Chapter 38

Placing the cloudy crystal that emitted an orange glow on the desk, I tried to pierce the fruit with the magic power detector. However, the black skin was quite hard, and the needle wouldn't go in properly. After I tried a few times, Lillian couldn't hold back her restlessness and offered to help.

"Princess, let me do it!"

"Please, it's unexpectedly hard."

"Really? It's rock solid."

Lillian, full of enthusiasm, tapped the surface of the fruit with her finger. A solid-sounding thud echoed, and Lillian compared the needle of the detector with the fruit.

"This is really hard. This thin needle might break."

"Can you peel the skin and expose the flesh?"

"I'll try!"

Lillian took my kitchen knife and probed the fruit from various angles. When she tried to insert the tip of the knife, it slipped and didn't work well. Although swords and kitchen knives have different purposes, it seemed that Lillian hadn't used kitchen knives much.

"Lillian, in such cases, it's better to use the base of the blade rather than the tip."

Captain Blanche, unable to bear it, took the knife from Lillian and showed her how to make a small cut with the base of the blade.

"Oh, so that's how you do it. Thank you, Captain."

"In the field, you have to cook for yourself. If you want to go on expeditions, you should learn to cook properly."

"Yes, Captain!"

The interaction between Lillian and Captain Blanche was like a parent watching their child take on a new challenge, and it was heartwarming. Natalie seemed to have similar thoughts, and we exchanged a smile.

After about five minutes of Lillian struggling with the hard fruit, the orange flesh finally became visible. Lillian, who had been using the base of the blade at first, switched to the tip once she had made some progress. As expected of someone who became a knight at fifteen, she learned quickly.

"Princess, is this good enough?"

Lillian showed me a hole that had been opened. The fruit of the Scrimwood had a rather thick skin.

"Thank you, Lillian."

"Hehe, did I do well?"

"Yes, very well. Thank you, Captain Blanche."

"No, I didn't do much."

I immediately inserted the magic power detector into the hole. Unlike Lillian, who was interested in the fruit itself, Captain Blanche seemed more interested in the tools I was using. She looked at the detector intently.

"Is something wrong?"

"Princess, what is this device?"

"This is a magical device that measures the residual magic power of the object it pierces. The needle has a tiny hole, and the magic array carved inside the detector activates."

"Did you design it, Princess?"

"Yes. I'm not very dexterous, so I couldn't do it with just magic arrays and magic. With a magical device, the accuracy is higher, and it's more reassuring to see the results visually."

My goal is to make it safe for everyone to eat monsters, but it's meaningless if only I know how to do it. In the future, I hope that anyone can easily do the preliminary processing. However, I think it's best to entrust the cloudy crystal after the magic has been extracted to the Duke. The recent attack by the magic bird made me realize that proper handling is essential.

"...It's glowing quite brightly."

Captain Blanche peered at the magic power detector, which was emitting a red light, indicating a significant amount of residual magic power. I thought it shouldn't be like this, but I quickly realized the cause. I had forgotten about the seeds. The reaction was probably due to the magic power in the seeds.

"It's not broken, and I don't think it's a failure... I just forgot to remove the seeds."

"So, if we remove the seeds, it should be fine."

Captain Blanche inserted the tip of the knife into the hole Lillian had made and pushed it in to the base. She then pressed down with her other hand. The fruit made a cracking sound and split into two.

"Sweet! The sweet smell is irresistible! Princess, can we eat this now?"

"Once we confirm it's safe. The flesh looks fresh. The color and smell suggest it's very delicious."

The flesh was smooth and dripping with juice. It didn't seem to have much texture, and the smell was purely sweet, not tart. I couldn't describe it because I had never smelled anything like it. But if I were a bug, I might eat it even if I knew it would turn me into Scrimwood's nutrients. It was that sweet.

"Is this the flesh? It looks like some fancy dessert... Scrimwood is supposed to have a distinct odor..."

"That's right. Natalie, the fruit we ate wasn't this clean orange color, was it?"

"I agree, Captain. It was more of a yellow-green flesh."

