Chapter 256

Chapter 256

When he had seen it in the game, he had just taken it for granted, but seeing someone actually pull something out in reality was quite fascinating.

Was there a subspace holy spell cast on it?

Roan stared intently at Sion, who was unexpectedly calm, as he thought about that.

“W-Why, Roan?”

“No, why is it that you don’t look surprised when Senior Nia pulls out a knife?”

Whenever he himself pulled out a knife, everyone used to jump in surprise, asking why he was pulling out such a thing.

No, it wasn’t just a knife; there had been many times when people freaked out just because he put his hand inside his coat.

At that, Sion tilted her head and asked back.

“Pardon? The senior pulled out the knife to dress the wild boar, did she not?”

“…….”

Roan was lost for words at her incredibly casual remark.

‘Then what did you think I was trying to do when I pulled out a knife?’

Hearing Sion’s counterquestion, it seemed she had assumed he was trying to dress something else.

Meanwhile, Bell spoke to Roan.

[By the way, Master, what does she do to the wild boar by pulling out a knife?]

‘She has to dress it.’

[What is dressing?]

Only then did Roan recall that Bell and Charlotte had only eaten feed or processed food until now.

This was the first time they watched the process of making food with a freshly caught ingredient.

‘Well. You will see.’

[?]

Bell tilted his head and observed Nia’s actions.

Nia stabbed the wild boar’s neck without hesitation.

Stab—

[?!?!!?!!??!!!]

Chirp-ruff-ruff—!

Miyaaaang—!

Flutter—!!

At the same time, the young divine and spiritual beasts stiffened, letting out terminal cries as if they had received a colossal shock.

[T-That is murder!]

‘…It is already dead. And since it is a wild boar, it is not murder.’

Bell had tears welling in his eyes at Roan’s heartless words.

[U-Uh… but still! Master, you are too much!]

Children by nature ate chicken with great relish, yet grew sad when they watched a documentary on a chicken factory.

While the four divine and spiritual beasts were crying and making premature worries about whether they should become vegetarians from now on.

Nia was moving her knife smoothly without hesitation.

Skinning it and removing the entrails with very clean skills…

It was a relief that the club room’s barrier was equipped with an automatic ventilation function.

It took less than ten minutes for the giant wild boar to be completely dressed.

Now, the wild boar was organized by parts, looking like something one could see at a butcher shop.

Seeing that sight, Bell, who had been crying large tears just a moment ago, shouted.

[M-Meat!]

…Children by nature felt sad watching a chicken factory documentary, but ate well again once the chicken arrived.

“Phew, shall we start in earnest now?”

“I’ll help, I’ll help~”

When Nia spoke while wiping the sweat from her forehead, Yusina began to move around busily here and there, preparing cooking utensils.

Frying pans, pots, fryers, and so on.

Professional equipment, making it unclear whether this was a club room or a restaurant kitchen, popped out from all over and was set up.

Since Roan was also a junior for now, it felt awkward to just stand and wait, so he stepped forward.

Swish—

“I will help as well!”

Sion did the same.

“Zorv, how about you?”

“It would be better if I did not help.”

“That is true.”

Zorv, who had lived all his life being served by employees, was not very talented at such chores.

Of course, that did not mean Zorv had no role at all; that was absolutely not the case.

“And whose wallet do you think all the ingredients going into the cooking came from.”

“…Get some good rest, Zorv!”

Since wild boar meat alone could not make a dish, they had to use various precious ingredients in the club room, and those were all things Zorv had purchased.

Nia looked at Roan and Sion, who had rolled up their sleeves, and spoke cheerfully.

“Can you help with my cooking? Since I don’t have much expectation for humans, you can just watch!”

Nia’s cooking would end up with a completely different taste if approached with common culinary sense.

It meant that someone who did not know the secret should not touch it carelessly.

“Hey, you do the cooking and we can just help with the chores~”

Normally, people would respond like this, just as Yusina did.

But what if one knew the secret?

Roan asked nonchalantly.

“Will damcho root, doldol petals, and baekja tree bark be enough? Looking at the amount of meat, it seems roughly five roots, fifty grams, and a hundred grams would suffice.”

“????”

Nia tilted her head upon hearing the items and precise quantities Roan listed.

‘How does he know that?’

Nia, having pondered for a moment, realized a plausible reason.

“Ah! You lived alone in nature too, didn’t you?”

“Pardon?”

Roan was slightly flustered by the completely unexpected question.

Of course, he had lived alone in nature like Nia before.

When he was playing “God & Devil.”

“I heard that the Darc family was wiped out! Didn’t you live all alone after that?”

Nia, who only knew half of Roan’s circumstances!

Yusina hurriedly corrected the misunderstanding.

“No, Nia! Roan lived in the Holy Emperor’s Palace after that!”

“Eh? Th-Then, how do you know my recipe?”

Nia truly could not understand.

However, just as the principles of nature go, a recipe was not bound to be hers alone.

Soon, she spoke with a bright smile as if it didn’t matter anyway.

“As expected, Roan is a proper junior! If there were many people like you, I think I could have a bit more expectation for humans!”

Roan, who had unintentionally revived a bit of Nia’s lost humanity!

Even after that, Roan brought the ingredients Nia wanted swiftly even before she spoke, and even took charge of assisting with the cooking.

“Now stir-fry this… you already stir-fried it all?”

“That much is the natural sequence of cooking.”

