Heart-warming Meals with Mother Fenrir - Chapter 57

Rude and his group arrived in Elanzrild.

Rude never imagined seeing such a scene in Elanzrild.

Unlike the last time he came here with Croquette, he could now see a few dogfolk and catfolk scattered around the town.

Croquette held Rude's hand and walked ahead.

She walked as if they were in the town of Sea Wales, looking happy.

"Oh, there's someone from our village-nya. Over there too. Oh, and there’s a dogfolk too-nya."

"Yeah, I didn’t expect so many to be here."

It was at that moment.

"Oh, it’s the Beastmaster kid! I haven’t seen you in a while, nice to see you again."

"Ah, hello there."

This was the shop where Rudia used to buy the sugar-coated fruit he liked.

The middle-aged shopkeeper seemed to recognize not only Rude but also Croquette.

"I’m sorry for what happened before. You weren’t really a Beastmaster, were you? I also apologize for the strange look I gave your lady friend."

"Don’t worry about it."

"I’m glad you say that. Could it be that you’re family?"

"Yes. She’s my fiancée."

"I see... I’ve done something wrong. Here, take this. Recently, the catfolk have been buying this often."

"I see. That’s good to hear. ...But, are you sure about this?"

"Ah, it would be helpful if you continue to support us in the future."

The shopkeeper said this and handed Rude a jar of candied fruit.

He probably doesn’t realize that the boy in front of him is an important person being treated as a state guest.

Rude took one out of the jar and offered it to Croquette, holding it in front of her face.

Without hesitation, Croquette bit down on Rude's finger.

"Mmm. It’s sweet and delicious."

"Croquette-oneesan, you don’t need to bite my finger too."

"Oh, did my teeth touch you-nya? I’m sorry-nya..."

The shopkeeper, seeing the two of them, broke into a wide smile.

"Haha, you two already look like a married couple. Let me congratulate you."

"Ah, thank you. But I still have more than three years until I come of age."

"...Thank you-nya."

Rude scratched the back of his head, embarrassed, while Croquette blushed and looked down.

Seeing the two of them getting along so well, Ilys imagined them as the future king and queen.

They looked like a close brother and sister, but to Ilys, they were her important masters.

She once again thought how she wanted to support their smiles forever.

As if they were on a date, Rude and Croquette were walking leisurely together for the first time in a while.

Ilys followed behind them with a warm, content feeling, as if watching over younger siblings.

While the concept of window shopping might not exist in this world, thanks to the environment where Croquette, as a beastfolk, could walk safely, they were able to look around freely.

The things available change depending on the region.

Unlike Sea Wales, this area had a surprisingly rich variety of agricultural products.

While there didn’t seem to be rice, fruits and grains appeared to be more plentiful than before.

From what they heard on the way, it seems this happened around the time Rude freed the beastfolk.

It seems that since then, goods have started flowing more abundantly into the town.

This is probably because the nobles’ district had been monopolizing supplies.

After passing through the town, they came to the bridge that led to the noble district.

The tension that used to be there was gone now.

Given that this area has the royal castle, it seems they have security checks in place.

When Rude approached, it seemed the arrangements had been made.

When the two guards noticed them, they saluted and welcomed them.

"You must be Lord Rude. We heard you were the young man with beautiful white hair, so we recognized you immediately."

"Young Master Rude, you’re quite the famous one, aren’t you-nya?"

"Stop it. I’m not famous, really."

"Lord Rude, it’s about time you acknowledge this. You are an important figure in this nation..."

Ilys said, with an expression that seemed both exasperated and instructive.

Croquette didn’t seem to fully understand, but nodded along with Ilys's words, saying "uh-huh, uh-huh."

Rude felt a bit deflated, as he was let through much more easily than he had anticipated.

Rude quickly noticed that this guard was a different man from the one he had used power on before.

There were probably several reasons, and it seemed like the personnel around here had changed.

As they entered the noble district, Rude felt something had changed compared to before.

All around, the doors of various shops were closed.

"Ilys, could this be...?"

"Yes, it seems that the so-called 'dishonest merchants' were running things here. Now that they’ve all been removed, this is the result."

For a while, there would probably be places that feel like "ghost towns."

However, time should solve that to some degree.

One can only wonder how much corruption had existed up until now.

Even then, it seems that Evans is making an effort to keep the promise he made with Rude.

Rude doesn’t have any political knowledge.

