The Demon Lord's Bride (BL)
Chapter 304: The first rule of transmigrating to another world is to not hold prejudice

Chapter 304: The first rule of transmigrating to another world is to not hold prejudice

Who would have thought that making a deal on fish would be the first thing we did in the grandest palace of Elvendom?

Certainly not me.

But hey, I wouldn’t say no to an aquarium the way I wouldn’t say no to an amusement park. And Jade looked happy too. [We can see fishes home too!]

I looked at the little bird, and an idea sprung to my mind. Holding my palm up, I conjured an air bubble around Jade, who jumped in surprise. With a smile, I threw the bubbled bird into the pond.

Ignis flinched on my shoulder when the bubble sank slightly, but we could hear Jade’s muffled giggle and delighted shriek as several fish started to swim around the bubble, headbutting it in curiosity. The force from the fish pushed the bubble forward, toward the large pool where the garden ended.

"Would you like to swim too, Ignis?" I asked the little gecko. I recalled that the first time we met, Ignis was swimming inside the pool of boiling lava.

"I only swim in lava," the Salamander said. "If I enter, the pool will become heated."

"I thought you were already controlling it?"

The little gecko grumbled while lowering its head. "It’s hard to do it in the water."

"I see..."

Hmm...I wondered if I could make it so the bubble would suppress Ignis’s heat. Perhaps once I learn more from the druids? As I pondered about this, the bridge came to a junction, and Issa led us toward another path, where I could see a bigger island.

This one had a field of grass, with shrubs of flowers around the island’s precipice. A big tree with hanging white flowers stood near the edges, and a long table had been set beneath it. Several elves with what I presumed was the palace staff uniform were already there, manning several trolleys with food.

I gasped unconsciously, which drew Natha’s attention. "What’s wrong, sweetheart?"

"It’s..." I paused, closing my lips as I realized I was about to blurt out something embarrassing.

For my worried Demon Lord, however, I squeezed his hand and drew a simple mark in his palm--our signal that meant he should sense my thought. The silver eyes gleamed, and I gave him the image of that long table filled with food, a feast, but it was in our garden, back in the Lair, when it was spring.

The wedding feast I envisioned.

I wasn’t sure how much he caught from the image I conjured, but it was enough to make him stunned. His eyes stayed unblinking for a minute before I got too embarrassed and let go of his hand, checking on Jade as an escape.

"Jade, let’s eat," I called out the little bird. The bubble was almost gone at this point, and Jade was just a shy away from having an impromptu bath.

[Jelly!]

The little bird jumped out of the bubble and flew into my arm. "As expected, you like jellies more than playing."

[Jade also like Master more than playing!]

"Is that so?"

I patted the little bird and walked back to Natha, who had already gotten back to his usual cool self--although there was also a hint of red at the tip of his ear, and his lips were stretched slightly wider.

Oh? So he liked that idea? Or was he liking the idea of me thinking about our wedding?

Hmm...well, both are good, yes.

I followed him to the long table, where a staff already pulled our chair back for us. I asked for an additional tray for my familiars, and as the servants started to bring out the food, I put a portion of jellies and fire elemental stone on the tray for Jade and Ignis.

The servants brought our food right after Jade and Ignis hopped into the trays, making quite a spectacle for the elves as salads were served. Issa asked me about Ignis, and they were all surprised after knowing the little gecko was, in fact, the Great Salamander of the North, prompting the flame above Ignis’s head to dance a little bit in excitement.

Cute as usual.

As expected of the realm of nature, their vegetables were nicer than the ones served in the Castle Lord--even better than the ones I ate in Gluttony. The sauce they used had a citrusy pang, which made the salad taste even fresher. It was right up my alley, and I started the next course in a happy mood.

But also...confusion.

I blinked slowly as plates of steamed fish and braised ribs were taken out. At first, I had thought they were specifically served those for me and Natha to honor us. But then, dumbfoundedly, I saw the elves eating them without any reservation.

