Chapter 36: Long night
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A short while after his conversation with Allan and Marcel was done with the food, so he served it. He had grilled some meat, made soup, and then boiled some wine for himself since it tasted better hot. He served the meat to everyone and got good reactions from them. The first comment was from Silva, the girl who managed to defeat Marcel with words. 

Silva walked up to Marcel who was just about to take a seat after serving everyone to eat when she proclaimed, “I’m sticking with you from now on!” with conviction. 

The others went, “Hah?! Huuhhh?!!”. Valeria asked her friend to explain herself and she told her to take a bite of the food and tell her what it tasted like. 

Valeria did as her friend had suggested and then she commented with a smile, “Wow! It tastes so good! I haven’t had anything this good in a while.” She said, then she took another bite and then another, tears falling from her eyes. The others looked at her and wondered if the food was as good as she had said it was and they were surprised. 

The head guard was the first one who tried it and here’s what he had to say, “After eating this meal, I feel like I could visit my insufferable mother and come back feeling as fit as a fiddle.” The other guards gave similar comments after trying the food and then Claude spoke. 

“Not bad. Not bad at all. I think you have a natural talent for cooking.” Claude said sincerely. Silva nodded in agreement with him as she took another bite of the food and then she thought that she should probably explain why she wants to follow Marcel. 

“You see, the reason why I want to stay with that silver-haired boy over there...” She said, pointing at Marcel, “... is because I feel like it was destiny. In fact, I think the heavens sent him to save me from a very cruel fate.  

To elaborate further about what I’m trying to say, let me tell you guys one of the gravest misfortunes that I have the unfortunate luck to have been met with. Valeria, my friend over there, has been doing the cooking for a while now and because of that...I-I have been made to suffer through many hardships...” She said as little drops of tears formed beneath her eyes then she clenched her fist, a bit aggrieved, and continued. 

“... Valeria... is the worst when it comes to cooking, [Sob]. Up until this moment, since the day I left home with her, if we weren’t staying at an inn, then I, who had no culinary talents whatsoever, was met with the misfortune of tasting what I honestly can’t describe as hell’s fury...” She said, her voice a bit shaken, then she took a bite out of the meat and continued, 

“... every day that Valeria cooked, it would lead to one of these two endings; either the food got horribly burnt or it was overly salty and tasted like a horrid abomination. The results of that girl's cooking are like hell breaking loose on your tongue. Oh... no offense, Valeria...” She said, spouted words of death at her friend. It’s unbelievable how after all that, she still had the guts to stay something like ‘no offense’ as casually as did and expected her friend to not be offended by that.  

Valeria, who had cooked all of their meals up to before she and her friend met Marcel and the others, had a few mixed feelings as her friend, for the first time since their journey, told her how she truly felt about her cooking. She felt highly offended, was angry, vengeful even, but she also felt a bit proud that someone as straightforward as Silva, who had a tongue so sharp that she offended almost everyone with every word that came out of her mouth if speaking the casual sense somehow, managed to keep her true feelings hidden for more than two centuries. It was impressive, really. 

She stood by and watched as her friend spouted out every other bad thing, she had to say about the meals that she put so much love into making, only for them to end up tasting funny like a badly written curse, which, by the way, she knew of and then half an hour later came to the end of Silva’s lengthy hymn of bad insults and criticism about Valeria’s cooking. 

“... and that’s why I want to stay with the silver-haired beauty over there whom I’ve already forgotten the name of. Your talents are immense and I feel like if I follow you, my life will get even more interesting. You could say that I’m… a bit interested in you as a person, especially your culinary skills which I’ll be helping myself to from now on.” She said with an expressionless face as she took another bite from the meat.  

Marcel, feeling a bit flattered, said, “The name is … Dave, Ms. Silva.” 

She stood up, then she bowed slightly to Marcel and said, “No Ms. Call me Silva. It’s a pleasure to meet you again, Dave. I’ll be in your care from now on, so we’re essentially acquaintances. No need to feel formal or hold anything you feel back as I won’t be either.” She said with a slight smile.  

“Hmph... I’ll also be in your care from now on since she’s joining you. I didn’t even like cooking anyway, so I’ll just leave it to you from now on.” Valeria said, moping with a haughty expression on her face, trying to preserve whatever was left of her self-esteem after her friend’s, um, ‘extermination’ fire, then she looked away from Marcel. The others laughed after she’d that and the gloomy atmosphere that followed Silva’s depressing hymn of criticism went back to normal. 

Marcel, after everyone had expressed what they thought of his cooking, sincerely said to them, 

“Well, thank you for all the comments. I’ll try my best to improve even more in the future and wow you all.” Marcel said, a bit bashful as he hadn’t got any compliments about his food in a while. It reminded him of his old home, the orphanage he’d lived in when he was younger back in Vysdor. He remembered the first time he ever got a compliment and the warm smile of the little kids and his elder siblings when he cooked his first meal. It was so heartwarming that it made him wanted to cook more for them in the future. That was exactly how Marcel felt at that moment. A sense of joy, fulfillment, and the urge to continue to uphold the expectations of those who enjoyed what he did. 