Rude might be able to make some suggestions based on his memories, but those wouldn’t be things Rude could understand.

It’s up to the person who governs the land to decide what is right.

In Elanzrild, Evans is the one in charge.

They walked straight through the noble district.

Since it was Rude’s first time walking through, everything felt very new to him.

The beautiful townscape and the elegant shopfronts.

Just like in the lower town, from what Rude could see, the shops selling sweets mostly offered processed fruits or simple confections.

Unlike in Sea Wales, there was no standout attraction.

The sweets sold in the noble district were just simple, sweet cookies with nothing special.

As far as local products, the only ones available were fruits processed into something like dried fruit.

Most of them were a bit hard in texture.

"Hmm."

"What's wrong?"

"There aren’t enough sweets."

"Is that so?"

"Yeah. The only sweet available was fruit preserved in sugar."

It was clear to Croquette that Rude was thinking about something.

On days when Rude looked like this, it was almost a certainty that tasty sweets would follow.

Croquette felt a little anticipation growing inside her.

Maybe they would get to eat some new delicious sweets again.

Normally, it would be unthinkable for someone like Rude, who was considered a national guest of honor, to walk to the royal castle.

It would normally be expected that they arrived by carriage, but Rude and his group were now protected by what could be considered the strongest of butlers.

Even Rudia had said that "she’s strong."

Rude couldn’t even guess how strong she really was.

Ilys was watching from behind with a joyful look on her face

If anyone interfered, it was hard to tell what would happen.

That was just how safe they were.

Rude was currently dressed in a white shirt and black pants, tailored by Cleana, which were his usual comfortable, easy-to-move-in everyday clothes.

Croquette was also wearing a familiar outfit, one that resembled a maid’s uniform, but more like a handmaiden's outfit.

As for Ilys, she looked exactly like a butler.

The three of them looked like quite an odd combination.

Ilys was following behind the two, maintaining a discreet distance, and erasing her presence.

Because of this, Rude and Croquette weren’t really drawing attention.

They had passed through the main street of the noble district, and had crossed paths with quite a few people.

However, it no longer had the feel of unsavory people walking about like before.

In short, after all the things Rude had done, the area had become a more peaceful place.

After passing through the noble district, the royal castle became visible.

This noble district ends at the royal castle.

Just like when entering here, they could see a guard station up ahead.

"It was a quiet and nice place, wasn’t it-nya?"

"Yeah. My uncle must have worked hard."

"Your uncle-nya?"

"Yeah, he lives here."

"Huh? This is the castle, isn’t it-nya?"

"Yeah, he’s the king of this country."

"Huh......?"

Croquette froze.

That was understandable, as no one had said anything about going to meet the king.

"Huh? Didn't I mention that?"

"Lord Rude."

"Hmm?"

"You didn't mention it. Not in the slightest..."

Ilys whispered under her breath, "Lord Rude hasn’t... quite..."

Seemingly freed from her frozen state, Croquette cautiously asked Rude again.

"The person you were talking about, who you wanted to introduce me to...?"

"Yeah. He's the King of this country, my Uncle Evans."

"Ehhhh?!"

Even the usually calm Croquette couldn’t help but scream.

Since Ilys had gathered information about the country, she had known from the very beginning.

Elise must have known from the start, and Rudia should have known as well, since she heard it from Ilys.

Yetta probably knew through Rude’s eyes.

Now that he thinks about it, he doesn’t remember telling Croquette about this.

Rude scratched his head, muttering, "Oops."

"Don’t worry. If you act as Lady Rudia and I taught you, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about."

"…Is that really true-nya?"

Croquette had been consulting her about various matters, due to the pressure of Rude becoming the next king.

As part of her lessons, she had been taught by Rudia how to behave and how to greet others.

From Ilys’s perspective, Croquette was like a cute younger sister, though there was an age gap.

She was confident that Croquette could hold her own in any situation without embarrassment.

"Yes. Lady Croquette, you will become Lord Rude’s 'wife.' Please be confident."

For that reason, Ilys gently emphasized the term "wife" and gave her advice.

By not calling her "queen," Ilys was being considerate, not wanting to pressure her.

Before long, Croquette’s eyes were sparkling with happiness.

"Being called a wife... how amazing-nya..."

She placed a hand on her cheek, her face flushed as her tail stood straight up.

Simultaneously, her body twisted and wriggled in excitement.