"You’re spacing out," Natha held my chin and turned my face toward him. "What are you thinking about?"

"Ah, it’s just..." I glanced at the elves before replying hesitatingly. "I had this preconception that children of nature are vegetarians."

Issa, who had been looking at me keenly, blinked at the unknown word. "Vege--?" she stopped, a slight frown formed between her perfect brows, almost as if she was offended by the fact that there was something she didn’t know.

"Umm...I mean..."

"He thought you wouldn’t eat meat or animal products," Natha explained in my place instead.

"And why is that?" Issa tilted her head slightly, and the topic suddenly drew the other elves’ attention as they started to turn in our direction.

"Uhh..." I hesitated.

Why indeed? the conception came from Earth’s literature, probably because they were always portrayed to be very close to nature, just like druids. That concept seemed to be stuck with me. Sure, Izzi ate meat, eggs, milk, and all kinds of animal products. But I never questioned it because I knew he was from Earth, and a human at heart--who, evidently, wasn’t a vegan. On the other hand, while I had met the elves several times, I never ate with them, so...

"Because you might feel it’s...cruel?" I replied after thinking about it for a while.

"How so?" Issa, who seemed to understand where I was coming from, had a calm smile on her face. She swept her golden gaze over the food at the table; not just the meat, but also the side dishes and the salad. "Are we not cruel for eating the mushrooms and the plants? Are we not cruel to pluck the seeds off the trees?" she looked at the jelly surrounding the clueless Jade, which was made of fruits. "They are all breathe the same air that the Primordial One bestowed on us, and blessed all the same by our Mother’s love and grace."

Oh...

So...my concept was skewed? It was because they were close to nature that the elves--and probably the druids and drows too--saw all creatures as equal. Every creature had a life force after all, and as long as they breathed mana, we could consider them to be alive. Thus, it would feel like a hypocrite for them to feel cruel about eating animals but consuming the plants without a second thought.

"We believe that every creature has its roles and fates, even if it’s to be hunted and eaten," Issa put her utensil down and intertwined her fingers on the table. "Is it not a noble cause to give one’s body for another’s growth?"

Feeling dazed as a new concept about the elves formed in my head, I replied with an absentminded nod. "That’s...a new thought..."

But then again, the demons that the humans thought and taught to be a cruel, savage society turned out to be just like anybody else.

Also...I shouldn’t use the concept I got on Earth as a basis for my understanding of the creature here.

"Every meal, we pay our respects to the food that it provided to us; to the animals and the plants that gave themselves to become the strength in our body," another elf, someone who sat two seats away from Issa, chimed in. "That’s why we should not overeat, and only hunt what we eat."

My brows raised and my eyes fell to the meat on the table. "You mean...this is hunted today?" I pointed at the meat on my plate.

"Of course; we have to serve the freshest meat of the highest quality for our esteemed guest," the elf that was in charge of commerce earlier, the one who spoke with Natha about the fish, replied to me. "That’s the way we respect the one we hunt; by making sure it is turned into the best meal possible."

"We don’t put those who could move in captive, only hunt them in the wilderness," another elf added, someone sitting near Natha. "And we only took the one who died in one shot. If we miss, we don’t pursue. And if our arrow ended up not killing it in one go, it is our responsibility to heal their wound and set them free."

"Because...it’s not their fate to be eaten?"

"Yes," the answer came in unison from all the elves.

Was that why they were given a bow and were such good archers? To deliver a swift and clean death to the one they hunt? It wasn’t a ’game’ for them, wasn’t a sport; they only hunted what they needed to eat.

"I see," I nodded, feeling grateful for their kind explanation. "I learned a lot of things, thank you."

"It is our pleasure, Your Excellency."

I looked back at my still-untouched plate, unconsciously murmured. "With respect, huh..."

"That’s right. For example, you should eat all of your food without leaving any leftovers."

Of course, Natha didn’t miss a chance to turn it into a sermon.