Chapter 73: The Party, Sea Spiders, and Teppo Clams
I followed behind Hijiri, gently taking Raphiel’s hand as we stepped into the grand banquet hall.
It’ll be fine.
Officially, the only person invited by the Empress was Hijiri, the envoy representing the King of the Kingdom of Elde.
Raphiel and I were merely accompanying him.
There was no reason anyone would pay much attention to us…
…Or so I’d naïvely believed.
“”…Oh…””
The moment we entered the hall, the noble ladies and gentlemen of the Empire collectively drew in breaths of admiration as their eyes fell upon Raphiel.
…I understood exactly why.
I really did.
But still…
“So that’s Saint Raphiel… She’s as beautiful as an angel.”
“The Holy Church has been closely tied to the Kingdom of Elde since its founding. It wouldn’t be strange for her to accompany the royal envoy… but I don’t recall hearing she would attend. Is this an unofficial visit?”
“Then is the young man beside her the envoy?”
“No, the envoy is the suspicious-looking fellow standing in front of them with those perpetually narrowed eyes and that dubious smile. The young man beside the Saint must be her attendant.”
“…Lucky bastard.”
Because I was standing beside Raphiel, I was attracting attention by association.
C-Calm down.
This was exactly the kind of situation where I needed to suppress my aura with Zetsu, erasing my presence as completely as possible.
Just then—
“Welcome, Envoy of the Kingdom of Elde.”
The one who addressed us was a young woman.
She looked older than both Kirara and me, likely around the same age as Tifana, Sabine, and Reina.
She possessed long golden hair, sapphire-blue eyes, and strikingly beautiful features, all perfectly complemented by a magnificent crimson gown.
“I’m Elzaris Val Luresia, Empress of the Luresia Empire.”
“It’s an honor to make your acquaintance, Your Majesty. I’m Hijiri, here as the official representative of His Majesty Zigkun von Eldebald, King of the Kingdom of Elde.”
“I know of you. You’re the bureaucrat said to be close to the First Princess.”
“For Your Majesty to know my name is more honor than I deserve.”
Still wearing that characteristically suspicious smile, Hijiri bowed with flawless aristocratic elegance.
“Eight… Hijiri looks even more suspicious than usual.”
“Raphiel, please… not now!”
I hurriedly covered Raphiel’s mouth before anyone else could hear.
The Empress merely glanced at her briefly before turning her attention elsewhere without comment.
Still…
Her eyes were incredibly sharp.
Simply meeting her gaze made my back straighten instinctively.
It wasn’t intimidation exactly…
It felt more like overwhelming presence.
…So this was what true royal charisma felt like.
“…We’ll leave the tedious negotiations and political probing until tomorrow.”
A faint smile crossed Elzaris’s lips.
“For tonight, simply enjoy the finest cuisine our Empire has to offer.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“Bring in the dishes!”
At the Empress’s command, the chefs of Luresia Castle entered one after another, carrying an endless procession of magnificent platters.
Every single dish…
Was seafood.
Towering platters displayed sashimi carved from enormous fish unlike anything I’d ever seen on Earth, complete with two massive horns protruding from their heads.
Nearby sat gigantic king crabs larger than dining tables.
Rows upon rows of shellfish stretched across the banquet tables.
“…Whoa…”
“Hijiri. Hijiri. It’s crab. That thing’s even bigger than a king crab.”
Unlike my growing excitement, Hijiri’s expression became oddly complicated.
“…She’s messing with us.”
“Hm?”
The Empress noticed his reaction.
“What is it, Envoy? Every dish before you is considered a delicacy unique to our Empire. I would very much like you to enjoy them.”
“…Everything here is unfamiliar.”
Hijiri looked over the spread.
“And… there’s quite a lot of raw fish.”
“Ah.”
The Empress nodded knowingly.
“The Kingdom has no culture of eating sashimi, does it? There’s no need for concern. Every fish served tonight has been raised under meticulous conditions. There’s no risk of illness.”
“I see.”
Hijiri smiled.
“Eight-kun. Shall we eat?”
Following him, I filled a plate with several slices of sashimi before dipping one into a dark liquid remarkably similar to soy sauce.
The instant it touched my tongue—
It melted.
“Wh-What…?! It’s incredible!! It dissolved before I even had to chew!”