"(Ilys, as expected you’re amazing.)"

"(Yes. Leave it to me.)"

Croquette didn't know about the unspoken exchange between them.

Ilys never forgot to follow up in situations like this.

Ilys quickly moved closer, holding Croquette’s tail and whispering in her ear.

"Lady Croquette, your tail is lifting up. Your hem is rising, and your underwear might be showing. Is this how a 'wife' should behave?"

"...Ugh-nya, you're right-nya!"

Croquette, hearing Ilys’s words, straightened her posture and slapped both cheeks to regain her focus.

She couldn’t let Rude be embarrassed.

"I’m going to be Young Master Rude’s 'wife,' so I have to do my best-nya!"

She was straightforward, or perhaps earnest.

Croquette’s straightforward personality, so much like Rude’s, made even Ilys want to cheer her on.

In a different way from Rude, she was irresistibly cute.

Thanks to Ilys, Croquette had regained her composure.

Having made up her mind, she cheerfully took Rude’s hand and started walking.

Was it just a feeling, or were they being watched?

A guard emerged from the guardhouse.

The male soldier in light armor bent awkwardly at the waist and gave a strained bow.

"Welcome back, Lord Rude."

It seemed that this man also knew Rude.

And what happened next, you ask?

Rude and Croquette were both shocked.

On the man’s head were dog ears, and from his waist, a large, energetic tail wagged vigorously.

"Have you forgotten me? I’m Shave, the one Lord Rude rescued."

He was a tall man, but he had been very thin and quite timid.

He was, if memory served, a young man forced to do hard labor as a servant in a merchant’s house.

"Yeah, I haven’t forgotten. But, that body of yours..."

"Yes, I ate some delicious food at Lady Henruda’s, and suddenly my growth began. I’m actually a year older than Lord Rude."

So, that means he’s a fifteen-year-old dogfolk.

He’s probably in his growth period.

However, his muscles were as thick as steel, three times the size of Rude’s arms.

His legs, especially his thighs, were probably four times the size of Rude’s.

His chest was broad and thick, a physique so impressive that it could make Rude feel jealous.

"Are you not going back to your hometown?"

He intentionally chose not to make a comment about his physique.

It seemed like he felt like he had lost somehow.

"Yes, I plan to work hard and send money back home."

"Yeah, I think that’s a good idea."

"Thank you. It happened just recently when I came here for some shopping. I’ve known how to read and write since childhood, probably due to my time at a merchant’s house. That’s when I saw the announcement: 'Volunteers needed for the guard. Beastfolk are especially welcome.'"

"Ah, that’s probably my uncle’s doing."

"Is that so? Ah, you mean His Majesty the King. I apologize. Despite having this body, I’m rather weak-willed. When Lord Rude saved me, I admired you. I wanted to become a cool man like you. It was around that time when I happened to see the notice and decided to volunteer."

Rude turned red with embarrassment.

It was the first time in his life he’d ever been called "cool."

"No, I’m not cool or anything..."

"No. To me, you looked like a hero. When I decided to volunteer, I heard that beastfolk could work here now. Even someone from a small village like mine can become a citizen of Elanzrild. Eventually, I aim to become a knight. I won’t just settle for being just a guard."

Indeed, I’ve heard that many male catfolk and dogfolk tend to have quiet personalities.

Both dogfolk and catfolk, at their core, dislike fighting.

Bad people who were in this country took advantage of that nature and personality for their own gain.

In the midst of it all, there was someone who looked up to Rude and thought he was "cool."

This was the first time in his life something like this had happened.

Rude grasped Shave's big hand with both of his hands.

"Do your best. I’ll be cheering for you."

"Yes. I will definitely become someone who can help others, just like Lord Rude."

Once the handshake was over, Shave gave a somewhat awkward salute and saw Rude and the others off.

"Ilys."

"Yes."

"I can’t afford to do anything embarrassing, can I?"

"That’s right. Lord Rude is being watched. As long as there are people who look up to you, you have a duty to remain their role model."

Croquette also bent down slightly and wrapped her arms around Rude’s arm.

"Young Master Rude is my little hero-nya. Of course, being cool is just normal for him-nya!"

"...Croquette-oneechan."

"Yes-nya?"

"The 'little' part is unnecessary..."

"Ugh-nya... (He’s at a difficult age, isn’t he?)"

Chapter length 6464 characters.

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