“Yes, please do. I’ll look forward to our next meal with even more expectations.” Silva asked with sparkly eyes, full of expectations as she already began dreaming about her next meal. Now no more ‘charred to charcoal’ food for her thanks to finding a personal chef for herself. She felt so lucky that she’d met her saving grace.  

“Yes, do your best. Although your current skill is good, it still isn’t good enough to captivate everyone. If you want to learn more, I could give you many culinary-related books and other materials to go through. They’ll help broaden your horizons and give you new ideas on how to cook even better food.” Claude said then laughed, which surprised Marcel as Claude wasn’t one to laugh that often. Allan looked at Marcel and nodded his head and Marcel understood what he was trying to say. He smiled and Allan looked away for a moment. Allan then thought of something he found embarrassing that had happened just a few moments ago. He was feeling so awkward now that looking Marcel in the face was a bit hard to do at the moment, but he’ll be over it by tomorrow.  

 

[Flashback] 

When Allan had finished explaining about the classes that Marcel was curious about, Marcel was then about to leave when he stopped him and asked him, feeling embarrassed, “Could you sit for a little while longer? I have something to tell and also something to give you.” He asked, a bit fidgety and different from his usual confident and casual self. 

“Yeah, sure!” Marcel answered as he sat back down again and waited for Allan, who was still too bashful, to say anything. 

“Um... I-I-I have something to give you...” He said once again in a low voice, a bit panicky and hesitant from his usual self. Marcel sat down patiently as he waited for Allan to do whatever it was that he was about to and then he turned off the fire under the pot he was cooking in from where he sat as he continued to wait. 

Allan, a few seconds after Marcel had turned off the fire, took something out of his Informer’s Inventory after making it visible. It was a pair of gloves. 

“Here... take them. These are something I’ve been working on for quite some time. They’re for you.” Allan said to Marcel, still panicked. Marcel didn’t waste any time making Allan wait any longer as he seemed to grow even more nervous by the second. He took them, then looked at them and smiled. 

“Oh, a pair of gloves... Looks nice.” He said excitedly, calming down the nervous Allan. 

“Right, I know. I’ve been working on them for a few weeks. They’re quite special... and I made them specifically for you.” Allan said, anxiously steepling his fingers together, very nervous that Marcel might not like them. 

“Cool. But what are they for? I imagine that they aren’t regular gloves, now, are they?” Marcel asked. Allan nodded. 

“Mm. They aren’t. They’re physical strength-enhancing gloves that I made for you. I noticed that, for now, your physical capabilities are even weaker than mine are and to that problem, I came up with a solution to help you solve it, albeit a temporary one. I put a bunch of special spells and wove them together into these gloves after I made them. They’ll enhance your body’s physical capabilities for a short amount of time when used. If I were to say the amount of power you’d gain if you used it at your current level, it’d be around the level of a beginner C-class adventurer. That’s the amount of explosive strength that it gives, but use it with caution since using too much explosive power than what your body will allow will mean napping for at least a full day. They aren’t perfect, you know.” Allan said, slightly averting his gaze from Marcel as he spoke. 

“Wow. Thanks, Allan. They sound perfect to me...” Marcel said happily with a smile on his face which made Allan calm down. It was the exact reaction that he was seeking out of Marcel while he was making them. 

“It’s thanks for being so good to me,” Allan said with a smile as well. 

“Oh, it’s this that thing called ‘bribery’ that I’ve heard about,” Marcel asked, curious. 

“No, it’s not! I would never bribe you, or at least, not with something like this low-grade item. I’d give you something on par with the Demon Lord’s sword gift to you, but that I haven’t learned to make yet as my alchemy is nowhere near the Demon Lord’s level. It’s my way of showing my sincere appreciation towards you for being my friend.”  

“Huh. But you don’t need to thank me for being your friend.” Marcel said, his pure and clueless aura shining oh so brightly around him. 

“But I do!” Allan yelled, loud enough to disrupt the other conversations happening around him for a short while as it went silent and he apologized to them before continuing. 

“You don’t know how much being willing to be my friend means to me, so I’ll tell you.  

You see, I grew up as a bit of an odd child who couldn’t do what kids my age did as I found them almost unnecessary, but I at least managed to have only one friend during that time. I, most of the time, stayed in my workshop and worked on different stuff pretty ‘unusual’ for a child who was just been born not so long ago to do. I spent most of my time working on magic theories and spells that made my name famous throughout the witch world and I gained the acknowledgment of many witches around the world, but because of all that, I eventually ended up alone, until I met you, that is. 

I was seen as someone who was powerful and respected because of my many discoveries that there was almost no one my age who wanted to spend time with me. I met my first friend around that time, but they eventually left me like all the others, so I cut myself from them all and focused on my work for many years, that is, until the day I bumped into you which changed everything. 

