Chapter 156: Dangerously Delicious
———Lerim———
<12: 54 pm>
“<When it comes to the Explorers, all of them have said to be compensated and sent back home, just in time for the New Year’s Eve.>” That’s… not really a very comforting sentence. It really just emphasizes how much time they lost. It’s all on them in the first place. Trying to target someone that vastly outclassed them is just a bad move. Numbers won’t do much in this case. It’s like a dozen ants going against someone with a water hose, it’s not really comparable. The ants need a miracle to even touch them, let alone getting a bite.
“What the hell is that woman bringing into the guild?” Someone said just within my earshot. Must be talking about the large stack of food I bring here. It does look rather ridiculous with how many boxes there are, but what can you do when you made so much food from those monsters. They’re all quite big so they have a lot of meat on them.
All of these are quite toxic to normal humans and those not attuned to eating these mana-ladened ingredients, so I don’t need to worry about people stealing it as well.
Of course, if they can eat it I don’t really mind giving it away. It’d be a miracle if I can eat every monster I kept refrigerated and stored up before they spoil even if they took longer to spoil on average. Wasting food is a very bad habit.
“<In other news, it is said that Edea Weltal, a trust fund kid with billions in net-worth had been attacked by one of those rabid subhumans. Can we get a bit more detail on that?>” They’re still calling them that? Something never changes.
“You know, it never made any sense seeing you in a place like this.” A certain someone said while walking over to me.
“I can be flexible with my career.” I said before going back to eating and watching this stupid news.
“And here I thought you didn’t like being called a brute after everything.” Does she really have to bring up that point again? “So? What is with all these boxes? Look like those bento box things from Japan. Bunch of food or something?”
“Yeah. I’m staying here and relaxing for a while. I did a very long dungeon run yesterday, I don’t want to burden myself with another one the very next day, so I’m relaxing and eating.” With that exhausting training session, I need an equally long and relaxing rest in return. I can do another one tomorrow and a light regiment on Thursday. Friday is when we’re meant to meet up and start this project of hers. “...Haven’t seen you in a while.”
“Yeah? With that long dungeon run of yours, of course it’s gonna be hard to spot me…” She said before sitting down and crossing her arms. “...Wait. Where did you even get all of those foods from? No way in hell you buy that many.”
“I cooked those up myself. Mostly just a bunch of meat chunks though, some are pretty dry.” I said while I continue eating and taking a glance at the large bottle of water I bring with me. “I can’t share it, unfortunately. Maybe with the guild leader, but that’s about it.”
“What? Why can’t I get some but he can?” She asked with one of her eyebrows raised.
“Can you stomach these mystery meats? If you can, you can get a box or two if you want.” I don’t really know if her body could handle it. I know that guy can because I dared him into it that one time. Kind of a mess but he’s still alive. “Just make sure to force yourself. Don’t try to stomach it if you can’t.”
“Mystery…?” She said while squinting her eyes. Taking one of the boxes and opening it up. It’s all just random assortments of monster meats, grilled or boiled and seasoned with only salt and pepper, nothing fancy at all. “...These just look like regular food items? Is this a lobster tail? What the heck are all of these?”
“Try out one. See how you feel.” I said once I put down the now-empty box. What are the news reporters yapping about now?
…Wait. What the hell happened? The news channel is suddenly turned off? Some sort of emergency? Weird. I did hear them yelling about something, but Evari took my attention away for just long enough.
“It tastes fine… Good, even.” She muttered after eating a tomahawk, sounding quite bewildered as to why I said all those warnings earlier.
Her body starts to shake and her expression makes it clear that she starts to feel winded. The effects have started already, it seems.
She tried to not show any sign of weakness despite the clear effect these monster meats have on her. At least now I have something to look at aside from the TV. It hadn’t changed channels yet despite nothing really happening with the news gone.
…That would probably sound extremely callous if said out loud. Good thing I’m not someone who likes to speak their thoughts out loudly.
“W-What the hell was in that thing?” She said once the effects were gone and she slumped over on the table. “Poison? What was that?”
“You took it well for your first time eating one of those.” I commented before taking a glance at the watercooler not too far away. “I’ll go fetch you a cup of water.”
All things considered it’s good that she doesn’t start vomiting or have other severe symptoms. It means she could acclimate to this quickly which would help her out a lot during a dungeon run.
It also means she can help with eating all of this. If I were to actually do that my figure would be absolutely ruined. That would be a nightmare scenario.
“Here.” I said while placing the cup of water in front of her. It’s not exactly a miracle cure, but it is quite soothing. The moment I sat back down she already downed the entire cup.
“Haaa… Thanks…” She said, still looking winded like she just came back after a marathon. “What in the world was that tomahawk?”
“Just so you know. All the food here is like that. Good thing you didn’t get seriously sick from that.” I said while noticing that the channel was finally changed to something else. It looks to be a rerun of a show, so it’s nothing particularly exciting. “I would advise not eating another portion until you get a bit better.”
