How NOT to Summon an OVERLORD

CH.3

"Why are you so mean?!"  Shera yelled in despair.

"Thanks for waiting!"  Mei called out from behind them, holding bowls of food between her hands and arms. The sudden appearance of food caused Shera to smile with a happy expression and lift her arms into the air.

The Elf looked at Celestine.  "Are you really okay treating us, Celes?!"  she asked with a hopeful smile. The shimmer in her eyes was too heart-warming to ignore, even for the Ruler of Death, who watched the Elf with a small laugh.

"Of course."  Celestine replied.

"Yaaay! Food, food!"  Shera began to sing to herself before grabbing the provided cutlery. She stabbed two sausages with a wooden fork, grabbed a loaf of bread, and began to stuff food into her face.  "Ish delishous!"  she exclaimed.

Momonga watched Shera, and eventually Rem, continued to eat their food, unable to taste any of the meals himself. In his old world, the results of the Third World War had caused the planet to be poisoned beyond salvation, and there wasn't any natural wildlife remaining in the world.

'I'll never get to have real food...'  he realised, causing his aura to shift from neutral to absolute disappointment. The three women noticed this, glancing at his saddened form, but none of them had the heart to disturb him further.

Instead of focusing on Momonga's dilemma, Rem began to continue the conversation while cleaning her mouth with a small, white tissue.  "So, Celes, did you want to talk about "that" again?"  she asked the magician with an unreadable tone in her voice that reminded Momonga of his questions.

"I only want to help you, Rem."  Celestine said to her with a sad smile and furrowed eyebrows.  "I realize you don't trust me, but I want to assure you, that much is true." There was a moment of silence between the two women.

Eventually, Rem offered a response.  "I do not want to go to the association headquarters, and I do not  like having guards follow me around."  she said with a finalised tone that earned a saddened look from Celestine, who wanted to convince the small girl to join her in the association.

"I see..."  she sighed.  "But you do realize how dangerous it has become out here, don't you? The Fallen have now been deceiving people. They've made it past the barrier, into the nearby cities. If you were a member of the Association, a town overrun with the Fallen wouldn't be an issue for you."

Rem was quick to respond, her expression calm and cold, as she continued denying Celestine.  "I appreciate your concern. However, I am more than capable of protecting myself from danger."  the Pantherian said with conviction.

"I understand."  Celestine conceded and closed her eyes. The woman felt disappointed with Rem's decision, as she believed that having the girl remain with the association was better than leaving her alone in the world, but she did not want to impeded on the Pantherian's freedom.

However, once the two of them had agreed on the matter, she opened her eyes once again and decided to bring up another important matter that she wished to discuss with shorter woman.  "There is one more thing I'd like to talk about."  she said, pointing at Rem's neck.  "That collar."

The cat-girl froze, and her eyes widened in fear, before she managed to regain her composure and focus on Celestine. Momonga sat beside her with an uncomfortable aura, but he did not attempt to leave or excuse himself, as he wanted to learn more about Celestine and the collar.

"Someone such as yourself could never have been forced into slavery"  Celestine noted with a serious expression, her previous smile having been completely removed. The atmosphere became somewhat tense, as she glanced at Momonga with an unreadable presence in her eyes.