"I can't eat it! My bloodline is impure! I'm not allowed to eat meat!"
"I'm not worthy..." Emilia said, her voice trembling with fear. If pureblood elves found out she ate such high-quality meat, she'd probably be executed!
Her body craved meat, but her entire life experience told her that someone of her lowly status was completely unworthy of enjoying it!
Kumoko suddenly flared up in anger. To her, eating meat was a natural right! Anyone who dared to stop her from eating meat, she would eat them!
In the Elroe Labyrinth, all the monsters that tried to stop her from eating eventually became food in her stomach.
"What do you mean, 'not worthy'?!"
"From now on, you are worthy! I allow it! This piece of meat, you can eat it. No, you must eat it!" Kumoko strode up to Emilia, an inexplicable, domineering aura radiating from her.
The [Ruler of Pride] made Kumoko see everything as potential food. In the entire world, there was nothing she wouldn't eat.
Kumoko's imposing aura startled Emilia. Afraid Kumoko might hit her, she tremblingly picked up the meat and began to wolf it down. Unlike Kumoko, even when eating ravenously, Emilia still retained a trace of elegance.
So satisfying... An unprecedented feeling of satisfaction. Unlike apples, meat... was something Emilia had never tasted before.
As an untouchable pariah in the Forest Nation, forget eating meat; she rarely even got enough fruit to fill her stomach.
When the first mouthful of meat went down, tears streamed uncontrollably down her face. Such a wonderful taste, something she had never experienced before.
She had never even imagined she could eat something so delicious. It felt like a dream.
She had dreamed of eating meat before, but after waking up to her empty tree hollow, she would feel both sad and a little amused at her own foolishness.
How could such food ever reach her lips?
And this time, she was finally tasting it.
Kumoko, watching her eat and cry, could somewhat understand Emilia's feelings.
Back when she was in the Elroe Labyrinth, constantly being beaten up by various monsters, until Elliot killed a catfish monster and gave her the meat to eat... she had also cried instantly.
The sensation of tasting delicious food was unforgettable for anyone.
One bite after another, Emilia quickly finished the large piece of meat. Staring at the empty (likely leaf) plate, her expression was dazed, as if savoring the memory of everything.
This feeling of a full stomach... how long had it been since she last felt it?
Living hand-to-mouth, coupled with the barrenness of this forest, usually, finding an extra mushroom or two was already a happy occasion for her. And today, she ate until she was full! Unbelievable...
When she came back to her senses, she met the gazes of Kumoko and Elliot. Oh no, it should be six pairs of eyes.
Kumoko was now in her Arachne form; her upper human body had two eyes, and her lower spider body had four pairs, making a total of six (actually ten eyes, or five pairs including the human ones). Faced with so many stares, Emilia instantly lowered her head.
"I'm sorry... I'm sorry! I shouldn't have done that!" Her usual subservience made her utter these words reflexively. After a long pause, she finally managed to force out two small words: "...Thank you..."
After a moment of contemplation, watching Emilia so completely absorbed in eating a piece of meat, Elliot finally understood what kind of race the elves truly were.
They not only placed extreme importance on bloodline but were also incredibly xenophobic.
They even ostracized their own kind for physical imperfections! No wonder the Demon Lord in the original story was so insistent on wiping out the elves. Now, Elliot could finally understand why.
"Emilia, I have a job here that allows you to eat meat every day. Are you interested?" Whether it was fighting elves or demons, he needed his own followers, his own forces! Emilia... would be his first general.
With [Magic Supremacy], [Ice Magic Mastery], and [Divine Magic Affinity], she would undoubtedly become an Ice Witch, capable of freezing an entire city with a single spell in the future.
As a half-elf, she was definitely no weaker than pureblood elves, perhaps even stronger.
"Eat... meat?" Emilia's eyes lit up, but then a terrible thought quickly crossed her mind. In this forest, besides her, there was another elf with a physical defect.
This "defect" was that she was born missing a little finger. Because of this, she was severely ostracized and abandoned here at birth.
Later, this physically imperfect elf heard from humans that there was a place where one could eat meat all the time.
So, she followed those cunning humans out of the forest and began a life of eating meat.
But actually... she had been sold to a brothel. So, Emilia didn't trust humans. Here, at least she could survive. But if taken away by humans, she would become like a piece of cargo, living an even more miserable life!
But... when Emilia looked up and met Elliot's gaze, she saw a calm expression, like a lake gently caressed by a breeze.
Sincere, kind, warm... without any ulterior motives, utterly pure. Even her own mother had never looked at her this way.
"Can I... really eat meat every day?" Emilia asked, still afraid deep down. Afraid he was offering her a dream, only to cruelly shatter it before her eyes.
That kind of pain would be even harder to bear. It was like someone accustomed to darkness being most afraid of seeing the light.
But deep in her heart, she still yearned to touch that light, even if it meant being a moth drawn to a flame.
Elliot smiled. It was just a small request. To gain a powerful mage, what was such a trivial demand? He nodded gently. "No problem."
Emilia was overcome with emotion. She opened her mouth but couldn't say a word.
Could she really, truly, like a pureblood elf, eat meat every day, no longer having to live a life of feast or famine?
This man before her... he was like an angel, a god, dazzling and sacred. In Emilia's heart, this man had already become her one and only deity!
"Become my first subordinate, Emilia."
"Yes... I am willing to follow you always, my Lord..." She closed her eyes. If this was a dream, she hoped she would never wake up.
Seeing this scene, Kumoko felt a twinge of jealousy, like her vinegar jar had been knocked over. "Hmph! I don't even get to eat meat every day! Why does she get to?!"
These past few days, she and Elliot had been moving stealthily through the Forest Nation, not even killing many monsters. They'd been eating fruit every day. She wanted meat!
Elliot pinched the bridge of his nose. "You've been eating too much meat. Eat some vegetables. If you eat any more meat, you'll get fat!"
"No way!" She had the [Gluttony] skill; she could digest anything no matter how much she ate! How could she possibly get fat?
But, just to be sure, Kumoko glanced down at her own stomach. She had been eating a bit much lately... but she wasn't fat! Still the same great figure as always!
….
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