PART 4 : TRENDY SANDWICHES

 In a fashionable city, even confectionery is fashionable.

The snow-white yogurt cake is drizzled with yellow syrup and decorated with green mint

leaves.

I don't know how to describe it, it's like a work of art. The moment the spoon was

introduced, it was like destroying an important treasure, and there was even an inexplicable

feeling of guilt. She lifted the trembling cake to her mouth and placed it on the tip of her

tongue.

"...!?"

It tastes icy and sweet, with a bit of sweet and sour. From this kind of taste that she had

never experienced until now, Tiat couldn't help but twist her body.

She and Nopht were eating sandwiches at the cafe overlooking the fountain square.

Grick wasn't there, he was still in command, talking to the First Division technical officer

about some very complicated business. It didn't seem right to let two fairies go out without their

supervising officer, but no one had said anything yet, so they left it at that.

"Hey, really, I'm so pissed off I can't take it!"

Nephode herself was obviously in a bad mood, as she poked a fork into the pear tart.

"Why are you treating Nygglatho like a criminal? It's weird anyway, isn't it? Instead of him

doing something annoying like kidnapping him, he should have burned and eaten him on the

spot."

It's not hard to say . Although Tiat thought about it in her heart, she did not say it out

loud.

"Let's just say it was a mistake. Grick seems to be dealing with it now, they'll figure it out

soon enough."

"No, no, no, you're being naive. The man has the face of a stalker, and once he's on the suspect

list, he'll be a suspect until he's in the grave, that's for sure."

Nopht opened his mouth wide, put a piece of pear tart in his mouth, then chewed.

"...This is delicious." He said very seriously.

"Please give me a piece," Tiat asked without hesitation.

In the end, they decided to trade bites of yogurt and pear tart.

The menu in question has the headline "Recommended by Store Manager" and a picture of

the donut mix. This one looks really delicious. This one looked really delicious, and after all,

it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and she really wanted to eat it and agonized over it for a

long time, but in the end she settled on yogurt cake.

He always felt, really always felt, that even after eating the donut, there was a sense of beauty

in him. No, no, she had nothing against Nopht at her table, it wasn't that, but it just felt that

way.

......What excuse was he making and who was he talking to?

"I hope the real culprit can be caught as soon as possible, and the misunderstanding can be

cleared up. Also, it would be great if the huge... Ma... Marg something doctor is safe."

"That is. It's very difficult that we can't catch him ourselves."

Nopht chewed and said, "This is also delicious, give me another bite."

Then Tiate replied: "I can't give more, the rest is mine. Yes."

Nopht said again: "Hey, what's wrong, didn't you hear what your superior said?"

Tiate replied again: "No matter who it is, there is something you cannot give up."

The plate was cleared.

"You must be anxious too. After all, you have flown here."

"Well more or less".

He poured a full glass of milk into the cup of black tea and didn't stop until it almost spilled

over the edge.

"......I always have the feeling of thinking about what happened then."

"What happened?"

She slowly raised the cup, raised the rim to her mouth, and took a sip.

"It's from the time when Chtholly was in love with that second-rate technician."

Nopht leaned his elbows on the table, looked across the fountain plaza, and said this

wistfully.

"I really can't understand what it's like to fall in love with a man. I've always wondered why

that boy smiled at the end."

"... Nopht ."

"But it can't be helped, right? That's just how fairies are. The so-called male and female are

separated into two genders for the sake of reproduction, right? That has nothing to do with us,

right?"

She didn't know what to say, even if her consent was sought.

"Okay, but how about Mr. Grick ?"

"Huh?"

"He's from another race, but he's been by your side for years as a companion. It's like a very

strong trust relationship, isn't it?"

"Oh, no, no, no. I don't think there will be the kind of relationship you expected"

Nopht shook his hand.

"Furthermore, in the Borgles they do not have a culture of lovers or partners. A child that is

born to one of the clansmen is raised by one of them. At that time, all the elders are parents

and all the younger ones are children. Therefore So their last name is the name of the race

they come from, not their parents, right?"

"Oh."

From Nopht 's frank look as he spoke, it didn't seem like he was hiding his shyness.

