﻿\setgamedatatitle("Margaretta_02")

\text
Time flows differently inside the labyrinth than it does on
the surface.
\endtext

\text
Because the labyrinth exists underground where sunlight
doesn't reach, there's no strict distinction between
morning, noon, and night like on the surface.
\endtext

\text
Of course, the times for taking up posts, resting, and
sleeping are all properly set.
\endtext

\text
Meal times are one of those as well.
\endtext

\text
However, since some people take their posts during the day
and others work night shifts, the tavern inside the
labyrinth is open all day long.
\endtext

\text("Risbell")
Caym-sama, what would you like?
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Hmm, this looks good. The chef's recommendation, bean and
meat stew.
\endtext

\text("Risbell")
Sounds good. Then, two servings of that.
\endtext

\text
Caym had come to the tavern together with Risbell.
\endtext

\text
When strategy meetings run long, sometimes food is brought
to the throne room.
\endtext

\text
But unless there was a special reason, he preferred to eat
in the tavern among the Demon King's army officers and
soldiers.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Oh, Caym and Risbell. Are you two here to eat as well?

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Hm? Oh, Margaretta. Looks like you are too?

\endtext

\text
Even as the Demon King, he still had to line up properly for
food service.
\endtext

\text
While standing in line with Risbell, Caym was addressed by
Margaretta, who already had a tray in hand.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
That's right. But for you, wouldn't it be easier to just
have your meal brought to the throne room?

\endtext

\text("Caym")
If I don't get some exercise, I'll get fat. And then I
couldn't keep up this beautiful body of mine.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Heh, you're as eccentric as ever.

\endtext

\text("Risbell")
Hmm, it looks like this might take a little while.
Margaretta-san, please go ahead of us.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
No, it's fine. I'll wait for you two. Looks like that table
over there is open anyway.

\endtext

\text
With that, Margaretta pointed out a table with her chin.

\endtext

\text
At this time―which would be considered late afternoon on the
surface―the tavern was relatively empty.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Got it. We'll be right there.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Alright.
\endtext

\text
Nodding back at Caym, Margaretta sat down at the table she
had indicated earlier.

\endtext

\text
Soon after, Caym and Risbell received their meals and joined
Margaretta at the same table.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Alright, let's eat!
\endtext

\text("Risbell")
Yes. I'm starving.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Very well... then.
\endtext

\text
The three of them each started on their food.
\endtext

\text
Caym and Risbell ordered the same thing, but Margaretta
seemed to have chosen something different.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
What did you order?
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Hm? Oh, this?
\endtext

\text
When Caym asked, Margaretta pushed the dish in front of her
a little closer to him.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Go ahead, try it.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
N-no, that's not really what I meant...

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
I don't mind.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
You sure?
\endtext

\text
Feeling like it would be rude to refuse, Caym took a bite of
the sliced meat.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Oh, this is... The meat is seasoned with a strong salt and
spices, and there's a sweet sauce on top. It's delicious.

\endtext

\text
The flavor was unfamiliar to Caym, but he honestly thought
it tasted good.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
It's not exactly a traditional dish from my country... but
it's something close. I just felt nostalgic and ordered it.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
But how did our chef know how to make food from your
homeland?
\endtext

\text
Indeed, neither Caym nor Risbell had ever seen this dish
before.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
When I asked the chef, he said he learned it from a cook
from my country a while back.
\endtext

\text("Risbell")
Margaretta-san's country is...
\endtext

\text
Risbell started to say something, then fell silent.
\endtext

\text
Margaretta's country had already been destroyed.
\endtext

\text
However, she didn't seem bothered by it and simply nodded
slightly.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Yeah, it's gone.
\endtext

\text("Risbell")
S-sorry...
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Don't worry about it. I'm not bothered by it either.