Indeed, Scrimwood was supposed to be the kind of fruit they described. Actually, the Duke had brought back two fruits. One was the black one that Mullan had eaten, and the other was a red one, as described in the encyclopedia, which had a "distinct odor" from the moment it was brought back. The red one was so smelly that it was now outside. That smell certainly didn't stimulate appetite.

I took out the large seed in the middle with a small knife and inserted the magic power detector again. The magic array didn't react, and there seemed to be no residual magic power in the flesh.

"There's no magic reaction. Eating this won't cause any stomach problems."

"Is it really that easy to extract magic power?"

"It wasn't easy, but it became possible after I developed this magic array and the cloudy crystal."

However, at the moment, only magic power can be extracted. Extracting magic toxins and other harmful substances still takes a lot of time.

"Captain Blanche, Natalie. Did you experience any other symptoms besides the odor, astringency, and stomachache from the fruit you ate?"

"We did check for poison. There were no effects like poisoning, paralysis, or hallucination, so we endured the smell and astringency."

Captain Blanche shuddered. Natalie also said, "To be honest, I don't remember the taste."

"So, the red fruit outside is not ripe yet?"

"Um, does that mean the black one Mullan ate was the correct one?"

"Yes, Lillian. It might be."

I switched from the knife to a wooden spoon and scooped up a bit of the trembling flesh. If it were a normal fruit, it would be better not to use metal.

"Let's do the poison test."

Our gazes focused on the flesh on the wooden spoon. Lillian, who couldn't wait any longer, opened her mouth and her eyes sparkled. Natalie swallowed hard. Captain Blanche, who was the most cautious, seemed to be tempted by the alluring smell and the fresh flesh.

"I'll try it first, and then you can follow."

I wanted to eat it quickly, so I tried to put the wooden spoon in my mouth, but I was stopped by the three of them. As expected of the knights of Galbreath. Their speed was impressive, and their coordination was perfect.

"Princess, I'll do the poison test! If anything happens to you, I can't face the Duke."

"Deputy Captain, that's unfair! I said I wanted to eat it, so I'll do the poison test!"

"No, Lillian. You're not an adult yet, even if you are a knight. I, the oldest, will do it."

"But, Captain, you have children!"

"Ah!"

Before anyone could say anything, Lillian had already put the wooden spoon in her mouth. With her big eyes wide open, she exclaimed, "Mmm!"

"What's wrong, Lillian?"

"Are you okay? Spit it out if it's bad."

Captain Blanche and Natalie watched anxiously. Lillian shook her head and excitedly shouted, "It's so sweet!"

Seeing Lillian's reaction, I felt relieved and prepared wooden spoons for everyone. After scooping a few times and putting the flesh in small plates, I distributed them.

"Let's all try it. Captain Blanche and Natalie, here you go."

The orange flesh was very soft and sweet, and it tasted like happiness. I understood why Mullan said it was better than the nectar of high-end fruits. Nectar, when eaten raw, has a bitterness among the sweetness. Some people might not notice it, but the preferred way to enjoy it is to boil it down, mix it with alcohol, or use it as juice. However, this Scrimwood fruit had no bitterness. It was purely sweet, and the taste of the fruit itself lingered on the tongue. After swallowing, you would want to eat more.

"Melting... Mmm, so happy."

Lillian, looking truly happy, kept putting the flesh into her mouth.

"Lillian, are you okay?"

"It's so sweet. There's no astringency at all. Captain, Deputy Captain, what do you think?"

"Alright, I'll try it."

Captain Blanche, looking nervous, tilted her head back and put the wooden spoon in her mouth. Natalie, covering her mouth, looked surprised.

"Captain, Deputy Captain, just as Mullan said!"

"I can't believe it, but this is the real taste of Scrimwood..."

Natalie also smiled. Lillian said, "Thank you, Princess!" and I replied, "When the Duke wakes up, let's go thank him together." I really want the Duke to try this. He seemed to dislike sour things like cabbages, but how about sweet things? I want to share this taste of happiness with him.

Captain Blanche, who had been eating the remaining fruit while exclaiming, "What was that Scrimwood I ate with a death-defying resolve? It's so delicious, so delicious!!" would surely enjoy it too.