“No. Seriously. What are those things?” She said, looking quite concerned. “Why are you not affected at all eating a whole box of that?”
“Mystery meats. Confidential, I’m afraid.” I don’t really want to call them monster meats, especially with other people listening in. We’re still in public space here, and I don’t want any stupid rumors about how barbaric I am for eating monster meat. I don’t want to waste my energy chasing down those types of people again. “You can slowly eat them to get used to it, but being stronger and more attuned to mana in general also helps out.”
“Those are weird requirements.” She said before her head suddenly snapped back. “Hey! Are you making fun of me!?”
“What? No?” What in the world is she talking about now?
“Look, just because you’re stronger than me doesn’t mean you can just start acting high and mighty!” Oooh… That. Is she still bitter about how a looker like me is just better than her in just about every way even though she is quite dedicated to fighting? What a petty grudge she still holds. It’s rather comical, really. “Don’t think I didn’t notice you trying to not laugh!”
“Come on now. You know I couldn’t care less how strong or beautiful someone is in comparison to myself. Putting someone down unprompted just reeks of insecurity.” I said with a smirk. “Seriously though. Don’t try to eat more just to prove a point. I don’t want to waste healing spells on something so preventable.”
“Tch.” She clicked her tongue while glaring at me with those blue eyes of hers.
…Is her hair even shorter than last time? It’s already pretty short, when did she trim it?
“Hey, can I try one?” A guy I have seen here a few times but never bother to talk to came over and asked. Did he not see what it did to poor Evari’s stomach?
“Be my guest. Just make sure to not die.” I said before dragging the opened box over to him and let him pick something.
“Don’t mind if I do then!” He said before picking the lobster tail Evari opted to not eat and quickly finish it in a few bites. He looked quite satisfied with himself.
“If symptoms start showing, go find a toilet.” I said while he seemed to be ready to go for a second.
“Urgh!” Before he could reach for another piece, his body began to convulse and he struggled to even move. He looked like he was about to vomit and he ran away.
“G-Guess I dodge a bullet.” Evari remarked, clearly spooked out by that guy’s condition. It was clearly a more violent reaction than she had.
“No. It just proves that you were better.” I said before taking out my phone to look through some stuff in the meantime. “Like I said, the stronger you are, the less likely you’ll be affected. You’re one of the stronger adventurers here anyway, aren’t you?”
“Y-Yeah! Of course I am!” Easily flattered as always. “But… Are you for real? That’s the condition for eating these things?”
“Yeah. Some are more… ‘toxic’ than the others, but the vastly different reaction makes it clear you are more attuned.” The stronger the monsters the more toxic the stuff became, but it’s just semantics at that point when the meat of a weak monster could easily ruin someone’s day. “Just keep taking small portions and you’ll be able to enjoy it like any normal food in time. If you just nibble at it you won’t even feel that much discomfort.”
“I see…” She muttered while looking at a few remaining pieces in that box. Guess those words started to tempt her.
She then took a fish fillet that looked quite mangled. It can’t be helped since I don’t really deal with fish that often. There aren’t that many floors with even so much as a pond.
She starts to nibble on it without saying anything, using the lid as a makeshift plate and keeping her mouth shut.
…I wonder. Was she one of the people who was considered for going to that accursed meeting? There aren’t any notable people around as far as I’m aware. Not the one to interact with this lobby of misfits, but I idle here for a long time and it’s been mostly my names being thrown around.
Regardless, it’s good that that guy does come up with an excuse so no one needs to participate, even though he could’ve potentially saved himself from going as well.
Just lie, those guys aren’t gonna notice with how small of a time window they have to verify.
Evari’s face twisted in discomfort as she kept eating slowly, her body looking weak as her hands trembled and her face twitching.
I don’t think I even give her much of an incentive to do this, but I can’t complain. It means someone who can help clear out these boxes by the time the day comes to an end and I need to do the dungeon run again tomorrow. With all the monsters I’m going to kill and be able to eat, all these food probably will just be put into the fridge or freezer and deteriorate in quality.
“Ugh…” She finally finished eating that fillet, but she still looked quite miserable. Not as bad as with that tomahawk though, now that she knows what to look out for. “How did you even manage to become immune to this?”
“It’s easier than you think. I just kept eating small portions of it every day until I got accustomed to it. I also make sure to keep up my training, since it helps with acclimating my body to those mana-ladened things.” It’s very simple, and that’s all there is to it.
“Mana?” She muttered in confusion.
“Don’t worry about it. I think you can actually get used to this by today, looking at your initial reaction.” She has a similar reaction to when I first tried monster meats, if perhaps a bit more severe.
…Oh? This news article actually tells me what I missed on that news broadcast. Look like they got… attacked? Something was launched into the studio and they all had to evacuate immediately.
I’m surprised they didn’t get attacked until now, considering the current state of the world. A bunch of vigilantes and criminals going around doing whatever the hell they want.
…So who the hell was even the one attacking them? Isn’t the studio in a pretty secure building?