Chapter 87

As the cherry blossom petals danced in the wind, Misaki opened the old diary and read the words of promise written there.

The centipede crab's claws and legs that Yanish brought were larger and thicker than my body. However, the largest claw, which had been separated from the body for too long, did not react much to the magic circle.

"Rue Litt Arnieere O Dona Barmilue Stilis..."

I recited the spell carefully. Normally, a lot of magical power should float up, sparkling above the magic circle. No matter how many times I repeated the spell, only a few tiny lights floated up.

(It must be because the creature originally had little blood. But it shouldn't have so little magical power...)

Yanish had just brought the body a short while ago, so if that was true, the magic circle should have worked properly. I checked, and the body was still raw and hadn't been burned by Aristide's fire magic. When I tried to extract magic from another leg, it reacted properly, and although it was a small amount, the cloudy crystal began to fill with blue blood and magic.

(It doesn't seem to be a problem with the magic circle. Then... could it be?)

As I pondered over the large claw, Aristide and Yanish came over.

"What's wrong, Melfi? Is there something about this claw?"

"Aristide, um, this large claw..."

"That one? It's probably the largest claw from the centipede crab we fought."

"Fought?"

The word "fought" used by Aristide and Yanish had a dangerous connotation. When I looked back at Aristide, he looked as if he had made a mistake and turned his gaze away.

"Hey, did the princess not hear? His Excellency flew straight at the centipede crab from the dragon, stabbed its heart, and was thrown off when the crab went wild. I was ordered to crush the other heart. I delivered the final blow with all my might after His Excellency safely fell into the salt lake. It was as hard as anything, being over fifty furlongs... Hey, what's wrong, princess?"

Yanish looked at me with a puzzled expression. Thanks to Yanish's explanation, I understood the true reason why Chaos had panicked at the time. The knights had said it was fine, but Aristide had actually been in danger. Flying at the centipede crab and being thrown off could have cost him his life.

When Aristide returned drenched, I was so worried about any injuries that I didn't ask for details.

"Flew straight at the centipede crab from the dragon..."

Aristide hurriedly tried to explain.

"N-no, Melfiela. Look, there were no serious injuries, right?"

"...You took quite a risk again."

"There were Chaos, Yanish, and Gilir. All top-notch, trusted knights. That's why I could entrust my life to them. Right, Yanish?"

"Wh-what? You're asking me now?!"

Yanish, suddenly asked, looked flustered. When I glared up at him, Aristide fell silent and hung his head.

"I'm sorry for worrying you. I promise not to take such risks in the future."

"Really?"

"Unless I'm alone."

Yanish looked at me with a complicated expression. Since Aristide is the Duke and the lord of Galbreath, he rarely acts alone. Although I wasn't entirely convinced, I decided not to press the issue and just state the facts.

"Aristide, the centipede crab this claw came from was in a state of madness."

Aristide and Yanish were taken aback by my words. I took out a piece of oiled paper with a magic circle for extracting poison from my bag and attached it to the large claw. Then I recited the spell I used to extract the poison from the wolf.

"Rue Litt Arnieere O Dona Magikus Barmilue Stilis Iedra Delnie O Dona Lunatico Nov Bledus..."

The concentrated poison emitted a sinister black light and was slowly absorbed into the cloudy crystal in my hand. Although it wasn't alive like the wolf, the resistance was considerable, and it seemed difficult to extract everything. I stopped the incantation and handed the cloudy crystal containing the poison to Aristide.

"Centipede crabs are creatures that reach the end of their life span after surpassing twenty furlongs. So... it might have grown so large because it was in a state of madness."

"Thank goodness you were unharmed, Aristide, despite facing a mad centipede crab. No matter how delicious, a creature is still a creature."

Yanish looked curiously at the cloudy crystal in Aristide's hand.

"Is this the poison? I've never seen poison in this form before. It must cause madness if it's like this in the body. However, it seems difficult to judge if a Yugrosh centipede crab is in a state of madness from the outside, unlike a magical beast."

Madness can be determined by the creature's abnormal behavior or increased aggression, but also by the cloudiness of its eyes. When the blood is clouded by poison, the eyes become noticeably cloudy. Some creatures, like hard-shelled magical insects or thick-skinned magical trees, are difficult to judge. The Yugrosh centipede crab likely falls into this category.

