After the ball ended, a long feast began.
Dining tables dozens of meters long lined both sides of the banquet hall, laden with a dazzling array of delicacies.
As befitted the top nobles of the Asura Kingdom, a great deal of effort had clearly gone into the presentation of the dishes at this feast.
Some of the magic beast meat had been carved into soaring dragons, with a kind of warming magic keeping them breathing lifelike plumes of smoke;
Some desserts had been made into miniature replicas of the Asura royal palace, glowing with a dreamlike, seven-colored light.
These were all unusual cooking techniques that Rudeus, a man with memories of two lives, had never seen before.
As a proper foodie, he naturally wouldn't pass up the opportunity. Plate in hand, he tried a little of everything.
However...
"Hmm, how should I put it... It's a little disappointing."
Rudeus popped an exquisitely shaped piece of aspic, supposedly made from the liver of some rare water-type magic beast, into his mouth. As he chewed, he silently shook his head.
These dishes were definitely the best in the world in terms of presentation.
But because of the scarcity of seasonings in this world and the primitive methods used to prepare ingredients, the taste was, at best, quite ordinary.
The heavy-handed use of spices drowned out the natural flavors of the ingredients, and the desserts were so sweet they were almost cloying. In the end, they were only worth eating for the novelty and spectacle.
Just as he was about to put down his plate, he caught sight of the most secluded corner of the banquet hall out of the corner of his eye.
There stood Ghislaine, the highest guardian of the House Boreas Family and a powerful Sword King, carrying out her security duties with a stern expression.
Of course... that was if one ignored her constantly twitching, high-bridged nose and her faintly trembling beast ears.
And the glistening drool slowly running down the corner of her mouth. She really did look quite stern.
At that moment, Ghislaine's fiercely wild eyes were fixed on a nearby platter of roasted high-level magic beast haunch, piled high as a small mountain and giving off the rich aroma of sauce.
Her throat even let out an extremely faint whimper, like a puppy gnawing on food.
At the sight, Rudeus couldn't help letting out a snort of laughter.
This Sword King, renowned across the continent, had ultimately revealed her true nature as a big cat in the face of good food.
Shaking his head helplessly, he carried his plate and wandered back and forth along the long tables, pretending nothing was amiss.
Whenever he came across a high-end meat dish, Rudeus would use his body to block the view of the people around him while skillfully drawing on the spatial mana within him.
He quietly gathered whole, freshly cooked roasts, smoked hams, and delicate pastries into his magic storage pockets in batches, without anyone being any the wiser.
As he collected them, he turned to look toward the center of the banquet hall.
Eris was surrounded by a group of noble young ladies around her own age and several higher-ranking noblewomen with broad smiles on their faces.
They seemed to be talking about the latest fashions in the royal capital or some tedious topic of etiquette.
Eris sat there with her back ramrod straight and an extremely stiff, forced smile on her face that could even be described as "ferocious."
For a violent tomboy who, deep down, preferred swinging a sword and working up a sweat on the sandy ground,
Being forced to sit there listening to those gossips wag their tongues was more torturous than being made to duel a Demon King.
He also noticed that, from earlier until now, because she had to maintain that damned noble composure,
She hadn't touched the few pitiful pieces of vegetable salad on her plate. By now, she was clearly starving.
"Ah, poor young lady."
Rudeus sighed, and his hands involuntarily picked up the pace.
Roast suckling pig, specially prepared smoked venison, premium cheesecake...
Philip had a vast household and plenty of wealth, anyway. No one would notice this little bit missing.
He ate until he was half full while stuffing two enormous storage pockets to bursting, all specially prepared for those two starving "big cat and little cat."
Late that night, as the last luxurious noble carriage slowly departed from the mansion,
The Boreas mansion, which had been bustling all day, finally returned to the quiet it was supposed to have.
"I'm... I'm freaking exhausted..."
The moment Eris entered Rudeus's room, she dropped every bit of her disguise, though she had barely managed to maintain the last shred of her composure in the hallway.
She let out a wail, abandoning all decorum, her whole body like a puddle of mud.
She flung herself down hard onto the enormous, soft couch in Rudeus's room.
Clatter...
Ghislaine, who came in right behind her, tossed her greatsword onto the floor and tugged desperately at the tight collar around her neck with both hands.
She let out a long breath, her fluffy black beast ears drooping listlessly on either side of her head.
"Rudeus... The things those nobles say are even more of a headache than that multiplication table you taught me before."
Ghislaine grumbled in a muffled voice.
"All right, all right, you two did a great job. Thanks for all your hard work."
Rudeus put up a soundproof barrier, then walked over to the round table in the center of the room, a mysterious smile curling his lips.
"I knew you two couldn't have eaten anything downstairs, so... ta-da!"
He waved both hands, and a surge of spatial mana rippled through the air.
In an instant, a small "food castle" appeared out of nowhere on the previously empty round table, piled high with countless exquisite, steaming roasts, smoked fish, delicate pastries, and expensive fruit wine.
The air instantly filled with a rich, mouthwatering aroma of meat.
"Oooooh!!"
Eris and Ghislaine, who had been sprawled on the couch like dead dogs, caught sight of the pile of food.
All four of their eyes instantly flashed green, at a frequency even more terrifying than that of hungry wolves at night.
"Rudeus! You're amazing!!"
Eris shrieked, not caring whether her gorgeous blue dress got dirty.
She lunged forward like a tiger pouncing on its prey, grabbed a huge roasted magic beast rib, and tore into it without a trace of ladylike restraint, leaving her mouth smeared with glistening grease.
Ghislaine was even less willing to fall behind. The usually imposing Sword King had now completely unleashed her beastly nature.
She used both hands, and even her tail wagged wildly from side to side in sheer excitement.
As she feasted, she didn't forget to give Rudeus a grateful look that said, "The organization will commend you for your great service."
Rudeus sat beside them and poured himself a cup of fruit wine.
Watching the two women devour everything in sight with a smile, he felt an indescribable warmth slowly flow through his heart.
No matter how hypocritical the world outside was, no matter how much people schemed against one another, what did it matter?
In this little room, beneath the faint glow of several thousand watts of magic,
All that truly existed was this meat, this cup of wine, and the girl and the warrior before me, who put on no airs and showed their truest selves.