Chapter 408: Strange Snacks and Everyday Chaos
It was starting to feel a bit troublesome, though Qiong Xing did not say it aloud.
"Then why not offer a reward? I do not care about nobles, but among the customers who buy it, have them vote on which shop was the best, and decide a winner."
"You mean make them compete? The winning shop gets prestige, plus prize money... I see."
Rather than relying on amateurs who might receive harsh criticism, it would be better to ask proper shops for cooperation, and offer assistance for physical work so the shops would benefit as well.
"Of course, I think we should also consider the shops that lose. It might cost a bit at first, but if it becomes an annual event, both scale and expenses might become easier to manage."
He had never organized an event like this before, so he could not say for certain.
While talking and eating the jam-topped pound cake, Qiong Xing felt slightly full, so he left the rest to Albe, who happily finished everything.
"Can you drink alcohol, Your Excellency?"
"...You are truly unpredictable. I can drink it, but I do not particularly like it."
He said that if he had free time, he would rather work.
It was hard not to think of him as a work addict.
"As for me—"
"Then we are the same. I cannot drink at all."
"Listen to me!"
Qiong Xing had simply understood the answer without needing to hear it.
Watching Albe happily eat cake, Sergei seemed to wonder about Qiong Xing as well.
"In a way, that is exactly as I expected. I would not want to see you drunk on alcohol either."
Qiong Xing had often wondered how they all actually saw him.
As the saying goes, you cannot judge a person by appearances.
...
"Look, Albe. A really big larva—"
"GYAAAH!"
With Albe’s loud scream, his arm suddenly shot out, snatching Qiong Xing’s hand and swatting away the larva sitting in his palm.
The suddenness made both Qiong Xing and Cari who had been working beside him freeze in shock.
"Albe?"
"Big brother?"
They tilted their heads in confusion, but Albe frantically shook his head.
"Do not show me that with that face! With that smile! Do not happily bring me a worm!"
"...Eh?"
Qiong Xing did not understand at all.
"Albe, are you bad with bugs? You played with grasshoppers with Rui before—"
"That is not the point! It is because it is Qiong Xing!"
That was... why?
Qiong Xing would not get injured just from touching insects.
He was not particularly sensitive or afraid of them to that extent.
He did have a few things he disliked, such as cockroaches, but in the past he had even gone to nearby woods with his mother to catch rhinoceros beetles.
"Th-that’s not it! That’s not what I mean... um, well... how should I put it... I kind of wanted Qiong Xing to be bad with bugs... or something like that... seeing you show me that with such a happy smile was too much for my eyesight."
"Honestly, I have been wondering for a while, but how exactly does Albe see me?"
Qiong Xing was a man, so he could handle most insects without a problem.
He would be startled if something suddenly appeared, but he would not scream like a woman, and as long as it did not fly, he could even deal with cockroaches.
"...I guess I was just surprised by a combination that felt impossible to me."
I really do not understand.
"I have heard that in some regions people actually eat insects, not just larvae."
Qiong Xing himself had no desire to eat them, but he knew such foods existed.
He did not know whether they existed in this world, however.
"I wonder what they taste like. If you roast larvae, maybe they would be like potatoes..."
"...Sorry."
He was met with a very disgusted look and a sharp shake of the head.
"Stop. Please stop. Do not implant weird knowledge into Cari."
"Ah."
Only after being told that did Qiong Xing look at Cari who was tilting his head and looking up at him curiously.
"Does Mama eat bugs?"
"...I do not."
Only then did he finally understand what Albe had been trying to say.
Imagining Cari happily eating insects made him reject the idea instantly in his mind.
"But demon mansions are often portrayed as dark places with spiders everywhere, right?"
Or was that vampires?
"What is that? How neglected do you think that is? Just clean it properly."
A perfectly reasonable rebuttal came back immediately.
It really was not good to talk based on assumptions.
"So you do not keep giant spiders or anything..."
"We do not!"
Yes, it was definitely not good.
In fact, Albe’s room was not dirty enough for spiders to even appear, and was actually quite tidy and organized.
If anything, Qiong Xing was the more careless one.
"If there is any cleaning to do, I will call Albe."
"Wait, what? What are you even talking about?"
It is fine. I understand it.
"Ah, then how about bone crackers for today’s snack?"
"...?"
"...?"
It was not insects, but it might still be a somewhat unusual snack.
Qiong Xing suggested it, but both Albe and Cari only tilted their heads, clearly unfamiliar with it.
"I fry fish bones in oil until they become crispy. Then I sprinkle salt on them. They make a good snack with alcohol."
"You’re skipping way too far ahead. And you can’t even drink, so where do you even learn stuff like that?"
Qiong Xing could not drink in this life only.
In his previous life, he had been able to.
"Well, I just remembered it and felt like trying it. If you do not like it, I can make something else."
Qiong Xing did not intend to force them to eat something they were not used to in the first place.
"I want to eat it!"
"Me too. If Qiong Xing says it, it must be good, right?"