"Big sisters, this is for you."
"Big sisters, you're so beautiful."
"Big sisters, are you here to help Uruk, just like the uncles and aunties before you?"
Attire that transcended the era, beauty rarely seen in the world—when both appeared in the marketplace, the clamor only grew louder.
Because they were older and knew more, the adults could only watch and whisper from a distance, but some of the children didn't care about such things.
When a bold child approached to chat and Guinevere kindly ruffled his hair, more children gathered around, asking all sorts of questions.
"Sorry, are we taking up your time?"
The simple linen robe looked slightly loose on her, but this was over 3000 BC. The fact that the populace could even wear linen robes was thanks to the King of Heroes, whose rule had advanced the Kingdom far beyond its time.
"It's no trouble. We wanted to look around anyway, and these children are so well-behaved and cute. They haven't asked any difficult questions."
As they walked, they saw that Uruk's residences and shops were all quite similar, clearly the result of unified urban planning.
The restaurant where Guinevere and the King of Knights were now resting also appeared to be a product of this planning.
Smiling, Guinevere took the wooden tray from the proprietress and distributed the roasted Magical Beast meat piece by piece to the surrounding children. This allowed the King of Knights, who had been forced to maintain a stern demeanor under constant scrutiny, to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.
With children, she couldn't be as at ease as Guinevere.
"Guinevere, are we going to keep resting here?"
"Let's sit for a while longer. What the people of an era eat can directly reveal whether that era is good or bad."
"So, what have you figured out?"
"Gilgamesh, the King of Heroes, is indeed formidable. He managed to build a great city of over 100,000 people in this era and feed them all."
Rice, flour, apples, pears... so many things shouldn't exist in this era. They could only have been brought by the King of Heroes from his treasury.
Moreover, judging by the abundant supply of such foods, the King of Heroes must have also managed to cultivate and mass-produce crops that shouldn't exist in this era of coexistence between humans and gods.
"However, for meat, he still has to rely on the endless supply of Magical Beasts. Speaking of which, this hastily prepared Magical Beast meat tastes awful, even worse than the Sea Demons from the last Singularity."
"Is it possible that the chef's cooking skills here just can't compare to yours?"
"Hmm, there's a high probability of that."
As a foodie, the King of Knights had only taken small bites of the restaurant's food. With this trip and her words, Guinevere completely understood what she was trying to say.
She stood up, smiled at the King of Knights, told the children not to be too noisy, then asked the proprietress for a large leg of Magical Beast meat and started a fire in the shop using Magecraft.
After returning to Great Britain, Guinevere and the King of Knights had studied at the Clock Tower for several years; they could both perform basic Magecraft.
"Lia, there aren't many seasonings here, so you'll have to make do for now."
The preparation of the ingredients, the perfect heat from the magical flames, and Guinevere's culinary skills, which could already be called masterful.
The chattering children fell silent, sitting in a row not far from Guinevere, swallowing their saliva in unison.
Drawn by the increasingly rich aroma, more than one passerby entered the restaurant, and soon even the doorway was crowded with people.
As the situation unfolded, the restaurant owner shrewdly brought out more ingredients, while far away in the Royal Palace, the King, still seated on his throne, burst into loud laughter.
After Guinevere and the King of Knights left, he had been discussing matters with Merlin, planning for the challenges ahead. The most important outcome of their discussion was entrusting Merlin with the task of receiving the Chaldea group.
"Merlin, have that little one you picked up make a trip. Take the money to your King."
"Speaking of which, I still remember the banquet at Einzbern Castle; Guinevere's cooking is truly delicious."
"It's a pity. If I were to say I wanted her in my royal harem, they would just draw their swords on me again, wouldn't they!"
As the living King of Heroes, Gilgamesh possessed all the skills of his adult self, including the Clairvoyance that allowed him to see the future. However, he had sealed the future-seeing aspect of this skill, disliking paths with known outcomes and preferring to accept results as they came.
Thus, his powerful Clairvoyance was reduced to its literal meaning: seeing for a thousand miles. He saw Guinevere and the King of Knights' kindness to the people and felt happy about it.
At his request, Merlin, also curious about the taste of Guinevere's cooking, had Anna bring extra Magical Beast meat when he gave her the order.
Merlin wanted to eat too.
"So, the King of Heroes had you bring this money, and Merlin had you bring this meat?"
Still hidden beneath her hooded cloak, she didn't look up when Guinevere questioned her.
But little Miss Anna held a long chain, the end of which was tied to a cart. On the cart lay a lion-like Magical Beast, over two meters tall and weighing more than three tons.
"The State Guest House had no fresh ones, so I went out of the city to hunt a new one."
"Are there Magical Beasts near the City of Uruk?"
"If you go a little farther out, you'll encounter a few scattered ones. Be extra careful when you head to the Northern Wall tomorrow."
Was it the roasted meat Guinevere had forcefully placed in Anna's hands that did the trick? She spoke a little more, and as she ate like a hamster, she even made happy sounds.
"Is it good?"
"Mm, I've never eaten anything this delicious."
By the time Anna arrived, the barbecue had moved from inside the shop to outside. Since the shop owner's wife was providing the ingredients, Guinevere only gave the food to the children for free, charging the adults who wanted to eat an exceptionally high price.
Even so, many adults were still willing to pay. The high price only served to make the King of Heroes' money seem wasted and to prevent Guinevere from working herself to death.
Of course, this was only before Anna dragged in the newly slain lion-like Magical Beast.
-
"Guinevere, we..."
"Lia, I'm leaving. You wouldn't leave, would you?"
Guinevere said with a smile. Seeing her like this, the King of Knights also breathed a sigh of relief and said:
"This is Uruk, not our Camelot, but as a King, it is my duty to respond to the people's expectations. I truly can't bear to abandon them and leave."
"Then, Lia, once you finish that roasted leg, hurry over and help me butcher the Magical Beast. And Anna, you're not allowed to run off either. Take responsibility and help me serve the guests."
Guinevere had been grilling continuously, only tasting the food occasionally. But seeing the King of Knights eat with such happiness and watching Anna suddenly become more talkative, she didn't mind spending a little more time here.
If one wanted to understand all of Uruk, one could get a glimpse by observing the gathered crowd.
Commoners, slaves, nobles, priests... all sorts of people were gathered here. They wore different clothes and had different attitudes, but they all knew who Guinevere and her companions were, treating them with utmost courtesy regardless of their own high status.
"Anna, cut this batch of roasted meat into proper portions and give them to the slaves first."