LIGHTNOVELONLINE Chapter 293
Intelligent beings are fundamentally driven by desire. They live propelled by these desires.
Though the direction may differ, all—Orcs, Elves, Fairies, Monsters, and Humans—live because they have desires. Their desires lead them to evolve, seeking a life better than yesterday.
This applies to Shia as well.
In fact, desire isn’t inherently a bad thing.
In the previous world, even in the Rose Order where Shia served as the Great Saint, they acknowledged individual desires. Helping others is also a form of desire, after all.
Yet today, Shia was reminded, once again, that desire can feel so dreadful and painful.
“Ah, ah…”
“Shia…”
“Ah, aaaah!”
Thus, Shia acknowledged with a hint of lamentation and deep disappointment, as she negated herself, that no matter how much she clears her mind, she remains an utterly pathetic Saint who is so honest with her physical desires…
Or rather, she’s just a person in the process of striving to become a saint.
It was no use to convince herself that it was okay.
Even while contemplating the possibility of such a circumstance, on the other hand, the lingering desire still seemed to lead Shia down the wrong path.
Ah, is this what desire is?
Ah, is this sadness and frustration?
At the moment when the pitch-black darkness threatened to engulf her heart, the Saint found herself collapsed, sobbing.
“Shia, be strong…”
“Menelapie…”
Amidst the flickering streetlight, a green light akin to mockery enveloped the Saint’s shoulders.
Flicker…
Flicker…
As the light turned on and off again, Shia felt weaker with each flicker, burdened by the undeniable weight of reality.
“I can’t do this… I… I…”
Regarding the unacceptable truth.
Regarding the tragic calamity that should not exist.
In a sense, beyond irony, it was nearing paradoxical speech—in this miserable and dreadful reality, Shia’s world fell apart.
Shia thought.
What is a Saint?
How can this be a Saint?
Wasn’t a Saint someone who could enact impossible miracles and fulfill unattainable wishes?
“I can’t accept this reality…”
It can’t be helped.
It can’t be helped.
This is something even the Hero who stays with me cannot assist with. Even the Witch who walked the path of hardship and pain to meet me cannot help.
No, even the word help would be meaningless.
Thus, the Mangja Seongnyeo cried out in a voice drowned in sorrow at the dark alley of Green City.
[Our Orcs are traditional vegans, you know?]
“An Orc being vegan?!!!”
That’s nonsense.
There are no physical defects or magical distortions.
The whole species of Grakshar apparently claims to be ‘traditional’ vegans.
It’s sad.
The idea of a vegan Orc!
Throughout time and space,
On Earth and in the previous world.
No, there is nowhere, in any dimension, that an Orc does not eat meat.
Humans can’t survive without oxygen; flowers wilt without sunlight—similarly, Orcs fundamentally need meat.
It is an obvious fact, hardly worthy of being called a truth, and something that should not be twisted in any world.
But what?
An Orc being vegan…?
Whaaah, no way…!
“Was it Gray Tooth Grakshar? Quite good-looking among Orcs with a somewhat slender face, and for an Orc, they were rather small, over four meters in height. Grakshar and his group likely have mixed blood with Elves or another race instead of being pure Orcs. Otherwise, saying Orcs are vegans just doesn’t make sense.”
Whaaah, that’s nonsense…
“Oh dear, what a disaster.”
Before long, Teresa, who had suddenly appeared next to Shia, began taunting her.
“Haah… I was taking it easy, listening to stories from when your mother and you went to school. Is this really the reason you called me, Hero? I thought maybe a Demon King was attacking.”
Teresa appeared younger in stature. Like Shia, she lacked the temporary Hunter certification, classified as a civilian, waiting with Yoonjeong inside the train, not in Green City.
When Menelapie urgently contacted her, pondering if something went wrong, Teresa hurried to Green City only to face the same calamity as always.
“Hey, Teresa! It’s only a ‘little’ thing while Shia is sad!”
“She’s not sad; she’s losing her mind!”
Whaaaaah!
“How can Shia’s saintly being be threatened by a malicious vegan and not be sad!?”
“Shut up!”
Whaaaah, sniffle…
Sure, Menelapie was one thing, but look at Shia acting all fox-like.
She seems to act up, but as she subtly glances at Menelapie and tries to catch my attention while sniffling, she’s doing it on purpose.
It’s a problem that Menelapie shows no sign of stopping her!
“You don’t realize how pathetic it is not being able to do anything while our saint is sad, do you!? In times like this, we must unite to shield our saint from sadness! Such a meaningless situation where Shia is so glum should vanish at once, Teresa!”
Teresa, quietly listening to Menelapie, nodded slowly.
“Ah, yeah. I may have been wrong…”
“Finally acknowledging my words?”
“You filthy, damned Hero!!”
Eventually, Teresa, who had exploded with frustration, forcefully pulled Shia up from her sitting position.