"However, a knight who has faced many creatures would certainly have noticed. This fifty-furlong centipede crab was abnormal. Even the slightest sense of unease from a Galbreath knight is likely correct."

When I looked up at Aristide, he nodded seriously.

"You're right. I'm really sorry, Melfi."

I smiled and looked at the large claw. Unfortunately, this claw would have to be discarded. Aristide also looked disappointed.

"Melfi, it takes about twenty days to completely extract the poison, right?"

"Yes. But this is a bit different from a magical beast, so it might rot before the poison is fully extracted."

"Wait... What? Princess, you mean we can't eat this?"

Yanish looked back and forth between me and the claw. I could sense his genuine desire to eat it, which made me feel somewhat helpless. I wanted to find a way for him to eat it, and I also wanted to taste the large claw myself.

Aristide shook his head solemnly, and Yanish fell to his knees.

"Damn it! Why was this thing in a state of madness? After all the trouble of cutting it off!"

"Yanish, this leg is from a non-mad individual and has no poison, so it's safe to eat."

I showed him the magic power detector, and Yanish looked up at me with a pleading expression.

"What is this? I can tell your magic is amazing, but..."

Yanish tilted his head, looking at the detector. He seemed to be on the verge of tears, but I decided not to comment.

"I used the magic circle to extract the blood and magic. This detector shows the residual magic. As you can see, there's no reaction, which means it's safe to eat."

"What a strange magic circle. I can't read it at all."

"It's in ancient magic language, the same system as the magic Aristide uses."

"Ah... I see. So it's a high-level magic."

"High-level?"

"Never mind. This leg looks like it will be quite satisfying. Thanks, princess."

Yanish stood up and gestured to someone with his right hand.

"Alright, you guys! Cut this leg into neat halves! We'll cook it all at once."

"Got it!"

"Been waiting for this!"

"It's hard to steam something this big."

It seemed they were going to cook the centipede crab. The knights of Azaro Castle, who were waiting, quickly followed Yanish's instructions. Lillian and Captain Blanche, who had just changed, also arrived, so I decided to gather the steamed crab meat and serve it on a wooden plate.

"Your stomachs will hold until it's cooked. Yanish, please enjoy this while you wait."

"Thanks, princess!"

"Captain Blanche and Lillian, thank you for your hard work."

"Princess, if you need serving, we can..."

Captain Blanche looked apologetic, so I brought out my special dish.

"This is the liver. Please try it with the crab meat. And the juice of the Cavo fruit might make it even better."

The Cavo fruit, brought by the cooking team, would complement the rich crab meat. I also liked it, and acidic fruit water was generally favored by women.

"The Cavo juice I had earlier was delicious, so I'm looking forward to it. Princess, would you like to join us?"

"Of course! I still have an appetite, so let's eat together."

I placed the crab meat, swimming in the shell, and generously sprinkled the liver. Yanish stuffed it into his mouth with a hearty bite.

"Wow... It's delicious!"

Yanish stuffed his mouth full, swallowing the liver and meat like a soup without much chewing.

"The acidity makes it go down smoothly!"

"Indeed... The Cavo juice takes away the guilt."

Lillian, who had taken a liking to the Cavo, squeezed the juice onto another leg and exclaimed happily. Captain Blanche, watching Lillian, kept eating the liver one after another.

The liver I gave to Yanish and the others came from a three-furlong female centipede crab, which Chaos had declared the best (after comparing various options, so I'm confident it's the best).

In the end, the most popular were the crabs between two and four furlongs, which were rich and delicious. Beyond five furlongs, the leg meat became increasingly elastic, which was good for texture but slightly less flavorful. The liver also became bitter beyond seven furlongs and was not suitable for eating.

"Really, using me like this... Am I just a convenient source of heat for you?"

Aristide grumbled but expertly cooked the leg of the fifty-furlong centipede crab.

"But I'm happy to work with Aristide."

"Melfi?"

"I'm not a knight, so I can't handle rough tasks, but I can work with you in the kitchen. I feel a bit disrespectful asking you to do this, but..."

"It's fine."

"Really?"

"Your smile is worth it. Melfi, if it makes you happy, I'll cook centipede crabs or Dreamvanteers."

Aristide smiled warmly.

"Hehe, a whole roasted Dreamvanteer?"

"Whatever you want."

I've never heard of a lord cooking for their subjects, but as we cooked the centipede crab together, I felt as if I was on equal footing with Aristide.