Chapter 503 Turtle Hotpot Again

Chapter 503 – Turtle Hotpot Again

Link:  Eguchi Ren

General adjustment to make the text smoother.

We spent a whole week travelling through the wetlands on the [Mizumaru].

We made a few stops at the request of [Ark] and allowed Fer and Sui opportunities to ‘exercise’ by killing off some random strong monsters so that they would not get too bored. Overall, our progress was relatively smooth.

Speaking of which, the people from [Ark] generally went after brightly coloured birds that looked a lot like parrots.

The birds were twice as large as parakeets from back home. Apparently, these creatures are stuffed and made into decorative objects for the ridiculously rich by taxidermists. Also, their vividly brilliant feathers are usually processed into accessories such as tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs for clothes, hair ornaments, and folding fans. They were apparently very popular with the wealthy.

However, these birds lived in fairly remote places, which was why only high-ranking Adventurers could even get the opportunity to hunt for them. The rarity of the feathers was the main reason for their ridiculous prices.

[1] Aside from their rarity and value, feathers were very easy to transport. Especially since these came as a Drop item, which meant the [Ark] could casually hunt the birds without worrying about damaging them too much or even having to pluck the feathers off by hand.

Well, since the feathers seem to be a safe and popular thing, I asked Dora-chan and Sui to collect 10 sets for me. It would make a nice souvenir for the people waiting for me at home.

I mean, I’m not going to just give them the feathers. I plan to get someone to process the feathers into quills and hair accessories or something before giving them to my servants.

Anyway, Fer and Sui were now hunting Black Anacondas, similar to the ones found at Avering, as well as Airley Brown Cows. Naturally, it’s because both yielded ‘very delicious meat’.

As a bonus, the Airley Cows travelled in herds close to the sh.o.r.e and Fer and Sui practically cheered when they saw these bovines.

Thanks to this, my stock of beef has increased…

I must say, getting meat in the form of Drops is pretty awesome since I don’t have to send them in for dismantling or butchering them myself. Everything is so nicely packed.

As for the Dragon ‘Surveillance’ team, well, they flew off every day in search of interesting and powerful monsters…

Whatever, I entrusted Dora-chan with a magic bag and he usually came back with all kinds of random things. Naturally, in addition to various skin and fang Drops, there were all kinds of meat Drops.

Still, I was kind of surprised to see Big Bite Turtle meat.

[2]

““That one! I was so excited when I spotted that one!!”” Dora-chan cheered, drawing Sui and Fer’s attention.

“This… where did you see it?” Fer asked urgently.

“”There, just beyond that bit of the river. Follow me!!””

“Sui, follow that dragon!”

“O-oi, what’s this? A car chase?”

However, I was ignored. As for the [Ark]… well, none of them dared to get in the way of my excited familiars and all hopped onto [Mizumaru] and we sped after Dora-chan.

[2]

As expected, [Ark] was befuddled by the enthusiasm shown by my familiars in decimating the Big Bite Turtle populace.

When I told them that it was because these Big Bite Turtles were ‘delicious’, every one of them, including Feodora-san, immediately flinched.

Ah.

Is this some kind of cultural taboo thing?

Well, I’m not lying though.

Anyway, you too shall know the deliciousness of Turtle Hotpot.

Kukukuku.

Speaking of which, I wonder why we encounter these softsh.e.l.l turtles here? Was the marshland their original habitat? Oh, well, at least this place is more realistic than the stone-walled dungeons of Avering…

I guess it’s ridiculous to think about stuff like natural habitat when it came to dungeons and the creatures in it.

We proceeded along the swampy area until Fer and Grandpa Gon declared ‘the boss is near’.

This was the one stipulation I had for them, to let me know if the boss is near and to not recklessly go after it.

Let’s all have a good rest before the big battle.

It was a little early, but I decided to get started on dinner.

“Isn’t better to just go and take care of the Boss right away?” Fer grumbled.

“Fer may be right, but there are a few things we should take into consideration and prepare for,” I said. The most important being my mental preparations.

No matter how many times we go through dungeon challenges, the thought of meeting a new Boss monster always makes me nervous.

“Besides, we’re not the only ones in this dungeon. So please take that into consideration too.”

“Humph, what consideration could there be? It will be over in an instant.”

“Well, Fer may be right, but I still don’t see why we should rush things.”

“The main problem is that there are no interesting monsters on this level, so we should hurry to the next one-”

“I see, so Fer doesn’t want to eat this?” I waved my hand grandly over the chopped-up softsh.e.l.l turtle parts on my Earth Table.

“I never said that! This and that are completely different things!!”

“Then, please stop complaining.”

Fer was still grumbling under his breath about [3] something, but I just pretended not to hear him,

“Hey, is it not ready yet?”

“It takes a bit of time to prepare,” I said serenely as I focussed on skimming off the lye from a few large pots of simmering softsh.e.l.l turtle meat. Musn’t skip this crucial step, after all.

Dora-chan and Sui were already bouncing and bobbing about in antic.i.p.ation. Well, I can’t blame them since it looked like I was cooking the softsh.e.l.l turtle. Sorry guys, this is just basic prep work, we haven’t started on the actual cooking yet.