“Wait, I just saw that there are plenty of dining halls and street vendors around here! Even butchers openly selling non-human meat, so what’s the problem?! An Orc not eating meat is the only issue, right!? You’re not bound or cursed to only eat vegetables by becoming part of that Grakshar’s family!”
“Eh, thinking about it now makes sense?”
“……”
Seemingly regaining her senses from Teresa’s words, Shia stopped crying.
“Eh? I was worried that vegan Orcs might have significant influence, causing all dining in Green City to become vegan.”
Look at that.
She’s pretending to cry just to get attention from Menelapie or me, it seems?
Seriously, what a sly little fox, damn…
“Wait, so didn’t our Hunter Train offer support to Grakshar?! Supporting vegan Orcs?”
“Indeed.”
“No way! Right away, we must tell Yeonhwa to annihilate that wicked vegan Orc! If these guys become the rulers of this city, they might turn Green City into Spinach City!”
“………”
Forget it.
This is just plain bullshit.
How can the nonsensical ramblings increase as the days go by?
Ah, the fact that even the nonsensical talk becomes oddly pleasant for me is the most significant problem…
—
Thus, Shia found her senses returned surprisingly quickly. Together with the Hero and the Witch, she set out once more to explore Green City.
“Wow, this outfit’s bigger than I thought!”
Shia handed over an extra suit stored in her backup drone to Teresa, but Teresa, currently only about 13 years old, couldn’t fit into a suit tailored to Shia’s size.
Ultimately, Teresa had to put on a revealing purple dress she originally wore instead of the suit.
The image was quite amusing.
It felt like a Mafia Boss walking with a young concubine dressed in a revealing evening gown.
“Ahh! The Orcs who don’t appreciate the beauty of meat are pitiful…!”
“Ah, right. The dining area is over there.”
“Hmm, let’s not go to that dining area.”
“Why?”
“Though it has a meat smell, it has an even stronger smell of vegetables that Shia hates!”
“Gasp…!”
While she continued to spout unsubstantiated nonsense, at least she wasn’t throwing a tantrum like before, so Teresa considered it a small blessing.
The green alley, which appeared to be filled with violence and drugs, seemed dangerous at first glance, but surprisingly, the tough-looking delinquents merely stared at Shia, Menelapie, and Teresa without directly confronting them.
Green City was originally a gathering place for all manner of non-humans and human subtypes.
In such a location, three individuals dressed in polished black suits and dresses strolling about without any semblance of fear was either…
A newly arrived newbie who knew nothing after just landing here.
Or they possessed overwhelming power and confidence, rendering them unconcerned with danger.
Both applied to Shia’s group.
Thus, Shia pushed through the green mist, soon spotting a reasonably sized outdoor restaurant.
It appeared they had set up tables and chairs in front of a desolate shrine where not even a god existed.
“What does it say on the sign…?”
“Er… Rouwzhou?”
“That’s Roman. That’s Chinese characters. That’s a language from the previous world?”
Proving that Green City indeed attracted various races from different worlds, the sign displayed languages that shouldn’t coexist.
“Hello?”
“……….”
The restaurant owner was an insect-headed creature, appearing either a grasshopper or a cricket.
Though its appearance suggested it would serve insect dishes, surprisingly, the menu and signs appeared to be all about meat.
Fresh meat, just slaughtered, looked vibrant and appealing.
In Green City, acquiring meat typically involved either cutting off parts of one’s own body or those of their fellow non-humans or human subtypes to sell at butchers or processing plants.
Once processed by skilled butchers or meat technicians, what once resembled an Orc’s limbs could transform into neatly packaged sausages.
“But do we really need to eat that?”
Though the fresh meat looked appetizing, it evoked a slight uneasiness.
“That’s unavoidable. The food situation in the Hunter Train isn’t good right now.”
“The Uranium Dragons just had to raid the food carriage. And then a dead Uranium Dragon’s corpse seeped into the food compartment, ruining all the food that was being stored? That’s incredibly contrived; it’s like something out of a novel…”
In fact, the Hunter Train’s operating committee had warned Hunters to try to be self-sufficient as much as possible.
Naturally, initially, Hunters hesitated to touch Green City’s food.
Despite being considered monsters like Orcs, Minotaurs, and Chaun-people, they appeared quite similar to humans. People are reluctant to consume meat that resembles them.
However, since conditions aboard the Hunter Train had worsened, Hunters gradually became weary of tasteless canned food. Then, a minor incident occurred.
Grakshar took Hunters accompanying the Hunter Association on a guard mission to a massive restaurant named [25th Hour Restaurant].
Unfortunately, this restaurant wasn’t an ordinary one; it was run by the rival centaur gang of Grakshar, who went there to warn them, negotiate, and likely settle a bit of misunderstanding.
At that place, whether it was an intentional act or not, the Hunters reportedly received quite a fantastic meal.
The meal was exceptionally splendid compared to what Grakshar, being a vegan Orc, would provide.
