand. I promise I won't talk about abs ever again."

The moment Zachary dropped to his knees and made his declaration, cheers erupted from every member of the Sixth Knight Order present.

"Incredible, incredible, Fia. You're seriously amazing!!"

"You saved us! You saved us from that hellish endless repeat of a story!!"

...And it seems Zachary really did stop talking about his abs after that. Later, the Sixth Knight Order gave me the title "The Round-Bellied Savior."

I don't want it!!