Chapter 51 (1/2)
Blop, blop
Kaede smiles and pours the ingredients into the pot.
Purple grass.
Creepy humanoid-looking vegetables.
Meat of a mysterious origin.
Tamp.
Close the lid.
”It's almost ready, Master.”
”Good.”
I nodded in agreement.
Poloa and Lynn, who were watching Kaede cook, turned pale with astonishment.
The hand holding the bowl seems to tremble.
”Fufu, are you scared? Relax, Kaede's cooking is delicious.”
”I'm not scared of your food! It's just that... It's very strange to me.
”I'm scared. The color looks horrible.”
This fear is very understandable.
Kaede's plate scared me when I first saw it.
And with the type of ingredients it contains, you'd think it was poison.
But its taste, contrary to its appearance, is out of this world.
How Urara taught her to cook is a mystery.
Whether she follows the recipes to the letter, or just adds ingredients depending on her tastes. It's all a mystery.
”Come here, Kaede, I'm going to brush your tail.”
”Thank you for your help.”
Frau took out a comb, and was brushing Kaede's tail.
The fur on Kaede's tail, which had a rough appearance, became truly beautiful after being brushed.
”Hey, don't get in the way.”
”Kyui.”
Panda tried to approach Frau, but before Frau could do anything to him, Kaede caught him and held him in her arms.
Panda's eye glazed over and he becomes quiet.
”Instead of being a party of adventurers, you're more like a family.”
”Really?”
”We are something like that too, but not on your level, Nya. I get sleepy every time I watch you guys, Nya.”
”I don't like it. You guys look too distracted to be adventurers.”
Poloa still does not seem to be satisfied with everything we do.
Maybe it's because he's the underboss of the Flame Axe Gang, but I get the impression that he's a stickler for common sense.
Lynn, on the other hand, has a laid-back personality that doesn't worry about these details.
She has a more relaxed attitude while Poloa is in charge of thinking about problems.
I have been shown many such scenes on this trip.
”Shi-ya”.
Poloa and Lynn react to the sound and draw their weapons.
”Don't worry, it's Rosuke, my hunting beast.”
”Rosuke?”
Rosuke stretched out his long body and moved through the air.
I had him come out of the seal the moment we got here. But apparently the two of them didn't see when I called him.
”Rosuke is like a watchman, he'll keep away the demons that come near us.”
”It looks like a snake.”
”I'm not sure I like snakes either.”
”Sha!?”
Shocked, Rosuke curls up in my arms out of sadness.
Although he is a rough beast that has no feelings, it seems that he can't stand to be mistaken for a snake.
”The food is ready.”
Kaede opens the pot, and extracts the thick purple liquid.
As I expected, it smells great.
It strongly stimulates my stomach.
”It's... Delicious.”
”I can't believe it.”
When they put the soup in their mouths, they froze upon seeing the difference between its appearance and flavor.
On the second day of our trip, we arrived at the mountain range.
It was worth taking the shortcut, and we arrived at our destination ahead of schedule.
There is a valley road located in the center of the mountain range.
The corpses of humans lie everywhere, and the remnants of a fierce battle can be seen.
They must have been attacked by demons while trying to pass through here.
”Kaede, how many enemies are there?”
”Many. I'm starting to see them.”
Approximately ten masked demons jump off the cliff and onto the road.
The man in the black robe who appeared at the end may be the commander.
”Hello, humans. Do you want to come this way? Are you lost? Are you looking for something?”
”No. We're here to get rid of you.”
”That task will not be easy. Are you heroes? Who are you? Are you only human? Am I wrong?”
The man in the black robe was gaunt and had sunken eyes.
His words, actions and behavior are unnatural and creepy.
I can deduce that he is a wizard, because he has a wand.