Chapter 17 : The Tyrant's Tranquilizer 

Amelie went outside, though the carriage was more comfortable than expected, it still hurt to sit for a long time. She wished she could at least read a book about magic but, unfortunately, Amelie's luggage was still in the Delahaim residence.

She told Renee to take care of it, so she's not worried.

'If I find more magic books, I should study magic.'

Fighting the disaster, Amelie realized her severe lack of knowledge. So as soon as she arrived at the palace, she was going to study magic separately.

'By the way, don't we eat?'

She heard a growl from her stomach. Come to think of it, she hadn't had a single meal since dinner. She understood as things were so urgent and hectic, but isn't it time to eat now?

'Who should I ask? Sir Ethan and the Emperor are the only ones I know—'

Serwin was not someone she could question from the beginning and Ethan looked very busy. Amelie grabbed her hungry stomach and sat down on the steps of the carriage to watch the people bustle around.

Then Serwin and her met eyes.

'Huh!'

Serwin stared at Amelie. His expression was very fierce.

'Did I do something wrong?!'

Amelie was on edge. But Serwin quickly turned his head and walked away.

'Is he just going to walk away?'

Serwin's behavior was quite unexpected. Amelie knew he would try to be close to her, especially with the influence of the disaster. But he hasn't been near Amelie since they started moving. While moving, he rode a distance from the carriage.

It was only at the house in the forest, when he was out of his mind, that he stayed close. However, his behavior now was very different to how he treated Amelie when she was a bird.

'He's so different with animals. That man has so much distrust.'

Of course, from Amelie's point of view, the farther Serwin was the better. Although she had decided to be on the same boat, her first impression of him did not disappear easily, so she still felt uncomfortable with Serwin.

'I'm hungry—'

Then, a man caught Amelie's eye. It was a middle-aged knight holding a large pot. He put the pot on the floor and set up a fire pit.

'You must be cooking!'

Amelia's eyes sparkling. It was as she expected. His name is Maxim. He was a man who thought he had to eat well at any time.

Amelie watched him seriously. He began preparing meals for a dozen people. He was very good at working with his hands, it was clearly a task he had done once or twice. He had a special magic bag that carried cooking utensils and ingredients. It was because he always had to be rea.s.sured to work under Serwin, who was hard on his knights.

'I guess they're going to boil the stew.'

A large pot was filled with water, and a magic stock was put in. Next to it was pre-cut vegetables. It's a convenient meal that you just have to boil gently after putting everything in.

However, the fire was too weak because of the wind blowing in the field. The simple fire made by stacking stones did not properly stop the wind. Even firewood was a problem. The branches picked up nearby must have been wet and there was no big fire.

'Oh, I shouldn't do this.'

They can't make stew unless the water boils. Maxim also knew that, so he tried to increase the intensity of the fire. But it didn't go the way he wanted.

“Sir Roen please help me protect it.” Maxim asked a nearby knight.

“If you cover it up too much, wouldn't the fire die?” Sir Roen responded.

The two knights did their best to protect the embers. It was very funny and sad to see two bear-like men flying all over the small brazier trying to keep it lit.

'It's frustrating. It's so frustrating.'

It's so hard to watch them struggle on a task that could end with just a wave of her finger. Then, Amelie approached them.

“What's the matter?” Sir Maxim asked.

Amelie was slightly discouraged by his fierce and rugged face, but there was no compromise when food was so close to being made right in front of her. If the fire goes out, she may have to drink only water! She plucked up the courage to make a suggestion.

“It doesn't seem like the fire is burning well… Can I take a look at it?”

“Ah, do you know how?”

A smile bloomed on Maxim's face. As someone in charge of cooking, he wanted to feed the tired knights with delicious food as soon as possible. If they wanted to stand under Serwin, who treats people roughly, he had to feed them well.

“Yes! All I have to do is intensify the fire, right?”

“That's right. If you know how, please help me.”

When Maxim politely asked for a favor, Amelie put her arms together and stepped forward.

“Both of you, please step back a little bit. I am a little immature with power control.”

“We'll just take care of it ourselves? What will you do—” Sir Roen was about to interject.

“It's too hard for us!” Saying so, Maxim grabbed Sir Roen by the back of his neck and dragged him back.

Roen grumbled but allowed himself to be dragged back. After checking that they were at a safe distance, Amelie reached towards the firepit.

It is difficult to build a huge pillar of fire or control the flames of a raging fire. However, it is quite simple to make a fire suitable for cooking. She just had to pile up dry branches and start a small fire there.

'I'm confident that I've made a few fires.'

Amelie snapped her fingers with confidence. A great fire erupted with the sound. The fire was so strong that it swallowed the entirety of the pot.

“Ah, that's too strong.”

People were watching, so she was nervous and went a little overboard. Amelie hurriedly controlled the fire.

“This is enough, right?”

