Chapter 43: The Villainous Aristocrat, Feeding

“Onii-sama, a-are you alright? A dragon that suddenly breathes fire like that…”

Wendy whispered to me with concern.

We watched Queria, who was glaring at Ayano and scrutinizing her every move, from a distance.

“I don’t know, but well, I think it’ll be alright.”

There are two types of dragons.

Dragons that once chose to serve the Demon King and became involved in nefarious deeds.

And then, there are the benevolent dragons who refused to serve the Demon King and cooperated with humans to defeat evil dragons.

“Queria is a benevolent dragon.”

“…If Brother says so, I won’t say anything, but…”

Wendy seemed dissatisfied with something. Perhaps there was something she didn’t like about the situation.

“Onii-sama, what do you think of Queria?”

“What do I think? Well, she’s quite beautiful.”

“…Onii-sama, why did you say that while looking at her chest?”

“No, I-I wasn’t looking at it or anything.”

“So onii-sama, do you prefer women with big breasts!!”

Come on!! Men can’t resist large breasts!!

Felsy, Freya, and even Ayano, her body might belong to Mevius, so it’s not really the same, but it’s natural to sneak a peek once in a while!!

Sure, big breasts aren’t everything, I think.

There should be demand for small breasts too. It’s just that I happen to like big ones.

“B-but, more importantly!! Let’s focus on the original purpose, shall we?!”

I couldn’t withstand Wendy’s gaze any longer, so I pulled out a fishing rod from my magic bag.

I had come to the sea to enjoy its seafood.

Naturally, I didn’t think I could catch anything by dangling a fishing line from the cliff above, so I needed to find a suitable spot…

“Hmm, Kunou, are you going fishing?”

Queria approached me as I prepared my fishing gear.

She really was friendly, this dragon.

“Yeah, I was craving seafood. Uh, is this area within Queria’s territory? …Is it okay if I fish here?”

“Well, it is my territory, but I don’t mind. The sea is vast, after all. Catching ten or twenty fish won’t make a difference. However, fish aren’t very tasty, you know? They have too many bones, and they get stuck in your throat.”

“Can a dragon living in the sea really say that?”

Leaving that aside, I disagreed with the opinion that fish isn’t delicious.

“You don’t know the delicious way to eat fish, Queria?”

“Don’t mock me!! It’s like this, you just take a big bite from the head!!”

“Not knowing about wholeheartedly biting into it is the same. I guess there’s no helping it; I’ll teach you the most delicious way to eat fish. Well, once we catch some, that is.”

“Hmm, if you put it that way…”

For some reason, Queria activated her magic. 

Suddenly, columns of water rose from the sea below, and a large number of fish rained down onto the cliff from above.

“Wow!!”

“Look, I’ve prepared fish for you!!  Now teach me how to enjoy delicious fish!!”

“Hehehe, very well!!”

Queria, you’re really useful!! Especially in fishing!!

I initially planned to use her as a labor force, but things have taken a turn.

I absolutely need her power to continue enjoying delicious fish dishes.

I must make her an ally by all means.

“Just wait a moment, I’ll prepare it right away.”

I search through the fish Queria caught to find something suitable for cooking.

Oh? I-Is this!!

“What is it, onii-sama?” 

Why are you laughing at something with so many legs, Boss?”

“It’s… it’s creepy…”

Wendy, Hagane, Katia, frowned upon seeing what I held in my hands.

And it was the same with Queria

“Hey, Knou, you should reconsider that. If you eat it raw, its tentacles will stick in your throat, and you won’t be able to breathe.”

“That’s because you’re eating it raw. Octopus is incredibly delicious when properly cooked.”

“Eh, really?”

What I had in my hands was a slippery creature with eight legs—an octopus. It wasn’t a fish, but well, it falls under seafood.

“Is it really delicious? I find that hard to believe.”

“You’ll understand once you taste it.”

Queria looks at me with a suspicious gaze.

However, having been raised in Japan, I know that octopus is the best ingredient.

Whether boiled with salt and eaten, served as sashimi, or cooked with rice to make octopus rice, it’s all delicious!!

Just imagining it makes my mouth water… slurp.

Certainly, people seeing it for the first time might find its appearance off-putting, but once you taste it, you’ll definitely fall in love.

“Wow, I want to eat it as a fried octopus!!”

“That sounds great too!!”

Ayano said excitedly. It seemed she loved seafood even if she didn’t like the sea itself.

Fried octopus is exquisite.

Especially when you squeeze lemon over it, it tastes delicious. Afterward, you gulp down a beer.

Oh no, now I want a beer.

“Alright, for today’s meal, let’s have octopus sashimi, octopus rice, and fried octopus!!”

First, I need to massage it with salt to remove the sliminess.

But before that, I should start by finishing it off.

“Poke the knife into its forehead, like this.”

“Ahh!? W-What are you doing!?”

“I’m finishing it off, turning it inside out. It won’t taste good unless you remove the innards and gills.”

Octopus can be easily finished off with just a stab to its forehead.

