Author's Note
For this occasion, we have organized a meat festival. We hope you enjoy it.
The whole venue was filled with delicious smells.
As I waited anxiously, I heard the chef's voice, "The Flower-horned Deer is ready!"
I quickly approach the meat section, but there's no one in line.
Feeling suspicious, I looked around and saw that I was surrounded by knights from the 3rd Platoon.
"Fia, you are the first contributor to Flower-horned Deer. You should eat first."
Ahhhh. This meat is really delicious, is it okay?
"Well then, please, chef! I'd like some loin meat from the spine, please!" (Fia)
Then I bit into the meat that was handed to me.
"Haff, it's delicious! Delicious! Delicious! It's hot, but it's delicious!" (Fia)
The natural flavor of the meat came through perfectly. Ah, was there anything more satisfying than eating delicious meat?
Before I knew it, everyone, including the knights of the 3rd Platoon, was eating Flower-horned Deer.
"This is! ... Seriously, it's delicious!!"
"The juices are amazing! They ooze out and it's so tender!"
"I like how it's lean and not too oily. It's light, so I can eat as much as I want!"
Yes, yes. I felt like I could eat as much as I wanted.
I was in a great mood and ate some meat and drank some alcohol with the knights from the 3rd Platoon.
"Fia, thank you so much. I was surprised that your command was based on a bluff, but your command made the battle much easier."
"Yeah, Captain Cyril told me I knew too little about monsters. Flower-horned Deer lives in the abyss and is a monster that you would never encounter under normal circumstances. I did receive a list of monsters when I was assigned to the Sixth Knight Order, but there's no way I could remember the characteristics of a monster I only saw a glimpse of so many years ago!"
"Seriously, without you we would have all been wiped out. You saved us! Now, drink! And eat!"
Then, a knight tapped me on the shoulder.
"Fia, you may be new, but you're already a great member of the team! Stop using honorifics on us, okay?"
"Got it! I, Fia Ruud, won't use honorific language from now on!" (Fia)
"No, that's polite language!!" (Everyone, x3)
Everyone chimed in and bursts out laughing.
Hmm, being a knight sure felt great. They're manly, I love them!
I wondered how much I drank after that. The knights from the 3rd Platoon kept pouring me drinks, and I was so happy that I drank it all... Huh? Who is this?
Next to me, a shirtless knight was giving an impassioned speech.
Hmm? Who is this? I know this knight, but... who is he?
I saw him just now, a little behind Captain Cyril.
"So... are you even listening, Fia!"
The shirtless, rust-colored haired knight was angry.
"Huh? No, I didn't hear that. What was it?" (Fia)
Looking around, I saw the knights from the 3rd Platoon looking at me with dejected expressions.
Hmm? ...Ah, I see. I should stop using honorific language.
"Um, so why are you shirtless?" (Fia)
When I spoke in a casual tone, for some reason the knights of the 3rd Platoon looked at me in a panic.
What? What should I do if he tells me to stop using honorific language and then gets flustered when I do?
"That's why Commander has a six pack!!"
"Six-pack?" (Fia)
Six packs? A pack is one of those masks that women put on their faces for beauty, right? Hmm? So Commander has six packs on his face?
"Yeah, was Commander's face really that big?" (Fia)
"Why are you talking about faces? You're not really listening to what people are saying!" (Zachary)
"Yes, I can hear you! I'm upset! I'm upset that I was offended! Pfft, what am I saying!?" (Fia)
"Enough already! That's because, Commander has six pack abs!" (Zachary)
"What?! Isn't that a bit of personal sexual information? Is it okay? Can you reveal it?" (Fia)
"What? Is this personal erotic information? Am I going to get arrested by the military police? Hey, you guys! Get Desmond drunk and crush him!!" (Zachary)
The rust-haired knight panicked and gave orders to the other knights around him.
"Just look at me, Fia, look at me!! Look at my stomach!! How many abdominal muscles are there?!"
"Ummm... one, two, three, two. Four! It's divided into four!!" (Fia)
"That's right, my abdominal muscles are only divided into four sections. Did you know that? The shape of your abdominal muscles is determined at birth. No matter how much I train, no matter how many monsters I hunt, my abdominal muscles will remain divided into four sections!"
