Chapter 85. Octopus Bread
Labyrinth Day 44.
Merino made a mistake while preparing the meal.
It wasn’t a major mistake.
She had simply dropped the food she was cooking onto the ground.
“Hooeeeng… I’m sorry…”
Merino trembled as she alternated between looking at the spilled food and glancing at me, gauging my reaction.
When I didn’t do anything, she blinked rapidly and asked,
“Y-You’re not going to hit me?”
“Why would I hit you?”
“I made a mistake just now, didn’t I?”
“And?”
“When you make a mistake, you’re supposed to get hit, right? That’s how it should be!”
“That’s not normal.”
【Pururu】─Geon doesn’t hit people for small mistakes. But when it’s a big one, you’ll get a serious beating.
【Yumi】─She’s trembling so much… How badly was she abused before… It’s heartbreaking. 😢
【Mysticism】─😭
【Bubble Bubble】─She’s pitiful.
【Rizenova】─It feels like a massive weight is pressing down on my chest.
“…It’s strange. Really strange.”
Merino, as if she couldn’t understand, tilted her head in confusion before continuing with her cooking.
Eventually, the dish was completed—seasoned pork.
It was made from the meat of the Pig King, with a sauce derived from the Black Magma Slime’s magma.
I sprinkled some horn powder and added a few strands of wool, creating a spicy yet sweet sauce.
【Yumi】─Wow, it looks like stir-fried pork. It seems delicious.
【Pururu】─Ma! Let’s stir-fry some pork!
【Mysticism】─😋
“Dinner is ready! Let’s all eat together!”
After finishing her preparations, Merino served herself only a small portion and quickly scurried to a corner, sitting down quietly.
‘She did the same thing last night…’
The reason for Merino’s behavior was simple.
She instinctively believed she was of lower status than the rest of us and thus sought a place out of sight to eat.
After all, in Ovisland, livestock like her were never allowed to share a meal with higher-ranked individuals.
‘I already told her that she should eat with us during meals.’
It seemed like she still wasn’t used to it.
Habits were hard to break.
“Merino, come and eat with us.”
“R-Really? Ah!”
Finally remembering what I had told her the previous day, Merino smiled brightly and rushed over.
However, she didn’t sit right next to me.
［The seat to the left of the Explorer is mine. Don’t even think about it.］
To my left was the Centaurides.
［Father’s right side is mine. No one else can sit here.］
And to my right was Kinogine Arachne, resolutely holding her ground.
“Hooeeeng…”
Looking dejected, Merino took a seat a little further away, next to Melody Fox.
“Fox, enjoy your meal.”
［Kyuu.］
“Is it tasty?”
［Kyuu.］
【Pururu】─She hasn’t even taken a bite yet, why are you asking if it’s tasty? ㅅㅂ
“I think the Laser Leaf was the best. I almost fainted from shock after tasting it yesterday.”
［Kyu.］
“Oh, and did you know? I’m actually super smart.”
［…Kyu?］
“Our species is usually dumb, but I stole a thick book, taught myself how to read, and gained a lot of knowledge. Isn’t that impressive?”
［Kyu…］
“If you work hard, you can be smart like me too, Fox.”
［…］
【Rizenova】─Merino is quite the chatterbox.
【Mysticism】─But it seems like Melody Fox finds her annoying.
【Pururu】─Her eyes are practically cursing Merino to shut up.
Excited by the prospect of eating with other species, Merino continuously chatted with Melody Fox, who sat on her left.
As for the right, where Snake Head sat—
［Oroorooro!!! Sssiiiii!!!!］
“Yikes…”
She didn’t say a word to him, probably because he was too scary while vigorously devouring his meat.
Before starting my meal, I packed some extra meat to send to the Desert Shelter.
I didn’t prepare any for the Dog Spider group or the Jellyfish group, as there were too many of them to feed.
They’d have to fend for themselves.
I also packed some for the assistants.
Curry-flavored stones and seasoned pork.
I placed these into the plastic containers that Yumi had supplied, then used the Reverse Support Ticket to send them to the five assistants.
Normally, Reverse Support Tickets could only be used for Gold-tier assistants or higher, but thanks to Rize’s Diamond-tier status, I was able to bypass that restriction.
One of the Diamond-tier privileges allowed the Explorer to use Reverse Support Tickets for lower-tier assistants.
【Yumi】─Gasp?
【Mysticism】─😮
【Rizenova】─Ohhh! My favorite, Pig King meat! Thank you so much!
【Pururu】─Ah, damn. It spilled all over my head.
【Pururu】─Couldn’t you close the lid properly? ㅡㅡ
【Bubble Bubble】─Thanks. I was curious about the taste, so I’ll enjoy it.
【Pururu】─I’m licking the seasoned meat off my head. Damn, it’s good.
【Mysticism】─😋😋😋😋😋
Soon enough, all the assistants sent positive reviews.
They said the meat and stones were delicious.
I’ll have to send them more occasionally, whenever I have spare Reverse Support Tickets.
***
Labyrinth Day 45.
Out of curiosity, I checked on the number of Drifters to see how many had survived.
『Number of Drifters: 30』
More than I had expected had made it.
It seemed that this group of Drifters was either quite strong or had simply been lucky enough not to encounter any monsters.
‘…Tomorrow’s a rest day, so maybe I’ll use the Drifter Tracker.’
I hadn’t originally planned on concerning myself with the Drifters.
I had no intention of seeking them out.
However, my thoughts had shifted slightly.
I was now a bit curious about who had arrived.