“Indeed, a proper junior! Do you want to return to nature with me? Of course, with Bell and Charlotte too.”

“I am fine.”

“Tch… kiou, kyakyap?”

[M-Master, that person just now!]

“Kidnapping leads to expulsion.”

“Ah, you said you knew the Desert Lizard clan’s language, didn’t you?”

“S-Did she say she would kidnap us?!”

Nia felt slightly frustrated now that her means of talking comfortably to herself was taken away.

But separate from that, Roan’s quick-witted actions, making him seem like her own clone, were almost touching itself.

Yusina and Sion, who had stepped forward to help, simply watched blankly since they had nothing to do thanks to him.

“Did Roan really live on the mountain behind the Holy Emperor’s Palace while I wasn’t looking?”

“M-Maybe?”

She had thought it was nonsense when Nia asked, but watching that scene made it look plausible.

Even Yusina, who had watched Nia for three years, had never seen such a case of being in perfect sync.

At that moment, Zorv called the two of them and spoke.

“You two don’t seem to have much to do either, so why don’t you come and sit here.”

He had already unfolded two more of the portable chair holy relics he carried around.

…As they were holy relics, they were items that included functions like a full-body massage and meditation music playback.

Yusina and Sion hesitated for a moment, but soon ran over and sat on Zorv’s chairs.

Before long, the cooking was completed.

Nia divided the large chunks of meat, which had their grains intact and emitted a fragrant aroma, and placed them onto plates.

They were glossy, and their texture was so fluffy that the juices seemed ready to burst out with just a light bite.

“Now~ Let’s eat!”

Of course, the clustered divine and spiritual beasts went first.

[Hmm… it does look delicious, but.]

Chirp…

However, the divine and spiritual beasts only salivated and could not bring themselves to eat easily.

Thinking that the wild boar carcass from earlier had changed into this made them too concerned to eat.

“The feed you usually eat is also made like this. You just need to eat it with a heart of gratitude to the wild boar.”

Seeing that, Roan spoke.

Nia opened her eyes wide and asked.

“Oh? How did you know I would say those words?”

Roan replied with a bit of bewilderment.

“Senior, I am grateful that you evaluate me favorably, but this is simply my usual thought.”

It seemed Nia was too excessively immersed in Roan, whose way of thinking was unlike that of an Imperial.

Nia nodded repeatedly, even with tears in her eyes.

“Junior, you are truly a good person!”

Nia, grabbing his hand and shaking it passionately!

To others, it looked like a fuss, but…

In fact, Roan could understand Nia’s feelings to some extent.

‘It is indeed touching to meet a normal person in a world filled with abnormal people.’

How glad was Roan himself when he occasionally met someone in Acherandir who understood his intentions.

…Of course, that did not mean Nia was normal either.

Yusina felt a pinch in the bridge of her nose as she watched that scene sitting in Zorv’s chair.

“It’s my first time seeing Nia look that happy…”

It had been pitiful to watch her always fail to get along with people, skip classes, and head into the mountains.

Meanwhile, seeing Yusina like that, Sion became seriously curious once again.

‘Why did Senior Nia really enter… no, how is she still attending school?’

At any rate, in the meantime, the divine and spiritual beasts who nibbled on Nia’s cooking were startled.

[D-Delicious!]

Bell had traveled around reasonably delicious restaurants following Roan, but this taste was special.

Could it be that this meat was really the taste of that wild beast from earlier!

[Ah… the grandeur of nature… I want to return there…]

Bell closed his eyes gently and fell into the deep flavor of the meat.

‘Return where? You were born here.’

That was the case until Roan’s cold remark was heard.

[Who talks like that to a description of flavor!]

Bothered during his appreciation, Bell flared up in anger.

‘Tsk, tsk, look at your situation first before you speak.’

Only then did Bell look back at his body.

“Oh, our cute Bell~ How delicious must it be that you eat without even realizing that I’m massaging you? It was worth cooking!”

Before he knew it, Nia, who brought her face right in front of him, was pressing down on his whole body with a red, excited face.

…Of course, Nia had a healthy brown skin and a pretty face, but even taking that into account, it was not a very reassuring sight.

[G-Gasp! Such a trick…! M-My muscles do feel like they’ve loosened up a lot, though…]

On top of that, there was one more thing that surprised Bell.

[When did half of the meat disappear?!]

The meat that had filled the plate was suddenly gone in chunks!

Bell glared at Charlotte, who was eating well next to him, wondering if it was her.

‘No way.’

Naturally, it was Bell, who had lost his senses after taking a bite, who ate it.

“Don’t worry! There is a mountain of meat~”

Nia spoke, pointing at the meat filling a large pot.

“Unless there is a thief trying to steal and eat the masters’ food.”

Flinch—

At those chilling words, Yusina, who had already grabbed a plate and was filling it with fried meat, was startled.

…So was Sion, who was standing behind her.

Yusina, who was caught red-handed, said with a sheepish smile.

“Wh-What do you mean~ I was just putting some in a bowl since Locke eats so well~”

“I-I was also going to give some to Noeul-ie…”

Nia smiled brightly and nodded.

“It is fine! I didn’t expect much from humans who only steal and eat the things of nature anyway! Eat as much as you like!”

“…Saying it like that makes me feel sorry for no reason.”

Yusina went to her seat carrying the bowl of meat with a very apologetic look.

‘If she’s going to be like that, she might as well just eat without saying she’s sorry.’

Feeling sorry and wanting to eat were two different things!