Author’s Note (Side Story)

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“Hmm.”

Lucia furrowed her brow as she sat by the campfire. Dalen, who had been quietly staring into the flames, looked up.

“What’s bothering you?”

“I don’t like it.”

Don’t like it? What on earth?

Normally, he would have brushed off such a comment, but with a juicy deer leg sizzling in front of him, he couldn’t just ignore it.

The meat roasting over the fire promised to be a delicious feast, perfect for melting away the fatigue of the day.

If something was bothering the chef responsible for this culinary delight, it was only right to address it, no matter what it took.

“Huh?”

The only one who noticed Dalen’s hand instinctively reaching for his waist was the immortal demon. The creature dropped the half-eaten rat carcass it had been savoring.

Then Lucia spoke up.

“I don’t like the fire.”

“The fire?”

Dalen withdrew his hand from his waist. You couldn’t exactly chop fire with an axe. Lucia continued, gazing intently at the crackling flames.

“In the knight’s order, we have magical tools that can roughly control the intensity of a campfire. We always take them on expeditions. They’re a bit heavy, but there’s nothing better for cooking in the field.”

Her voice was tinged with regret. Dalen nodded in understanding.

“So, you need a portable burner.”

“Uh… what?”

“Don’t worry. I think I can handle it.”

Lucia tilted her head in confusion. Dalen turned his gaze behind him.

In the shadows beyond the campfire’s light, the demon Arbor, who had just picked up the half-melted rat carcass again, met Dalen’s eyes.

“Uh… master?”

The demon’s eyes twitched nervously.

With the firelight casting his face in shadow, Dalen’s silhouette appeared to Arbor like a demon cloaked in the aura of a fiery hell.

A demon that even demons feared. He spoke.

“Hey, you know how to handle hellfire, right?”

It was the moment when the interdimensional pouch found a new purpose.

A portable burner.