[INDEF. HIATUS] Regrets and Wishes: One More Chance

Chapter 17 - Meeting the Adventurers

PRIOR WARNING AND REMINDER: I have said this in Author's Notes, but I want to reemphasize my point. I don't always follow official characters' name spelling, so please be aware of it.

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第17章　冒険者たちと出会う

Following Rigurd, we step into the cafeteria and walk quietly towards the four's table without them noticing at first.

"Ahh...so delicious!" mumbles the blonde-haired young girl among them.

"Right?!" the man with golden brown hair interjects. "I can't believe this is monsters' settlement!"

The dish served to them, by the way, is roasted meat with assorted vegetables. It is just simple roasted meat, really. But with the help of sauce that we've been using for quite a while especially for roasting meats, it tastes so good.

The sauce gives umami flavour and mild sweetness, perfectly covering the potentially fishy and burning smell of the meat. A pseudo-yakiniku sauce might be the closest description I can get inside my head.

Ciel had been teaching the goblinas and a few male hobgoblins who worked in the public kitchen about how to properly cook meat and some vegetables back when our town was still in its early construction period, although the things she taught were just the basics.

Stopping right near the table, Rigurd lets out a cough to gain the group's attention.

They turn their faces and eyes at him. The munch munch sound that they've been making stops along with their chewing. Combined with their stuffed mouth, the expression that they're having right now reminds me of a squirrel whose mouth is filled with acorns.

"Dear guests," Rigurd bellows as he steps a little to the side and directs both of his open hands at us, "I do hope you are comfortable here. Allow me to introduce you to our masters: Rimuru-sama and Ciel-sama!"

I can hear them swallowing their food down. They are looking at us anxiously. Their previously overjoyed face turn into scared, nervous face—except the masked woman whose expression cannot be seen due to her face wholly covered with mask.

"Well, don't mind us too much for now. Please feel free to enjoy your meal first. We can talk afterwards."

I and Ciel take seats at a nearby table and sit on each seat, with us sitting opposite to each other.

"Rigurd," I call, "next time, if you are to call us to meet some guests, wait for them to at least finish what they are doing first."

"I...I am so sorry, my lord." He lowers his head, looking dejected.

C'mon now.... I wasn't angry or anything. I was just giving him an advice. Did he somehow interpret it as me calling him a failure? Oh, well, many of our subordinates used to be like that, too, so I can't say I was surprised to see it...again. They most likely thought that whatever was approved by their master was a success and whatever was not was a failure.

"Ah, don't worry too much about it," I reassure. "We can work on manners later."

They, in the end of the day, are still monsters in their very core. The value of "survival of the fittest" has been ingrained very deeply inside their minds and instincts. We can't expect them to immediately understand and implement what were once a completely alien concept to them—manner, etiquette, camaraderie, social welfare, and many more.

They need time to learn. They need time to understand. They need time to practice. They need time to familiarize themselves. 

It is exactly what I and Ciel are here for. We have our role and obligations as their masters, just as how they have their own roles and obligations as our subordinates and citizens. Guiding them little by little to learn and understand, and providing the optimal environment where they can implement, practice, and familiarize themselves with what they have learnt so far—those are just a few of what we see as our obligations.