Shirou cooked a big meal for the Migurd race.
At first, this didn't cause much of a stir.
Although many Migurd race people knew that a human was going to cook, they really didn't expect much.
It wasn't that they didn't believe Shirou.
Actually, most Migurd race people had heard that human cooking was very good, and the food in the Central Continent was much better than the food in the Demon Continent.
When Roxy first left the Demon Continent and went to the Central Continent, she realized what real food tasted like.
However, even so, the Migurd race people didn't think Shirou could make anything really amazing here.
The reason was simple: the Migurd race environment was very poor. It was hard to find any good food, and the only thing they could eat was monsters.
The Migurd race people were used to this hard life. It wasn't something they chose; they just put up with it, so they didn't expect anyone to make tasty food under these tough conditions.
They thought Shirou's cooking was just a new thing for the humans who came here to try. They figured he would give up after seeing how bad the Migurd race's cooking situation was.
But when Shirou brought out the food he had carefully prepared, the Migurd race people were shocked.
They never thought that the human could use the few things they had to make such a big meal.
Yes.
Even though the Migurd race's situation was hard, with few ingredients and bad cooking conditions, he was ready to live in this tough place.
He used the knowledge and experience he had to prepare the monsters that the Migurd race hunted. He got out any parts of the monsters that could be eaten. He used different ways to make these bland, low-quality foods taste good.
Most people couldn't do this. It was hard to make a good meal when things were so tough.
But Shirou did it.
And the Migurd race almost all agreed that his food was good.
The Migurd race people couldn't believe that someone could make their weird foods so delicious.
When the Migurd race people cooked monsters, the meat was always bitter and dry. It was hard to swallow; they just had to force themselves to eat it.
But Shirou used special cooking methods to get rid of the bitter taste. He also processed the meat in different ways to make it tender, like normal meat you can eat.
If they hadn't seen Shirou cooking, the Migurd race people might have thought he used magic.
Anyway, when dinner started that night, the Migurd race had their best meal in years. The whole village was as lively and excited as if they were having a party.
Of course, Shirou's cooking wasn't that amazing.
Because of the lack of food and tough conditions, Shirou's cooking in the Migurd race would be seen as just normal in the Asura Kingdom.
But because this was the Migurd race, living in the Demon Continent, they had never tasted anything this good. They were completely hooked right away.
Shirou quickly became the most popular person in the Migurd race.
Lots of young girls gathered around, wanting to learn how to make such great food.
Shirou didn't know what to do with these Migurd race women who looked a lot like Roxy.
He knew that these people who looked like young girls might actually be married women way older than him.
Of course, some of them were probably real young girls, but because the Migurd race's looks didn't change much, Shirou couldn't tell.
"Okay, okay, don't bother the guest anymore."
While Shirou was surrounded by the Migurd race girls, feeling awkward, a girl with long blue hair, braided and tied in front, came over.
She seemed to have some authority. When she came, the other Migurd race girls sighed and left.
"Thanks."
Shirou was tired but thankful to be free from the strange situation. He looked at the woman in front of him.
When he saw her, he almost had the strange feeling that he was looking at his teacher, Roxy.
But Shirou knew that Roxy couldn't be here in the Demon Continent, so he quickly shook off that strange feeling.
At the same time, the blue-haired girl came up to Shirou and said with a smile, "Hello, Shirou. I'm Rokari, Roxy's mother."
"I knew it."
When Shirou had that strange feeling earlier, he had realized who she might be. Now that he knew she was Roxy's mother, he was respectful.
She was his teacher's mother, so he had to respect her.
And even if Roxy wasn't his teacher, Shirou couldn't be rude because of the help she had given him in the past.
"Hehe, don't be so formal. You're a hero to the whole Migurd race now."
"This… it's nothing."
Shirou didn't think he had done anything to be thanked for. Cooking was easy for him.
Rokari smiled at Shirou's reaction and looked at the lively village. She said, "No, Shirou, we're very grateful for what you did. The Migurd race people haven't smiled like this in a long time."
"…"
When he heard Rokari's words, Shirou paused. Then he realized that almost everyone in the Migurd race was excited, happily waving their arms and dancing.
He smiled and said, "This is the food I want to make: food made with care that makes people smile from the heart."
"Shirou, you're a kind person."
Rokari smiled warmly and stood on her toes to pat Shirou's head.
"Mrs. Rokari?"
"Hehe, don't be shy. I'm a married woman, so you don't have to worry about me."
"No, it's because of that…"
If she was just a normal married woman, Shirou wouldn't be so embarrassed. But Rokari looked young and looked almost exactly like Roxy, so it was hard for him to stay calm.
When Rokari saw how he looked, she suddenly hugged him and said with a smile, "You're so cute. I wish you were my child."
"Uh…"
Shirou couldn't handle Rokari's actions.
And for some reason, he was always popular with married women.
In fact, so far, Zenith, Mrs. Somar, and later Mrs. Hilda, including Mrs. Rokari now, had all been too friendly to him.
After dinner, Shirou turned down the Migurd race girls as politely as he could and went back to his room. He saw that Eris had already come back after eating and was asleep.
She looked very tired. As soon as she got back to the room, she fell asleep.
She was still worn out from the travel during the day.
And mostly, Eris hadn't had the courage to sleep in a strange place before. Now that she finally felt safe, she could rest a little.
