Chapter 74

"Hey, I have someone I absolutely have to kill," Yanish said.

"Someone you have to kill, huh?"

In response to Yanish's words, I couldn't help but look at the morsel in my hand. "Kill" is a colloquial term for "murder," a word I've heard excited hunters use from time to time during the Marshall Raid. But who is this person? Yanish then squatted in front of me.

"Do you know about the Drearum Vantail?" he asked.

(Ah, it's a monster.)

Yanish tapped his left eye, which was covered by an eye patch. The Drearum Vantail is a ferocious monster that nests in the Galvers Mountains, and I've heard that even a month-long expedition might not guarantee victory over it. There must be some connection between Yanish's eye patch and the Drearum Vantail.

"It's a very dangerous and ferocious monster, known as the master of the Galvers Mountains," I said.

"Right, that's it. I became a knight to kill it... I never even thought about what I'd do after killing it until just now."

Yanish took the morsel from my hand, skillfully twisted it to squeeze out the innards, and then, with a sharp sound, pulled out a blade from his gauntlet and cut off the morsel's head.

(Ah, is this the claw weapon I saw at the Lusse Forge?)

The shopkeeper had explained that it was for women, but from the way Yanish used it, it didn't seem to be exclusively for women. After quickly processing a few morsels, Yanish smiled carefree.

"Can monsters be eaten just by removing their magic power?"

"In simple terms, yes. But you have to remove the magic power along with the blood, so you need to process them immediately after hunting or capture them alive to get delicious meat."

"Wow... Is this morsel already processed?"

"Yes."

I felt a sense of déjà vu. I looked at Yanish's right eye, which was full of curiosity. On the other hand, Ducas, the commander of the East Elzenie Fort, stood at a distance with no intention of coming closer. The knights of Galbrey are generally more understanding of my situation, perhaps because Aristide recognizes my actions. No one openly despised me or offered harsh criticism.

The nobles who called me a "cannibal lady" tend to value appearances. So, I was curious about what Ducas, who openly despised me, thought of me. Yanish glanced at Ducas, then retracted the blade from his gauntlet and took my blood-stained hand.

"How long have you been eating them?"

"Well, I first tasted a monster seventeen years ago. Since then, I've been researching safe ways to eat them."

Upon hearing this, Yanish muttered, "Passed." I tilted my head, wondering what kind of test I had just passed. Yanish squeezed my hand tightly.

"Princess, you've dedicated your life to eating monsters. I've dedicated mine to killing them. But it felt kind of empty."

"I don't think the duties of the Galbrey knights are empty."

"Those with a purpose. My motivation is personal. So, my request is that I want to eat the Drearum Vantail."

"Huh?"

"Monsters can be delicious if prepared correctly. I want to eat it. You can do it. It's simple."

"Y-Yes, I'd be happy to."

I answered without thinking, driven by Yanish's enthusiasm. The sense of déjà vu was strong. Realizing what it was, I turned around. Behind me, Aristide was radiating a thick aura of magic and called Yanish's name in a low voice.

"...Yanish"

The sudden silence made me look around. Mullan and Zeph were pale and frozen, Lillian had a bright, sparkling face, and Natalie and Ambry, along with Reina, had quickly left with the processed morsels in a bucket.

"What is it, sir? Did I say something wrong?"

Yanish looked genuinely confused.

"...I told you to wait before hunting the Drearum Vantail."

Aristide grabbed Yanish's hand and pulled him away from me. He then took a morsel, squeezed it, and cut it open with the blade I had been using. Despite getting his hands dirty, Aristide continued to process the morsels. Yanish also pulled out his blade and started processing them, trying to keep up with Aristide.

"Of course I'll wait. The princess's training expedition isn't over yet."

"Did you plan to take Melfi on the expedition?"

Aristide grabbed the last morsel before Yanish could.

"How do you plan to bring back that huge body? If it's not fresh, it won't be delicious. The only way is to bring it back alive."

Yanish cleanly cut off the morsel's head, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

"Sir, I don't want to be a loser. The Gresh Dragon Mimic that ruptured my eardrums and the Giraph that trampled my horse. Just killing them wasn't enough. I won't lose to monsters. I need to eat them to honor them. Only then can I say I've defeated them."