\endtext

\text
Hearing Margaretta say that so nonchalantly, Risbell
couldn't help but exchange glances with Caym.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
My country, Razantoria, was a small nation. Its only real
trait was its long history―there was nothing else to it.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Well, the reason it fell was because its strength didn't
match the length of its history.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
The royal family and those around them just had an
unnecessarily high sense of entitlement.
\endtext

\text
After spitting that out, Margaretta made a sour face.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
If they'd just accepted becoming a vassal state of the great
nation Amis, there might have been hope. But they refused,
and that's why we were destroyed.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
It was truly their own fault.
\endtext

\text
Her tone was light, but perhaps she still had feelings about
her homeland's fall―Margaretta was more talkative than
usual.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Oops... Sorry, sorry. This is going to ruin the taste of our
meal. Let's drop the subject.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Hmm... For someone who was a princess, you sure had a pretty
clear-eyed view of your country and the world around you.

\endtext

\text("Risbell")
Caym-sama.
\endtext

\text
『Margaretta-san went out of her way to change the subject,
and now you're bringing it up again...』
\endtext

\text
That was the message in Risbell's tone and gaze.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Hahaha! You got me. To be honest, like Caym said, I was
never really interested in palace lessons.

\endtext

\text
But Margaretta just gave a wry smile and scratched her head.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Ever since I was a kid, I preferred going outside and
training with the soldiers in swordsmanship.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
And when it came to reading, I always picked adventure
stories or war chronicles over stuffy etiquette manuals.

\endtext

\text("Risbell")
I-is that really okay? For a princess...
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
At first, my parents tried to discipline me strictly, but
eventually they just gave up.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Not to brag, but it seems I had a knack for military
matters...
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
When I went to war with a neighboring country, I led a small
force and managed to drive the enemy army into retreat.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
After that, my parents recognized my military talent. Even
though I was young, they put me in charge of a whole army.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
I see.
\endtext

\text
The reason Margaretta could calmly assess her own country
and the great nation of Amis, and survive as a mercenary―

\endtext

\text
It was all thanks to the foundation and effort she built up
as a warrior back then.
\endtext

\text
Seeing Margaretta speak so openly, Caym found himself
convinced.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
The country you all are trying to build is a little
different from Razantoria.
\endtext

\text
Suddenly, Margaretta murmured in a tone that was both
nostalgic and mournful.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Hm? What do you mean?
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Of course, there's order in this underground labyrinth.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
But you, as the Demon Lord, don't seem to care much about
status, and here you are eating with us like it's nothing.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
In my country―or really, in any normal country―the king
would never eat in the same dining hall as his subordinates
or subjects.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Heh, is that all?
\endtext

\text
Caym snorted at Margaretta's words.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Food always tastes better when you're eating and laughing
with others than when you're just picking at it alone.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Besides, I'm not really cut out to be royalty anyway.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
I much prefer hearty, unpretentious food like this over
fancy dishes that you can't even tell if they have any
flavor.
\endtext

\text
Just as Caym said, what they'd ordered were hearty, strongly
seasoned dishes made for workers.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
Call it a simple palate if you want, but when it comes to
food, you should just eat what you want, how you want.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Hehe, you and this labyrinth you rule really are a bit
unusual.
\endtext

\text
Margaretta said this, narrowing her eyes.
\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Oops, sorry. I have the night shift, so I need to get some
rest soon. I'll excuse myself now.

\endtext

\text
Just as they were finishing their meal, Margaretta suddenly
remembered and stood up from her seat.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
What, already―
\endtext

\text("Risbell")
No, Caym-sama. Resting is an important duty too, you know.

\endtext

\text("Margaretta")
Sorry about that. Well then, good night, Demon Lord.

\endtext

\text("Caym")
Grrr...
\endtext

\text
Watching Margaretta leave the tavern, Caym made a sour face.

\endtext

\text
He couldn't complain, since he was the one who made those
rules in the first place.
\endtext

\text("Caym")
(Well, it can't be helped...)
\endtext

\text
With a sigh, Caym relaxed his shoulders and set about
finishing the rest of his meal.
\endtext