After meeting an unusual sheep Beastman like Merino, I found myself wondering what other species the Drifters might be, and from which worlds they came.
The assistants were also curious about the other Drifters.
‘As Pururu said, it would be a waste not to use the Drifter Tracker after spending so much money on it…’
Then again, I might change my mind tomorrow.
People’s thoughts tend to shift easily.
While I was fiddling with the tracker, I heard a voice from outside.
［Sng! Sssssng!］
It was the Black Magma Slime.
It seemed one of the exploration teams had returned.
I put down the tracker and went outside to see the Fifth Team coming back from their expedition.
Lying at their feet was a giant octopus.
【Pururu】─What’s that now?
【Mysticism】─🤔 Is it dead?
【Yumi】─I’ve never seen this monster before. When did they catch it?
“They caught it earlier today in the desert.”
【Yumi】─Oh, really? That’s weird. How did I miss it…
【Pururu】─I didn’t see it either.
【Bubble Bubble】─Neither did I.
“You didn’t see it because when they caught it, I wasn’t using Iris to monitor the screen. I was watching through sensory sharing.”
【Pururu】─?
【Pururu】─Don’t hog all the fun for yourself. ㅡㅡ
【Mysticism】─Yeah, share the interesting stuff with us next time. 😠
【Yumi】─But why is there an octopus in the desert…
【Pururu】─Anyway, tell us the danger level of that octopus.
“Its danger level? Nerfed, it’s B-class.”
【Pururu】─So, it’s actually S-class. Okay, noted.
I named the octopus Poison Octopus.
It was an S-class monster that wielded deadly poison, though its current nerfed threat level was B-class.
Naturally, it was a desert-dwelling creature.
［Rejoice, everyone! I’ve brought something delicious!］
［What nonsense! I’m the one who caught it!］
Bastet Daong and the Anubis Dragon were arguing loudly.
［It was my finishing blow that took it down!］
［Don’t be ridiculous. I killed it before your attack even landed.］
The two bickered over who had defeated the octopus.
I had no idea why they were fighting over something so trivial, especially since they were both SS-class.
【Pururu】─Those guys double-teamed an S-class monster and are still this proud? No shame.
【Bubble Bubble】─They have no conscience.
【Mysticism】─Poor octopus.
【Rizenova】─Group attacks aren’t just for the weak. They’re a strategy.
“Is this for cooking?”
Resting until then, Merino suddenly jumped up when she saw the octopus and hurried over to inspect it.
“It’s poisonous. I can eat it just fine, but without my horn powder, the rest of you won’t be able to.”
She broke off half of her horn and ground it into powder, then sprinkled it all over the Poison Octopus’s body.
Afterward, she approached Bastet Daong and asked,
“Babo-tet Daong! You said you came from the desert, right?”
［It’s Bastet Daong, and yes, I did.］
“Could you go back and bring some sand?”
［No. Too much of a hassle.］
“…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked such an outrageous favor…”
［…It wasn’t outrageous. Anyone can ask for a favor, just like anyone can refuse one.］
“No, I was out of line… Asking for a favor as livestock… I deserve punishment for my insolence. Please beat me.”
［…］
Perhaps Bastet felt sorry for Merino.
She sighed deeply, turned around, and said,
［You need sand, right? Fine, I’ll go get it from the desert.］
“Th-Thank you!”
Just as Bastet was about to leave, Anubis, who had been trimming his claws, called out to him.
［Bastet, there’s no need.］
［What?］
Anubis approached Merino.
［You need sand, yes? I’ll give it to you.］
He extended his hand toward the ground, and a torrent of sand poured from his palm like a waterfall.
［Let me know if you need more.］
“Yanyan! This is more than enough! Thank you!”
With a smirk, Anubis glanced at Bastet before returning to his spot to resume trimming his claws.
“Now I can make something delicious! Everyone, get ready!”
Merino bounced around excitedly as she prepared the ingredients.
She sprinkled horn powder over the sand as well.
“It’s fluffy now. I’m going to put the octopus legs in here.”
While Merino combined the ingredients, I grabbed a handful of sand and put it in my mouth, chewing it.
It didn’t have any flavor yet, as she hadn’t added the wool, but the texture was surprisingly good.
It was moist and chewy, like bread.
Merino continued darting around, energetically preparing the dish.
She rolled the sand into large balls, like she was making clay figures, and inserted pieces of octopus leg that the monsters had cut up.
She plucked out some of her wool, using it as seasoning.
Finally, she placed the round sand balls onto the Black Magma Slime’s heated body to cook them.
The golden-brown sand balls looked like octopus bread as they roasted.
So, I casually named the dish Sand Octopus Bread.
【Pururu】─That’s just takoyaki. Giant takoyaki.
【Yumi】─Wow, it looks delicious!
【Bubble Bubble】─Gauntlet, are you going to send us some this time too?
【Mysticism】─😋
【Rizenova】─The Reverse Support Tickets aren’t unlimited, so I don’t think he can this time.
【Mysticism】─😭
As I waited for the giant Sand Octopus Bread to cook, I opened the notebook I’d bought from the Wandering Merchant and began updating the guidebook.
—
■ Poison Octopus
– Actual Threat Level: S-class.
– Current (Nerfed) Threat Level: B-class.
– Ability: Poison.
—
By the time I finished updating the guidebook, the Sand Octopus Bread had finished roasting to a perfect golden brown.
“Everyone, gather around! Let’s eat together!”
We all gathered around, each grabbing a hot Sand Octopus Bread, and began eating.
Thanks to Merino, today’s meal was another success.