Chapter 18: Do You Dare to Eat It!!?

【"You don't even dare to eat her **, and you still dare to say you love her!"】

"Don't give a damn whether I love her or not, this has nothing to do with whether I eat this thing or not!"

【"If you don't eat it, you don't love her!"】

"No, are you sick!?"

At night, Master Herbert, who had been busy all day, snuck back into his private space alone and began trading barbs with his online friend.

Then, he was informed of the absurd operation that "the way to absorb magical power is to eat the monster material!"

Is this right?

After finishing his bickering with Miss Xie Shen, Herbert lowered his head, looked at that palm-sized iridescent scale, and his expression twisted slightly.

Take a look.

Under the light, it shimmered in seven colors, with excellent luster.

Take a sniff.

It had a rich fragrance, completely lacking the fishy, salty smell peculiar to seawater.

Try to lick it.

The taste was slightly sweet, with no strange aftertaste.

Summoning his resolve, he bit down… clack.

"Pfft… hehe."

Herbert burst out laughing.

So it turns out people really do laugh out loud when they're speechless.

Hey!

Guess what?

Can't bite through it.

Can't bite through it at all!

No, how am I supposed to even take a bite of this?

Slap.

Herbert slapped the scale onto the table and thundered, "You evil thing, are you deliberately making a fool of me!?"

Damn it.

I never should have trusted you, Miss Xie Shen, from the very beginning!

【"I've never lied to you, you know~"】

Nie Nasha didn't care about Herbert's fury; judging from her tone, she could barely hold back her laughter.

Oh, no.

Miss Xie Shen had never even thought of hiding it.

【"Don't talk nonsense, I've never told you to just chomp on it raw!"】

【"But I didn't expect… pfft, hahaha! You adorable fool actually just bit right into it! Hahahaha~"】

She laughed so wantonly, so freely, that the silver-bell-like, enchanting voice even carried a hint of lewdness.

"…Tch."

After laughing for a long while, she finally stopped her wild cackling just before Herbert completely lost his temper.

But her voice still couldn't conceal her amusement as she chuckled: 【"My dear ally, don't be angry! It was just a little joke; if you keep frowning, that's a bit unsporting of you!"】

"No, I'm now thinking about whether I can just swallow it whole."

【"Huh?"】 Nie Nasha was confused, she couldn't quite keep up with Herbert's erratic train of thought.

It was just a joke, laugh it off and move on.

Herbert really wasn't angry anymore at this point; he had put all his focus on how to get it into his stomach.

"Nothing is unfit to eat, it all depends on the cooking, balancing the five flavors well." — *Miscellaneous Morsels from Youyang · Wine and Food"

The ancients said it: in this world, there are only things that taste bad and things that taste good; there's no such thing as something that can't be eaten.

Seeing Herbert lost in thought, Nie Nasha tentatively probed with some confusion: 【"Um…."】

"Let me think about how to prepare it. Stir-fry? Quick-fry? Or deep-fry?"

【"Hey~ are you still there~"】

"Deep-fry? Pan-fry?"

【"…Hello?"】

"Braise? Bake? Grill?"

【"HA!!!"】

A soul-shaking roar exploded in his mind, startling Herbert so badly he nearly tumbled off his stool.

He took a while to recover, blankly raised his head, and asked in confusion, "Why are you yelling so loud?"

【"Before you say that, do you want to recall what you were just doing?"】

"I just ignored you, is that worth scaring me half to death?"

Herbert replied matter-of-factly, not feeling there was anything wrong with him at all.

Anyway, we're equal partners; you can tease me, and I can ignore you.

The main point is, neither of us should indulge the other.

【"Heh, Holy Knight."】

"Heh, Miss Xie Shen."

After the cold laugh, Herbert drew his side sword and tried to cut the scale with the blade.

Herbert's sword was no ordinary weapon; it had been bestowed upon him by the King of Frost Crystal at the age of seventeen, said to have been forged in person by a legendary royal warrior of old.

Though only of high-grade rank, its hardness rivaled that of legendary weapons!

Shhh—

With a shrill screech, the two parted; the colored scale bore only a faint cut, scattering a sprinkle of glistening, crystalline powder.

"…"

Herbert stared at the powder scattered on the table, a sudden thought flashing through his mind—he leaned down close.

He puckered his lips and sucked hard.

Ssshh—

"Too! Too! Too! Too… too spicy! Cough! Cough cough!"

He hadn't dared inhale through his nose, fearing he'd sneeze uncontrollably—but he hadn't expected the powder to slide straight down his throat.

The colored scale's powder was unexpectedly fiery, making him cough violently, as if his trachea might be ripped out.

【"…"】

Nie Nasha watched silently, like one gazing at a Bai Chi, then finally sighed in resignation: 【"Ah ha, this is truly…"】

Honestly, Miss Xie Shen now felt just a tiny bit of regret.

It had been too hasty.

She shouldn't have so easily judged this fellow worthy of becoming her partner.

Look at this.

Isn't he just a fool?

"Never mind. Though the process was wrong, it's barely acceptable."

She finally stopped standing idly by, seizing control of Herbert's left hand, dragging her fingertip across the blade, leaving a moderate wound.

Then, she pressed her index finger against the colored scale—a single drop of glistening blood fell onto the scratch.

"Cough cough, why is this, blood-ritual, cough, bonding? Cough cough!"

Come on, what century is this? Still using such old-fashioned traditions?

As Herbert coughed uncontrollably yet still managed to complain, an anomaly occurred.

Chii—

Like touching a searing branding iron, the colored scale instantly dissolved into blood, transforming into a mist that surged into his throat.

Glug.

As if swallowing a cup of boiling water just poured from a kettle, Herbert's face twisted grotesquely, a muffled growl squeezing from his throat.

"Ssshh—not hot! Cough cough!"

Burning.

He felt his throat burned through, his very soul shriveling under the heat.

But just as Herbert desperately sought a glass of cold water to quench the fire, the burning sensation receded like a tide.

In less than a breath, all pain vanished—as if it had never been.

Before Herbert could think, another sensation washed over him—cool, soothing, like sinking into a warm spring.

He seemed to hear the sound of ocean waves.

Hwaaah—

He opened his eyes and found himself adrift in a vast, rolling ocean, rising and falling with the tides.

Yet Herbert strangely felt no fear.

For he heard, from afar, a melodious song.

He should not have understood its ancient tongue—but somehow, he grasped its meaning.

The song told a story.

An ancient, sorrowful tale—

(End of Chapter)