Eating, Not Necessarily All Because of Hunger

[You took Artorius to the tavern.]

[He asked a question cautiously.]

"How much can I eat?".

[It was the first time you had heard such a question, but out of politeness, you replied that he could eat as much as he wanted.]

[So, you saw Artorius devour everything on the table with extremely skillful techniques.]

[It was a miracle comparable to magic.]

"Can I have another plate?"

Artorius asked earnestly, holding an empty plate.

"You can, but..."

Ian, who was saying this, glanced at the mountain of plates piled up on the table.

"But can you really eat any more?"

"This plate... should still be fine!"

"But you said the same thing when you ate the last plate."

"Eh, really?"

Artorius turned into a bean-eyed figure, looking quite embarrassed.

"Forget it." Ian took Artorius's empty plate and put it aside.

"A man can't break his promise. If I said you can eat as much as you want, then you can eat as much as you want."

Artorius's eyes lit up with gratitude.

"Thank you so much!"

"After I finish selling the apples, I will definitely pay back all the gold coins!"

"There's no need."

"No! It's necessary." Artorius shook his head. "Just like you said, a man can't break his promise!"

[Artorius's determination touched you.]

[But this didn't seem to reduce his appetite.]

[You couldn't imagine how such a petite body could eat so much.]

[You even wondered if Artorius's weight could match the amount of food he had eaten.]

[Despite your doubts, you didn't forget your intention to kill Artorius.]

[You wouldn't allow anyone to destroy Morgan's beautiful present.]

[But before that, you felt it was necessary to ask more clearly.]

"Artorius."

"Hmm?"

Hearing Ian call his name, Artorius stopped, despite his love for the food in front of him, showing good manners.

"What is it, Mr. Ian?"

Well, he even changed his address to honorifics.

Ian quite appreciated that.

"Where did you come from?" he asked.

"A small village." Artorius replied quickly. "It's quite a distance from here."

"I see." Ian nodded. "No wonder I feel you're a bit unique."

[You chatted with Artorius.]

[Out of gratitude for the meal, he answered every question very seriously.]

[You learned about his family background, knowing that he wasn't the only son in the family, and that he had an older brother named Kay.]

[In addition, you also learned that he had made a promise to return within three days.]

[You realized that his situation was completely different from those knights, and you couldn't kill him now.]

[After all, if Artorius didn't return as promised, things would become more complicated.]

[You started to think of a more suitable method.]

"Um, Mr. Ian."

Artorius's throat moved slightly.

"Can I continue to enjoy these things?"

"Oh..." Ian, who had come back to his senses, nodded. "Of course, no problem."

With Ian's permission, Artorius once again devoured the food in a very elegant manner.

This made Ian couldn't help but ask, "Artorius, I feel like you're really hungry."

"It's not entirely hunger."

"It's necessary to store more in my body." Artorius emptied the plate.

"The land is producing less and less. If we don't prepare like this, we won't have the strength to take up arms to resist when the enemy comes."

This answer surprised Ian.

He didn't expect Artorius, who looked young, to think about such a problem.

"By your saying, do you want to become a knight?"

"Not necessarily a knight." Artorius replied to Ian in front of him. "But at least I hope to be able to do what I can for Britain, like Mr. Ian."

"..."

Ian felt something touched in his heart.

He smiled slightly and reached out to touch Artorius's head.

As expected, his golden hair was smoother than imagined, just like a fine wool carpet.

The only flaw was probably the cowlick that couldn't be pressed down no matter how hard he tried, right?

"Then eat your fill."

"Waiter, bring me a few more plates."

[Finally, Artorius stopped only after another small mountain of plates was piled up on the table.]

[Looking at his satisfied expression, you didn't know if you had done the right thing.]

[But you could at least confirm one thing.]

[That is, Artorius now trusted you very much.]

[You realized that this might help kill him.]

[You threw down two heavy bags of gold coins and left the tavern with him.]

[You bought all his apples and arranged for him the best hotel in the capital.]

[Of course, you weren't doing it out of kindness.]

[You instructed the hotel owner to keep a close eye on Artorius and report to you immediately if there was any movement.]

[Although you vaguely felt that this might be useless.]

"Mr. Ian."

Artorius's voice came.

Ian turned his head.

He saw Artorius tidy up his clothes and wash away the dust from the journey with clean water.

His delicate face made Ian really hard to believe that he was a boy.

That absurd illusion bloomed in front of him again.

But since he had verified it himself, even if he didn't believe it, he had to admit the fact.

"Artorius, what's wrong?"

"I want to express my gratitude to you." Artorius bowed deeply to Ian.

"Thank you for your generosity, my heart is filled with gratitude, beyond words."

"Artorius, you're too polite." Ian disguised himself with a smile.

"Since you need to sell apples, and I need apples, then we just skipped some of the process."

"From this point of view, I should thank you instead."

"But the favor of food and accommodation is still given by you."

Artorius put his hands together in front of him.

With his petite figure, he really looked like a girl at this moment.

"If possible—"

"Mr. Ian, can I return the favor tomorrow?"