An assortment of raw meat from various non-humans was freshly prepared, and they could dip it into a variety of seasonings.
Grilled sausages made from Fairy meat and donkey leg meat…
Deep-fried and chopped Orc hind leg served with rice…
Additionally, a wide selection of non-human meat dishes appeared, appearing almost identical to pork or beef, and Hunters belatedly learned of the true nature of the meat they had consumed after finishing their meals.
“In fact, being vegan in this city is a bit strange.”
“Vegans were always strange.”
“Think about it. Where can you even find vegetables in this city?”
“Uh…?”
“I’m not an expert in agriculture, but with the weather, the temperature, and the green sun shrouded in smog, where would you even grow things? The easiest thing to procure in this city is meat. Most of Green City’s residents are poor, so it’s not too unusual for them to sell their limbs to break free from poverty. After all, they can resurrect anyway.”
“Then vegans aren’t natural vegans…”
“More like a power showoff or showcasing their leisure. It’s easier to pretend they’re sipping tea elegantly while others are running around. Although traditionally, being a vegan isn’t entirely a lie…”
Of course, some Hunters, shocked after eating the meat, returned to the Hunter Train, but conversely, some had adapted to the ecology of Green City.
Even if one’s limbs got chopped off and they died, when the genuine green sun rose at night, they could resurrect in totally new bodies; Green City’s residents, however, could only recover from external injuries and weren’t free from the hunger or sickness that plagued them.
Ultimately, eating remains crucial for the residents of this land.
Consuming food properly is essential for strength and survival.
Without strength, one faces elimination.
Once elimination begins, one can experience the absolute bottom of the bottom in Green City.
In fact, even at this very moment, the homeless figures collapsed on the streets were those who had met elimination in Green City.
The existence of homeless people and those who face elimination despite the ability to revive only subtly hints at just how rough and dangerous this world of Green City truly is.
Though the narrative may seem long-winded, to conclude, Hunters needed to adapt to the food culture of Green City to survive.
And today, Shia was also attempting to adjust to that food culture.
Pointing to a meat that looked like Korean short ribs, Shia asked the insect-headed restaurant owner.
“What’s that meat?”
“…Y-Yo, fairy…”
“Pardon?”
“Fairy, short… ribs…”
“…….”
How many fairies did they butcher to make that short rib-sized meat?
The worrying part was that it didn’t look much different from real short ribs—she wondered if one could mistake it for something else without realizing it.
“L-Let’s eat something else…”
“Sure thing.”
“Either way, they’re all somewhat similar, right?”
Shia scanned the other meats dangling by the restaurant owner.
Some meats had a bright pink color, while others were dripping with fresh blood, as if just slaughtered.
Sniff, sniff… There’s hardly any malicious scent.
Of course, there wasn’t zero malevolence among the meats hanging in the restaurant.
However, compared to the malice that humans inherently possess, it felt nearly non-existent.
Malice can fundamentally be viewed as ‘pollution caused by malevolent intentions and actions’ in both monsters and humans.
The moment the original owner revives in a new body, the remnants of flesh and corpses become nothing but mere soulless flesh residue.
That means, while the exterior may evoke a sense akin to cannibalism and repulsion, eating meat with such minimal malice feels just like eating pork for Shia.
Simply for sheer fullness and satisfaction.
Alright. Let’s muster up some courage… I need to be here for at least a month, and if I continue starving, I might lose my sanity and harm someone or blow up Green City itself…
Even though Shia wasn’t overly comfortable consuming something resembling a human, it could not be helped.
“Well then, I’ll take this one, please!”
“…Three… pieces… chopped.”
“Sure!”
The food Shia picked resembled a thick, white porridge.
Where she acquired the rice was unclear, but regardless, the existence of rice and porridge was good news.
Once the grasshopper-headed owner received the order, it quickly retrieved the meat hanging off the hooks, swiftly cutting it with a massive dagger and tossed it into a cauldron, where it boiled alongside a few drops of purple liquid.
The purple liquid, though it could appear to be poison, seemed to serve as a spice similar to chili powder based on the aroma.
Its contents showed that they had shredded radishes, and from the slightly crispy appearance of the rice, it appeared to be not just simple porridge, but rather a style made from scorched rice.
Next, the grasshopper-headed owner added small quantities of pepper and garlic before sealing the lid and letting it simmer vividly. Despite looking like a simple dish, it seemed they were aiming for flavor through long boiling.
Soon, three meals prepared by the grasshopper chef were completed, serving steaming and aromatic broths that wafted deliciously in the air. With the rich and savory scent, Shia’s expression began to brighten.
Hehe, this looks delicious… The food has been served in under 5 minutes since I ordered. How come I feel so far from home…?
“Orders…Human Decadence Porridge…three…servings…prepared…”
“What…?”
What on earth was that dish!?
It sounded like something to avoid eating!