"If you were asked who your favorite man in the world is, what would you say?"

"Well, if you ask me that way, of course it must be the older sister." Nopht responded

immediately.

"Oh, that's true."

It seemed like a good relationship, Tiat thought .

It was a different kind of relationship than Chtholly and the others had, an adult relationship in

a different sense. She found it attractive and beautiful, and she felt quite anxious about it.

"It's just not quite the same as the blissful feeling you get when you're like Chtholly or like

you are now," she said.

"Wouldn't that be nice? Sounds great to me too."

Ah ha ha ha ha.

"Wait a minute"

"Hey?" Nopht blinked.

""I mean, please don't compare me to Chtholly . No, it's an honor to be compared to

Chtholly , but this is different. I don't have a relationship with Feodor . We hate each other

so much."

"Yeah?". Nopht smiled mischievously.

Though she quickly retorted, Nopht wasn't even listening.

"Please don't show that nice 'Oh, I can't be honest' smile, it's so awkward ."

"Oh, Tiat , you are very cute."

"No, I already told you, different is different!"

Just as Tiat was about to protest further...

"...Oh."

He saw the large internal combustion transport crossing the square.

There were more than ten imposing armed soldiers on the platform of the transport. He also

saw large powder pistols as long as his arm resting on the shoulders of all of them.

"That is..."

"As expected, the operations team that went to rescue Dr. Margomedari ."

As soon as he turned around, he saw Grick Graycrack raise a hand in greeting.

"It would be nice if things were resolved peacefully. But in case of resistance from the

kidnappers, there won't be enough combat power to suppress it; that's why they have assembled

those heavily armed soldiers."

She was speechless.

In this case, the mentioned hijacker should refer to Nygglatho based on the content of the

above discussion. It turns out that he is, in fact, not someone ordinary soldiers can subdue,

but...

"I know what you're going to say. If you go up against Nygglatho , you'll be no match for

her even if you're better armed, right?"

"No, that's not the case." But it's not like she didn't think so either.

"In fact, there was speculation that we might be fighting spies from the Winged Empire. The

world is becoming unstable."

the winged empire

Speaking of which, the First Class Military Officer seemed to have mentioned this term. It

was an aristocratic country that chained floating islands from No. 6 to No. 9 as its territory.

In the history of the Floating Islands so far, this country has attacked the neighboring

Floating Islands several times, but each time it was suppressed by the Winged Guard.

"Oh? Does it mean that the empire can seize the opportunity to snatch that superior big

brother from you? Even at the expense of fighting with the Winged Army?"

"We can't ignore that possibility, right? I've heard that ever since the Elpis riots five years ago,

the Winged Guard and the Winged Empire have been holding each other back."

"Hey!"

Nopht looked up at the sky.

"I can't stand it. They're all like that. They're always asking for trouble with each other."

"Well, you can't say that."

Tiat did not listen to their conversation, just watched blankly as the transport moved

away. As he looked outside, he searched his memory.

He had seen the gunpowder weapons carried by the soldiers.

To face the [Eleventh Beast], many weapons were transported to Floating Island No. 38.

There are weapons that can be useful and weapons that are confusing to use. Among these

weapons is a new type of gunpowder weapon, which is a portable firearm that can do the

most damage to people, and it is this weapon that these soldiers carry. If I remember

correctly, the name of the development should be " Pupille gorger ".

According to the manual, this powder pistol has improved close range penetration and can

even penetrate thin walls. Because it's expensive, difficult to manage, and not very useful,

so looking at the entire Winged Guard army, However, an entire transport of soldiers is now

made to carry one of these weapons for each. What kind of battle is this preparing for?

This team, yes, seems prepared to kill the cyclops, the target of the recovery...

“... Tiat ?”

"Uh huh, what's up?" She came back to her senses.

" Grick said we can order another one as an apology waiting for him. What do you want?"

"Oh yeah!"

Tiat pushed her thoughts aside and faced reality. The reality was "soft and creamy cake with

seasonal colors".

Yes, it was time to enjoy the delicious cake and forget about annoying imagination.

Making up her mind, she looked away from the direction the transport vehicle had gone and

turned to the menu.