And then the rust-colored knight burst into tears.
"It's started again."
"Captain Zachary has started his usual rant."
Around me, the knights of the 3rd Platoon sighed in resignation.
In the midst of all this, one knight spoke to me in a comforting tone.
"Sorry, Fia. Whenever something like this happens, Captain Zachary just keeps on whining. Every time we go out drinking he brings up this topic, and every time he gets into a fight with his subordinates, he starts crying. To be honest, we're all fed up with him, but there's no way to stop him."
"I'm sorry, but you saved us today by taking care of us. We've all dealt with this situation dozens of times, so please cut us some slack."
...Hmm? Everyone has it tough, huh?
But what's wrong with having four separate abs?
...Um, who was this rust-colored knight called again? Ah, that's right, Zachary.
"Zachary! Look at me!"
I called out to Zachary, who was still crying like a man.
Then, when I confirmed that he was looking at me, I began to unbutton the buttons of my knight's coat.
"Hey, Fia, what are you doing?!" (Zachary)
Zachary spoke in a panicked voice.
After I finished unbuttoning my jacket, I grabbed the front of it with both hands, looked at Zachary with a challenging expression, and said, "Look!" as I took off my coat in one go.
Under my knight coat, I was wearing just a tight-fitting shirt with a bib, clearly showing the outline of my stomach.
"What's with the four pack?! I only have one pack! I train like a knight every day, but I can't build any muscle!" (Fia)
Then I confidently pushed out my protruding belly.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Captain Cyril, who had been watching me from afar, spit alcohol out of his mouth.
...Oh dear, that's not like the polite Captain Cyril you are. I wonder what you're doing.
"You, you, you, that's..." (Zachary)
Zachary started speaking in a panic in front of me, so I turned my gaze back.
"Ha! What a blessing life you have, to be able to complain with four muscles! I only have one! In fact, I don't even have a muscle!!" (Fia)
"Fi, Fia, that’s really… I mean, my sister’s three-year-old niece has a belly like that, and as a toddler I might think it’s cute, but you’re an adult and that’s really…" (Zachary)
Zachary stared at my stomach with a disgusting gaze.
"In that case! What should I do?! Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to be a knight, so I've been training every day. Even now that I've become a knight, I never miss my daily training. But I still can't build muscle. What else should I do?!" (Fia)
Well, that's a bit of an exaggeration.
Normally, I wouldn't be this bloated, but today, I drank a lot of alcohol and ate a lot of meat, so I was bloated to the max.
Hehe, but it wouldn't be enough to scare Zachary.
Zachary looked alternately at my face and stomach and groaned, "Ugh."
Then, with a bitter expression on his face, he spoke.
"Fia, there's nothing you can do about it. Give up." (Zachary)
And then he continued, looking reluctant to say it.
"You shouldn't show your belly to anyone. And let's stop talking about it." (Zachary)
"What do you mean—" (Fia)
I glared at Zachary in extreme displeasure.
"You! At a drinking party, you showed off those four muscles! And then you forbid me from complaining about them? How selfish of you to do that!!" (Fia)
"N-no, I was thinking of you..." (Zachary)
"How considerate! Then trade my stomach and those four muscles for me!!" (Fia)
"No!! ...Ah, no, but, that's really..." (Zachary)
As Zachary began to mumble and hesitate, I pointed my index finger at him.
"If that's the case, then please never again brag about having four muscles! To me, who doesn't have any, it's nothing but bragging, and it's unpleasant!!" (Fia)
"………………That was my fault. I, I understand, I promise. I will never talk about abs again." (Zachary)
The moment Zachary declared, falling to his knees on the floor, cheers rose up from the mouths of all the members of the Sixth Knight Order around him.
"Wow, wow, Fia. You're so awesome!!"
"We're saved! We're saved from that hellish story that will repeat forever!"
...And so, Zachary never mentioned his abs again, and later, the Sixth Knight Order gave me the nickname "The Chubby Savior."
I don't need it!!