Yanish's right eye glinted blue. Aristide, who had been shielding me, reached around me with his left arm and tapped Yanish's forehead with his right hand.

"Ouch!"

A small flash of light appeared on Yanish's forehead.

"Idiot. Don't talk about scaring Melfi while activating your magic eye."

"It's not intentional. I just get excited thinking about monsters."

Yanish's forehead turned red from the blood-stained hand, but his eyes were back to normal.

"Are you okay, Melfi?"

Aristide held me and looked into my amber eyes, seemingly worried that I might have been affected by the magic eye. I felt no dizziness or confusion, and my thoughts were clear.

"Yes, I'm fine. I seem to have a resistance to magic eyes."

"Yanish is a hotheaded and bloodthirsty guy, but he's not a bad person."

"I'm sorry, Princess, I got carried away."

Yanish bowed deeply.

"But I'm serious. I will eat it. I've made up my mind, no matter what anyone says. Those who disagree can just not eat it."

Chaos, who had been listening to the conversation, sighed deeply. Ducas, who had been looking sour, gave Yanish a cold glance. Another knight, whom I had never seen before, gaped in shock.

I'm also interested in the Drearum Vantail. If Aristide allows it, I'd be happy to process it. However, it would require a lot of preparation, and I don't think I could join an expedition that takes over a month.

I tugged on Aristide's clean hand.

"Um, Aristide?"

"What is it, Melfi?"

"I want to try the Gresh Dragon Mimic and the Giraph."

Since the autumn festival, the Gresh Dragon Mimic has been a monster I've wanted to taste. I'm curious about the Giraph, which I learned about after coming to Galbrey, and I want to enjoy it.

Hearing this, Yanish grinned and shouted, "Alright!" while raising his fist.

"Also, the Drearum Vantail... If it's okay for the expedition to the Ygrosh Salt Lake, please consider it?"

I looked at Aristide with enthusiasm, and he made a strange sound. Then he muttered, "Unconscious cuteness is terrifying."

Aristide sometimes says things I don't understand, which leaves me at a loss for words.

Meanwhile, Reina and Natalie came to collect the remaining morsels, and the introductions to the other fort commanders were postponed until dinner.

◇◇◇

"Delicious!"

Yanish bit into the morsel stuffed with grains, chewing the meat he had torn off. He held a cup of grain wine in one hand and drank it heartily.

"This little thing has a lot of meat."

Giril, the commander of Ygrosh Fort, sighed contentedly after drinking the morsel soup. Although he had been a bit hesitant during the processing, it seemed he had no major objections to eating monsters.

"Hey, Yanish, can't you eat more gracefully?"

"What? Be quiet, Patrice. You're ruining the meal by eating so slowly."

Next to Yanish sat Patrice, the commander of Galvers Fort. Although he hadn't been there during the processing, he seemed to be an old acquaintance of Odyon, the head mage.

Thanks to Reina and the kitchen staff, we had a baked morsel stuffed with grains and a hearty soup with diced morsel and vegetables.

The baked morsel had a crispy, golden surface, and the inside was soft, filled with the morsel's juices and vegetable broth.

I cut the morsel and ate a piece with the grains.

(The way they mix crushed vegetables with raze is truly Reina's style.)

The combination of the creamy raze and the grains created a rich flavor, and the morsel's meat was very tender, releasing a burst of juice and fat with each bite.

I wanted to drink grain wine like Yanish, but since this was a formal dinner, I had to hold back. Aristide, who understood me well, subtly offered me his wine cup.

"There's no need to hold back."

"But..."

"Grain wine and morsel are a perfect match. Besides, it's absurd to have to endure not drinking something we're allowed to drink just for the sake of appearances. Melfi, forget about those trivial noble customs here."

I swallowed hard at the full glass of grain wine. Aristide, Chaos, Mullan, Zeph, and Ambry, who knew about my drinking habits, raised their cups to me.

But—

"Sir, no matter what you think, the Galbrey ducal family is a proper noble family. Allowing a young lady who is to become the duchess to do such things is inappropriate."

Ducas, the commander of East Elzenie Fort, looked at me sternly.