Even so, Eris waited until Shirou came back before grabbing his clothes and falling asleep.
"…"
Shirou smiled, but he didn't refuse. He gently stroked her hair.
He used to comfort his sister, Miyu, until she fell asleep.
Shirou leaned against the wall and fell asleep that way.
…
The next morning.
Village Chief Rokkus called him and Eris to his room. Ruijerd was also there.
The village chief thanked Shirou for the food he made last night and then started talking.
"I heard you plan to go back to the Central Continent."
"That's right."
"How do you plan to go back?"
"Walking, making money as we travel."
Shirou told him his plan.
"Just the two of you?"
The village chief asked.
"Not two, I'll go with them."
Ruijerd suddenly spoke up.
Shirou wasn't too surprised because he had heard about Ruijerd's plan before.
But Village Chief Rokkus frowned and said, "Ruijerd, are you sure? You probably can't go into towns, right?"
"Uh…"
"What will happen when you take these two kids near a town? I remember it was a hundred years ago, right? You were chased everywhere by guards, and they even put together a team to get rid of you."
"That… but I can just wait outside by myself."
"The risk inside and outside the towns in the Demon Continent is the same."
"…"
Ruijerd didn't know what to say to Rokkus' description.
After asking around, Shirou found out what was going on.
It turned out that the Superd race was hated by everyone, even in the Demon Continent. If Ruijerd showed up in a town, people would attack him right away.
Rokkus then said, "And Ruijerd, don't you have your own things to do? Don't you want to get rid of the bad image that people have of the Superd race?"
"…"
Ruijerd was silent.
Shirou was a little surprised.
He knew that discrimination wasn't something that one person could fix by trying, and the Superd race's reputation was incredibly bad. Even Eris was scared when she saw him. It would be hard for someone to accept Ruijerd if they didn't really know him.
"By the way, why are the Superd race hated?"
Shirou couldn't help but ask this big question.
He knew that the Superd race had a bad reputation, but he never knew why.
"Because the Superd race attacks everyone in war, even their own side."
The village chief said.
"That's not true! That's not the truth!"
Ruijerd suddenly gave off a very scary feeling. "That's Laplace's plot! The Superd race is not a scary race!"
"Laplace?"
"He betrayed our loyalty!"
Ruijerd said angrily.
Shirou learned about the history of the Superd race.
The Superd race used to be under the Demon God Laplace.
In the middle of the Human-Demon War, Laplace visited the Superd race warrior group with a spear.
It was said that the spear looked like the Superd race's trident, but it was black and gave off an unlucky feeling. It was obviously a demon spear.
Some people in the Superd race didn't agree, but because it was the weapon that Laplace had prepared, Ruijerd, as the leader, forced everyone to use it.
He believed that this would show their loyalty to Laplace.
The Superd race warrior group gave up their original tridents and used the demon spear to fight.
The demon spear had a lot of power. It made their bodies stronger, made the magic that the human race used useless, made their senses sharper, and gave them an amazing feeling.
However, the more blood the demon spear took, the darker the user's soul became.
Because everyone's minds were being influenced at about the same rate, no one realized what was happening to themselves and the people around them.
Then, the tragedy began.
At some point, the warriors couldn't tell friend from foe and attacked everyone around them.
They attacked everyone, men, women, old, and young, even children.
Gradually, the demon race thought the Superd race were traitors, and the human race said they were heartless demons.
But even though they were hated by everyone, no one could beat the Superd race who were using the power of the demon spear. No one could destroy the warriors who could fight against a thousand people with the demon spear. They became the most feared group in the world.
However, the Superd race were eventually in a hopeless situation.
One day, they accidentally went back to their home.
Under the influence of the demon spear, the Superd race couldn't recognize their families. They killed their parents, wives, siblings, and children.
Ruijerd was finally able to break the demon spear when his son stopped him with his life.
He wanted to kill himself, but he changed his mind. There were other things he had to do.
He destroyed all the demon spears and ran away. Then he tried to get revenge on the Demon God Laplace.
After the Human-Demon War, Ruijerd tried to help the Superd race who were being hated and hurt. But this didn't make the discrimination better. It made the Superd race's reputation even worse.
In the end, Ruijerd became the most dangerous and hated person in the Demon Continent.
"My reputation will only make things worse. If I go into a town and people see me, they'll all attack me."
Ruijerd sighed and finally admitted the truth. "I'm sorry. I want to help you, but bringing me along might be a big problem."
"…"
Shirou didn't say anything. He was silent for a long time and then slowly said, "So, Ruijerd, you want to make up for the mistakes you made in the past, so you try to do good things?"
"That's right. It all happened because of Laplace, but I have to take responsibility for the Superd race's bad reputation. So even if I'm the last of my race, I still want to get rid of this bad reputation."
Ruijerd looked troubled, but he looked firm and didn't hesitate.
Shirou finally understood why he felt so similar to Ruijerd.
Ruijerd's regret, anger, frustration, and other feelings were like Servant Emiya's. They weren't really heroes of justice. They had a fake dream after something happened to them and still didn't want to give up on what they believed in, even while in pain.
This was worth respecting.
Shirou decided that he should help Ruijerd. If he could, he wanted to help Ruijerd achieve his dream.
This would also be like achieving his own dream and Servant Emiya's.
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