When you think about it calmly, flipping its head inside out after killing it is quite a gruesome way to finish it, but it’s the quickest and easiest method.

It might move for a while, but well, it’s okay.

I remove the octopus’s innards and also insert a knife into its beak to remove it.

Octopus beak is a delicacy, I’ll put it in a magic bag and secretly cook and eat it later.

“Next is massaging it with salt. This step is absolutely necessary to remove the sliminess and dirt from the octopus.”

What you need to pay attention to is massaging the base of the octopus legs and between the suckers thoroughly.

If you neglect those areas, the delicious octopus can be ruined.

“When the sliminess becomes meringue-like, rinse it thoroughly with clean water. Repeat this process until the octopus meat becomes firm.”

After massaging it with salt, fill a large pot with water and bring it to a boil.

Add an appropriate amount of salt, put the octopus legs in first, and shake them a bit up and down.

When the legs curl up, quickly plunge them into the boiling water.

“I think it’s ready.”

I lift the octopus out of the pot.

Upon seeing the octopus, Queria exclaimed in admiration.

“Oh, oh, the color has changed!!”

“I’ll cut these legs into three pieces each for sashimi and octopus rice. Let’s deep-fry the remaining two legs and the head.”

I marinate the octopus for frying in a seasoning mixture made with garlic, ginger, and fish sauce as a substitute for soy sauce.

In the meantime, I slice the legs for sashimi and cut the legs for octopus rice and deep-frying into bite-sized pieces.

I wash the rice I bought from the local store, then put in the diced octopus along with ginger, mirin, and fish sauce. Set it all in the rice cooker.

Now, all that’s left is to wait for it to cook.

“Take the octopus out of the marinade for frying, coat it with flour. Then, into the hot oil!”

Once the octopus floats to the surface of the oil, remove it and it’s done.

Right at the moment when all the fried octopus is finished, I check on the rice cooker.

This rice cooker has various flaws.

It explodes every five times, and even if it doesn’t explode, the contents inside often get charred.

Seems fine this time, though.

All that’s left is to plate the thinly sliced octopus sashimi, serve the octopus rice in a bowl, and it’s done!!

“All right, it’s an all-octopus feast!!”

“O-Ohhhh!! Is this… that squishy, creepy creature?! It smells incredible!!”

It’s exactly noon, the perfect timing for lunch.

“”””Let’s eat!!””””

The slaves savor the octopus dishes.

Initially, their faces scrunch up at the sight of the octopus, but once they start eating, they can’t stop.

As for Queria…

“W-What is this…!! It’s incredibly delicious, I’ve never tasted anything like this!!”

“I’m glad you’re enjoying it. I’ll have some too.”

Starting with the sashimi. The flesh is beautifully white.

There’s no soy sauce, so we have to use fish sauce. Let’s see how it goes.

Chew, munch, munch.

“…Kunou-san, it has a nice texture and it’s tasty, but…”

“Sashimi does taste better with soy sauce, doesn’t it?”

“Oh, yes. I also want some wasabi…”

“There’s no wasabi around here.”

It’s delicious, it truly is. But because they know there are even more delicious things out there, they can’t be completely satisfied.

“Oh, I can handle the octopus rice!!”

“The fried octopus is delicious too!!”

At that moment, Queria suddenly stood up energetically.

“I’ve made up my mind, Kunou!!”

“About what?”

“I’ll let you marry me!!”

“…What?”

What is she talking about?

Did the deliciousness of the octopus dishes drive her crazy?

“I’ll pass.”

“W-Why are you refusing!?”

“No, why do you think I wouldn’t?”

“I’m offering you marriage! Dragon marriage! It’s a tremendous honor, you know?”

“That’s exactly why I don’t care.”

“W-What’s the reason!?”

“It’s written all over your face, ‘Marrying this guy means eating delicious food every day.'”

*Queria gulps nervously.*

Now you gulped. Hit a nerve, huh?

“N-No, that’s not it!! Look, um, I have a healthy body, you know!!”

“Huh? What does that have to do with anything?”

“I can bear many of your children!!”

*Queria bursts into laughter.*

What is she even saying all of a sudden?!

“By the way, I also have endless stamina!! We can mate every day until you’re satisfied!!”

“Hey, we have children here!! Show some restraint, time and place, you know!!”

“That’s right!! I won’t allow my brother to be a son-in-law!! Instead, I’ll take my brother as my husband!!”

“Wendy!? What are you saying, in that way!?”

“…Master, what does ‘mate’ mean? And being able to have children? My brother said babies are brought by storks.”

“Kohaku, just stay the way you are. Hagane, you gave a good education.”

Things have gotten quite chaotic.

What should I do? How can I…?

“Grrr… Hah!! That’s it, I’ve got it!! I have to keep an eye on that woman over there!! We should stick together for a while!!”

“Huh, me? Um, well, alright…”

Queria pointed at Ayano as if she suddenly remembered something.

Well, I suppose it’s fine if it means I can keep Queria in check, right?

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