“Okay then. I’ll make it for you sometime.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Rafu!”

I loved how Raph-chan hopped up onto Raphtalia’s shoulder and started chirping.

“Hey, everyone! Raphtalia and I cooked lunch for you. Hurry up and eat, and then off you go!”

“It’s super good this time, too!”

“Yeah! It’s so good!”

The slaves all dug in with big smiles on their faces. I went ahead and served the soldiers that were building houses for us, too.

“This . . . This might be the most delicious grilled meat I’ve ever had!”

“You’re kidding, right? This can’t be that same turtle meat! They served the same thing at the castle, but it was nowhere near this good!”

My shield’s cooking enhancement really was something. There was probably a synergistic effect with the enhancement from Raphtalia’s katana that made everything that much better. Maybe rubbing the meat with salt and spices during prep made a difference, too. The Hamburg steaks were gone in the blink of an eye.

The slaves all had their share of my cooking. Considering how they would be when they got back from leveling up . . . Yeah, I’d have to prepare even more food or there wouldn’t be enough.

“Okay everyone, I’m going to give each of you a weapon, so get out there and fight!”

I gave the slaves their orders and they began to panic. I handed each of them one of the old weapons that I had gotten from the castle storeroom. Most of them were short swords meant for beginners. One of the young female slaves was standing there completely pale with her blade in hand, looking just like Raphtalia had at first.

“If you refuse to fight, you’ll feel a burning in your chest, so be prepared. Remember, you’ll never get your village back that way.”

“We get it, Bubba Shield! We’re ready to fight, so you just wait!”

At least someone was showing some enthusiasm.

“It’s not like I can’t find someone else to replace you all. I’m just trying to turn this place into a territory again. But since Raphtalia has always done as I asked without arguing, I decided to reward her by inviting you all to take part. Don’t get the wrong idea.”

I had gotten used to playing the bad guy since coming to this world. It’s not like I was here to do charity work. I would be going back to my own world eventually, anyway, so it’s not like I needed to worry about this place. I just wanted to create a place where Raphtalia could live her life in peace.

“He has a sharp tongue, but he’s a good person, so don’t hold it against him.”

Raphtalia added some uncalled-for words of support. I was supposed to be the villain here.

“Okay then . . . Filo, you load the defeated monsters onto that cart and bring them back. We have plenty of uses for them.”

“Okaaay!”

They would be our food for the time being.