Just a little digging, and it's a dark past.
For now, I decided not to say anything unnecessary. To change the subject… Dan's cooking!!
"Dan, what's the next dish?"
When I whispered "meat and potato stew" to Rinka, who accused me of changing the topic because I was at a disadvantage, she immediately began apologizing repeatedly. Come on, learn already.
"Heh heh heh… I'm confident about this one. The appearance is a little rough, but you can handle it, Ojousama. You’re fine with orc meat, after all."
"Orc?"
"There are things in this world you're better off not knowing," I said to Watase Obaasama, tilting her head. Well, at first I wasn’t okay with it either. But adventurers eat it like it’s normal, and both Arc and Martha eat it too… The taste is kind of like premium pork. Just… don’t worry about the details!
"… Orcs, as in those pig-faced, human-bodied things from games or fantasy novels?"
My brother plays games, so he seemed to know. Watase Obaasama made a sour face… or rather, that was just her default expression.
"Pretty much. They're actually pretty tasty."
"Rinka, you ate it!?"
"My recommendation is tonk—orc cutlet or ginger-fried."
"You *did* eat it! And it really tastes like pork! Uh, so… what’s in this dish…?"
"I'm not using orc meat in this one."
Although… it’s meat from a chimera-like creature. I was hesitant at first too.
"It tastes like high-grade meat."
"… I’d like to try it."
Watase Obaasama is one tough lady. She wasn’t joking—she was dead serious.
"As expected of Rin’s grandmother."
"What is that supposed to mean!? And I’m your sister!!"
My brother acted like it wasn’t his business, but that line was a boomerang! You, who happily eat those cute vegetables, are in no position to talk! … And then, I realized something terrifying.
I looked at Dan, who happened to be bringing out the dish just then, with a pleading gaze.
"It’s not in today’s dish. It’s a wedding celebration for Ojousama, after all."
Good. What a relief. And the dish he placed down was… probably fish. I say probably because it was parts. And huge parts.
"This is the eye and lips of the True Sea King Tuna, steamed. Please dip it in this special sauce to enjoy. Last time, the crowd was too big to serve it, but this is undoubtedly the tastiest part of the fish."
The True Sea King Tuna is massive, so its eyes and lips are huge too. And now, I was making eye contact… with the eye.
"………………………"
No, it’s just my imagination. *I* defeated this Sea King Tuna. The sashimi was delicious. Dan says it’s good, so it has to be good! Dan sliced the giant eye and lips.
"Mmm! …………It’s so goooooooooood!!"
I took a bite of the eye dipped in the sauce—decided to be brave—and it was *delicious*! What is this!? It melts in your mouth! Dan’s food never misses!! Eh!? What is this, it’s *so* good! Fuaaaaaaah… Somehow, my mind felt clear, and my skin… it felt soft and springy…?
"…!!"
I desperately tried to make eye contact with Rinka. No good. She was too enchanted by how tasty the eye was to notice… ah, she noticed.
"…………!!"
Then she looked at Watase Obaasama and started twitching. How rude. The girls who already had nice skin didn’t change much—just got a little glow and softness. But the effect on Watase Obaasama and Kanata-san was striking.
Both of them now had supple, glowing skin. Did they just… get younger? The wrinkles…!
"What the heck did you do, you crazy disciple?"
"Don’t go blaming me just because it’s convenient, you youth-chasing loli master!"
"That’s *way* worse! You’re the one who prepared the ingredients! It’s clearly your fault! This fish must be some kind of absurd material too, right!?"
"It was a very fine fish!"
If we had encountered it at sea, we might have struggled… or maybe not. But the tuna washed up on land, and a hero with muscles even in her brain turned it into food with a single slash.
"Yeah. It was huge."
"……… I’ve never even heard of a True Sea King Tuna, though?"
"Apparently it’s a subspecies."
"See!? I *knew* it was some insane ingredient!!"
Well… yeah. But I don’t think we had a choice.
"We’ve eaten most of the meat already, but yes, it was a True Sea King Tuna."
The room fell silent. Everyone seemed stunned by how impressive the fish was.
"………… How did you take it down? A casting net… wouldn’t work. Even the corpse is radiating ridiculous mana."
"Here, Ojousama."
He handed me the Sea King Tuna’s magic stone… no, this was basically a magic *rock*. A glowing blue boulder. If Ernst and I work together, we might even be able to build a submarine.
"……… Can you please stop calling yourself my disciple!? You’re clearly stronger than me!"
"But I’ve learned important things from you, Great Sage."
The handsome old man pouted hard, but I ignored him.
"Still, it was an impressive tuna. Maybe Rin has a knack for fishing?"
Watase Obaasama was unexpectedly airheaded. When I explained that a kind… dungeon master-like creature summoned it on land for us to fight, she just nodded.
"Please, seriously stop calling yourself my disciple already!"
The handsome old man was persistent, but I feigned ignorance.
What do you think about this chapter?