“It really is excellent.”
Hijiri nodded approvingly.
“Ooh… that white fish looks delicious too…”
Then I noticed Raphiel still standing beside me.
“…Raphiel? Aren’t you eating?”
“I am… not particularly fond of raw fish…”
“Oh, right.”
Now that she mentioned it, I remembered.
Raphiel wasn’t comfortable eating raw food.
“Then how about that crab instead?”
I pointed toward an enormous crimson crab nearly three meters across.
Each leg was almost as thick as an adult man’s arm.
It looked unbelievably delicious.
Yet Raphiel slowly shook her head.
“…Eight. Could you eat a sea spider?”
“…A sea spider?”
Hijiri chuckled.
“That’s simply what crabs are called in this world. People who grow up inland often have trouble getting used to creatures with so many legs. Incidentally, shrimp are called sea centipedes.”
“…Ah. I suppose that makes sense.”
There certainly were a lot of legs.
Picking up one massive leg—one belonging to the “sea spider,” formerly known in my mind as a giant crab—I cracked the shell open with a satisfying snap before pulling out the gleaming white-and-red meat inside.
It looked absolutely perfect.
“Nom. Mmph… It’s amazing! The meat’s so plump and springy!! This is nothing like the cheap imitation crab sticks I’m used to eating!”
It was unbelievably good.
I had never imagined I’d one day get to stuff my mouth with this much real crab.
As I happily worked my way through the seafood—
“…That young man has quite an appetite.”
“He certainly does. Watching him eat is enough to make anyone hungry.”
“But… aren’t sashimi and sea spiders supposed to be things people from inland nations avoid?”
“…Look.”
“Her Majesty’s expression…”
“The dishes were meant to make things difficult for them.”
“This isn’t going as planned.”
“…I’d hate to be around for whatever comes afterward.”
Just then, Raphiel suddenly grabbed my wrist, stopping me mid-bite.
“Eight. I’ve changed my mind.”
“…Huh?”
“I’ll eat it too. I’ll eat it.”
“…Go right ahead.”
Raphiel accepted a piece of crab.
The instant she took her first bite…
Her expression remained perfectly blank as always.
Only…
Her eyes sparkled brilliantly.
“The faint scent of the sea lingering afterward… It’s delicious. It seems refusing to eat something before trying it truly is foolish. I never imagined it would taste this wonderful.”
“See? I told you.”
“You should try the sashimi too.”
“…Very well. I shall.”
Though she’d hesitated at first, it seemed even Raphiel couldn’t resist truly delicious food.
The two of us quickly became absorbed in devouring crab after crab and plate after plate of sashimi.
Before long, the Empress approached us once more.
One of her eyebrows twitched ever so slightly.
“You two certainly have healthy appetites. If you’ve taken such a liking to seafood… Allow me to recommend something.”
“Oh! Please do!”
“You. Bring that.”
Following the Empress’s order, one of the chefs returned carrying an enormous mountain of oysters.
“This shellfish is called the Teppo Clam.”
“…Teppo Clam?”
“Oh.”
Hijiri nodded.
“‘Teppo’ was apparently the name of a weapon from another world.”
“I see…”
…Yeah.
The person who named that was definitely the otherworlder who used to live in Luresia.
“There are fully farm-raised specimens, so they can safely be eaten raw.”
The Empress continued.
“However, successful cultivation is only a recent achievement. Even in our Empire, where eating raw seafood is commonplace, most people still hesitate to consume them uncooked—”
“Thanks for the food!”
“…Eh? W-Wait…”
Without hesitation, I picked up an oyster…and swallowed it raw.
“…Mmm! So creamy… The rich flavor really does live up to the nickname ‘milk of the sea.’ This is incredible… Though… If only I had some ponzu. Or perhaps grated daikon… Maybe a squeeze of kabosu…”
“…Fufu…”
“…Hm? Is something wrong?”
A fearless smile slowly spread across the Empress’s face.
“You’re a remarkably bold man. Very well.”
“I shall have you try a fish…that even I hesitate to eat.”
“Really!? Thank you very much!!”
A fish…
That even the Empress herself was reluctant to eat.
Surely…
It had to be something so extraordinarily rare and delicious that I couldn’t even begin to imagine it.
I could hardly contain my excitement.