Amelia looked back. However, Maxim's expression was stiff. He looked like an angry bear. His gaze did not stray from the flames created by Amelie.

'Did I do something wrong?

Amelie was worried. Maxim strode up to Amelie.

“The fire—”

“Yes, yes?”

“Can you control the intensity of the fire?”

Is he afraid it'll ruin his cooking? Amelie answered quickly.

“Yes, now I'm trying to make it boil fast, and I was going to reduce it later—”

“This is—”

Maxim looked at the furnace. Amelie reduced her firepower as much as she could and adjusted the fire.

“Perfect! We can cook any dish at this rate! It's always been a ha.s.sle to control the fire!”

Maxim exclaimed, smiling broadly. Just by looking at the fire he looked happy as if he was full already.

'Oh, this person is definitely the kind of person who will grab the tongs first at a dinner or something like that.'

When many people gather, there is usually one person who acts like Maxim. Whatever the situation, they have to eat delicious food, and it's always the best to make grilled meat and hear that it is delicious!

Maxim is severely like that. It is also true that he carried a pot and a simple furnace while coming to Delahaim.

“Thank you for using magic for this! Thanks to you, I think I can feed them properly. Everyone was exhausted and I wanted to feed them delicious food!”

“It's okay. I can't neglect a single meal. Eating poorly is a tragedy of life.”

There was a time when she had no money, so she had to divide convenience store disposal lunch boxes into two meals and ate cup noodles. Perhaps because of that memory, Amelia hated having a deficient meal.

“Well, you're totally right about that.” Maxim totally agreed with her.

“I'm going to go focus on the stew. I'll bring you a meal, so please relax until I'm done cooking.”

“I'll help you. It'd be nice to make it fast.”

After she washed her hands in water, she helped Maxim. After a while, the stew was completed with Amelie's help and Maxim's skilled cooking skills. When the stew was finished, the knights who were smelling the food gathered one by one.

“Come on, line up. Miss Amelie you can come forward.”

Maxim first served Amelie the stew. He gave her a large bowl full of stew and put sliced bread on top of it to make a perfect meal.

Amelie sat down near the brazier. The stew had a warm savory smell. It was such an appetizing smell.

'It looks delicious.'

As she was holding a spoon with joy, she could feel a sharp look from somewhere.

'Is it the Emperor again?'

Amelie raised her head reflexively. The owner of the gaze was an unexpected figure.

'Did he say it's Sir Roen—?'

He was the youngest knight to help Maxim cook. He was staring at Amelie. Amelie made eye contact with him from far away. His large knightly physique and sharp eyes were intimidating, but not as much as Serwins.

When their eyes met, Roen flinched and shook his hand.

'What is it? Do you have something to say? If you have something to say, you should come and say it.'

But the meal comes first now. Amelie turned her eyes to the stew. As it is a meal made for the knights, the big pile is appetizing. She took a spoonful of stew to her mouth.

“Agh it's hot!”

The stew was hotter than she thought. Amelie blew up and ate the stew carefully again. A little thick soup flowed in. Maybe it was the chicken stock, but the chicken taste was strong. It tasted deep and complex compared to the one made in a hurry with only water and vegetables. It was soft and delicious because the ingredients were cooked well in the chicken broth.

As she ate the stew and bread, the bowl was emptied cleanly before she knew it. Maxim looked at her with a satisfied look.

After eating, Amelie walked on the plains to digest for a while. Her stomach is full, and the weather is warm. Drenched in after-dinner laziness and satisfaction, an unexpected person approached her.

“Hey there.”

It was Roen, a knight struggling to protect Maxim and the embers. Amelie was uncomfortable with him. Throughout the cooking process, he glared at Amelie, and did not eat the finished stew.

As he stood in front of her and stared at her as if they were about to fight, Amelie became nervous.

'What is this?'

“If you have a brain, you'd better change your mind right now.”

Roen clasped his hands tightly. His palms were damp with nervousness and fear.

'I shouldn't have said it like that.' He thought

She was the one Serwin was looking for anxiously. He, a knight under his Lord, was not qualified to say this, but Roen was slightly out of his mind now.

The Imperial capital was one of the places most zealous about witch hunts. At that time, most of the victims were ordinary women who were framed, but there were real witches among them.

Unlike ordinary people, real witches fiercely resisted death. They could use magic and cursed their pursuers.

The fighting was left up to the knights, but the damage from the fighting was sustained mostly to the common people. People lost their homes overnight and were driven into the streets.

Roen's family was one of those people. Since the house was the only property of the family, they had to suffer for several years before finding a new house.

Fortunately, his life was stable by the time his sister was born. However, his parents, who suffered from the aftereffects of the fire, died before he became an adult.

Of course, he knew that the witches who were being pursued only struggled to survive. But the vision of a huge fireball that was careening toward the house and a blazing fire, the horror of that moment still remained a vivid memory for him.