Chapter 162: Dining at Camp
After finishing his report to the Second Prince Andrew, Rest made his way to the tent assigned to him. As a Count, he was given a larger tent, furnished with a bed, a table, and chairs.
(It’s a bit like glamping… Sometimes, this kind of thing isn’t so bad.)
Since his tent was near Andrew’s, soldiers were patrolling the area, ensuring safety was not a concern. If he asked, they would likely prepare a meal for him right away… It seemed like it would be a comfortable camping experience.
“Ah, Rest! Welcome back!”
“Thank you for your hard work, Rest-sama!”
Viola Rosemary and Primula Rosemary were waiting outside the tent, sitting on simple chairs. They were the sisters of Marquis Rosemary, who was also Rest’s fiancée.
“We came to support you. Although… Father didn’t grant us permission to join the expedition.”
“But he did allow us to come here to help with your personal affairs,” Primula added.
“Oh, I see…”
“I’m here too! Rest!”
A girl sitting next to them waved her hand energetically. It was Yuri Cattleya, who had just been with them investigating the central part of the Plain.
“Yuri too…? What are you doing here?”
“Well, there were my father’s subordinates watching around my tent. It felt uncomfortable, so I escaped over here.”
“Your father… You mean Marquis Cattleya?”
“Yeah. It seems he’s trying to keep me in a cage again. But that’s not going to happen!”
Yuri crossed her arms, pouting.
“I know that if I go home, I’ll just be locked in my room again! I’ve decided I absolutely won’t go back!”
“……”
“So, I’ve decided to stay in Rest’s tent tonight. Is that okay?”
“Excuse me?”
Where exactly did she say she would stay? Rest asked, but Yuri beamed at him and said, “Thank you!” It seemed she took his “Excuse me?” as a positive response.
“Wait, seriously?”
“Haah… I guess there’s no helping it.”
“…I’m really glad I came today.”
Rest was left speechless. Viola and Primula looked exasperated, but it seemed they had no intention of sending their friend Yuri away. To be honest, Rest felt uneasy about having a woman who wasn’t his fiancée stay in his tent. However, he genuinely liked Yuri as a friend and wanted to help her if she was in trouble.
(Well… I suppose it can’t be helped. With Viola and Primula here, nothing inappropriate will happen…)
“Rest, you must be hungry, right? Let’s get started on dinner!”
Yuri took the initiative to start a campfire in front of the tent and began preparing the meal.
“I’ve been cooking for myself at the academy dormitory, so believe it or not, I’m quite good at it!”
“Really? That’s surprising. Do you have a specialty dish?”
“Grilled meat, grilled fish, and grilled vegetables!”
“……”
Yuri declared confidently, but just from that answer, it was clear she wasn’t exactly a culinary expert. Rest exchanged glances with the Rosemary sisters, who nodded in agreement.
“I-I’ll help too!”
“I will as well. Please let me assist!”
With Viola and Primula joining in, the three of them began cooking over the campfire. The ingredients could be brought by the attendants, and they could even prepare finished dishes for them, but pointing that out to the three girls in front of him would be rather rude.
(Well, cooking outdoors is part of the charm of camping. It would be wrong to interfere…)
“Y-Yuri! Please use a knife for that!”
“Oh, it’s fine. My fingers are sharper than any knife.”
“At least let’s drain the blood! It’ll taste metallic otherwise!”
“Please, no insects! Even if they’re edible, I can’t eat them!”
“W-What is that!? Where did you find that strange creature!?”
“Relax, relax. I nibbled on it earlier, and it wasn’t poisonous, so it’s fine.”
“……”
Rest was starting to feel very uneasy. After thirty minutes of anxious waiting, a wooden plate filled with food was placed in front of him.
“W-What is this…?”
Soup pasta, salad, and a steak garnished with herbs… Surprisingly decent-looking dishes appeared before him. The aroma of spices wafted from the food, making his stomach growl in hunger.
“Looks delicious… Honestly, I was wondering what would come out of this…”
“I-I’m surprised too. I didn’t expect something like this to come from those ingredients…”
“That stuff turned into something so appetizing…?”
“Those ingredients?”
Viola and Primula exchanged suspicious glances. Just when his appetite had started to build, Rest found his hand holding the spoon frozen in place.
“Yeah, it’s delicious. Today was a huge success!”
Meanwhile, Yuri was happily shoveling food into her mouth. For now… it really seemed like there was no poison in it.
“It’s delicious…”
When he took a bite, it was not just good… it was beyond good. The stew was tasty, but the steak was devastatingly delicious. There was nothing wrong with it. The meat was tender and juicy, bursting with flavor in his mouth, melting like the finest fatty tuna. Honestly, it might be the best meat he had ever tasted in this world.
“Hey… this meat is incredibly good. What kind of animal is it from?”
“……”
“……”
When Rest asked, silence fell upon the sisters. They remained quiet for a while, but eventually, it seemed they could no longer bear the silence and spoke up.
“It… it seems there’s no poison. Really.”
“Yes… I don’t think it’s something inedible…”
“……What is this, really?”
The truth behind the meat was that it was from a Corrupted Beast that Yuri had brought back from the Plain, but Rest wouldn’t realize this terrifying fact until a little later. This was the moment when what would later be counted among the seven great delicacies of the world, known as Subnock Meat, first graced the human palate.