As the Demon King, I have married a slave elf. How should I express my love?

Sagan then nodded as if suddenly realizing something and spoke:

"Could it be that this kind of diet is actually quite crude?"

"This...yes, this is something only slaves like us would eat."

So this is more like 'feed' than a proper meal.

But her tone was less one of dissatisfaction and more of a sigh. No, or rather—

—Could it be that she's worried about me?

No, that can't be it. There's no reason for her to suddenly open up to me after only one day.

It has nothing to do with that state of mind, but rather a kind of compassionate reaction that makes one unable to sit idly by, thinking, "If we don't take good care of this person, will they die one day?"

Sagan lowered his head, examining the shriveled jerky he had just gnawed on.

-- Hmm, well, this food is indeed so basic that it doesn't qualify as a proper meal.

He had only ever eaten this kind of food since his days of robbing, and he never questioned it. Food was just something to fill his stomach; everything else was irrelevant to him.

Besides dried meat, he had also tried dry, hard bread, but those things often quickly became moldy and inedible. He remembered several times before when he stubbornly ate them despite not believing the superstition, and each time he ended up with a stomachache.

—Because he's been stuck in the same place since yesterday, he's been thinking about the taste of that bread again.

I've heard that the taste of first love is like a lemon, but in reality it's more like a sour, nauseating taste.

If asked what was truly delicious, he figured it would probably be wine. Barbarossa always brought some good wine when he came over for a chat, and the snack he always had with it was dried meat.

But he knew nothing about alcohol and didn't know how to buy it, so in the end he could only continue living a life of eating dried meat.

"I wonder what people usually eat..."

After muttering to himself unconsciously, Neferpitou spoke as if he had made up his mind:

"Um, Master."

"What's up?"

Neferpitou took a deep breath and continued:

"That might be presumptuous of me to say it like that, so how about I do something for you?"

With a snap, Sagan suddenly stood up and took Nefi's hand, who had stumbled backward in fright.

"Can you cook?"

"They'll just be copying what they're made of; the taste might not be guaranteed..."

How can someone be so capable?

--Cooking by hand.

And it was made by the girl he loved.

Such an option never crossed Sagan's mind.

So, one of the three major human desires is appetite...

He had always been so engrossed in his research on magic that he never thought about satisfying his desires.

My eyes welled up with tears.

Was this feeling that was welling up tears? He was surprised that these things were still inside him.

Sagan raised the glass of milk, tilted his head back, and drank it all in one gulp.

"Phew. Nefair, it seems the decision has been made."

"Yes. May I ask what it is?"

"Let's go shopping!"

The only ingredients in the castle were dried-out jerky and long-stored milk. Sagan knew perfectly well that these two things couldn't produce any decent dishes.

"…………Ah, okay."

Neferi stared blankly at Sagan at first, then suddenly came to his senses and began to clap.

That behavior was probably just an attempt to react in some way, which ended up embarrassing Sagan again.

◇

Although the largest city near this ruined city is Kionnoind, there are still several neighboring towns and villages.

Sagan and his companions were about to head to one of them, but as soon as they left the castle, they faced a problem.

—Upon closer reflection, I realized that all my wealth has been spent on Neferpitou…

He is currently completely penniless.

He acted impulsively according to his heart without considering the consequences.

The trading city of Kinnoind has a network of streets leading in all directions, with scattered towns along the way, and horse-drawn carriages are the most common means of transportation. As long as you follow the main road, you can quickly find a carriage to share.

But when he was getting ready to take the carriage, he realized he had no money.

Aren't you going to wear it?

Sagan shook his head at the puzzled coachman—a cat-faced orc boy.

"Uh... I think I forgot something. You can keep driving."

"Is that so?"

Then the wheels rattled, and the driver drove off again.

Seeing Sagan dejectedly watching the carriage disappear into the distance, Neferi, standing behind him, asked with a puzzled look:

"Should we go back to the city first?"

"No, there's no need for that."

"Is that so...?"

Even if they returned to the castle, they wouldn't find a single copper coin. Perhaps the torture instruments could be sold for some money, but that would require an appraiser and buyer, which would ultimately cost money.

—Besides, Neferpitou also needs a set of clothes.

From last night until now, the girl has been wearing a white dress, which has been filthy from the castle.

It seems that no matter what I say, I need to get some money first.

To conceal these problems, Sagan murmured in a serious tone:

"It's been a long time since I've gone out at this time. Taking a walk once in a while is nice."

"Yes."

Nefi made up a flimsy excuse, took a step in the direction the carriage had gone, and followed.

Sagan glanced behind her and saw Neferpitou lifting her skirt and taking quick, short steps. Aside from their different strides, the skirt and shoes probably made walking quite inconvenient. Noticing this, Sagan slowed her pace.

Sagan walked along, troubled.

--Maybe I should have robbed that carriage and made some money?

He hasn't done this much lately, but it used to be his livelihood.

But last night, the attack magic alone had already terrified Nefi. Besides, if I were to rob her in front of her, I wonder what she would think.

In short, Sagan thought robbery was not a good idea.

But if they don't rob people, how can they make money?

Since Nefie said she can cook, why not sell the castle and open a snack shop in the city?

Just as Sagan was pondering these things, a wail came from the other end of the street, making Neferpitou gasp.

"Owner."

"Hmm? Oh, it's probably a robbery or something. There are bandits around here occasionally."

Looking around, a group of men wielding machetes were attacking the carriage. Although there were more than a dozen of them, they were just a harmless band of thieves.

They weren't magicians, just ordinary humans, neither trained as knights nor possessing the formidable weapons of paladins. Simply put, they were just ordinary people wielding everyday knives and committing violence.

In Sagan's mind, that's all they are.

They dragged the passengers off the bus, robbed them of their belongings, and took the young girl to another place, presumably to be sold to human traffickers or used as a tool for sexual gratification; in any case, she was unlikely to have a good ending.

Although I felt sorry for the girls who were kidnapped, I had done something similar myself, so I didn't find the scene particularly tragic.

As he watched from the sidelines, he noticed that Neferi's body was trembling uncontrollably.

"What's wrong?"

"fine……"

Although the person involved pretended to be calm, his face was already deathly pale, his lips were twitching, and his dim eyes were fixed on the people who had been robbed.

Sagan suddenly realized what was going on.

—Could it be that Neferpitou was also kidnapped in the same way?

Neferpitou wasn't likely captured by slave traders at birth, but rather lived a normal life somewhere. Perhaps this scene reminded her of those unbearable memories.

Sagan pointed to the group of bandits.

"Nefi, look closely. Those people are just a bunch of worthless trash."

"……yes."

The voice sounded somewhat helpless and frustrated.

Sagan didn't know what was frustrating her; she simply gathered magic on her outstretched finger.

Immediately afterwards, a bolt of lightning shot out like an arrow.

"Ah ah!"

Nefi let out a cute scream and covered her face in fright.

Several bandits were sent flying by the lightning bolts that branched out like tree branches.

Neferpitou was stunned, his mouth agape like a goldfish.

Faced with the sudden attack, the bandits were completely bewildered and stood frozen in place, not knowing what was happening.