“”Hurry~~ hurry~~””

Ah, my Sui-tan~

Anyway, although we went a few rounds at Avering’s dungeons just collecting the Big Bite Turtle meat Drops, my stock of softsh.e.l.l turtle meat dwindled faster than I had imagined.

Ahh… it’s been a long time since I had Turtle Hotpot~

A Turtle Hotpot is perfect as a pre-boss battle meal.

“”Fuhahaha! When I spotted that turtle head peeking out of the water, I knew it was him!”” Dora-chan was boasting loudly to anyone who could hear.

“Good job Dora-chan!” I praised. Because it was indeed a very good job and he has every reason to be proud of himself!

“”Dora-chan is ama~zing~ ama~zing~””

“”Ehehe~””

“Fumu, is turtle meat really that good? It looks kind of dubious…” Grandpa Gon was staring at the foaming, bubbling pots with a sceptical eye.

Grandpa Gon had always praised my food for being delicious, this was the first time he showed doubt.

[4] “”Hey, have you ever tried [Appraising] the meat?”” I mentally asked Grandpa Gon.

“Hmmm…. hm?!” he turned to me, pointing at the still cheerfully bubbling and foaming meats. “This… this…?!”

Fufun~

That’s right.

The first person who dared to eat a softsh.e.l.l turtle was the true hero.

“Huhuhu, I ate it once because it was [Appraised] as delicious, but it was nothing compared to how incredibly delicious it became after it went through Master’s hands.”

“Oooh, as expected my Master~”

“Ahaha, you praised me too much~”

The people from the [Ark] were gathered in a group a little further away from my cooking area.

“O-oi, Mukouda’s really cooking up the Big Bite Turtle…”

“Mukouda-san’s cooking is excellent, but that thing is…”

“Huh, I can eat most things, but…”

“Same…”

I can hear everything, you know?

Softsh.e.l.l Turtle Hotpots are really delicious, you know?

Well, your loss if you don’t want like them.

Food was finally done. I taste-tested a bit of broth and nodded to myself, “Hmm, very good.”

“Finally!”

““Hotpot~~””

“”Let’s eat! Let’s eat!””

“I look forward to it,”

“Yes, yes, hold on. I’m serving it now.” Instead of giving them one claypot each, I ladled out the food in deep platters and distributed it to everyone.

“Umu, yes, this is the taste!”

“”Ou! This is it! This is it!””

“”Yummy~~!””

“Indeed, one should not judge a dish by appearance alone. This is very delicious,”

“Right? Right?” I’m very happy that everyone seemed to enjoy tonight’s hotpot. Bolstered by their praises, I happily ferried a whole claypot over to the [Ark], “Here you go~ Tonight’s dinner is Turtle Hotpot!”

They all stared at the hotpot with complicated expressions.

Well? Looks delicious, right? Right?

Look at these plump pieces of meat, irresistible, right? Right?

Tch, are they really not going to eat it?

“When you say hotpot, is it similar to the one we had the other day?”

“Indeed!” I chirped. “The only difference is that today’s hotpot contained a highly prized ingredient. One that would make your skin bouncy and firm!”

Suddenly, I felt Feodora’s eyes focused on me.

“Bouncy…? Firm…?”

“Yes, bouncy and firm~!” As expected, women are ready to brave anything for the sake of beauty, even eat questionable-looking things.

Decision made, she leaned forward and scooped some of the Turtle Hotpot into her bowl and took a large bite out of the softsh.e.l.l turtle (Big Bite Turtle) flesh.

“… …”

“O-oi, so… how is it?”

The men all leaned in to stare at Feodora-san.

[5]

“There is no need for you to eat it. I shall eat it for you,” then, she gulped down the contents of her bowl and helped herself to more.

“… …”

“Oi, oi, oi, what the heck? What is the meaning of this? It- it has to be delicious, right?!” Gideon-san roared, sensing that something delicious was being devoured without him.

“Stop, give me some too!” Siegwald-san grabbed the serving spoon.

“Oi, that’s for everyone! Stop hogging it!”

Feodora-san was already on her third helping…

“W-wait, is this? Is this seriously made with Big Bite Turtle meat?!”

“D-delishhh!!!”

“Can’t judge the deliciousness of meat just by looking…”

Hohoho, I see that you have all been seduced by the deliciousness of softsh.e.l.l turtle meat~~

“Oi, seconds!”

“If Master doesn’t mind…”

“”Here too!””

“”Sui wants some more too~~””

“Yes, yes, I’m coming~~”

Leaving the [Ark] to fight over their hotpot, I went over to serve my familiars.

[Gumihou: This is actually a really fun chapter.]

[1] Give merchant-like reasons for why the [Ark] like to hunt the parrots.

[2] Added detail on the discovery of the Big Bite Turtle and the logistics of getting there.

[3] Actually, it was unclear what Fer said, so Gumi and Mukouda ignored him together.

[4] Mukouda ‘whispered’ the question to Grandpa Gon. Like, why? Your telepathy? Sir?

[5] Maintain the drama’s momentum via action and dialogue

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