A Knight's Loyalty | Food Fantasy AU Fanfic

Chapter 37 - The Charms of Another

". . ." Kuri bit back her tongue, glancing at Foie Gras and Escargot. For a moment, she could see Foie Gras's now fragile form flickering with faint color, but it eventually all faded to gray. "Foie Gras, the female, has a skill that lets her charm opponents into fighting each other rather than her team. Escargot, her partner, makes her abilities much stronger.

"Basically, our opponent's have the ability to kill us without laying a finger on us. Support talents that cleanse are the only ways to dispel them, and how fast you can do it can make or break the battle."

Ryouri found it hard to believe his ears. Someone so powerful existed on the enemy side? He didn't even know who this "Foie Gras" was until just now. Who else was he risking having to deal with?

"Hey, brighten up! If you have a negative attitude, that can ruin things too!" Mooncake spoke in encouragement. "Let's just go forward as always!"

"-!" From the entrance came a cough, gag, a choking sound. Two thuds were heard, and by the time Kuri turned around to see what had occured, Salty Tofu had practically knocked out both Foie Gras and Escargot.

"Salty! Move away before they die!" Kuri cast a small healing talent to keep their opponents alive, but just barely. "We need them to talk!"

"We won't," Escargot said with a yawn. "Even if we wanted . . ." He caught himself off, falling into slumber.

"What he means is . . . ," Foie Gras picked up. ". . . is that Spaghetti's medallion would refuse us to give you answers. We'd probably die in the process, so it'd be better just to kill us."

"That's such a bleak look on life . . ." Kuri sadly commented. "Which is why we're going to help free you guys! Foie Gras, you clearly have some independent thinking, considering you're on the verge of conversion."

". . . It's only enough to stop myself from casting. Any more effort would break me or cause me to fall back into the control."

"Then, what if we restrain you from battle? Will that work?"

"Perhaps . . . But there's a major risk. Just defeat us and focus on the battle. It's better now than I lose control around the more of you."

"Well, Ryouri. What do you think?"

Ryouri perked up at his name being called and thought a bit. By a bit, I mean a lot actually.

"Well, she'll end up a threat if we defeat her, since she'll probably be back with Spaghetti, so restraining her and her friend outside the battlefield would be better I think."

"I agree completely. Salty, you get Foie Gras. Sanma, you take Escargot. Mooncake, I want you to find something we can immobilize them with." Kuri glanced back at Foie Gras, seeing the Food Soul's utter disbelief. So, Kuri smiled, doing her best to make it as reassuring as possible. "Let's do this fast, okay?"

~

It was just as Ryouri's and Catcakes' groups met up that Kuri had left with her squad, Foie Gras, and Escargot. However, from the back, Seaweed Soup was looking for a conversation with Milt and Caviar.

She had, of course, considered a sneak attack, but Caviar's reflexes would surely stop her, and Seaweed Soup wasn't exactly the fastest of Food Souls. That was much easier to be Sanma or Red Wine.

So, she wanted to catched them off guard, and what better than a friendly conversation to do the trick? That's what she had decided.

"Excuse me, do you two have some time to talk?" Seaweed Soup hoped they would stop and listen to her, otherwise things would be difficult. Luckily, her targets stopped, and Caviar's left eye drifted to Seaweed.

"What is it?" he asked with an inpatient tone. Milt swirled around with a smile, her dress spinning with her.

"Hello~!" she exclaimed with a smile. "What do you need?"

"Just a word," Seaweed Soup spoke. "Do you happen to know where the exit is?"

"What's it matter to you?" Caviar questioned suspiciously. "You should know where the exit is yourself."

"Oh, Caviar. Let's just help her! If she's truly lost, we can't just leave her to be found by Spaghetti like we almost were, can we? It clearly must hit close to home, no?"

"She shouldn't be trying things without a plan. If she escaped, she'll be found soon anyways. Besides, what if she's hostile?'

"You mustn't be very worried about that if you're saying that aloud, no? Come on, Caviar~!"

"I'm saying no. We should stick to the plan and not act out of line for no necessary reason." He seemed to hold back adding on to his sentence. Milt pouted, and Caviar sighed, prepared to make a rebuttal.

As the two argued over whether or not to help Seaweed Soup, from out of sight, Seaweed pulled out two syringes. She twirled them in her fingers, and when the moment was right, she threw them - straight for their neckd, like she had learned in a previous life.

The sudden blur of adrenaline wore off, and went Seaweed looked back at the two, stopped mid-conversation, she saw the syringes stuck in two hands - one blocking Caviar's neck, the other blocking the path to Milt's.

Both hands were Caviar's. Milt seemed to stand in utter horror, and Caviar was hasty in pulling out the syringes, mumbling behind his mask. Seaweed Soup sighed to herself.

"That's why I always keep extras. Luckily, I got the more troublesome one," Seaweed mused aloud.

"You need to go," Caviar stated, clearly fighting the grey spreading from up his arms. "Make sure that when I've completely turned, I'm nowhere near you."

"But Caviar-" Milt was cut off by Caviar's glare.

"Just go. The sooner, the better. I'll handle this situation, no problem, okay?"

"What a small issue there is, Caviar," Seaweed Soup interjected. "I can't let her leave. And if you wish to stop me, you'll loosen your grip on the grey - you'll change faster."

". . . Fine then." Caviar took a breath and looked back up to Milt. 「白子、行くのがいるよ。行ってください。お願い。」

". . ." Milt held back his breath, pondering Caviar's request. You have to leave. Please go. Please.

As more and more of him turned grey, it became obvious he would lose control quite soon. He was right. She knew he would surely defeat her if it came to it.

"Well, alright, I'll listen to you, Caviar," Milt spoke quietly, before hugging him. After only a moment's hesitation, Caviar returned the hug, but only briefly. Then, Milt broke away and ran to reach the rest of the group.

In an instant, Caviar lost the rest of his color, and he held back the desire to run after her, after Milt. He looked towards Seaweed Soup with his one eye, and then, very calmly said, "I'm going to kill you."