On that night, for the second time in my life, I was talking to someone young like me, and they didn’t seem frightened or formal around me. It was like talking to someone who knew nothing about me or my exploits. It was the best feeling that I had experienced in a while, but soon after, I had to leave and I gave up on the idea of seeing you again as I took what you said about being a hero that night as a joke and that you would soon hear of who I was. I went back home, depressed and then soon after, I fell ill and ‘you-know-what' appeared on my back, then I got to meet you again and stay by your side.  

When I came to know you, I thought that you would slowly distance yourself from me, but strangely enough, you didn’t and still remained the same. All the anxiety that I’d felt about that happening vanished after that and I got to learn more about you as you introduced all different sides of yourselves to me without restraint ... and for all of that, I thank you. I wanted to convey my feelings of appreciation and thanks to you, so I turned to the things I’m good at to help me. I never knew that I could have so much fun making something as basic as those pair of gloves, so thank you.  

Marcel, I thank you for being yourself around me and I hope that you’ll continue as you always have up until now and show me even more different sides of yourself.” Allan said, a slight smile appearing on his face.  

“Sure. We’re friends now, aren’t we?” Marcel said, a sincere and bright smile appearing on his face. Allan looked in shock as he felt that he might be seeing the incarnation of the sun at that moment. He smiled as well and said, “Yes. Of course, we are,” feeling the happiest that he’d felt in a long while. He etched that smile of Marcel’s deep into his memory and thoughts along the lines of ‘Ah, I wouldn’t mind having him as my fiancé at all’ run through his mind, but that thought, was but a dream at that moment as the Demon Lord had already laid claim to Marcel as his, and who would dare try to go against him? 

He played that bright smile image of Marcel in his head for a while as his mind drifted further and further away from reality the more that he looked at him. A slight smile appeared on his face as he stared at the image in his mind as he zoned out until Marcel served the food that he’d prepared. 

[End of Flashback] 

 

It was because of this that Allan couldn’t look at Marcel’s face at the moment. He saw the ‘incarnation of the sun’ smile moment that he’d seen every time he stared at Marcel and so, he tried his best not to, although he couldn’t exactly keep himself from doing that as well. How frustrating! 

He stared at Marcel oh so slightly as Marcel got roped into another conversation by Valeria, 

“So~ Could you tell us a bit about the human world that you’re from, Dave? I’m a bit curious.” 

Marcel, a bit surprised at the question was speechless for a while, but then he knew exactly what to say, “U-Um, I’m from the world that I now know is called Ixapha, I think, and it’s where I’ve been until just recently when I accidentally walked through a gate and ended up here...” Marcel lied, then he told them all about his identity ‘Dave’s history as he was pretty sure that he isn’t allowed to tell anyone about anything too related to his ‘Marcel’ identity, smart guy! He told them all about the tragic life of Dave, although, making it sound less tragic as he cheered up, although the feeling of sadness that welled up from deep inside of him felt as if he was actually the real Dave. He was confused for a bit as he wondered if he and Dave truly shared nothing but the same identity at the moment.  

“Sob... it’s ... so sad!” Valeria said as she wiped the tears off her face upon hearing about Dave. 

“Sob. I know. How could he do that to that adorable son of his? His son was obviously confused, but if he’d just given him just a bit of time and not drank as he had to quench the feeling of depression that he felt, then everything would have been fine, but instead, he didn’t and in the end, Dave didn’t even get to have the apology that he deserved. So sad~” Silva said, feeling overly emotional and overwhelmed. She sobbed the same as Valeria, although not as noisy as Valeria was. 

“I know … and I thank you for your concerns, but truly. It’s alright. As long as my father got to be alright and live happily in the end, I don’t really care about the things that I had to go through, so try to not feel so sad about it.” Marcel said without realizing. Once again, it was as if he spoke with the feelings of Dave being his own, which he felt complicated about, but it really wasn’t a problem as long as nobody got hurt in the process, although he couldn’t say much for hims—oh, Dave. His confusion was getting worse the more he thought about it. The distinction between himself and Dave was shrinking with every thought he had.  

“I need to get to the bottom of my identity crisis!” He thought to himself.  

“Yes, I don’t think that any of them knew that something like that was going to happen, so just like Marcel said, we should leave it at that,” Claude said, looking at Marcel, whom he noticed was a bit sad and probably didn’t want to talk any more about the subject. Allan nodded and soon, they changed topics to something else. They talked until it was really late and then they prepared to go sleep in the tents that they’d prepared, including an additional that Marcel and Allan helped Valeria and Silva set up.  

They all headed off to go sleep but before that, Claude reinforced the barrier a bit to keep them safe for the night just in case some monster did indeed resist the dungeon’s natural cycle. As Marcel was going to sleep, a sudden thought over his other past appeared in his mind and he asked himself, “I wonder how the kids and my elder siblings are doing...” as his mind wandered off and he entered the land of dreams. It had been a very long night, after all. 

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